Shadow on left of Samsung DLP screen

[bicker1]

Originally Posted by Bobcel

Well that's certainly good news. We can only hope others are treated the same when SS is called upon...keeping my fingers crossed.

Good point. I think it best for folks to wait for written confirmation from Samsung (on Samsung letterhead, signed by a Samsung official) about this, rather than relying on what one person has been told verbally.

[utalwalk]

That's what they said to me too. I'm going to have a tech from the store where i bought my TV and give me an estimate. I already have a complaint # open to which i will then fax the estimate from this tech. They told me they don't trust all the internet blogs and what has been said etc.

[wish_i_had_hdtv]

An update: The tech came out again with a new LE. The picture was crap again - so this time he called someone at Samsung to find out what was going on. Turns out he had to enter the SM and copy the DMD->Digital. If he had listened to me last time, he wouldn't have had to waste so much time and money re-ordering the part.

Anyway, looks like my picture is back to what it was when I got the TV. I may need to get in there and do my own calibration etc to get it back to being perfect.

I havent watched much TV after the swap of LE but whatever little I did watch, looked good to me. Hopefully, this is the last problem with this TV.

Thanks all.

Originally Posted by wish_i_had_hdtv

Thanks for the note. I am just going to let them install a new 'new' LE. Fingers crossed that the PQ doesn't deteriorate or anything like that.

cheers.

[nabirmarf]

For those who have recently had this problem and are out of warranty, did Samsung cover the entire cost for you. I have HL-S6187W purchased in July of 2006. The shadow just appeared this last weekend. I called Samsung, got through to the ECR and the rude gentleman on the other end stated that they will extend the warranty to cover the cost of parts but I would be responsible for labor. Furthermore, I could not get a replacement part shipped to me. It would have to be ordered and installed by a Samsung Repair Center.

I asked if I could speak with a supervisor and he told me "No, they will tell you the same thing." He said he was looking at an official memo stating that parts would be covered for those out of warranty but not labor. He then proceeded to give me the address of the presidents office in New Jersey if I wanted to file a complaint.

For those out of warranty, are they covering parts and labor for service?

I called the service center and he told me it would be $375 to fix the light tunnel and $250 to replace the entire light engine because it is easier. If Samsung is paying for the part I told him I want him to swap a new part in. I am not going to pay more just because it saves Samsung money. Needless to say, after this experience with their CS, I will not buy Samsung again.

[eclypse80]

Well it took about two weeks but my TV is finally repaired. It seems Samsung and their service center reps (the field engineers know whats up though) are just getting up to speed with this issue. I confirmed with both Samsung and my field engineer that this problem is definitely covered out of warranty and is very common (My field engineer said he fixes about 1-2 of these a week). It just took some work to initially convince the customer service reps that this was in fact the "light tunnel collapse" issue. If you are calling them in regards to this issue, be sure to mention those words and you'll get your problem solved faster.

Because of what seems to be communication problems between Samsung and the local service center (the local service center kept wanting to charge me for the repair) , Samsung just ended up extending my warranty out another 3 months (My TV was already 10 months out of warranty) to cover this repair.

As far as covering labor goes, I got conflicting information from Samsung reps. The first guy told me it was covered in full (parts&labor), but in one of my later calls, the rep mentioned that I would just have to pay labor costs. Because of the mixup and the hassle I had gone through, I think they let that slide for me, extended my warranty, and that was it. YMMV

The repair took about an hour or so. He had to install the new one, pop the light engine back in the TV, and then do some adjusting. Back to normal TV!

[rtedwards]

What is the farthest out of warranty anyone has had their TV fixed for nothing? Mine was over a year out of warranty when I first called.

[rtedwards]

I called the 1-800-747-5618 number and explained that I was confused on their policy on repairing a collapsed light tunnel (they had refused assistance in October) but that I continued to see on the web (here) that people were getting repairs out of warranty. They offered a free repair on my set that was 13 months out of warranty in October!! I'll let the forum know how it turns out. The condition was made that the free repair only applies if it is the light tunnel.

The condition is a shadow on the left of the screen, 2" on the top, 3" on the bottom, through which the picture can still be seen dimly.

[wish_i_had_hdtv]

Originally Posted by rtedwards

I called the 1-800-747-5618 number and explained that I was confused on their policy on repairing a collapsed light tunnel (they had refused assistance in October) but that I continued to see on the web (here) that people were getting repairs out of warranty. They offered a free repair on my set that was 13 months out of warranty in October!! I'll let the forum know how it turns out. The condition was made that the free repair only applies if it is the light tunnel.

The condition is a shadow on the left of the screen, 2" on the top, 3" on the bottom, through which the picture can still be seen dimly.

Yup - you've got the shadow.... Check out some pictures at www<dot>samsungtvshadowclassaction<dot>com/main/picture.sfx

Cheers.

[mharris]

Model: HL-S5087WX
Purchased: June 06

Wow!! What can I say that has not already been said a multitude of times other than I am yet another of the multitude of PO'd sammy dlp owners who has been mistreated by a greedy multi-billion dollar profit corporation. Didnt I say WOW already!

Ok, seriously. I had the shadow start on mine on 10/07 as a barely noticeable line on the very edge, maybe 1/8" at top right and it stayed that way untill 2/08. Yes, I was lucky it stayed that way so long. Then it went to 1" in the right side center in 1/08, then on 3/26 it went to 3" now it is 6". Between the 3" and 6" I tried shoving the offending mirror back in place without taking the tunnel and LE completely apart. It worked for afew days perfectly, but then abrutly went to 6".

I have spoke to CS multiple times during this time and have received just plain out ugly as heck to nice but no help. Each time they have refused to do anything except they extended my warranty 3 months. This did no good because I had it for 1 year and 3 1/2 months in 10/07!!!! They refused to extend it the 2 extra weeks to cover me!!
Did I say I am PO'd already? AAARGH!!!

I have tried calling ECR, but NO ONE ever answers, just a recording on both ECR numbers I have. Today tho I spoke with "Arlene" at CS who was extremely nice and again took my complaint, but this time she is forwarding it to ECR who will contact me within 5 days. We will see as I am NOT holding my breath because this is my 23rd call to CS.
I called back today because I found out that my cousin ( who I recomended buy his sammy dlp) got his tunnel replaced for free on his first call to CS about his shadow last month. His warranty ran out 6 months ago. This again clearly shows how random thier CS is.

Just plain PO'd in N.C.
MH

[DaveFi]

All I can say to everyone is that I am much happier since I sold my $2000 Samsung DLP for $400 (choke) with the light tunnel failure (yes, someone actually bought it) and used that money to invest in another brand of non-DLP RPTV. Now I know what I've been missing for all these years. My Samsung RPTV has never been good since day-1, regardless of the BS the Samsung tech "Oh, they're all that way." Was shoveling.

Never again Samsung. Never again...

[bicker1]

A lot has happened in the last two years. What was the best option (technically and financially) two years ago is not the best option now. If you can afford (choke) to upgrade today, from DLP to LCD, then surely you should do so. However, comparing a two year old HDTV to a current year HDTV is off-kilter.

[Count Hesley]

I just called Samsung ECR for the fourth time. I had called my local service center for the estimate Sammy asked me to get for the repair, and the guy was wondering why I needed an estimate for a collapsed light tunnel, because it is so common. He said they usually just get a service order from Samsung for this problem, and go out and fix it. He told me to call them back.

So this time I got Mimi, and she said that "Case Management" would look over my issue/case and decide if Samsung will fix my TV under warranty (I am about 19 mos out of warranty for those of you just tuning in to the saga). She said they would call me back in 3-5 days. I feel like this is a positive development but who knows.

Has anyone had this happen and if so, did they end up fixing it?

[rtedwards]

Originally Posted by Count Hesley

I just called Samsung ECR for the fourth time. I had called my local service center for the estimate Sammy asked me to get for the repair, and the guy was wondering why I needed an estimate for a collapsed light tunnel, because it is so common. He said they usually just get a service order from Samsung for this problem, and go out and fix it. He told me to call them back.

So this time I got Mimi, and she said that "Case Management" would look over my issue/case and decide if Samsung will fix my TV under warranty (I am about 19 mos out of warranty for those of you just tuning in to the saga). She said they would call me back in 3-5 days. I feel like this is a positive development but who knows.

Has anyone had this happen and if so, did they end up fixing it?

My TV was picked up today, Tuesday Apr 29 2008, purchased Aug 2005, 14 months out of Warranty when I first called last October, and was told "you're outa luck."

I called ECR a few days ago, was promised a free repair of my TV if it was the collapsed light tunnel. The pickup guy said, yup it's CLT, and left a receipt that says basically "we're billing Samsung." I'll let you know when it comes back (week and a half (or more?) without TV), and whether the repair was satisfactory.

I don't suppose it matters, but in October I put my name on two class action suits, one for the CLT, and one for consumer fraud re "1080p" that's actually 1080i.

[Count Hesley]

Nice, we have an official industry acronym for it now: CLT. This solidifies the issue as being "chronic."

rtedwards, I hope I have the same fortune as you. Thanks for the update.

[Pfunk1410]

Hi all. I thought I'd add my story to this diatribe: I bought a HL-R6768W in Sept '06. I bought it open box at Circuit City and negotiated the price down from $2100 to $1950. Right after I bought it I had the entire light engine replaced at Samsung's expense because it had issues turning on (I had to turn it on, wait a few minutes (bulb lit but screen always black), turn it off, wait for fan to finish, turn it on and all was well). 1.5 years of happy use went by. Anyhow a few months ago I had the shadow...it was an inch or two and is now 4-5 inches wide. I called 1-800-SAMSUNG today and described my problem (I also was sure to mention that I had bought the top of the line biggest model and have recommended it to several others), after 15 minutes of holding and talking I was told it wouldn't be covered; I offered to buy another year of warranty and I was transfered to ECR, after another 15 minutes of holding and talking they extended my warranty 9 months for free and are sending someone out to my house to fix the CLT for free. In summary: love the TV, love Samsung's support.

[acman]

Installed the new light tunnel today. I't took about 2 hours. On my Samsung the tunnel was located under the plastic housing that surrounds the color wheel. Then under a metal plate held on by 7 screws this holds the tunnel in place. It was fine the first time no adjustment necessary. Thank you Mgreen your insight really helped. Part # on tunnelBN67-00058A

[AngryCPA]

Hi All,

Another long time Samsung customer here who has probably purchased from them for the last time. I purchased my HLR6168W way back August 2005 from the TVA powerbuy (my second Samsung purchased through them) and had no issues with it until sometime last year. I noticed the shadow but really didnt think much of it at the time. Recently I stumbled upon this thread and noticed this was my exact problem (about a 3-4 inch shadow on the right side of the screen).

I called the Samsung ECR today and had little luck. Maybe the problem is magnified through these forums, but I find it amazing no one at Samsung has any idea what I am talking about when I mention "collapsed light tunnel". I spoke with an ECR person and a tech support person and both were clueless. Doesn't make sense considering it is a known issue.

Anyway, they referred me to their standard local service center, Tekniton to have the issue diagnosed. They want me to have it diagnosed and then they will determine if they want to pay for it or not. I'm not really getting the warm and fuzzies from this process. I guess its worth the $75 + 80 charge they want just to come take a look at it. Being an early adopter of this technology and paying close to $4000 originally for the set, it really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

/end rant, wish me luck!

[mosuavea]

Time to contribute to this thread.

About two weeks ago I noticed a dark bluish tapered line on on the right side of my HLS5087W. Started at about .25" on the bottom up to about 3/4" on the top. Unit was purchased in May 06 with an extended warranty from Circuit City.

Called the CC warranty line up and it automatically scheduled an appointment for me with a local authorized Samsung repair center. When they called me (April 29th) I explained the problem and told them it was a faulty Light Engine. The man told me he would verify with his field tech and call me back. Guy called back 20 minutes later and said yep, thats what it is, I will order you one up and call you when its in.

Repair man just left and they replaced the entire Light Engine (bulb and all), not just the tunnel which appears some who have CC warranty's have had happen, free of charge under my warranty.

Took the guy all of 25 minutes and at least 5 of it was spent with me looking for my Samsung remote so he could tweak some service menu settings. He told me that it would cost about $900 for his company to replace this if I was out of warranty. Guess I made my $500 or so back from CC for paying for the warranty!

Just wanted to share that for others who may have the problem down the line...

[GeekGirl]

He probably reset the lamp hours. There's nothing else that needs to be done- at least on my HL-R6768W.

Good info. That's about the same amount of time for my repair. Keep an eye on it. Had mine replaced twice within 3 months. So far, so good.

[jameskollar]

Originally Posted by GeekGirl

He probably reset the lamp hours. There's nothing else that needs to be done- at least on my HL-R6768W.

Good info. That's about the same amount of time for my repair. Keep an eye on it. Had mine replaced twice within 3 months. So far, so good.

Not quite. He should also have done the DMD-Digital transfer and taken a look at and possibly adjusted the vertical and horizontal position. There are a couple of other tweaks, but those are the biggies.

[GeekGirl]

I was going to mention the DMD-Digital transfer, but stopped short. My HL-R6768W does the syncing automatically so it's not needed (stated by my service tech and also in this thread somewhere).

[mosuavea]

Originally Posted by jameskollar

Not quite. He should also have done the DMD-Digital transfer and taken a look at and possibly adjusted the vertical and horizontal position. There are a couple of other tweaks, but those are the biggies.

Yep, this is exactly what he did. I didn't recall the names of the menus he entered but he did show me what he was doing and the difference in what he changed.

Guy was really nice and seemed to know what he was doing and really enjoyed working on TVs and making sure people were happy not just slapping the part in and calling it a day.

[utalwalk]

I just spoke with ECR (Ececutive Cust. Relations) at samsung. Since my DLP TV set is out of warranty i was told that they would cover the part 100% but not the labor.

Thanks to all for the help so far. I can't wait to get this taken care of in the next week or so. I will have Magnolia come in and do the repairs for me.

[bicker1]

Does anyone remember the breakdown? I know the part was $44 but don't remember the labor portion... $275 maybe? Be prepared utalwalk -- it could be a lot of money.

[jameskollar]

Originally Posted by GeekGirl

I was going to mention the DMD-Digital transfer, but stopped short. My HL-R6768W does the syncing automatically so it's not needed (stated by my service tech and also in this thread somewhere).

Yeah, I have the 5078 and I know it does not self sync since I had a LE replacement after the set was calibrated. Picture was awful until until I did the transfer. Recalibrated once again.

Looks like I may be seeing the shadow reappear again. Bulb also seems to be going dim with ~5000hrs on it. So if I can get it done, I hope to have just a Light Tunnel replacement since the set is calibrated and replace the bulb at the same time. Really glad I bought the extended warranty.

And I really do like my Samsung. Picture quality is great and if it lasts only a couple of more years, I'll still be very happy with my purchase. I'm itching to upgrade to a slightly larger set with 24fps, 1080P and 3D capability and 2 years is about the longest I can wait.

[Citation4444]

I just went through a very positive experience with the light tunnel issue. My tunnel collapsed last Saturday during the Kentucky Derby with a shadow down the right side. I called the executive customer service number on Monday, got them to agree to repair it under warranty even though my HL-S5087 has been out of warranty for 18 months. The repair guy showed up at 6:50 this morning, put in a new light tunnel, and everything works great now. Took about a half hour. He said he's done this repair many times and knows how to get the new tunnel installed without any realignment almost every time. No cost to me at all. I live in the GA mountains and he had to drive 70 miles each way to fix my set. Overall, very positive experience.

[jameskollar]

So I've reached the point where I can no longer stand the shadow on the left side of my HLR 5078. I have an extended warranty through Magnolia HiFi and scheduled a service call for next tuesday. The tech says he does not reapir just the LT, they only do a full LE replacement in house. My set was calibrated by Eliab and replacing the LE will wipe out the calibration

I explained to the tech my dilema, and they said they would do an ISF calibration on the set for free. Unfortunately they only do that in shop. So, what they're gonna do is pick up the set, leave me with a loaner of like quality and size, and then come back with my set with a new LE and ISF calibrated. Whoo Hoo! Now I just hope it all goes as planned.

[debster77]

I am so glad I found this thread. I thought I was the only one having this left shadow problem. I have two different size Samsung DLP TVs and they BOTH have the left shadow thing going. I called Tekniton, the recommended and authorized Samsung repair company I guess and the quote I got from the guy was that he wanted $250 for each TV to repair and which equates to $500 and another $300 for parts to repair both TVs that have the collapsed light tunnels. Now I think I'm being scammed here and that is way overpriced! Where can I order the light tunnel to replace on these TV's? I have someone who can replace it if I can find where to order the parts.

Also, I've seen the notes about calling Samsung and trying to get them to cover it. I'm considering doing that but I'm afraid I might be told that I'm out of luck since I bought both of these TV's brand new in the late summer of 2005. Does anyone know if Samsung will go back that far? After reading what everyone has written, I'm sure it has to be the collapsed light tunnel.

Also, I wish I had found this forum sooner. We just paid $400 to have the color wheel replaced. And that is even after my husband took the part out and we told the TV Service guy what the problem was. He charged $150 for the part and $250 for labor. He wouldn't sell us the part directly but now I find we could have ordered the color wheel online. Live and learn. Thought I should ask about this shadow and can we repair it ourselves instead of having to dish out $800 for an obvious design defect.

We have the HLR6768W model. The shadow thing is like a cancer. It keeps getting worse. All comments and replies will be greatly appreciated!

[Rail Baron]

Can you say where your tech came from? I have developed the light tunnel shadow too. I am in Chattanooga and a local TV service center I have used in the past said they thought the nearest Samsung repair center was in the Atlanta area. I called the Samsung ECR number others have posted here Friday expecting a headache since my set is out of warranty by about 9 months.

The person I spoke to was very polite and asked me when I bought the set after verifying the serial number. I had registered it and two other Samsung sets I have bought over the years so maybe saying I was a loyal customer carried some weight. I have a report number and he said they would have a technician contact me in 3-5 days to arrange an in-house repair at their expense. We'll see how things work out but so far, so good. I would certainly be willing to pay a portion of the repair considering I am clearly out of warranty. If someone travels to my house from Atlanta to do an in-house repair, maybe they'll even replace the light engine! I have always been very happy with the set until this problem came up. It sounds like I was lucky in getting someone who was willing to fix the problem instead of denying it existed.

Originally Posted by Citation4444

I just went through a very positive experience with the light tunnel issue. My tunnel collapsed last Saturday during the Kentucky Derby with a shadow down the right side. I called the executive customer service number on Monday, got them to agree to repair it under warranty even though my HL-S5087 has been out of warranty for 18 months. The repair guy showed up at 6:50 this morning, put in a new light tunnel, and everything works great now. Took about a half hour. He said he's done this repair many times and knows how to get the new tunnel installed without any realignment almost every time. No cost to me at all. I live in the GA mountains and he had to drive 70 miles each way to fix my set. Overall, very positive experience.

[mlmahon]

Originally Posted by debster77

I am so glad I found this thread. I thought I was the only one having this left shadow problem. I have two different size Samsung DLP TVs and they BOTH have the left shadow thing going. I called Tekniton, the recommended and authorized Samsung repair company I guess and the quote I got from the guy was that he wanted $250 for each TV to repair and which equates to $500 and another $300 for parts to repair both TVs that have the collapsed light tunnels. Now I think I'm being scammed here and that is way overpriced! Where can I order the light tunnel to replace on these TV's? I have someone who can replace it if I can find where to order the parts.

Also, I've seen the notes about calling Samsung and trying to get them to cover it. I'm considering doing that but I'm afraid I might be told that I'm out of luck since I bought both of these TV's brand new in the late summer of 2005. Does anyone know if Samsung will go back that far? After reading what everyone has written, I'm sure it has to be the collapsed light tunnel.

Also, I wish I had found this forum sooner. We just paid $400 to have the color wheel replaced. And that is even after my husband took the part out and we told the TV Service guy what the problem was. He charged $150 for the part and $250 for labor. He wouldn't sell us the part directly but now I find we could have ordered the color wheel online. Live and learn. Thought I should ask about this shadow and can we repair it ourselves instead of having to dish out $800 for an obvious design defect.

We have the HLR6768W model. The shadow thing is like a cancer. It keeps getting worse. All comments and replies will be greatly appreciated!

The part is available from partstore.com. Here's the link --

http://www.partstore.com/GetModel.as...962a&x=19&y=14