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LG 42" plasma - are red dots normal?

161K views 193 replies 116 participants last post by  Gary Cunningham 
#1 ·
Regarding my LG DU42PX12XC 42" plasma purchased in 9/2005 ...


I am getting some scattered red dots on the unit, usually in the center/top portion of the screen and really mostly visible when the picture is showing black

in that area.


It seems to happen mostly after the sets been operating a couple hours or more and it seems to come and go.


I did try turning off the SD edge enhancement, turned the contrast down to like 50 and even turned the color completely off.


Even with the color completely off ... I was seeing red dots. I've seen it from DVDs and well as my HD output from the dish 942.


So my question is -- should I call up the store and tell them about this problem and would the standard warranty cover this kind of thing?


Thx in advance,

Scott
 
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#2 ·
Sounds like dead pixels. How many dots do you see? Some companies have a policies where they state a certain number of dead pixels is "normal" and a limitation/product of the technology. So, I'd say the store is the best place to go to in terms of getting any sort of return/service. Again, it differs company-to-company, and I can't say what LG's policy is.


Hmmmm. I dunno what I am saying.


Bottom line is that it's probably dead pixels. So, yeah, it's not something you should have to deal with. Especially if it's multiple. Pika.
 
#3 ·
Thanks.


Now let me clarify ... these red dots are not on all the time (they come and go in real time) ... but I have found that I can pause my Dish show and actually freeze the red dots along with it ... but the dots don't always appear (which is what I would expect with a dead pixel).


I also have not done the calibration DVD on my plasma either ... and some folks seem to suggest that doing this calibration can remove red dot / red pixel effects.


If that doesn't work, then I guess I need to call Ultimate Electronics and see what recourse I have.
 
#5 ·
There is small chance it could be my dish 942 receiver, but I am pretty sure that I have seen these same red pixels when watching a DVD.


If I can confirm that, then I seriously doubt that its the source, but rather the TV causing these effects. Also, the location of the dots is always in the same region

(top center of screen), which isn't really a random artifact in my book ... not just coincidental.


I had read somewhere to turn down the color ... but when I did (made it b/w) the red pixels were still showing throw here and there ... kind of proof that it was a physical problem with the pixels maybe?
 
#6 ·
I think I have seen what you are describing before. If you put the menu on the screen and then remove it, do you see more dots where the menu was (on a dark area of the screen, of course)? This is not normal operation and should be repaired under warranty.


Robert
 
#7 ·
I had green dots...still do have green dots...have the panel of the plasma replaced...still get them, before the TV "warms up"...It is visible with most input modes, but only when they are "active"...no signal, gives no dots...they go away after a few minutes.
 
#9 ·
Thanks everyone ...


I am not using HDMI ... I am using component cables. Good advise, however.


robert123, funny you mention it ... I did exactly what you described last night

and did notice some dots under where the TV menu had been ... my set definately

has that characteristic ... and will do that sporatically (not always, but more and more

the longer the set has been ON).


I also noticed that it wasn't doing it for the first 1-2 hours and then after the

set was warmed up ... was doing it fairly often. I even paused a dish

HD show a couple times to see if the pixels freezed with it, well the red pixels

were there, but they kept moving around like red snow (or red distortion).

It definately not just a few bad pixels shining through ... it more of a red pixelized

snow effect which does come and go ... but slowly.


I lot of times if a movie has someone in front of the dark (or black background),

then these red dots appear on the edge of the persons head (or hair) ... very

obvious.


I think I'm going to have to make some calls and get this problem looked into.

For $3000 ... you don't expect crap like this after 4 months ... this should be

warranty covered I would hope.
 
#10 ·
oh bummer. dead end thread and i too am having these red snow like moments with my plasma.


it's not source since i get it with both comcast and dvd.


otherwise, and 99% of the time, picture is fantastic. if the snow is sort of normal and will not get worse then i can live with it.


hopefully this thread will go long enough to get some answers?
 
#11 ·
thruxton, I also agree that the majority of the time the picture is fantastic.


I am starting to believe that the red snow only happens when the temperature is very cold outside -- and the space behind the TV is below say 55-60 degrees.


I don't think that I've seen the problem occuring on fair weather days yet, or even when its 40+ outside ... but on days when its quite cold outside, like 10-25 ... then I've noticed a lot of this red snow effect occurring ...


Usually on those days, were struggling to keep our huge family room at 63 degrees and the wall space where the TV stays is probably cooler, since its an exterior wall.


The repair guy said that somebody else had a similar problem, but with green dots and LG sent them a new board to try and fix it. He told me observe the condititions during which the problem occurs and make a log of when it happens and the temperature, etc.


I agree -- lets not let this thread die ... many other may benefit as well.


I'm also wondering that for the money I paid if I shouldn't demand that the store I bought it from just REPLACE the set ... since I'm not too keen on diagnosing problems for LG for free.
 
#13 ·
I have a Samsung 42" Plasma and I was getting pink dots (though I suppose they could be seen as red) . I called Samsung and they sent someone out and he fixed the problem. He said the voltage needed to be adjusted. He said with some plasmas, when they settle into the tempature of the home they sometimes get the dots and the voltage needs to be adjusted. I hope this helps someone.
 
#14 ·
Wow, I never heard of that before. We still do have the red dots, but there are sporadic. I really should have another service call, but it seems that whenever they show up, it ain't doing it that day! (hard to fix) For what I paid for this TV, I'm really just tempted to call ultimate electronics and demand a replacement, since fixing it seems to be all "on me" ... and odds are, I'll get the shaft the way things are going. Opinions anyone?
 
#15 ·
I have the Samsung HP-S5053 plasma TV,

Samsung HT-Q80 home theater in the box reciever w/ built in DVD player,

Xbox 360.


I also get the infamous red dots, but only through the HDMI output of my Samsung receiver. At first I thought it was a characteristic of burned DVDs, but it's happening with all my originals.


I played a movie through the xbox, and all is well (connected via components).

I changed from the HDMI cable to a composite cable on the Samsung DVD player, and all is well.


It leads me to believe the problem is with the Samsund DVD player when using HDMI. I'll try another HDMI cable tomorrow and even call Samsung. Anyone else have this problem?

-Mark
 
#16 ·
I get them with HDMI or composite ... on the Dish 942 or a DVD ... so I know its not the HDMI in my case.


I have a repair guy coming out to replace something this week, so hopefully, that will fix it.


The limited warranty will only offer replacement if (2) repair attempts are unsuccessful.


The worst part is that the dots are sporadic and hard to observe "on demand". They happen every day, you just never know when or how much.
 
#17 ·
In my case the problem is 100% reproducible. I tried another HDMI cable and the same thing happened. I also tried the secondary HDMI input on the TV and still the same thing. Then I went back to composite, and all was well again.


Called Samsung and they think it's the DVD player. Called Crutchfield and they'll send me a new one on Thursday. I may run over to BB and pick up a Sony HDMI player and experiment in the meantime. More to come.
 
#18 ·
just bought a 42" akai hd plasma and have red 'dots' all over the screen. Sounds like the above problems as they are def not bad pixels.

Happens on all inputs and even on diff power circuits so gotta be the tv.


Did anyone find anything further about this issue and it's solution?
 
#20 ·
hope this thread hasent ended...have a lg 50px5d...i to have been trying to find out about this red dot (sparkles??) thing...have read others with this change connections or get it on one or two inputs (dvd-video-componet etc)...i removed all the input connections so the set is not receveing any signel and still get these red dots...has anyone solved this problem yet??? have been told that pixels are square and these dots look more like SPARKLES appearing all over the screen...someone please get back with some answer....thanks
 
#21 ·
An update from the thread starter on my problems which are now resolved!


This definately wasn't related to my Dish 942 player or anything other than the TV itself. This particular LG plasma is a high altitude model, but I don't know if that was a factor or not. For those reading this thread, I checked out all the connection/cable issues and it wasn't that. It was some kind of faulty board on the TV itself. Its kind of like a computer motherboard with little boards plugged into it which can be swapped out, if they go bad. Determining which board is the hard part and where the technicians come in. This is my basic understanding on my original problem here.


So I finally got my red dots problem fixed. I ended up calling LG warranty support and they provided me with some local repair places I could call for service work. Finding this information on the LG web site was nothing short of a tresure hunt in itself. After about a 1 month wait for my service appointment, the technician did CORRECT the problem!!


According the LG, they needed to make 2 repair attempts before you can get the TV replaced under warranty. So I told him to bring parts with him.


I believe he replaced a board on the TV and also made some minor adjustments. Since this repair call, the TV has been perfect and not more red dots !!! I wish I had more details on the repair, but I wasn't home when he did the work.
 
#22 ·
I have the same problem with my 50in. Samsung. I have red dots flicker on and off across the top and bottom of my screen. During black and grey scenes i see it more. Lately i've noticed even blue as well...........so, I called samsung up and they will send a tech out and see. I've had the TV for a year now and warranty expired, lucky i registared the TV and got a 3 month extention. I hope they can fix the problem otherwise i'll never get another plasma again!
 
#23 ·
Yeah, I was about 1 month from the end of my warranty as well (glad you had an extension!) and not a big fan of "service calls" ... but I'm glad I took the time and did it. It ended up costing me nothing, so this story had a happy ending.


On our initial service call, the tech said something to the extent that they could replace 1 of 3 different cards (on the LG plasma), and the tech could could decide which board to try replacing in sort of trail and error basis. I sounded like guesswork, but I think the second tech we had knew what to change and just did it.


I verified with my wife that they did actually replace something, and she said yeah, they put in a new board of some kind.


Good luck!
 
#24 ·
glad you got yours fixed...i have a tech coming on 12/6 for this red dot thing so im hoping he can find the trouble....would like to ask you or anyone else here about another problem i have noticed...when trying to set black levels i notice the screen has a light gray to it kind of like the briteness is set two high...i mostly see it in dark or night scenes and because of it i cant set the blackness to were i think it should be you know BLACK not grayish...another way to discribe it is watch the screen when you turn it on it lights up before the picture comes on...durring bright scenes it looks fine its just the dark scenes...has anyone noticed this... do you think having it recalabrated by a pro would fix this...thanks
 
#25 ·
I've been waiting for a couple of days now for a service call. I think they are backed up and busy. I want to get this problem fixed real soon because the sparkles are starting to irritate me. I don't even want to watch tv anymore because of it. Seems to get worse too..........well for the 1st hour its ok when i leave it on any longer it starts to appear. Glad you got yours fixed............i hope i get mines fixed soon.
 
#26 ·
I have an LG 50 inch plasma (50px4dh), and I see blue "sparkles" or "dots", in black areas, when the set is cold. I never saw them during the summer (when new), when the house was 78+ degrees inside. Now that the weather is cool, I see them a lot until the set warms up. I'm in Texas.


They are mostly near the top, and vary depending on the image on the set. I see them with any input. A certain mix of bright and black areas seems create a lot of them.


Does anyone have an explaination of what causes them (besides a "bad board")? I wonder if the voltage required to drive the screen is temperature sensitive?
 
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