2008 Samsung HLxxA650 DLP Owners Thread/FAQ - Page 27

Get new 3d. That's what I did. Got a 55st30. Love it. I have a ton of glasses with my vt25 so I'm good there. The bulb is covered being only 2 months old so I'm replacing it and selling the tv. See ya dead technology.

What a difference 14-months make... same bulb, still bright.

How did you clean it exactly?

Greetings all-I recently developed a problem with my HL56a650. When I turned it on a blue box appears which says "Not Available". Also the remote doesn't work nor do the buttons on the TV. After about an hour the box disappears and the remote works as do the TV buttons. Local Samsung service tech says he thinks it is a problem with the main board-$475 for him to fix or I can get one myself for around $230. With no guarantee this will fix the problem I wonder if it would be better to just get a new TV. Thanks, Al.

Hi all, I own a HL56A650 which has just started showing white dots. I know the white dot issue is very well discussed for the older Samsung dlp models. Has anyone with the 650/750 series have any luck getting Samsung to replace the problematic DLP chip for free or at least partially?

Thanks!

Help! I love this TV and have had ZERO problems until yesterday, I figured it was just a bulb... then I started reading around the internet and and now sure what my problem is.
I got TV in 08 and I'm still on original bulb, yesterday it powered off and tried to cycle back on, I can see ballast fire and bulb tries to light, once in awhile usually after sitting forever it will have start up with a picture and then after about 45-1min just back down.

I took everything apart, cleaned it with compressed air, ballast resistors look fine to me, put it all back together, left bulb out and held down safety switch and I can see color wheel spinning. Put bulb back in and taped safety switch, TV came on, though I fixed it then min later back to same. just cycles. I have to unplug it to turn it off.

Could it still just be a bulb?? or do I have bigger problems......

Thanks guys!

Just bought this tv used and worked perfect for 2 whole days. Now it looks like I've joined the power cycling club as well. Same problem here. Tv comes on shows pic for about 20-30sec. then goes black. Standby light lights up, lamp led flashes on front and pic comes back on for another 20-30sec. Have to pull plug to get it to shut off. Been reading up on this for a few days now and I cannot find a fix. Folks have done everything from replacing power supply board, ballast, color wheel, lamp door, lamp sensor, and of course the bulb itself. None of these fixes seem to work and if they do it's only a temp fix before the problem comes back. Have not tried any of the fixes above yet I'm on a tight budget. (that's why I bought a 4yr old DLP in the 1st place lol) If these fixes actually corrected the problem I'd go for it but it seems like a shot in the dark.

Anyone actually have any success replacing any of the above and have it last more than a month?

Any suggestions??? Thanks in advance!

Well I went ahead and tore the set apart. Immediately I saw the large capacitor on the ballast was popped and leaking. I also noticed one of the two large capacitors on the power board looked suspect with a very slight bulge. All the capacitors in the tv are made by Samwa which are noted for being complete crap. Samsung capacitors aren't the best either but why they didn't use their own is common. Panasonic makes some good capacitors but I doubt they use them in their electronics either. All about cost.

Anyways back to the tv. I ended up replacing three capacitors. The two large 200v 470uF on the power board and the 450v 47uF on the ballast with Nichon caps. Tv fired up and is working like a champ all for under $12. I will probably re-cap all the smaller Samwa caps on the power board when I get a chance. No idea if it will last. I'm wondering if those who bought a power board and ballast that only lasted a few months are being caused by these cheap capacitors on the new boards. Especially if the power boards purchased were used. Just a thought.

Sorry I haven't posted here since '08.
I guess that speaks well for my HL50A650.
Mine is coming up on 4 years old with not a single problem (yet), and it's still running the original bulb (average 10 hrs/day).

My question:
After lurking and reading of some failures >> I am worried that I am running on borrowed time?
Should I hang in there, or should I upgrade (and move this old friend to secondary duty)
Just wondering how much lifetime is left?

Ha, you and me both. Here's hoping they keep going for awhile longer as I haven't done a thing to mine either......and don't mind waiting longer for the sets to continue to get thinner, cheaper, and better at 3D before I purchase again.

Agreed!
Hopefully we will both have better luck than several who have posted here.

burnout/burnin or what....?

on my HL50A650

I had a bulb replaced back in January and last month started to see "burn" mark that looks like an "8"...see photo....

You can see the spots on the left, white against the black screen, brown against white....and it's getting worse....ANY ideas on what this may be?

....I have geeksquad coming on Tues to troubleshoot (I'm in month 47 on the 48 month service contract)...and geekonthephone said I may have to be given a replacement...
If I have to, I prefer and will probably go plasma....

Any comments on this model.... PN51E550D....it seems to be okay....

I may be able to get this one too: PN50C7000....any thoughts on this one?


Edited by kitatiger - 8/25/12 at 10:16pm

Well....

Geeksquadguy came the other day

....after calling HIS tech support it was determined/hypothesized that the problem is with the DLP chip....which we are going to replace...
....and maybe it will be the cure-all....

But....when reading others' similar experiences, the probem was described as a loss of pixels...rather than the "smudge" I have on my screen....well we'll see....

...if the chip is not the solution then there's a new TV on the horizon...

An odd thing happened...when the techie went into and left the service menu after doing his diagnostics, all the settings reverted to factory default....and he said it shouldn't have...

...called tech support and they think my service guy probably clicked reset and didn't realize it...I hope so...

Well Geekman came yesterday and removed the offending chip and put in the new one and all is well...
The problem was that in some unexplained way the chip surface got smudged and the smudge showed up on the screen...

MY explanation was that a smurfette lizard got into the back of the set and took to the warm chip for a snooze...little bugger...

Geekman was happy to see that the TV's innerds were otherwize VERY VERY clean....

Here's hoping the TV can go another few years....

Mine is showing about 5100 hours on the lamp (strange, I thought it would be way more). At this point should I replace the bulb, or just keep going until it stops?


Also, I have heard that over time the optics can get full of dust and other grime. How easy is it to disassemble and clean this? Is it something a DIY guy can do?

Just let it go... Mine is probably over 20,000 hours and it still looks great.

Bandwagon
Did you get your set fixed? Tv is 4 yrs old cycles on and off for a few seconds. Picture still looks great. Can't seem to get to the lamp life when service menu comes up as only get a few seconds. Tried all the same things you did. Also, tv cycles about 9 times then all three led lights flash. Did you get a new lamp? Hate to invest $120 and it is something else.
I thought the lamp would go gradually not all at once. That it stills has a great picture when it comes on has me a little confused.

On watching start up
Both fans spin
Lamp comes on and off then stays on
I see a green led light come on on board between the two fans
Lamp goes off then led goes off

Note. Just got into service menu. I have over 16,000 hours on original lamp...that is pretty awesome......looks like time for a new lamp

Final notes
When tv powers off, I hear two high pitched buzz sounds from the ballast area
Edited by StephenZ - 9/23/12 at 7:56am

Pictures of my power supply. I don't see any obvious damage. I would appreciate any feedback if anyone can tell different.
So now that I have closely looked at the ballast and PS and see no reason to replace them, I will verify the voltage from the PS to the ballast. If I have good voltage, I guess I will go for it and order a new bulb.
Edited by StephenZ - 9/30/12 at 11:21am

Anyone know where I can get the service manual for a HL61A650? I have HDMI ports that are hosed and need a part number.

You may need to replace the board but if you have one working hdmi, you could use a switcher. http://www.amazon.com/Port-HDMI-Pigtail-Switch-Cable/dp/B0030AZ44O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8

My TV is alive. Just needed a new bulb so I will need to wait for my upgrade for a while.

It looks like my bulbs have a two year cycle. I purchased the TV 9/08. I replaced the bulb 6/10. It went out yesterday and I had one on standby. I had it working in just a few minutes.

I was going to buy a new one from Samsung but Amazon had one for less than half the price (look because some are inferior). I am hoping I have two more years until I have to test it out.

Normally I would upgrade a device this old but the quality of this Samsung is so good I will keep it running as long as possible.

Mine has been going strong since I got it in Sept of 2008. And the picture gets better and better. Although I am drooling at the new LaserVues. But last night I was watching it and the picture went out, the bulb off, no noises when it happened, which did not surprise me because I'm running about 7000 hours on the first bulb, and the warranty isn't up until Sept 2013. So I'm covered. But the strange thing is that the lights on the front were flashing Stand by/Temp & Lamp, which denotes the door on the lamp wasn't closed properly. Well the last time it was opened was at the factory when they put in the first bulb and things have been great since.

So I spent about 20-30 minutes researching and whatnot with the lights still flashing so I figured since I couldn't call the warranty company that late, that I'd just turn off the set and go from there. So I pressed the remote button and nothing. Then I tried the physical power button, holding it in for about 5 seconds and it was as if the set reset itself and came right back up and I noticed that the picture was better than before it went out.

I'm wondering what happened and what does this mean. Anyone have any words of wisdom?

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

My TV originally started power cycling (powers up, screen begins to show image for ~5 seconds, powers off, repeat) in November of 2009, just barely within the warranty. The shop that did the warranty repairs, who clearly did not know what the exact problem was, replaced (at least) the ballast, power supply, and lamp.

Since then it's been going strong for 3 years. But on election night, I heard a buzzing noise, saw a puff of smoke, and now we're back to power cycling.

After a while on the forums tonight, it seems there still isn't a specific, well-understood problem that causes this behavior, so I'm afraid it's time to move on. I just don't have the money/time to replace parts and hope it works for an extended amount of time. Good thing the Holiday season is upon us!

Hi. I inadvertently reset my 61a750 back to factory settings. ( was in the service menu looking to for some geometry settings, dog bumped me, etc... ).

Now, I have to crank the brightness up to 80-90 to see things close to the way they were before. That, and overall, I don't think the picture looks like it did, even after setting the colors,etc... back to the way i had them in the user menus.

NOTE: I also did an HDMI calibrate, which only indicated "success" 1 out of 5 times.

So I have been reading through all of the threads, but before I go in and try to do a calibration, I thought I'd ask for some help here. So is there something specific I should be looking for? What should I set everything to? etc...

ANY help would be appreciated, as I'm close to simply replacing the TV now. ( I bought it new in 08)

well, Dug through this thread again, and found the post by donb: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1034803/2008-samsung-hlxxa650-dlp-owners-thread-faq/60#post_14178013

This mostly corrected my issues. I still have a geometry problem, but at least I'm back to "normal".

Well, after four-years and probably over 20,000 hours on the original bulb, our 61" finally gave up the fight. It just keeps rebooting so I am guessing its the ballast.

I took a gamble and bought a new bulb locally. It booted right up.

Holy smokes this thing is bright now.

Hi everyone, this is my first post in this forum!

I have had the HL61A650 for 4 years now and loved it, but have recently come into some problems with my unit. I had approx. 16k hours on my factory bulb when it finally blew. I ordered a replacement, and good as new. That is until a friend thought he knew what he was doing in the service menu and changed my lamp sync to something other than what the factory default was. That immediately blew the ballast, so I ordered a replacement. After installation the TV worked, but the picture got progressively darker the closer it was to the left edge of the screen, not a huge amount of difference, but just enough to really bother me while watching TV/movies. I was wondering if there was aproblem that would cause this issue. It isn't the dark bar from the light tunnel collapsing, it looks different from that. Very bright on the right edge, and slightly dark on the left, somewhat like this picture if all that was displayed was a grey image, although the effect was not quite as dramatic..





After noticing the problem I figured "Okay, lets reset the sync back to factory default", as soon as I powered on the TV going into the service menu, BAM, blew the ballast again. So, ordering another ballast, once I get it in if I am having this issue still I will post a pic in here for you guys to look at.

Thanks in advance for any help!
Edited by Ctullu - 1/6/13 at 2:07am