Poor picture quality after mainboard was replaced on Samsung LNT4061. Please Help!

I bought my Samsung LNT4061f back in 2007. When I purchased it, it came with the most updated firmware version for that time (1032 if I remember correctly). I came to this forum and I was able to calibrate the settings to the famous post# 1499 settings and I was VERY satisfied with the results.

My TV broke down few weeks ago AFTER the warranty had expired. I paid $300 and they replaced the mainboard to fix the problem. The TV seems to work now, but the picture quality is really awful even after the calibration was set to post#1499. There is significant difference in the picture quality compared to what I used to have, before the TV broke down. Picture isn't sharp. It looks faded and there is no sharpness. All the colors are washed out.


On the receipt, it says they used mainboard part# bn94-01518f.

Here's the screenshot of the firmware screen:


Looking at the firmware versions, can someone please tell me if this is an "outdated" firmware? Can this issue be resolved by updating the firmware? If so, what version would you recommend?


I am new and not as informed as most of you here are, so I would really appreciate if someone can help me out with this.

Thanks!

bump

I really think they put a wrong mainboard on my set. I looked on SamsungParts.com and it shows the main board part number for LNT4061F as BN94-01199A.

I looked on the repair receipt and it says the repair center used part BN94-01518F.

I don't know if what they put in as replacement is an inferior mainboard, but there is significant degradation of the picture quality. This is really bothering me because I spent $300 out of my pocket to just to get the mainboard put in. I would've put that money towards a new set if I knew I'd end up with this.

The repair company gave me some warranty and its about to expire in less than a day. If someone can please help figure out what's going on here, I can go back the repair company and point out what they've done wrong. So far, I have nothing credible to make a claim for doing the repair over...

UPDATE: I went into the service menu and found out this is a CORTEZ board.

I don't even know if they were supposed to use this board on a LN-T4061f tv set.

After reading lot of threads, it seems a lot of people have had or having issues with CORTEZ. The firmware on my cortez (pic in the first post) is 1020/1011/1009 which I believe is up-to-date.

Is it possible I have to change any setting like "Panel Option", under Option Byte menu in service mode?



Should I change Panel Option from 40AM to something else?

UPDATE: The repair company offered 30 days warranty. I got so sick of horrible PQ with Cortez that I took it back to them and explained them the whole Cortez and Trident board differences. They said they would try to replace the board, but there is nothing they could do if Samsung sent them whatever compatible part.

I don't know how they got a hold of Trident board, but they put a new board and it is a Trident! I am very satisfied with the PQ now. I'm using the post 1499 calibration settings and this TV is back to its good ol days.

New firmware:




So the bottomline is, this TV (4061f) looks horrible with a Cortez. No offense to those that claim Cortez is better than Trident. Trident is the only board for this TV. If you ever have to replace mainboard on this TV, do all you can to get a Trident (assuming your TV was manufactured prior to Jan 2008). eBay seems like the only place where you can still find these old boards. I guess a good rule of thumb is to ask the seller for the mfg date on the board and check to see if it was made before Jan 2008.

I'm assuming you're buying it used, because no store carries this older model anymore.

This TV is great as long as you buy one with a Trident board in it. Its easy to check. You can look at the firmware version and tell if it is a Cortez or a Trident. IF you need steps to get this info, look around or let me know.

Samsung did kind of "betray" its customers by trying to cut costs on parts. The new mainboard (cortez) is obviously of an inferior quality or is poorly compatible.

If you're buying this TV at a great price (<$700 for a used), and its a Trident, and expect not to have any failures with the TV, I think you will be satisfied with it!

In the end, Its really your call to make...