Sceptre X37SV-Naga review - Page 125

I somehow doubt it, as I'm pretty sure I'd be able to notice something like that. Wouldn't it simply hiccup and get all blocky similar to bad reception of OTA HD?

I never seem to have my camera near by when it happens so this is sortof what it looks like:



And it doesn't suddenly cut straight to those streaks, it sort of freezes the frame, makes a popping sound, then slowly fades maybe 2-3 seconds to the streaks. Then it does nothing else until I power cycle. I still haven't tested using the source buttons yet after one of these.

Also remember this only happens the first time I turn it on for the day (its usually on almost all day as I use it as a PC monitor) and then not again until at least the next day.

The vertical lines like that indicate a problem in the LCD panel itself or an issue with the video processor chip or the connection from the main pcb to the lcd panel. When you see those streaks like that, it means that nothing is updating pixel data as it's being fed to the panel. It just keeps repeating the same line over and over. The pop sound you hear, can't be good. Perhaps something is arcing in the power supply and that scrambles the video processor's brain. Power cycling brings it back and once the temp rises enough, the power supply is better behaved. It will probably get worse over time, until it fails completely. It wouldn't be the first power supply that failed on this model set. At that point, it may or may not be worth it to replace the power supply board. If you're handy with a screwdriver, you can do it yourself. Otherwise, with the $100+ dollar shipping each way + $250 price of the supply board, it may not be worth it.

P.J.

Here is a pic I just took:



I tried using the other source buttons and they didn't do anything, either did using the volume buttons. After I used those buttons I noticed the LED was blinking instead of just staying one color. I also wasn't able to power off using the normal power button, and I had to use the switch in back. This really isn't looking good. When I turned it back on, it was on a different source.

Also I don't have a job right now so I don't have any money to fix it either. I would probably be able to fix it myself, but I'd definitely want to be sure that was the problem first.

Also, could this be any way related to the heat wave? My room is always hotter than any other room in the house and now it's been getting even worse with the heat outside.

From your description, I'd be really surprised if the problem didn't have something to do with heat. To narrow it down, the only thing I can suggest, is to call up the Sceptre service dept and describe the symptoms and see what they think, as they undoubtedly have the most experience with troubleshooting these sets. They can give you pricing on the power supply and main circuit boards.

P.J.

I still don't have the money to fix my problems. The problem went away for a while, then came back for a while, and now seemed to be gone again for the last several days.

But today I powered off, then powered back on a few minutes later, only to hear the sound of some kind of sizzling, which really freaked me out. If I don't have enough money to fix it, I sure as hell don't have the money to replace it. The screen didn't turn on. The standby light, which is usually on even when the screen is off, was out. I was fearing for the worst by now.

I flipped the switch on the back and let it sit for a little over 30 seconds. I flipped it back on, still no standby light. I sat there for a few seconds, and the standby light magically came back on. I then tried powering on again and it worked this time. Screen's been working fine all day since, not even the old problem I was having happened.

I think I figured out what happened earlier though. When I went to go watch TV, no 480i sources would display at all. 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p all worked fine. I think the 480i scaler got fried or something.

At least my cable box has an internal scaler for those channels, so that's not a big deal.

So, for the experts out there, could today's problem be related to the other problems I had been having? Or is my TV simply having a slow and painful death?

Okay, strange...

The 480i scaler is working again after I had the TV off all night.

This is too weird..

So it finally died. I'm almost certain it's the power supply, because the standby light doesn't even come on. Does that sound about right? We tried replacing the fuse and that didn't do any good.

Anyway, if I wanted to install a new power supply, how much would it cost and how would I get it? I can't do it right now as I don't have a job, but for future reference.

BTW, I also managed to kill my PC's power supply on the same day. Talk about bad luck. I tripped over the PC's power cord and accidentally pulled it out of the wall while carrying the TV out of my room, and it wouldn't turn on after that. Fortunately, my mom bought me a new PSU and that fixed that.

Unless you can manage to find someone parting out a Sceptre X37SV and is willing to sell the power supply to you, then your only alternative is to call up Sceptre. They will sell parts and they can tell you how much it will cost. If I had to guess, I'd say $150 for the power supply, but don't take my word on that. Call them up. It costs nothing to ask.

On the other hand, I wouldn't rule out a loose connection inside, as that could explain the symptoms that you're currently seeing.

P.J.

Hmm... have any idea where I would look for a loose connection? My knowledge on the insides of a LCD are limited.

Well, the power supply connector is on the left side of the main pcb near the group of 6 big capacitors, as you face the back of the set, after you remove the back. There is also connector on the main pcb, that connects through a cable to the front panel led and button board. If that connector has come loose, you will not be able to turn the set on. I think it's more likely a problem with the power supply, but it doesn't hurt to check for other possibilities.

P.J.

Thanks for sharing to us. Very helpful..

UPDATE!

I fixed it with absolutely no cost whatsoever using the technique mentioned on this page:

http://www.fixya.com/support/t234409...er_come_but_no

(solution #1)

Who would have ever thought a simple piece of plastic could fix this problem

I'm sooo happy right now.

Hey, me again

I attached a 12 foot toslink cable to the hidden optical port on the ATSC tuner inside the set, however I'm only getting 2.0 PCM, no 5.1 DD. Is there a service menu, or even jumper setting or something that would change this?

Hi there. I have X37 that's been acting up for the past few weeks and seems to have "died" this evening (can't even power it on). I heard some scary, crackily sounds before it took its last breath.

My question is - morphinapg - after you got yours up & running again have you had any problems since? I'd rather not bother with the repairs if its futile.

Thanks!

Yeah, that "fix" only kept it running for a few days. I had to actually re-solder the bad joints. Mine had scorch marks around them, so they were easy to point out. It was my first time soldering, so I probably didn't do the greatest job. It seems I did a good enough job to set it back to a state approximately 4-6 months before it originally died.

Around this time originally, the TV would make a pop sound and the picture would freeze until I turned it off and then back on again. It does this usually once a day, and usually not again unless I leave the TV off again for an extended period of time.

Anyway, if you are good enough at soldering or know someone who is, I think it's probably possible to get it up and running back to its original state.

Also, btw don't bother hooking up the internal hidden toslink adapter to your sound system, it only outputs Stereo PCM anyway instead of 5.1 Dolby Digital. Probably why they didn't use it in the first place.

Thanks for this. My X37's HDMI input failed in a peculiar way, unencrypted HDMI worked fine but HDCP did not work. Devices connected to that input would either not work at all or would show video for up to a minute, then shut off, some with a message saying 'TV not HDCP compliant'.
Some devices which I could put into an unencrypted HDMI mode (i.e. play AVI's from a USB flash drive) would work fine.

I finally got time to try this, pulled out the circuit board, and 4 of the surface mount pins on the HDMI connector were loose and not making any contact (they could be moved with a slight push from an Xacto blade and had no continuity), one had high resistance. There was very little solder on the pins.
It was a tricky soldering job but I managed to solder the pins back on and 1080p HDCP is working perfectly now.

Sceptre was zero help, for a manufacturing defect they should have fessed up to and provided out of warranty support for.
Class action.

Hi. So I received an X37SV-Naga in non working order a few months back. I just not got to looking at. When plugged in, it go no power. So PSU, right? I took it apart and checked voltage. On the primary side everything got 120V. And I got no volts on secondary side. I took the PSU out and looked underneath. Where the power comes in to that big thing was scorched to the point where the solder actually came of the contacts and was shorting the board. So to test my theory I cleaned the board of the splatter and bent the pins to come in contact again. I also Added foam underneath because it looked like it shorted on the metal chassis through the plastic liner (which is really thin!). So I did this and voila! The TV worked! So I went to the next step of trying to keep this TV cool (Sceptre's get really hot!) so I was looking for a 12V power source (with the tv on the whole time). Next thing I know the TV shuts off and a poof of smoke from the bottom board (signal board? where all the connections are made). Took the cover off and these 2 resistors are smoking up. Plug it in, and not even turning it on the start sizzling and smoking again. So I need to replace these. Does anyone know what the rating of these are? Also, have any ideas as to why they started to fry? Thanks! I'll post pics in a bit.

Jose

My unit blew out two solder connections on the power supply. Over the last two weeks it would shut down about once a day and would require unplugging/plugging in the power to get it come back on. Finally, it went out completely with no standby light.

Today I finally got around to taking it down off the wall and pulling the back panel. Pulled the power supply board and there were two obvious joints where the solder had melted away. They are about an inch over from where the 120V comes into the board at the edge of the board. A quick solder and it was back online again.

One thing I noticed on my set. The plastic barrier between the power supply board and the chassis wasn't installed correctly. It rode up one of the offset posts. If I tried to lay the plastic shield flat, completely over the post, then it would develop a bow and wouldn't lay flat over the other posts. I cut a piece of plastic to lay behind the existing piece of plastic to give it better protection from grounding.

Two hours and counting. We'll see how long the fix lasts.

I did both of those fixes and my set worked perfect for a few months, and now for about 6 months it's been back to how it was the months before it died. I have chosen to just leave it on 24/7, and that seems to keep it working most of the time. Occasionally it will still shut off, and I'll need to flip the switch (sometimes hundreds of times in a row) until it comes back on.

Then again, I might not have done the best job at soldering it, idk. It doesn't matter though, since I'm saving my money to buy a new TV soon. As long as this TV lasts another 3 months or so, I'm fine.

A very old post, but I feel compelled to respond anyway. I obviously can't speak for all permutations of this set, but my Sceptre X37SV does indeed output DD 5.1 from the hidden connector. Somewhere in the dark recesses of this thread, I'm sure I posted that my set does not have a connector there, but there is a place on the pc board for one. Since I didn't have any spare Toslink inputs on my HTR, I opted for spdif over coax and it's been working for 5+ years now with full DD5.1. Perhaps the later versions of this set that do have the Toslink connector installed, can't output anything but stereo PCM?

On my set, the analog and digital tuners are completely separate and only the digital tuner outputs over spdif. If I switch to the analog tuner, I still get the audio from whatever the digital tuner was lasted set to. That's not a big deal, as I have the HTR setup with a macro that switches to the analog audio from the TV when I press the appropriate button on the remote to switch to the analog tuner.

P.J.

Since that post, my TV lasted roughly another year. It died again, and this time a resolder didn't help. I suppose I could still get a new power supply from them, but the TV itself isn't in great condition anyway, and all those times the TV shut itself off left some kind of burn-in in the center of the screen, as well as some burn in from my PC's taskbar, so for now I'm using my old 1080i CRT until I can save up for a new 3DTV.


Idk, mine had the toslink connector already, hidden inside and attached to the digital tuner, but I've confirmed that it only outputs Stereo PCM, and only on the digital tuner source.


same here

Does anyone have an extra stand or base for the Sceptre X37SV Naga? Please?

Willing to pay...

Thank you

I should have one around here somewhere. Where are you located?

Not too far from you it looks like. At least in the same state. Orland Park, IL.

That would be awesome!

If you need any other parts from that model, I have a ton of spare parts.
Edited by smokedogg - 8/20/12 at 7:45pm

I'll try to find it tomorrow. As much as my wife likes to throw stuff away that isn't the kind of thing she would trash. PM me your address and I'll send it to you.

This thread is just way too long to search for the answer, so i'll just ask. Anyone ever able to find out why there is no sound when connecting with HDMI? I have tried switching from HDMI to DVI and still no sound.

edit...had to do with a setting in my cable box. Nevermind
Edited by smokedogg - 8/23/12 at 8:17pm