The Official HP Pavilion 1080P DLP Owner's Thread - Page 311

TMag that's definitely a early sign that your lamp is about to give up the ghost. That happened to me a few times then one day i heard a loud pop inside my Tv & had to replace the lamp w/ the spare one I had bought.

I will be leaving this TV to my mom, as I will most likely buy the new Laser DLP HDTVs that Mitsusbishi will roll out in 2008. No Color wheels or Lamps in those.

TMSKILZ - Thanks for the feedback. I was afraid that it may be a processor board or power supply issue. Now I just need to be able to find a lamp in stock. It looks like the HP Store is out of stock again.

Go Warriors! Go 49ers! Go Trojans!

Hi, I've been searching this forum for my issue and I've found some things that seem like it might match, but perhaps not. Any help or general clarification is greatly appreciated.

I bought a md6580n (oct/2005 manufacture date) from a guy who said it was posterizing. I got it home and posterization isn't the only problem it has.

What I'm getting is horizontal red lines whenever there are bright/white objects on the screen. The red lines start a few (maybe 5?) scanlines down below where the object starts. An "object" can be any bright pixel(s) and I'd say the brightness range is 70% to 100% (100% being pure white and 0% being black). In a bright scene, all lighter colors and the edges are red.

For example, if I go to "source->visual select" on the remote, the horizontal white lines in there are underlined by red lines that run the whole length of the screen. However, the redness goes away in 30-45 minutes (not counting idling, the TV has to be displaying video).

I hooked up 2 DVD players on various inputs to make sure it wasn't specific to one device or my gear. I tried component, S-video, and composite.

My feeling was that I could fix this by checking for cold solders and replacing convergence ICs. After reading about light engine problems in these units, I'm not sure if that's the case or not. "reflowing" the board will be free, replacing the logic board is cheap (according to HP Pavilion support), and replacing the light engine is ~$2000 from what I'm reading here.

As I hinted, I did call Pavilion support. They weren't sure what the problem was since it goes away. They opted for the light engine but admitted they were only guessing. I have to assume they were taking the statistical safe bet.

They indicated that it's $220 for CompUSA to look at it. I paid $300 for the set, so I have to assume that the seller thinks it's the light engine.

Anyway, thanks again for any input!

Doug.

49ers? yuck! hehehehe, I remember those classic 49er vs Dal battles from the 90's.

Yea, HPShopping.com is out of stock of the lamps, I bought one off them a month ago, total was $380! yikes!

I called up Warrant tech to have the purple shadow above the top screen fixed, I am waiting for them to get back to me, I also hope they reimburse me for the cost of the lamp since they had misinformed me about my Lamp warranty.

They received more lamps in yesterday, so fortunately I will not have to go through the holiday season without the TV. My kids and I will go nuts if we can't watch the Rose Bowl in HD on the big TV. It is still hard to swallow spending $350 for a light bulb. Someone is making a lot of money on these things.

The niner - cowboy mathups of the 80s was the best rivalry ever. I don't have much to go with right now, but hopefully the niners can turn their team around in the next few years.

I will post back once I receive my lamp and let you know how it went,.

Does anyone have setting recommendations for Toshiba HD-XA2 with the MD6580N?

From scanning this thread it looks like several folks have stated that 1080/24p doesn't work. I have the same wavy picture unfortuately. One person did print an email from HP that stated the D36 firmware should fix this problem. Has anyone tried that and does the problem still exist? Assuming it does, what's the recommended output from the XA2 then? Should I go to 1080p/60 for HD material? Do you change it for SD material?

Also any suggestions for the other HD-XA2 settings? I would like to have a nice starting point before I run Avia.

Here was the quote from the HP folks I saw in an earlier thread that got me thinking I need to flash my TV again:

Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.

The MD6580N can display 1080p at 24 and 30 frames/second when connecting a compatible 1080p device to the TV using component, VGA, or an HDMI connection. 60 frames/second should work with most connections from a DVD player or other similar device, but may not be displayed when connecting a PC. For best quality, try running 1080p at 24 or 30 frames/second.

There are two firmware updates available for the TV at this time. When trying to view a 1080p source, you should be running either the D36 or D29+ version of the firmware. In most cases, the D36 version of the firmware should be used.

My md5880n, purchased in November 2005, started showing signs of posterization last month. The extended warranty company (Warrantech) sent out a technician and he diagnosed the problem as a defective light engine. The warranty company decided that it was too expensive to replace the light engine so provided me a credit at the store where I bought the unit.

I've received my credit and have moved on...

Geez, all of these posts are making me nervous. Without an extended warranty, I'll have a nice $3600 paperweight in my bonus room loft if my 65" is anything like the others here.

Amazing that a $100 Billion company can abandon an expensive, obviously poorly designed product after less than 2 years. If this was a $700 Dell PC that was being rendered useless by a design problem in the percentages that we're seeing here, there would be so much more publicity.

And I feel bad for all of those extended warranty companies who are taking a bath on these sets. Well, maybe I don't feel too bad for them.

Well, my light engine was replaced last night. The tech showed up at 4:45pm and I had been told to expect it to take about an hour. He had the new engine installed around 6:00 or so, but its alignment was way off, so he spent the next hour and half trying to get it into place. Finally he gave up, leaving at 7:30pm (poor guy had to drive a couple hours to get home too). Now the whole picture is about a half-inch too low and too far left.

Apparently a case manager is going to be calling me later this afternoon, to discuss the situation. The tech mentioned that they may have to replace the TV because the guides that secure the light engine while allowing adjustment aren't letting the new one go far enough to be correct.

When we measured a standard-def signal, it's not centered on the screen (obviously). There are about 5" of black on the left, and about 6 3/8" on the right. The tech called tier 2 support, who apparently told him that is normal. Doesn't make any sense to me, especially since the info bar at the bottom of the screen (the blue one that comes up to display the source, signal strength, etc) is aligned almost exactly with the SD picture, i.e., also not centered.

Can some of you do me a favor and measure the width of the pillarbars on both sides when your TV is displaying an SD signal? I certainly don't remember my previous light engine being off center, but I suppose it's within the realm of possibility that I just didn't notice, so it'd be nice to have some backup when I'm arguing with HP support.

thanks!

Ctomguy, I have about 5 3/4" on the left and about 6" on the left.

Regards,
Mike

I have a similar problem since the light engine was replaced almost 2 years ago now.
The real b*tch is if you use component cables you can shift the picture to centre it perfectly which is what I did. I mean 1080i is 1080i and I prefer the softer component signal anyway.

But, when I hook up my computer via hdmi you are not allowed to access these features as the tv blocks them. So when I use hdmi signal the picture is shifted to the left about 3/4".

Mike

p.s. my tech guy said he couldnt't centre it any better than the way it was.
I wonder if there is anything in the service menu that could help this.

I have 5-7/8" on the left and 5-15/16" on the right (65" TV) with a standard def dvd image.

Art

In just got a check for $1450 to replace the 5880 from Warren teck. I took the check, only took about 2 weeks. Now they should send the $250 I paid to Compusa. I can still use it as the faces turn yellow after 30 minutes.

What credit did you get? and at what firm.

Checking out the 52 inch LCD Sharp, Sony and Samsung, BUT they also have big problems if you look at the AVS sites. Will wait until the new sets are announced at CES.

Ray

Does anyone have the slightest clue as to what is going bad in the light engines? Just seems strange that several posts indicate the picture is good for 30-60 minutes, then deteriorates. This seems like perhaps a common problem that could be repaired short of replacing the entire light engine...

Did anyone buy the $999 Toshiba 65" 1080P DLP set that Fry's had on a one day sale today? Might make a good backup to our fragile HP's!

First off, I would like to apologize if this is posted in the incorrect place.

I have had the HP Pavillion md5880n for a little over a year now (~16 months) and never had a single problem with it. I average about 5 hours of viewing time per day on this HDTV. Yesterday morning I turned on the TV and it was normal as usual. I went to work and when I got back that night I turned on the TV to find a little surprise. The entire right side of the screen is pitch black.

Example #1: While watching a show.

Example #2: Even the menu is cut off.


As you can see in the examples above, it's as if the screen is perfectly cut in half and the right side is entirely black. From the first day I received the TV until now I have never experienced a single audio or video problem.

Has anyone else had this issue or does any one know what the problem might be? Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

How can I tell what firmware I am running? Thanks.

Any help on figuring out the firmware version?

Settings --> Setup --> About

Thanks.

Try a power cycle reset. Unplug the power cord for 30 seconds and power the set back you should be ok.

I'll try that tonight and update tomorrow if it worked.

Thanks for the info.

Tried that last night and nothing. I even left it unplugged for more than 10 second and it didn't help.

Any other suggestions?

Well, this will be the last night I will be watching my md5880n. One of my hdmi slots is not working and best buy told me they would not be repairing it because it cost $2000 to replace the circuit board. I really enjoyed my TV. I had it since Feb. 06. I'm getting a LCD as a replacement. A 52' Toshiba 120hz.

Ouch! Is your light engine working fine? If so i might be interested in buying the Light Engine off you. PM me, thanks.

Sorry to hear this. My HDMI-1 port died, but I had already begun using a HDMI switcher, so I'm surviving.

If you would, please tell us more about your service experience. Did you have an extended warranty, and if so, with whom? Is Best Buy now doing the servicing, now that CompUSA is going out of business? Will they take away your md5880n (like when a car is totaled, the insurance company gives you $$$ and takes the car)?

It sounds like these devices weren't built to last. I've already had one light engine replaced, and I've got the heat sensor going off daily, a whine, bad buzz from the speakers, bad HDMI, etc etc etc. HP really let us down.

Thanks.

Yeah, it's kinda of a bummer! I really enjoyed my tv. I had purchased the BB extended warranty (5 year). Sucks, because I didn't even reach year 3 yet. They said it was too much to repair. Also, the manager at the BB I went to said they were getting a lot of warranty returns with this set. They replaced it on Sunday with a Toshiba 120hz LCD. I was really upset watching them carry it away. I never wanted to replace it. The picture was just as good as when I first bought it. After plugging in the LCD, I can honestly say, it doesn't hold a candle to my departed HP.

Sadly, I have read that these units have given a lot of people problems. Like the ones you've described. Now my task is too find a new HDTV that is good enough to make me forget about my HP.

My advice as a fellow HP HDTV owner is wait until after CES2008 is over to find out what new techs & HDTVs will be arriving in 2008 before buying your new HDTV.

I read many of your posts and many of you seem to have a problem with the light engine. Is it possible that the problem my HP is having is due to the light engine being faulty?

Just sharing in hopes it will help others experiencing "light engine" trouble.

My 6580 developed posterization issue that is corrected by adjusting the color wheel index - as explained in detail in earlier post. This posterization used to begin only after about 30 minutes of TV on. Adjusting index worked fine for a few months, without further problem.

Recently, new picture issues have surfaced. Posterization is almost immediate, unless index is set very low. Even with setting low, after about 2 hours of TV on, posterization begins followed by flashing blue in the background followed within a couple of minutes by an unwatchable mess. After turning off the TV from this messy state, the screen continues to flash occasionally for a minute or two. Quickly cycling power does not correct the problem, but leaving the TV off for about 10 minutes results in about 20 more minutes of excellent picture again before symptoms reappear. Longer time off approaches the 2hr limit.

The above led me to conclude the observable pq symptoms are heat related. I removed the back cover and positioned a portable room fan behind the TV to blow across the electronics. In this config, the TV runs all day now without problem.

Not knowing root cause, I plan to wait and see if the room fan fix holds. If it continues to work, I will probably add a box fan inside the TV and replace the back cover. I'm starting to wonder if the root cause may be as simple as one or both of the little box fans inside the TV is slowing down.