Samsung DLP Reliability - Page 4

I have had my Samsung 56 DLP for 9 months now and I am very happy with it. The one problem I had is a recognized problem for some of these sets. Because of the intense heat generated the DVI cable in the back ages very quickly and can malfunction. It needs to be replaced. That was the one repair I have had on my set and Samsung came out the second day after I called and replaced it. No further problems.

howdy! i am new to this. i was wondering if anyone has any current info and or advice on the samsung HLS 7178 71" DLP? i am looking at a leftover new one in the box, that is however out of warrantee. the price seems fair, but i am concerned about it being out of warrantee. what are my risk/cost factors with repairs? i found plenty of talk on on the web by people waiting to get one in 2006, but nothing current in 2007 on anyone who's actually owned one for a while. any advice or help appreciated. thanks...

And indeed probably a lot fewer.

I don't understand. How can it be new in a box and out of warranty? Is this at an authorized dealer or store? If not, I would stay away!

The "S" models seemed to suffer from light tunnel failures after 9-18 months of use. There is a whole thread on this. The light tunnel causes a shadow down the screen as some of the internal reflectors in the light tunnel become detached from the housing.

The repair is expensive and, according to the thread, parts had been failing so frequently that the replacement parts had been on back order.

Other than that problem, the only other major issues seemed to be geometry issues (slanted picture or bowing on the sides of the picture) and noisy power supplies.

With these issues, and the moving parts that the color wheel concept introduces, anybody buying one of these sets should factor an extended warranty into the purchase price.

Folks:
I have a first round HLM 507W which was delivered in December 2003. It had a list price of $5K although a bunch of us got together for a "power buy" and actually paid much less. This was still well over two times what a 50" DLP goes for today. I don't regret a single penny of what I spent. For a number of AVSers who discussed the strengths and weaknesses of this initial DLP offering from Samsung, they replaced our motherboard with a board that ultimately became the HLN models. There were some initial problems with HDCP handshaking but they turned out to be caused by Scientific Atlanta and Time Warner, not Samsung. But Samsung stuck with me until the issue was resolved - at no small expense to them. I did buy a second bulb after two years and put it in the TV but the old bulb was still fine and is now a "back up."

Most people who see our TV remark on the amazing picture quality. My service menu was tweaked by a service guy using settings posted here on the AVS Forum. Three and a half years of outstanding performance. I am looking to get a bigger 1080p screen for our media room but I haven't seen anything yet that looks as good as my HLM.

So, I would have to say that my experience with Samsung products AND service has been outstanding. I imagine that as volumes of sets shipped goes up, it is harder logistically to provide the same level of excellence but my experience has been that Samsung is head-and-shoulders above any of the other mass consumer electronics companies that I have dealt with (oh the nightmares I could report dealing with Pioneer and Sony). There are great companies in the high end (e.g., B & K) as well as in the low end (e.g., Oppo, HSU) but there are a lot of companies where money is everything and customers ARE the problem. I absolutely do not see Samsung in this latter category. As BillP pointed out above, it is the folks with problems who make the most noise on AVS. Considering how many sets Samsung has sold in the last three and a half years, I see a few (repeatedly) squeaky wheels here but certainly no avalanche of complaints.

I would guess that a good deal of the unhappiness that people are expressing stems from local service organizations rather than with Samsung itself. The service organizations just have no reason to care for long-term customer loyalty but Samsung does. While I empathize with those who have had persistent problems, I will certainly consider Samsung as a primary contender when I buy my next TV.

I've had my 5678W for almost 2 years. No problems, very happy...

I've read where the models made in Dec of 2006 are actually the ones that have the bad light tunnel. They used a bad glue that month. It must have been on sale.

I've had my HLS5087W since November of 06. I've been watching it A LOT and haven't had 1 single problem. I hope it stays that way! It seems most of the people with problems have them early on.

I bought my HL-S5687W from Crutchfield and it was delivered on 1/8/07. Since that time, I have been able to watch the TV for 5 weeks out of almost 5 months. The rest of the time it is waiting for repair authorization since I have no repair facility within the magical 39 miles or in the repair shop for 3 weeks at a time. I just got it back and now it is out again. Samsung will do nunityuothing except have them pick it up again. I'll never buy another Samsung product as long as I live. The sorry part is that my attorney says it will cost more to bring litigation than to just buy another TV. Well, that's Bush's Republican America where corporations are protected and consumers are defrauded at every opportunity.

Discussing the various brands with my local "mom & pop" retailer was enlightening. They sell all the major brands.

In discussing Samsung, the retailer indicated that you'll get two things from a Samsung DLP - a great picture, and an ongoing relationship with the repair man.

It does seem that quality is an afterthought for most manufacturers now days.

Mixerdlb,

Wow, not sure what is going on with your situation, but mine has been the complete opposite in regards to standing behind their product. Though I have had some of the "downtime" you described as I am outside the magical 39 miles also. I have had all issues either taken care of parts/repair wise or TV's swapped out within my 2 years of ownership. Heck, I even got upgraded from an original R6167 to an S6188 at no cost after almost a year. And now an upgrade option to the LED T6189 for a small fee. So again, I am not sure why you are getting different treatment.

How are you posturing yourself in your communications? I have been calm, provided painfully detailed information with dates, times and names. Been very professional and believe Samsung to be one of the best companies I have dealt with when problems have come up. I compare this to the big named electronics/computer companies as I run a large IT shop and see a lot of problems.

Hey and let's keep the politics out of this. It has nothing to do with the situation. Listening to a little to much Lou Dobbs can make you feel that way though... Remember, we can always change the channel or stop buying from a company. It's a free country (kind of...).

aydu,

This statement is very true. Not only do I now know my service man's name (Brian) but also his son who helps on occasion (John). Sad, but true. But as I stated in my prior post, they do stand behind their products 100% and then some in certain situations. I have not had the same outcomes with my Sony equipment.

Yep, you are right. George Bush is the reason your TV is broken and is also behind the consiracy to keep from getting it repaired. Personally, my toilet is sticking badly and I have a suspicion that those nasty republicans and george are behind that as well!

If we elect a democrat, your TV will no doubt be repaired overnight and my toilet will work flawlessly.

POOP, our upstairs toliet has not worked for years either......now I know why....I went and turned off the cut off valve and it still fills up, what is up with that?

It's obvious that people's experience and opinions about reliability, quality, and manufacturer commitment relies heavily on the competence and attitude of the local service organization.

I've been purchasing "high-tech" consumer electronics for at least 40 years, especially in the audio/video end of things, usually when they "first come out" (and paying way too much compared to what I would have if I had waited).

As I've gotten older, wiser (and poorer), I've learned to "wait a bit" till the price starts to come down and the new technology gets a chance to settle a bit.

I bought my Samsung 6163 DLP at the end of the model run (October, 2005), "Last one" at Sam's Club, "used in a promotion for 1 week" and put away in the wharehouse", for about $1800 less than my son had paid for the same set at Circuit City 10 months earlier...

My "Samsung experience" has been absolutely the best I can recall (both with the manufacturer and the local service organization) in over 40 years.

I've never encountered a manufacturer more dedicated to customer satisfaction and perfection in their products.

After about a month of service, I experienced a minor, sporadic series of incidents when the TV would suddenly "turn itself off" for no apparent reason (I at first wrote it off to my rural location and constant fluctuation in the grid voltages).

After a half-dozen episodes, I called the Samsung toll-free service # about my "problem". They made an appointment for me on the spot with a local service agency (about 70 miles away) in the Metro St Louis area.

I received a phone call later that day, answered a few questions, and was told that they had a good idea what the problem might be; would order parts and get back to me.

Two days later got another call setting an appointment the following day...

I was a bit shocked when the service guy showed up with a mini-van crammed full of Samsung "Next-day-air" boxes and cartons, and proceeded to make four trips to my family room while I held the door, carrying those boxes in.

The guy explained that my problem could arise from one of two possible issues, and that Samsung, rather than "take a chance" on a callback, has authorized replacing everything inside my set with new, upgraded components. (over $3500 in parts at retail)

He replaced almost everything in the set except the speakers and screen; installed new firmware, and spent another 25 minutes tweaking and perfecting settings that were beyond my comprehension.

...even got a new projection lamp.

The set has performed flawlessly ever since with picture quality equal to anything I've seen and superior to most... ...I've since "sold" at least 5 sets for Samsung to folks that have visited my home and gone "on and on" over the picture quality compared to other HDTV sets they've seen.

Has one little issue a year later, that I'd never noticed before, since my set's in a home-theater arrangement and utilized only as a monitor through the DVI VGA and HDMI inputs from a settop box and a $4500 Windows Media Center computer used to record and time-shift full-quality HD programming.

The set is somewhat "abused", since I tend to leave it on, often 24 hours a day, almost like a night light. (I'd hate to extimate the hours on the "original" projection bulb, but it would be significant over the last 21 months of near-constant use)

Back to the second service incident...

I'd never used the speakers in the set, since all sound is outputted directly to the video control amplifier via optical cables from the computer and/or STB.

I had sporadically attempted to use the speakers via the a/v inputs to play movie with someone else's video camera (rather than download the video to the computer first as is the practice with my own videos). It usually "didn't work", but I never took the time to investigate since it was easier to just plug the camera into my intigrated vcr and play that way.

It took me a year to take the time to call Samsung customer service to get help with possible settings necessary to jack an accessory directly into the set to play analog sound and video... ...quickly found that "I needed a service call"...

My set was now 15 months past the warantee (one day past) (Samsung had automatically extended the warrantee by 90 days when I registered the warrantee on their website.

I was lamenting the fact that I had waited until the warantee ran out to find out that there was a problem; it was my own fault; but mentioned that the problem had existed for some time... ..."no problem" said he... ...said he couldn't guarantee it, but he was sure that Samsung sould extend the warrantee to cover that repair, all he had to do was explain and submit a request...

...called back two days later to tell me that they had extended the warrantee for another 40 days and placed a service request... ...got another call the next day from the same service company in St Louis that had performed so well over a year earlier. ...same procedure: they had ordered parts to fix whatever it might be and would call me back...

Two days, more next-day-air, another visit with more boxes...

The rep took the back off and immediately found a unplugged wire to the sound amplifier that he evidently forgot to re-plug when changing all the other parts (and never noticed in his checkout since the sound came from other sources to my amplifier).

Instant fix! ...not Samsung's fault... ...he then proceeded to check out every other function, noticed the inside of my projection screen had accumulated significant dust (one of the consequences of living in the country near a gravel road), and cleaned it.
...amazing improvement in brightness; something I hadn't noticed due to constant watching and slow deteriation.

Bottom line, Samsung's customer service has been amazing; the company's commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction has been unlike any I have ever experienced; the quality and service of the set has been "above and beyond" what I could ask...

...and my "local" authorised service provider (Schneider TV in north St Louis County) has been responsive and fantastic!.

My set is still performing well with probably over 11,000 hours on the projection bulb!

I'm so sold on Samsung after my experience with my TV that I've bough a number of other Samsung products without hesitation since, including two printers, two LCD computer monitors, a couple of hard-drives and a cellphone... ...I've yet to be disappointed.

If anyone's been able to struggle through this long and enthusiastic post, and is still with me ...

All this reminds me that it's surely time to buy a bulb...

Does anyone have a source that they could recommend for this not-insignificant purchase?

I have had my 4674 for about 3 years. it has made serveral loud pops over the past couple of years but continued to work fine. A week ago after a long day of kid dvd's the color went out.

The picture is perfect, no freezes or lines, it is just black and white on all inputs and on the menus. I read through the forums and couldn't really find the exact same issues. There are a lot of people with negative or frozen black and white images but this seems a little different since the picture is fine just no color. Could this be the color wheel? I don't hear the typical high pitched spin that I used to hear when the tv powered up.

Yep, the color wheel can certainly do that. If the glass segments break off completely from the wheel, the light will pass through to the DLP chip with no color, resulting in a perfect B&W picture.

We purchased this unit an HLN 507W in March 2003. The set is on almost all the time and have had to replace one color wheel after 3 years and I replaced the lamp which no one will believe had 18000 hours on it. The set did develop a problem last year with diagonal black lines showing and after sending it to our local repair shop they replaced the digital board and all was fine. Three months after the repair the picture started going black or just locking up with a picture which looks black and white. The set has to be unplugged because it will not turn off with remote or manual button. The repair shop charged me $400 for the digital board so I bought another which I found online for $224 and replaced it. Alas the problem still persists, black screen or locks up and have to unplug to start back up. I forgot to mention that when the unit starts back up after unplugging the quality is great and it may operate great for hours or minutes before locking up again. Any ideas on this failure? I will say we love the unit and I have done the lamp and color wheel replacements myself. I also replaced the digital board myself a couple of days ago which only took about 30 minutes.

fltscorch - try searching the forum here for "unplug", "unplugged" I recently saw a post on here where someone had a similar problem which prevented them from powering down their TV. HTH

I just started having a problem myself with an HLN5065W. I've been getting the occasional blue "iridescence" in shadows. Now when I turn the set on I get a back and white grid then come color flicker, as if color wheel was the problem, then all of a sudden it "snaps" to normal after "warming up". I can't find good information, but I think it is more than the color wheel, probably the DMD board. At $250-$400 I might as well buy a new TV. I guess my experience has been average to above average, I've never replaced the bulb and have over 7,000 hrs on the set. But I'd like to think a $3,500 TV would last longer than 4 years. But be sure, its replacement will be a Samsung.

Bougth my 50" DLP in Dec 2003. Still going strong. No problems.

We have not turned the unit off since the last cycle of lockups and has been on 24 hours a day for the last week with no shut downs or lockups. Quality is great and our intentions are to leave the unit on unless we leave town for a couple of days. It seems the problem must be caused when we turn the unit on or off. It has worked like this before then would start to shut down or lock up if we turned it off in evenings and back on the next day. This time we are not shutting it off unless we absolutely have to.

Have had my HLP-5685w for 4 or 5 years now.
Use for at least 2 hours a day.
Same bulb, same great, bright display.
Zero problems.

Just about 2 years now with my 56" Sammy DLP and no problems whatsoever. About 3000 hours on the bulb.

Had my HLS 7178 for 2 years now. ISF Caled. No problems, beautiful PQ. The only concern is this light tunnel collapse many folks are experiencing ( thread on the forum ) but seems to be a fairly simple fix that SS is now covering ( even out of warranty ) Love this set.....

bobcel,

I agree Samsung service at the corporate has been excellent. My folks set HLS 50" at $2,900 had a half dozen repair attempts (it started with engine collpse at 6 months old). The last tech out a few months ago said they could replace everthing inside, and hope they fix it; but he said why bother! It's junk! Samsung replaced it with a new one, and my folks could not be happier. Of course now the 50" is only $1,100; but that is kewl too. The new one is even better and works great.

I'm new here.... Just brought a NEW Samsung DLP HL-T5089s


Picture is horrible!!!!!!!!! I can not even see what it was playing.. Either on Cable or when hooked up to a DVD.. BAD, BAD, BAD. I called the Samsung Service Center and they stated they will have an IN HOME tech come out to check it..

In the meantime... Can any of you guys tell me what the hell happened to my 50" DLP? I went thru all the settings .. It looks like the foucus is WAYYYYY off...

One comment about people leave sets on all the time... You will probably get more hours out of the Lamp because of lack of hot & cold cycling tends to extend the life somewhat. I do this with my computers (On all the time) and have not had much problems with them.

This will probably not apply to the newer LED engine models.

Of course whatched hours is the most important item. What good is leaving it on if no one is watching. If you are going away for a few minuites (up to an hour) then leave it on, otherwise shut it off beccause you are not getting an advantage and you are using a lot more electricity.

WEll, My 50" Samsung DLP has been repaired...

Samsung Repairman stated that he never saw anything like what my DLP was doing in the 2 years he has been servicing the brand.. Ha ha.. Projector and internals checked out ok...


No smugdes, no nothing.. Turns out the Factory installed the screen upside down. He had to separate the 2 layers of projector screen and rotate the inner section 180 degrees.. Ha ha.. I watched them take it apart. It was "laminated" together with "Scotch tape" .. Ummmmm pretty easy fix if you ask me..

Works great NOW!