Toshiba 50HM66, 56HM66 Discussion - Page 36

Hmmm...similar issue a few posts back. It could be a faulty lamp. As noted above, it does happen. Is the lamp OEM?

I believe it's generic. It's "brand new"...I hope it didn't fail already. This stinks....I'm trying to find the recall information ,but this thread is a disorganized cluster **** and you can't find jack on it.
NEVERMIND>>>>FOUND IT! IT's Working now too?!?!?! We'll see how long this honeymoon period lasts. NOT HAPPY!

120inna55 Since you're the only one seeming to give a crap about this thread at all....do you have any idea what may be causing this issue? I hope it doesn't become a reoccurring issue!

Hey jkenned70, when my lamp went out, I bought the generic also and had similar issues with it. I sent it back and had the factory original sent out to me. TV has been working fine for just over two weeks now. Hoping it will keep on going for at least another two years (longevity of the lamp the tv came with). Will post any further issues though. Good luck!

By the way, the recall has nothing to do with the TV not showing an image. It has to do with an increasing shadow falling over the image. It's a collapsing light tunnel. Your problem does not sound like that at all. However, if you see any hint of a shadow, you might actually get a light engine replacement out of the deal. It looks like you've already found it, but just in case you haven't, here's the page where you enter your SN to see if you have one of the affected sets.

Again, I don't think it's your issue. I would recommend either exchanging your current lamp or, better yet, buying an OEM lamp and see if it resolves your issue. It probably will.

replying to an old post here... i have the 56HMX96 and temporarily hooked a PC up to the PC (VGA) input for the first time. can't seem to find my HDMI/DVI cable. why exactly can't it display 1280x720? or any 16:9 resolution, for that matter. my goal was to play some .mkv files without having to convert and everything to display them from my xbox 360. when i get another HDMI/DVI cable, will a be able to use a real resolution or have the same limitation?

My 50hm66 has a 2 inch horizontal haze going across the top of the entire screen. Its transparant, straight and more noticable with light back grounds then dark ones.
All inputs have the same problem.

Its 2 years old all original and when the serial number was checked it did qualify bout the light engine problem/replacement.

Is this the beginning of the 50hm66's imfamous shadow problem? Or is it something else?

That is, without a doubt, the "shadow problem". Or more technically, a collapsing light tunnel. It will likely only get worse, so call it in and get it repaired. They'll probably replace the entire light engine (overkill, but like getting a new TV), or they may just replace the light tunnel (a little more complicated procedure, but more economical).

FYI... My Toshiba 50HM66's lamp bulb finally bit the dust a few days ago. Unbeknownst to me, my children have been watching quite alot of TV (actually, just mainly forgetting to turn the dang thing off at times).

POWER ON TIME 10937
LAMP ON TIME 14284
LAMP ON/OFF COUNT 1482

This was purchased Nov 2006, so slightly over 2 years use. I cannot believe how much bulb life we got out of it tho. Here's hoping that the new one does as well if not better since I have explained the cost (180.00) to replace this bulb and the necessity of turning it off when not in use. I far exceeded the 6-8000 hours time tho....so im happy. BTW, had mine shipped the next day for free from lamps-dlp.com, so not much wait time. I'm going to try and set it to low power since the kids are the main users for this and it sees far more xbox360 time than cable.

My math tells me your TV lamp was on an average of 16 hours a day, 7 days aweek? Is that really possible?

I am having similar issues to jenichol. original bulb went after about 2 years.
Bought 2 after market bulbs from electrified.com.
First bulb worked fine for a few weeks, then stopped, didn't look damaged.
Tried the second bulb, this worked fine, after a delay of several minutes.
Recently, this bulb has stopped working properly.

Sometimes it'd try restarting, then end up with the red LED. if I unplugged the TV, then restarted it would usually come on normally, after a delay. Now I cannot get it to come on at all.

Do you think these are bad lamps, or is it still possible the Light Engine is faulty? I don't want waste time and money swapping these for the more expensive OEM, if the Engine is bad any way. Is there anyway of knowing, without bringing a service engineer to open it up?

I think I've been a victim of a surge and am wondering if anyone knows where I can find a new power supply for my 56HM66 and if I can install on my own. A TV repairman came today and said he found a shorted IC (intergrated circuit?) and an open fuse. The TV was $1200 on Black Friday '06 so spending $400 to fix is tough to justify. Here's what happened...

Last week, I noticed all clocks im my home needed to be reset. I thought nothing of it but the next morning I found my TV inoperable and the yellow lamp light blinking 3 times in succession. Per the manual, the yellow would blink and the blue light would come on as well if the lamp blew so that's not it. We checked the lamp anyway and the tech thought it was brand new, but its 2.5 years old. After further testing within the power supply module, he found the short.

Most modern TV's, including components on this TV, are self-servicable and relatively plug and play. Im more hesitant when it comes to the electronic components, mostly cuz I dont want to fry myself, but if this is something I can do then maybe I will try it. Any advice to offer?

I have a odd problem with my 50HM66, if you leave it on for 4-5 hours, sometime the picture freezes and everything goes black on the screen... after a couple of minutes and the front yellow light blinking, the set turns back on and everything is fine.... this can happen 10-15 times during a 4 hour period, or sometime you watch it and it never happens. I contact a service center and I dropped it off for them to check it out, and it hasn't happened once since they had it....(figures just my luck)... anyway, could it be the surge protector that I had the TV plugged into? That is the only thing that I can think of that I changed.
Ohh, I also bought a new lamp just to make sure it wasn't the lamp going, and it did the same thing with the new lamp...

Thanks
J

It could be the surge protector (is it a UPS, or just surge protector), however it sounds like it is more likely to be a temperature problem. How is your ventillation?

It is just a cheap surge protector... ventilation is good it is not enclosed in a confined space, just in the corner of the room.....plenty of room behind it....

BTW.. when the TV freezes and goes black... the sound is still on... I don't lose everything.
Strange that it happens at my house an not at the service center...

Can a surge protector have that effect on the lamp? it has been plugged into the same surge protector and in the same area of the house for 2 years without any problems beside a new lamp and the board was changed under the Toshiba recall.

Yes, it can---especially a cheap one. Actually, the hardship is on the ballast. I'd get a better surge protector.

i'd get a better TV.

Mine took me for a long ride, and I wish I had dumped it much sooner than I did. Like a pen that starts to write intermittently: now at the first sign that I will be pulling hair from my cranium, I toss the pen in defiance. TV is used for mindless pre-occupation, when that comes with frustration like those experience here, it is time to review the definiton of insanity.

Agreed. When an issue-free modern TV with stunning picture quality becomes available, I'll be scooping one up. I believe that day is coming, but a search through these forums alone will tell you that day is not yet here. Picture quality, accuracy, performance, build quality, and software stability have a ways to go to achieve harmony.

A better choice could be made with a set of lawn darts. IMO

I agree the TV sucks... however I have 2 years left on a warranty, so its not costing me anything to fix it...

Its just odd that it happens at my house.... I drop it at the repair shop and it doesn't do it..... I can only think of the surge protector.

Thanks

Just a quick note - This Nov I'll have had my set three years and we're still on the original lamp. I love the set but it may be heading to the basement in the not so distant future so room can be made for an LCD in the living room.

Bob,

You must have got a good one.... I havent had to much trouble except for bulbs and the light engine that was covered by Toshiba recall.

The picture is great, when we don't have a problem. Mine is heading to the basement bedroom when remodeling is done. 42" LCD over the fireplace is coming.

OK, I brought it home from the repair shop and plugged it directly into the wall....not surge protection etc... and same thing... the picture shuts off.... they repair shop said it didn't shutdown once the whole time they had it ( 2 weeks)..... so I am going to try the fan idea.. get some air circulating in back to she if that could be it.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks
Jay

Maybe its your outlet. Check your voltage.

Yea, I am going to try that.... its the only other thing I can think of...
It has me and the repair shop really stumped.

Glad to see your post. I am having the exact same problem except that this happens after only a few minutes of use and continues indefinitely as long as the TV is on. My TV is well ventilated also and just plugged into the wall outlet like always.

If your repair shop finds the solution, I would love to know the answer. Did the shop actually open up the TV and examine for possible issues or did they just wait for the issue to reoccur before looking into it?

Thanks very much!

I will post the outcome.... when the shop took the TV, i think they just plugged it in and let it run.... they said they had no problems, so I dont think they took a look inside the unit.... since it seems to only happen at my house and not at the repair shop.. I am video taping the problem, being that they wont send the repair guy to hang-out at my house till it happens.... the last two night everything has been good.. Sunday I was watching it and it happened about 10 times.

Thanks
Jay

Hi, any word on what the issue was with your TV?

Thanks!

Mine does the same thing. Losing picture at random. Acts like the set is restarting itself. If I remember correctly I still had audio. I had it in to two repair shops. Light Engine and power supply were both changed by these two shops and they still could not fix it. Of course I had to pay them each for their evaluation fee too...

My picture also freezes before it goes black. Bulb was also verified good as well. If anybody fixes it let me know. Mine is just sitting here collecting dust.

I haven't tried another outlet yet.... I dont like to think about it..it pisses me off to much.

I have 2 years left on a Phillips warranty and they wont fix it, because the repair man cant see it happen.