2007 Samsung HL-Txx76 Owner's Thread - Page 58

ok! luckily the service guy was able to see the problem, although it kind of was different for him. he only got to see the issue on ONE source (hdmi1+2) but when we switched sources to say cable or component, the issue wouldnt be present and would also fix the issue with the source originally mentioned.

to clarify further, the blur lines only seemed to be present if the TV source was the ps3 hdmi (plugged in any of the 3 ports) when first turned on from the off position lol. i hope that makes sense. and it would disappear as soon as a the input source was changed, and still be gone when going to the original screwy source.

lol. wow. im sorry.

anyhow, the guy had no idea what the problem is and was going to call samsung techs about it, then will let me know if they know of the problem. i tried telling him multiple times that it happens on my component input to, but its alot harder to notice in standard definition on the dvd player i use, so hopefully he keeps that in mind if he tries to say it's the ps3's issue. i tried a different ps3 + hdmi with the SAME results..

pics, if you need me to point out the issue let me know, ill highlight it. sorry for low quality. can try and get high res later if wanted

5676s



note the white lines on menu seem checkered almost.
note towards the bottom of the screen in the grass (due to weird angle) you can see the bars.
also follow lines up to the crowds in seats. the people within those bars are significantly softer/less defined than everything outside

Just wait until the three lights on the front blink or replace before? Still have a great bright picture after 1 year and 4 months.

Have you checked to see if your neighbor has a ham radio, or if you have a computer or other source of electronic interference that could be intermittent?

I have not! Good idea! I'll check into that in the morning!

Ok, tech called samsung. samsung claims there are handshake problems with PS3, not at all remembering i said ALL inputs do this (it just didnt for him) so he says to just deal with it, and cycle sources to make it remove...

well, that only worked when he was here... the problem is still there after cycling through. and makes anything high def.. not worth watching... i feel ripped off..

im going to write a letter to someone more important

Let me vent a little for some stress relief:

I have an HL-T6176s that has the bowing at the bottom of the image. So far I had resigned myself to "just live with it". It is annoying while watching channels with tickers at the bottom. (CNBC, CNN, etc...) Started to notice it more lately on my consoles (Xbox360 HDMI and PS3) Also, when the status bar of my DVR pops up it is noticeably skewed. (Smiley faced).

I had a tech over to fix a problem with a Mitsubishi DLP set that I have. (Turned out to be a bad light engine, actually still is....darned backordered light engines). I was talking to the guy and brought up my 6176s and how I was just going to live with it. The guy immediately says..."Oh you mean the slimline Samsungs with the black support bars that run vertically up the back?" To which I replied yes.
He tells me "You have to call Samsung and have them swap it. They know about this problem and have no fix that works 100%". He goes on to tell me that they've tried fixes but none of them fix it completely. To top it off this guy was the nicest service guy I have ever dealt with.

So I end up calling Samsung and they set up an appointment with a service company. My set was just out of warranty, but they told me it didn't matter because of the known geometry problems with these sets. Wow, that's cool.

The service company calls me. The manager on the phone hears the model and says "oh those have design flaws and can't be fixed, but we'll come out to verify".

So far everything is going well. So well in fact that I decide to leave my wife home alone for the service call.

The tech from this service company shows up. My wife shows him the DVR status bar which is noticeably curved. He says that this doesn't mean anything. My wife calls me within 2 minutes to tell me that the guy is being very nasty because she can't find the original remote and without it he can't do anything. All the while I am listening to this guy just berate my wife and my head is getting ready to explode.
I tell her that the Logitech Harmony remote that we have is the same thing. He gets even more belligerent when she tells him this and he says well I can't do anything so I have to go. She asks what button combo he needs to press on the original remote. He tells her and she hits those buttons on the Logitech and voila....the service menu pops up.
He then takes the remote and brings up the test patterns and leaves it on the large checkerboard pattern. He says "Looks good to me". I am telling my wife that he needs to put it on the grid pattern. Well, he refuses and goes on to say that the set looks fine. I ask to speak to him and the guy says "I've got nothing to say to him". He goes on to say that these sets are perfect and that there aren't any problems with them. My wife calmly explained that's not what Samsung says and not what your manager said. He is just getting nastier and nastier.
So I just tell her to get him out of the house. I was actually worried because of how he was now yelling at her and she was with my 18 month old alone in the house with this lunatic. As she walks him out he slams the front door in her face (I could hear it on the phone...grrr!!!!).
To top it off, we had to leave the windows open in our bedroom (that is where this set is) to have the stench of cigarettes leave.

I called the manager to complain...he was apologetic and said he would call Samsung. Afterwards he gives me the number to call. Eventually I get a case number and am told to call Executive Customer Relations (or something like that) and they will try to offer me a solution (usually either a refund or replacement)

Anyways I came home and brought up the grid pattern.
The second to last line at bottom of the test pattern (using the left side of the screen as the baseline) goes as follows:
at about the midway point the line drops about 1/4" from where it is on the left side. Towards the right, the line ends up 3/16" above the left. So in total the line has a 7/16" swing from left to right.

I also checked 2 other sets that I have since the nasty tech was saying that all DLP's have imperfect geometry. I put up a test pattern on my Mitsu (WD-73734) and on another Samsung (HL-T7288) and they are spot on perfect.


Thanks for letting me vent. Hopefully this ECR dept won't hassle me too much.

/\\ let us know how that goes...

I too have some bowing and although i have learned to live with it some times it bugs me a lot. I bought the tv for only 750 a couple of years ago ( the 50in version) which was a great deal. My question is, i have the extended best buy warranty and was wondering if i can complain about the bowing through them.

Samsung obviously does not care and will not trade the tv but do you guys think best buy will? I can live with this but i will rather not have if i can. Also would not mind getting a new model.

I called Samsung today and basically got nowhere. Neither good nor bad. They called the service company to verify and the service company changed their story to:
"It is within tolerance".
I informed Samsung that this was a bald faced lie because they never checked. The knuckledragger they sent, put up the large checkerboard test pattern and looked at it (all the while yelling at my wife) and said it is within spec. They never measured nor did they put up the grid pattern. (The pattern which clearly shows the geometry problem) He also would have seen that their was keystoning, something which I would consider an easy fix. (Not sure if it would make the bottom any better)
Samsung noted the issues with the repair company and will send out a different company. This time I will stay home and will have a tape measure ready at my disposal.

Does anyone know what Samsung considers "in spec". Also, if for example 5/16" is within tolerance, what does that mean? Measured from where to where? I am assuming the highest and lowest points? I only measured The 2 sides and the center. It actually travels up/down a bit. (ie it isn't just a U shape)

So I will see what this new company says.

Another annoying thing is that when you go into the service menu, even just to put up a test pattern, it erases all of your settings. GRRRR!!!! I thought I had put them all back the last time in the service menu. I was watching TV late at night in bed. I go to shut the set down and it gives that stupid shutdown the TV sound. It scared the heck out of my wife who was deep asleep.

Well,
the other service company called. (That was fast)
I talked to the guy. He looks up the service bulletins and says "Yup here it is: Geometry problems with 76 series DLP's"
So far so good. He says that the fix according to the service bulletin is pretty involved. He tells me it pretty much involves taking everything apart and putting it back together. I am ok with this if it fixes the problem. I am not of the ilk that they must replace my set (though I wouldn't complain if they swapped it). I just want a set with straight lines. I would think that the labor costs for Samsung to possibly fix this might be pretty high. I say possibly because the other tech (the nice one) told me that there is no fix that works 100%.

Here are the pics I sent to the new service facility.
This was from a broadcast that I paused. To verify it wasn't the broadcast, I checked 3 other sets in my house. (Hitachi 42" plasma, Sony 46"LCD and Samsung HL-T7288w) and the line I am showing in the pics was perfectly horizontal on all of those sets.

And a pic of the service menu test pattern. It actually looks worse in person than the pic.

wow dino, yours is pretty bad too but better than mine. Mine the square in the bottom starts out at full size and ends up at nothings. its really really bad. I am probalby going to call best buy and see what they can do. I have the warranty and usually they will just give u a new one, cuz it probably would cost them alot to fix... and there would be no fix. If they do not fix it i will probably call samsung too.

I will be at home too cuz i dont want them here alot with my girlfriend. Acoording to her there is no problem at all!

I will snap pictures of mine soon to show it here/


please keep us updated. I would also love to know what they consider within tolerance.


EDIT: So i got the grid on the tv and took some pictures. it looks a lot worse than when i last checked (when i bought it a year ago). I got it open box for 750 bucks which was an amazing price. I knew it had geo issues but for that price it was ok (they were also not as bad). I also bought insurance, something i do not usually do but for 200 bucks i was protected for 4 years, specially being open box, and Best buy will replace a lamp which costs almost that. So i will be calling them this coming week and will try to get a new one without this problem.

Here are the pics:

Tilted bottom part of screen is an easy fix, see post #1693.

I had seen that early and i am glad you brought it up. It definitely helped a lot! I am actually pretty happy right now. It is decent. I do not care about 4:3 because I do not care hour cable tv looks. Most of the stuff i watch there is crap and I do not care. What I care about is movies that are 2:35 and have the bars. I really bugs me if those bars are straight and they are definetly much better now. Before i could see it and now i really have to look for it.

I am still thinking about calling best buy but after reading all these horror stories about extended warranties i think i will wait to go through that when the lamp burns or the tv does break.

DinoT, do keep us updated. I really want to know what samsung is going to do about this.

Hey, I'm thinking about purchasing the HL-T5076S from buddy for around $600. The warranty is until 2011 and can be transferred into my name. The only thing is I live on the second story, and I'm unsure of how we will get it up here; I don't want to cause any stress and cause the infamous bowing problem - which I does not have currently. Can you pick the tv up from the sides and tilt 45 degrees it to walk it up the stairs?

The set can take it, it bounced around inside a tractor trailer for hours going to the distributor and again to the dealer. I brought mine home laying on it's back inside my wagon and it's fine.

Can anyone suggest in a little more detail just what it means to "adjust the left and right slotted posts" in the message above? Sorry to be dense, but I can't quite follow what that means.

Hey guys a couple of things. My poor hlt 5076 has really taken a beating from my kids recently. Today I was watching and hit the volume and it just turned off. It keep turning off and on by it self and the lamp light is blinking and then the standby light. It will finally turn off and then all three lights will blink. I've had this set since sept of 07 so maybe its just the lamp needing replacement. Also, My kids kit the screen with pledge and then water and what happened is the it all seeped into the bottom of the screen and then up in between the screens causing this oily shadow to apear. I was able to get rid of most of it by carfully using a hair dryer to blow it towards the bottom of the screen and it was fine. The other day the 3 yo spayed water on the screen and it brought all of it back again only this time it left these smudge marks on the bottom the screen that wont go away I tried to take the screen off by taking all the screws out around the edge of the screen but that jst loosens the bezle a little bit and I dont want to force it. It's clearly being held on by something else. I just want to try and wipe between the screens to see if I can get it clean. But right now I'd settle for the thing working again.

Edit: I took the lamp out to inspect it. Looks fine but I really dont know if you can tell if it's bad or not just by looking at it. I put the lamp back in and plugged the set back in. Now it turns on and then shuts off right away and just the lamp and standby lights are flashing. IT's been great up to this point. No problems after I had the tech come out to initially adjust the upper mirror. Now if I could only just get this damn screen off.

Edit again: Well I got the screen off. You basically have to take the whole set apart. You have to remove the two sets of metal support brackets, the bottom plastic cover on the back, the light engine and the input panel thingie so you can get at the 9 additional screws holding the bottom of the bezel down. I need to get a new screen. The stuff wouldn't come off.

Edit: Found a lamp in town(woot woot) for 99.98 plus tax. Back in the game now baby.

By "adjust", I mean to slightly turn the slotted posts with a screwdriver.

I'm thinking about getting a Blu-ray player for my hlt6176s. Will I notice much of a differance between the 1080i my dish network receiver puts out and a 1080P Blu-Ray disc on my set?

A very nice difference..

Imo Night & Day

Okay I need to vent as well, I own a 6176sx DLP bought in October of 2007 from Best Buy with a 3 year extended warranty. The issues I have had are as follows:

Top of image is not level, the image drops almost a full centimeter when moving from left to right.

Bottom of image not level either, I have not tried the fix listed in the thread.

While the set was still under manufacturer's warranty I had them send a tech out to deal with the tilted image. The tech looked at it, said it was an alignment/geometry problem and that he would have to manually adjust the image, well he did this by adjusting the DMD until it was level. This worked until I played some playstation games on my PS3 and noticed the ENTIRE image was shifted to the right by almost an inch and a half! I was able to fix this by adjusting the image in the service menu, but the horizontal alignment problem came back!

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but with this service bulletin they are willing to fix OR replace the set? Would it be better to just go through Best Buy as my original warranty expired in Oct? I love the set, the picture is awesome, but if I could get a newer model at not cost I wouldn't pass that up either. Could someone please advise on the proper steps to take? Call Samsung or contact Best Buys warranty company? Thanks in advance!

so anyone???

I am with you on the BBY or warranty company. I have a ghosting problem and repair company said" we have to exhaust all repair possibilities before submitting for replacement"! Bull, I paid $1500 for the TV and another$ 250 for a 4 year warranty..... $1750 bucks only 18 months ago and the TV is looking like a 20 yr old worn out set.The repair company said they would have to take set in to shop and look at it. They sent a tech out and he said" non-repairable". I am disgusted with all of it. I am calling warranty company myself today.

My ghostly set. A HL-T5076S. Anyone else with this problem?

O wow that looks odd

UPDATE:
A tech came out today. He adjusted the mirror as mentioned on this thread. This helped a bit. Then he tightened the screws in the vertical support bars. When he did that the picture fell into place. It looks pretty good now. I am now happy with it.
So for those that still have the bowing problem you might want to try tightening the screws on those 2 support bars. Mine had a little play and he was able to tighten by about a quarter turn.

FMDW, any luck with calling on the warranty? My screen has the same issue as well, I think I read somewhere on this board that it has to do with something between the two pieces that make up the screen. That along with my image "rotation" that I call it, it has become very frustrating. I will try and post a picture of my issue.

Will probably called the BB extended warranty as well.....might see what my options are for a replacement.

I talked with the repair company yesterday and the warranty company approved 2 screens. The frensel screen and the lenticular screen are ordered direct from Samsung, however the repair company did not have a date as to when the screens will be in. It seems the 2 screens separate causing the problem and that can occur from pressing too hard when cleaning( my wife is NOT allowed to touch the screen anymore..lol). I read on another forum or possibly here that a few have had this problem and it has occurred 2 or 3 times. Here is hoping this problem will be a one time fix. I had already picked out another TV from BBY in case the approval did not come thru, but alas I'll be watching my Sammy without the ghost!!

I had purchased my TV just over 12 months ago, of course now out of warranty and I now have no pic/sound.

The problem started with intermittent set shutdown, it would function for an hour, 5 minutes, 30 seconds etc.. turn itself off and the standby light would be the only light lit and would flash while the set would make a ticking noise. The only way to stop this would be to unplug the set. Once unplugged I could immediately plug the set back in and the set would work again for a short period of time.

After a few weeks of powering up/down, the set now does not function at all. All I get now is the flashing standby light and ticking sound which still can only be stopped by unplugging the unit. No functions work, cannot see menu, etc... The fan was operational while the set was working, have checked the bulb door to make sure it was securely closed, not sure what else to check.

Has anyone experienced this issue and have some advice on troubleshooting, factory resets or anything else that can narrow down the issue.
Thanks