Samsung UE37C6620 Television Problem

JohnG

Hi,

I'm trying to help solve an ongoing problem/fault with my parents Samsung TV which they purchased just over three years ago. The Picture and everything is fine initially after turning on but after about an hour or so (can vary) the picture starts to flicker and ghost with a greeny misty hue to it. What they found was by gently pulling the TV forward (without moving the base) the picture will return to normal, at least for a time until it happens again.
My first thought was it's something to do with the HDMI socket and cable connection as these sometimes can be problematic but after trying different cables and adapters etc it's fairly clear this makes no difference.
They have taken the TV back to the retailer they bought it from and they apparently kept it for 4 or 5 days without finding anything wrong?
I've sent a message via Samsung website but have not received a response as yet so I wondered if anyone has any ideas as to what it might be? Meanwhile the problem seems to be worsening and making viewing a frustrating past time for them .

almillar

Being fine for an hour would suggest there's a temperature problem - the problem only occurs when the TV has warmed up, and maybe something's overheating.
Moving it around to solve the problem suggests there might be a dodgy connection somewhere.
Can I suggest that unless the TV is very well ventilated, stick it in the middle of the room or something to see if the problem still happens.
Is it wall mounted or in a cabinet or something?

JohnG

Thanks for your reply almillar. It's free standing with plenty of room around it and not near to any heat source so would agree it's sounds more like a dodgy connection by the fact that moving/tilting the set forward and letting it go gently back stops the problem for a time.
I contacted Samsung yesterday and, to their credit, they came back within 24hrs but can only offer the standard spiel of checking leads, connections and try plugging in other sources (which parents don't have) failing that to check and update the 'Firmware' and/or 'Software' but I'm very sceptical that would make any difference, and besides, they wouldn't know what or how to do that not being too clever with downloading etc (I'm not sure when I'll be back over there - could be a few weeks).
After that, Samsung simply say I will have to take it to the nearest Samsung Service Centre for repair which I guess seems the likely outcome. I may have a look inside myself next time I'm over there but didn't really want to before just in case I made things worse.
I was hoping they'd offer something like a free check seeing it's less than 3 1/2 years old and wasn't a cheap model but sadly that's not going to happen . As people state in similar cases, best to buy a TV from someone like John Lewis or Richer Sounds (I gather?) and get a 5 year guarantee. Still, these days you do expect TV's to last a bit longer than 3 1/2 years don't you? :cool:

almillar

You do indeed. Richer Sounds now do the 5 yr warranty as standard, same as John Lewis - they used to charge extra for it.
Could be a nice simple dry joint or something that a decent local electrician would be able to diagnose and fix, by putting a blob of solder into the right place!

JohnG

Thanks again almillar, yes, I was tempted the other week to take the back off and see if I could find a loose wire or something but thankfully didn't in the end. Reason being, it was somehow discovered they did have a 5 year warranty after all and low and behold an engineer came out yesterday and simply put in a new circuit board in! He was confident that this would be the problem so fingers crossed!

My Mum has said the picture is noticeably better now so that's a bonus. It's still early days as the fault may well reoccur if it wasn't the circuit board - I'm slightly dubious by the way the fault would clear if you moved the TV slightly but we will have to wait and see.

:beer: