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[whymytv]

Hello. I bought my Samsung DLP HL-S4266W around January 07'. Everything is original including the lamp and I have never needed service. A couple of problems have happened over time and I guess they occurred slowly enough that I didn't realize how bad they made the screen appear until someone else told me my TV sucks!

I have some horizontal lines starting from the left edge of the screen running in about 6" each, some with some dots or mini lines that are scattered along those lines towards about midway through the screen. The lines seem to be a little longer and thicker when the TV first starts up. They have probably been there for about a year. The screen is 42" and is 720p. There are also black dots in the lower left hand corner and in a few other spots along the very bottom heading towards the center of the screen. When you examine these horizontal lines and lower dots, they appear to be both dots and tiny vertical lines up to 1/8" tall...put together creating horizontal lines. Those dots or mini-lines almost appear to be a computer generated, almost code like appearance at close examination. Also, upon close examination, colors and the location of pixels seem to be slightly offset on images of the left side where the black horizontal lines are...but also between the lines. One person suggested that it might be the main board (DMD Board) and that I may be able to remove the board and search for a faulty or melted off soldered connection. I don't know if that is the problem though. Has anyone else run into this and do you have any ideas???? If it is a board problem, can the problem be fixed with a simple re-soldering?

The second problem I have is that colors on the screen are blotchy. The problem has probably happened slowly over time, so it is hard to say when it first happened. Certain colors on the screen, like wall colors, grass field colors, facial hues seem to get blotchy where the colors change. The problem is the same throughout the entire TV screen and the location depends on what is on the screen. Someone suggested that I just need a new lamp. Mine is original from January 07'. My screen seems fairly bright and I have never heard the color wheel make any funny noise. I really don't think there is anything wrong with the color wheel, but I could be wrong. In some darker parts of a pictures on the screen, the darker area appears to almost flicker a little until a brighter picture replaces it. What do you think? Lamp, color wheel, other or combo? Is a certain level of blothyness and flickering inherent on DLP TVs simply because that is the way the color wheel and mirrors work?

Please check out the attached picture to see the black lines on the left and bottom dots. Any ideas anyone has for my two problems will be greatly appreciated. The TV cost enough when I bought it and I would like to get it fixed good again. It probably won't be as good as a new 1080p LCD TV, but if I can get it fairly good again, I would be super happy. Thanks for any and all input.

[nogaffin]

I have the exact same problem. Is there an expert out there somewhere to help us out?

[whymytv]

At last, at long last, I got the problem fixed! What is sad is that there was no postings online specific to the issues I was having. When I called Samsung, they said I need to get a tech to come to my house...$$$. I posted on a forum for Sears (Manage My Life I think they call it) and after a few days, a tech got back and said that it was either the main board or the DMD board with the DLP whip on it. I called Samsung again to get the code to access the service menu on my TV, and they refused to give it to me and told me again that I need to hire a tech to come to the house...$$$! I called Discount Merchant, who owns this forum, and even though I didn't buy anything yet, they not only told me the code but helped me through the menus to test the display. After doing the color tests, the black lines and dots existed on every color and even flickered...so it was the DMD board with the DLP chip on it. It has been literally over a year of research and now I finally know what I need. Probably some solderings came loose on the DLP chip or somewhere else on the DMD board from heat over time. I could have bought just a replacement DMD board for like $100 but I opted for the entire light engine assemblyhttp://www.discount-merchant.com/SAMSUN ... 185301.htm. That includes the color wheel, the projector lens and DMD board with DLP chip. I figured that even if the black lines were caused by the DMD board, that there was a remote possibility that the color wheel was spinning too slow and causing color blotchyness on facial hues, grass fields, wall colors, etc... I didn't want to chance it, so I opted for the entire light engine. That costs $320 shipped overnight. Seeing that I paid just over $1,000 for the TV new and a cheapo replacement these days of 42" is at least $499, I saved a lot of money. Plus I saved my TV. The black lines/dots are gone and the color blotchyness is also gone. It is like a new TV. I have over 9,000 hours on the lamp, but it is still plenty bright. I knew there was never anything wrong with the lamp. It took about 2 hours to complete the project. It took the longest to disassemble all the required bits, but once I had it reverse engineered, putting it back together again was a breeze.

Here is a great link http://www.fixyourdlp.com/guides/samsun ... 01579a.php(from Discount Merchant) on how to pull out the inside shelf that contains the DMD board. The pictures show you the necessary cable harnesses that must be detached. Just remember that you don't need to replace the color wheel when you get the entire light assembly as I did, as it include it. Since the link is only for replacing the color wheel, the next steps not on the link is to remove the lamp housing for ease of access. There is one screw holding it in place. Pull out the handle after removing the screw and pull it out with a little force. There is two shiny screws on top of the lamp housing that holds on to a round thing that goes into the lamp area. Pull those screws and the round thing out, as you will need to reuse that on the new light engine. Here is an up close picture of the beast (it isn't all that big actually)http://photos.discount-merchant.com/pho ... id=1185301.

Bottom line, my TV is fixed as good as new. The lamp is not included with the light engine assembly and has over 9,000 hours on it...but it is still working fine and plenty bright. The black lines and dots are gone, as it the blotchyness. The difference in picture quality is noticeable from non HD channels to HD channels and movies. Before I took the picture control of the set off DYNAMIC and onto custom to try to make the screen as least blotchy as possible. Now DYNAMIC is the way to go and the brightest again. These problems happened so slow over time I guess I never realized how crappy the picture looked until I got it fixed! Now I remember what I paid for. I am pasting my forum notes from elsewhere that include service menu access info so you can test your TV. If the problems appear on all colors and even flicker like mine did (very clearly flickered and appeared black on the individual color tests), then your problem is definitely the DMD board with the DLP chip and not the main board. So thanks to everyone who helped me getting the info to get my TV fixed...as it was nowhere online and Samsung support wasn't willing to help! I guess the problem combo I had was unique. I may never know if the black lines and blotchyness/flickering was from the same exact cause, but I do know that a new light engine assembly will fix both problems. Good luck in your repairs and hopefully it doesn't take a year to get the answer like it did for me!
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"I got more info based of your info and got access to the Service Menu of my TV. For anyone else that needs to get in there, have the TV OFF and press mute 182 power quickly (2 seconds or so). Your screen should show up with the same input source displayed, but with a special new menu of the left. To test the main board's quality, scroll down to DDP3021(K220), hit the right arrow to get to the next menu, then the up arrow to move over to where it says TEST PATTERN DDP 0. Push right arrow to begin tests. The first screen color should appear red. Continue hitting right to change colors. On my TV, the black lines and lots on the bottom exist on every color, so there is something wrong with the DMD digital video display board (NOT THE MAIN BOARD). If someone else out there wanted to test their issues this way, if there is no change between the colors and whatever issue you have (so long as it is still there in all colors), whether it be black dots or lines, white dots or lines, you have something wrong with the DVD digital display board or the light engine assembly including the color wheel. For now I have ordered an entire new board and light engine assembly. Not cheap at $320, but still a little less than a new TV. I could have just got the board for $100, but you must disassemble the entire light engine. This way it is easier to remove and install and I get a new color wheel with it. The TV is almost 4 years old, so parts are starting to wear and it is possible that a soldered connection or multiple have come loose under the DLP chip on the DMD board due to heat. The blotchyness I am seeing on pictures is probably also from the DMD. My the way, the DLP chip looks like a regular 1" or so microchip on a motherboard...but it has tons of micro mirrors under it to create the image. It is not some huge contraption that I was imagining. I will post again next week with the outcome so that someone else doesn't have to go through 4 months of hard research into the same subject!"

[whymytv]

I don't have a real good picture of my original problems, but I do have this one with the black lines and an area of blotchyness circled. FYI.

Everything still is perfect since the replacement of the light engine.

[syclone]

Same TV, same exact problem just showed up about a week ago. First place I've come across a solution. Thought it might be the DMD, but didn't want to plunk down the money without knowing for sure. Thank you so much!!

[jgeving88]

i have the same model, HL-S4666W diff size. I have the lines on the side of the tv, have for some time. my tv just started making a really loud beep after the tv has been on for a bit, could this be the dmd as well?

[whymytv]

It's been just over one year since the replacement of the entire light engine and everything has been working great since until the other day. Maybe there has been a slow drop in luminescence over time, but it was not noticeable. All of a sudden there has been about a 3/4 decrease in luminescence. The screen is not darkish. There are no lights blinking on the TV and the normal "hum" isn't very different than before. I got a full 11852 hours on the original 5 year old lamp...not bad at all. I doubt it is the ballast. The color wheel is new with the light engine, so that is not the problem either. I will replace the lamp. With any luck, the ballast is still strong enough to light the new lamp. I will post back next month when I replace the lamp. I'm sticking with the original Phillips Lamp with housing, part # http://www.discount-merchant.com/Samsun ... mp_enc.htm BP96-01472A. I don't see the pull handle on it (to yank out the lamp) on the picture. I'll report more once I have it and install it.

[whymytv]

Just replaced the lamp and it is amazing how bring the TV is. I can't even remember the TV being this bright!!! At least the old lamp lasted a very long time. The original ballast fired the lamp right up no problem. By the time I need to replace the lamp again, or the ballast, it will probably be time for a new TV. For now, this was the cheapest option and well worth it. Remember to remove the screw to the left of the lamp that secures it before yanking on the housing's handle. I forgot to take the screw out and pulled the entire light engine shelf out. It took another 30 minutes to do that and reassemble everything. Save yourself the time and just remember to take out that one screw. Good luck with your repairs. It really isn't that hard to fix your TV and save money!!!!

Oh, and just like my first purchase from Discount Merchant...awesome tech support on the phone and a fast turn around time to get the part. I'm very happy.

[romerovideo]

I have the same problem on a HLS5687WX/XAA. I don't see why i need anything more than just the dlp chip itself since the black areas are caused my the mirrors sticking, Are there any cheap places for these as there are some on ebay for $285.

[whymytv]

It's been about 4 years since the last lamp was installed. The TV is still working OK, but the screen is slowly but surely fading away. New lamps on eBay are as cheap at $20 for this TV...but at this point I am seriously considering just trying to get a little $ for the thing and move onto TVs that are way more advanced and have much better picture quality. Still, $20.00 for a lamp with housing isn't bad. I just fear that the ballast, color wheel or something else will fail one day. It's a hard call...but Samsung has been a good manufacturer and the TV is 9 - 10 years old...so I'd say I got my money's worth out of it.

At least if someone out there is half way mechanically inclined, DLP TVs are reparable whereas LCD or plasma sets are much more difficult to fix. On the flip side, as I have found out, the lifespan of particularly of the newer LED LCD TVs seems to be very long, so maintenance may be a thing of the past.

Good luck in your TV repairs or search for a new TV.

[KiafUp]

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