Samsung 6168W 1080P DLP-picture problem

Silver Member

Username: Fyi

Dallas, Texas

Post Number: 933
Registered: May-05

Posted on Sunday, November 26, 2006 - 11:31 am:

Looks like the shadow of an object in the light path. The lamp light travels through a mirror box. I've heard of a very few of these boxes failing by either coming apart or collapsing.
Call 1-800 SAMSUNG. Get past level one if you are past the warranty period. They usually fix or replace these for original owners, regardless of warranty status.

cliff mitcheff

New member

Username: Hoosierdoc

Post Number: 2
Registered: Nov-06

Posted on Sunday, November 26, 2006 - 02:29 pm:

Thank you VERY much for your reply. I called Samsung like you said and explained the problem to them (was great that I sounded like I knew something). First, they told me that I purchased the TV on 8/15/05, so my warranty was up on 11/15/06 (11 days ago)and this would not be covered. I told them that this was not acceptable and I would like to speak with a superviser. He placed me on hold, came back about 5 minutes later and said that they would extend the warranty until 12/5!! So they are going to send somebody out to see what's going on. Thank you very much once again. I will keep everyone posted.

I did buy an extended warranty through the TV Authority, but I would rather have Samsung take care of it directly. Hope it is fried so I get a new TV. Probably won't happen, but from what I hear this first generation of 1080p DLP's are full of problems.

Silver Member

Username: Fyi

Dallas, Texas

Post Number: 941
Registered: May-05

Posted on Saturday, December 02, 2006 - 10:42 am:

Kewl!

New member

Username: Zorro_olmer

Lynnwood, WA
United States

Post Number: 1
Registered: Dec-06

Posted on Saturday, December 09, 2006 - 01:19 am:

Cliff did you ever get a solution to this. I have the same problem.
Zorro

Dave Barker

New member

Username: Cincydave

Fairfield, OH

Post Number: 1
Registered: Dec-06

Posted on Saturday, December 09, 2006 - 11:06 pm:

Cliff,

I'm also very interested in what this problem was and how the repair/replace turned out.

Mine just started same problem 3 days ago, 1.5 inches wide top right tapering down to nothing at bottom right.

I'd like to know what I'm in for before I call Samsung.

cliff mitcheff

New member

Username: Hoosierdoc

Post Number: 3
Registered: Nov-06

Posted on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 - 08:36 am:

This problem has been resolved!! It was exactly as FYI described. The mirror box was defective. Samsung sent 2 guys out and replaced it within 4 days of me calling. Cost me nothing, and the TV works great once again. Good luck to you all. Tell them that this is a "known issue" with their TV's and do not back off.

New member

Username: Zorro_olmer

Lynnwood, WA
United States

Post Number: 2
Registered: Dec-06

Posted on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 - 02:05 pm:

Thanks Cliff. This is just the information I need, for when I deal with Samsung again. I called a local repair guy who first said he had no idea what the problem was. But after a minute or two said it was the light box and would cost me $1000.00 and that he would be over in an hour. I told him not to bother.
Thanks
Zorro

New member

Username: Zorro_olmer

Lynnwood, WA
United States

Post Number: 3
Registered: Dec-06

Posted on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 - 02:36 pm:

Just talked to Samsung they are extending my warranty and fixing the TV. It sure helps when you can tell them whats wrong (thanks to FYI and Cliff) I was able to sound like I knew what I was talking about HEH HEH. PS. The repair guy I talked to before said it needed a light engine not a light box. I don't know anything about how much parts cost but I bet he just pulled a real expensive one out of his butt when he made that guess.
Thanks again
Zorro

New member

Username: Zorro_olmer

Lynnwood, WA
United States

Post Number: 4
Registered: Dec-06

Posted on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 - 06:59 pm:

Samsung just repaired my DLP. They did it for free. They did it after the warranty period had run out and they just made sure that they will be the first brand I check out whenever I buy anything in the future. WOW a company that stood behind their product!
Zorro

Silver Member

Username: Fyi

Dallas, Texas

Post Number: 963
Registered: May-05

Posted on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 - 07:07 pm:

Kewl!

michael herrera

New member

Username: Telephoneguy

Post Number: 1
Registered: Dec-06

Posted on Thursday, December 21, 2006 - 10:21 am:

Hello All- I am a reseller for audio/video products and we have sold countless of Samsung HLN,HLP,HLR series of DLP's. I have yet to have an issue even after the warranty from the manufacturer has expired for any of my clients. I decided that was proof enough this was the right settop for my home theater. I have had this TV over 1.5 years. I made the mistake of accidentally hitting the power button seconds after turning the power off. I know this is a no-no but am sure my kids/wife have been guilty a time or 2. This time I got this terrible sound like something was "shorting". I hit the power button once again to turn it off. It accepted the off command. I turned the television on the next day with no problems evident for the moment. I had the TV on for many hours when all of a sudden I heard a loud POP and then the "shorting" sound reappeared. I removed the plug from the set and waited about 1/2 hour before checking it again. This time I removed the cover from where the bulb is seated and watched the bulb as I plugged the set back in. The ugly "shorting" sound appears to be coming from that bulb and it flickers as if it is trying to go complete its process of turning on without me ever having hit the power button. It seems to have gotten caught in an on state. I neglected to mention that the picture disappeared immediately after the initial loud pop and many lights came on on the power circle located on the front of the TV. Sorry for being so long winded but I want to make sure anyone willing to provide me with guidance has all the facts. I hope FYI will respond to my post as you seem pretty well versed on the product. I greatly appreciate anything anyone can help me with in advance!! I also forgot to mention that it is a HL-R6167W. Thanks again

Silver Member

Username: Fyi

Dallas, Texas

Post Number: 967
Registered: May-05

Posted on Thursday, December 21, 2006 - 12:44 pm:

Install your spare lamp!

New member

Username: Patrickw

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-07

Posted on Tuesday, January 09, 2007 - 01:42 am:

Same side banding problem on my HL-R6168W. Mine is on the right side of the TV. Started after about 16 months of use. I will call Samsung this week and let the board know what they said. This is a BIG customer service option. IMHO. The need to fix this and offer a repair service..this is clearly a default of the unit.

Silver Member

Username: Fyi

Dallas, Texas

Post Number: 999
Registered: May-05

Posted on Tuesday, January 09, 2007 - 06:59 am:

Banding is usually caused by compressed mpeg2 source material. Does it happen on HD channels?
Other inputs too? Sat compressed standard def is the worst.

New member

Username: Patrickw

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jan-07

Posted on Monday, January 15, 2007 - 12:14 am:

FYI--No my problem is the same as Cliff's in the first post. except my "shaded" band is on the right side of the tv. Same tapered shape too.

New member

Username: Patrickw

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jan-07

Posted on Monday, January 15, 2007 - 12:13 pm:

call SAMSUNG, you must have original reciept and fax it to them. Here is a picture of my problem, same as others on this board. My DLP was manufactured in July of 2005. This is obviously a component failure, probably due to bad third party suppliers. Upload

Dave Barker

New member

Username: Cincydave

Fairfield, OH

Post Number: 2
Registered: Dec-06

Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 04:31 pm:

Tech was finally out to replace mine at no charge. Took a while to get the part, Samsung was back ordered. Tech said I was one of 4 people he had with same problem this month. Hopefully they just had a bad batch when these were initially produced and these replacement parts will last...

New member

Username: Patrickw

Post Number: 4
Registered: Jan-07

Posted on Monday, January 29, 2007 - 12:26 pm:

spoke to Samsung for the 3rd time in 3 weeks. My problme was 'stuck' at excecutive customer relations. Was told by rep that warranties are only extended for 90 days and since my purchase date was 9-2-05 I would not be extended. I insisted this was a common problem and that a new mirror box was $1000 part and this would make the tv not worth reparing.. asked to speak to someone "higher up" at this point the rep said...let me see if you I can extend the warranty..I don't think I can, but I will try...and almost immediately he said, oh yes, I was able to extend it to the end of the month. The set up a call from my local repair guy and I should hear something in 48hrs. We will see how long I have to wait on the part and how much my tech knows. Samsung needs to issue a recall/warranty extension on this.

New member

Username: Nrc2112

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-07

Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 12:22 pm:

I have been waiting 3 weeks for this to be corrected finally got ECR - I am on hold right now.

This is driving me nuts lets see what happens next

New member

Username: Nrc2112

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jan-07

Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 12:23 pm:

New member

Username: Patrickw

Post Number: 5
Registered: Jan-07

Posted on Thursday, February 08, 2007 - 07:38 pm:

My local TV repairman came out on 2-7-07. It took two guys all of 15 minutes to replace the entire DLP Engine assembly. BTW, this includes a new bulb which apparently only Samsung replaces with the DLP engine. Picture in now fixed. Way to go Samsung to stick with their product, I just hope this one last more than 14 months. If you have this problem, be firm and polite and keep escalating the problem as the other posters have stated.

New member

Username: Nrc2112

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jan-07

Posted on Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - 12:03 pm:

Still waiting on ECR to fix they said the part was on back order and that I will need to have the entire set replaced via Circuit City.

BTW the shadow is completely obscuring 50 percent of the screen now.

John M

New member

Username: Johnnyb1

Clearwater, FL

Post Number: 1
Registered: Feb-07

Posted on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 02:12 pm:

I too have the exact same dark band issue on my HL-R6168W, on the right side, wider at the top (about 1.5'') and tapering towards the bottom.

TV was purchased in August 2005, so out of warranty.

I am currently waiting for a callback from excutive customer relations. Hopefully Samsung will come through on this one. I will keep everyone posted.

New member

Username: The_audioguy

Post Number: 3
Registered: Feb-07

Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 09:22 am:

I posted last night about the same problem with my HL-R6168W purchased in August 2005. I just got the same transparent band on my set 2 days ago. It appeared as I watched a DVD. I was going to contact Samsung today and thanks to this forum I have some ammunition. I'll post Samsungs's respomses and actions. I've attached a photo. Hope it comes out. Upload

John M

New member

Username: Johnnyb1

Clearwater, FL

Post Number: 2
Registered: Feb-07

Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 02:24 pm:

Dave, my TV problem looks almost identical to yours except maybe the dark band is slightly narrower, but still tapering from top to bottom.

Update: I called Samsung back since I never heard back from them (they were supposed to call me back within 72hrs about 1 1/2 weeks ago). Got transferred to executive customer relations rep - Natasha. She was very helpful. At first she wanted to cover 50% parts only, then said that since the tv was purchased 18 months ago said they would be willing to cover 100% parts but I had to cover labor (apparently if over 18 months they would only cover the 50%). So she set up an in-house service request with the closest authorized repair facility -- they should be calling me within a couple days.

I would encourage anyone else having this problem to post it here and bring that to Samsung's attention. They don't seem to be fully aware of how many folks are being affected by this.

New member

Username: Nrc2112

Post Number: 4
Registered: Jan-07

Posted on Monday, March 05, 2007 - 08:59 am:

ECR finally sent me my ticket to have the set replaced via Circuit City.

I received full credit for the purchase price last years price. I went ahead and played it safe and got a Mitsu Y65.

Very happy the set is great.

Good Luck

New member

Username: The_audioguy

Post Number: 4
Registered: Feb-07

Posted on Monday, March 05, 2007 - 09:19 am:

I called Samsung on 2/27/07 and faxed ECR a copy of my original invoice. Still waiting. The dark band has widened slightly.

New member

Username: Nrc2112

Post Number: 5
Registered: Jan-07

Posted on Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 11:21 am:

Yes and it will continue to widen until the whole picture is obscured.

Be persistant and good luck.

New member

Username: The_audioguy

Post Number: 5
Registered: Feb-07

Posted on Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 12:41 pm:

I faxed Samsung again yesterday. Nine days now abnd still no response. Here's a photo showing the progression of the problem since discovered 9 days ago. Upload

George Rourke

New member

Username: Gadgetguy

Post Number: 1
Registered: Mar-07

Posted on Monday, March 12, 2007 - 11:58 am:

Hi All,

Just wanted to let you know that I am having the same problem with the black band along the left side of my TV (HL-R6168W). My TV is about 14 months old. Also, I'm not sure if it is related to the same problem but the coloring is way off on certain things. I really notice it on people's faces. It appears that they all have a large grainy blotch on their face.

Has anyone else noticed this. I'm wondering if I have 2 problems or just 1.

I have an extended warranty through RepairMaster and just called them. They authorized service from a local repair shop who should be contacting me within 24 hours to make an appointment. Let's see. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks.

New member

Username: Nrc2112

Post Number: 6
Registered: Jan-07

Posted on Monday, March 12, 2007 - 12:24 pm:

Have not seen that issue so I do not think it is related, perhaps 2 problems here?

What can we do to facilitate a recall from Samsung this is an obvious issue with the manufactor of the digital light engines on all sets 18 months and older.

lulu zhang

New member

Username: Zhanglulu

Post Number: 1
Registered: Apr-07

Posted on Monday, April 02, 2007 - 03:21 pm:

I have the same problem on my HL-R6168W except that the shadow is on the left side and is growing wider. Mine is 18 month old, I didn�t notice it and thought it was from the cable TV signal until recently it is becoming wider. I called Samsung and is waiting them to call me back, I will keep this updated.

New member

Username: The_audioguy

Post Number: 6
Registered: Feb-07

Posted on Monday, April 02, 2007 - 04:06 pm:

Update on my HL-R6168W. I called Samsung after not getting a response after faxing ECR my invoice as requested. They agreed to pay for a complete digital engine - parts only, and said I would have to pay labor ($200.00 from my local repair center). After I complained that this was a known issue, and should be fully covered, they said that if I got an estimate from the local Samsung repair depot that proved the digital engine was at fault, they would cover the labor too. This didn't make much sense to me since they KNOW what causes this but I had the repair centre confirm the problem as per Samsung's request, and I faxed the estimate to Samsung ECR on March 13, 2007. Again no response from Samsung, so I called a week later. Someone new looked up my file and said again that they would only pay for the part, not labor. After some wrangling, she found the notes in my file and agreed to pay parts and labor on my 18 month old set. A few days later the service depot called to confirm. Now the weird thing is that this morning the bar was gone! My part is now in stock and the service center said the problem would come back, so to still replace the digital engine provided by Samsung. They also got a bulletin saying that the problem that causes the band to appear is a defect in the Light Tunnel and from now on, this is the part to order, not the complete digital engine as everyone has been replacing. Better $100+.00 for the part than $800.00! So if you have this problem, it will cost a lot less to fix out of warranty.

Gold Member

Username: Fyi

Dallas, Texas

Post Number: 1065
Registered: May-05

Posted on Wednesday, April 04, 2007 - 05:20 pm:

Great information, Dave!

Thanks for sharing!

Congrats on getting it covered!
The stipulation that the LE must be at fault to cover the labor is crap, in my opinion.

John M

New member

Username: Johnnyb1

Clearwater, FL

Post Number: 3
Registered: Feb-07

Posted on Saturday, April 07, 2007 - 04:46 pm:

Final update: LE was replaced on my TV a few weeks ago and problem disapeared. Their authorized service facility for clearwater leaves some to be desired. They brought the TV back with a horizontal tilt in the picture which basically means they never bothered to adjust anything after replacing the light engine (they should have adjusted ring focus, picture tilt and "index delay" as needed). They then said the picture was also warped in addition to being tilted (i did not notice that part), and that the 2nd LE was also defective, and replaced it again. I finally got the TV back and working fine again. Labor cost: around $200, with TV 6months out of warranty.

New member

Username: Phil_g

Post Number: 1
Registered: Apr-07

Posted on Sunday, April 08, 2007 - 09:38 pm:

I have a HLR-5678W with the same banding issue on the left side which started a couple of weeks ago . After finding this site I called them today and they have told me to contact ECR tomorrow as they would onlt extend my warranty for 90 days which does not help since i purchase the set in December of 2005. I explained this is a known issue and they should cover under warranty. Is it the Light Engine I want replaced or something else?

New member

Username: The_audioguy

Post Number: 7
Registered: Feb-07

Posted on Monday, April 09, 2007 - 09:54 am:

Phil, it is the Light Tunnel that causes this problem. Samsung was replacing the complete digital engine but now has a bulletin out to repair centers to just do the Light Tunnel. Either part will fix the problem, but the light tunnel is cheaper for Samsung. The repair center must then strip your digital engine to replace the light tunnel (more labor). You must be persistent with ECR to get warranty coverage including labor. If not, you are in for about $200.00 in labor. My set was bought in December 2005 and they extended my warranty to April 18, 2007 to give the service centre time to get the part in case it was backordered.

New member

Username: Phil_g

Post Number: 2
Registered: Apr-07

Posted on Monday, April 09, 2007 - 07:26 pm:

Dave, thanks for the update on the light tunnel. I called the authorized service center Samsung gave me just to see if they would give me an estimate for the cost of the repair. They said they won't come out to where I live! So I called Samsung and they told me that was the closest service center and if I wanted I could look in the phone book for someone closer. When I told them I was still waiting to hear from ECR and that I assumed they would cover this , the rep said if they did they would find someone to service it with through their regional field service enginner - guess I will wait and see.

New member

Username: Phil_g

Post Number: 3
Registered: Apr-07

Posted on Monday, April 09, 2007 - 08:10 pm:

Dave, Service guy called me back - good news he will come to me. Bad news - he says the light engine needs to be replaced that he has never heard or just replacing light tunnel and he wants to charge me $1,100 for the part plus $200 for labor! I'll wait and see what Samsung says about the warranty repair and then will need to decide what to do.

New member

Username: The_audioguy

Post Number: 8
Registered: Feb-07

Posted on Monday, April 09, 2007 - 08:22 pm:

My local Samsung repair center charges $800.00 for the complete digital engine plus the $200.00 flat labor fee. Your guy is trying to hose you.

New member

Username: The_audioguy

Post Number: 9
Registered: Feb-07

Posted on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - 08:43 pm:

My set is fixed! The service guy came by today and replaced the digital engine all at no charge. The whole operation took about 20 minutes. The engine slides out after unplugging a few connectors and the new one slides in. The tech then followed the DLP Engine Adjustment Instruction sheet that comes with the new engine by entering Factory Mode using the remote and running down the on screen menu. He also reset the hour meter for the lamp since the new engine comes with a new lamp. Bonus! The set looks great again. Thank you Samsung.

I asked the tech about the recent Samsung service bulletin advising Light Tunnel replacement instead of complete digital engine replacement. He said the old engine must be stripped down to change the light tunnel which is WAY more labor than just swapping a pre-calibrated engine. Glad I got the latter. I have attached a photo of the old digital engine.
Upload

New member

Username: Phil_g

Post Number: 4
Registered: Apr-07

Posted on Saturday, April 21, 2007 - 12:37 pm:

Samsung won;t fix my set!
So know I have 4 options:

1 - Live with 1" band on left until it gets worse
2 - Buy a new one replacement set is $2,000 with 3 year extended warranty
3 - Pay $1,300 to fix set (seems crazy if I can buy one for $2k
4 - Fix light tunnel myself - anyone know where I can get instructions?

Phil

New member

Username: Drcrabby

Post Number: 1
Registered: Apr-07

Posted on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 - 06:36 pm:

If your tv manufacturer is giving you trouble, don't hesitate to file a report with your state's consumer affairs office. It's amazing what they are capable of doing for you.

Jim W

New member

Username: Tahoejimw

South Lake Tahoe, CA
USA

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jan-07

Posted on Thursday, April 26, 2007 - 09:24 pm:

I have a Samsung HL-S6187W DLP TV. The picture will intermittently, as my wife says, just "freak out." 90% of the time it works fine, but when it freaks out, the colors will fracture and bleed, turning mainly green and purple. The images are still there, but the colors look like a bad 1960's psychedelic movie, morphing through the images. If I turn it off, it will go back to normal, but I sometimes have to turn it on and off several times before it does. Any ideas?

George Rourke

New member

Username: Gadgetguy

Post Number: 2
Registered: Mar-07

Posted on Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 10:58 am:

My HL-R6168W set is now partially repaired.

I got RepairMaster to authorize a repair and they sent out a tech who replaced the light engine.

Now I don't have the black band going down the side anymore. However, I still have the problem with the dark scenes on my set being displayed VERY poorly. Any dark scene is showing up as blotchy green/purple instead of the appropriate color. Especially skin tones (peoples faces) or black backgrounds.

I have tried adjusting the color setting and even restored them back to original but to no avail. I was hoping that this was also being caused by the light engine problem but I guess not.

Has anyone else experienced this bad coloring on dark scenes problem before? Any ideas?

Thanks!

shaun nelson

Bronze Member

Username: Kaotik78

Post Number: 31
Registered: Jul-05

Posted on Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 07:25 pm:

I'll jump in on this one since my thread isn't getting any attention. I've got a HLS-5087w (now) and this has been my 3rd set through samsung. Originally purchased in 05 they came to replace the streaks on my HLP-5063w, then the light engine, then the color wheel, then they replaced the entire unit with the next model up, which arrived DOA, then I got another unit, that one had a light engine issue, which was repaired, then it died completely. Now I have my current HLS-5087w and after a year of virtually no issues what so ever, the lower left corner has what appears as a shadow. I called samsung and explained the situation. Pending my last HLS unit, we had to argue the fact that the unit would come with a full year warranty. Of course after arguing, the tech agreed and out came the new tv. I went online and registered the tv. Well now samsung is stating they did not give me the one year warranty, and the new model is not registered online, only my original unit. The tech continually argued that the tv was past the warranty date, and the best they could do was send someone out to look at the set to determine the issue. Well that day has finally come and gone, the light engine is bad, AGAIN! I have to wait till tomorrow to talk with a rep about this. Both my wife and I feel that the unit/brand has given us so much trouble over the course of our ownership, the unit should be repaired as it is a manufacturers defect. We'll see what they say. So far they have been great until now. They had the tech come up from Boston to NH just to evaluate the tv.

This tech, no offense to him, seemed to not know as much as I do about the tv. He was using his fancy remote to access the test displays on the tv, while the wiselink screen was up, and he kept repeatedly pressing the buttons on the remote. I suggested that he wait till I back out of the wiselink screen to try his codes. Viola it worked. Then he dismantled the entire unit, but not before yanking the plug out of the back of the already turned on unit... After that he asked me for window cleaner and a cloth! At this point the screen is off, and the mirror/light engine eye is exposed. He was going to spray the window cleaner right into the mirror, so all the moisture would get all over the light engine eye. I told him to stop and apply it to the cloth then wipe. This guy's english was pretty rough. After he had it all apart with me helping. He determined the light engine was defective. We put the tv back together and he left. All that time/energy wasted for samsung to estimate the damage to my tv. What is it with these tv's that make's them fail so much? Would I have been better off with a mitsubishi/sony? After all the repairs, replacements, I've just about had enough of the bullshit. Hope they fix this rig, I really don't want to call the BBB.