Samsung LCD TV

[countryguy]

I have a 40" LCD TV, purchased in 2009. The picture was perfect this morning but this afternoon I turned on the TV and there is a very thin, red, vertical line in the centre of the screen running the full height of the display. Does this mean the TV is about to crash and burn? Can LCD TVs be repaired inexpensively or is it even worth it?

Thanks,
Gary

 

[kb0nes]

I have repaired several. In all my cases it has been the backlight driver board or the main power supply board, but my symptoms have been black screen or totally dead.

The symptom you describe could either be the LCD panel itself, the LCD driver or even just a intermittent connection between the two. It may be a sign of impending failure, or it may work just like that for many years to come.

What I do anytime I have a problem with anything is to turn to Google. Start Googling the brand, model and some description of the problem. Often times it is a known problem and there is information on the web to fix it.

If you do find you need a replacement board or panel etc., there is a cool business here in Minnesota called Shop Jimmy. They are basically a boneyard for LCD TV and Monitor parts, they likely have all the parts from your TV.

 

[countryguy]

I ran the self diagnostics on the TV and it told me to call a repair centre I did that this morning to get some idea of what a repair might cost and basically they told me that it would be better to just buy a new TV. So now I have to figure out what kind of TV to buy which is mind boggling with all the options.

 

[gansky1]

I had a green vertical line appear on my 2 year old Samsung LED smart tv. Costco refunded the TV in credit for a new Samsung. I found the same same thing, cheaper to replace the TV than to have it repaired. I'm sure if you can do the work yourself and correctly diagnose the bad part/board, it could be done relatively easily.

The "line-o-death" Samsung replaced a 5 year old Panasonic Viera plasma that went black with a "blinking light of death" that indicated the main power board was bad. I did order the part and got a different diagnostic sequence of blinking light so decided to give up. The plasma was my favorite of all the TV's I've ever owned. Amazing picture but plasma screens are all but gone from the market now.

We'll see how the new Samsung lasts, Costco was great about the return even though it was a few weeks out of warranty. Costco doubles the manufacturer warranty on all electronics.

 

[dartman]

Got a really awesome looking 55" Hisense 55H8C from Best Buy for 550 this April. 4k with HDR, 4 HDMI inputs, lots of advanced picture adjustments and excellent black levels with a extremely bright picture with a lot of pop.
Came with a 4 year warranty too and looks as good or better than sets costing over twice as much.
Sometimes they go on sale for about 400 as well.
The Chinese make a lot of the house brands for big box stores and are trying to break into the US market so they are selling advanced feature sets for really stupid prices.
TCL is another one to check out as they have large 4k hdr sets with local dimming and 72 zones for about 600.
Prices are coming down on some very advanced off brand sets and Costco even sells some of them.

 

[countryguy]

I've been checking out the TVs in the stores and on-line and am getting different stories regarding 4k versus 1080p. I do not have netflix nor do I watch a lot of movies (don't even own a Blueray player...just a DVD player). I mainly watch regular TV shows broadcast on satellite TV. In this situation does 4k make a difference over 1080p? Is it worth the extra money? Some tell me yes others say no. Also everyone is saying get either Samsung or LG.

 

[mattl]

In your situation 1080 is fine.  At the right price you may want to future proof yourself with 4K.

 

[tolivac]

4K and 1080---Have a 4K LG TV and a Samsung and a Sony 4K DVD players-YES there is a difference between the 1080 and 4K.Try it and you will see!I LOVE the 4K video-Don't get my 4K from the movie theater now--I can get it at HOME!!!A bonus with either player I can use them to view pictures and videos from my Sony cameras.GREAT!!!

 

[mralex]

I love the look of the new Samsung’s that look like pictureframes when they’re off!

 

[kb0nes]

Seeing that many people don't seem to be able to tell 1080 from 720 (or even old 480) I'm not sure how important 4K is to the average user. It becomes more important with the desire for LARGE TV's that most everyone sits far too close to.

Personally I would expect the life span of the TV to be at least 8 years on average. While 4K isn't entirely mainstream today, it will be in the life of a new set. I wouldn't consider buying a TV today that isn't 4K, except perhaps for one under 30" for a bedroom etc. Over 40" or so 99% of the TV's being made today are 4K so they will tend to be the best value overall since they aren't a fringe item. Big 1080 TV's today are off brands or leftovers

I'm a fixer, I try to always fix anything possible to be less of a consumer. But as you know the fix in this case could cost more then a new TV. The other issue is that TV's today overall have advanced a lot since the early days of DTV. Buying a new one is likely the best choice.

I'd buy a Samsung as my first choice, maybe a Sony. I wouldn't buy an LG and I'd NEVER buy a store brand or any non mainstream brand. A big part of my reasoning is that I want the availability of surplus boards in 6 years should something fail. A company that sells lots of units helps in this regard.

 

[countryguy]

Samsung and LG seem to be what all the stores are pushing right now. I asked about Sony and was told it is down on the priority list. Why would you not buy LG?

 

[gansky1]

Amazon Prime Streaming Video has 4k/UHD feed for some of their newest movies and series. The difference is very noticeable coming from a 720p TV like my Panasonic and an eight year old Vizio I have in the bedroom. From 1080 to 4k isn't as obvious, but it's still better.

When we cut the cable to Cox a few years ago, I noticed a big difference in the picture from over the air digital feed than what we were used to with cable.

 

[fan-of-fans]

We used to have a Westinghouse LCD tv - it didn't have the best picture. It got knocked over unfortunately and broke the screen. Now have an LG LED tv, much better picture. Don't know about the 4K, etc. Mostly just watch digital cable shows on it or a movie from time to time. All I have hooked to it is a Sony DVD/VCR player unit from 10 years ago, don't really watch DVDs at all.

One thing I notice on these flat panel televisions is the sound quality is awful. Big difference between that Westinghouse sound and the old CRT it replaced. The LG is not much better. We had a sound bar under them but it stopped working and then we went without it. The slim cabinet makes it hard to fit in big enough speakers.

I noticed the older flat panels had a bigger housing below the screen and the cabinets seemed thicker, maybe they had better speakers back 8-10+ years ago?