image on tv goes green


I have a large Samsung DLP that has started to ocassionally flash to black outlines on a bright green screen. It looks almost like a solarized photograph. This occurs independent of source - both on DVD/blue-ray and on satellite TV.

This might occur once in five or ten hours and might last 5 to 20 seconds.

Any tech types out there have a guess as to what's going on here.

Thanks in advance.

Marty
martykl
I have a Samsung DLP so I'm interested in what you find out. Mines an LED, is yours? I have not had this happen and I've had my TV for three or four years I would guess.

I know the bulbs can fail and need to be replaced, but don't know what happens when one fails.
My 6 or 7 year old 56" Samsung DLP gets a green pattern that looks like tribal graphics. This happens once or twice a day. Since I am old school, I give the back of the tv a good slap and it resolves the problem for a while. This set might have 500 hours on it max.
I am curious to know if my tv has the same problem as Marty's.
Mceljo,

It's just about to turn 6 yrs old - so maybe +/- 2,500 hours on the clock. Not sure of the light source, but I have replaced a "Lamp/Color Wheel" module once - so maybe it's a lamp, but maybe it's an LED set that gets referred to as a "lamp". Either way, that should reset the lamp life.

Baffled, if your "tribal graphics" are black lines against a glowing neon green, I'd guess we're talking the about same deal.

No guesses, anyone?

Marty
I know the bulbs can fail and need to be replaced, but don't know what happens when one fails

You dont get a picture.

I have replaced ours 2x's now. According to the manual and what we have read in forums, they say that the picture quality will degrade as the bulb gets older. We have found this to be not true with our Sony xrd dlp...as the picture remains the same all the time and then one day------poof. No more tv.
Marty,
Try googling "Samsung DLP problem". I did this and got several results but didn't read the details but you may want to. I was having a green spot on my Sony lcd a few years ago and found out on a home theater forum this was a common problem. I called Sony support and they replaced the "color engine" at no cost, they came to my house and installed a new color engine to replace the bad one. It was like an unpublicized recall since you only received the replacement if you called and complained - not very proactive. I found out about this 'recall' by reading internet forums on my tv model. I'm not saying there's a similar recall on your model, just suggesting that you are more likely to find a resolution on other forums. Good luck.
When changing channels, the screen on my Pioneer sometimes goes to bright green. The sound is OK. At that point we have to turn it off and then back on. I asked Comcast about that and they said it's a fault of the HDMI connection with their cable box.
I have a 56' Samsung DLP around 6 yrs old. I have replaced the bulb, color wheel and light engine board in the last 14 months so I have some experience. Luckily, I had an extended 5 yr. warranty on to cover the board which runs around $1k for the part.. ...Bulbs can last 1000 to 3000 hrs depending on the type of use the unit gets. Bulbs begin in to flicker, take longer to turn on and have decreased brightness as they begin to fail...Your set is a DLP given its age not an LED. You say you replaced the bulb/wheel module.?? They are two separate items...One has nothing to do with the other...Bulbs run $80-$125. The color wheels run $150 and up and are not that simple to replace...If bulb was just replaced I would take a look at the wheel. I was able to replace mine with a little help from youtube and some folks on AVSforum.

Let me know
Raks,

Your problem sounds like a drop in the picture signal that causes the screen to go green. Could be the HDMI cord/connection or it could be a drop in the picture signal from the cable company. The audio signal may be strong enough that the audio doesn't drop out. Just a possibility.
Now that you mention it, when I was having cable box issues a few months ago I was getting completely green screen. I took the cable box back and exchanged it and it's been fine since. I didn't get any part of the video feed when it happened.
My issues are definitely not related to a cable box. The TV has been in three locations in two houses and has the same issue no matter which source or electrical supply it is connected to.
Thanks all.
In the end, Noble had the best idea - google "Samsung DLP problem green screen".

Turns out that this appears to be a design defect - well documented via dozens of customer postings. It appears that my set is doomed to die a "green death". See the thread called "Mitsubishi Laser Vue vs Flat Screen" for my follow up question.

Again, thanks to all of you guys for taking the time to help.

Marty
Noble100 & Mceljo: Ya… Comcast’s answer sounded pretty lame to me too… buy an expensive HDMI cable… pay Comcast $5.00 more a month to get an HD Box… and for your added viewing pleasure Comcast will turn your screen bright green to prompt your wife to once again blame you for complicating her life when she has to turn it off and turn it back on… turn it off and turn it back on… turn it off and turn it back on… turn it off and turn it back on…
Raks.......tell your wife to give that tv a good smack. It gets rid of the green for a while and takes the focus off you.
Raks,

Or she could keep doing the usual: smack you so you can smack the tv. But ask her to just use her hand instead of that huge frying pan.
That's a pretty bad track record for Samsung. I have, and like my Samsung LCD but had to have the capacitors on the power board replaced. Another design flaw that should have never made its way to production. 10 volt caps on a 12 volt power rail and nobody noticed.
red gun alignment? if it gets too bad the system should turn it off. sonys do this exact thing and the adjust pots need alignment. most of these systems are similar. Not sure why red is coming to mind but.........

Ihad to do mine a couple times as it aged. Used this as a excuse to buy a led panel last year.