42" samsung plasma screen problem

teulk · 14 May 2011 at 12:23

There is a kind of flickering from one side of the screen to the other about 5" from the top. It is more noticable when the screen is really bright. Any ideas what may be causing this ? I dont know the exact model as im at work but if it helps i could post it later. The TV is bout 18months old.
Thanks

teulk · 15 May 2011 at 11:29

Just to try and give a better destription, it looks like a flourecent light tube when its in the initial stages of failing, just slightly pulsating. This is a narrow band across the whole of the screen about 5" from the top.

iraiguana · 15 May 2011 at 18:23

Sounds like you have a problem with the backlight.

Kreeeee · 15 May 2011 at 19:06

iraiguana said:
Sounds like you have a problem with the backlight.

Do you even know how Plasma panels work?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_display#How_plasma_displays_work

teulk · 15 May 2011 at 20:47

Thanks for the link but i kind of had a basic idea how Plasma Tv's worked. Having read the information in the link i know why i likened the problem to a fluorescent light however how does knowing that help me fix the problem ?

Kreeeee · 15 May 2011 at 21:26

Not you, the guy who suggested a backlight issue didn't seem to know how plasma's worked.

Using analogies to describe a problem is fine!

teulk · 15 May 2011 at 21:28

Kreeeee said:
Not you, the guy who suggested a backlight issue didn't seem to know how plasma's worked.

Sorry miss understood what you posted, but thanks for the link anyway

Purgatory · 16 May 2011 at 03:42

iraiguana said:
Sounds like you have a problem with the backlight.

LOL

Funniest thing I have read all day...

insane200 · 16 May 2011 at 12:42

Doesnt sound healthy, does the picture still show when it filckers ? tbh it sounds like the panels starting to fail.

teulk · 16 May 2011 at 19:25

Yeah the picture is still watchable when it flickers but its only when there is very white / bright background. Unless the background is very bright/ white the flickering is not noticable at all. As mentioned its only a strip along the top of the screen about 2" wide that seems to be affected and not the whole screen.

Purgatory · 16 May 2011 at 20:27

teulk, try the the following things.

1. Turn overscan on and off and see if it makes any changes to the image regarding the flicker.

2. are you sure it's not your source doing this flicker have you tried other equipment on the tv and noticed the same thing ? Also is the source set to the correct setting 1080i or 1080p or 720i or 720p and on a PAL signal not NTSC.. ?

3. do a factory reset on the tv and check for any updated firmware for that TV.

4. Have you turned on some image processing on the TV that could be causing this ? (this is why I say do a factory reset and see if it did what it it did when you 1st baught it)

5. could be bad cables connecting the source to the TV ?

6. have you moved anything recently that could interfere with the TV , eg wireless router near by or mobile phone or land line cordless phone ? or any electrical device too close to the tv that can cause interference ?

7. Do you have the TV on a surge protector ? Some surge protectors can sometimes make devices behave funny, remove it as a test too if you have one and see if it cures the problem. Also try a different power source in the house with an extension cable (saves you moving the tv).

If all fails look up the model number of the TV and see if anyone on the internet is having the same problems as you... By the way which model number is it you have ?

teulk · 16 May 2011 at 20:41

Thanks for all of the suggestions, i will try them all and check the settings. Thanks for the help