LCD TV Dying?

schumi84 · 14 Oct 2012 at 19:08

Good evening, I'm looking for a bit of advice really.

I currently own a 42" LG LCD television that I have had for almost 4 years, however recently it has developed a bit of an issue with the picture in that everything looks like the contrast has been turned up to max+ and therefore everyone on the screen looks like they have a holy aura coming out of their face. I tried watching the England game on Friday and they all looked like white silhouettes running about.

In the past when this has happened (over the last couple of months maybe) a quick unplug of the power has sorted it but now it is a permanent problem. In contrast, it used to have a problem with everyone having a very bright red tinge to them as if they had been on a sunbed for far too long or had taken a trip to the sun, again the above solution seemed to fix it.

I'm a bit narked as, like I say, the TV really isn't that old and has been great in the time that I have owned it and what with just getting married I didn't really need this happening if I'm honest, so close to Christmas too.

Below are a couple of pics of what I'm talking about, unfortunately the camera makes the pictures look better than they are, however the issue is most apparent in the menu screens, where there should be much more definition between the options and with the title bar (those with LG TVs should know what I mean.

Is it possible there is anything I can do to resolve the problem or is the TV doomed and resigned to the tip?

As a possible replacement I have seen this TV which I quite like the look of, reviews seem good, however if I can help it I would rather try and keep the current one going as long as possible.

/Edit

Might be useful if I put the link in :rolleyes:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/samsung/ue46es5500/sams-ue46es5500

TL;DR

TV picture extremely bright, everyone looks like Jesus with an aura, can it be fixed?

Thanks for reading and apologies for the long post.

chaparral · 14 Oct 2012 at 19:57

schumi84 said:
I currently own a 42" LG LCD television that I have had for almost 4 years,

I'm a bit narked as, like I say, the TV really isn't that old .

Am wondering how long a life span a lot these big flat screen TV's & PC monitors really have..

As i know my sister Philips plasma's & my best mate Toshiba LCD died as they were coming up to around 5 years old
and my very own dell 24" 2405 LCD monitor died when it was around 4 to 5 years old

All of them was due to a failing PSU or Inverter..

schumi84 · 14 Oct 2012 at 21:05

It is a bit of a worry that things nowadays just aren't made to last, and worst of all, a lot of it can't be fixed by DIY, like the good old days.

Just to add to this, as I have just been using it, the picture every now and then disappears for a second or 2 but the sound continues as normal. The only other symptom I noticed was a sort of crackling sound coming from the top of the TV, round the back and when looking through the vents at the top there is a circuit board there of some description. That crackling only happens very rarely though.

Defunkt · 14 Oct 2012 at 21:32

If you do buy from Richer Sounds as you are thinking of then I would recommend their in house warranty. You buy the TV and you can then go back to them when your 12 month standard warranty is about to expire. Pay 10% of your TV's price at sale and you are fully covered for another 5 years. Their customer service and warranties are something they excel at in my experience. At least you will have 6 years use minimum this way at a cost of less than £100.
Because of the cost of TV's it's the one thing I do take an extra warranty out on and is worthwhile for the reasons you have pointed out.
Just a thought.

Speed · 14 Oct 2012 at 21:49

+1 to the Richer Sounds warranty!

From what I recall if you don't claim on it in the 5 years you can also get a refund.

schumi84 · 14 Oct 2012 at 22:42

Thanks very much for the details about Richer Sounds, certainly something I will seriously consider and probably go for

schumi84 · 18 Oct 2012 at 22:34

Just a little update.

I managed to get the picture looking semi-normal by playing around with the settings, however it made the dark bits ridiculous. Was watching 6 Feet Under tonight and **** just got real

I was hoping my tweaking would allow us to hold out until after Christmas, however I don't think that is going to be an option

. There is a repair place just up the road from where I work so am tempted to ask him if there is anything he can do to fix it.

Speed · 18 Oct 2012 at 22:36

Wow Psychedelic!

Indeed worth a shot, never know you could get it sorted fairly cheaply.

Gtiracer · 18 Oct 2012 at 22:37

Mine lets go a little bit with faces and goes a kinda funny purple, only small, but noticable, but with consumers pushing prices down all the time, its no wonder things don't last as long nowadays.

Just gives me an excuse to go bigger I suppose when it does decide to go

schumi84 · 20 Oct 2012 at 11:02

I had a word with the repair guy near my work and has basically said that the TV is knackered

.

With that news it now looks like I will have to go for a new TV, not something I wanted to do this close to Christmas

. As I linked to previously in this thread, I have been looking at Samsung as a replacement (UE46ES5500).

I have, however, noticed that plasma is a fairly decent price and from looking around, generally seem to be of better picture quality according to reviews. The panel I have my eye on is an LG (50PA650T) but seem to be drawing a blank with regards to reviews for it. One thing I have seen mentioned is with reflections on the screen with plasma, the TV itself will be in the corner of a room with a window to its right hand side, could this prove to be an issue?

Any input would be greatly appreciated on the choices I have made but also on any other suggestions you may have.

Thanks very much as always

morfmedia · 20 Oct 2012 at 12:35

I am looking at the Samsung 46 inch 5800, bit more cash but looks incredible in store

wazza300 · 20 Oct 2012 at 13:19

How can the repair guy know its kaputt without opening it up and looking? Is it led or cathode backlit? I'd take it n get it repaired

schumi84 · 20 Oct 2012 at 14:37

I showed him the above pictures and he has seen it before and is a known issue with Samsung and LG panels apparently as they kept back a load of replacements for warranty purposes. A replacement would be in the region of £300.

@ wazza, it's a backlit TV

Speed · 20 Oct 2012 at 14:40

At that price you'd be better getting something new to be honest.

wazza300 · 20 Oct 2012 at 15:26

Try and get a second opinion,most can't be bothered to repair and want you to buy a new tv off them,can vouch for the Samsung e and previous d models,they are great

schumi84 · 20 Oct 2012 at 16:11

He doesn't supply TV's at all, just a repair shop so it won't be that. From the description I gave and the pictures he saw it points to a fault with the controller which can be attributed to the lead-free solder they now use causing dry joints and basically buggering it.

Trouble is I don't know anyone with in depth knowledge about these things so it feels like false economy to take it to the guy, pay for him to look at it and come up with the same conclusion.

The TV itself has been playing up for quite a while, coincidentally starting at around the same time as I bought my new AV Amp and it is doing so many different things it could be multiple issues with it.

V F · 21 Oct 2012 at 18:48

schumi84 said:
It is a bit of a worry that things nowadays just aren't made to last, and worst of all, a lot of it can't be fixed by DIY, like the good old days.

Just to add to this, as I have just been using it, the picture every now and then disappears for a second or 2 but the sound continues as normal. The only other symptom I noticed was a sort of crackling sound coming from the top of the TV, round the back and when looking through the vents at the top there is a circuit board there of some description. That crackling only happens very rarely though.

It scares me how I have a little 14/15 inch? Ferguson tv out in the garage thats in colour thats 33/34 years old and still working fine to this day.

mrh2019 · 21 Oct 2012 at 22:36

schumi84 said:
He doesn't supply TV's at all, just a repair shop so it won't be that. From the description I gave and the pictures he saw it points to a fault with the controller which can be attributed to the lead-free solder they now use causing dry joints and basically buggering it.

Trouble is I don't know anyone with in depth knowledge about these things so it feels like false economy to take it to the guy, pay for him to look at it and come up with the same conclusion.

The TV itself has been playing up for quite a while, coincidentally starting at around the same time as I bought my new AV Amp and it is doing so many different things it could be multiple issues with it.

Hi, sorry but that will more then likely be the screen, there is no real way to prove it apart from substitution, it could be what is called the screen driver PCB can also be know as the T-CON PCB. Sometime theses are available separately but normally come part of the LCD screen, but most of the time its LCD screen that's faulty.
Also the LVDS lead can cause the effect you pictures show, but your TV being 4 years ish old should have a flat ribbon cable they don't normal cause problems.
If it is the LCD screen at fault it would be cheaper to replace the TV then get it repaired, that's if the screen is still available.

schumi84 · 22 Oct 2012 at 13:14

V F said:
It scares me how I have a little 14/15 inch? Ferguson tv out in the garage thats in colour thats 33/34 years old and still working fine to this day.

Definitely, things really aren't made to last nowadays and when they do break, they're made in such a way that you can't fix them yourself (as shown by my washing machine bearing dying after 3 years and you can't replace just the bearing itself, the whole drum and assembly has to be done

).

Thanks very much for the input mrh, it looks like we're not going to be asking for anything for Christmas apart from a small donation towards the new TV.

Thankfully my dad has leant me his 40" Samsung LCD for the time being, however he is now having to make do with a 28" Panasonic CRT

(he did insist btw)

manic_man · 22 Oct 2012 at 13:32

I mean, it does look like something in the picture processing control hardware has gone funny, however if the TV has a USB socket, you could try updating to the latest firmware?

If you find the specific model (and it is USB enabled) then updating LG TVs is a breeze, you just download the latest firmware, stick it in the root directory of a USB stick formatted to FAT or FAT32 and the TV recognises it and updates itself.

Could be worth a shot?