Problems with Samsung HLM617W HDTV

Hi,

I just bought this set and had Direct TV installed this week. The TV is mated with a Samsung HD Tuner SIR TS160 and produces stunning HD material (unfortunately there's only one channel that comes with Direct TV non-premium package at the moment). The standard definition material is worse than the cable signal displayed on my old NTSC TV. The video feed between the tuner and TV is via a DVI connection. There are 2 issues that I am experiencing with this brand new TV set:

(1) A white thin band, approx. 1/8 of an inch thick, 18 inches long, at the bottom of the screen that flashes every few seconds. It looks like a potential vertical centering problem with the Samsung tuner DVI feed but I am not sure how to rectify it as the tuner appears to allow horizontal centering only.

(2) When the TV set was first turned on the first few times, there was a loud static, cracking sound that lasted for 10-15 minutes before it changed to a buzzing noise that has not gone away when the TV is on. The noise comes from the right rear of the TV set. The fan is located on the left rear and relatively quiet.

Have any Samsung HLM617W owners experienced these same problems? What are the remedies to fix them?

Many thanks in advance for your feedback.

Regards,

Peter

On point (2) it's essential to let new equipment stand for a few hours before connecting power. This is not so much of a problem in dry climates but here in England it's common for the weather to be cold and wet outside and warm and humid inside.

If you bring equipment in from a cold vehicle, it quickly forms condensation inside and outside. It can take quite a few hours to warm up and for the moisture to dissipate.

Obviously it warms up quicker once power is applied but this can cause untold damage if the moisture is on the electronics!

In your case, the initial switch-on will give a very short duration noise as the degaussing circuits take a rush of current to demagnetise the tube. This is normal. Then as the EHT voltage builds up to maximum, there'll be a crackling noise as it finds leakage paths to ground. This is normal. But moisture will cause much greater leakage and can even cause permanent "tracking".

Point (1) could be a symptom of EHT leakage. If you take the rear cover off the TV set and then reconnect power, you may be able to observe some leakage in the form of a blue/white "lightning" streak, with the room in darkness.

(If you remove the cover be VERY careful to keep all parts of your body away from the electronics which carry extremely high voltages that can kill!)

I'd suggest you simply take it back to the shop, since it hasn't worked properly since you got it.

Fman