Samsung Plasma PN51E550 Firmware/Luminance

[Beaucamper]

I've had much praise for my Samsung Plasma PN51E550 on this forum.
I hope I can still praise it when this problem is solved.

I noticed the picture getting dull and I did a new settings from my Disney WoW disk. I could no longer get enough of the white point to bring it back. This unit has never shown a pure white or a high enough level to make it clip. But the picture itself has had good white and specular highlights.

I worried about this when I bought it, but I took the word of Samsung that these panels can have a half-life of 60,000 hours and this unit is only year and a half old. I watch it about three hours a day. Surely even using it at 100% cell light, which is necessary to get a nominally 'calibrated' picture would take years to wear it down. The 100% cell setting is recommended for this model on CNET. Very disturbing that it had become less than accurate and it had already lost it's sparkle.

I have a three-year service contract, but how could I convince them that just because I no longer like the picture that I should get a new set? For me 'unwatchable' means it isn't accurate to the source. A terrible outcome because I'm retired on a low income and I can't afford a replacement.

I looked for new Firmware in the faint hope that it would help in some way.
I found it. From March 2014. It did help.

There is headroom we can't access through the menu and the Cell Light can be made brighter. I get beautiful blacks, great shadow detail, and the spectral highlights are better than ever. It is bright enough that I'm able to back off on the Cell Light. It looks amazingly three dimensional. I start to think of the Darbee enhancer, it is so impressive. I went deep into the advanced level on the WoW disc to get all I could from it, and when the firmware kicked in, it was magic.

Except for one thing. It won't stay bright.
For days I've had it looking amazing only to have it fade back to the low contrast picture. Sometimes it goes down in half an hour. Or it will last for many hours and not fade at all. It's like a crazy dream. I start to think I've imagined it when it's back at the old level.

I need to find out what component is causing this, so I can be sure the repair tech will fix it, and I'll be covered by my service contract.

It starts up in two steps. Picture comes on, goes black, comes up again. This may be normal--but it may be a clue.
I've described this problem on the CNET Forum which has Samsung techs reading it.

Anyone else out there had a drop in luminance with a Samsung Plasma?

If you have a Samsung 550 series, have you loaded the new firmware?

[Beaucamper]

I needed a more sensational title for this thread--
I should have said 'Samsung Plasma Alert-- Brightness Failure !'


It is frustrating to have a display that was once so beautiful-- now it has a picture
that is better than ever, and I can't keep it that way.

There's no predicting what it will do if I have a repair tech come to my place.
If it looks the old dull way he may conclude that's just the way it is.
If he sees it performing at this new amazing level....
I have no way of knowing if which way it will be, and for how long.

I didn't have it last night, now today it's back again.
Any techs reading this? Any ideas? What am I missing?
What panel or circuit is most likely to be the cause?

Guesses are welcome. Even snide remarks.

[HECII]

Do the settings change when the disply goes dull? If not maybe it's a heat issue? If so it sounds like the set is resetting to defualt settings. If the settings are changing you might try taking the batteries out of the remote and see if the settings stay the same, maybe it has a problem with the remote? Just a couple of thoughts.

[Beaucamper]

I appreciate the input. It doesn't change settings and I've been checking all the items
on the picture menu. I kinda wish it did. I could put the great picture back on.

I haven't been able to connect the problem to heat. I let my apartment's temperature go down
one night and it had no effect on keeping the good picture. The only heat I can feel
is at the vents, not in the body of the unit. So probably it's not overheating.

I think:
The new firmware pushes the voltage to the panel up, which is what drives it enough
to produce the pure white at the top of grey scale, and this is part of the fix
that Samsung is making in picture quality. The voltage drops back down after a time and the grey scale goes down with it. It takes the life out of the picture. But what's doing this?
I haven't gotten an answer from CNET/Samsung.

I'm afraid to do a new thing I've thought of. I don't want to eliminate the change it makes and have it stay 'flat'.
It might make a difference, like refreshing a cable box, to pull the electric input to turn it completely off. Then it has to boot up from scratch, like a computer. Actually-- an HDTV is a computer.

I just turned on Saturday Night Live. Nice picture. A lot better than the show.

[HECII]

Does it happen on all inputs (hdmi1, hdmi2, coax, etc.)? Or is it only happening on coax/tv (you've only mentioned tv)? You might try another input. It might still be a heat issue, I've seen computer monitors do strange things when the heat sink on the cpu gets full of dust and starts to overheat (right at the edge of overheating). The boot up of the picture, then the reboot that you mentioned may be a glitch in the firmware update (or heat), I'm not sure if the update could be removed and then reinstalled, that may be something to try (if you haven't already)? Maybe it's a glitch in the C.A.T.S. system, adjusting for picture lighting that's changing for too long a time frame, is it turned off? Just a few more thoughts.

[Beaucamper]

At least it's consistent now.
The inputs have been different and it effects my BluRay picture also.
I'm ruling out dust for now. It is dusty here with the California drought and it almost never rains here between April and October but I don't see how that much dust can get in there thru the high vents on the back.

'CATS' on this Samsung is called Eco-Save. It's turned off.
I pulled the electric cord yesterday and left it out for a time, it came out so easy, it could have been loose.
The picture was stunning (accurate/not overdriven) last night and gradually lost depth and sparkle after an hour. It's back to excellence today. I'm monitoring the ambient temperature behind the panel with a thermometer suspended about 8 inches from the vents.
At least I can see if the reading is higher when the panel dims.
Surely this panel is not prematurely wearing. This could be the best it's ever looked but maybe not considering how
amazing BluRays like Titanic and Cleopatra, can be.

If it stays optimum longer than an hour, I will have to wonder why it does this in the daytime but not at night.

If I showed it to a repairman right now he'd probably want me to sell it to him.

[Beaucamper]

I'll keep reporting here till this is resolved. It seems to be a unique problem
but it may start applying to other 550 Samsungs out there.
I should be getting an answer soon from a website that diagnoses Samsungs and sells part to fix them.

I had it on for four to six hours during the day.
then turned it back on at 11:30
and by 1 AM it had dropped contrast ratio.

I had it on non-stop one day from about noon
all the way through, didn't turn it off
and by 1 AM it had dropped contrast ratio.

I should leave it off all day today,
turn it on this evening before 11:30--
9 or 10 somewhere in there-- and
find out if it drops contrast ratio
around 1 AM.

[HECII]

It sounds like you may have found a possible clue. If it happens every night at the same time it might be your power company doing some kind of cost savings and reducing the voltage level at night. Do you have any way of seeing what voltage is available at different times, like a good voltage meter? Are you out in a rural area? Maybe you should call your power company and ask them if they reduce voltage at night?

[Beaucamper]

I'll keep watching this weekend for signs that this is consistent. I think there were times it happened during the day. Plus it was still performing 'perfectly' last night after 2:30 AM. This was after leaving it off all day till 11:30 PM.
Good idea tho'. It would involve the voltage reaching the picture panel.

I have word from a website that diagnoses Samsung Plasmas. They don't know the specific cause but they say it's almost certainly the main board. This is where all of the picture settings are stored and controlled. The interior of a plasma is surprisingly simple in terms of the number of parts that are in there. That board is not expensive, but I have a service contract. I'll contact my local repair service Monday.

[HECII]

If you find out what is happening would you please post what you find out on this thread? I'm curious to know what it is.

Good luck...

[Beaucamper]

I sure will. I want all the Plasma Sammy people to know in case this effect is widespread. There must have been complaints to Samsung that caused them to do a new set-up with the firmware.
It could be unique to mine but I've seen at least one Samsung 550 owner say he can't get a true white on the WoW disc 'contrast' pattern.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Beaucamper]

Originally Posted by HECII

If you find out what is happening would you please post what you find out on this thread? I'm curious to know what it is.

Good luck...

I'm back.

Stay with me. This gets interesting at the end.
I invoked my SquareTrade service contract and a tech came from 50 miles away. They subcontract the work.
Best guess: The Main Panel which contains all the picture controls.
It made the picture look different and arguably better after a new 'calibration; with the WoW Disc. I was almost happy but it didn't have the full contrast ratio I had been getting at best. Days later it did the brightness jump and fade down. By that time I had discovered edge artifacts.
On Saturday Night Live, the actors in front of a brightly lit set had thin black lines around them. My BluRays with light backgrounds had outlines around objects. This destroyed the definition and accuracy of my BluRays, especially Westerns and outdoor scenes.
My BluRay of How The West Was Won looked shockingly bad and it is mastered in 18K, three times 6K. So much detail lost.

I called SquareTrade. They decided the original trouble must be the Y Main board that controls brightness. I tried to get them to also send a new Main board to save time & cut expense. The labor costs more than the parts and we were looking at three visits. They have a policy of replacing one part at a time. The part was on back order.

After ten days, same tech came and I told him about the Main board -- no way I could live with it. He put in the Y Main and it didn't work. A dud.

He put back the old Y Main and called SquareTrade--
told them my picture problem. He was given the 'one part at a time' policy, but the tech there said he would ask for permission to send two-- and put him on hold. Then the connection was lost.

He called SquareTrade again and had to give the whole story to a new person on the line. That one must have been higher up. He said, "Okay. We'll cut him a check for the price of the set." Case closed. Keep the TV. Go buy another one. My tech said, "This was the best possible outcome." I agreed.

SquareTrade didn't get it right the first time & the part was defective, but I don't fault them. They do everything from a distance and they never see the TV. They kept their promise-- to make it like new or pay me the full price of the set.

I've had three HDTVs since 2001 and when this one was at it's best, I'd never seen a better HD picture anywhere. It was like they say a Sharp Elite or Panasonic Z series performs. Just astounding.
The challenge is to get as good as this one for near the same money-- even as Plasmas are disappearing along with their bang for the buck. I can't spare much money to add to the new price.

I'll start a thread about my new search for the HD Holy Grail.

[Suntory_Times]

Interesting read and good to see a happy ending. One thing I will point out though is that your tv didn't even come close to a vt or zt60 from panasonic as you seem to suggest.

If you want the pros of a plasma your best point to start looking currently is the f8500 if it is withing your budget.

[Beaucamper]

Originally Posted by Suntory_Times

Interesting read and good to see a happy ending. One thing I will point out though is that your tv didn't even come close to a vt or zt60 from panasonic as you seem to suggest.

If you want the pros of a plasma your best point to start looking currently is the f8500 if it is withing your budget.

I'd go there if my budget could take it, but it can't. I'll go for the best I can get for the money. This is for my retirement. I'm trying for a set that will outlive me and I plan to live for a long time.

I may give up on Plasma. For one thing the life span of it is worrisome on the lesser units. I had to have the cell light all the way up. There's no place to go when as it gets dimmer over time. LEDs are likely to outlast everything else on a LCD display and stay bright, perhaps for the life of the set.

I'm studying the reviews for the Sony Bravia 3D LCD HDTV KDL50W800B as a starting point for my new adventure.

[HECII]

Beaucamper, glad to see you had a good outcome! Sorry to see you leave the plasma community, but I understand about the prices of plasmas at this time. Good luck with your new adventure!