HLR5678W - Is it worth fixing???

[saladnut]

Here's our story, not too unlike what I've seen when I search the web. First, we had to replace the bulb, which was on backorder everywhere. We had extended warranty which took forever, so we ordered a bulb on our own, only to have both arrive at the same time. After replacing the bulb, we began having the shutting off problem that everyone seems to have. Hubby worked on securing the back panel and the various recommendations at the time. That worked for a while, and then it reappeared with a vengeance continually shutting off. So we tried our spare bulb, although this bulb was actually in the housing; other one was not. We noticed the picture was not as bright as normal, but decided to give it some time to "settle in". After a few hours we noticed an awful smell and thought something had died in our attic. After searching the whole house, decided it was the TV and turned it off. We opened the back, and there was a lot of heat emanating from inside. When we turned it off, the TV was still working fine. So I've researched a bit to understand that awful burning smell is most likely a burned out capacitor on a board. In the process I've seen that Samsung DLP's seem to have the lionshare of issues. We're a bit disgusted at this point and just wondering if this is worth fixing. Hubby is Mr. Fixit, so he is sharp in fixing just about everything, given instructions, but he's obviously not a TV repairman. Have no idea how expensive a repairman would be. Just not wanting to dump lots of money into a boat anchor, and hubby is very grumpy without his TV. We have a very nice 42" Sony Bravia in the back bedroom that we love, and we're tempted to dump the Samsung and buy a Sony. Any recommendations on fixing the problems and whether it's worthwhile? :?

[saladnut]

Additional information since hubby has been able to look under the hood, and we've been able to isolate the burning. When the lamp housing was plugged in, the receiving connector in the back flexed, and connection was not properly made. This resulted in the connector area burning as well as areas on the board beneath it, which is EUC 120d P/31, 9137 008 21005, which appears to be the same as this: 4422 400 01471 1 PROJECTION - BALLAST FOR N/A N/A - 9137 008 21005, although the picture shows the connector facing the wrong direction. See: http://photos.discount-merchant.com/pho ... id=1047520. Any suggestions on how to ensure replacing this part will connect properly would be appreciated, as you can't really see it when you slide the lamp housing in. Also would still like to have a recommendation on whether this TV will continue to be a a major thorn, and whether we should cut our losses now. The set is 3 years old. Other than the shutting down issue and the maintenance of the lamp, it's been a very good set with an awesome picture.