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Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 11:38 pm
by FixItMeself
I have a DLP HLP4663WX/XAA and have been experiencing several issues:

The color has been weird (reds are purple) for a long time.
The color wheel started whining so I replaced that - no change to the color problem and the contrast dropped after a while (blacks are kinda faded).
So I replaced the bulb thinking that was the problem - no effect.
Now there are very faint, white, flashy lines in the dark areas and the picture is becoming grainy and fuzzy - this problem seems worse for s-video than HDMI but the color issue seems worse for HDMI.
I've been trying different setting in the service menu and right after is when the lines showed up... is there something I could have changed to cause this?
I also changed the s-video connection and connected it to a different port... no change.
Is there a part that needs replacing or can this be fixed by adjustment?
Please let me know soon!
Thanks!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 8:30 pm
by grayfox
Hello,

Sounds like you might be experiencing a DMD board issue... most of the times this requires a replacement of the complete light engine :(
you should also try every input and see if the menu screens are affected by the distortion??? this helps diagnose...
anybody out there have any advise? because my recommendation is to have a tech look at it!

Hope i can be of further help!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 9:46 pm
by FixItMeself
Thanks - I'll check that out... any way to visually tell if the DMD board is defective?

After my first post I realized that the grainy/fuzzy with faint horizontal and vertical lines effect is isolated to s-video.
It almost looks like some sort of intereference...?

P.S. I've been messing with the setting on the service menu and the contrast on HDMI seems back to normal. Also, I pulled the jumper on the DMD board (that is advised to do when you replace your color wheel) and so far the color looks like it might be good... I'll have to test further to be sure. I'll post back once I've done so to confirm or negate.

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 9:49 pm
by grayfox
:D good to hear, well theres some distortions on the screen and fail commands like form the remote control if a dmd is bad...

the reason i asked you to try all inputs is to isolate the problem this might just be a video board or maybe just an input board...

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 3:13 am
by FixItMeself
Input, right - sorry, missed that bit... I'm a bit dense right now - by input you mean does the TV respond to all the buttons on the remote?
If yes, I believe so... I'll check that out too and report back.
Thanks!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 11:36 pm
by grayfox
welcome, and yes that is exactly what i meant, i know in this context it is confusing!!! sorry!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 12:41 am
by FixItMeself
Sorry for the delay in response.
Okay, input's fine and I've been messing with more service settings which seems to have sorted the color issue for good and might have fixed the contrast problem (still need to test that out a bit), but I've still got the grainy/fuzzy issue.
I've also got a banding effect between shades of light and color and there's a 3/4 inch shadow running along the bottom length of the screen (not completely black just kind of a blue shadow band).
Any further advise?

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 4:59 pm
by grayfox
Hmm after all that attempt at calibration with no success I think you might have to look for a new DMD board, does this distortion you describe affect the on screen menu???

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:02 pm
by FixItMeself
No, it does not effect the TV menus.
I am going to try a different DVD player to make sure that's not the problem - doubt it though 'cause all this started with changing the color wheel.
Will report back later.

Any ideas about the pixelating/banding effect? DMD too?

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:51 pm
by grayfox
Yes im afraid those symptoms, (if the distortion is happening with both analog and digital inputs) can pertain to the DMD board :(
but fear not, in saving a big screen like this the cost of a light engine is around 200$ which for an HD TV I think is relatively cheap price!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 2:20 am
by FixItMeself
Distortion only for s-video... HDMI seems fine.
I don't minding spending what I have to I just want to be sure I'm getting the right part.
Gonna try the new player shortly.
Thanks!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 5:02 pm
by grayfox
So the HDMI seems fine? no distortion whatsoever? do you have a snapshot of the screen?

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 12:12 am
by FixItMeself
Think so. I've been focusing more on my s-video problem so I'm not positive... I'll take a closer look to be sure and let you know.
Here's a snapsot of the s-video whitish lines effect:
white lines.JPG
white lines.JPG (94.76 KiB) Viewed 46946 times

Definitely no white lines or blurry image on HDMI - just not sure about the color pixelating/banding issue.
The shadow at the bottom is a problem for both - here's what is looks like:
bar.jpg
bar.jpg (55.33 KiB) Viewed 46946 times

I haven't had a chence to change players yet (got five other people I share the TV with) but hope to do so soon.
Let me know if you need any more pics... these aren't the best.
Thanks!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 3:08 pm
by grayfox
While I think the lines are a board yet to be determined, (I think it will be either the Digital video or Main Input board) I think the white band (if this is not a DMD board issue) can mean either the projector or lamp is out of alignment, have you recently moved the tv? or opened it up? make sure to double check that the lamp is properly seated! Ive seen this before!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 8:50 pm
by FixItMeself
I have been messing around quite a bit inside the TV, but I doubt that's cause - the shadow showed up after I began adjusting things on the service menu. I'll reseat the lamp to be sure.
No color banding on HDMI - actually everthing looks pretty good on there right now.
Just s-video problems.
I noticed a sort of flickering effect is accompanying the distortions.
When the movie is playing the lighting will amp-up slightly and then go back down.
I'm gonna go hook up an alternate DVD player now and I'll report back.

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 6:06 am
by FixItMeself
Nope, not the DVD player - same problem with my other one (shadow, distortion, pixilation).
I looked very close this time and there is a slight pixilation (color banding) on HDMI but no white lines, flickering or blurred color as far as I could see.
I've got some more pictures that I'll post tomorrow.
I'll also try to reseat the lamp this weekend.
Thanks for the help!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 10:20 pm
by grayfox
now were getting somewhere! :roll:
Ok so there's definitely a video board malfunction :geek: . If the HDMI input looks good then its the Digital video board; since this "digitizes" analog inputs like S-video :shock: ... Ill wait to see if I can help further with the images :oops:

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:44 am
by FixItMeself
Okay, here's the pics... a little late but here nonetheless!
I turned down the brightness so you could see the blurred color...

(S-video is on the left and HDMI on the right for comparison)
color.JPG
color.JPG (35.03 KiB) Viewed 46902 times

... and I tried my best to capture the digitized effect...

(Two different players - two differents connections and ports... both S-video)
digitized.JPG
digitized.JPG (20.8 KiB) Viewed 46902 times

I haven't had a chance yet to reseat the lamp but will let you know when I do... hopefully that will take care of the shadow.
Thanks!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:54 am
by grayfox
hhmmmm let me ask my fellow techs for some insight! keep us posted!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 1:52 am
by FixItMeself
Reseated the lamp - no effect, shadow's still there.
Took out the power board and there are two areas that are a bit brownish (don't know if that means anything), otherwise the rest of the board seems fine (nothing fried, melted cracked or otherwise damaged... that I could see anyway).
brown 1.JPG
brown 1.JPG (43.37 KiB) Viewed 46891 times
brown 2.JPG
brown 2.JPG (54.32 KiB) Viewed 46891 times


I'll take out the other boards later and report back.

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:22 pm
by grayfox
I am sorry to be asking this so far ahead in our trouble shooting but I imagine this image looked better at some point? reason I ask is because S-video on a large TV like this will almost always look pixeled!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:08 am
by FixItMeself
Yeah, heck of a lot better - I used to have a hard time telling the difference in quality between HDMI and S-video.
HDMI is a bit fuzzier than it used to be too (grainy and a bit blurry - like it's slightly out of focus) and the contrast for both just isn't what it used to be. S-video is far worse, probably because it is a less quality connection to begin with.

Any ideas about the lighting ramping up slightly and then back down every few seconds... something that regulates the bulb output - ballast maybe?

Good news is the the white lines seemed to have disappeared.
I don't know what exaclty fixed that - I took out the power board and cleaned it and gently jiggled the actuator to make sure it was in firmly place.
I did remove the actuator early on when I was trying to find out what the buzzing sound was coming from (before I replaced the color wheel)... could that have done something?

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:15 am
by grayfox
hhmmm :geek: I do not think that would make a sound but in the process of taking it apart and reassembling the TV it could have cleaned or properly connected something :P . Ok so now im confused, :roll: HDMI vs S-Vid, which get what?! :shock:

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 1:09 am
by FixItMeself
HDMI is a bit grainy and fuzzy (like a picture when the camera is a bit out of focus) and the contrast is very slightly faded - the digitizing (unsmooth color) is also only slight.
S-video is 2-3 times worse - looks like an old, faded, fuzzy print with digitizing.

The light amping-up/amping-down probably affects both connections but is masked by better contrast on HDMI.

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:26 pm
by grayfox
In the process of troubleshooting, the first board I would change is the input board since it seems to affect both Analog and Digital inputs... and go from there!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 9:57 pm
by FixItMeself
Okay thanks!
I'll keep you posted.

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 8:11 pm
by FixItMeself
Okay, I finally got around to taking out the analog and digital boards.
The analog looks fine and both are fully intact but it looked like burnt sugar on several parts of the digital.

burnt 1.JPG
burnt 1.JPG (80.94 KiB) Viewed 46819 times


I cleaned both boards up good and HDMI actually looks a bit clearer, but the s-video is the same.
Before replacing anything I'm going to examine the DMD and temp sensor.
If all looks well with those then I'll go ahead and get a new digital board.

I didn't know too much about electronics before my TV started acting-up... I'm going to be an experienced technician once I've finally got it working right! :mrgreen:

P.S. What is that burnt stuff?

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:10 pm
by FixItMeself
Here's a pic of the whole board:

digital.JPG
digital.JPG (254.32 KiB) Viewed 46818 times


I'll report back on the DMD board and temp sensor once I can to around to another disassembly.

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 4:34 pm
by grayfox
Hello,
still haven't heard back , hope all is ok! this input board seems a little "sweaty" (the oily substance comes from overheating) also I recognize it from having replaced it more times than not! let us know!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 4:37 am
by FixItMeself
Yeah, when you don't hear back from someone for a while on forums like this you think "Gee, hope they remembered to unplug the TV first!" :? ... *DZZZZZZ*! :shock:

Had a crazy couple of weeks but am hoping to get to it before the weeks end.
Will report on that soon as I can.

Thanks for the info - any idea why the board would be overheating?

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:39 pm
by grayfox
I know!

well the heating depends on how well ventilated the tv is, or proper function of the fans, but to be honest ive seen this wear on almost all TVs with some years on them..

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 12:07 am
by FixItMeself
Alright, got around to disassembling the DMD board and it is a bit "oily" but otherwise seems fine.
Cleaned it up and reassembled.
Did something really dumb and unscrewed the projecter lens to clean it - when I reassembled the TV the picture was all out of focus. :roll: Spent the next 30 mins to an hour trying to figure out how to recalibrate that (super pain in the behind... do not mess with that thing unless you know what your doing!).
Finally got the picture back in focus and (of course) the DMD board was off causing a black bar on the top of the screen.
Re-adjusted that and everything is working fine now (besides the usual distortion).
So, I'm going to go get a new digital board in a few weeks or so.
Will be sure to report back once I've installed it.
Thanks!

P.S. I also checked the temp sensor - seemed fine.

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 7:12 pm
by FixItMeself
Was finally able to order the board... hopefully will arrive within the week.
Will update you once I get a chance to install.

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 7:15 pm
by grayfox
godd luck, let us know how it goes!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 3:42 am
by FixItMeself
Got the part today and hope to install this week.
Will keep you posted.

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 10:27 pm
by FixItMeself
Well, nix on that.
The part I received is showing signs from overheating too - didn't know the company I was purchasing from sold used parts. :roll:
Sorry folks... gonna have to wait a while longer.
Hopefully I'll get it sorted with the company and this thing fixed before the end of the year! :mrgreen:

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 11:12 pm
by grayfox
oh no! :cry: who is the company?? maybe this is a common issue with this model...

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 11:52 pm
by FixItMeself
The site it Discounttvparts.com.
Sneaky site... only place indicating that they sell "recycled parts" is their About Us page.
I'm currently trying to work it out wth them.
Will let you know how it goes.

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 12:09 am
by grayfox
ok, if you can get a part number off the board let me know ill help you find it if they cannot replace it =)

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 3:08 am
by FixItMeself
The whole board assembly is BP94-02065A - just the circuit board is BP41-00120C.
I can't find the circuit board new on it's own so if you know where I can find one great.
I found the BP94-02065A for around $140.00 new.
Thanks!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 4:19 pm
by grayfox
very sneaky people out there, but there must be some kind of Quality Control or Inspection... let me take a look and I'll let you know, good luck with them!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 7:37 pm
by FixItMeself
Well, I've got the board already packaged back up but I can tell you that it has the same "oily" look mine does (pictured earlier) - just not quite as bad.
They said that the board has been tested by their Quality Control dept. but my concern is that if it's already showing signs of overheating that I'm going to have the same problem with it shortly that I have with mine now... a new one will at least last longer.
So anyway, hopefully their willing to work something out.
Tell you one thing - I'm definitely reading everything on a website before buying from now on!
Thanks for the help.
I'll let you know when I get a new board... one way or another. ;)

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 7:43 pm
by grayfox
;) yup you have to be careful with that fine print, store policies are rough.

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 8:46 pm
by FixItMeself
Company unmovable... returning part - had to pay return shipping and a 30% restocking fee. :roll:
Got a new part from someone else... should be here within the week.

So, lesson learned from all this: Avoid sites like DiscountTVParts.com! You pay for what you get... if it's too good to be true then IT'S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE! ;)

Will update you when the part comes.
Thanks!

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 8:54 pm
by FixItMeself
Got the new board and it looks good!
Gonna try and install this week... cross your fingers! :)

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 12:53 am
by FixItMeself
DANG!
Nix on all that!
The distortion is back and so is the contrast issue.
I'm thinking this has got to be the DMD.
I turned the brightness way up and took a video that should show you waht's going on... will post it soon as I can.

Suggestions welcome.

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:07 am
by Samsungtech
The problem you having is probably just the index delay which you need to adjust from the service menu,
if the model begins with an HLP then when you replace the color wheel , the new color wheel should come with a sticker that will have
the RGB values plus index delay fail to do this may cause the colors not to blend properly....
The index delay value is usually around 40-45
i hope this helps

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 10:51 am
by kgoroway

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:22 pm
by FixItMeself

Re: Poor picture/color quality

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:28 pm
by FixItMeself