Samsung hls5065wx xaa - problems with one particular channel

[BranSul]

Hello,



I bought this TV used, it seems to work well, I have already replaced the lamp once, that did the charm with a dimming problem.



About 50% of the time when I turn on one particular channel though, the TV will immediately freeze, and I have to unplug it, plug it back in, then it doesn't cut all the way back on. Then I unplug it, plug it back in again, and I have to turn the channel as quickly as possible to prevent it from freezing. It has that problem only with that channel, and I do believe it is the weakest signal that my TV consistently picks up (with an antenna).



On any channel, sometimes my TV freezes, and then cuts itself off, and back on again, for no apparent reason. That's comparatively much more rare.



Sometimes in association with these events I can hear the ballast burning, but that shouldn't be a lamp problem, it seems more like a reception-related problem to me.

[ChubbsTech]

Hello,



If the ballast has not been replaced in the past it's likely its starting to act up. If the ballast is no longer putting out the voltage the lamp needs to remain lit the lamp will shut off and your TV will shut itself down. I don't see how a reception problem can shut down the TV. Check to see if you hear any buzzing or humming type sounds coming from the TV as these can be symptoms of a weak ballast. Please advise about the sounds. I will be looking out for your response.



Regards,

[BranSul]

I know this is strange, but under normal conditions, if the TV is on and I cut it on mute, there is only a very tiny, near-silent sound, normal as you would expect for an electronic device. The only time there is ever loud buzzing is when I cut the TV on ... as a rough guess, the ballast is trying to fire up ... the reason it may NOT be the ballast, is the buzzing sound only happens if it was on a specific channel (26, PBS in my market). Cutting the set on when it was set to any other station, it cuts right on with no buzzing.



Under normal conditions, the TV does cut itself off and back on, but only usually after hours of being turned on in a row. For whatever reason, the problems it has on channel 26 is just drastically worse.



I can be changing the channel one by one by pressing the channel button on the side of the TV, not using a remote, and every channel is fine, but as soon as it hits 26, the screen will freeze and I have to unplug the TV to cut it off. The power button won't even work, and it doesn't cut itself off, either. The handful of times I have trouble with other stations, that never happens.



The reason why I believe it is reception (as a guess) is the only time I have worse issues than normal on any other station, are the stations that are so faint I can only pick them up certain times of day with the antenna in perfect position, because their towers are in cities that are further away.

[BranSul]

Hey,



Just checking in once again, hoping for an update. It almost seems tantamount to a processing problem.



I can understand how this problem seems odd, like I wouldn't be explaining it right ... but I explained it exactly how it happens.



I can say I doubt the color wheel has any problems, although the full brightness does come on gradually, another reason why I would guess the ballast needs replacing.

[BranSul]

Well, it's been a while with no answer. These problems still persist but this TV is chugging along, now sometimes when it doesn't have the aforementioned problems, it will stop accepting my input of pressing the buttons even if the picture is still working somehow, so I have to cut it off and back on to even change the channel.



In a way that's an improvement but I'm trying to describe what's going on to get some help on what's going wrong beforehand when the whole thing breaks.

[ChubbsTech]

Hello,



Have you tried to rescan for channels ? How about leaving that particular channel from your channel list. After doing a little research it sounds like the tuner board could be at fault. If you were to have a digital converter box you could try connecting it to one of your outputs and see if your reception problems are gone. Other than that it sounds like that tuner board would need replacing. Hope this helps.



Regards,

[BranSul]

I don't have one, but if that's true, I'm guessing a converter box would be a cheaper fix than a new tuner.

[BranSul]

And yes, I've autoprogrammed a million times. It doesn't fix these problems and its real finicky about signals ... a good converter box might be better at that too.

[ChubbsTech]

Hello,



Try the converter box if possible and please let us know if that helped any.



Regards,