I am currently using a
40" Samsung Series 6 LCD TV, model number
LA40A650A1R which I bought in December 2008. This was one of the most talked about HDTV in 2008 mainly due to its superb/sharp picture quality and its unconventional glass panel frame design.
Anyway, it was working flawlessly until 6.30pm+ last Friday, when vertical lines suddenly appeared on the TV screen. Initially I thought something was wrong with my Astro. Anyway, I switched off the TV and then switched it back on. It was the time that I realize it is the TV's problem.
I called Samsung hotline the next morning. The guy suggested that it could be a panel problem and if it really is a panel problem, he said that it is not worth to repair it as it is going to be thousand of RM and I am better off buying a new one. Anyhow, he said that I can opt to have their technician to come over to inspect my TV but since it is already out of warranty, it will cost me RM160 just to have their technician coming over. It is quite a lot of money just to have their people coming over, so he suggested that I call the Samsung Service Centre office in my place directly and see if they can offer me another solution that doesn't require me fork out RM160.
I called the Samsung Service Centre in my place, talked to one of their technicians and he asked me to take a picture with the TV switched on and MMS to him. This way I do not have to pay anything

Awesome! But the bad news is, he confirmed that it is indeed a panel defect problem and the parts and labour charge will cost me north of RM1,700!!!
Before calling him, I've googled about this and yes. I believe it is a panel problem too even though he did not actually come to my house, disassemble my LCD TV set to check the problem. It seems that all the reported problems so far came from all Samsung and SONY TV from year 2007-2010. There are pictures available on the Internet and many of those in the US who bought the same model as me also complained the same thing. Some not very lucky people noticed the problem just after 1 year plus into using the TV, while the majority only experienced the problem between 3 to 4 years later and in my case, it is about 3 years and 8 months. So I suppose I can consider myself as one of the ones with better luck but then, when you paid RM6,000+ for the TV, you'd expect it to last for at least 10 years. Yes, series 6 was very expensive then
I still think that Samsung LCD/LED HDTV have the sharpest image of all the HDTV manufacturer there (ok, this is A FACT, whether you like it or not!). And their argument that using a glossy screen instead of a matte screen makes the picture even more lively and sharp is definitely true! Samsung undoubtedly is the best when it comes to HDTV image quality but with so many people experiencing their HDTV panel to fail just 2 to 4 years into using it, there is definitely something seriously wrong with their HDTV panel.
You guys can look for this TV model, LN40A650 in Amazon.com. It is the exact same model as LA40A650, just that those models sold in Americas carry the serial LN instead of LA. You guys will notice that it is a highly rated LCD TV and most reviews posted in 2008-2009 are positive ones but all the recent reviews are mostly written by the same people who gave this LCD TV a 4 or 5-star a few years back but now all of them came back to that page and said that their TV are all dead!
This post has been edited by MilesAndMore: Aug 29 2012, 02:26 AM