PN50C450B1D Firmware Update Disaster

Are you talking about Alternative Software on their Website? there is no such feature on the TV.

Tech adjusted the voltages and cleared up most of my problem.

Still see just the slightest "ghost green color" but not a big issue.

I can see it because I know it's there but someone just looking at the TV would never notice.

Tech said I was the second call this week that he had to fix after firmware update.

Lesson learned, don't update firmware unless there is an issue.

Tech also said that there is no physical damage.

HDTech

For several days after the service call, everything looked pretty good, but slowly I'm starting to see an increasing level of snow starting to return. There seems to be a lot of "energized" pixels on the left 1/3 of the screen. They flash somewhat, but you can see them very easily and they still look like the green snow from before.

magic3400,

I'm sorry to hear that there is a symptom coming back after the repair.

If after the service repair you see other issues that are appearing, the best thing to do is call back the local service center that performed the repair. While I can't speak for the service center or their policy, I believe there might be a window of time where after a repair you can call them up, explain the situation and have a technician come back out.

Try calling back your service center, and if they aren't able to assist, call 800-SAMSUNG and explain the situation. If they aren't able to help, post your transaction number here and I'll see if I can have a service manager look at the case.

--HDTech

Thanks Tech,

I opened a new service request, the snow is steadily progressing to other parts of the screen. The service center called me Friday, he talked with Samsung and they decided to replace the screen. Just waiting for parts now.

Thank you for the info

magic3400,

That's great news. Keep me posted.

--HDTech

Thank you Samsung_HD_Tech for the response. I am going on two weeks now without a functional TV to watch. The screen is getting worse by the day. A tech was supposed to be here Feb. 21 but the part was back logged. I had to ask the same question, how is it possible to order a part without diagnosing the problem first. My patience is wearing thin with Samsung.

If the TV is under 30 days old, why not just return it ?

kingk3,

Based on the symptoms described, there are some seasoned technicians who can usually determine which part might be faulty based on the explanation or descriptions given to them. While I wouldn't expect a phone agent to necessarily have the ability to diagnose more technical issues, technicians are a little bit different in that they work with the products every day and tend to be more familiar with the symptoms.

Keep me posted.

--HDTech

So sorry I haven't responded back but I would like to give you guys an update on what happened after my initial issue. The Samsung tech came out 4 days after I purchased the tv. He brought a new main board with him. As he walked in the door and I had the tv on he stopped and said oh you have diffusion. He said that I would have to replace the whole screen. He went ahead and switched the main board out with the new one and it didnt fix the issue at all. He even tried to adjust the voltage but no luck either. I decided to return the tv to sears and purchase a new c450 at best buy being as how the sears in my area didn't have any more. Didn't really want to wait fo the tech to order a whole new screen. He had mentioned that since I didn't format my thumb drive before adding the firmware to it, that it might have been corrupt. Not sure but in any case I have a new tv and will definitely not be updating the firmware unless I have too.

Here's how they got mine back to 99% of new condition. First they replaced the screen which made things even worse. Then I got a call from tech support, they got with the engineers and created a firmware for my specific issue. They wouldn't even send thumb drive to the service tech, they sent it directly to me and then had the tech come out and install it.

This firmware is not on the website and has not been released (to my knowledge) to the field yet.

The tech came out and installed the firmware, made some slight adjustments to the voltages and I am as happy as can be. Samsung made this the last service call, if that hadn't fixed it they were going to replace my TV. I had a total of 3 service calls starting in mid Feb until last Wed (March 30).

Samsung was great, the worked with me to fix it, I have absolutely no problem with Samsung at all. I actually plan to replace all of my electronic devices with Samsung products. I love my HDTV, but they should warn people to NOT UPGRADE FIRMWARE unless they have an issue with their TV.

Samsung gets two thumbs up in my book.

The Samsung tech showed yesterday and told my wife that replacing the main board will not work and now they have ordred a new panel which should arrive on Tuesday of next week. He said if this doesn't work them they will push Samsung to have the TV replaced.

Do not upgrade firmware ( although u should be able to ! ) unless you have a problem or there is a feature YOU HAVE TO HAVE !!
and if you do upgrade please download and use USB flash drive . Thanks !

As like many of you, I started to get some red pixels on the screen. I looked on the Samsung website and noticed that a new firmware was available and it says it will prevent the red spot or sparks on (s)creen, so I installed it.
(Description of the firmware on the website.)
1. Title 2010 PDP Firmware for S4 (version 1008.2)
2. Applicable Model PDP : 50'' C430, C450
3. Carrier or Corporate Customer All Customer
4. Description This firmware prevent red spot or sparks on creen.

The install went as expected, but now the screen is terrible. 1008.2 times worse than before.

I called support and they will be mailing me out a thumbdrive with an even newer firmware version 1008.3 but it will take a couple of weeks.

I can't find any old versions of firmware to go back to, any ideas? The quality is very bad right now. I had 1007.?

Hey bioron

hi guys,

i just ran into the same firmware problem. does anybody know what component of the tv this affects? can i replace the motherboard or any of the buffer boards? any incite would be appreciated. thanks

hi guys,

i just ran into the same firmware problem. does anybody know what component of the tv this affects? can i replace the motherboard or any of the buffer boards? any incite would be appreciated. thanks

To get the TV fixed took longer than I would have liked, but it is now fixed.

Samsung ended up sending me 2 thumbdrives. First one with the same firmware as on the website. The second on had the 'newest' 1008.3. That helped compared to 1008.2, but still did not fix it. A local tech had to come out and they tried to adjust the voltage but they had to order a new panel. Once the new panel was replaces, it looks great again.

Too bad it took so long, but it was covered under warranty and dealing with Samsung and the local techs was good.

Fingers crossed that the fix lasts.

First I had the red sparkles on the right side of the screen. I downloaded and updated with the latest update on the website (1008.2) and now I have yellow splotches along the bottom left of my screen. Looks like someone wiped a highlighter across the area. And now some video games with white screens have loads of red sparkles that weren't there before the 1008.2 update.

I must say I'm amazed that someone in the US answers the phone at Samsung and I'm always connected through quickly. I've called them 4 times and have been connected to a native English speaker here in the US within 2 minutes. Blows my mind. 3 out of the 4 agents I spoke with were competent, the other was obviously training. I consider that ratio miraculous...and no 'connect you through to' maze of people and extensions to deal with. I don't understand why the latest update (1008.3) isn't up on the site, but they are sending a thumbdrive.

Based on what I've read, it looks like I'll be phoning Samsung again to schedule a tech visit. Thank goodness for the domestic call center.

Try this. Top post and we'll clean up these four.

Be sure to include model number, Transaction numbers from your calls and country.

IM VERY UPSET THAT SAMSUNG WOULD EVEN HAVE THIS ON THEIR SITE ESPECIALLY THIS LONG EVERY WHERE I GO ON GOOGLE ITS THE SAME SORRY SINCE EARLY THIS YEAR. COME ON SAMSUNG GET IT TOGETHER AND WHY HAVE THEY PUT OUT A NEW FIRMWARE. ALSO DO ANYBODY HAVE THE 1008.3 IF SO PLEASE EMAIL IT TO ME AT brownskin96@yahoo.com THANKS FOR THE POST CNET AND SHAME ON YOU SAMSUNG

Top post with that all important detail (transaction number and country and model #)

I cleaned up your accidental double post and alerted this to remove your email address (spam robots would use that!)
Bob

Can somebody email me the 1008.3 firmware at sssbueller@yahoo.com
?