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General discussion

Removing the Channel Display

Nov 13, 2008 10:00AM PST

This is driving me crazy! I just bought a LN46A550 yesterday. So far it has exceeded my expectations. However, I have a "2" displayed in the upper right hand corner that I cannot figure out how to get rid of.

My HDTV cable box is a Scientific Atlanta if that makes a difference.

If anyone has any suggestions to get rid of the channel display I am all eyes!

Thanks
Will

Discussion is locked

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Removing the Channel Display
Nov 13, 2008 10:40AM PST

Will,

Sorry to hear your situation.

If you press additional buttons on either your Samsung or Scientific Atlanta remote, which one adds to the 2? I'm guessing without being able to see it that it's a channel indicator. We'll start trying to figure out if the source is either the box or the television.

--HDTech

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Removing Channel Display
Nov 13, 2008 10:58AM PST

Thanks HD-

I cannot get it to change. The funny thing is, I am not even on channel 2 on my box or my tv. I am on channel 3 on the TV. So, I guess that would maybe tell us that is the box? The box is an Explorer 8300HDC. If you don't know anything about it, I understand.

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Try this...
Nov 13, 2008 11:53AM PST

Wow. I'm... stumped.

Try turning the cable box off to see if that 2 is still there.

Another suggestion is to either unplug, reset or have your cable/sat provider perform a reset on the box. You may not have to change it out, as if it's a glitch, the reset should undo that.

I'll check with service to see if anyone has heard of that.

Keep me posted.

--HDTech

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I turned of the cable box....
Nov 13, 2008 12:40PM PST

The 2 remained. Nice suggestion....that has to tell us it is the TV?

I am stumped as well. It has to be something basic...

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Here's something you can use.....
Nov 13, 2008 12:44PM PST

With the cable box off, I change the sourcce from "HDMI1" to "TV" and it goes away.

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Unresolved
Nov 17, 2008 12:09AM PST

My issue still remains....The only way I can get the "2" on my screen to go away is if I change the my source setting from "HDMI" to "TV". However, doing that also, takes away the High Def. But, I think in making that change, it doesn't actually take the 2 away, it moves it just out side of the viewing screen. The 2 is in a shadow box and I can barely see the edge of the box when the source setting is changed.

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Service says....
Nov 17, 2008 4:25AM PST

I'd like to look into this, because it may very well be the television.

Would you be able to take a picture, upload it to photobucket.com and provide a link here? Our techs would like to take a look at it.

Thanks!

--HDTech

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Similar Problem
Nov 18, 2008 8:37AM PST

Just to share your pain...I just got a Sony Bravia LCD TV and am having the exact same problem. The Sony tech is saying that it's a setting in the cable box. But so far, there's been no luck in having this removed when looking at any setting options. Our cable box is a Time Warner HD DVR.

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Turn off the cable box?
Nov 18, 2008 10:42PM PST

So, when you turn off the cable box, is it still there? This is how I think I have proved it is the TV. If the TV is on and the box is off it is still there.

Is it a "2" that is displayed, also?

My cable company, too, is Time Warner. What is the model number of your cable box?

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removing the channel display
Nov 20, 2008 11:51AM PST

I believe it's in the cable box. We have a Philips LCD, but just got a new Scientific Atlanata 4250HDC cable box today, and all of a sudden the '2' is showing up in the upper right hand corner. Cable box goes thru the VCR/DVD to the TV using RGB. The number goes away when using the DVD/VCR. Only suggestion Brighthouse makes is to swap out the cable box.

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Can't get rid of the 2
Dec 4, 2008 11:01AM PST

I have the same problem. Bought a Samsung hdtv a few days ago. No problem until today, when the the 2 showed up and won't go away. It is there even when the cable box is shut off.

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Cable box...
Dec 4, 2008 6:57PM PST

alakeeffect,

I might suggest calling your cable/sat company and have them reset the box to see if that issue goes away. As noted above, it's happening on units of different manufacturers, so it's highly suspect that the issue is the cable box still sending a signal.

Keep me posted.

--HDTech

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Same issue with LN52A650 & SA 8300HDC
Dec 5, 2008 12:05AM PST

Picked up my Samsung LN52A650 last night and hooked it up to the Scientific Atlantic 8300HDC DVR (Time Warner, Raleigh) last night. I noticed the "2" in the upper right corner and thought it would just go away after a few seconds, but it didn't.

I spent about an hour or so going through every menu item I could find on the television before I finally gave up and called Samsung support. The person I spoke with mentioned that Samsung received a memo about this issue a month ago. I don't remember exactly if she said they were working with the cable company or not, but there wasn't a solution yet. The tech seemed to indicate that this was an issue with the cable box.

I'm concerned that this channel indicator will lead to a burn-in on my television. Thoughts?

I'm currently connected through component cables, but was going to try the other types (HDMI cables won't be here until early next week). Playing DVD over the coax didn't exhibit this problem (of course, it's going through the 'TV' source, so I'm not sure if it's non-'TV' sources yet).

Just thought I'd throwin my 2 cents.

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HDMI Cable
Dec 5, 2008 12:40AM PST

ClippySr-

I am using an HDMI cable. 2 is still displayed.

My 2 has been on my screen for 3 or 4 weeks now. No sign of burn in, yet. But, yes, I had the same worry. I think we are ok.

I am still annoyed, just haven't had the time to jack with it lately.

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An idea?
Dec 5, 2008 6:39AM PST

I spoke with our customer service also regarding this issue. I reported this a few weeks ago when another user mentioned this issue.

Let's try something, though.

What if:

1. You unplug the cable box
2. Turn off the TV
3. Turn the TV back on
4. Hold down the Menu key on the remote, and click "yes" to the settings restore button that pops up*
5. Plug in the cable box and turn it on

*doing this will likely dash your calibrations and settings, so do this at your own inconvenience! Do NOT do this if your set is professionally calibrated!

I'm trying to think outside the box a little here. Happy

BTW, I'm not noting that IF this DOES work tha we are admitting any fault, but I figure it's worth a shot if someone wants to try it so that we can avoid any image retention issues until something is identified.

--HDTech

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channel display
Dec 5, 2008 7:05AM PST

Okay, the channel display went away after we unplugged the cable box and plugged it back in. We had tried turning the box and, oddly, the unwanted channel display remained even when the box was turned off, but it was apparently the cause in some way.

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Wow, that was quick!
Dec 5, 2008 7:42AM PST

alakeeffect,

Thanks for the speedy reply.

So if you turn off the cable box, I'm assuming that instead of a "No Input Signal" error on the screen, you get a blank screen with a 2, is that correct?

It would seem that if the box stopped sending a signal when you turned it off, then you'd get "No Input Signal" when you turned it off.

Could you clarify what was happening?

--HDTech

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Unplugging cable box
Dec 6, 2008 10:22PM PST

Yes, when we turned the cable box off the TV displayed "2" instead of "no input". The only way we got rid of the "2" was unplugging the box and plugging it back in.

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Similar Issue
Dec 7, 2008 11:26PM PST

Hello!

I have a Samsung 61" HL-S6188W that just turned 2 years old. I have been having the same issue as below. At first it deleted all of our favorite channels so we were not able to change the channel. We were told to unplug the tv and at first that worked. Then the display remained on the tv and we couldn't turn it off. We unplugged again. Now, we have no display. We can't see what channels were are going to or the volume level, etc.

We DO NOT have a cable box, we just plug into an antenna.

Is there anything we can do to fix this? We called Samsung directly and they want to send out a tech which is not something I want to pay for.

I would REALLY appreciate your help!!!

Thanks!

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No longer having a problem
Dec 5, 2008 1:07PM PST

Fortunately, my problem of the channel indicator always being on appears to have been resolved as of this evening.

Unfortunately, I don't know specifically what the source of fix was.

It was either:

1) Software update pushed to my 8300HDC (I'll have to dig around later to see when the last update was).
2) Unplugging/plugging in the 8300HDC multiple times.
3) Updated the LN52A650 to the latest firmware.
4) Pure coincidence with something else non-obvious.

Glad the issue appears resolved, but I wish I could share the secret sauce with others.

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Two solutions...
Dec 5, 2008 1:23PM PST

Actually, we have two people who have solved the issue.

The common denominator seems to be unplugging the cable box. Let's see if anyone else can report what they did.

--HDTech

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3 solutions
Dec 6, 2008 1:10AM PST

Unplugging the cable box worked! I had turned it off and on, but unplugging it is the key.

Thanks for everyone's input!

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My 8300HDC was also defective
Dec 7, 2008 10:44PM PST

Rebooting it would display "nOFS" (presumably 'no file system' or something). It also wasn't recording anything. I took it on the weekend and got it swapped out for a new unit (actually, they gave me an 8240HDC) and everything is working fine.

Now my only issue is that the 8240HDC rebooted sponatneously last night in the middle of a recording. But that's a different issue for a different forum. Happy

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IT IS THE CABLE, TO FIX...
Jan 9, 2009 9:08AM PST

It is 100% the cable box, not the TV. To fix, unplug your cable box for 2-3 MIN. Then plug it in again. Or, have the cable company reset box remotely, but unplugging is easier.