sound distortion on new LN22A451

Unfortunately no, I havn't heard had a response as yet. As this new LN22A451 is the second one that we've had with this issue, I am thinking that the iussue could be with the Comcast signal and how it is accepted and processed by the TV. I would be nice to get some feedback from some of the real high tech folks that read this forum. I don't want to return this second TV.

Hi,

I have a LA40F81BDX LCD TV. Worked fine until I heard that there was a firware update. I applied the firware update (version 1013) and all went well. However now I am getting the same audio problem you are describing in this thread - only on HD stations (all of them). It seems to go away when I turn the unit off and on or when I switch to a SD station. Tried reverting to the firmware it came with (100 - no good. Nothing else has changed. If anyone has any ideas on this I'd be very grateful.

I just received my replacement TV, this took 3 months during which the audio board was replaced twice and I had the cable company over twice.
The problem is difinately in the Samsung 32A450 and I have to call customer support on Monday again. I even plugged my Sharp LCD in parallel with the Samsung and the Sharp did not have the audio flutter and the Samsung did.

Samsung should recognize this problem and offer a solution to those who use a direct cable connection. Again this only happens on the HD channels.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Does anyone has this HD audio problem with Samsung 450 TV in NJ?

I also have this problem with my LN32A450C1D on Comcast on Cape Cod. It first appeared when the Olympics started, and the Comcast service tech who came to my house said that it was probably due to system overload.

I checked the Samsung website and found that there was a firmware update available (1013.3), so I downloaded and installed it, and the problem disappeared for the rest of the Olympics. Unfortunately, after 2 weeks, the audio problem has reappeared. Perhaps it is a coincidence, but the US Tennis Open just started. However, the problem occurs even when the Open is not on, and it effects all HD channels.

I also have a Pioneer PDP5080HD which does not exhibit this problem. The signal strength reported by the Samsung TV is 9 or 10 bars depending on the Channel. The problem occurs on all HD channels. I do not have a cable box to try.

This problem is obviously an interaction between Comcast and Samsung, but Comcast won't help me, since it only effects one of my sets, and the signal strength is fine.

After further experimentation I found that post the 1013 firmware update the sound problem was actually limited to one HD station. The signal strength if fine, but there seems to be a peculiarity in the way they transmit Dolby sound. (According to other forums this peculiarity causes no sound at all on some non-Samsung hardware.) Prior to the firmware update my Samsung seemed insensitive to the problem and the sound was fine. Another effect I noticed when trying to watch the 'bad' HD channel - once the sound became distorted on the bad channel it remained distorted on other Dolby HD channels until I either turned the unit on/off or switched back to a standard def (MPEG sound) channel.

The distortion/flutter on my set usually only lasts a few seconds before it self corrects. I hope that Samsung comes up with a fix soon, I would hate to go through returning this set, since i bought it on line. If they don't reply soon, I am going to post a very bad review on BuyDig.

SLR42 -

Did you try calling 1-800-Samsung? I called that office today to see if people were calling in with this problem and they didn't have anything on record to date.

Before you go through the headache of returning the TV, let's see what our Service Center can do for you. I'll also working on this from my end but I think it would be good to get this concern on record (even if you do return it).

Talk soon,

Mr. Samsung

I called Samsung, and they have scheduled a local repairman to come out and look at my set. The support people were very professional, spoke clear English and did not insult my intelligence by asking simple minded questions like "Have you checked your coax connection?" What a welcome change from many at other companies that I have spoken to. I hope that the problem can be fixed. I have stopped watching any HD programs, because the sound breakup is so annoying, especially when it sometimes wipes out some critical dialog.

On the comment for calling 1 800 Samsung, I have a Word Document on over 20 calls that I have placed over the last 3 months. They are very aware of the problem and so is the Service Center that sends out the technicians. This issue is not being addressed by Samsung properly. My set was sent back and my new set is doing the same thing. I have my Sharp 32 inch LCD connected right next to my Samsung and it does not have the sound distortion problem. Again, my cable supplier has been inside my home twice and confirmed in writing that it is not their signal and their techncian again confirmed in writing that it is the Samsung LCD TV problem.
If Samsung wants to treat it's current and future customers properly they should aggressively have their engineers look at their firmware issue. Again this only happens with my direct cable connection on all the HD channels.
Finnally, the Samsung Executive Response Center is a call answering center and not interested in solving problems. They are not interested in solving the problem, only recording it and hoping that it goes away or the customer gets so frustrated that he/she gives up.

I have another Samsung tech coming on Friday to see the problem on my new, second replacement, LCD 32 A450. I know that he will not be able to do anything except delay the process. I am now requesting a refund and also going to my state better business bureau, I have no choice.
If you really represent Samsung, then tell their techs to get cracking on their problem, this is not going away.

I sincerely hope that this post helps others in dealing with a known technical fault in the new LCD 32 product line.

I purchased two Samsung LN32A450C1D LCD tv's and have the audio flutter problem on the HD channels on both of them. My cable company is Comcast. Both tv's were hooked up to the same cable without a cable box. I purchased the tv's in May 2008 and thought the reason for the flutter was because I wasn't receiving a digital signal yet with Comcast. That was until recently when I bought a Panasonic Plasma tv. The Panasonic does not have this problem on the high def channels. I called Samsung and they told me that it is a Comcast problem (even when I told them it wasn't doing this on a different tv hooked to the same cable). The Samsung guy was condescending and said that this kind of problem has never been reported to them to date. He told me to get a high definition cable box from Comcast and if there was still a sound problem to call again. I called Comcast and got a HD cable box and had an additional $30 or more added to my cable bill, but it did fix the problem. Remember, I have two Samsung tv's and I just purchased one box. The Comcast guy was much more helpful than Samsung and he said that Comcast was already broadcasting in digital and high definition and that I did not need a cable box to receive the HD channels they are currently offering as long as I had a HD tv. He said it wasn't a Comcast issue because one of the tv's on the same cable worked fine without a box. He said the HD box was needed for customers who wanted high def movies and sports packages that are offered at an additional cost, but was not needed to view and hear the already offered HD channels with a regular cable in the wall to tv hookup. I really don't want to pay more to view HD channels on my Samsung tv when I can view them on other tv's for no additional costs or boxes. I am calling Samsung again to either fix my tv's or refund me. Thanks to all of you who wrote in about this problem. I know I'm not the only one. Obviously Samsung is not acknowledging this. I hope I have better luck with them a second time.

I too have a harsh case of the robots. I bought my LN32A450 in mid October. Had no intentions of switching to HD anytime soon, I just wanted a better experience when watching movies. About a month later I found out that my cable package included two HD channels, but both had this annoying robotic distortion. Thought it was a problem with my cable provider until I came across a review which lead me to this thread.

I get a lot of short little power outages where I live. Lots of wind and snow on tree branches and such. I reset the TV and watched one of the channels for two hours without the robots rearing their ugly heads. Had a whole bunch of little power outages over the last few days, and sure enough, the robots are back in full force.

What's really disturbing is how Samsung seems to have left all us with this problem swaying in the wind, without any real solutions. And this is a problem that many might discover months later and chalk it up to power surge damage instead of a manufacturing defect. Any how, my next product will be a Panasonic or Sony. Samsung is bye bye from my buying choices.

Mr. Samsung, here is the whole series of service call transaction numbers that will hopefully help me and others with the sound distortion problem on the new LN LCD models. The calls for help that I am recording,have been going on for months, so the ECR center is well aware of this problem. We me and others.
#2004968801, #40002455988, #4002483215, #3000163756 and currently
#4002483215.
I hope that this establishes the facts and cerdibility of this issue with the new Samsung LCD32A450.

My transaction # was 2005231931 on the call I placed to Samsung regarding the LN32A450 LCD TV sound problem on 9-28-08 that they said they never heard of.

You can see by my post and many others that there is a problem that is being ignored.
I just talked to my local Best Buy store manager and my local PC Richards sales manager and they both recognized the problem and told me that they do not recommend Samsung to anyone who in not using a cable box to connect the TV. They said that there is a known issue in the tuner that other brands do not have.

I had the same problem with a LN32A450 inch from Circuit city. They replaced the unit and is has been running perfect until today, when the HD audio started freaking out. I had previously contacted Samsung. However after replacing the unit, thought the problem had been solved. I think it is time to contact the Better Business as it seems Samsung is not taking this problem seriously

Mr. Samsung, I gave you all of the data on my TV and all of the customer report call and numbers.

I am still waiting for a reply, this is a know problem with the 32A450 and we all need help.

Mr. Gyorfy,

Thank you for taking the time to list those transactions out.

I have been reaching out to several people about this matter and we are getting to the bottom of this. Sorry for the delay.

Regards,

Mr. Samsung

Mr. Samsung, you have all the service numbers and therefore my contact information, ie. cell phone number.
I would appreciate a call when your corporate engineers find out the problem with this series of LCD TV's.

Mr. Samsung, you have all of my service numbers and personal information.
If you really want to help me at this time, please speed up my refund process.
Thank you, John

Mr. Gyofry,

I don't know the status. Mr. Samsung passed your information up, and I was under the impression that they had contacted you, or attempted to do so. I'm not part of the decision making process, nor am I a part of the refund process. We're here for technical assistance and to help solve issues related to technology.

If you haven't been contacted, please let me know that also. I was under the impression that this matter had progressed.

--HDTech

The Samsung repairman came yesterday and replaced the audio board. I waited a full day and watched a lot of HD programs, and the audio problem is gone. Apparently Samsung figured out what the problem was. I checked, and the same version 1013.3 firmware is loaded, so it must have been a hardware problem.

My second 32A450 LCD had the same problem. The tech repalced the speakers and the audio board. The problem started back again the next day, so beware.
I went to my local Best Buy and spoke to the store manager. He told me that they aware of the audio problem on the new Samsung and do not recommend it to customers who want to hook it up directly to their cable service. The problem is in the Samsung tuner, if you use a cable box then that tumer takes over and the audio problem on the HD channels goes away.

I am having the same problem with my Samsung. It is only about a month old so i am wondering whether to bother calling Samsung (as it does not seem like they are able to fix the problem) or if i should just return it for a different brand. I like the tv otherwise, so I'd rather fix it. Any thoughts?

If you are able to return it, I would do it. I still have the problem after 2 sound board replacements, a new tv and then another sound board replacement. I still have the problem. The issue is in the firmware of the tuner and this has not be solved by Samsung. Everyone else who attempts to connect directly to the cable supplier(not through a cable box) will find this sound distortion on the HD channels.

I have the same prob with my 32" Samsung lcd connected directly to my Comcast cable--very annoying and frankly this is unbelievable.

Would using an external surround sound system/tuner solve the problem?

Since the sound distortion only happens when you directly connect to the cable input, it would be worthwhile trying a separate tuner. I guess that is what a cable box does. But, if you do that, I do not think that you will get the HD sub-channels, such as 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3.
Let me know how you make out.
Samsung cannot get it to work so I am retuning mine.

Mr. Gyorfy,

I?m sorry to hear that it didn?t work out for you.

I sincerely appreciate you giving our products a tryout, even though it didn?t seem to meet your needs. I have addressed your concerns and sent them to the appropriate channels, and hope that you will consider us in the future for your electronics needs.

I sympathize with your frustration and have noted your experience. We certainly do our best to make every experience a positive one.

Sincerely,

Mr. Samsung