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General discussion

Sparkling blue "snow"

Feb 22, 2009 10:07AM PST

I have owned a Samsung HS-S4253 42" plasma TV for a little over two years now. Within the past six months or so it's been exhibiting a condition that seems to be growing worse and worse. That is, it displays a brilliant, almost "fluorescent", blue/purple, snow-like, sparkling coloration over certain colors/images.

It generally starts after the TV has been on for a couple of hours, and appears predominantly in the lower right quadrant of the screen. It mostly appears in two particular instances: (1) over images whose color ought to be bright white, and (2) where a high-contrast image just previously was showing (for instance, using the TV's menu, after the exiting the menu, the you can still make out a "ghost" of the menu's words/images in this sparkling bright blue/purple color.

Since the TV's out of warranty, I'm left to my own devices. If anyone has any insight into the cause of this problem, or any DIY fixes, I'd love to hear them before I go out of pocket for diagnosis/service/repair or buy an new TV.

Thanks in advance.

-Mark

Discussion is locked

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Blue Snow
Feb 23, 2009 9:30AM PST

Mark,

It may be that one of the PCB boards has gone bad. Usually that symptom isn't an indication of the actual glass panel.

--HDTech

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Bad PCB board (=blue snow)?
Feb 23, 2009 10:10AM PST

PCB board, hmmmmm...

I'm sorry but I'm going to show my lack of knowledge about the inner workings of plasma now. What is a PCB board? Is it something I can buy and replace? Costly? How will I know which one (only because you wrote 'ONE of the PCB boards...')? I'm not afraid of getting into the guts, unless it requires the steady hands of a surgeon to avoid frying something or myself.

Thanks for your response,
Mark

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Sorry about that....
Feb 24, 2009 2:03PM PST

Mark,

I apologize; Sometimes I get into technical discussions and use industry terms. PCB = Printed Circuit Board. Without actually being there to diagnose, it's hard to determine which board it may be conclusively.

I'll see if I can find out which board may be most likely causing the issue (though, it's no way to be considered a diagnosis), but as far as walking you through a repair, I obviously can't give much assistance on that for liability reasons. I always recommend that you have an authorized repair center perform any internal changes.

We do have a website - www.samsungparts.com - that allows you to view purchasable repair items. I didn't see anything for an HSS4263, perhaps a typo?

Keep me posted, and I'll see what I can find.

--HDTech

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Typo...and thanks!
Feb 25, 2009 3:05AM PST

Yes, indeed, a typo...I own an HP-S4253. If you can validate your suspicion about the PCB (thanks for the explanation), and which one, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for catering to us less-savvy individuals!

-Mark

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There are two...
Feb 27, 2009 5:37AM PST

You might want to call 800-SAMSUNG and be transferred to our parts department. There are two boards, and without looking at your TV, I don't know which one is right for your set. They might be able to help order the parts (tho they typically won't help troubleshoot the issue, but you might get lucky). Also, check on the return policy in the event that board doesn't fix the issue.

Keep me posted.

--HDTech