Why I will never buy another television made by Samsung

May 8, 2010 - PRLog -- Garden City, New York - - In 2005 my wife and I bought our first high definition television. We read many reviews and shopped around for the best price and eventually purchased a 50" Samsung DLP HDTV model # HLP5063W for around $3000. We are not wealthy people and this was a huge expense for us. Compared to everything else on the market at that time, the HD video on this TV was absolutely spectacular and the sound system was not bad either. We were very happy with our purchase and were huge fans of our Samsung TV. On several occasions we even referred friends who were in the market for new TV's.

In March of 2010 our wonderful television started to have a slight hum coming from the back of the unit. In April that slight hum turned into a loud screech and the colors on the screen went bad. By early May, the TV would not start at all. I did a little research online and found that many owners of Samsung DLP televisions were having similar problems. Several reported having to replace the "Color Wheel" on their DLP sets several times. DLP televisions use the color wheel to create the color that the viewer sees on the screen. This wheel looks like a very small DVD (see photo) and is composed of red, green, and blue filters. It is mounted on an electric motor and spins at very high speeds. I found dozens if not hundreds of references to problems with the color wheel on Samsung TV's. Based on what I found online, it appeared that my problem was not unique to my set, so I sent an email to Samsung customer support from their Web site and they sent me a reply (Please see: www.bignews.biz/?id=869243 for complete correspondence).

Keep in mind that my email to them included links to numerous detailed complaints about this issue with Samsung DLP TV's. So when the Samsung representative wrote "We would like to inform you that it is not a common issue with Samsung DLP TV's", I found myself wondering if it was standard procedure for Samsung support to deny that a problem exists rather than reviewing the evidence and resolving the issue for their customers.

So based on the complaints I had found on the Web, I ordered a new color wheel off of eBay for $118 and replaced it myself. It took me a couple of hours of work and online reading to make the repair, but the set works fine now. I feel quite strongly that Samsung should have acknowledged that this problem exists with their DLP HDTV's and at the very least they should have offered to pay for the new color wheel.

When purchasing high end consumer electronics, use the Internet to not only research the item you are are purchasing, but consumer feedback about the company that manufactured it as well. If there is a defect in the product and the warranty has expired, will the manufacture still stand behind the product? Research feedback on earlier models of the product you are purchasing and if you find consumer complaints, look for how the manufacturer addressed these complaints and use that information as part of your purchase decision.

Accredited media interested in discussing this press release in more detail are encouraged to contact Phillip Davies at Phil@BigNews.biz

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A consumer that purchased a Samsung DLP TV and found that many people were having similar problems with Samsung DLP televisions