Samsung lcd tv picture is really dark at first

GirlKitty · 08-03-2009, 07:32 AM

Hello...

Can anyone tell me what could be causing my tv to be really dark when first turned on? It takes about 15 minutes for the picture to return to normal.

Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

**Raylo** · 08-03-2009, 06:44 PM

Sounds very much like something I experienced. Look behind the TV near the bottom and you should see light coming through the vent slots. That's the backlight. If you don't see light there the backlight isn't working. An LCD TV makes the image on the liquid crystal screen but the actual light that illuminates it is provided by the backlight. Without the backlight the thing is useless.

My Samsung had a problem right out of the box. When I would turn it on for the first time in a while (like a couple hours) it would come on and make the image but the backlight would not be on. I had to turn it off and then back on and the backlight would come on and all would be good. There was a problem with one of the circuit cards that controlled the backlight. They tried to fix it but after ended up replacing the TV.

So, if you still have warranty I would suggest calling Samsung service and getting them to fix or replace it. In the interim try cycling it off and then on again and see if it that gets it up and running faster.

ebackhus · 08-03-2009, 07:46 PM

Is this a flat panel LCD or a rear-projection TV?

GirlKitty · 08-04-2009, 09:06 AM

It is a flat panel. I looked to see if there was any light coming out of the back and did not see any, but I don't think there ever was. Are you saying the backlight has not worked all this time then? I am a bit confused. The picture does get back to normal and looks great after like 15 minutes. I know someone else who has a flat panel samsung and right out of the box has always taken about 4 minutes for the picture to get to it's full brightness. However, that was not the case with mine. The tv is no longer under warranty , and we just had the power board replaced! The problem I am talking about has been on going before the repair men got it tho. I just forgot to mention it to them because we left our tv on without shutting it off for a really long time because we never knew if it would come back on, so by the time we got it repaired I completely forgot about the other thing. Crazy I know, but we didn't have the money to get it repaired for quite a while! Don't know how they missed it tho??? Thank you for responding

**Raylo** · 08-04-2009, 12:06 PM

Yes, you should see light in the lower back vents when the backlight is on... unless perhaps if it is one of the new versions that has the LED backlight. (they advertise them as "LED TVs" but it is really just typical LCD panel with LED backlight). If it is off the picture will be essentially invisible. I guess the backlight could be in some intermediate level of dimness but I've never seen that.

Replacing the power board... that's exactly what they did to mine and it didn't fix the problem. There was one other board that it could have been but since mine was new they just gave me a new TV, which has been fine for 6 months.

When it starts up dark try turning the TV off and immediately back on. That worked 100% of the time on my defective TV. Not ideal but if you are out of warranty that might get you some more use w/o a big bill for repair.

Good luck!

08-03-2009, 07:32 AM	#1 (permalink)
GirlKitty Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 2 OS: mac osx	Samsung lcd tv picture is really dark at first Hello... Can anyone tell me what could be causing my tv to be really dark when first turned on? It takes about 15 minutes for the picture to return to normal. Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

08-03-2009, 06:44 PM	#2 (permalink)
Raylo TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 524 OS: XP Desktop, Vista HP Notebook, XP Notebook	Re: Samsung lcd tv picture is really dark at first Sounds very much like something I experienced. Look behind the TV near the bottom and you should see light coming through the vent slots. That's the backlight. If you don't see light there the backlight isn't working. An LCD TV makes the image on the liquid crystal screen but the actual light that illuminates it is provided by the backlight. Without the backlight the thing is useless. My Samsung had a problem right out of the box. When I would turn it on for the first time in a while (like a couple hours) it would come on and make the image but the backlight would not be on. I had to turn it off and then back on and the backlight would come on and all would be good. There was a problem with one of the circuit cards that controlled the backlight. They tried to fix it but after ended up replacing the TV. So, if you still have warranty I would suggest calling Samsung service and getting them to fix or replace it. In the interim try cycling it off and then on again and see if it that gets it up and running faster.

08-03-2009, 07:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,232 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Re: Samsung lcd tv picture is really dark at first Is this a flat panel LCD or a rear-projection TV? __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

08-04-2009, 09:06 AM	#4 (permalink)
GirlKitty Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 2 OS: mac osx	Re: Samsung lcd tv picture is really dark at first It is a flat panel. I looked to see if there was any light coming out of the back and did not see any, but I don't think there ever was. Are you saying the backlight has not worked all this time then? I am a bit confused. The picture does get back to normal and looks great after like 15 minutes. I know someone else who has a flat panel samsung and right out of the box has always taken about 4 minutes for the picture to get to it's full brightness. However, that was not the case with mine. The tv is no longer under warranty , and we just had the power board replaced! The problem I am talking about has been on going before the repair men got it tho. I just forgot to mention it to them because we left our tv on without shutting it off for a really long time because we never knew if it would come back on, so by the time we got it repaired I completely forgot about the other thing. Crazy I know, but we didn't have the money to get it repaired for quite a while! Don't know how they missed it tho??? Thank you for responding

08-04-2009, 12:06 PM	#5 (permalink)
Raylo TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 524 OS: XP Desktop, Vista HP Notebook, XP Notebook	Re: Samsung lcd tv picture is really dark at first Yes, you should see light in the lower back vents when the backlight is on... unless perhaps if it is one of the new versions that has the LED backlight. (they advertise them as "LED TVs" but it is really just typical LCD panel with LED backlight). If it is off the picture will be essentially invisible. I guess the backlight could be in some intermediate level of dimness but I've never seen that. Replacing the power board... that's exactly what they did to mine and it didn't fix the problem. There was one other board that it could have been but since mine was new they just gave me a new TV, which has been fine for 6 months. When it starts up dark try turning the TV off and immediately back on. That worked 100% of the time on my defective TV. Not ideal but if you are out of warranty that might get you some more use w/o a big bill for repair. Good luck!