Purple patches on TV

[GreenNeedle]

 Hello.  I have a 48 LED Smart TV.  Model No is UE48H6400AKXXU

About 6 months I noticed that there were a couple of purple patches on the screen.  They are very noticeable with pale or white backgrounds especially adverts which often have a lot of white on the screen.

Initially there was a patch that radiated from the bottom left corner about 12cm outward and then about 4/5ths across the screen on the right there was another patch from the top about the same 12cm width but went down about 2 thirds of the screen so about 40cm long.

Over the past 6 months they have become more noticeable.  a darker shade of purple plus of course I am aware of them so notice them more.

When a normal picture is on screen they distort the colour quite a lot.  Worse on lighter colours than darker ones.  The rest of the screen is fine but of course it is annoying to have these colour distortions on the screen.

Other than these problems the rest of the TV functions fine.

I would guess I have had the TV about 2 years now or just over.

Can you tell me if there is anything I can do or is the TV on the way out?  What is the expected lifetime of these TV sets?  and will it be costly to repair?  Not sure if there is any warranty over the year on these TVs.

[AntS]

Hi there, GreenNeedle. :smileyhappy:

Do the patches show up in the Picture Test? Menu > Support > Self Diagnosis > Picture Test.

(Also, I've edited your post to remove the serial number to protect your personal info.)

[GreenNeedle]

Yes, It was when I did the self diagnosis and it got to the greyscale screen that I noticed that there are more "lighter" patches that I didn't notice when watching the normal TV programs.

About 70% of the screen has some lilac/purple patches but the darkest, most noticeable ones are the ones I mentioned before.

[JessL]

In that case we'd recommend contacting one of our approved Service Centres about this.

You can find your nearest one here.

They will  be able to give you all the info needed about the issue your having. 

We hope this helps! :smileyhappy:

[Jenni]

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@GreenNeedle wrote:

 Hello.  I have a 48 LED Smart TV.  Model No is UE48H6400AKXXU

About 6 months I noticed that there were a couple of purple patches on the screen.  They are very noticeable with pale or white backgrounds especially adverts which often have a lot of white on the screen.

Initially there was a patch that radiated from the bottom left corner about 12cm outward and then about 4/5ths across the screen on the right there was another patch from the top about the same 12cm width but went down about 2 thirds of the screen so about 40cm long.

Over the past 6 months they have become more noticeable.  a darker shade of purple plus of course I am aware of them so notice them more.

When a normal picture is on screen they distort the colour quite a lot.  Worse on lighter colours than darker ones.  The rest of the screen is fine but of course it is annoying to have these colour distortions on the screen.

Other than these problems the rest of the TV functions fine.

I would guess I have had the TV about 2 years now or just over.

Can you tell me if there is anything I can do or is the TV on the way out?  What is the expected lifetime of these TV sets?  and will it be costly to repair?  Not sure if there is any warranty over the year on these TVs.

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Interestingly I've just noticed the same thing, and on a 40" LED smart tv of the same age! I also have a 55" curved tv in my living room, which isn't used as much, I haven't noticed any blotches on it yet, but I'm beginning to wonder if they'll appear in the future! I'm not best pleased. These were bought with some of my retirement pension money, I expected them to last at least as long as me! I'd be interested to know what happened when you spoke to the service centre. I'd also be interested to know if we've just been unlucky, or are there others out there!

[GreenNeedle]

I didn't take it to a service centre or ontact them.  I contacted a local TV repairer and he said to replace the panel would cost the same as buying a second hand TV the same as mine so I didn't bother.

Like everything these days they aren't really made to last anymore than a certain lifetime.  When I say blotches I still mean the purple patches.  TV is still pretty watchable, just some discolourations in certain areas.

When it becomes unwatchable then I'll dispose of it and get a new one.

Everything seems to be made with a much shorter lifetime these days.  I suppose that is how they stay so profitable, seeing as you definitely will need to replace it within a decade.

Unlike my old Yamaha AV Amp which is 10 year's old and still going strong as is my 1970s Trio turntable and 1970s Rotel Stereo Amp!!

[Jenni]

Thanks for letting me know. I think it's appalling that a TV should only last a few years! It is, of course, down to greed! The manufacturers of your 1970's items would have prided themselves on the quality, now it's the darned quantity that matters, and customer satisfaction can just take a back seat! Yes, mine are patches too, I found myself wondering whether the TV would be any less watchable if the patches finally fill the whole screen. It's nice to watch in colour, but black and white doesn't bother me so, it might be that the screen in all one colour, well shades of it, will be fine...here's hoping.

[GreenNeedle]

I wouldn't say it was so much to do with greed.  Consumers have changed.  A 70s consumer wouldn't be buying the latest smartphone every year/2 years.

Similarly a new Amp / TV / anything like that was a big ticket item and they had to save for it.

The modern consumer doesn't have to save and thus buys on credit.

No point making things to last 30 years when the majority of consumers will want the up to date version in a couple of years, sending the old one to the kids bedroom or selling it off.

That's why there aren't that many second hand electrical shops around anymore.  There used to be loads but now people (who are struggling) just buy it brand new from Argos on credit

So rather than it being greed it is the same policy ofdoing only as much as they can get away with.

They couldn't back then because their customers were buying something to last.  They can now because the majority will have moved onto the next level before it is likely to break.

Hence why we never ever buy second hand electronics anymore.

[Jenni]

You have a valid point as far as the majority is concerned, I keep everything till they're falling apart 🙂 my mobile is nearly four years old, I dread the day it breaks down because, no matter how easy it's supposed to be, I always lose some information while transferring it 😞 

[Jamesdnyc]

I am having the same problem. My tv is 13 months old. I was informed by 2 separate people from samsung support that this is a problem they are receiving many calls for. They also told me that the software update that my tv is currently on should be 1467 However my tv is currently up to update version 1500.4. It was after the update that I started having this problem. Because I am 1 month past the warranty they won't do anything to help me. When I asked if they can remote access my tv, I was told that they have to update their own software so they couldn't. I asked to speak to a supervisor, because I thought they might be more informed about this problem, or why my tv received an update that it wasn't supposed to. I was told they were in a meeting and they would call me when they were done and they had been informed about my case. I never received that phone call.