Samsung DLP advice?

I have a Samsung HL-P6163W purchased in 2004, so it's now well out of
warranty. Until recently it performed fine - I had to replace the bulb
a while ago, but no other problems. A month ago I started to hear a
suspicious mechanical noise coming from the unit, like fan blades
striking something. I thought it might be the cooling fan, but a tech
from my authorized service center diagnosed a bad light engine after
taking the set to his shop.

I am now looking at ~$1500 to repair the unit (~$1100 for the part and
~$400 service and transportation).

Here's the question: the repair facility offers only a 30-day warranty
on the repair, and Samsung offers no warrantly at all on the light
engine, but leaves warranty up to the repair facility. I protested
strongly to Samsung customer support that offering no warranty on a
vulnerable component that they manufacture and that costs over $1,000
is totally unreasonable. They assigned an incident number to our
conversation and said to contact them if the part fails again and they
"would see if there is anything we can do."

The repair has not been done yet (the repair facility ordered the
component, received it and found it to be faulty, re-ordered and found
the second to be faulty as well).

Does it make sense to invest $1500 in a 3-year old set with virtually
no warranty on the repair? Is there a reasonable probability that the
set will last for a while (whatever that means) after the repair? Or
should I cut my losses and just get a new set? I'm reluctant to do
that because it will cost at least $3000 - possibly a lot more -to
replace, and the set is part of a built-in home theater system that
will have to be remodeled to fit a set with different dimensions.

Any opinions?

Thanks
Dave

On Nov 30, 10:41 am, Curmudgeon wrote:

Does it make sense to invest $1500 in a 3-year old set with virtually
no warranty on the repair? Is there a reasonable probability that the
set will last for a while (whatever that means) after the repair? Or
should I cut my losses and just get a new set? I'm reluctant to do
that because it will cost at least $3000 - possibly a lot more -to
replace, and the set is part of a built-in home theater system that
will have to be remodeled to fit a set with different dimensions.

You can get away with spending less than $3k. There are numerous
offers for an HL-P6163W just like yours for less than $2k all over the
internet (new in box, even). Also another Sammy will prevent having to
remodel the entertainment center.

I can imagine you are a little ****ed with samsung at the moment, but
your set gets good reviews as does the company overall. Maybe you just
got unlucky. Also,I would check to see if any other comparable units
offer better warranties (sorry, I haven't investigated). It doesn't do
any good to go with another model just to have a similar thing happen
and still not have a superior warranty.

On Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:41:38 -0800, Curmudgeon wrote:

I have a Samsung HL-P6163W purchased in 2004, so it's now well out of
warranty.
I am now looking at ~$1500 to repair the unit (~$1100 for the part and
~$400 service and transportation).

Does it make sense to invest $1500 in a 3-year old set with virtually no
warranty on the repair?

Any opinions?

Repairing an out of warranty TV is throwing good money after bad. Don't
believe that? Ask the repair shop how much he'd give you for the set as
is. If he offers you anything, take it. Then go buy another TV. If you
want the same model, look at these links.

http://www.homepriceclub.com/item.aspx?eid=5&pid=81905

Mfr# HL-P6163W • SKU# OPENBOX HL-P6163W
Our Price $988.92
Shipping $174.95

Availability In Stock

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...6/ref=dp_olp_2

$1,849.99 New + $299.00 shipping

Personally, I think anyone that pays top dollar for a name brand is just a
fool. I'd buy the cheapest 61" I could find that would fit. I sure as hell
wouldn't invest more than $300 in a repair of a 3 year old set. And here's
a new Samsung 61" for about the same as your repair cost.

http://www.preferredphoto.com/viewpr...spx?ID=3548435

Surely you have a spare TV to watch for a while. Watch the paper for a few
weeks. You'll find a decent new TV For about that same $1500 repair cost.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
My Tivo Experience http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/tivo.htm
Tivo HD/S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm
AMD cpu help http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php

On Nov 30, 1:08 pm, Wes Newell wrote:
On Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:41:38 -0800, Curmudgeon wrote:
I have a Samsung HL-P6163W purchased in 2004, so it's now well out of
warranty.
I am now looking at ~$1500 to repair the unit (~$1100 for the part and
~$400 service and transportation).

Does it make sense to invest $1500 in a 3-year old set with virtually no
warranty on the repair?

Any opinions?

Repairing an out of warranty TV is throwing good money after bad. Don't
believe that? Ask the repair shop how much he'd give you for the set as
is. If he offers you anything, take it. Then go buy another TV. If you
want the same model, look at these links.

http://www.homepriceclub.com/item.aspx?eid=5&pid=81905

Mfr# HL-P6163W * SKU# OPENBOX HL-P6163W
Our Price $988.92
Shipping $174.95

Availability In Stock

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...6/ref=dp_olp_2

$1,849.99 New + $299.00 shipping

Personally, I think anyone that pays top dollar for a name brand is just a
fool. I'd buy the cheapest 61" I could find that would fit. I sure as hell
wouldn't invest more than $300 in a repair of a 3 year old set. And here's
a new Samsung 61" for about the same as your repair cost.

http://www.preferredphoto.com/viewpr...spx?ID=3548435

Surely you have a spare TV to watch for a while. Watch the paper for a few
weeks. You'll find a decent new TV For about that same $1500 repair cost.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder?http://mythtv.org
My Tivo Experiencehttp://wesnewell.no-ip.com/tivo.htm
Tivo HD/S3 comparedhttp://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm
AMD cpu helphttp://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php

I have decided to get a new Samsung HL-T6187S from Amazon. Free
shipping, redesigned light engine, no bulb changing, great reviews,
less than $1900, and it will fit in the intended space.
Thanks

In case you change your mind:
Here's an excellent write up with pics on how to change the colr wheel
in a Samsung.
http://www.jangro.com/a/2006/07/24/s...e-color-wheel/

On Nov 30, 2:54 pm, Mikepier wrote:
In case you change your mind:
Here's an excellent write up with pics on how to change the colr wheel
in a Samsung.http://www.jangro.com/a/2006/07/24/s...e-color-wheel/

That's the ticket right there. $100 for a color wheel. Pretty simple
job.

That is absolutely correct, the noise you hear is most probably from the
colour wheel, a component installed in the light engine. Too bad your
competent service company did not give you that information rather than
going for your pocket-book. IMHO!
"Larry Bud" wrote in message
...
On Nov 30, 2:54 pm, Mikepier wrote:
In case you change your mind:
Here's an excellent write up with pics on how to change the colr wheel
in a
Samsung.http://www.jangro.com/a/2006/07/24/s...e-color-wheel/

That's the ticket right there. $100 for a color wheel. Pretty simple
job.

Just go buy a new set. You can get a Samsung 6187 LED set for about $2500 or
so if you look around.....look into that...don't waste money on this set.

And buy the extended warranty on the new DLP as long as it covers
everything, including light engine, bulb (one change), etc. Figure $400-500
for 5 years. Would have paid for itself if you bought it with the one you
got in 2004.


"Curmudgeon" wrote in message
...
I have a Samsung HL-P6163W purchased in 2004, so it's now well out of
warranty. Until recently it performed fine - I had to replace the bulb
a while ago, but no other problems. A month ago I started to hear a
suspicious mechanical noise coming from the unit, like fan blades
striking something. I thought it might be the cooling fan, but a tech
from my authorized service center diagnosed a bad light engine after
taking the set to his shop.

I am now looking at ~$1500 to repair the unit (~$1100 for the part and
~$400 service and transportation).

Here's the question: the repair facility offers only a 30-day warranty
on the repair, and Samsung offers no warrantly at all on the light
engine, but leaves warranty up to the repair facility. I protested
strongly to Samsung customer support that offering no warranty on a
vulnerable component that they manufacture and that costs over $1,000
is totally unreasonable. They assigned an incident number to our
conversation and said to contact them if the part fails again and they
"would see if there is anything we can do."

The repair has not been done yet (the repair facility ordered the
component, received it and found it to be faulty, re-ordered and found
the second to be faulty as well).

Does it make sense to invest $1500 in a 3-year old set with virtually
no warranty on the repair? Is there a reasonable probability that the
set will last for a while (whatever that means) after the repair? Or
should I cut my losses and just get a new set? I'm reluctant to do
that because it will cost at least $3000 - possibly a lot more -to
replace, and the set is part of a built-in home theater system that
will have to be remodeled to fit a set with different dimensions.

Any opinions?

Thanks
Dave

"Curmudgeon" wrote in message
...
I have a Samsung HL-P6163W purchased in 2004, so it's now well out of
warranty. Until recently it performed fine - I had to replace the bulb
a while ago, but no other problems. A month ago I started to hear a
suspicious mechanical noise coming from the unit, like fan blades
striking something. I thought it might be the cooling fan, but a tech
from my authorized service center diagnosed a bad light engine after
taking the set to his shop.

I am now looking at ~$1500 to repair the unit (~$1100 for the part and
~$400 service and transportation).

Here's the question: the repair facility offers only a 30-day warranty
on the repair, and Samsung offers no warrantly at all on the light
engine, but leaves warranty up to the repair facility. I protested
strongly to Samsung customer support that offering no warranty on a
vulnerable component that they manufacture and that costs over $1,000
is totally unreasonable. They assigned an incident number to our
conversation and said to contact them if the part fails again and they
"would see if there is anything we can do."

The repair has not been done yet (the repair facility ordered the
component, received it and found it to be faulty, re-ordered and found
the second to be faulty as well).

Does it make sense to invest $1500 in a 3-year old set with virtually
no warranty on the repair? Is there a reasonable probability that the
set will last for a while (whatever that means) after the repair? Or
should I cut my losses and just get a new set? I'm reluctant to do
that because it will cost at least $3000 - possibly a lot more -to
replace, and the set is part of a built-in home theater system that
will have to be remodeled to fit a set with different dimensions.

Any opinions?

Thanks
Dave


Sounds to me like you have a noisy color wheel, which on most Samsungs can
be replaced without changing the light engine. Find another servicer.

Leonard

On Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:41:38 -0800 (PST), Curmudgeon
wrote:

I have a Samsung HL-P6163W purchased in 2004, so it's now well out of
warranty. Until recently it performed fine - I had to replace the bulb
a while ago, but no other problems. A month ago I started to hear a
suspicious mechanical noise coming from the unit, like fan blades
striking something. I thought it might be the cooling fan, but a tech
from my authorized service center diagnosed a bad light engine after
taking the set to his shop.

I am now looking at ~$1500 to repair the unit (~$1100 for the part and
~$400 service and transportation).

Here's the question: the repair facility offers only a 30-day warranty
on the repair, and Samsung offers no warrantly at all on the light
engine, but leaves warranty up to the repair facility. I protested
strongly to Samsung customer support that offering no warranty on a
vulnerable component that they manufacture and that costs over $1,000
is totally unreasonable. They assigned an incident number to our
conversation and said to contact them if the part fails again and they
"would see if there is anything we can do."

The repair has not been done yet (the repair facility ordered the
component, received it and found it to be faulty, re-ordered and found
the second to be faulty as well).

Does it make sense to invest $1500 in a 3-year old set with virtually
no warranty on the repair? Is there a reasonable probability that the
set will last for a while (whatever that means) after the repair? Or
should I cut my losses and just get a new set? I'm reluctant to do
that because it will cost at least $3000 - possibly a lot more -to
replace, and the set is part of a built-in home theater system that
will have to be remodeled to fit a set with different dimensions.

Any opinions?

Thanks
Dave

You can get a much better set than you had new for less than $1500.

$1200 with the new xmas specials I get every day.