Got a new Samsung HDTV... and it's got black smudges

manwiththemachinegun

So, I took the plunge and got an HDTV, picture and colors are amazing.

However, in the middle-left of the screen, faintly visable but quite annoying on a solid blue or white background was a small, thumb print-sized spot where the picture was darker. Being not a moron, I wiped down the whole TV and tried again, same problem. Tried a few more times and nothing worked.

I returned the TV for a new one, same model, same size (40in). The same spot is not only there AGAIN in the SAME PLACE, but also a darkish line near the top, and another dark smidge in the lower right. I know I'm not insane since my friends can see it too. I have babied this thing, nothing has even bumped the screen even while moving it.

Then I looked into the issue of clouding... Hooboy.

I'm just starting to get really frustrated. Say way you want about my massive old TV, but at least the picture was consistant throughout. Now this is the second HDTV with blackish smudges on the screen and I don't know how to fix it/if it can be fixed with a TV in my price range.

Any advice would be appretiated. I've heard sometimes these things go away on their own, but what's the point of buying a new spanking TV if it doesn't work out of the box?

Essee

That's really odd... what's the exact model number? Is it an LCD or an LED set? My family personally has an LN40A750 and an LN40B610 (same size as yours, as you might notice, both LCDs as LED tech wasn't reasonably priced) and neither had this issue out of the box. In fact, there's not really clouding or "flashlighting" either on either set that I've noticed, which is nice. We'd definitely have noticed this on our sets because not only do we play games on 'em, we even use them both as monitors for our computers. So maybe it's an issue particular to either their LED TVs or a different line of LCDs? I haven't ever heard about a TV coming that way on two seperate occasions, with clouding really obvious on both, so I can't really speak to whether this is normal and just goes away or not.

godmode

If it's a problem apparent on multiple sets of the same model, I would recommend returning it and trying another. Take a look at the local electronic store and examine the TVs they have on display - make sure they all look good before you buy one. Especially considering the price of these, I would spend a good deal of time examining one in action before purchasing.

Skoal Cat

That sucks and you shouldn't have to deal with it. Return it again and try the sets out in the store.

manwiththemachinegun

"Is it an LCD or an LED set?"

Combination, it was rately highly and on sale, but I can't for the life of me figure out why this problem is recurring. It only happens on a blue or white background, but it looks like a kid with dirty hands touched parts of the screen.

I'm going to try one or two self fixes and take it back, at least the warranty is still good. I may just try one of the Display TVs.

Wassermelone

Return it. Or, call Samsung and they will probably replace it for free.

I had a green vertical line on a Samsung monitor, and Samsung said they would fix it, so we boxed it up, printed out their UPS thing they sent us and sent it off to them. Then they just sent us a new one instead.