TV Tuner Problem - DVR Options?

[dave1949]

Our almost five-year-old 40" Samsung LCD TV has a problem with the tuner. It gets static lines across the screen and in the sound only when the source is the normal cable content. Streaming from our wireless network or video input from a DVR box with tuner are perfect. (We don't own a DVR, that was the cable company's that their tech used to narrow down the problem.)

They re-did every connection from the TV to the pole at the road. Powered our TV from the inverter in their service truck to eliminate electrical interference. Hooked up a portable test TV to our cable and it worked fine. Replaced their splitter unit. Hung their signal analyzer on the cable at the TV and it showed nothing wrong with the signal. I think they did a very thorough job of trying to fix it.

So, for you knowledgeable folks out there, I have two questions.

1) Is it worth trying to get the TV fixed? Anyone had a TV fixed lately? The cable tech said he thought it acted almost like there was a loose connection involved, but bumping the case didn't seem to make a difference. Similar sets now cost about 1/4 of what we paid five years ago.

2) What are some good choices for a DVR box with tuner? I looked up TiVo and they have a $15 monthly service fee. The cable company box would add $24/month to our bill and we would get about two dozen more channels with nothing to watch. :laughing: Are there DVR/tuner units that have no monthly fees?

We don't watch much regular TV, so this won't be a critical marital issue until the Red Sox start playing this spring. :laughing:

 

[Bird]

Similar sets now cost about 1/4 of what we paid five years ago.

I'm afraid I can't help you, but you're sure right about that cost. We just recently replaced our 5 year old Samsung 40" LCD with a 46" LED Samsung. This was one time that we really came out ahead by paying for an extended warranty or service contract with Best Buy. The most comparable TV to our old one wasn't much over $400, although we paid $1,300 for it 5 years ago. But the replacement I picked out was more than $600 and Best Buy still gave it to us without it costing us anything.

 

[/pine]

Our almost five-year-old 40" Samsung LCD TV has a problem with the tuner. It gets static lines across the screen and in the sound only when the source is the normal cable content. Streaming from our wireless network or video input from a DVR box with tuner are perfect. (We don't own a DVR, that was the cable company's that their tech used to narrow down the problem.)

They re-did every connection from the TV to the pole at the road. Powered our TV from the inverter in their service truck to eliminate electrical interference. Hooked up a portable test TV to our cable and it worked fine. Replaced their splitter unit. Hung their signal analyzer on the cable at the TV and it showed nothing wrong with the signal. I think they did a very thorough job of trying to fix it.

So, for you knowledgeable folks out there, I have two questions.

1) Is it worth trying to get the TV fixed? Anyone had a TV fixed lately? The cable tech said he thought it acted almost like there was a loose connection involved, but bumping the case didn't seem to make a difference. Similar sets now cost about 1/4 of what we paid five years ago.

2) What are some good choices for a DVR box with tuner? I looked up TiVo and they have a $15 monthly service fee. The cable company box would add $24/month to our bill and we would get about two dozen more channels with nothing to watch. :laughing: Are there DVR/tuner units that have no monthly fees?

We don't watch much regular TV, so this won't be a critical marital issue until the Red Sox start playing this spring. :laughing:

1.)...I would contact a Samsung repair person and see if it has modular components like power supply cards tuner cards etc... (like most flat panels)...? If so I would get an estimate...

2.) How tech savvy are you?...with even a "moderately" old PC you can add an HD TV tuner card w/ HDMI I/O and Dolby 7.1 ss...from about $80 on up...add a new 1 or 2 T-bite hard drive and with some software you have your own DVR with a (TV display) you can control with a wireless mouse and or the remotes that come with the HD tuner cards...No monthly charge...!

 

[dave1949]

I'm afraid I can't help you, but you're sure right about that cost. We just recently replaced our 5 year old Samsung 40" LCD with a 46" LED Samsung. This was one time that we really came out ahead by paying for an extended warranty or service contract with Best Buy. The most comparable TV to our old one wasn't much over $400, although we paid $1,300 for it 5 years ago. But the replacement I picked out was more than $600 and Best Buy still gave it to us without it costing us anything.

Ha! We did buy a four year service contract--which expired last April. Not something I usually do, but the sets were expensive back then and fairly new, so I thought it could be worth it. Best Buy treated you well, that's good to hear.

Just guessing, but I really doubt I could get this one repaired for much less than ~$200. I would have 1/3 to 1/2 of the price of a new set in a repair. That doesn't make much sense probably. I may decide to try opening it up and looking for loose connections and re-seating things before doing anything else.

 

[dave1949]

1.)...I would contact a Samsung repair person and see if it has modular components like power supply cards tuner cards etc... (like most flat panels)...? If so I would get an estimate...

2.) How tech savvy are you?...with even a "moderately" old PC you can add an HD TV tuner card w/ HDMI I/O and Dolby 7.1 ss...from about $80 on up...add a new 1 or 2 T-bite hard drive and with some software you have your own DVR with a (TV display) you can control with a wireless mouse and or the remotes that come with the HD tuner cards...No monthly charge...!

#1 sounds like a good idea.

#2 really isn't something I want to do. I'm sure it would work, but I'm not interested in getting on the hardware/software updating and messing around treadmill anymore. Years ago I assembled our home PCs from Computer Shopper components, did the low-level disk formats and partitioning, loading OS and software, etc., but I honestly don't care about that stuff now. Good idea for someone who does though, so thanks.

 

[KennyG]

I would not put money into a 5 year old TV with the advances made today. This is just my perspective, but in this situation I would:

1. Upgrade to a 50 to 60" TV - big is better.
2. If the old TV is a 1080 resolution model, use it as an additional computer monitor. It will be impressive.

 

[MossRoad]

From the sound of it, you are using the internal tuner on the TV to tune the cable channels, correct?
You don't have a cable tuner box between the cable and the TV, correct?
And the picture from the cable is lousy, but all other sources are good, correct?
And you tested the cable with other TVs and the picture is good on those other TV's correct?

That leans towards the internal tuner, or the connection between the cable and the internal tuner in the TV.

You could use the TV as a monitor and get an external tuner in several ways...

Does your cable company provide cable tuner boxes? That could resolve the issue, but you probably have to rent the box.

You may be able to purchase a tuner box that is compatible with your cable system. That would take a little research. Our local cable company forbids that and all boxes have to be verified.

You could put a DVR with its own tuner between the cable and the TV.

I would first look inside the case of the TV and look for obvious stuff from the cable input jack to the tuner. Heck, it could just be a dust bunny. But first, google that model of TV and use "model + tuner + replacement or repair". etc... and you'd be surprised how many repair videos are on-line these days. Many show tips and tricks as to how to open the case, replace parts, etc.... If it looks simple and cheap, attempt the repair. If not, trash it. A 5 year old TV that may cost $400 new now isn't worth putting $200 into. Maybe $100 at most, unless, of course, you enjoy tinkering as a hobby.

Good luck. I'd like to see what you find or how you proceed. :thumbsup:

 

[Larro Darro]

Like others have said, it sounds like your tuner has gone out. We have several DVD records with tuners. They are harder to find with tuners today, but you might try a thrift store for one. Or even an old VCR would do. All you would be using it for is the tuner. If you find one, use the RCA jacks to connect it to your TV. I think that would get you going.

Larro

 

[Larro Darro]

My above post was assuming your signal is analog. If it's digital, that wouldn't work.

Larro

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I have a channelmaster digital tuner/DVR for digital OTA signals. no monthly fee, but you can pay to get advanced programming listings. If your cable box is analog output, I just bought on amazon an analog tuner with hdmi output to go between an analog cable box and a new tv that doesn't have coax input. think it was around $40.

 

[dave1949]

Like others have said, it sounds like your tuner has gone out. We have several DVD records with tuners. They are harder to find with tuners today, but you might try a thrift store for one. Or even an old VCR would do. All you would be using it for is the tuner. If you find one, use the RCA jacks to connect it to your TV. I think that would get you going.

Larro

We have digital cable service. There seems to be some dvd recorders with tuners but I need to check those out in more detail. Some require a card that is provided by the cable company, or permission from the cable company by the sounds of it.

 

[dave1949]

I have a channelmaster digital tuner/DVR for digital OTA signals. no monthly fee, but you can pay to get advanced programming listings. If your cable box is analog output, I just bought on amazon an analog tuner with hdmi output to go between an analog cable box and a new tv that doesn't have coax input. think it was around $40.

More good tips, thanks.

 

[SPIKER]

Contact Samsung, They fixed mine (bought in Mar 2008) and there is a Capacitor problem that takes them about 15 min to replace them, 4 or 5 of them gets un soldered and new replacement put in. I think the number is "1-800-SAM_SUNG" but you can go to their web site and type in the model number and serial number and it will tell you if yours is in for free fixes.

Ours would not turn on every time, it would make the start up chime but then shut right back off, & would occasionally get a line thru it. There is a lot of info on them on line and a good number of youtube videos.

Mark

 

[Bird]

The first time our old 40" Samsung had a problem (very slow to come on and some odd things happening before it would get going), the Best Buy technician replaced a couple of capacitors. That service call, parts, labor, etc. would have been a bit under $200 if we hadn't had the extended warranty. The second time was what looked like some faint clouds on the screen and the same guy replaced the panel. That time it would have been well over $200. The third time the screen looked like it had a smaller screen burned into it. That was the time we got the new TV.

We changed from DirecTV to Charter cable about 3 months ago and they provided the tuner boxes with DVR. But only a month ago they changed to all digital. Of course we already had the right equipment, but they sent lots of notices for those without tuner boxes to come by their office and get one at no cost.

 

[dave1949]

Contact Samsung, They fixed mine (bought in Mar 2008) and there is a Capacitor problem that takes them about 15 min to replace them, 4 or 5 of them gets un soldered and new replacement put in. I think the number is "1-800-SAM_SUNG" but you can go to their web site and type in the model number and serial number and it will tell you if yours is in for free fixes.

Ours would not turn on every time, it would make the start up chime but then shut right back off, & would occasionally get a line thru it. There is a lot of info on them on line and a good number of youtube videos.

Mark

Thanks Mark.

I don't think I have the capacitor problem that you and Bird had. Ours always turns on and plays until we turn it off.

So, I followed SoundGuys advice and did some googling. What a can of worms :laughing:, but there is a lot of info out there. I even found out how to turn off the stupid "melody" power on/off chimes. :laughing:

At this site: TVserviceParts.com | Samsung AA40-00177A Tuner
I could buy a tuner (and watched a YouTube video of that being done somewhere) for $45, or the entire main board, which looks like it includes the tuner, for $175.


CNET has a Samsung TV forum:
Forums Sitemap - CNET.com

I never realized how many different problems people can have with TV sets these days with all the various usage and connection modes.


Thanks everyone for all the good tips. I'm going to need a while to sort through and follow-up on those.

 

[bandaidmd]

Sounds like your going to end up with a new TV or external tuner, Once you add the dvr you will kick yourself for not having one sooner. My wife and i both work early shifts and all the good shows seem to come on at 10pm with a dvr it does not matter we watch on our schedule.

 

[dave1949]

Sounds like your going to end up with a new TV or external tuner, Once you add the dvr you will kick yourself for not having one sooner. My wife and i both work early shifts and all the good shows seem to come on at 10pm with a dvr it does not matter we watch on our schedule.

Yeah, I think it will be one or the other. After watching the YouTube video of replacing the tuner, I can see it is hard soldered on the main board, nothing to come loose there and the coax connector extends from the tuner case out the back of the set, so no intermediate wires there. A new main board gets me over half the price of a new tv when all is said and done. Like a DVR, the on-demand streaming is also good for time management and convenience.

We've been watching this Australian Broadcasting series Phyrne Fisher: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries : ABC TV streamed from Netflix. And the House Of Cards series, also from Netflix (produced and streamed). House of Cards (U.S. TV series) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Phyrne Fisher is about PG-13. House of Cards is definitely in the R rated zone. So beware of that if you have youngsters.

 

[MossRoad]

Once you get over half the cost of a new TV that's already 5 years old, better to go the other route. Something else will go once you replace the original bad part. Use the repair money towards a DVR with tuner and use the TV for the monitor. It may last for years as just a monitor.

 

[dave1949]

I have a channelmaster digital tuner/DVR for digital OTA signals. no monthly fee, but you can pay to get advanced programming listings. If your cable box is analog output, I just bought on amazon an analog tuner with hdmi output to go between an analog cable box and a new tv that doesn't have coax input. think it was around $40.

That was a good tip.

Channel Master also has this CM7001 hdmi antenna/cable tuner (no dvr). HD Antenna Tuner and Cable HDTV Tuner | CM-7001 - Channel Master Store

I think that would do the job with no monthly subscription. $111 at Amazon with Prime. There are other brands too, none have really good average review numbers. The number of times I would make use of a dvr are really limited, I don't think I would miss it really. Haven't yet.

It's a shame we don't get more over the air signals. Channel Master has an antenna-only tuner/dvr unit that looks nice. The Channel Master utility shows us with five potential channels, and two of the five are duplicates from different locations. In any case, NESN (New England Sports Channel) is cable only, streaming is blacked-out, and I live with a die hard Red Sox fan. High maintenance. :laughing:

 

[Soundguy]

neither would i.

not much inside a new tv anymore. I'd be surprised if there was more than 1 card other than the power supply.... IF that is even seperate...

I would not put money into a 5 year old TV with the advances made today. This is just my perspective, but in this situation I would:

1. Upgrade to a 50 to 60" TV - big is better.
2. If the old TV is a 1080 resolution model, use it as an additional computer monitor. It will be impressive.