2007 Phillips DLP HDTV issues
 

Hello everyone today I found in the salvage bin at work (Goodwill) a 2007 vintage Phillips DLP HDTV (one of the last of the rear projection TVs before the LCD Plat Panels took over) and anyways it seems to have an issue with not wanting to power on, the power/standby light is flashing a blue color and when you first plug it in it acts like its doing the initial power-on initialization steps but then after about a minute the fans and the unit shuts down. Its acting as if it might be a power supply issue but from what I could see the power supply looks like it might be in decent shape yet (no bulging capacitors or anything from what I can see) and the fuse in the power supply is one of those ceramic fuses so you can't really tell if its blown or not, and I even checked the bulb for the TV's projector setup and the bulb was still good so any ideas as to where I should look or how I might go about getting this TV up and running again? I think once I get the power-up issue fixed this will be a nice TV for gaming and even watching movies on.

Any help or advice would be appreciated as this is the first time I've worked on a DLP HDTV, I've worked on DLP LCD Projectors before but not DLP HDTVs.
Below are some pictures posted of the unit in question.

Run away. Far away. Vintage? No. Worth the time and effort? No. Been there, done that. I would have left it right where it was. I had one of these and they're junk. :thumbsdn:

I see, and were you able to get yours going again? Or did you just junk it? I picked it up just because I thought it would be an interesting piece of equipment to work on, if the repair was simple enough. Also when I say "vintage" as in a "2007 vintage TV" I don't mean its literally vintage, I just mean it as saying the same thing as using the word "circa" which is basically the same thing as saying its from this time period approximately.

Anyways what went wrong with yours (and presumably with mine if its the same issues and if its the same model)?

By the way Philips actually still has this particular TV (the model I have anyways) still listed in their support database complete with an owners manual download and a software upgrade download that is fairly current. The model of mine is 50PL9220D/37 so if it is indeed the same exact model as the one you had what went bad in the unit that caused it to stop working, and is it an easy fix?

DLP only seems to work long term in projectors, they probably have better cooling airflow being out in the open like they typically are. Every single DLP set I've come into contact with would drop a bulb on short notice (even a new bulb), and when it did if it didn't take out the bulb power supply/DLP chip/DLP board/power supply at the same time you were very lucky. I know, I went through it with a brand new Mitsu and I won't go back no matter how cheap one is. Most of the time you might pay up to $150 for one, but guess what? A quality bulb that isn't gonna pop on you right away will cost at least that much- and you have that cost to look forward to probably once a year. IMO go flat, or find a nice Trinitron and don't waste your time.

OK, well I wasn't sure, I had heard mixed reviews about DLP technology in its various applications, whether it be in an LCD Projector or in a TV, either way I wasn't sure how easy of a fix the TV would be or if it was even worth my time, it was in the salvage bin at Goodwill where I work and I took a chance and at $8 I really didn't lose much, I can just take and junk it at the landfill for $10 and I'm still not a whole lot into it. I just thought that maybe if it was just a blown fuse or something like that that maybe it would be a decent unit to use. And True story I was given a 1987 vintage Panasonic 25" CRT Television set (Color set) that refused to turn on even though when you hit the power button it would sound like it was trying to turn on but you would get no picture or sound and what not, so I got the TV home and the first thing I checked was the fuse and sure enough the TV had 2 large fuses in it, and one of them was blown, $2 later and a new fuse in the TV and put the tv back together and powered it on and sure enough it powered right up. Which is what I thought maybe was the case with this TV but when I saw it only had one fuse in it I figured it was probably more than just a fuse being blown, but wasn't sure. I get paid on Thursday so maybe I'll just take the TV over to the Landfill and get rid of it there.
Anyways I do have a nice Sony Trinitron TV a 27" from 2000, one that I got from outside the Goodwill Dropbox near me (which I offered them a donation for it but they said not to worry about it, this was before I started working for them.) But I just thought that if I could of gotten this thing going it would of been a nice TV but I guess its not even worth my time.

I would not pay to junk it, but rather take all the usable caps, power resistors, etc. off the boards, and crunch the rest up till it fits in a bag or two in the trash can....Been doing it for years.

Usually powering up issues are bulb, ballast, etc. Mine was bulb. Even if they're still good but weak. You only get so many hours out if them and your back looking for another again. Then my dlp chip, usually made by Texas Instruments started going. Had black dots all over screen until I could barely see anything.

DLP rear projection was just a stop gap technology until larger LCD panels could be manufactured at a reasonable price point.

OK so when I noticed that it didn't power up yesterday at work when I tried it out before I decided to take it I should of taken that as a sign that I should of just left it be for the truck to take it, and been done with it I guess. But like I said I didn't know so lesson learned. next time I see a tv like that in the salvage bin there at work I guess I'll just leave it be and not bother with it.

Interesting... when the chip in my DLP projector started to go, I first saw a few white dots... after a short while it was like I was viewing through a snowstorm :( What a waste of about 300 bucks! :thumbsdn:

jr
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I have a 44" Panasonic LCD projo set. I KNOW what you mean...by "quality bulb". I FIRST got a "generic bulb" when I got this set about 6 years or so ago...it lasted lESS than a year before it dimmed. after THAT...I put in a GENIUNE Phillips bulb...which I got for an INCREDIBLE price...at the Dayton Hamfest, in 2011 IIRC..and it lasted till just last WEEK..when I replaced it with ANOTHER Genuine phillips bulb..again for a great price. The old one STILL looked great...but had OVER 6K hours on it. I STILL kept it...for a spare... This set is my "daily driver...and is on right now--on ME tv.

This set...MAY..i say MAY...be a "DILA " set..which is sort of a cross between LCD and DLP sets I think...and i am not sure it uses a color wheel either. If it IS a DILA set...I WOULD try and get 'er goin. they were NOT real common.

And a phillips bulb...which WILL last awhile...can be gotten for less than $100 every day...

Well Actually I did take the projector unit out of the case and it looked almost exactly like the projector unit inside of my LCD Projector (except for the lens assembly being positioned for rear projection), so maybe it is a DILA set, would a DILA set still use the "DLP" emblem on the front of the set? Would a picture of the projection unit inside the TV help in identifying what kind of TV this is exactly?

It Should have the symbol "DILA" or ILA on it...if it IS one of those sets..

Well it just says "DLP" on the front of the set from what I could see, so I'm guessing its not one of those sets, which means it probably is just a junk set that I just need to scrap and be done with it. Lesson learned.

So the DLP sets can NEVER be saved? Isn't there some way to ressurect a DLP Set without having to spend $500+ to get it going and to keep it going?

I do not think anyone is saying a "DLP can never be saved"...HOWEVER...they ALL seem to have a "long term" issue of the DLP chip "growing "spots".. on them. That--and color wheels and lamps.. A CW is often NOT cheap...IF available.. and DLP chips are NOT cheap.

\MAYBE...you could get that set to run...with just a bulb..and maybe NOT. it SUCKS....to waste money o a bulb just to find out you have a bad CW or DLP chip..

If it is not seeming to power on at ALL..it is likely a lamp issue or fan issue. Does the lamp even TRY and fire? Can you hear the "ticking sound" near it--of the start sequence?

When I plug it in the fans do power on and the bulb does attempt to fire twice but then after about a minute or so the unit completely shuts down including the fans and the power/standby light flashes a blue color, it flashes a few times slowly and then a couple of times really fast, and that flashing pattern is all the standby/power light does in the front the entire time the TV is plugged in, also when the TV is plugged in it does make a "click" noise just before the fans power on and the light tries to fire, and when the TV finally shuts down it makes another "click" noise and then shuts everything including the fans off. is that what it does when the bulb is bad? or is that what it does when the chip or color wheel is bad? I used to have a couple of older DLP LCD Projectors but I had sold them already, had I known I possibly could of used parts from those because they were still good yet, they just didn't have a bulb for either of them because they both burned out.

Have you taken the bulb out...and looked to see if it is not DEAD? As if in the little arc-tube is not cracked...? or shattered? That OFTEN happens with these Xenon-mercury vapor bulbs...they often crack the arc-tube.

If you can look and see if the arc-tube is trying to fire...a clicking noise from it means the ballast is trying to start it...but the bulb is dead..

I took the bulb out a couple of times and looked it over but it looked like it was just fine but I may have been looking at it wrong and it could be burned out and that's all that's wrong with it. were there certain brands of DLP Projection TVs that were known to be more reliable than others? Just curious.

Did you check the color wheel? Many times the bearings get sloppy on the color wheel allowing the wheel to hit the case and shatter. It will still spin up, but the tachometer won't read correctly with the wheel shattered and the startup will fail.

On Philips DLPs, it's almost always the bulb or the color wheel. They actually aren't all that bad for a DLP. Be thankful it isn't a Sony.

If you get it going and don't like it, maybe you could sell the light engine on ebay. That's what I used to do with DLPs that had broken mirrors or lenses (screens). I don't know if they still sell, but they did about 5 years ago when I was listing them.

I'll take a look at the color wheel, and see if its in good shape yet or not.
I'll also take a look at the bulb again and see if its burned out or not.

UPDATE: I took the unit apart and took a look at the color wheel and the color wheel is still in one piece yet, its not shattered or anything. I took the DLP Module apart and it seems that the heatsink grease that went between the main DLP chip and its heatsink was dried up which might be why its not turning on because maybe the TV is powering down to protect the chip from overheating and destroying itself. Also I took a look at the bulb and it doesn't show any signs of cracks or being broken so the bulb is definitely still good it seems unless those bulbs fail without the bulb breaking...

I posted some pictures below of the parts in question so that you guys can see the condition of the parts in question.

That bulb is bad. Note the melted blob on the burner (the little round ball at the bottom of the glass stem in the center). If the bulb ever does fire up it wont last long before "POP!"
I have seen color wheels shatter on these, as well as make more noise than a garbage truck, and also have seen one with siezed bearings. Fans go bad too. A bulb might get yours running but it's a crap-shoot as for how long it'll keep running. Might be only days, you may get a couple years out of it. Whatever you do, DO NOT use one of the cheap, $30 bulbs they sell online. You'll regret it.

I found a bulb for this thing over at Best Buy for $94 and its a Philips bulb which I heard where the better bulbs to get for these, which I think I'm going to get that bulb once I save up some money to do so.