Samsung may fix your light tunnel issue...for freeeeee

I’m a big Samsung fan. I think they make some really great products. So about six months ago, when I started to notice a little “shadow” on the left side of our Samsung DLP in the family room, I was a bit disappointed. After all, the TV was only a few years old, so it seemed odd that there should be any kind of trouble with it. Fortunately, Samsung came through and got things worked out. Hit the clicky thingie to read more…

As time went on, the shadow got worse, meaning it got bigger, eventually growing to about 2.5″ to 3″. I did a bit of research online and found out that the trouble was with a component known as the light tunnel. The light tunnel has some mirrors in it, and apparently there was a period of time during which that element was manufactured with a bit of a defect, in that the mirrors were affixed to the rest of the unit with an adhesive that would lose its grip over time. As a result, one or more of the mirrors would slip out of place, causing the “border shadow” as it’s often referred to, and as you can see in the image I took above.

I contacted Samsung to see what could be done about it. Now, if you have this issue yourself with an HLR or HLS series Samsung DLP, you may have done your own research and found a lot of information about it online, both true and untrue. I’m happy to report that Samsung is very clearly standing behind their products and offered this official response to pause.com regarding this issue:

“Samsung is addressing the light tunnel “border-shadow” effect that impacted a small percentage of select 2005 and 2006 model year DLP TVs. Customers who own a Samsung HLR or HLS model year DLP TV, and experience a “border-shadow” impact caused by the light tunnel, should call Samsung’s service department at 1-800-Samsung (1-800-726-7864) and arrange for an authorized service technician to perform the service repair free of charge.”

We scheduled an appointment with Samsung’s outside repair division, HSC, and the tech came out to our house and had the set down, taken apart and fixed in about 30 minutes. Not only is the shadow gone, but I have to say that the picture looks much better in general. I suppose it makes sense that there could be some other symptoms of the light tunnel issue than just the shadow, clarity being one of them. But it also seems brighter now (the tech had a spare lamp with him for our model, but didn’t swap it out since he said ours still had plenty of life in it), which is a beautiful thing.

If you have an HLR or HLS series DLP from Samsung and you’re experiencing the same issue, do yourself a favor and give them a call to get it taken care of. You may have to refer to the issue by a few different names before the customer service person you speak to finds the right info. I referred to it as “light tunnel”, “light engine” and “border shadow” although to be honest, I can’t remember which one finally triggered the correct response from the woman I spoke to. You’ll also need the model number, serial number and lamp code for your set, all of which can be found on stickers on the side or back of your TV.