Samsung TV sound problem

I got the telly I have now on August 15 when my previous Samsung (which I had for 5 years) conked out during Olympics closing ceremony (the picture just disappeared. Sound, but black screen)

I always listen to the telly in the bedroom through headphones cos I'm hard of hearing.
No problem with sound at all in the old telly (the headphone socket was in the front) but this one, (the headphone socket in the back) tonight the sound suddenly went in the left ear.
Yet when I switch to the DVD player also plugged into the telly, the sound is perfect in both ears.

Can anything be done?

Comments

  • evil cevil c Posts: 7,833
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    I have found that occasionally the audio drops on one channel but it is restricted to that particular TV broadcast which is always BBC1 HD and that it comes back after 30 seconds or so. Are you experiencing the problem on all TV programmes and is it always the left channel? Also is the TV still under guarantee? There is also the chance that it could be an intermittent fault with the headphones. Have you tried the headphones with another source, say an audio system, or have you got a spare set of phones that you could swap to when the problem occurs?
  • FlukieFlukie Posts: 40,578
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    evil c wrote: »
    I have found that occasionally the audio drops on one channel but it is restricted to that particular TV broadcast which is always BBC1 HD and that it comes back after 30 seconds or so. Are you experiencing the problem on all TV programmes and is it always the left channel? Also is the TV still under guarantee?

    All channels, yes. I was listening to something and suddenly the sound just went out the left ear.

    I have my earphones plugged into an extension lead which is plugged into the back of the telly, and what's a puzzle to me is, if I pull the connection out slightly, then I can hear out of both ears, but on the DVD, I can hear background sounds but not the voices!
    Far too technical for me,

    And I've only had it since August 15 so that answers the guarantee question.
    I had the previous telly 5 years. No problems at all until that day the picture just went completely. They really don't make them like they used to. it's all throwaway rubbish these days, but I'm really fed up that I have this problem when I've only had the telly about 8 weeks!
  • evil cevil c Posts: 7,833
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    It may be that the extension lead is the problem then. Does it still happen if the phones are connected directly to the TV? You need to try to solve this logically. The old TV is irrelevant so no need to keep mentioining it.
  • FlukieFlukie Posts: 40,578
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    evil c wrote: »
    It may be that the extension lead is the problem then. Does it still happen if the phones are connected directly to the TV? You need to try to solve this logically. The old TV is irrelevant so no need to keep mentioining it.

    I have 2 extension leads. Have tried them both, same problem and I have plugged the earplugs straight into the back of the telly, same problem. I tried those things out as soon as I knew the sound had gone - after first trying new headphones cos I assumed they were the problem as they have been in the past, but no, new headphones were the same.

    And I feel inclined to mention the old telly cos it pisses me off I had no problem with it for 5 years and this flimsier new one has lasted only 8 weeks.
    I think it's because the headphone socket is in such a stupid place on this telly - the back of the telly not the front.

    What I don't understand is how the sound comes out perfectly if I switch to the DVD.
  • chrisjrchrisjr Posts: 33,282
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    Flukie wrote: »
    I have 2 extension leads. Have tried them both, same problem and I have plugged the earplugs straight into the back of the telly, same problem. I tried those things out as soon as I knew the sound had gone - after first trying new headphones cos I assumed they were the problem as they have been in the past, but no, new headphones were the same.

    And I feel inclined to mention the old telly cos it pisses me off I had no problem with it for 5 years and this flimsier new one has lasted only 8 weeks.
    I think it's because the headphone socket is in such a stupid place on this telly - the back of the telly not the front.

    What I don't understand is how the sound comes out perfectly if I switch to the DVD.
    If you get both channels from playing a DVD then the problem cannot be the headphone socket, the headphone leads or the headphones themselves. If it were any of those you would get the same problem regardless of what you are listening to.

    The position of the socket is also irrelevant to any fault. Apart from making it less easy to access perhaps it has no bearing on whether it will work or not. A faulty socket will be just as faulty wherever it finds itself.

    The fault you are describing would appear to be with the tuner in the TV. Have you listened to the speakers in the TV to see if only one channel of those is working when the headphones also lose the channel? If so then that eliminates the socket and the headphones. You may have to get up close to the TV to be able to tell if only one channel is working.

    Does the TV have any alternative audio output, eg a SCART socket or a pair of phono sockets? If so try plugging those into an amplifier and listening to see if the channel is working. Though it is becoming more common to see digital audio outputs which might be a bit more difficult to make use of.

    But I would not spend too much time faffing about trying to sort the fault. It is new and should not have such a fault. So basically take it back to where you bought it from and get them to sort it out. In any case if the fault is internal to the TV then there is probably nothing you can do anyway.
  • FlukieFlukie Posts: 40,578
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    I got it from argos

    and once i realised it wasn't a dodgy headphones or extension lead i knew it was a telly fault, i was just hoping for some miracle that it could be fixed now.

    it's still a mystery how it works perfectly when switched to the dvd. i mean, the sound comes out the same place doesn't it?!
  • chrisjrchrisjr Posts: 33,282
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    Flukie wrote: »
    I got it from argos

    and once i realised it wasn't a dodgy headphones or extension lead i knew it was a telly fault, i was just hoping for some miracle that it could be fixed now.

    it's still a mystery how it works perfectly when switched to the dvd. i mean, the sound comes out the same place doesn't it?!
    The amplifier driving the headphones is the same but the source of the audio input to that amplifier is not the same when you play a DVD to when you watch a TV programme.

    If you get both channels working watching a DVD then that means the audio path from the socket the DVD is connected to, through the TV and the internal switch that selects what you listen to, then on to the amplifier and ultimately the headphones is fully intact.

    However when you switch to watching the TV either the tuner in the TV, or the section of the audio select switch it connects to, or some minor component or even a PCB track in between the tuner and the switch is obviously faulty.

    Up to the internal audio switch the paths the audio takes from the TV tuner and the DVD take are entirely separate. So it is quite possible for one of them to function perfectly while the other does not. If both were faulty then that would suggest some section common to both, eg the audio switch, the headphone amplifier or the socket.

    Basically it is an electronics fault that could probably be sorted by swapping out the appropriate circuit board. But to be honest as it is so new and probably under guarantee there is not much point faffing about just take it back to Argos.
  • ProDaveProDave Posts: 11,398
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    Just as a test. UNPLUG the headphones and check the internal speakers.

    My bet is only one internal speaker will be working when watching broadcast tv.

    If that is the case, when you take it back, it's a LOT easier to simply say "only one speaker is working" than try and explain about a headphone issue. Because as sure as I'm typing this, mention headphone trouble, and they will try and blame the fault on your headphones. Something they can't so if indeed one speaker does not work.
  • FlukieFlukie Posts: 40,578
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    For some strange reason, it's working again now!

    Switched the telly on and perfect sound coming out of both ears for both telly and DVD.

    Strange!
  • leslie123leslie123 Posts: 2,431
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    Intermittent contact or dry joint somewhere?
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