My 50" Samsung plasma has a cracked screen and no longer works. The crack is on the right side and runs top to bottom. I am wondering if there is anything, other than a flying wii remote, which could have caused this. Samsung’s position is that it had to have been caused by an accident.
Any children in the home? 
I have a 7 year old and a wii. He denies involvement and I am going to assume he is telling the truth. My quick search on google tends to support the possibility that cracks can occur without an external impact.
Look very carefully along the full length of the crack. If it was caused by an impact, there should be evidence. All 7 year olds lie.
lol…seriously? In the words of Judge Judy
All children lie. Especially when there is a chance they could get in trouble for something.
Unless there was a major temperature spike in the unit or in your house, I would have a hard time believing it just cracked on its own. But you have done the research so I have to take your word for it.
Good luck.
I would think it would be obvious if there had been direct impact with the screen. Close examination probably wouldn’t be needed. I would look at the plastic around the outside of the screen for possible points of impact.
me thinks your 7 year old is telling a little fib! But did you really think hooking the kids wii up to a 50 inch plasma was a good idea?
Do you really think the Wii is for the kids?
My aunt told me once that she head this big crash in her kitchen and when she went in there the glass front of her oven was shattered all over the floor, like all over the floor, not just in front of the oven. Obviously an oven undergoes temp swings, but so does the front panel of a TV to some, ahem… degree. That being said, see above about all kids lying when in trouble. The next time its raining, just tell your seven year old that its god crying because someone broke your plasma screen. Eventually the little guy will break down or grow up and hate you.
I have a 7 year old and a wii. He denies involvement and I am going to assume he is telling the truth. My quick search on google tends to support the possibility that cracks can occur without an external impact.
Occam’s razor
- did you check the wii remote for damage? I can’t imagine it would come out unscathed. if it were in it’s little armored cover i can’t imagine it would break the TV.
- If you run a ball point pen along the crack it should get hung up at any chip in the glass, this would be your impact point. If it doesn get hung up, and there is no Wii damage, then you’ve got a good argument on your hands.
good luck.
By the age of 8, children can lie as effectively as adults.
My personal opinion - I HIGHLY doubt your plasma just spontaneously cracked. Seriously. (Would you honestly expect Samsung to admit any other possibility than “user error”?)
Anyways, if you want a more definitive answer than the LR, try posting in AVSForum. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=167 If something crazy like that has ever happened, chances are someone on those forums has heard about it. Good luck.
I checked the t.v. and there is no evidence of an external impact with the screen. The entire surface of the crack is smooth. Therefore, my son is exonorated and the crack is internal and most likely a defect. Unfortunately, the t.v. is 2 months beyond the warranty so I will have to eat the loss and move on to the next t.v. Fortunately a replacement is about $800 cheaper than I paid 2 years ago.
Many credit cards - gold versions, platinum, signature, etc- double manufacturer warranties- if that’s how you paid for the T.V., you might be able to use that to your benefit. This is often overlooked by many people…
yes?
I’ve been shopping for an HDTV and I learned some things today that may help you figure out what happened.
- Plasma’s have a 1/4" thick glass on the front. It’s pretty durable compared to an LCD. The salesman even wrapped fairly hard on the glass of a Samsung 50" that I was looking at. I would think one would have to throw a Wii controller pretty hard to break that glass.
- It’s not advised to lay a plasma HDTV flat (face up or down). If you did this during tranport or set up it may have stressed the glass.
Now for my “besides that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?” moment.
Prior to the failure, what did you think of your Samsung? Would you buy another one?
Thanks.
**Prior to the failure, what did you think of your Samsung? Would you buy another one? **
Up until it died it was a great t.v. I am not buying another for the simple reason that a screen should not crack after just 2 years of moderate use. I don’t believe the cracked screen is due to accidental damage so I can’t reward Samsung by buying another t.v. from them. I ended buying a 46" Sony LCD.
I’ve heard good things about the Samsung, but one of my friends just bought a 50" Vizio plasma at Costco for $1200. Paid with his Costco AmEx card and got a 3yr warranty (triple the mfg’s std 1yr warranty). Something to think about…