Samsung PN59D550C1F 59" Plasma doesn't power on [FIXED!] - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2019, 03:27:07 pm
content: Hi everyone,I picked up this TV from a neighbour curb-side trash drop. They happened to be in their garage at the time so I asked and they gladly gave it to me. I asked what the problem is, they said it simply stopped turning on. Having fixed previous TV's I figure if I'm lucky it's just a cap replacement on the main power board. I've worked on LCD's before but never a plasma. It's heavy at 59" but not too bad compared to older plasmas and it's fairly thin. I was able to lift it myself but it's at my limit. Looks in perfect shape, screen and bezel are practically mint condition. It rained a bit during the time I first spotted the TV at the curb and picked it up next morning but it was vertical on its stand. I figure I should leave it for a while to dry out and take off the cover and just let it air out. Hopefully that didn't do any further damage, hope not much rain was able to get in. I'll try to post updates and photos as I go through am doing with your help I hope to prevent this TV from going into the landfill!EDITED:I was looking up historical pricing on this TV which appears to have been released around 2011-2012. It was about $1899 US which would have been in the low $2000's Canadian. I see now only 7-8 years later the same size TV for about $600. No wonder nobody bothers to fix them anymore and why they are making them "disposable". I never could imagine in the previous generation people would have accepted that rate of turnover. I know plasmas suffer from burn-in and even LCD has ghosting and other problems that creep in. I guess as long as new TVs are so cheap, You would expect to replace one every decade. Although I doubt that in 10 years a 59" would be $200... it went from $2000 to $600 in 8 years, so in 2027 maybe a 59" roll up flexible OLED you glue to your wall like wallpaper may be $200.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2019, 10:06:33 pm
content: Ok I managed to crack it open. It was bone dry. The vents on the back all point down and luckily TV was sitting fairly upright. I took a few photo shots (see attachment) and didn't notice anything strange most caps but did notice a burn mark on those blue "jobbies" there next to a heat sink all covered in hot snot. Does anyone have the service manual or schematics? Do you think it's just a simple matter of changing those 2 components!?? Will be interesting to find out!!!

author: shakalnokturn
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2019, 10:39:14 pm
content: I can't really tell from the photo if the blue ceramic caps are to blame or if it's coming from the resistor under the silicon glue.I'd actually bet the blue caps are OK, that they and the series resistors under the glue are snubbering the secondary diodes.The resistor under the glue suffered a broken solder due to thermal cycling (made worse by the mechanical action of the glueing to the heatsink...) The broken solder arced until a voltage spike took the concerned diode out.So the repair could be 1 diode, 1 resistor, a few solders... Keep us updated!

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2019, 01:41:46 pm
content: Thanks for the suggestions. Apparently this model TV uses the BN44-00445A power supply board. I found a number of videos detailing some of the issues and repair tips I should follow:There is also this kit on eBay which may provide some clues as to what needs to be changed as well (seems that BN44-00445A and BN44-00445C are similar enough they use same repair kit):https://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-BN44-00445A-BN44-00445C-Power-Supply-Unit-Component-Repair-Kit-/252528451507https://www.shopjimmy.com/samsung-bn44-00445a-power-supply-unit-component-repair-kit.htmSeems like this is my only option. I'm not sure how I'd source all these parts myself. I'll start with taking off the power supply board like the video suggests and sniffing around with my multimeter, checking for dry/cracked joints and such. Seems like what goes are those blue ceramic caps and the FET's on the heat sink mostly. The ShopJimmy kit also includes a couple of IC's... not sure if that necessarily has to be replaced, it seems like a more difficult soldering job than I'd like.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2019, 02:10:38 am
content: Status update....I removed the power board and tested fuses, which are both ok. Tested all diodes and got ~0.500v except for one at position DQ804 is giving me 0.200v. All caps look ok visually. Except those 2 blue ones that were burned I desoldered from CP816 and CP817. Resistors all checked ok, as did the SMD resistors on the green side of PCB (as video suggests).I removed the 2 heatsink mounted FETs at QP804 and QP802 (the ones with all the silicone) which I believe are the ones provided also in the ShopJimmy kit as per the video. I am not sure how to test them with my multimeter though (Velleman DVM860BL). I also want to check the small transistors at DP804, QP805, QP806 and associated with other FET at DP807, QP807 and QP808 (I will attach photos).

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2019, 02:20:10 am
content: I'm not sure if I resized the pictures small enough on my phone to stay under the attachment limit. I'll give it a go... a few pictures showing the blown caps and one of the FETs and resistors. It was a pain removing the silicone. You can see the parts removed and the part of the board associated with each of those FETs (6R190C6). I need some help figuring out if these are good. The SMD resistors all check out ok... not sure how to properly test the transistors I mentioned. Depending on how I hook up multimeter leads on diode mode I am getting various readings but not consistent.

author: jh15
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2019, 02:39:45 am
content: Please keep the set.Only reason plasma went away was because LCD was cheaper, lighter, bigger for the price. LCD is just laptop screen technology plus marketing calling it led with lots of adhesive bandages. (don't want to be taken down for using a brand of adhesive bandages.)PLasma has the phosphors CRT tubes used forever. matches the tv station camera filters.LCD colors are all over the map.And full black.I have been in this since first round crts and ISF certified.If you want help, I'll try.If they weren't so heavy, I'd dragged a few home myself.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2019, 01:15:12 pm
content: Thank you. Yes it would be nice to be able to fix the set. I'm trying to figure out what ShopJimmy provides in their repair kit, so I can figure out what to do. Also it would help if there was a service manual or schematic of this board available so I can figure out why exactly those 2 (well probably just the one) ceramic blue caps burned up. Then I could trace along the path and see what other components were damaged. The fuses seem to be intact.I'm not sure how to test the FET's with my multimeter. All the resistors in the area seem to be in spec. There are a few of those SMD transistors which I'm confused about, and also the FETs because I'm not sure where the gate/source/drain are and what values I should be getting when I use the diode setting on my multimeter to check the voltage drops.ShopJimmy repair kit is here:I've asked someone there to at least provide me some clues as to what those components are and where they belong on the board. Without the schematic I am not really sure. I'm sure when you buy the kit they tell you what and where to change things. But I still want to understand WHY.Thanks for any help you can provide, meanwhile I'll keep you updated on what I hear back from ShopJimmy and if I can find the schematics anywhere.UPDATE:I found BN44-00445C schematics... since the ShopJimmy repair kit also works for it and the PCB appears to be the same (just different version), the traces are probably all the same, just a few changes in components/options maybe? This may help figure things out better. Also found a "kit" somebody sells fromhttp://www.brelect.fr/ve/G996674.pdfthat lists some of the components for repair. I've attached both below.ANOTHER UPDATE:I found this on eBay... Samsung factory upgraded repair kit...https://www.ebay.com/itm/SAMSUNG-Power-supply-Repair-Kit-for-BN44-00445A-factory-kit/263939578061?hash=item3d740658cd:g:rSsAAOSwerRbnYc7What do you think? Description is as follows... doesn't give details on components being changed:Quote

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2019, 05:05:20 pm
content: Hi folks,I am looking at the schematics and would be grateful for some help working my way through problem solving through it!I found CP816 on page 2 box A1, the cap that looked blown to bits... Seems it goes across that big resistor that is next to it that is GREEN 100K RP837. I will have to take a look at the board and get some better pictures. I'm not sure why it would have blown and what upstream or downstream from it is also damaged that would have caused it to go (unless it was just an isolated fault). Even so, if the cap went, it could have caused other damage.CP817 is page 2 box A2, just over to the right of CP816. You can see that other big green power resistor RP805 next to it. I'm not sure CP817 burned... I think only CP816 exploded but I will have to again check more closely on the board and verify the traces and numbers.I found QP802 on the schematic... page 2 box C3-4 area... and then downstream to it (down the column C3 and B3) you can see those various SMD components on the flip-side of the board... 22R and 10R resistors and the transistors, that the video mentions may also be blown.I can't for the life of me find QP804... it seems to be labelled QP801 on the schematic... it is in page 2 box D3. That follows a parallel pattern to QP802... it is joined down the column C3-B3 also to a number of resistors and transistors. They are both labelled "FCP11N60" (https://www.promelec.ru/pdf/FCP11N60.pdf) so those are the "Super" MOSFETs in most of the kits that they suggest changing (TO-220's). How it is related to those caps is beyond me.Anyways... I am having a tough time with this schematic... it does not seem to match the numbers, I don't even know if the layout is identical. My PCB has printed on it BN44-00445A, BN44-00445B and BN44-00445C on a table and there is an "X" somebody checked off beside "A" option. Most of the kits describe changing these power MOSFETS but this schematic shows different numbers for them plus all of the little resistor/transistor SMD's that are associated with them on the flipside of the board (which I included pictures of earlier).

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2019, 05:19:03 pm
content: Here is the board, you can see version "A" checked off top left hand corner table. If you right-click and open image in new tab it will show larger versions. I've attached them to this post as well.Here is the flip-side:

author: shakalnokturn
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2019, 11:03:22 pm
content: Maybe people would be able to help you better if you posted a couple of good pics of your own PSU like the shopjimmy ones.So I was wrong about the resistors, the blue capacitors really are cooked! I was right about them being part of a snubber though...The schematic you attached, although it seems to have quite a lot in common, isn't identical to your PCB, the burned capacitors do not have the same positions, in fact there is no equivalent on the schematic.The schematic should give you some clues to how things work tough, your burned capacitors are part of a series RC snubber across the Drain/Sources of the MOSFETS on a 2 phase PFC.On the schematic the 2 RC networks would be across QP801, QP802. However they aren't drawn on this version.A few datasheets:https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/ucc28061.pdfhttps://www.infineon.com/dgdl/Infineon-IPA60R190C6-DS-v02_03-EN.pdf?fileId=db3a30432239cccd012264ffa8d31148http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/149/FFPF20UP60DN-111556.pdfPlease note that one of your MOSFET's, DP802 is not a MOSFET but a dual diode, the "GDS" marking on the PCB is wrong, it should have been "AKA" or "ACA"...This component should test centre to extremes 0.2V in one direction infinite in the other.The actual MOSFETS (QP802, QP804) if they are destroyed, which I still doubt by looking at the state of the driving components, usually go short between Drain and Source (at least) the problem testing them is that you can actually put them in an 'on" state by touching the Gate and then they do test as short D-S although they are working.To prevent this discharge the Gate by shorting it to the Source, then measure D-S, you should get infinite in one direction, 0.2 to 0.5V in the other with your DMM.If the MOSFETS test good don't bother looking further upstream towards the PFC controller, try re-fitting them, and replacing the 2 capacitors it should work.Many people tend to shotgun with a repair kit, often not all components in the kit need replacing, it is also worth going through the datasheets before replacing a MOS, if the substitute is inappropriate you could even end up with more damage than in the first place by replacing a component just to be on the safe side.

author: Dacke
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2019, 11:30:14 pm
content: Shakalnokturn has good advice, and the schematic you have must be for a different version of the board because I couldn't locate the rc snubber going from the cathode of the boost diode back to the FET source pin either (I looked at where it was supposed to be), it wasn't there. But it's clearly on your board. Also, I'm not sure if you watched that whole video you linked in your original post, but Norcal shows how to test the FETs as well as some small components in the PFC driver circuit (this is the large IC on the bottom of the board near the damage), should you need to go that far.Be careful. The PFC circuit has close to 400V across those FETs when it's functioning correctly, also why it's a good idea to put the RTV silicone back on the FET pins when you replace them. Manufacturers started to do that when the PFC FETs were arcing/shorting out between the pins because of dust buildup.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2019, 12:17:33 am
content: Quote from: jh15 on July 18, 2019, 02:39:45 amOLED/QLED has made plasma pretty much obsolete. Sadly, it is vulnerable to burn in just like plasma is. Where they shine is at getting really low latency to give competitive gamers an edge, although whether or not that is significant is quite debatable.For general everyday use, MVA does quite well, or IPS if you want something nice. Those cheap TN displays are really made for basic office work and I wonder why MVA hasn't already pushed it out of the market.

author: shakalnokturn
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2019, 12:35:00 am
content: Quote from: Dacke on July 19, 2019, 11:30:14 pmI'm starting to think that's what happened to the capacitors as they appear to have burnt away from the bottom, all the dead blue ceramic caps I used to see (mainly in Philips CRT TV's) would have a roundish burn spot on the edge of the disc under the blue coating.Here the dust could have buit-up between pins and bottom of the coating because of the 400V attracting it there, then enough dust and enough dampness...

author: Dacke
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2019, 01:30:49 am
content: Yeah hopefully just a cap and maybe a FET, could get lucky. Those FETs can fail pretty spectacularly when they go as well, front casings blown off, legs missing, etc. But definitely blow the dust out of a flat panel TV periodically, the PFC circuit is a really common failure point.

author: Mario87
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2019, 01:31:57 pm
content: Quote from: Dacke on July 20, 2019, 01:30:49 amJust a point about this. FETs can also fail quite discretely as well. At work we had a FET controlled managed output fail short circuit on a power supply module. No external damage, but the FET was dead. Sent it way for x-ray & cross sectional analysis. After acid digestion during the cross section there was the tiniest failure point due to an over voltage. So just something to be aware of, FET's can sometimes fails spectacularly, other times they fail very discretely.

author: Dacke
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2019, 02:33:34 pm
content: Of course. I'd say that most of them fail discretely in consumer devices, unless it's an amplifier in a car. In which case it can be very visible and a complete basket case:https://imgur.com/gallery/MhcdhI'll occasionally get car amps to work on, and I always anticipate napalm level destruction before I take the case off, half the time I'm not disappointed...

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2019, 10:50:44 pm
content: Quote from: Dacke on July 20, 2019, 01:30:49 amThat's a fine example where PFC isn't of benefit to the consumer, nor to the environment. It's good for component manufacturers and maybe good for end product manufacturers, but if the vast majority of the products are used where the customer is not billed for power factor, it's just a waste of resources. I have worked on Dell servers that had the option to disable PFC in the BIOS, apparently even some commercial environments do not benefit from PFC.BTW, for 240V input PSUs, there's a reliability boosting trick that involves adding a fuse in series with the PFC MOSFET, in the hopes that if that fails short, the fuse would blow and allow the PSU to continue to work, just without PFC.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2019, 05:18:37 pm
content: Thanks for all the help. I've attached some photos of my board... I'm trying to get it to fit as best as I can in the least number of posts possible. This is one side of the board.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2019, 05:32:13 pm
content: Here are a few more photos of the other side of the board. I also show the area were I desoldered the 2 FETs and 2 caps. I ended up ordering a repair kit and once I get it will also check all the solder joints under magnifying loupes and see if I need to touch anything up. I will replace the easier stuff and hopefully will not need to start changing the ICs as the repair kit includes those also. I will need to pick up some heat sink compound for the FETs and I am not sure if I should (and what type) of silicone to use.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2019, 04:43:45 pm
content: I received the ShopJimmy kit. It contains the following components and I have attached photos. Hopefully they are numbered according to the layout of my specific board version "A" as we have seen there are some discrepancies between board versions and I'm not even sure what schematic I have attached as it could also be mislabelled:C816, C817 (those blue caps which exploded)QP802, QP804 (those heat-sink bound FETs next to the blue caps)ICP801 (that 20-pin IC package near the blue cap side of board)QS802, QS804 (transistors on the other side of the board... not close the blown caps at all)F801S, FX801S (fuses - mine are intact, I don't need to change these for sure)I can't seem to find these... ICX801 , US801. I can only assume these are IC packages. I'll keep looking, I only had photos in front of me but when I have the chance to sit in front of the board I may find them easier. Any help would be appreciated.Any suggestions or thoughts about why these would be most common components to blow? I don't feel like replacing every component (especially the smaller ones or surface mounts will be harder to solder)... any advice as to what to try first or test? I don't have heat sink thermal paste, I hope Sayal has it... anyone know if I should use a certain type? What about silicone? Should I put it back? Thanks!

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2019, 06:25:03 pm
content: Ok found US801 (near middle of board) and know ICP801 is near the blown caps/FETs I removed already. See photos. No sign of ICX801... will keep looking.I have no idea what US801 is... I can make out what looks like "25600 18M AJ3D" on this 8-pin IC. Any ideas? Google didn't find anything, maybe I'm reading the numbers incorrectly. Any help appreciated on how to test this part and whether I should bother replacing (rather not).Same goes for ICP801 which I am reading "IE5YOAM 2A20118B" on this 20-pin IC. Again, I'd prefer not to have to deal with this thing if I don't have to.I was hoping to just replace the 2 blown blue caps and QP802 and QP804 (which are on the same side of the board near the caps on that heat-sink) which was shown in the YouTube video being changed (the 4 components I've already desoldered) and try to power on the set and see what happens. I just don't want to blow anything else. If the set still doesn't come on maybe then I can deal with those 3 IC's... 2 of which I can find now (ICP801 and US801), and the 3rd one (ICX801) which I still can't even locate!NOTE:On the schematic I found "ICS801S" which is 8-pin package labelled UCC25600 on the schematic which seems to be analogous to my US801 (it has the 25600 branding on it). If you look closely at the picture though, it seems only 7 of the pins are connecting to leads and other components. There is one pin doing nothing. Searching this I found it is:http://www.ti.com/product/UCC25600which is a 8-pin "High-performance resonant mode LLC controller". Here is the spec sheet:http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/ucc25600.pdfAs for the ICP801 which has 20-pins, if you look closely at the photos there are 5 pins that do not actually have leads coming out.... only 15 of the 20 pins are actually used it seems. There are to IC's on the schematic that come close... ICP802 (UCC28061) seems to be associated with the QP802/804 which is the same as my ICP801 but it has 16 pins only. A google search turns uphttps://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/ucc28061.pdfwhich is a "Natural Interleaving Transition-Mode PFC Controller With Improved Audible Noise Immunity".Again, I am not sure because the schematic I have is for the BN44-00445C and even though my board has a table showing BN44-00445A, B and C variants and mine has a checkmark beside "A", who knows how different the other boards are? I don't really see any unpopulated pads so how could this PCB be marked with a table showing 3 different versions and IC's would have different numbers of pins or not be labelled the same on the silkscreen labelling?More specifically, the table shows:BN44-00445APB6FBN44-00445BPB6FBN44-00445CPB6F_WVL

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 31, 2019, 05:03:04 am
content: Ok folks, big UPDATE! The TV is fixed!So I ended up using a few parts from the ShopJimmy kit... the 2 blue caps obviously at CP816 and CP817, and the FETs at QP802 and QP804 nearby. I've attached some photos of my crappy but sufficient soldering job. I got heatsink compound at a local electronics shop. I did not put silicone on those FETs yet and may just leave them alone for now. I will need to find something specific for electronic use anyways.The other components in the kit were not needed. Thanks to all who offered help and suggestions! I'm happy to have saved this mint condition TV from the landfill! I'll post a few more photos in the next post as I may go over 5 MB limit.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 31, 2019, 05:05:08 am
content: As Dave would say (as I test the TV using EEVBlog footage seen in the last attached photo)...Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

author: jh15
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 31, 2019, 12:59:14 pm
content: Congrats!Now learn about calibration, take it out of torch mode etc. Plasma phosphors are the color the tv industry grew up with. LCD tvs and DLP TVs you are at the mercy of the color filters.My panasonic ...zt60, I burned it in 300 hours then ISF calibrated it. In 5 years no trace of burn-in. Even with games.Learn the basics of calibration, and enjoy better picture than oled can do so far.Put it in cinema or movie mode at least.Remember, basketball players are not orange in real life and football fiellds are not flourescent green like 2001 A Space Odsessy.Unless Samsung is doing planned Appleescence like the other sheep, I was able to buy a Samsung DLP service manual not long ago.Get a calibration dvd or even a Disney WOW disk and set it up nice.JH (an ISF calibrator from long ago)

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 31, 2019, 03:12:37 pm
content: Thanks for the advice! Yeah I cranked up the color setting on the TV to like super brilliant mode just to check it out but I can see how that is going to burn up the TV in no time. The cinema/movie mode was more subdued and the colors were warmer tones (more to the red rather than blue), and it did seem that the sharpness was also lowered. There are quite a few menu options in there which I didn't completely check out. Luckily I have a few other Samsungs and so I grabbed the closest remote and it worked perfectly!This TV was on the curb, no power cable or remote, but sitting on nice glass stand. It was there OVERNIGHT, we drove by it in the evening and my wife saw me oggling it and before I could open my mouth she said "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT".She knows I have a habit of bringing this stuff home to fix and we already need to clean out the basement/garage of stuff, there's no room. But I couldn't resist!!!!! I mean, it was so HUGE compared to our TV. I had no idea it was Plasma until I picked it up! So the next day I grabbed it in the morning and snuck it into the garage where it still sits cleverly hidden.This is my first Plasma TV ever, although I've fixed maybe 3 or 4 LCD's so far (a few monitors and few TV's). A few of them were obvious blown caps, I just grabbed new caps from a local shop for a couple bucks and that was it. Only one of the TV's before this one required a ShopJimmy kit as there was a chain of components blown on the power board and I would have spent more time and money trying to source all the components myself (if I could even figure out the exact part numbers/values). This is now my Second TV that I've fixed using a ShopJimmy kit.Now I'm trying to figure out if I can even mount it on my wall or if I should bother. This Plasma TV has a nice stand, but the TV is heavy and my existing mount is supporting a 42" Samsung LCD. If I swap it out, the 59" will probably not fit the wall mount anyways. I may have to unscrew the mount and move it higher up the wall even (or altogether get a new stand) and with the extra weight I'm not sure if it will rip my wall out. I'd like to use it but it does not seem like a simple swap. I'll have to look at my wall mount box and see what other bits it comes with and whether it supports this TV.More problems more problems!

author: jh15
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 31, 2019, 03:23:19 pm
content: Be careful. Wall mounts have not been around that I know of a long time that support a plasma.It's better comfort for your eyes anyway to have it lower. The worst case is over a fireplace ICK! Only good in that case is a huge room and you are standing during a party.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 01, 2019, 01:51:41 am
content: I've put together a summary of my repair adventures with this TV and some thank you's to all of you here on EEVBlog and other folks who helped in my quest to keep this TV from landfill. Hope the video will be found by others on YouTube and bring them here to give them some hope that we can avoid trashing TV's every few years like what were supposed to be "forever-lasting" LED light bulbs.Ironically I am watching the video of the repair of the TV on the actual TV that I repaired in order to make the video.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2019, 08:43:43 pm
content: Ok, so now my wife is nagging me to mount the TV up on the wall in place of our old TV.It's about 65 lb give or take. My mount can handle it but it wants 3 studs.Please see the attached photo. The mount directions ask that for TV's over 60 lb to use 3 studs, not 2. I only have 2 studs down the middle of the fireplace column. The other 2 seem to be at the EDGES. The current TV (40") fits smack dab center in there with the wall-plate connected to the 2 middle studs (via that 4 black screws).There is no way I would want to grab a 3rd stud on the sides. What am I supposed to do? I can screw a 3/4" plywood board across all 4 studs and then screw my TV mounting plate to that... but as you can see the TV is just slightly narrower than the entire thing so you would see the edges of the plywood board sticking out at the sides.Any ideas? Can I still rely on 2 studs and just place a larger plywood board board across the 2 studs but grab like 3 or 4 screws vertically into the stud (so the plywood board is really fastened well)? Then I can also use more screws on the TV mount to anchor it to the plywood board? Is the issue the number of screws being used, or is it the actual 2 studs can't carry the weight?[UPDATE 1: studs.jpg]Ok, I got out the stud finder and measuring tape.... have a look at the attachment "studs.jpg". The for certain studs are in the middle, they are about 1.5" across and I can see faint areas where there are nails, I can find them with magnets. These 2 studs are 18" apart centre-to-centre (not the 16" you expect).However, when I run the stud-finder out to the edge of the fireplace wall on each side, I pick up another "stud" about 1 foot away and it seems to be laid out sideways... It is measuring about 2.75" across. This is the same on the other side as well. I can only assume that when they built the wall here they anticipated anchorage would be needed for TV's.The fireplace is just a gas-based type with an exhaust vent that goes up a tiny amount and then sideways bend right out the side of the house. Nothing in there, just some studs and a large open area. Do I just drill in there and hope the screw sticks? If that is the case I can expand out my TV mount (it will widen up to cross over the other 2 "studs" I believe) and then I'll be fine. How do you trust what is in those walls and how do you look in there without making a mess? I wonder if there is any way I can access it through the fireplace.[UPDATE 2: inside-fireplace.jpg]Sorry I should have just gone through my full investigation before posting! I stuck my phone into the hole where the wires go in to the side (where the DVD player, Cable Box, etc... are) and for some reason they put an access hole at the BOTTOM near the baseboard, even though the cabinet that we have has all our devices mounted high up. In addition to that, if you look at the picture I attached, you will see the cables are all sitting on top of the fireplace housing!I'm sure it is probably fine but I would worry if we actually used the thing, would it not get hot enough there to possibly damage those cables or cause them to catch fire? I'm assuming the outer casing of the fireplaces don't get very hot usually, so you can lay a cable on there like that? If it doesn't matter, I will leave it... otherwise I'll punch a hole higher up on the wall and route the cables above the fireplace... just go straight horizontal to the side and out the wall about 4 or 5 feet up at same level as hole in the wall of the TV.In any case, I have a better look inside the fireplace and it does seem there are extra studs that go up the wall.. and the reason I am getting a "thicker" one is because there is actually a thicker stud. Or is it 2 side-by-side? I can't tell. If it is two I need to make sure I'm not through the middle because I will just be sandwiching a screw between studs, probably not the best grip that way. I should just pick one or the other of the pair.

author: jh15
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 03, 2019, 04:50:18 am
content: leave the crappy tv there and put your plasma in your man cave. Why wear out your plasma watching news.My poor Panasonic 65" ZT60 TV has hundreds of hours of news: drug problems, sick kids and dogs that is our news on the old media networks.. It is on 4 antennas in attic through a Mythtv system I started in 2003.I really wish I could put our old DLP set back in living room and save my plasma.No way I could move the ZT60 downstairs.The 50" DLP I carried myself into manlab only weighs around 70 LBS. (It also is an unusually thin DLP and can be easily wall mounted.The horizontal "stud could just be a fire block or brace.Get the real details from the mount manufacturer.You don't want it getting damaged if it falls off when a bunch of kids start jumping around. (the kids could heal, but not your set.)

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 04, 2019, 03:54:16 am
content: Quote from: jh15 on August 03, 2019, 04:50:18 am+1. I try to only watch blu ray movies on my plasma.PS. Good job fixing it and thanks for the video.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 08, 2019, 12:46:16 pm
content: Feature creep.......My wife insisted I mount it on the wall... I ended up grabbing 4 studs!!! It ain't going nowhere! Then the nice TV made everything else in the room look like crap, so she dragged me to Ikea to redo the entire space!Little did I know the chain of events and what it would cost me..... ... all because I wanted to save a plasma from the trash!Note we never use that fireplace, it is hooked up to our gas. The TV will warm up the room plenty in the winter.