Screwed Up My Service Menu ?

[Zangali]

I purchased the very beautiful Samsung PS42B450 (or PN42B450) last week . I heard so many things about this how calibration can support overall picture quality, So, I got in touch with my local Samsung HQ and they sent someone over.

I am running with good picture quality through my HD service provider and I tweaked with my own settings using the ordinary User menu. The engineer came in during an NHL game and currently used his 'engineer-only' remote, opened the service menu and then problem gets started ! Everything got reset, brightness dropped, and the whites turned dim. He didn't tweak with someone else, but I have lost my previous configured settings. So, I quickly switched into online, looked up some suggestions, and read the service menu before getting quit or else brightness may be affected. So I did that also. Any suggestions to fix this issue ???

[T.J.]

Unfortunately, in so many discussions, I ever suggested everyone that NEVER enter into the service menu. It is hidden for a reason, and unfortunately I am unable to assist with any service menu problems.

I am aware about it that it exists, and it is probably considered industry standard to not acknowledge the service menu. I have been in there and know a bit about it, but I am easily restricted to express my views on it. You might try to reset the television possibly by, with the television ON, hold down the EXIT button on the remote until you are prompted to reset (15 sec or so). Toggle to YES and then click on ENTER. That will come up it back to the last factory mode installed. I am unable to provide any advice, if service menu options will ALL revert back, but that's what I can suggest from the approved GUI side of things.

[Zangali]

I am getting that you can't tell anything about the service menu, but just in defense, I did not enter the service menu myself. I am aware about it very well and got a Samsung engineer from Samsung HQ to do so, and now I am afraid I have made a big mistake and messed up my 1-week with old HDTV.

Can you at least suggest me,if I have undone any calibration that may have been performed at the factory ? Do factory user even calibrate TVs in the first place? Also, if the users are not supposed to enter into the service menu, and even my local Samsung repository are afraid to tweak with anything in there.Who should I really contact to either find my configurations back to common or at least enter in there and provide me a solid answer that everything's complete ?

[Rawko]

I am really sorry if my "canned" response to service menus entered across as un-supportive. I am not attempting to place blame on someone, and I don't know what other technician performed. He may have just performed the standard reset (which would rest your configurations just as you can) and changed the picture, or he may have changed another integer. I just don't know what happened, so I don't know what "will fix" the symptom. The user who could better reply that would be the engineer who did the service.

Typically a reset will reset the values and stored information on the UI for sure, and I am not sure, if that applies to the service menu.

A firmware update is capable to restore entire settings, although I don't know what region your television is, and I don't suggest you to go for "updating" to a lower version just because it is available on the website. If there is a higher version, then you would have perform the "factory settings" for that version.

[deoWo]

Factory calibrations are performed at manufacturing to consider as "Dynamic", "Standard" and "Movie" settings, and you likely still have permission to all of that. But if you had settings calibrated and the service tech came in and just performed the same reset you could do, it could produce very good result in a "diminished picture", and I can appreciate that "any difference" is a "scary difference". But you should still capable to calibrate your television to a pleasant fix with just the UI management . My guess - if I had to guess - would be that he just performed a easy reset, the same reset, only he did it in the service menu rather than the regular UI. I am unable to get it to see why he'd come in and do something drastic in the service menu for a 'quick resolution', leave and have a trail of angry people behind him.

[Zangali]

Thanks for such wonderful replies . Just so you know, I am getting the activity of the techie and find he did nothing but reset. No integers were changed. Also, I have somewhat re-calibrated my normal user configurations and from what I see, the picture looks beautiful and colors vibrant; everything that made me select Samsung over all the others. I will check up on the firmware update but I am having some
confusion that I will be doing any tweaking with it anytime soon. I am so happy with what I got to see. Maybe a calibration disc somewhere down the line, if not an ISF fella. How do I made the update for the firmware? Any risks, I should look out for other than "updating" to an previous version?

[Hardwareman]

The better suggestion that I can provide you is twofold:

1. Always update "up".
2. Always get the firmware from the Samsung site in your region.

Other regions may have some maximum numbers (or lower numbers) for comparable software. Some of the user consider that the maximum number in a another region dedicates that "it's better". But PAL/NTSC, voltages, and all sorts of electronic information can vary from regions, and thus, so can the version numbers.

Commonly, I would say that if you are glad with what you have, there may be no require for making the update. You might check to see if any information is available that will improve the user experience. (New Menus, features, etc).