Samsung TV changes channel

[gopcs]

I need help. Bought a Samsung 19" TV for the kitchen model LN19A450C1D. Within 30 minutes after going through Setup, the TV had changed channels by itself from HD 5.1 to 2.1. I called the retailer, HH Gregg, and then called Samsung. Neither had heard of such a problem. I returned the TV to HH Gregg and exchanged it for another TV of the same make/model.

Now the second TV is doing the same thing. I have had it now for about 5 hours, and it has changed from HD channel 5.1 to 2.1 six times.

The HD service is Comcast. I am not using the STB. The cable TV service connects directly to the television set.

The remote is not being press accidentally. In fact, the batteries were removed form the remote, and the TV still changed channels by itself.

Any chance there is a signal from Comcast that may be causing this? Any other ideas before I exchange this one for a different brand?

Thanks.

[gopcs]

I called Comcast. They said that there is nothing in the cable signal to cause the television to change channels.

I attached rabbit ear antenna to the TV, set it to Channel 5-1 HD over-the-air, and it stayed on that channel all afternonn.

Totally baffling. Guess I will try an LG television.

[Whir]

What connection are you using from the cable box to the TV, or are you just plugging the coax from the wall straight into the TV?

Many TVs and receivers will automatically change between 5.1 and stereo when the input from the source changes. Typically this only happens via optical or HDMI. I am not sure if analog coax supports 5.1, not something I ever got into, but if it does, that could also be it.

If this is the case, the TV is working as intended.

[gopcs]

Whir, thanks for the reply.

The coax goes directly to the television. When I called Comcast to register the problem, I confirmed with the CSR that they do indeed send local television station HD content on regular cable - - no converter box needed.

5.1 is local TV Channel 5 on HD over the air. On the Samsung TV, it is entered as 1-5. There is no audio problem, neither stereo nor otherwise.

[fredmon66]

I think Samsung has a firmware problem with their TVs. When you connect directly to cable without a box, the list of digital channel numbers will constantly change. This happened to me with Comcast in Houston. Each time the list of channels change, they are added back to the good channel list. The newer TVs have a firmware update that seems to mostly fix the problem. Older TVs do not have an update. I think the best solution with an old Samsung TV is to only program the analog channels and get the digital channels off the air. During programming, you can unplug the cable around channel 64, and all the digital channels will be skipped. Even with the new firmware, you can unplug the cable around channel 90 and get all the good digital cable stations.

[gopcs]

I think the mystery is solved. Seems Comcast does not send local channels in HD on regular cable service. The TV salesman said they did, as did the first CSR I spoke with at Comcast.

After having the same problem of channel 5.1 changing to 2.1 on two different TV sets, I called Comcast back. I spoke with a CSR and a Supervisor. Both told me that to receive any HD programming, a decoder box is required.

Seems the HD programming I was receiving without the decoder box was ingress to the cable network from the broadcast television transmitters. After installing a decoder box, the Samsung HD TV is stable.

[fredmon66]

I get Comcast local HD channels in Houston just fine, especially with my new Samsung TV. My old Samsung gets them also, but whenever I program them, the channels keep changing.
Of course the people at Comcast are going to tell you to get a cable box. They charge extra for that.

[patrick7]

my samsung lcd tv has randomly changed hd channels at least 5 time in 10 months, cable co. or samsung was able to tell me nothing