Seiki / Panasonic TC-55CX400U main board substitution and firmware swap?

[g20zoom]

I believe I've narrowed down my dead TV to the mainboard.
I have Panasonic TC-55CX400U led tv which I believe is made by Seiki, and probably equivalent to the Seiki SE55UGT as these have the same mainboards.

How would I go about copying the EEPROM? That way I can use the Seiki board which is cheaper but still come up with the Panasonic logo and use the remote. Someone mentioned there is code on the EEPROM, that a USB firmware upgrade would not overwrite.

Another option I wanted to explore, was to use a Panasonic 50" board with my 55" TV. Since they are from the same TV series, will just loading the 55" firmware over the 50" firmware on the board by USB be fine?

[tw2005]

Re: Seiki / Panasonic TC-55CX400U main board substitution and firmware swap?

http://www.shopjimmy.com/westinghous...-see-note.htm#

Well if you were skilled at soldering you could physically swap

[g20zoom]

Re: Seiki / Panasonic TC-55CX400U main board substitution and firmware swap?

Thanks for the link and info in the other post about how to copy the EEPROM. Interesting stuff. That's the board with the right version, just different model. Unfortunately I'm not skilled enough to solder that stuff.

I think my current board has a bad EEPROM though. I've read that the NAND flash goes bad on the lower end models. It seems to have the symptoms of it, powers on, see the logo, then shuts off after a few minutes. remote doesn't work, only physical button on the tv does. Also screen looks fine during the firmware update, but keeps rebooting, and reloading the firmware. So seems to be a sign it can't write/save the firmware.

I'm still debating which route. I could just take the same board, but of a different brand and deal with the logo and new remote. That should work in theory. Or wait til the right deal pops up...for the exact board from my TV.

[tw2005]

Re: Seiki / Panasonic TC-55CX400U main board substitution and firmware swap?

Thanks for the link and info in the other post about how to copy the EEPROM. Interesting stuff. That's the board with the right version, just different model. Unfortunately I'm not skilled enough to solder that stuff.

I think my current board has a bad EEPROM though. I've read that the NAND flash goes bad on the lower end models. It seems to have the symptoms of it, powers on, see the logo, then shuts off after a few minutes. remote doesn't work, only physical button on the tv does. Also screen looks fine during the firmware update, but keeps rebooting, and reloading the firmware. So seems to be a sign it can't write/save the firmware.

I'm still debating which route. I could just take the same board, but of a different brand and deal with the logo and new remote. That should work in theory. Or wait til the right deal pops up...for the exact board from my TV.

Yeah , I was eyeballing that Toshiba NAND Flash as the likely one to swapover to change it to panasonic but if the panasonic is corrupted copying data is likely to transfer the fault.

[g20zoom]

Re: Seiki / Panasonic TC-55CX400U main board substitution and firmware swap?

TV fixed!

Since Seiki is the OEM manuf. for this Panasonic TV, I went with the 55" Seiki mainboard with the same board/version number. Turns out it actually had one less USB port, which I missed in the pics, but it still had the usb 2.0 port, so all was good.

It powered up with the Seiki logo, and all seemed to work fine. I didn't have a remote...nor a universal one, so I said what the heck..and I used the Panasonic firmware for my TV. The firmware upgraded, it rebooted in a color check of green/white/red/blue/etc...and kept cycling! slight panic mode, but I powered off and removed the USB with firmware. Rebooted, Seiki came up, but when I went to the menus, it's now Panasonic.

Anyways TV is working great now!

[tw2005]

Re: Seiki / Panasonic TC-55CX400U main board substitution and firmware swap?

TV fixed!

Since Seiki is the OEM manuf. for this Panasonic TV, I went with the 55" Seiki mainboard with the same board/version number. Turns out it actually had one less USB port, which I missed in the pics, but it still had the usb 2.0 port, so all was good.

It powered up with the Seiki logo, and all seemed to work fine. I didn't have a remote...nor a universal one, so I said what the heck..and I used the Panasonic firmware for my TV. The firmware upgraded, it rebooted in a color check of green/white/red/blue/etc...and kept cycling! slight panic mode, but I powered off and removed the USB with firmware. Rebooted, Seiki came up, but when I went to the menus, it's now Panasonic.

Anyways TV is working great now!

That's funny , pity you did not take some pics or a video. Shame about the USB, I did not see that either. Is it in the menu to select? maybe you could add it?