Just a quickie guess:

It would appear to be a DMD controller board issue and not an issue with the DMD display itself. It's most likely a minor wiring/connector problem and at most a TTL tri-state IC driver problem from the controller board. (a 74LS24x IC)

It was super you posted this video .. I'm sure others may have more insight. Since you stated the wiring was checked I suspect a surface mount controller IC. While I said 74LS it might be 74L , 74S, etc .. but a logic IC is most suspect with the issue. It has a faulty data line I'm thinking.

Actually my JM did this when I first got it. It did not do it at the guys house I bought it from.
Only once I plugged it in after getting it home/moved it.

I checked all the connections to the boards & DMD, and now it only does this for about 3 seconds or less after turning it on. It seems once it warms up its gone. I just pluged and unplugged all connectors and made sure they were tight and no wires pinched.

If it goes away after it warms up, it may have a pin with cracked solder.

Electrolytic caps always dry out over time. I hope it fixes your trouble. I always buy the 105C temp rated ones. I've been repairing electronics to the component level for the last 25 years as my job. Sometimes it's the simple things that elude you the most. If you take a can of air for dusting PC's etc and turn it upside down it will come out as a very cold liquid. Sometimes you can use this to cool down parts to find the bad one (it will make the problem better or worse temporarily). We used to get Freez-It mist at work but they cut us off due to budgets so now we do this.

It would be great if you had another DMD to try in your machine. Remove and go through the DMD CONTROLLER board aswell if you haven´t done that.

I can't watch the video at work. The pixels are dead only when there is text? The pixels work fine during animations? Sound like the chip may have gotten corrupted. Try reburning the chip with the latest software.

Im guessing there is a problem with the controller board or the connection to the board because the pixels work, they just don't work on the horizontal. The big question is what part of the board or cable is causing the problem. But since you saw the problem get worse when you soldered pins I would look at cables and connections first.

unfortunatly, the best way to check the board or dmd is to put it in another machine. I guess you will need another pin.

if it takes a long time for the screen to warm up, then it probably does need to be replaced.

Looks like it is starting to off gas to me. No way to fix that except to replace the DMD.
Pinballlife has them the cheapest I think.

Those are built that way for high current/heat applications. But if one is getting hot enough to cook the PCB I'd get one in a higher wattage rating. Those are the wirewound ceramic type. I'm guessing from the size 5 watts. I can see the one is 1.8K Ohms with a 5% tolerance.

Go with a 10 watt for the one that is getting hot. It's not your DMD problem but replacing it can't hurt and will save your board from further heat damage.

That is correct. The caveat is the higher wattage resistors are larger. So eventually you will run into space issues.

If you don't replace it right away put in some solid wires and raise it higher off the circuit board so it quits cooking the PCB.

Remember Ohms Laws:

E=I*R
P=I*E so P=I(squared)*R etc etc

E is voltage in volts, I is current in amps, R is resistance in Ohms, P is power in Watts

My Star Wars had that problem but I don't know the solution as I parted it out.

There was someone on here with a TZ not too long ago who had the buzzing problem we think was associated with the video. Not sure if that was fixed or not yet.

Two of my DMDs make noise like that. I don't think it is that unusual to have a noisy DMD, I would much rather a noisy DMD than a gassed out one. Both of these seem to be much brighter than the others, so I don't think it is an indicatin of needing to be replaced. Not warming up within an hour probably is.

You should try to find someone nearby who has a proven DMD and see how it works. If you plug it in and it works perfectly then you will know that the boards are in good shape and you can stop changing resistors.

Just a freakin' wag to try. Have you thought about taking the speaker wires off and routing them to a headphone or separate amplifier ? Then see if you have the problem.

They wear out. If a machine is on location for a long time, they will leave it on all day and night. It has a limited lifespan.

Glad to hear that it is fixed and working properly.

I have a same problem on my Fish Tales, except that it only shows during testing texts when I turn on the machine. When doing DMD display test or during the game, all pixels seem to work fine.
Also, there is a lot of high frequency/buzzing noise when machine is in attract mode and when there is no sound. Frequency/buzz changes depending on what is shown on screen.

No biggie for now, just wanted to report.

http://techniek.flipperwinkel.nl/wpc/index3.htm#dots

When this happens your dmd has "outgassed". They just go bad.

In case anyone finds this thread in the future, I really don't think this is just being outgassed, since each example of that I have seen takes out a chunk of the display area.
I have a similar issue on my Flintstones right now, and what seems to have been overlooked is that the "wavering" occurs at the top of each font/image alone.

If you have a full screen image, the top line of that image wavers.
If you have the score displayed in one font on the screen, the top line of that font wavers.
As well you will have the ball/credits in a different font on the screen, the top line of that font wavers.
And when your video ends, in the test mode, each of the 3 lines of text has the wavering just at the top of each.

It is interesting to note that you replaced the DMD and the problem was fixed! That narrows down the search to the components on the DMD itself. Thanks!

I have some issues with a Star Trek TNG pinball that I delivered. It was working fine or so I thought before it was delivered. After a day at its new location the DMD had line going down trough it. Now its just random dots all over the display and no sound. Pulled the boards and sent them off for repairs. Now after extensive work on the boards. Still having the same issues. All the voltage lights come on and the CPU lights are working normal. But still no sound and no display, the game will not even play. Used the manual to check every connector for proper installation. and all ribbon cables are in place. Going to try a new DMD next week. Anything else I should check for?

You would have MUCH better luck posting these questions over here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club

The thread is very active and you should get a much quicker response.

Carefully check all the ribbon cables to ensure they are on correctly - pin 1 oriented correctly on all ends, not shifted a pin. These can be very tricky to see and since you removed your boards, you should check them all.

Check all the fuses with a meter. There are 2 on the sound board and 2 on the DMD controller for starters.

If they are all good, as a troubleshooting step, remove the ribbon cable connector on the sound board and see of the DMD works. Reinstall the sound board connector then try removing the ribbon from the DMD controller and see if the sound works.

Thanks I will check that this weekend.