Are HDTV's repairable?

Four years ago, I purchased my first HDTV, a Panasonic 32" ($1300).
It has developed two rather unusual problems (I get all my TV OTA).
My real question is whether it is cost-effective to fix the problems
or just replace the TV, which now go for about $350.

1. About 18 months ago, the audio for channel 4.1 (really channel 30)
stopped working. The video is flawless. I've re-scanned several
times. I circumvent the problem by using a DVR. The DVR receives the
audio fine and sends it to the TV on an HDMI cable. This is only a
problem if I want to watch channel 4.1 while the DVR is recording
another channel.

2 - At about the same time, another problem developed. About twice a
month, I'll turn the TV on. Then about 5 seconds later, the on-off
light will start blinking, but the TV never comes on. Turning the TV
off (and then on) does not fix the problem The only way to fix the
problem is to unplug the TV, wait 10 seconds, and then plug it back
in.


Both of these sound like software problems. Can I somehow get the
software upgraded or would you just buy a new TV?

On Sat, 09 Oct 2010 06:00:48 -0700, NadCixelsyd wrote:

Four years ago, I purchased my first HDTV, a Panasonic 32" ($1300). It
has developed two rather unusual problems (I get all my TV OTA). My real
question is whether it is cost-effective to fix the problems or just
replace the TV, which now go for about $350.

IMO it's not cost effective to repair any TV when you can buy a new one
for close to the same price as having one fixed.

1. About 18 months ago, the audio for channel 4.1 (really channel 30)
stopped working. The video is flawless. I've re-scanned several times.
I circumvent the problem by using a DVR. The DVR receives the audio
fine and sends it to the TV on an HDMI cable. This is only a problem if
I want to watch channel 4.1 while the DVR is recording another channel.

This sounds more like a configure problem than an actual problem. Check
setup for this channel. You problem have sap configured for weather or
something else.

2 - At about the same time, another problem developed. About twice a
month, I'll turn the TV on. Then about 5 seconds later, the on-off
light will start blinking, but the TV never comes on. Turning the TV
off (and then on) does not fix the problem The only way to fix the
problem is to unplug the TV, wait 10 seconds, and then plug it back in.

This sounds like a real problem. One that will be costly to repair if
done by a shop. Maybe some bad caps or power supply problem.

Both of these sound like software problems. Can I somehow get the
software upgraded or would you just buy a new TV?

Go to Panasonic site and check for upgrades for your model. Use use a USB
port for upgrades.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org

This sounds more like a configure problem than an actual problem. Check
setup for this channel. You problem have sap configured for weather or
something else.

Bingo. I never even knew what SAP was ("second audio program").
Apparently, someone must have accidentally pushed the SAP button while
on channel 4.1. For whatever reason, 4.1 has three audio channels.
Normal, mono, and dead silence. God only knows why they have an audio
channel that is dead silence.

Merci Beaucoup and a hat tip to you, my friend. I've been swearing at
that TV for over a year.

On 10/9/10 PDT 5:09 PM, NadCixelsyd wrote:

This sounds more like a configure problem than an actual problem. Check
setup for this channel. You problem have sap configured for weather or
something else.

Bingo. I never even knew what SAP was ("second audio program").
Apparently, someone must have accidentally pushed the SAP button while
on channel 4.1. For whatever reason, 4.1 has three audio channels.
Normal, mono, and dead silence. God only knows why they have an audio
channel that is dead silence.

Merci Beaucoup and a hat tip to you, my friend. I've been swearing at
that TV for over a year.

The Dead Silence one may be the secondary audio feed, filled with nada.
Niente. Rien. To experiment, try different combos on other channels.

--
john mcwilliams

NadCixelsyd wrote:

God only knows why they have an audio
channel that is dead silence.

For the hearing impaired.

(Neill Massello) wrote:
NadCixelsyd wrote:

God only knows why they have an audio
channel that is dead silence.

For the hearing impaired.

Maybe you are kidding, but if they can't hear, why bother?

--
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wrote in message
...
(Neill Massello) wrote:
NadCixelsyd wrote:

God only knows why they have an audio
channel that is dead silence.

For the hearing impaired.

Maybe you are kidding, but if they can't hear, why bother?

I think he meant the vision impaired. The sound track is the regular sound
with someone describing what's going on visually in the scene like "Homer
looks into an empty donut box and looks sad." FOX has been using this on
many of its shows for a few years now.

In article c2df6ff5-1c7a-41ba-9c8a-2bbc1d88b428
@h7g2000yqn.googlegroups.com, says...
Both of these sound like software problems. Can I somehow get the
software upgraded or would you just buy a new TV?

Have you checked the manufacturer web site? There may be user-
installable firmware updates available. Often, they use a USB 'thumb'
drive you plug into the TV somewhere.

I have a Sony TV I've updated several times. It also has Internet
streaming (Netflix, Amazon, etc..), which is part of the reason there
are so many updates. It can update directly from the Internet, but it
happens randomly in the background instead of being initiated by me. I'd
rather let others be the guinea pigs and find any new bugs first.

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All junk mail senders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
law!!
http://home.comcast.net/~andyross

NadCixelsyd wrote:

This sounds more like a configure problem than an actual problem. Check
setup for this channel. You problem have sap configured for weather or
something else.

Bingo. I never even knew what SAP was ("second audio program").
Apparently, someone must have accidentally pushed the SAP button while
on channel 4.1. For whatever reason, 4.1 has three audio channels.
Normal, mono, and dead silence. God only knows why they have an audio
channel that is dead silence.

Merci Beaucoup and a hat tip to you, my friend. I've been swearing at
that TV for over a year.

I had that happen to me and I phoned the channel's engineers to complain
and they told me how to find and change the SAP on my TV! (since it was
only the 1 channel, I was pretty sure it was their problem!)

Neill Massello wrote:
wrote:

God only knows why they have an audio
channel that is dead silence.

For the hearing impaired.


Neill is right: the hearing impaired will
watch the closed Captions and will not want
to bother housemates with "sound".