black screen

My four or five year old TV flickered then the screen went black, sound still works. Unless there is an easy fix I will need to get A new TV. 48" SEKI

 

I would try the simple stuff like unplugging it for a minute and trying again. Check all the cable connections and settings. If it's nothing simple I'd put it to the curb. New TV's are so ridiculously cheap that I wouldn't even open the case on your old TV unless you just want to see what's inside. A couple weeks ago I got a 50" 4k smart tv for $126.

 

i didn't know if someone knew of something simple or not, i already tried unplugging it
i've seen 50" for $150 but not as cheap as yours. ideally i'd bump it up to a 55-60" although i don't want to spend too much as i expect the medical bills to start rolling in

 

They have led strips that can be replaced if you can find the parts. Tvs are so cheap now it is probably more economical to replace it than fix it. I ended up fixing my last one. I think I paid about $150 plus parts. It took a while to find a place that had the led strips in stock. Parts were $55.

 

Look at the power LED. What is it doing ?
With most TV's it will blink a fault code.

 

It will turn on and has sound, just no picture. No led blinking.
I found 58" RCA online for $250 so I ordered it.

 

Most likely the back lighting has failed. Flat panel TVs other than plasma or OLED have a panel the shape and size of the screen (think of the back layer of the screen) that glows white.and shines through a picture producing layer (think of a gigantic piece of slide film or transparency).

But replacing the back light can be incredibly complex. You start by taking off the back cover of the TV. Then most likely there is a metal shield occupying the entire height and width in back (think of a second back cover) you need to remove. In a few cases you just replace strips at the edges of the back lighting panel but more likely the entire white panel has to be taken out. More dismantling of circuit boards, wiring, etc. in the way.

Etc. Etc. Still not worth the trouble IMHO. Unless you are a teenager who picked up the TV from the curb on the way home from school.

 

I've found that there are generally three options for repairing -

First is the electronics repair shop, which is often a cluttered one person operation (sometimes quasi retired) packed to the rafters with TV, stereo and turntable equipment, they'll generally give you a lowest price, (and sometimes a TV-on-loan) and may take a few days.

Second are the computer repair shops, who also work on computer monitors, and are generally faster BUT more expensive, IF the TV is repairable.

Third are the 'Home Stereo' installers who often have a TV-Repair department. Call them with the make, model number, how long you've had it, and they'll likely be able to give you an estimated repair cost over the phone.

 

Look up your model and see if you can find the parts. They are probably led backlight strips. I found parts for mine here. https://www.shopjimmy.com/ then look up and see how to replace them on YouTube if you think you can handle the job.

 

if one of the kids want to try fixing it they are welcome to try otherwise if i don't get rid of it first i might try once my hand heals

 

FedEx brought the new TV out today. I did have to meet them at the bottom. They tried to drive up my snow covered road but couldn't make it. Glad it was FedEx and not UPS, they would have either left it along side the road or at someone else's house and claimed they delivered it to my door

The new TV has a great picture and seems twice as big as the 48" It was all my wife and one handed me could do to set it up.

 

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Multiply the diagonal by the square root of two, round that to 1.414, round that to 1.4, round that to one and a half if you insist, and you get the diagonal of a screen with twice (roughly twice if you did rounding) the viewing area in square inches. For example a screen twice the area of a 48 inch would be about 68 inches.

Even a long time ago they included square inches of viewing area in TV advertising. Back then one would have a harder time verifying the calculations because different makes and models had different amounts of rounding off of the corners.

 

I'm surprised at how light the new TV's are. For Black Friday I found a 50" for $126 which replaced a five year old 42". The 42" TV weighs about 40 pounds while the bigger 50" is about half the weight. I guess this partially explains why TV's continue to get so inexpensive. There is simply less TV there. Even though they are getting bigger there is less material used to make them.

 

We have an old 32" picture tube tv in our bed rm. We only pull that dresser out once a year to vacuum behind and under it. Those are the times I almost wish it would die so I could replace it with something lighter.

 

I had one of the last Sony flat faced picture tube TV's. It was a 40" and the glass in the face was several inches thick around the perimeter. It was just shy of 300 pounds. When we traveled I joked that it was our security system. If someone broke into the house and tried to steel it we'd find them crushed and trapped under that TV.