LCD TV’s are in a league of their own, since we have been working on the newer lcd panels several things you need to know about these sets. First of all component level repair is virtually impossible. The same set with the same model number may have different components depending on where it was made. In most all the manufacturers sets that I have worked with, the serial number range will determine the parts needed for a repair. In general the reliability of lcd televisions seem to be very good. Out of warranty repairs are more expensive because of the board level repair, some service manuals don’t even come with a schematic any more, just a block diagram so you can determine which board is the culprit. In the latest generation of lcd tv’s they have condensed the circuitry down in most cases to about 3 smaller boards. Unfortunately though when they do fail they seem to fail big, many of my repairs have involved replacing the panel. Back in the days of the component repair I never purchased an extended warranty because I could always buy the small part and fix it for a very low cost. But now with the cost of the boards my own lcd set has an extended warranty.

  Sophisticated software has been designed to control these sets and software bugs are a problem. When you turn your tv off the computer is still running software. Similar to how a windows based pc will still be running when you log off the computer. Unplugging your tv may reboot the software but not in all cases. Some sets may require you to press several buttons to reboot the tv, similar to a (ctl)(alt)(del) command from your windows based computer. Some of the more common software problems that I am seeing are related to communications through the hdmi cable, some devices plugged into the hdmi may not function like you expect, but when you plug another device into the same hdmi port it will work fine. This could be a software related issue. I would like to note that if you are having issues with hdmi connectivity I would check other possibilities first. Software issues are not by any means first on the list of troubleshooting hdmi problems. In some cases, software issues will even prevent your tv from turning on.

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