Got a 42 inch plasma TV that has lines through it. Any ideas?
The lines go up and down the screen, through the picture. TV works. The lines are green, pink and white. A total of 8 lines. We can watch TV on it, but the lines are annoying.
Any ideas of what it could be?
Is it worth trying to fix?
Or should I just toss it?
Answer:
Nice acquaintance! In order to determine whether it is worth fixing your plasma or not, it would help to understand how a plasma tv is constructed and how it works (in brief).
A plasma tv is generally constructed of a whole, large, steel panel, whereby the panel consists of many, many tiny cells filled with gas. A large glass panel is afixed to the front of the steel panel which vacuum seals the tiny gas filled cells. Electricity lights the gas in each cell and produces different colours. Each cell represents a pixel.
Now, if the steel panel becomes defective, eg. cracked or twisted panel, bad seal causing leaking gas, etc... that steel panel would represent the majority of the tv itself, maybe 80-90% and therefore would cost almost as much as the entire tv to replace that panel - NOT WORTH FIXING.
However, there are other functions at work creating a tv picture, such as electronic circuitry, usually in the form of replaceable circuit boards. IF the lines problem you have are caused by a faulty circuit board, it may be economically feasible to fix the defect and VOILA, alls well.
My hunch is that the steel panel is NOT defective because the defective 'lines' are too 'consistent' and 'patterned'. A defective panel would show a more haphazard pattern rather than a straight line up & down. Seems more like the electronics is not properly regulating the appropriate pixels as it should.
Why not get an estimate first, then go from there? Good Luck!
Both LCDs and Plasmas have severe problems. ~
Yours can't be fixed for a reasonable price.
That's why I advise everyone to look into LED lit DLP TVs. (HDTV)
It depends on how much you're willing to spend. The problem is most likely a bad panel, which can cost around $700-$2000 depending on the brand.
There's a slim shot it could also be something else, like the internal connections, which you can get a tech to look at and fix quite easily.
So keep it and put up with it or drop it off for recycling.
Asa "former"certified Audio visual repair technician (tv repairman). the answer is no, it is cheaper to buy a new one. that is one of the main reasons I am a "former" repairman, there is no need to repair televisions built after 1985, they all went from circuit boards with resistors and transistors to Micro circuit boards, with micro chips, which cannot be repaired. it is cheaper to purchase a new one. If you did get it repaired I'd estimate it's over $2,000 in parts alone, because they do not as a rule sell the video drivers (generates the pictures) individual these days. Labor would run you $20 hr (cheapest) for a minimum of 6 hrs also, then other parts, becasue ;more than likely it's related micro circuits and boards. not worth it, either watch it, or buy a new one.
been the repair business 35 years , colored lines usually are either pixel drivers bad or actual screen bad, alot of the time you can replace the drivers only to find the screen bad and knocking out drivers. in this case JUNK! ITS A GAMBLE , some models worse than others. expensive repair even if divers bad , usually set of two , replace both . need expert diagnosis,
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