I have a Toshiba 27 TV (dvd/vcr combo) Two weeks ago I turned on the TV and heard sound but no picture, only a straight line in the middle of the screen from side to side. Now, I still hear sound but no picture and not even a straight line now.

I'm assuming this is a CRT TV, not plasma or LCD?

If so, your vertical deflection circuit has died. As with anything in a TV set, this could be caused by any one of dozens of component failures, but the most common are the output transistor and output transformer.

This is not something you can fix yourself. TV receivers have DANGEROUS voltages inside (tens of thousands of volts, even for minutes after switching off!), so don't even think about it.

Given that the fault is 'permanent' (as opposed to intermittent), if you tell a competent repair technician the original symptoms (horizontal line), they should be able to find the fault within an hour. Of course if it's an old set, the repair cost (including components) may be more than it's worth. A good repair shop will give you a quote first (whose cost is deductable from the final repair cost, if you proceed).

Daniel