[DPoole5]

If the TV sound board goes out can you still get sound out of the TV by running it through a surrond sound system? I ran the sound cables into the receiver and still have no sound. The DVD & my playstation give me sound but I can get sound for when I want to watch ESPN. Any suggestions?

[smoothy]

It all depends on exactly where the point of failure is... Sometimes you can do what you suggested... sometimes its BEFORE that. Since you mentioned ESPN.. I am assuming you have a cable box. Most of those do have a provision for audio out, and that would be the point to hook it up. Also check the settings on the boxes menu and enable that output if required. Not every type of box will necessarily output separate audio by default even if many might.

[DPoole5]

Thanks! So - I went to a TV retail store last night. And they told me it is most likely the sound board but the repair shops are telling me it is the Mother board. Could it be a connection or a fuse? I am trying to make sure I don't get taken to the cleaners to repair my TV.

[smoothy]

Not a fuse... power is fused... not audio. Most tv's I've seen these days do everything on a single board... and repair costs are likely to be almost the price of a new TV. If its an older standard definition TV... its likely more than the price of a new TV.

Unfortuneatly... unless the shop has schematics for your TV then they have to get them.. that cost money... these guys all have college to pay for, rent to pay... Utilities for the shop and that's before they can even pay themselves... so you will see why it cost money to get an estimate and why it does. Many people would bring things in... occupy their time and then walk out without getting it fixed... in effect taking them away from a paying job. Reason why almost none give free estimates.

Personally... while I could do TV repairs... and have at times... what people are willing to pay me for my time isn't nearly what my time is actually worth.

I.E. I didn't sit through college to earn 10 or even 20 dollars an hour before taxes and expenses, certainly not 29 years later. If a high school dropout can get $10 an hour running a cash register what's something that takes at least 2 years of college worth?

Like anything there are good shops and bad ones... best judge of the good ones is if you know someone who has dealt with that shop before and will vouch for them.

Single board makes manufacturing a product cheaper... and faster... but you end up replacing the entire guts of the TV if it fails sometimes rather than a small board. That's why repairs can be so costly. And if you have to troubleshoot a board, you can easily spend an hour or more just finding the problem. Before you can even think about fixing it. Mostly because if you fixed only one type and model day in and day out it might be quick... but every different manufacturers TV is different and many times most modles may not even share common parts. SO every one might be a learning experience for the tech.