Television advice
 

Our picture went out about a half hour ago. We have only had this television for a couple years and liked it (up until tonight).

We still have sound, just no picture. It's not the input as none of the inputs give us a picture and we can't even see the menu.

It's a Vizio LCD.

Has anyone had an LCD repaired for something like this? If so, is it worth it to get it repaired or should I redirect some of the tax refund to a new TV?

Shine a flashlight into it. The backlight could be screwed up. A service call will run in the neighborhood of 100 dollars. Depending on size, especially if it is a 32, I'd just replace it. vizio parts are sometimes an issue.

Depending on where you bought it, sometimes management might take pity on you and give you a bit of an extra discount.

Also go to AVSforum and do a search of your model(should be on the back of the set). Someone generally will have had similar issues

Re flashlight. If you see action on the screen, the backlight is probably boned. That might be worth fixing. If you don't see anything, one of the panel boards is likely bad. Or the panel itself. Does it light up at all when you turn it on?

I'm not a technician or anything. But I troubleshoot stuff from time to time. And have heard a lot of stories. Trying all the inputs instantly puts you in the 99th percentile of customer smarts. I assume you've tried multiple devices too.

I'll try the flashlight idea. I tried the X-box and the Wii for the HDMI and AV inputs, nothing but sound.

Our cats toppled out 26" in the bedroom on Thursday. I found a great replacement on Amazon, and it's getting delivered today. For what it's worth, this is one of the best times of the year to have to buy a new TV...