no picture but sound

[homer1971]

my 10 yr old 27" Zenith TV has been acting weird lately. if I have the brightness level too high the picture blacks out but i still get sound. I when I lower the brightness level and turn off/turn on the TV, the picture comes back. any insight as to what the problem may be please let me know. I'm very fond of this tv as it was my first major purchase on my own. and please spare me the lecture of buying a new one.....i'm not quite ready to part with the old.:(

julie

[Guido Henkel]

As much as you like your TV, sadly, these things are typically not easily fixed. What you describes indicates that some circuit inside the set gave up. You can try to take it to some TV repair shop and see if they can fix it but chances are it will cost you about as much - or more - than replacing the set with a new one. There, I said it.... ;-)

Still, you can always take it there and get an estimate.

[homer1971]

thanks for the advice guido, i guess the pres. will get his wish and i will be spending that stimulus refund on either a new lcd/plasma or fixing the old.
julie

[homer1971]

Okay so i never got the LCD then but it looks like I will be getting now. I've asked the advice of my friend and now I'm asking the group: I am leaning hard toward the sony 32xbr9 which is 1080p 120 Hz. The final cost to me is around $600. At first my friend said that I should get a Toshiba 37 or 40 but I could only find 720p 60 hz in my price range and reading reviews and such, the 60hz is not good for action movies & gaming (I'm thinking about getting a Wii). I guess I want to know: is this is a good, sound decision? Am I paying too much for features I wont notice or use? Is the 3:2 pulldown that noticeable? The tv will be in the living room but its small. I'd be about 5-6 ft from the screen to couch/desk. After all was said and done my friend said get it and with his endorsement I may have a new tv by weeks end! Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Julie

[Guido Henkel]

Sorry for responding so late but I saw your post only now.

Never EVER buy a 720p TV set! What you want in this day and age is a 1080p set, preferably with 120Hz and with 1080p/24 capabilities. The Sony you mentioned should fit nicely in that category and would be my choice. 3:2 pull-down is not only noticeable, it is aggravating in my opinion.

[krammer]

From what I've read, 120hz only benefits from BD playback. That said, it does future proof your set if you plan on upgrading. I've upgraded everything in my HT except my TV which is 1080 60hz but I have a late Sony rear projection so I don't feel the need for 1080/24

IMO flat panels are taking over everything & from what I've seen you basically need, not want 120hz. The refresh rate of flat panels which are less look disgusting. Ghosting, Contrast fluctuations, Image stutter & of course very poor black level.

The XBR9 1080 120hz for $600 is a deal, take it, you won't miss that Zenith tube. :)

[homer1971]

thanks for the info guys. I did end up buying the sony 32xbr9 and am VERY happy with my decision. I just need to upgrade my cable service to hd and I'm set. Now my friend suggested that maybe I should get an hd antenna and just flip to standard TV to watch HD channels cause I told him that upgrading cable would be too costly right now. He also says that I should buy a blu-ray player with my rebate money ($175). I think I should upgrade my whole audio system with a home theater in box that comes with a blu-ray player (possibly Samsung so that I can stream Netflix) thoughts? What I have is a Sony 50 disc cd changer that has 2 standard size bookshelf type speakers. Its kinda old - 1997 or 1998 is when I bought it and I can attach speakers to new TV but will I benefit from new system all together or as my friend said "baby steps lady baby steps" & just buy a blu-ray player?

A very grateful
Julie

[krammer]

Hmm..

I think Sony has a BD player / receiver / speaker Combo. If not, probably soon.

This would be my suggestion for a couple reasons.

The all in 1 deal will save you money
You can still playback all your DVDs

Not familiar with the best HD cable/satt set-ups. I stopped watching that back in 04