Power Glitch Tunes Out TV

I have a fairly new digital television/DVD player combination set, an Emerson, (FUNAI) model LD195EMX. It claims to be a hi-def television, and for a while it did provide a very good picture. The remote control did not last as long as the rest of the set, but that was not a problem -- that is until we had a storm that caused a lot of disruption to the electrical service. It resulted in a string of off/on cycles.

The next day the TV no longer worked. Instead it would go through a screen-checking sequence, displaying various colors, cycling the backlights, and then repeating the cycle endlessly.

When I visited the company website, I found out that the remote control was required to get out of this mode. My correspondence with a customer service person verified that there was no other method that would solve the problem. The recommended procedure, if the remote was not available, was to take it to a local service center to have it reset. The local service center would be willing "to look at it and see what they could do." However, the minimum charge is $80, a bit steep, considering what the set originally cost.

So I went back to the company website to look for the correct replacement remote. The representative said they don't sell a replacement remote for that model, since by now it is almost three years old, and also they changed the codes... or something. Back at the website, I downloaded a service manual and discovered that the same remote for that set is used for all of the adjustments on the set, and that there is no other means to adjust any of the functions.

Adding to my frustration now is the fact that there is a USB connector on the set and no mention of its use at all in the service book. What kind of manufacturer would not provide some other means of getting out of that mode, which power glitches could so easily put the set into?

This entry was submitted by William Ketel and edited by Rob Spiegel.

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