TV / Monitor turns on, but won't display input / OSD

[CurseTheSky]

Hi guys,

I'm posting this here because this forum seems to have the largest number of technically inclined when it comes to monitors. It is a TV, but essentially it's just a monitor with a TV tuner and built in speakers, right?

I helped my boss move into a new place today, and he offered me a small LCD TV he bought a year or two ago, presumed to be dead, to tinker with. Last time he did this, he gave me a 5.1 surround sound speakers / receive setup that just needed a replacement 40mm fan.

Anyway, the TV turns on and displays a "white" (well, gray) screen. Pressing any of the menu, channel, or volume buttons doesn't seem to do anything - at least the OSD never pops up anywhere. I connected my laptop via D-Sub and played with the Input button. The screen flashes like it's changing inputs, but I never get a picture; and yes, the laptop was setup to display a signal on the external monitor.

The TV also has S-Video, Coax, and RCA inputs. I haven't tried any of them, but I know he used it to watch cable, so I'm assuming they'll have a similar result.

Any ideas what could be wrong with it, or what I should check? If it's dead it's dead, but I'd love to get it working just to say I did.

Thanks.

 

[PM650]

I have some gateway HD2200/2201 monitors that did the same thing - only gray screen. The problem with these particular monitors was a failed power supply that boosts the +5V from the LVDS connector to create several LCD driver voltages. One thing I did notice is that when viewed from a severe angle, minor distortions would appear on parts of the screen when the OSD was activated, even though the supply was gone - you may want to see if you have something similar.

I have no idea if the tv panels are standardized (connectivity wise) to the same degree as the panels in PC monitors, but if they're similar then you may have the same problem.