72HM195 ballast issue? Any experience replacing?
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 1:54 pm
Hello all, new to the forum, thanks in advance for any help!
I have a 72HM195 which is about 5 years old. It still runs very well, love the TV. However, about 6 months to a year ago, a small problem started. In doing research on the net, it seems it might be a ballast issue, but I'd welcome any opinions.
The TV will occasionally "lose" a bit of brightness in a spot (usually to the right of the screen) - it just fades out slightly until the scene changes, sometimes the brightness fade will "drift" (slightly move) if the scene is long enough. Also, particularly right at a scene change, I'll hear the lamp "ting" as if it was just turned on. Usually it's when the scene changes from a darker to a brighter one. These issues are usually not noticed by others, and not terribly distracting, so I haven't been in a hurry to fix it. However, I was thinking this week "just look into it and see if it's a simple fix or not". If it helps, the problem started when I had a power loss to the house (I have an excellent surge protector, so I don't think it was a surge, just the loss of power might have been a catylist to the problem).
So, my questions: Does it seem like the ballast is a good asumption with this problem? On an older model such as this, is the ballast replacement relatively easy? Cost? Where would you buy a ballast online from?
Thanks again!
I have a 72HM195 which is about 5 years old. It still runs very well, love the TV. However, about 6 months to a year ago, a small problem started. In doing research on the net, it seems it might be a ballast issue, but I'd welcome any opinions.
The TV will occasionally "lose" a bit of brightness in a spot (usually to the right of the screen) - it just fades out slightly until the scene changes, sometimes the brightness fade will "drift" (slightly move) if the scene is long enough. Also, particularly right at a scene change, I'll hear the lamp "ting" as if it was just turned on. Usually it's when the scene changes from a darker to a brighter one. These issues are usually not noticed by others, and not terribly distracting, so I haven't been in a hurry to fix it. However, I was thinking this week "just look into it and see if it's a simple fix or not". If it helps, the problem started when I had a power loss to the house (I have an excellent surge protector, so I don't think it was a surge, just the loss of power might have been a catylist to the problem).
So, my questions: Does it seem like the ballast is a good asumption with this problem? On an older model such as this, is the ballast replacement relatively easy? Cost? Where would you buy a ballast online from?
Thanks again!