Call me Craig the TV Dude. I have been involved in TV and big screen repairs since 1982. My mission is to educate and inform the consumer, and needless to say, there are many changes happening in the consumer electronics field today. Thus service issues are my main concern and interest. Many of the big box stores are cutting staff and services for big screen television repair; however there are still viable companies with access to tech data and spare parts.

Some questions to ask before hiring a service company would include:

1. Do they warranty their work, and for how long?
2. What's the minimum service fee?
3. Can repairs be performed in home?
4. Will the unit be usable in 2009 with the HD timetable?

All of these questions are important because you could be looking at a repair bill between $200 and $400. Some companies only warranty their work for 30 days, others up to six months to a year, depending on parts used (DLP lamps can carry a one-year warranty).

Some companies are charging as much as $150 just for a service call. You can believe you will probably get an estimate for repair in excess of $500, thus overpricing the repair and you just threw $150 down the drain. There are companies that only do this. They ride around town all day and give high estimates and collect service fees, and have no intention of repairing the set.

Then others have no intention of repairing in home. They will quote really low fees and then send two big guys and a truck and simply rip the unit out of your home. Once the TV is in their possession, they can quote any price they want, and good luck getting it back intact, if at all.

Lastly, the secret is out that virtually all TVs will work come the all-digital changeover in 2009, either via a cable or satellite box or the new HD converter boxes, which seem to work very well. I was at a customer's house last week and she actually had about 20 local channels. These were picked up by rabbit ears, not through a cable or satellite receiver. I can only pick up seven channels here in Cleveland, Ohio with simple rabbit ears. Apparently there are stations that have greater area reach through the digital transmissions. I'll find out more and update accordingly. I was impressed.

As with any other contractor, do not hesitate to check with the Better Business Bureau before you hire a TV repair contractor. I get calls all the time after a shop has butchered someone's unit and there's not much hope for it at that point.

This is my first post here and I hope to continue to inform and enlighten our readers with various topics on video technologies, including home automation and entertainment.