Q. Lightning either hit our house or very close to it last week, and the plasma TV I was watching lost its picture, as did a computer screen my wife was using. When she re-booted the computer, it worked, but the TV isn’t working. I am trying to get a feel for the most likely culprit. Normally, I would just figure the TV itself is damaged. However, the menus for the TV show on the screen. I just don’t get a picture. Is the fact that I can still see the menus from the TV an indication that the TV itself may not be the issue? I would have thought that if the screen was damaged such that I can’t see a picture, I’d also not see the menus.
Is it possible the receiver was damaged and it’s the problem? I get sound through the receiver, so it is not completely dead, but as noted, no picture on the TV. Finally, is it possible that a power surge of some sort could actually damage an HDMI cable, causing the issue? – R.L.
A. It is possible the power surge from a nearby lightning strike could have damaged an HDMI connection on the TV or on the AV receiver, but the fact that you can see the TV menu and any colors that are used with the menu options gives cause for hope. However, you are going to need to bypass your AV receiver and try one of the TV’s video inputs, ideally using your DVD player as an input signal. Don’t use the cable box as a video source because it may have been damaged as well.
Try unplugging the TV, leave it for awhile, then re-boot it, then try the DVD player using an alternative set of video inputs—the analog component video inputs, if the TV has a set (component video uses three analog RCA cables, and the inputs are color-coded red, blue and green). If you get a picture from the DVD player, try going through the AV receiver (you may have to re-boot it as well) then to the TV to confirm the health of the receiver. Then you can try the HDMI connections from the DVD player to receiver to TV. Next, re-boot the cable box and try connecting it.
Finally, as a general warning, if you live in a house and there’s a nearby electrical storm, it’s a good idea to unplug sensitive electronic appliances. It’s the only sure preventative from dangerous lightning strikes and resulting power surges that can damage sensitive electronics.
