5 Common TV Problems and How to Fix Them

Even the best TVs sometimes have problems. 

The good news for all our customers? We have some solutions. We don’t just want to be your one-stop shop for all your smart home needs – we want to help support you throughout the lifetime of your purchases, as well. And that means helping when TV problems occur.  

So, this week we checked in with our expert team here at AV Design Consultants to help us put together a list of the most common TV problems and the best way for you to solve them all on your own. And if you go through the list and your TV problem isn’t here, feel free to give us a call! We’re ready to help you diagnose and troubleshoot exactly what’s going on.

My TV is Showing a Blue, Green, or Black Screen

This is quite a common problem for TV owners --the good news is that the solution is usually pretty simple, too. If your TV is showing a colored screen instead of what you are trying to watch, it means that your TV isn’t getting a signal. You’ll want to check that you are on the right input, and that whatever device (cable box, Blu-Ray player, game system, etc.) you are trying to access is turned on and connected to the TV. Next, you will want to check your video connections to and from each device. 

If you’ve confirmed that you’re on the right input, your device is powered on, and the cabling between your device and TV is working and you still do not have a picture, it could be a problem with your cable or satellite. Try giving them a call or checking their website to see if they are currently having an outage in your area. 

The Remote Isn’t Working 

There are a few different tricks you can use to see if the problem is with the TV or the remote. First, make sure to check if the remote has fresh batteries – more often than not this is the problem when a remote seems to be broken.

Once you’ve confirmed the batteries are fresh, you can try a little trick that requires your cell phone: Aim your phone camera at the end of the remote and hit a few buttons. You should be able to see a light turn on through the camera. If you do, the problem is the TV – try switching it to a different power outlet and see if that solves the problem. If you don’t see the light, the issue is with your remote. Remotes do wear out over time, but you can simply order a replacement from the manufacturer online or contact us to have a custom remote programmed for your system. 

Why a custom remote? The possibilities are endless -- when you give us a call, we can walk you through the benefits. 

My LED, OLED, or QLED Screen is Displaying Lines or Cracks 

This is another common TV problem: cracks and lines through the screen of your TV. You’ll need to test if the line is physical damage to the screen or if it is something else just displaying improperly.

Trying switching inputs – if the crack or line is still there then you most likely need to replace your TV. Screen repairs are possible, but they can cost almost as much as a new TV, not to mention the hassle of working with a 3rd party repair company to coordinate the repair.

Instead of going that route, say goodbye to the old cracked TV and let our TV experts help you find a brand new one to bring home. Give us a call at 479-365-2201 right away – we’ll help you find a high-quality TV that will last for years to come. 

I’m Not Getting Any Sound from my TV

Even the best picture in the world isn’t going to do you any good if you aren’t getting sound from your TV! Your first stop should be double checking all cables – make sure your HDMI cable is properly connected to your TV and that your speaker cables are properly connected to your speakers. 

Once you’ve confirmed this, it could be as easy as fixing a setting – make sure that your TV is set to output audio to whatever you have connected to it. If that doesn’t work, you may want to try another cable, or try another device. If the speaker is working fine for other things beside your TV, then the issue is with your TV – and vice versa if the internal TV speakers work while the speaker doesn’t. 

Everything on my TV Looks Wrong (The Soap Opera Effect) 

We get complaints about this one a lot, but for some reason TV manufactures keep trying to push this feature.

If you are watching a TV or a movie and everything looks like it’s too fast, or almost like it’s sped up, that is what is often referred to as the “soap opera effect.” This is a result of your TV adding in extra frames to the content it is displaying – in an effort to smooth things out – but for most people this results in a picture that looks almost “too real” and unnatural. 

The good news is, this is an easy fix – all you must do is go through your TV’s settings and turn off motion smoothing. Different TVs may have this feature hidden in different parts of the menu, but once you find it and turn it off, your picture should look more natural ... and not like everything was filmed on the set of a soap opera. 

Common TV problems are just exactly that – common, and they can happen to anybody. No matter when you purchased your TV, there’s still a chance you may run into an issue or two. Most of them are easily fixable, but if you’ve run into something you can’t seem to figure out, that’s when you should call the experts. Give us a call at 479-365-2201 and we can help troubleshoot whatever is going on with your TV.