My TV sees Red! Now what?

[Yaddo 42]

Today while watching a DVD I got from the library, the color in my set suddeny shifted to saturated red, everything looks like the piranha POV shots in Piranha II. I tried turning the TV off and on a few times to see if it would reset itself, nothing. I tried using the menu controls to adjust the color manually, no dice.

So is this fixable? Buy a new TV? I'd rather not since I mostly watch movies on it now, and a few shows here and there. I don't feel like shelling out bucks for a regular TV that will will be outdated in two years when the analog signal is turned off requiring an adaptor. LIke I said I don't watch it enough these days to shell out the bucks for a higher end digital or HD model since I get my broadcast TV over the air, digital signals over the air are still on the iffy side here from what I hear.

The TV is a 26 inch RCA I bought in 1999. This is the first bit of trouble I've ever had with it. Guess I can watch DVDs on the PC while I look in the pawn shops and classifieds for a cheap TV.

[Andrew]

The TV we have is a Sony 27" Trinitron that I bought shortly after joining the Marine Corps (1992).  Around 1998 it had a problem like you describe, but I think everything went to a shade of blue.  I could watch crazy police chases and feel calm, but that gets a little distracting.

I think that the repair bill was about $75 and they replaced a control board.  The TV has been fine ever since and that includes being packed up and carted across the country wrapped in a moving blanket every three years.

I'd take it to a repair place and let them take a look.  Some will do free estimates, others will put the cost of the estimate toward the repair if you have it fixed.  Last I had something like that done, the estimate was something like $25 or $35.