Is it a feature or a bug? At least I found a way to get the picture back... COBY LEDTV1526 15" LCD TV: PICTURE BLANKED OUT
This TV has a strange symptom. When ENERGY SAVINGS mode is selected from the menu or by pressing the P-MODE button on the remote, the picture blanks out. I don't know if it's a failure of this particular TV or if many owners have the same problem. I emailed the factory and was told it had a problem and was instructed to send it back. I decided not to return it for this minor problem as I know from experience I might not get it back repaired, or worse, I will get some other TV with another problem to deal with, perhaps something even worse. Such "replacement" TV's are called "refurbished" or "repacked". I didn't want to gamble. There is a remedy for the problem of picture blanking but no cure for why it blanks in ENERGY SAVINGS mode. That, I believe is a fault in the programming of the system control circuits inside the TV. Perhaps a firmware update would cure it, but I don't think it's important enough for me to risk that either. I just avoid that "feature". I accidentally entered the ENERGY SAVINGS mode of my TV soon after purchase and the picture blanked out but there was still sound. That was confusing because the blue LED at the bottom of the screen was not lit and I thought the TV had shut down or failed somehow. I later learned that "LED off when TV is on" is normal for this TV. The LED is only on in STANDBY mode: TV plugged into AC power and turned off.
It's helpful to know how this TV works and how you might accidentally enter the wrong mode and think your TV has failed. I'll run through some of the things the book doesn't tell you... When you plug the TV in to AC power, listen for a click from the speakers about ten seconds later, and another very faint one a few seconds after that. The TV is now in STANDBY and the blue LED at the bottom of the case will be lit. Pressing the power button on the TV or remote will brighten the blue LED for a few seconds, then that LED will go out and the TV will turn on. Who dreamed that one up? Stupid! When you are viewing the TV, repeatedly pressing the P MODE button on the remote will toggle through the various PICTURE settings, the same as you can select in the MENU: they are THEATER, SPORTS, CUSTOM, VIVID, STANDARD, ENERGY SAVINGS, and back to THEATER. Each will brighten or dim the picture to suit your viewing preference. However, instead of dimming the screen in ENERGY SAVINGS mode as expected, the picture blanks out on my TV! To get it back, I pressed the P MODE button again. I now leave my TV in STANDARD mode.
Now the problem: If you enter the MENU and select PICTURE, then MODE, then select ENERGY SAVINGS, the picture will blank out, but in this case it memorizes the setting for that source! It will remain blanked and you can't see the MENU to correct it. The only way to recover from that is to do a factory default reset. Press the SOURCE button on the back of the TV (not on the remote, that doesn't work) to toggle to another source even if nothing is connected to its input. That will bring the screen back so you can re-enter the MENU, select SETTINGS, go to RESET TO DEFAULTS at the bottom of the screen, then select YES. That will return all the sources to the factory default STANDARD picture setting. The sources, by the way, are: TV, AV, S-VIDEO, COMPONENT, VGA, HDMI/DVI, and back to TV.
Ray Carlsen