My 48-inch rear projection TV just developed this problem. I've got one always black pixel near the center of the screen. You wouldn't think it was too annoying but it really is. It does it not matter what the input source is: DVD, VHS, Broadcast, etc.
The TV is not under warranty - has anyone had experience getting this sort of thing repaired? Is it expensive? Can I just bang on it like the Fonz and make it all better?

What kind of TV? LCD?

Your best bet would be to buy a aftermarket warranty and wais a couple months and get it fixed under that warranty. That is unless they won't cover your TV becasue it is already out of the manufacturer's warranty.

It's not an LCD, that's what I don't understand. I didn't think it was physically possible to lose one single pixel on a standard TV. I've never opened it up, but I think it it has a CRT with some kind of mirror arrangement to project the image onto the screen, all enclosed inside the case. That's all I can tell from looking through the vent holes in the back. This may sound really stupid but I thought it might be possible that there was a speck on the CRT or the mirror. If that's what it is, it seems unlikely that it would occupy exactly one pixel.
It's definitely not anything on the screen itself. I'm really reluctant to mess around with it myself so I'll almost certainly call a professional. I just wondered if anyone else had ever encountered such a thing.

That's why I wanted to know. It could be a dead bug or something on the mirror or on the inside of the screen. It wouldn't be on the CRT as it would have to be in the exact same place on all three of them.

I had a spider crawl between the screen and the protective cover. That was kinda weird looking at night.

It would help if you disclosed the actual make and model of your set.

I have this same problem on my Toshiba TW40x81. There is a single black pixel on the right side a little above center. It's only really noticeable if the screen is white or I get really close to the tv. It hasn't bothered me too much but I'm thinking that with a little over a year left on my extended warranty I should have it looked at. I don't have any idea what it is or if it can be fixed or not. If it's a bug it picked a hell of a place to die!

I would have to say dirt or dead bug. You should really have them cleaned every year.

It's a Zenith, but I don't have the model number handy. It's about 7 years old and I've never had anything done to it. I can tell for certain it is not on the inside of the screen, but I feel less stupid about my dust speck theory. I'll probably get a Zenith authorized guy to clean it and also see if he can re-calibrate it, the corners have gotten slightly more distorted over the years.
Thanks for the info.