Projection TV Tube broken?
 

Anyone know what would be the most likely cause of a projection TV tube going out? I was told that if one of these goes out, it would be cheaper to replace the TV rather than getting it fixed???

What do you mean by "tube going out". Is a tube burned with a pattern? Just dim? Or is it flickering and turning off? Is it only one channel (red, green, or blue)? What is the age of the unit? What are the specs? This is necessary in order to answer your question.

The short answer is that it could be as simple as a loose connector to as painful as $$$$ for new tubes. If a tube must be replaced, unless you bought it in the last year or so, you are better off getting a new one. Otherwise you will have spent at least half the cost of a new TV one getting your old one fixed. Figure at least $150-$500 for a repair. Higher if a tube needs to be replaced. You can get an HD RPTV these days for <$1000.

When I had my blue CRT replace last month in my Sony KP-57WS500 the cost would have been $221 for the CRT, but I had it fixed under a service plan.

I would definitely look into the cost of getting the tube replaced (if that's what's wrong with it). Just replacing one tube could cost significantly less than a comparable new set, depending on what your set is.

Yes, but then you have an older RPTV with 1 new and 2 old tubes. And you may have paid a significant fraction of the cost of a new set. Take a serious look at a comparable set before you spend the $$$.

The above charge of $221 seems a bit low. Are you sure that includes labor? Is it a new or rebuilt tube? Does it include the full convergence that must be performed?

I'd believe $221 for just the tube w/o labor. Double that to include labor.

I believe the new CRT itself was $221, I can check the invoice for the actual total, if necessary.