For the past few years now, we've taken notice that there have been a lot of people searching on our website for "screens" or "panel" or "TV panel" for various models of TV's from the super old one's from the days when Pioneer Plasma TV's dominated the market up until more recent times to even the current LED TV's of today and we want to address a couple of issues that have come up frequently over the years as well as share some thoughts on other matters related to the TV panel and/or screens and what, if anything, can be done about it when they break.

First off, what is a TV panel? This is what the layman's call "the screen" and like any screen, it is typically very fragile. Trauma to the screen could damage the layers of material that is part of the makeup of the screen itself thereby rendering it inoperable to parts of the screen or more often the case, the whole screen. Sometimes, the panel will just go out without any kind of trauma and this seems to happen most often when it's a month or so after the warranty period expires. It happens and it sucks, we know.   

Is there a fix for that, you might ask? Unfortunately, there isn't. However, it can be replaced but that's very costly. We realize that may not be the answer you were expecting to hear but these TV panels are proprietary technologies, not something that 3rd party suppliers can replicate in likeness and quality like how aftermarket car parts can be replicated by various different suppliers using schematics provided by the manufacturers like Honda or Toyota. And to the best of our knowledge, there is no direct way for the general public to purchase these TV panels to replace themselves. In other words, you'd have to go through the manufacturer and pay a hefty price tag for the replacement of a panel. 

You might be wondering, "Isn't there anything I can do? I'd hate to just toss out the TV and buy a new one since it's still relatively new. It'd be such a waste!" We agree. It is such a waste. But to answer the question, there is. And that is to find a used screen from an identical TV set. How? Well, that's the hard part but the obvious answer would be electronics junkyards. Just like how one can go to car junkyards to salvage car parts, there are electronics junkyards to salvage electronic parts. BUT! Here's the problem. Salvaging TV panels isn't easy, not so much the taking apart of a TV to salvage the panel, but finding a pristine condition panel. What may "appear" to be a good looking panel on the outside may reveal later on that it has been damaged already. It is really a rather difficult business to salvage TV panels. To date, we are not aware of any companies, online or otherwise, that specializes in salvaged Plasma, LCD and/or LED TV panels.

With that said, we also think it is a darn shame that TV's these days are made to be disposable. It's wasteful both of your money and of our environment. It creates problems for the environment in the form of landfills and the materials used to build these TV's that, if not properly disposed of, would release harmful and toxic fumes into our atmosphere causing all sorts of problems. Problems that affect our quality of life, our general health & well-being, and ultimately, our lifespan.

Nevertheless, we do think that this is a viable market. There's clearly a strong demand for used and/or salvaged TV panels. If only there was someone who'd be willing to invest in salvaging TV panels, it would do all the folks trying to save money a great service as well as helping to reduce landfills in our environment thus maximizing our quality of life and well-being for all. Maybe, it could be you?