Thanks................ I needed this.
I was going to kick off MY new year by watching the new Mythbusters at midnight (I just got home from the club's build nite).
I have a 13 month old 50" DLP TV ("it's the mirrors"). I turned it on and settled in. Just before midnight there was this quite loud POP, the picture and sound went away. I heard a crackling sound that sounded like arcing. I checked it out and it turned out to be coming from the built-in speakers.
Fearing it was the dreaded bulb-replacement-time, I went on line and found out the cheapest bulb for this TV was $529.00. I don't think it's the bulb as the cooling fan and audio also went out.
I got to bed at 1:15, woke up at 4:45 for my nightly nature call. The wife gets up at 5:15 every morning and started talking to me. I had to tell her about the TV. I haven't been back to sleep yet, it's 9:30 and I'm fading fast.
I'm going to go back to sleep and try to dream about happier birthdays.