[BrianG]

That's a typical price really. You have to realize they have to pay someone to take it apart and take the time to diagnose the damage. Besides, if places did the diagnostic thing for free and then you could just get the parts and do it yourself and they would be out. This way makes sense even though it does suck.

Testing circuitry can be tricky business unless you know exactly what you are going. I personally wouldn't do too much with the TV unless I knew it was a simple power supply problem. Receivers are a little easier to some degree because I know there are at least 3 power supplies and what each does. Even if the supply is damaged and you fix it, there might be other components downstream that toasted as well and you won't know it until you've already dumped some cash into it.

I hate to say it, but your best option is to shell out the $50 and see what they say. If they estimate over half the cost of a new one, you might as well just save up your pennies for a newer model. Don't forget, even if they give an estimate, the final price may be higher once they really see what is damaged.

If you still want to open them up, I would look for burnt components and any TVS devices (transorbs most likely - which can look like a large disc capacitor) and go from there. Each receiver and TV is different, so there is no way to say "transistor 2 and 4 are bad". Good luck whatever you decide.