Expert: cleggsan - 11/4/2009

Question
I have a Sylvania 19" LCD195-SL8A. I will be watching TV and all of a sudden the screen goes blue and the message "protected by blah blah" appears. The v-chip is acting up. I have talked to Sylvania ad-nauseum and they can't fix the problem unless I pay them $ 120 for them to look at it and be without the TV for 2 or 3 weeks. What a deal!! Anyway is there a way to disable this v-chip? I don't use it. All the blocks are on view, so what do I do now? I wish this v-chip didn't exist. Thank you.

Answer
Do you have the manual and have you gone through the programming to make sure it has been released or disabled for the channels?  

To disable it electronically requires some special skills and access to the schematic diagram and a technician who knows which pins of the V-Chip are the right ones.

Try this: Turn the volume down on the front of the set to zero; hold that button down while pressing "0" on the remote.  That should remove all V codes.  It may be other combinations for Sylvania so try a few other buttons as well.

Let me know how that goes.  I am inclined to think there are some lock codes that must be removed through the regular settings;  described in the procedures in the manual.  Keep trying.