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(Pittsfield, IL)

You hear a lot about digital TV these days.

You know you can still use your older, analog set to get digital television.

You just need a converter box and an antenna to make that happen.

So when do you upgrade to a new digital television set?

That's obviously a person decision, but KHQA recently spoke with a TV repairman in Pittsfield.

We asked him that very question.

"If we put in a $300 picture tube and then something else would go out later, you wouldn't be happy about that. I'm careful about not getting people tied up in that," says Delbert Sheppard with Sheppard Electronics.

Sheppard tells KHQA if your analog set needs a repairman, if you can afford it, it's probably best to upgrade because parts for older TVs are getting harder to find.

But, you may have heard digital TVs can't be fixed, but that's not the case.

Can a plasma or LCD TV be fixed?

"The answer is yes," says Delbert Sheppard.

Sheppard says he repairs digital TVs almost everyday of the week. Still, there's that perception that they are unfixable.

"I don't know whether their salesmen told them or they read some articles. There's no difference in parts that go into older TVs and parts that go in these here," says Sheppard.

The problem you may run into, though, is finding a repairman to fix your TV. Four years ago, Sheppard began going back to school to learn more about digital televisions. He says he still takes classes to keep up on the technology. He says each brand of TV has its own quirks, as does each of the technologies, plasma, LCD, and DLP. The good news, once those problems are diagnosed, they're pretty easy to fix.

"If we get all the troubles out of it in the first one to two years, you're probably able to watch these up to 12 years without any trouble," says Sheppard.

That doesn't mean digital sets are prone to more problems than picture tube sets. In fact, the cost of the parts is about the same, until you get into screen size.

Here's where the decision making comes into play. A smaller screen like this may cost $300 to $400, plus the cost to put it in. But if you go to a bigger TV, a screen may set you back $1300 or so. Then you have to ask yourself if you're willing to shell out $1300 to fix a TV that cost around $2000.

Sheppard also says most of the problems a digital TV would have would happen in the first year or so. Most major brand TVs offer a one year warranty. Some stores will sell you an extended warranty if you want the extra piece of mind. The bad thing, it's nearly impossible to fix a digital TV yourself. The reason, parts aren't readily available to consumers, so you have to find a qualified technician.

Since a lot of you don't have digital TVs and use converter boxes to get digital television, KHQA wanted to know what happens if a converter box stops working.

Can a converter box be repaired?

"I would say not. They are $49 at Wal-Mart in Hannibal. If they fail, just get a new one," says Sheppard.