At the very least they should take the tv into a shop that can do some basic
troubleshooting and provide them with an estimate for repair.

You could also do a Google Groups archive search for Sony tv, plus:
blanking, blinking, etc.

It could literally be anything causing the issue from a simple low cost fix,
i.e. under $100, to a major time to toss it failure.

David

"cecelia" wrote in message
om...
My parents have a Sony Trinitron that is about 9-10 years old. For
the past week they say that when they are watching something the
screen will flash to black (as though it's turned off) for a second or
two and then go back to the program. When it goes back to the program
the number 3 appears in the upper right hand corner (that's the
channel they have the tv set to for their satellite dish). This
"flashing" continues over and over. It seems to happen most when
they've just turned the tv on and mellows out after it's been on for
awhile.
Should they be shopping for a new tv or is this repairable?