AKAI PDP4294 While skipping thru commercials (DishNetwork DVR) on a recorded event the screen went black. Still have sound. Set is seven years old.

Check the speaker/s first. If found OK; check and replace the damaged component/s at its audio output section circuit board. If needy, replace this board as card basis. If you wish to get some details; check the site linked here. Viewing it in "Mosaic" or "Magazine" will make surf easy. Surf the site with patience. Pull up older posts. Surf the site with patience. Do a search by type in the brand name of your device at its search box.
http://electronicshelponline.blogspot.com/

Hello, this is Matthew Gonzales with DISH Networkhere. First thing I would check is the daily schedule, (press the DVR button3 times on your remote). You should be in a screen that has all showsthat are/were scheduled to record. If you select one of the events, itwill say why it did not record/why it was skipped. When the receiver isturned "off" it should be in standby mode, and your recordings shouldnot be skipped. The next step is to trydoing a hard reset on the receiver. To do a hard reset, you will unplug thereceiver from the power outlet, leave it for 15 seconds, then plug it back in.After doing this, your receiver will go through a rebooting process which takesabout 5 minutes. If the receiver is still not working properly, I willneed to dig a little bit deeper into the issue. Please feel free tocontact me at matthew.gonzales@dishnetwork.com

I recommend you switch from using HDMI cables to using component (R/G/B RCA-style) cables. HD picture is superior through component cabling, and solves several HD picture issues.

What is happening is that when video resolution changes (like from regular programming to commercials) the video information is poorly sent down the HDMI line. Component cabling from your DVR will eliminate this problem.

I hope that helps.

check the setting of the TV.

if the pic is there when a flashlight is held to the screen the backlight/inverter has failed.

Probably what happend to mine. It's all the same problem. It's actually fixable. I repaired mine.

fuses, then check power supply board.

I repaired mine. It had the same problem. Could be power supply. If you open it then maybe I can help.

i would like to know how many people have this problem too,my akai just went out the other day too, just researching

I had the same problem I was told to unplug then reset but still no luck. Mine have been broken since Aug 2006 and seems like it's so hard to find somebody to fix it. Please let me know if you fix yours.