Philips model# 50P8341 no sound

[smith]

I have a 50" Philips 50P8341 tv that has been giving me lots of trouble over the past few months. The first problem was when it would cut off and I could not get it to turn back on. The buttons on the front, (channel, volume, and power) would not work. The only way that I could ever get it to turn back on would be to unplug it, and keep unplugging it from the outlet and the cable box until finally, I would here a "click" noise from inside the tv and it would come on. Once on, the buttons on the front would work very briefly, less than 30 seconds, before you could no longer turn the tv on or off again. I would just leave it on all the time, until it would cut itself off every now and then. The remote doesn't cut it on or off either. I called the Philips people and the closest service shop is an hour away. He said it sounds like the small signals board needs to be replaced and his price was $350. If this is the problem, I would like advice on the cheapest way to replace it myself, and avoid paying this high amount. I read a post on an electronic forum that sounded similar to my problem and the recommendation was a small signals board kit on the tritonics website and it listed for $89.99 If this is the part that I need, could I order it and replace it myself, being that I am not knowledgable at all on tvs? One more ? Recently, the tv has lost all volume. When I do get it to turn on, the volume is basically gone except for some brief periods of static, like the sound is trying to come through, but can't quite make it. Does anybody know if this can be contributed to the small signals board as well, or is this a seperate problem altogehter, and if so, what could be the answer to it? Any help would be greatly appreciated, being that this has gone on for months now.