My new ( 2 month old) Toshiba 44NMH84 is making a periodic snapping/zapping/clapping sound which sounds exactly like the same as the problem described by Kal in his post of February 15th even to the channel indicator appearing:

http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21165

The local Toshiba Service rep has never seen it and he tells me that Toshiba tell him they have not heard/seen the problem before. ????
The Service rep wants to take the set into the shop to "monitor" it so he can hear the sound himself but quite frankly I'm not sure what "hearing" the sound will tell him and the set is supposed to have "in-home" service.
The frequency that it is occuring appears to be dropping and I would be most interested in knowing if anyone else has experienced this problem and, if so, what the problem was what the fix was.
Thanks for your help.

I have similar problem but only when I am watching TV so I think it is related to the TV tuner or TV related circuitry but since the frequency of the problem is dropping so I am still monitoring for the problem.

Could it be mosquitos or some small flies coming in contact with the hot light bulb?

I have the same problem as both of you... A loud snap/clap sound then the volume drops and regains in about 3-5 seconds... Also the channel and ant/cab appear on the screen - it has been to the shop 5 times but no progress... Can any of you help with what problem you found as the service technician is clueless...

The Toshiba instruction manual states that you will hear a snapping sound once in a while with the TV, but it should not occur frequently.

I would think that it is static discharge of some sort. Is it happening to you constantly? I wonder if it happens only when the air is dry. Does the humidity level have anything to do with it?

Thanks for the response... It happens for no rhyme or reason... Appears sometimes 2x per hour and/or every couple of days... It is not a small snap, but almost like a gunshot but several things happen... 1) the volume drops to where you can barely hear it and then climbs back up after a few seconds or so 2) the ant/cab box appears on the screen with the channel number (although it appears this part does not happen all of the time)... the service technicians stated several possibilities all of which had no bearing (plastic expanding, overheating, etc.).... There is something with the TV as I have found similar threads for Zenith and LG (which is the manufacturer for all 3 brands LG, Zenith & Toshiba)... If we had the serial number for Kel's TV or what happened in his situation, that may assist Toshiba Service to go back and look... Thanks !

Hmm, plastic expanding due to overheating would not cause your volume level to drop. That is definitely something electronic going on. I know that the color wheel is spinning very fast. It is possible that this is building up static electricity that is shorting out a nearby component. It's just a guess, but it makes more sense. I have not read this complaint much on the internet, so it cannot be a frequent problem. It sounds like maybe your internal components are not grounded properly. Is your ground wire connected when you plug it into the wall electrical current? If it continues, you might have to get something replaced inside.

I've had the same issue with my Toshiba. Thought it was the TV. Then I bought an HP plasma for another room.....and I get the identical sound periodically with that TV too.

I've had my Toshiba since March and what started as a minor annoyance has now turned into a nightly event. That is, as the TV warms up, the case must expand and contract leading to a series of cracks and snaps (noises).
I called BB and they are sending someone out to check. My son went through the same thing with a different model and eventually had the TV replaced.

The repair person picked mine up last Friday and I will be calling today to see how it's doing.

In the event that anyone else is still experiencing that loud, unexpected "pop" followed by a gradual volume recovery while watching television, here's a link to a response I just wrote on this same issue. Sufficed to say, it's due to a defective tuner board, and a replacement part was available as of last year that fixes the problem.

www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=449606#post449606