Well, if we remember the EEVblog episode 247 about parts arriving in pink bags, this beats it by a mile. The chip arrived in cling wrap! Ok, it was in a piece of a chip tray, but then they proceeded to wrap it in plastic wrap and shove in an envelope. 

The date code was a bit older than the original and overall markings were a bit suspect. But I guess I signed up for this..

Seeing how I did not have much to loose at this stage, as I was not about to ship it back to China, I  figured I may as well go ahead. A bit of hot air and the chip is replaced. I plugged  the board back in. First signs are promising- power switch reacts to my presses and I get “Check cable ” window moving around the screen. I then proceed to connect it to my laptop and am back to square one. I can not make it see input signal no matter what I do. First lesson learned -its probably not the chip. I am not giving up just yet.