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Walter  All-Star Member 1445 Posts 3/05 |  Posted - Mar 9 2008 : 2:31PMI have an old TV (probably from the 80s) that started showing a scrambled picture yesterday and has not corrected itself yet. It has never had this problem or any other problem before. The problem occurs regardless of what I am trying to watch: cable, DVD, or VHS tape. This is why I think the problem is with the TV and not with something else. There is no warranty or customer support available for it and it is probably not worth fixing if I can't fix it myself. My questions are: Is this typically what occurs when a TV's working lifetime has expired? Is there a simple way of correcting this problem? I can afford a new TV, but I am very frugal and usually don't replace things unless they no longer work. If it can be fixed by simply removing the back panel and dusting something off then I will try doing that. If it involves soldering or significant time, expertise, or effort I will probably choose to replace it. What do you folks think? Thanks for reading.  [Link] |
| Bornyo Deactivated Member 803 Posts 12/04 | Posted - Mar 9 2008 : 3:15PM I think you need a new TV. Good luck with that too, Mr. Frugal, because you can get some sick cheap deals on non-hdtv huge screen conventional tv sets at the bigbox stores vs. reasonable yet still slightly high prices for plasma and lcd flatscreen hi-def sets. It's not a good time to be a tightwad tv buyer- your every instinct will urge you to buy the 42" tv from Walmart for $218.00 even though you'll need the hd adaptor inside of 12 mos.  [Link] |
| Bill All-Star Member 5334 Posts 6/00 | Posted - Mar 9 2008 : 3:43PM I agree with Bornyo that this is not something that you can fix yourself and you should probably start looking for a new TV. I also agree that I would pick up a reasonably priced HDTV, which can be bought at Wal-Mart. They actually have a pretty good selection of HDTV's. If you don't get an HDTV, I wouldn't worry about needing the hd adapter that Bornyo mentioned. Those will only be required for TV's that get their signal over the air, via antenna. Those adapters will take the digital signal OTA and convert it to an analog signal. Since you have cable, it won't be necessary. [Link] |
| Walter All-Star Member 1445 Posts 3/05 | Posted - Mar 9 2008 : 4:38PM Bornyo read my mind when he mentioned the low priced huge non-HDTVs that are selling at Walmart. They are tempting but I would probably regret not getting a Hi-Def TV. I watch TV from only a few feet away so I probably wouldn't benefit that much from a 50" screen anyway. Although frugal, I don't mind spending money on quality and I can spend more than a few hundred if it will get me a better TV. So I have a few more questions: 1. Should I get a Hi-Def TV that has the ability to hook up to my laptop? If so, what should I look for? Is this what that HDMI stuff is? I am trying to plan for the future. I am anticipating that some day the Mpeg, AVI, WMV, etc... files that I now download will be replaced by a Hi-Def format. I have no idea when this will happen though. 2. Are there different grades of Hi-Def? If so, should I make sure that I have a certain standard? This stuff has probably been discussed before in this forum so I will do some searching and reading of other threads as well. [Link] |
| ninja1 Senior Member 2939 Posts 1/08 | Posted - Mar 9 2008 : 5:01PM [Link] |
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| Bill All-Star Member 5334 Posts 6/00 | Posted - Mar 9 2008 : 5:51PM There was another thread like this earlier this year that you might want to take a look at. [Link] |
| HarryWild Member Make me believe 622 Posts 2/05 | Posted - Mar 11 2008 : 12:48AM [Link] |
| willywilly Member Activated Member 662 Posts 2/05 | Posted - Mar 12 2008 : 2:29AM But, if the urge comes upon you anyway - to open it up, be very careful in there. It has been a good long while since I've fiddled with them. There used to be a good sized wire, running up to the picture tube. It had a LOT of voltage on it. Don't touch it. Worse, the power supplies back then had good sized capacitors that could hold a hell of a charge for a long time, even after the TV was unplugged from the wall. There were bleeders to drain that charge, but you shouldn't put complete trust in them. A wise move would be to get a screwdriver with a good plastic handle, and clip a wire to the blade, then clip the other end of that wire to the metal TV chassis (TV unplugged for a while first! ) . Be sure to touch only the plastic handle, and then touch the blade to any wire or component BEFORE you touch it with your hand. [Link] |
| Harri Patel Senior Member #SDNY he's all yours. -- Michael Steele 5110 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Mar 12 2008 : 3:37AM [Link] |
| RandomPrecision Senior Member Enjoy! 8175 Posts 3/06 | Posted - Mar 12 2008 : 5:57AM [Link] |
| Walter All-Star Member 1445 Posts 3/05 | Posted - Mar 16 2008 : 6:43PM I am leaning towards a 42" 1080p Phillips HDTV. My reasoning is: 1. The 1080p will make a noticeable difference vs. 768p because I watch TV from only a few feet away. In addition, I don't expect to buy another HDTV soon, so I think it's a good idea to buy the higher resolution since this capability is likely to become more common in the future. 2. 1080p HDTVs smaller than 42" are relatively scarce and the model offered (I only found one) was more expensive than the 42" Phillips model. 3. Other brand names that have received reviews as favorable or more favorable than Phillips seem to cost significantly more. The picture quality of the models in the store should probably also be a factor in my decision process, but I am wary that the picture quality may be affected by the media source that is being displayed (SDVD vs. HDVD, standard TV vs. HDTV, etc...) or the manner in which the TV display was set up. I have been unimpressed with the picture quality I have seen on some of the HDTVs being displayed. It is likely that I will initially be watching a lot of standard DVDs and also mpg, avi and similar files through a connection (HDMI?) to my computer. I realize that these won't look as good as Hi-Def DVDs, but I suspect that they will look better than they look on a standard TV or computer monitor. I know that this is the case for standard DVDs. Thanks again for the help everyone! [Link] |
| RandomPrecision Senior Member Enjoy! 8175 Posts 3/06 | Posted - Mar 18 2008 : 10:11PM [Link] |
| Bill All-Star Member 5334 Posts 6/00 | Posted - Mar 18 2008 : 11:45PM Rather than looking at TV's in the store, I would much rather look for information from places such as AVS Forum, Home Theater magazine or Sound & Vision Magazine (in that order). [Link] |
| Walter All-Star Member 1445 Posts 3/05 | Posted - Oct 1 2010 : 2:39PM I bought a Sony Bravia 32" 1080p TV and the LCD has now gone bad on it after less than 3 years. It is out of warranty. The local repairman said that Sony often replaces this TV in this situation because it is a known problem that happens frequently. Sony's customer service offered nothing at first but after a couple of repeat phone calls a "higher authority" at their customer service center offered me the following discounts on a new TV from them: KDL-32EX500 for $425: a 32" 1080p LCD HDTV KDL-40EX500 for $550: a 40" 1080p LCD HDTV I have one week (until next Tuesday) to accept their offer. For comparison, Walmart's prices for these TVs are $629 and $809, but the EX400 versions of these TVs (slightly older models) cost $493 and $598. Prices of 1080p HDTVs from cheaper brands begin at $349 and $429, and 720p HDTVs at 42" and 50" begin at $439 and $629. I do not feel overwhelmed with gratitude with Sony's offer. I really expected this TV to last a longer than this. I don't think that I got my money's worth paying the higher price for a Sony TV than I would have paid for a less well established brand and feel that my willingness to pay top dollar was not well rewarded. Since I already have a special case number and offer from Sony, I am guessing that their offer is final and Sony is not going to give me a new TV for free. So should I a. Accept Sony's offer b. Reject Sony's offer, buy a cheaper brand, maybe 720p, and maybe an extended warranty, c. Reject Sony's offer, wait for holiday sales in anticipation of a sweet deal. I currently am using a clunky old SDTV that I happened to acquire a few months ago in a garage sale-like bargain with a coworker along with some furniture. It is an ok backup TV for a few months, but makes me miss HDTV. d. Something else, please specify. Your help and advice is appreciated. Thanks! Edited by - Walter on 10/1/2010 2:43:24 PM [Link] |
| ninja1 Senior Member 2939 Posts 1/08 | Posted - Oct 1 2010 : 4:38PM The one week decision window seems heavy handed to me, as if they're afraid to give you enough time to make an informed decision, as if they know their offer isn't so great. Are there any independent audio/video stores in your area? Perhaps you can give them a try, tell them your Sony offer, see if they can beat it. The independents have more flexibility regarding price discounts. [Link] |
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| Harri Patel Senior Member #SDNY he's all yours. -- Michael Steele 5110 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Oct 1 2010 : 11:16PM I had a somewhat similar experience with a Hewlett-Packard product a couple of years ago. I think this idea of "premium brands" is basically illusory nowadays. The companies are all slinging China-crap, and hoping that it lasts just long enough to go out of warranty. And if you complain, they make you an offer that is slightly less insulting than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but only just. Do you think you want to stick with a 32" set? That's pretty small, unless it's tucked into a cabinet or something. I bought a 42" Samsung plasma, which I've been pretty happy with, but the room could easily have accommodated the 50" model. If you want another 32 incher, I would question whether it would be worth paying whatever the premium is to get 1080p. Can you really tell the difference on a screen that small from across the room? Another thing I would wonder about is whether there are going to be good deals on closeouts of non-3D sets in the near future. [Link] |
| Walter All-Star Member 1445 Posts 3/05 | Posted - Oct 2 2010 : 2:32PM I haven't considered looking at independent retailer prices. Given the time constraints, I'm not sure that it is worth it, but I guess I could look today and tomorrow if I find the time. Harri Patel, The replacement part (presumably the LCD) costs more than a new television. I bought my 32" TV when I was living in a cheap shoebox sized apartment. Since then, I bought a house so my 32" HDTV was sitting in the living room as my main TV. That is one reason why I thought it might be nice to upgrade to a larger model now, especially when considering that $/screen-inch increases but doesn't skyrocket going from 32" to 40" or even 50". When you go past 50", the $/screen-inch increases drastically. The cheaper 720p HDTVs that I have seen in the stores don't look much worse to me than the more expensive 1080p models, but I remember what Bill told me above about not trusting how HDTVs look in stores. I tend to sit pretty close to the TV, though. I am leaning towards rejecting Sony's offer and buying a larger new TV from a cheaper brand. If you folks think that some great deals will be available during the holiday shopping season, I will wait a month or two. I suspect that 720p are being phased out and won't be available a year or two from now, especially now that I see LED being sold, which are apparently the next step up, but still a step below 3DTV. I don't think I'm interested in getting either one of those yet. Thanks for the help so far, and anyone else can feel free to share advice since I have a couple of days. [Link] |
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