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RE: What do these stats on a tv mean? - 10/17/2011 12:53:13 AM

LookieNoNookie

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I keep hearing this comment...that the new flat TV's last about a year or 3...and (apparently) they can't be fixed (or maybe it's just cost prohibitive?).

My Dad bought a plasma TV when they first came out (fucking thing must have weighed as much as a 737), it was still running 10 years later (quite well) when he died...I gave it to one of my cousins.

I just bought a 55 inch for my bedroom (it's a big room) and a 63" for the living room...had them for about 2 years now and they both run fine.

(I hope mine become the exception as opposed o the rule ! :) )

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RE: What do these stats on a tv mean? - 10/17/2011 2:04:07 AM

littlewonder

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I don't think it's that they break but like computers, they become outdated. Something newer like 3D is added or better sound or picture quality, newer, faster microchips, etc...

I bought my new flatscreen tv about 3 months ago and it's already outdated.

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RE: What do these stats on a tv mean? - 10/17/2011 3:54:39 AM

Termyn8or

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FR

No, they actually do break. Ten years for a plasma is practically phenomenal.

Also I have to correct myself, you can burn an LCD projection, an LCD direct view is practically impossible to burn. If you must have LCD projection get a LCOS. Other than that you're better off with a DLP.

The fact is, about connectors, if it doesn't connect to the PC forget it. Sure TVs can connect to the net but it's not the same. Why have a web TV when you can have everything ? Years ago when buying PC(s) one of the most coveted items was the PC to TV convertor. I was already watching more PC, in fact my TV was only hooked up for sound at one time, before I got another amp. I'm hard on amps.

Things have again changed up. I did a hell of alot of downloading on P2P but some of the avenues of that seem to be drying up. Gneutella is not what it once was. However now I have a couple of programs that will download streaming video or audio and convert it to a standard format. It can't do hulu.com but, maybe one day....

But the fact is I want it when I want it. It's on the harddrive. Your TV is not likely to have a terabyte of space. Your TV is not likely to be able to do a powerpoint demonstration or a whole lot of other things. I am in the business and have been saying for years that TV and PC are going to merge, well it is not only happening, it HAS happened. Built my sinister a new PC the other month and it just plain old has HDMI that can be used simultaneously with VGA. Turn the big TV on or not, your choice. The little PC speakers are still there but if you choose, turn on the Marantz that runs the Boston Acoustics'. Alternately, the TV or the stereo can be switched to another source, but in time I see that there will be no cable box. (they got some kind of dish, not sure) Eventually everything will come from the net.

That's where it's going folks. I say I don't have a TV but that's not really true, I have a few. They are just not hooked up. One day it might be nice to watch a big old 32 or 36" screen but really these days I got a 19" on one PC, a 21" on another and my laptops have 17" wide screens. I can see the damn thing.

All this after I was the original asshole about bigscreens. I had one of those Advents. Yup, the one with the silver screen and the mirror. And mine performed like brand new. The Terminal was the place to be for the football games, bigtime. The good old days.

Back then you EXPECTED to get ten years out of a TV. You usually did. I remember customers, they had the TV for eight years and seem astounded that it actually broke down, for the first time. Now, this is an estimation on my part but the way I see it is thus ; one third of new TVs will break down within 2½ years. Of those about a third will be repairable. The average repair bill will be over $250.

In the old days there was of course upkeep. Every three years a guy came out to the house and cleaned the tuner for $19. Now every three years a guy comes out to the house and installs a new TV for $1,900. Inflation, whatcha gonna do ?

T^T

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RE: What do these stats on a tv mean? - 10/17/2011 9:39:30 AM

littlewonder

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huh? $1900 to install a tv?? How hard is it to install a tv? You plug it in and you're done. If you have a box and not sure how to set it up you call your cable company and they set it up for a mere $40 or so. At least that's what it cost with comcast.

That must be some tv!

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RE: What do these stats on a tv mean? - 10/17/2011 10:55:33 PM

Endivius

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quote:

ORIGINAL: LookieNoNookie

I keep hearing this comment...that the new flat TV's last about a year or 3...and (apparently) they can't be fixed (or maybe it's just cost prohibitive?).

Depending on the problem with a plasma it can be fixed. It is not however, cost effective to do so generally. Repairs can run from 300-2k depending on the size of the plasma, the brand, and the particular repair. The average life span of plasma is 7-10 years. When they first came out the gas inside burned out fairly quickly, after a couple of years some new strategies were implemented to extend the life of the gas, and the boards basically doubling the life of plasmas. When they first came out a 50 inch would run about 10k and last no more than 5 years at best. Now, it's fairly common for the same t.v. to last twice that. Again, the repairs are astronomical in general compared to other technology types.

DLP benefit is mainly the maintanence. There are no fancy parts, projectors, or gasses. They work by using a single bulb, that projects the light in front of a color wheel that spins. Moving mirrors inside the back determin wich "color" is imprinted on the image before it is projected onto the screen. The average cost of repairs on a dlp is between 200-400 depending on brand and particular repair. The best thing about them is that because of the way the television is designed, the only constant repair is the replacement of the bulb, that has an average of 5 years life span. It can be installed without the help of a professional. There is a panel on the back that opens, you unscrew the old bulb, put in the new one, voilla back to working. The view range is lower on DLP than plasma because it is afterall a projected image.

The new LED t.v.s have about an 8 year life span. Very cost prohibitive to repair, but do not suffer the draw backs of screen burn like the other technology types. Because they are not projection the have a view range similiar to plasma. Although plasma still has the best view range, as it does not rely on a blacklight.

Realize, when manufacturers or advertisements say, average life span is x, what they are really saying is that the rating of the lifespan of the T.V. is based on a certain number of hours, with the average day consuming no more than 8 hours. So if you watch a ton of television or leave the t.v. running when you are away, you are basically wasting the life expectancy of the t.v. It is not like after 5 years the t.v. suddenly breaks. It means when the # of hours of projected functionality is reached, the technology will be begin to fail.

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