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Finlux TVs
mrsgrumpy49
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I have a shortage of both space and money
Looking for a budget tv/dvd combi and noticed Finlux on Amazon. Does anyone know anything about this make? They seem to get decent reviews.
We can't get aerial signals here so Freeview not an option and I have Freesat from Sky. I just need one scart connector and most TVs seem to have that anyway. Whichever TV I get, will I need to get a new Sky remote and possibly upgrade the Skybox? Existing one is about 10 years old hooked up to a TV and Skybox of the same age! :eek:
Looking for a budget tv/dvd combi and noticed Finlux on Amazon. Does anyone know anything about this make? They seem to get decent reviews.
We can't get aerial signals here so Freeview not an option and I have Freesat from Sky. I just need one scart connector and most TVs seem to have that anyway. Whichever TV I get, will I need to get a new Sky remote and possibly upgrade the Skybox? Existing one is about 10 years old hooked up to a TV and Skybox of the same age! :eek:
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Dont recommend tv DVD combis either. The DVD players often break and then you're stuffed.
If the sky box is working ok then no point replacing it. Unless you want HD.
Or get a free sat HD box.
I don't see how they get decent reviews? - unless it's by paying the reviewers?.
They are cheap Vestel sets (in fact the Finlux name is currently owned by Vestel), so it's identical to many of the cheap supermarket sets.
If you're wanting cheap, then fair enough - it's cheap because it's a cheaply made product. However, if you're wanting a DVD combi, there's really not a great deal of choice - most of the ones out there are Vestel (such as Sharp, Toshiba etc.)
Most people are happy with a basic TV - if it turns on and shows a picture with some sound many people are happy with that and it's all they want or need.
Currently I'm making do with a little old Sharp bedroom (it's lilac in fact :eek:) CRT with a square screen which cuts off part of the picture at each side so I guess I am easily pleased That said the picture is miles better than my neighbour's fancy flat panel tv.;)
Not the same "make" - but often made in the same factory using similar designs. For such sets most "brands" have licensed their production out to a third party - Vestel is one such producer, but by no means the only one.
And even buying a "premium" brand is no guarantee that the product was made by the company who's badge is on the set as virtually every "brand" has bought in a product from such a third party at some time.
And there's every chance that your Sharp set of the time was bought it from a third party. So it's not even a new phenomenon.
To answer your question about the Finlux set - I wouldn't buy it via Amazon, not least because Finlux sell directly via their own website.
Alternatively, you could buy such a set from any number of places on the high street - and I suspect the price difference won't be that great and it does make it easier to return if you find a problem with it.
It'll be a Vestel. Not a Hisense or a UMC or a TPV or anything else. And that's good, because at least with Vestel spares are readily available -- and generally cheaper than most of the other cheaper manufacturers.
Thousands of compatible spares on the open market, any repair person worth his salt will be able to fix them and a good online record of common faults and fixes for buyers with a little knowledge.
They're not the best performers, but they are cheap, and tolerably reliable in the main.
of course in an ideal world with budget no object you would opt for something better , but believe it or not the smaller screens 26 and 22 have had favourable reviews on the trusted reviews website .
ps, (not necessarily this thread , but generally a lot of threads in the tech sections ) a lot of people on this site are all to quick to judge an op's decision to purchase cheap tech , whereas they should take into consideration his budget , and then maybe offer up some choice alternatives within the same price range , rather than just say thats crap and ram a sonypanabang&pioneer down their throat .
This is a rhetorical question by the way
Same 'make', same design, probably EXACTLY the same set - although there's so many Vestel chassis variations (sometimes even within the same make and model) that it's hard to be sure unless you compare the two exact sets.
In some respects it's handy though, as you can use a Sharp service manual (which we can access) to repair a Toshiba set (who's manual we can't access).
As far as Finlux goes, as it previously belonged to Euronics (who bought from Vestel), we have access to their manuals as well - which don't even have model numbers, just board numbers (which again is a good thing, for repairing any Vestel variant).
In most cases you get to see what you are buying and they don't seem to use cheap end dull TV panels.
Unless you know the actual set, mail order is a gamble.