[d14ner]

Hi. Just bought the above TV and have not been able to find a code for the satellite button. Have tried the sky website and they offered three possibles, but none of them worked.

Has anyone got one of these and been able to find a code that works please?

Thanks.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d14ner

Hi. Just bought the above TV and have not been able to find a code for the satellite button. Have tried the sky website and they offered three possibles, but none of them worked.

Has anyone got one of these and been able to find a code that works please?

Thanks.

Speak to where you bought it from, Polaroid is just a badge, you need to find out what actual make it is - although where you bought it should be able to tell you the actual code.

I saw Polaroid sets on Thursday, exclusive to some store - but I can't remember where now?.

[d14ner]

Yes, they're exclusive to Asda. Found a customer helpline number in the instructions. It's an Asda helpline. I'll give them a ring in the morning. Fingers crossed. Thanks.

[mac2708]

http://www.sky.com/helpcentre/tv/rem...th-sky-remote/
suggests 1304, 0893.1239
but bear in mind that there are not codes for all TVs especially newer models

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d14ner

Yes, they're exclusive to Asda.

That would be it then - we popped in Asda on Thursday, instead of the usual Morrisons

I knew I'd seen a sign somewhere!.

[azimo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d14ner

Yes, they're exclusive to Asda. Found a customer helpline number in the instructions. It's an Asda helpline. I'll give them a ring in the morning. Fingers crossed. Thanks.

They're Vestels same as Toshiba sold by Argos and Technika sold by Tesco.

[d14ner]

Hi. Phoned the help line and they gave me a list of numbers. The code for this model is 0661

[1andrew1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by azimo

They're Vestels same as Toshiba sold by Argos and Technika sold by Tesco.

A lot of Technikas are not made by Vestel, they're made by UMC in Slovakia including these.
http://www.umc-slovakia.sk/?s=technika

[AlanO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

A lot of Technikas are not made by Vestel, they're made by UMC in Slovakia including these.
http://www.umc-slovakia.sk/?s=technika

That's a fair point actually - I think there's a tendency by some to immediately go 'it's a Vestel', when in fact there are a number of 'OEM' manufacturers out there.

Perhaps it would be better to suggest the 'it might be likes' rather than be too specific, particularly where a badge seems to turn up intermittently and in different stores (IIRC Polaroid TVs were being sold via DSG a couple of years back).

[AlanO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by azimo

They're Vestels same as Toshiba sold by Argos and Technika sold by Tesco.

Same as in same set or same as in same manufacturer?

Judging by another posters comment, you may be wrong about at least one of those......

[Sibeber]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlanO

Same as in same set or same as in same manufacturer?

Judging by another posters comment, you may be wrong about at least one of those......

Asda are selling the 32" Polaroid LCD tv's at £189 (that's cheap)) .I remember seeing Polaroid flatscreens in PC World a few years ago , do you think Asda have licenced the name ? I'm tempted to get one as my current Grundig 26 " Vestel LCD is still going strong 8 years on .I'll relegate that to the guest room and bung the 32" in my bedroom .

[Sibeber]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d14ner

Hi. Just bought the above TV and have not been able to find a code for the satellite button. Have tried the sky website and they offered three possibles, but none of them worked.

Has anyone got one of these and been able to find a code that works please?

Thanks.

What's the picture quality like ?

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sibeber

Asda are selling the 32" Polaroid LCD tv's at £189 (that's cheap)) .I remember seeing Polaroid flatscreens in PC World a few years ago , do you think Asda have licenced the name ?

Presumably so - obviously it's only ever been a badge, Polaroid have never made TV's.

Most of these licence deals for badges are only short term, often only 12 months - so who knows how long Asda will have them.

[alan1302]

Polaroid themselves don’t exist as a manufacturer either anymore – they are purely a brand name to try and tempt people into buying a cheap product as it has a ‘brand’ name attached to it.

[jjne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sibeber

Asda are selling the 32" Polaroid LCD tv's at £189 (that's cheap)) .I remember seeing Polaroid flatscreens in PC World a few years ago , do you think Asda have licenced the name ? I'm tempted to get one as my current Grundig 26 " Vestel LCD is still going strong 8 years on .I'll relegate that to the guest room and bung the 32" in my bedroom .

£190 is throwaway money. It really matters little what the quality is like when you're paying this little.

Couple that with the fact that even the cheapest of LCD TVs are usually reliable enough for the typical lifespan stuff like this has these days of around three years. The vast majority of TVs are replaced becuase they become obsolete or lacking in the latest toys, rather than anything else.

Look at the typical Freeview receiver; anything built before about 2008 is pretty much junk now, due to lack of speed, lack of support and lack of functionality. The TVs are going the same way. Throwaway items.

Unless you're willing to pay £4-500 for a 32" set, there's little point in spending more than the £190. Plug it into an HD source and the picture quality is adequate on even the cheapest of sets.Not so much clever technology is required to make a screen run at its native resolution in progressive scan.

[d14ner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sibeber

What's the picture quality like ?

Very clear and bright.

[1andrew1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d14ner

Very clear and bright.

Does it state where the set is made?

[alanwarwic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alan1302

Polaroid themselves don’t exist as a manufacturer either anymore – they are purely a brand name to try and tempt people into buying a cheap product as it has a ‘brand’ name attached to it.

With the the long time glut in manufacturing I'm now of the thinking that most TVs sold in the big chains will have a decent screen.

Bush used to be bad and even they have decent ones now.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alanwarwic

With the the long time glut in manufacturing I'm now of the thinking that most TVs sold in the big chains will have a decent screen.

Bush used to be bad and even they have decent ones now.

No, they are still just cheap Vestel sets (or other cheaply made sets).

Such sets are usually three or four generations behind the market leaders on the panels used, and the scaling technology is greatly inferior as well (which is more of a concern as far as performance goes).

[d14ner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Does it state where the set is made?

Sorry, I've lost the bit of paper that had the phone numbers etc on. Still have the manual, but that doesn't say.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d14ner

Sorry, I've lost the bit of paper that had the phone numbers etc on. Still have the manual, but that doesn't say.

They very often don't - and even when they do, it's often entirely misleading (such as a certain company selling cheap Chinese TV's and claiming they are 'made' in the UK).

[jjne]

Which Chinese manufacturer would that be?

Interested to know, because last time you mentioned this company you were asserting Chinese manufacture based on a stereotyped opinion on Chinese design standards and an on-off switch that you couldn't source a replacement for.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjne

Which Chinese manufacturer would that be?

No idea, and as my Cantonese is a little rustly, I probably couldn't read it if I found it

Quote:

Interested to know, because last time you mentioned this company you were asserting Chinese manufacture based on a stereotyped opinion on Chinese design standards and an on-off switch that you couldn't source a replacement for.

Still applies - Chinese design and quality control is easily spotted. Incidentally, they did eventually come back to me with a price for a switch.

There's certainly nothing about the sets that suggests any amount of UK design or manufacturing. Perhaps they might screw the back on?, plug a board or two in?, put them in boxes? - there's nothing about them which I would consider 'made in Britain'.

[1andrew1]

The UK manufacturer/assembler is Cello. They started off importing cheap televisions for sale under their own brand and for European and UK retailers.

They've since moved onto design and assembly themselves and have tried to corner niche areas - their latest initiative is small-screen TVs with satellite decoders for the caravan market. You simply can't do this type of thing if you just put your own label on someone else's designs so I can understand the logic of UK assembly for them.

Cello states it believes its TVs are of better quality than a lot of its Turkish- and Chinese-made competitors. However, Cello manufacturer to strict price points so not comparable to the big four (Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and LG) but to Vestel.

Cello currently employs 100 people in manufacturing so it's now become more than just a boxing operation. Indeed, circuit board manufacturing which was previously outsourced is now done in-house. Like all TV assemblers, Cello take a range of components from around the world including Japan, Korea and of course China.

You can see the assembly lines here

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

The UK manufacturer/assembler is Cello. They started off importing cheap televisions for sale under their own brand and for European and UK retailers.

They've since moved onto design and assembly themselves and have tried to corner niche areas - their latest initiative is small-screen TVs with satellite decoders for the caravan market. You simply can't do this type of thing if you just put your own label on someone else's designs so I can understand the logic of UK assembly for them.

Cello states it believes its TVs are of better quality than a lot of its Turkish- and Chinese-made competitors. However, Cello manufacturer to strict price points so not comparable to the big four (Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and LG) but to Vestel.

Cello currently employs 100 people in manufacturing so it's now become more than just a boxing operation. Indeed, circuit board manufacturing which was previously outsourced is now done in-house. Like all TV assemblers, Cello take a range of components from around the world including Japan, Korea and of course China.

You can see the assembly lines here

Interesting propaganda video

Which is what you would expect for an advertisement.

However, having just watched it there's no sign of 'design' or 'production', you just see a few people screwing bits together - just a minimal assembly plant.

There's not even a shot of the inside of a completed TV, but the few shots you do see look FAR less like the Chinese spaghetti of the faulty sets out in the real world.

It's quite possible that they have extended their 'production' facilities, and are now doing more assembly of their bought-in modules.

If I get the chance to look inside a more modern set I'll report my findings.