help needed choosing a new tv

comtal · 13-09-2015, 15:29

Hi all,
As per title can anyone suggest a replacement for my current tv which i want to move to the bedroom.

Though both of us are in our late 70s i am not completely devoid of any tech knowledge although a lot of the new stuff has passed me by.

Currently have a 42ins Panasonic Plasma which although being 8 years old and only HD ready still gives a superb picture,at least to my eyes. For the last 40 years or so Panasonic is the only make of tv i have purchased and can honestly say i have never experienced any problems at all. However the current line up does not seem to suit my needs.
Also have a BT You View box and a Panasonic Blu-Ray player/HD recorder DMR-PWT520 so recording options are well covered.

I am really looking for a 46/50 inch non smart non 3d with picture and sound the main criteria. Have had numerous soundbars over the years but never been really happy with any and currently use a Rotel amp with acoustic energy bookshelf speakers for any music concerts we watch. Do not use for normal watching as we make great use of subtitles.

Have £600 max to spend but ould prefer to spend less if possible providing my requirements can be met.
If plasma was still available thats the direction i would go but it isnt so i need some help.

All suggestions gratefully appreciated. Thank you.

Nigel Goodwin · 13-09-2015, 16:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by comtal

I am really looking for a 46/50 inch non smart non 3d with picture and sound the main criteria.

You're unlikely to find a non-smart one, non-3D is more likely.

As always, the best two makes are Sony and Panasonic, the middling quality ones Samsung and LG, pretty well everything else is just cheap stuff (with much of it Vestel - including the bottom end Panasonic's apparently).

comtal · 13-09-2015, 16:11

Thank you Nigel for your reply, i was hoping you would read the post as i think i am right in assuming you are in the trade. Can you recommend anything specific and how far up the Panasonic range do you need to go to be sure of genuine parts and build. Thanks

Nigel Goodwin · 13-09-2015, 17:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by comtal

Thank you Nigel for your reply, i was hoping you would read the post as i think i am right in assuming you are in the trade. Can you recommend anything specific and how far up the Panasonic range do you need to go to be sure of genuine parts and build. Thanks

We're a Sony dealer, not a Panasonic one - as far as I'm aware it's only the bottom end that's made by Vestel the 300 series?.

comtal · 13-09-2015, 17:09

Thank you for that info Nigel.

AlanO · 13-09-2015, 19:08

Check where they're made - Vestel clones appear to be made in Turkey, bona fide Panasonics (such as the 520 or 620) are made in the Czech Republic.

Nigel Goodwin · 13-09-2015, 20:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlanO

Check where they're made - Vestel clones appear to be made in Turkey, bona fide Panasonics (such as the 520 or 620) are made in the Czech Republic.

It rather depends if it actually says or not - many Vestel sets don't have the country of manufacture on them.

Lidtop2013 · 13-09-2015, 21:48

as already said, most TVs will be smart enabled now, absolutely no reason not to buy a smart TV, you might save a few pounds by going for a none smart version but the only problem with that is your cutting down on your options even more so.

I would suggest going to your local RicherSounds or John Lewis if you have them locally, look at a few and see which ones you reckon have a good picture quality, write them down and post here/look online for reviews etc. also if you go onto RS or JL website and type in the model numbers in the search box you can read reviews from other customers who've already bought the TV.

comtal · 14-09-2015, 08:11

Lidtop2013 Seems a sensible suggestion as i do have a JL nearby.
My only reservation is that pictures one sees on a shop floor sometimes bear no resemblance to a home environment.
Which is why i was hoping someone could make a suggestion based on personal experience. Thank you.

AlanO · 14-09-2015, 09:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by comtal

Lidtop2013 Seems a sensible suggestion as i do have a JL nearby.
My only reservation is that pictures one sees on a shop floor sometimes bear no resemblance to a home environment.
Which is why i was hoping someone could make a suggestion based on personal experience. Thank you.

I recently bought a CS620 (which was a Currys exclusive version of the 520 listed below) - only difference was it has 3 x HDMI rather than 2 of the 520.

Picture quality is excellent, particularly on HD - some of the Standard Def (SD) channels can look a bit 'murky' but that's as much to do with the fact they're SD and often screen poorer quality footage to begin with. Feed it a blu-ray and the quality is very good.

On the sound front - I'd already got a sound-base so it's hooked up to that, so haven't used the TVs own speakers.

Have used the iPlayer app and Youtube - again, quality is fine. Not HD standard admittedly, but certainly very watchable.

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and-...31977-pdt.html

comtal · 14-09-2015, 09:22

Thank you AlanO,
The 50inch version of the set you highlighted seems a very live possibility.Thanks.

barbeler · 14-09-2015, 11:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lidtop2013

as already said, most TVs will be smart enabled now, absolutely no reason not to buy a smart TV, you might save a few pounds by going for a none smart version but the only problem with that is your cutting down on your options even more so.

On the other hand, I should imagine that a high percentage of people own a recorder of some kind, most of which have the 'smart' features. If so, having them in the TV is largely a waste of time. I haven't watched television through the TV's onboard tuner for several years now.

I also don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with televisions originating from Vestel, although I agree that Sony and Panasonic are safe bets if you can afford them.

Nigel Goodwin · 14-09-2015, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbeler

I also don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with televisions originating from Vestel.

Poor performance, poor quality, and poor design - but perfectly acceptable for the price point. However, a small amount of 'proper' design would greatly increase their reliability.

AlanO · 14-09-2015, 13:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

Poor performance, poor quality, and poor design - but perfectly acceptable for the price point. However, a small amount of 'proper' design would greatly increase their reliability.

Like so many things - they are built to a price and as a result compromises have been made in their design.

Does that make them 'inherently' bad? That depends on your viewpoint.

Arguably it was always the way - go back to the late 60s / early 70s when colour TVs first hit the market and certain 'budget' offerings - such as the PYE CT205 my grandparents owned - had no shortage of such 'design' features.

I well remember the set being 'on the blink' many times - not aided by the 'piped' tv service they had having its own instability. But to have obtained a more reliable colour set at the time - a Sony, Hitachi, ITT KB would probably have cost significantly more and probably more than they could have afforded.

I'm willing to bet if I went out today and paid £ 150 for a 32" Vestel set it would last longer and have fewer problems than that Pye my grandparents had - the fact that I earn more in a day than that set costs whereas the Pye set cost my grandparents many months wages really does speak volumes about modern manufacturing.

Nigel Goodwin · 14-09-2015, 16:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlanO

Like so many things - they are built to a price and as a result compromises have been made in their design.

Does that make them 'inherently' bad? That depends on your viewpoint.

It does if you know anything about electronics design

Essentially it's breaking a cast iron 'rule', and it's going to fail - no doubt about it - and they do.

However, Vestel aren't the only people to have built 'faults' in to their sets, I've pointed out to many manufacturers (whilst on courses) the flaws in their designs. It's not rocket science, certain ways of doing things fail in TV's - if they repeat the exact same 'bad design' on the new model, it will fail exactly as it did on the previous model, and the one before that etc, etc.

We used to draw circles on the courses round the components we KNEW were going to fail, and ask the manufacturers to pass them on to the warranty department, and the designers. I'd like to think that the designers weren't responsible, and that the 'bean counters' changed things during production - but as most designers come out of Uni with zero practical experience I suspect it 'could' be down to them.

Quote:

Arguably it was always the way - go back to the late 60s / early 70s when colour TVs first hit the market and certain 'budget' offerings - such as the PYE CT205 my grandparents owned - had no shortage of such 'design' features.

I well remember the set being 'on the blink' many times - not aided by the 'piped' tv service they had having its own instability. But to have obtained a more reliable colour set at the time - a Sony, Hitachi, ITT KB would probably have cost significantly more and probably more than they could have afforded.

Never did many Hitachi's back then, but essentially they made one or two decent models, and have lived on that VERY old reputation ever since.

We did Pye 205's, and ITT's as well - I wouldn't say the ITT's were any better, particularly as both were based on the same Mullard application notes.

ITT even sold 'hand wired' colour TV's at one time, they hadn't progressed to PCB's

Quote:

I'm willing to bet if I went out today and paid £ 150 for a 32" Vestel set it would last longer and have fewer problems than that Pye my grandparents had - the fact that I earn more in a day than that set costs whereas the Pye set cost my grandparents many months wages really does speak volumes about modern manufacturing.

Only if you're lucky

Because of one specific serious design flaw many Vestels die around 12 months old, I've just repaired an Hitachi 24 inch one for a friend of my wife's, just over 12 months old.

We've had quite a few at work just under 12 months old, and it's easier to repair them than to do the paperwork (and telephone work) for sending them back

You're right about the price, TV's are FAR too cheap these days

Lidtop2013 · 14-09-2015, 22:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by comtal

Lidtop2013 Seems a sensible suggestion as i do have a JL nearby.
My only reservation is that pictures one sees on a shop floor sometimes bear no resemblance to a home environment.
Which is why i was hoping someone could make a suggestion based on personal experience. Thank you.

We have an electrical store near our house and they have normal TV displayed on some TVs and on others its a dvd movie playing. You can always ask a member of staff to turn off any "shop mode" options so that its just as it would be at home. I understand it's good to get a view point from someone who owns a particular TV but it's always best to see for yourself if possible, l mean what looks good to me might not look so good to you, or vice versa!

comtal · 15-09-2015, 08:17

Lidtop2013, Points taken for good advice. Thanks.

trayhop123 · 15-09-2015, 23:10

ive thrown this viewpoint into the hat before ,,,,, and im gonna do it again now .

why ,,,,, oh why is reliability even an issue when choosing a new tv ,,,,,,,, it really shouldn't be

ive no doubt nigel knows what he is talking about when he talks component quality etc ,,,,, and that this has a knock on effect on repair ratios between the sony's and the lower end of the tv spectrum.

however it is now commonplace for retailers to offer 5yr guarantees at NO additional cost,,,,,,,,, so why care ?

plus after 5yrs ,,,,,, more newer features come on to the market anyway

im not saying you shouldn't treat yourself to the expensive brands

just that these days more than ever theres also a place for the cheap replaceable too.

richer sounds do a 32inch samsung full hd for £209 ,,,, with a 6yr guarantee ,,,,,,,,,, at that price who gives a shit if it dies after the warranty expires ,,,,,,, youve had ya moneys worth,,,,,,,, and it will be time to upgrade anyway.

koantemplation · 16-09-2015, 03:13

I have had 3 TVs in the last 3 years and they've alldeveloped faults with a year or two.

The first one had sounds issues which I believe was a design fault as it happened on the same model in the shop as well.

The 2nd one lasted a year before it developed banding.

The 3rd one lasted 2 years before the 3D stopped working.

So reliability is a lottery as far as I'm concerned.

AlanO · 16-09-2015, 08:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by koantemplation

I have had 3 TVs in the last 3 years and they've alldeveloped faults with a year or two.

The first one had sounds issues which I believe was a design fault as it happened on the same model in the shop as well.

The 2nd one lasted a year before it developed banding.

The 3rd one lasted 2 years before the 3D stopped working.

So reliability is a lottery as far as I'm concerned.

Out of interest - were these all the same brand or something different each time?

Nigel Goodwin · 16-09-2015, 10:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by koantemplation

The 3rd one lasted 2 years before the 3D stopped working.

You don't mention what makes any of these sets were?, but losing 3D sounds a VERY unlikely 'fault'.

Probably the only cause would be software corruption, and it needed the EEPROM resting to factory defaults (ie it had set itself to be a non-3D model).

koantemplation · 16-09-2015, 16:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

You don't mention what makes any of these sets were?, but losing 3D sounds a VERY unlikely 'fault'.

Probably the only cause would be software corruption, and it needed the EEPROM resting to factory defaults (ie it had set itself to be a non-3D model).

It was a Samsung TV and the 3D is definitely not working. It is all squashed down in the bottom inch of the screen. It seemed to happen after a firmware update so you might be right about the EEPROM needing resetting, but a Factory Reset hasn't worked. So I suspect it might been reflashing if that is possible.

koantemplation · 16-09-2015, 16:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlanO

Out of interest - were these all the same brand or something different each time?

I can't remember the model numbers but the first 2 TVs were LG.

The Samsung was a replacement for the LG TV with the sound issue.
The last one is a Samsung UE40D6530. I'm still using that as I use the picture in picture mode a lot. Thankfully I didn't use the 3D that much.

1andrew1 · 16-09-2015, 17:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbeler

I also don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with televisions originating from Vestel, although I agree that Sony and Panasonic are safe bets if you can afford them.

Although the 2014 Panasonic A300 series and the 2015 Panasonic C300/C400 series are all made by Vestel.

koantemplation · 16-09-2015, 18:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

You don't mention what makes any of these sets were?, but losing 3D sounds a VERY unlikely 'fault'.

Probably the only cause would be software corruption, and it needed the EEPROM resting to factory defaults (ie it had set itself to be a non-3D model).

This is what the screen looks like when I go into 3D mode.

http://s441.photobucket.com/user/koa...c.jpg.html?o=6

It did work for the first year or so.

13-09-2015, 15:29	#1
comtal Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 149	help needed choosing a new tv Hi all, As per title can anyone suggest a replacement for my current tv which i want to move to the bedroom. Though both of us are in our late 70s i am not completely devoid of any tech knowledge although a lot of the new stuff has passed me by. Currently have a 42ins Panasonic Plasma which although being 8 years old and only HD ready still gives a superb picture,at least to my eyes. For the last 40 years or so Panasonic is the only make of tv i have purchased and can honestly say i have never experienced any problems at all. However the current line up does not seem to suit my needs. Also have a BT You View box and a Panasonic Blu-Ray player/HD recorder DMR-PWT520 so recording options are well covered. I am really looking for a 46/50 inch non smart non 3d with picture and sound the main criteria. Have had numerous soundbars over the years but never been really happy with any and currently use a Rotel amp with acoustic energy bookshelf speakers for any music concerts we watch. Do not use for normal watching as we make great use of subtitles. Have £600 max to spend but ould prefer to spend less if possible providing my requirements can be met. If plasma was still available thats the direction i would go but it isnt so i need some help. All suggestions gratefully appreciated. Thank you.

13-09-2015, 16:05	#2
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Quote: Originally Posted by comtal I am really looking for a 46/50 inch non smart non 3d with picture and sound the main criteria. You're unlikely to find a non-smart one, non-3D is more likely. As always, the best two makes are Sony and Panasonic, the middling quality ones Samsung and LG, pretty well everything else is just cheap stuff (with much of it Vestel - including the bottom end Panasonic's apparently).

13-09-2015, 16:11	#3
comtal Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 149	Thank you Nigel for your reply, i was hoping you would read the post as i think i am right in assuming you are in the trade. Can you recommend anything specific and how far up the Panasonic range do you need to go to be sure of genuine parts and build. Thanks

13-09-2015, 17:01	#4
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Quote: Originally Posted by comtal Thank you Nigel for your reply, i was hoping you would read the post as i think i am right in assuming you are in the trade. Can you recommend anything specific and how far up the Panasonic range do you need to go to be sure of genuine parts and build. Thanks We're a Sony dealer, not a Panasonic one - as far as I'm aware it's only the bottom end that's made by Vestel the 300 series?.

13-09-2015, 17:09	#5
comtal Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 149	Thank you for that info Nigel.

13-09-2015, 19:08	#6
AlanO Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,902	Check where they're made - Vestel clones appear to be made in Turkey, bona fide Panasonics (such as the 520 or 620) are made in the Czech Republic.

13-09-2015, 20:49	#7
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Quote: Originally Posted by AlanO Check where they're made - Vestel clones appear to be made in Turkey, bona fide Panasonics (such as the 520 or 620) are made in the Czech Republic. It rather depends if it actually says or not - many Vestel sets don't have the country of manufacture on them.

13-09-2015, 21:48	#8
Lidtop2013 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: West Midlands Posts: 2,450	as already said, most TVs will be smart enabled now, absolutely no reason not to buy a smart TV, you might save a few pounds by going for a none smart version but the only problem with that is your cutting down on your options even more so. I would suggest going to your local RicherSounds or John Lewis if you have them locally, look at a few and see which ones you reckon have a good picture quality, write them down and post here/look online for reviews etc. also if you go onto RS or JL website and type in the model numbers in the search box you can read reviews from other customers who've already bought the TV.

14-09-2015, 08:11	#9
comtal Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 149	Lidtop2013 Seems a sensible suggestion as i do have a JL nearby. My only reservation is that pictures one sees on a shop floor sometimes bear no resemblance to a home environment. Which is why i was hoping someone could make a suggestion based on personal experience. Thank you.

14-09-2015, 09:09	#10
AlanO Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,902	Quote: Originally Posted by comtal Lidtop2013 Seems a sensible suggestion as i do have a JL nearby. My only reservation is that pictures one sees on a shop floor sometimes bear no resemblance to a home environment. Which is why i was hoping someone could make a suggestion based on personal experience. Thank you. I recently bought a CS620 (which was a Currys exclusive version of the 520 listed below) - only difference was it has 3 x HDMI rather than 2 of the 520. Picture quality is excellent, particularly on HD - some of the Standard Def (SD) channels can look a bit 'murky' but that's as much to do with the fact they're SD and often screen poorer quality footage to begin with. Feed it a blu-ray and the quality is very good. On the sound front - I'd already got a sound-base so it's hooked up to that, so haven't used the TVs own speakers. Have used the iPlayer app and Youtube - again, quality is fine. Not HD standard admittedly, but certainly very watchable. http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and-...31977-pdt.html

14-09-2015, 09:22	#11
comtal Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 149	Thank you AlanO, The 50inch version of the set you highlighted seems a very live possibility.Thanks.

14-09-2015, 11:22	#12
barbeler Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 11,705	Quote: Originally Posted by Lidtop2013 as already said, most TVs will be smart enabled now, absolutely no reason not to buy a smart TV, you might save a few pounds by going for a none smart version but the only problem with that is your cutting down on your options even more so. On the other hand, I should imagine that a high percentage of people own a recorder of some kind, most of which have the 'smart' features. If so, having them in the TV is largely a waste of time. I haven't watched television through the TV's onboard tuner for several years now. I also don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with televisions originating from Vestel, although I agree that Sony and Panasonic are safe bets if you can afford them.

14-09-2015, 12:43	#13
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Quote: Originally Posted by barbeler I also don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with televisions originating from Vestel. Poor performance, poor quality, and poor design - but perfectly acceptable for the price point. However, a small amount of 'proper' design would greatly increase their reliability.

14-09-2015, 13:20	#14
AlanO Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,902	Quote: Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin Poor performance, poor quality, and poor design - but perfectly acceptable for the price point. However, a small amount of 'proper' design would greatly increase their reliability. Like so many things - they are built to a price and as a result compromises have been made in their design. Does that make them 'inherently' bad? That depends on your viewpoint. Arguably it was always the way - go back to the late 60s / early 70s when colour TVs first hit the market and certain 'budget' offerings - such as the PYE CT205 my grandparents owned - had no shortage of such 'design' features. I well remember the set being 'on the blink' many times - not aided by the 'piped' tv service they had having its own instability. But to have obtained a more reliable colour set at the time - a Sony, Hitachi, ITT KB would probably have cost significantly more and probably more than they could have afforded. I'm willing to bet if I went out today and paid £ 150 for a 32" Vestel set it would last longer and have fewer problems than that Pye my grandparents had - the fact that I earn more in a day than that set costs whereas the Pye set cost my grandparents many months wages really does speak volumes about modern manufacturing.

14-09-2015, 16:52	#15
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Quote: Originally Posted by AlanO Like so many things - they are built to a price and as a result compromises have been made in their design. Does that make them 'inherently' bad? That depends on your viewpoint. It does if you know anything about electronics design Essentially it's breaking a cast iron 'rule', and it's going to fail - no doubt about it - and they do. However, Vestel aren't the only people to have built 'faults' in to their sets, I've pointed out to many manufacturers (whilst on courses) the flaws in their designs. It's not rocket science, certain ways of doing things fail in TV's - if they repeat the exact same 'bad design' on the new model, it will fail exactly as it did on the previous model, and the one before that etc, etc. We used to draw circles on the courses round the components we KNEW were going to fail, and ask the manufacturers to pass them on to the warranty department, and the designers. I'd like to think that the designers weren't responsible, and that the 'bean counters' changed things during production - but as most designers come out of Uni with zero practical experience I suspect it 'could' be down to them. Quote: Arguably it was always the way - go back to the late 60s / early 70s when colour TVs first hit the market and certain 'budget' offerings - such as the PYE CT205 my grandparents owned - had no shortage of such 'design' features. I well remember the set being 'on the blink' many times - not aided by the 'piped' tv service they had having its own instability. But to have obtained a more reliable colour set at the time - a Sony, Hitachi, ITT KB would probably have cost significantly more and probably more than they could have afforded. Never did many Hitachi's back then, but essentially they made one or two decent models, and have lived on that VERY old reputation ever since. We did Pye 205's, and ITT's as well - I wouldn't say the ITT's were any better, particularly as both were based on the same Mullard application notes. ITT even sold 'hand wired' colour TV's at one time, they hadn't progressed to PCB's Quote: I'm willing to bet if I went out today and paid £ 150 for a 32" Vestel set it would last longer and have fewer problems than that Pye my grandparents had - the fact that I earn more in a day than that set costs whereas the Pye set cost my grandparents many months wages really does speak volumes about modern manufacturing. Only if you're lucky Because of one specific serious design flaw many Vestels die around 12 months old, I've just repaired an Hitachi 24 inch one for a friend of my wife's, just over 12 months old. We've had quite a few at work just under 12 months old, and it's easier to repair them than to do the paperwork (and telephone work) for sending them back You're right about the price, TV's are FAR too cheap these days

14-09-2015, 22:05	#16
Lidtop2013 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: West Midlands Posts: 2,450	Quote: Originally Posted by comtal Lidtop2013 Seems a sensible suggestion as i do have a JL nearby. My only reservation is that pictures one sees on a shop floor sometimes bear no resemblance to a home environment. Which is why i was hoping someone could make a suggestion based on personal experience. Thank you. We have an electrical store near our house and they have normal TV displayed on some TVs and on others its a dvd movie playing. You can always ask a member of staff to turn off any "shop mode" options so that its just as it would be at home. I understand it's good to get a view point from someone who owns a particular TV but it's always best to see for yourself if possible, l mean what looks good to me might not look so good to you, or vice versa!

15-09-2015, 08:17	#17
comtal Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 149	Lidtop2013, Points taken for good advice. Thanks.

15-09-2015, 23:10	#18
trayhop123 Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 865	ive thrown this viewpoint into the hat before ,,,,, and im gonna do it again now . why ,,,,, oh why is reliability even an issue when choosing a new tv ,,,,,,,, it really shouldn't be ive no doubt nigel knows what he is talking about when he talks component quality etc ,,,,, and that this has a knock on effect on repair ratios between the sony's and the lower end of the tv spectrum. however it is now commonplace for retailers to offer 5yr guarantees at NO additional cost,,,,,,,,, so why care ? plus after 5yrs ,,,,,, more newer features come on to the market anyway im not saying you shouldn't treat yourself to the expensive brands just that these days more than ever theres also a place for the cheap replaceable too. richer sounds do a 32inch samsung full hd for £209 ,,,, with a 6yr guarantee ,,,,,,,,,, at that price who gives a shit if it dies after the warranty expires ,,,,,,, youve had ya moneys worth,,,,,,,, and it will be time to upgrade anyway.

16-09-2015, 03:13	#19
koantemplation Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Wolf359 Posts: 96,797	I have had 3 TVs in the last 3 years and they've alldeveloped faults with a year or two. The first one had sounds issues which I believe was a design fault as it happened on the same model in the shop as well. The 2nd one lasted a year before it developed banding. The 3rd one lasted 2 years before the 3D stopped working. So reliability is a lottery as far as I'm concerned.

16-09-2015, 08:58	#20
AlanO Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,902	Quote: Originally Posted by koantemplation I have had 3 TVs in the last 3 years and they've alldeveloped faults with a year or two. The first one had sounds issues which I believe was a design fault as it happened on the same model in the shop as well. The 2nd one lasted a year before it developed banding. The 3rd one lasted 2 years before the 3D stopped working. So reliability is a lottery as far as I'm concerned. Out of interest - were these all the same brand or something different each time?

16-09-2015, 10:22	#21
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Quote: Originally Posted by koantemplation The 3rd one lasted 2 years before the 3D stopped working. You don't mention what makes any of these sets were?, but losing 3D sounds a VERY unlikely 'fault'. Probably the only cause would be software corruption, and it needed the EEPROM resting to factory defaults (ie it had set itself to be a non-3D model).

DS Forums

help needed choosing a new tv

16-09-2015, 16:43	#22
koantemplation Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Wolf359 Posts: 96,797	Quote: Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin You don't mention what makes any of these sets were?, but losing 3D sounds a VERY unlikely 'fault'. Probably the only cause would be software corruption, and it needed the EEPROM resting to factory defaults (ie it had set itself to be a non-3D model). It was a Samsung TV and the 3D is definitely not working. It is all squashed down in the bottom inch of the screen. It seemed to happen after a firmware update so you might be right about the EEPROM needing resetting, but a Factory Reset hasn't worked. So I suspect it might been reflashing if that is possible.

16-09-2015, 16:46	#23
koantemplation Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Wolf359 Posts: 96,797	Quote: Originally Posted by AlanO Out of interest - were these all the same brand or something different each time? I can't remember the model numbers but the first 2 TVs were LG. The Samsung was a replacement for the LG TV with the sound issue. The last one is a Samsung UE40D6530. I'm still using that as I use the picture in picture mode a lot. Thankfully I didn't use the 3D that much.

16-09-2015, 17:54	#24
1andrew1 Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 3,981	Quote: Originally Posted by barbeler I also don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with televisions originating from Vestel, although I agree that Sony and Panasonic are safe bets if you can afford them. Although the 2014 Panasonic A300 series and the 2015 Panasonic C300/C400 series are all made by Vestel.

16-09-2015, 18:42	#25
koantemplation Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Wolf359 Posts: 96,797	Quote: Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin You don't mention what makes any of these sets were?, but losing 3D sounds a VERY unlikely 'fault'. Probably the only cause would be software corruption, and it needed the EEPROM resting to factory defaults (ie it had set itself to be a non-3D model). This is what the screen looks like when I go into 3D mode. http://s441.photobucket.com/user/koa...c.jpg.html?o=6 It did work for the first year or so.