[digitalsatman]

Hi everyone,

I've been told that I'm getting a Finlux 32" HD TV tommorow (rented), I've never heard of them, and I was wondering who they are, and what quality of TV's they make?

Thanks,

Tom

[DonsBo]

Oh my god i haven't seen a Finlux since our old one back in the 70s. I didn't think they still existed

[TV DUNIYA]

Here you go:http://www.finlux.eu/StaticCont.aspx?PageType=About

[Audiman]

I think someone once told me Finlux are the same company as Nokia.
Im not 100% sure tho sorry.

[brokennews]

All I know about them is that they sponsored Sheffield Wednesday in the 80s.

Dunno if they're the same company as Nokia tho- probably not. I didn't know they were still going!

[martytoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonsBo

Oh my god i haven't seen a Finlux since our old one back in the 70s. I didn't think they still existed

Not heard of them for years, I think they used to rebadge Thorn/EMI Ferguson TV's.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Finlux were (fairly obviously) from Finland - they provided fairly cheap nasty TV's to some of the national rental companies a long time ago, and Hitachi even badged some of their sets. As far as I know they no longer exist?, but the name may be used as a badge on something else? - at least one of the times Nokia TV folded, it reappeared on Finlux based sets.

[Orbitalzone]

I have to correct some of what Nigel says (that's unusual!) - Finlux used to be a very good Finnish company, part of the Lohja group, they made some excellent TV's in the 1980's and early 1990's..... they made very slimline and advanced models (stereo, multiband options, and much more, well before most Japanese or European TV's had those options) and our shop sold many, they were kind of like the B&O without quite a high price.... then in early 1990 (ish) Nokia took them over and things got a bit worse, they cheapend down the TV's and then eventually they rebadged Nokia models with Finlux name badges..... then Nokia got out of the TV market (smart move Nokia) and I think they sold off the Finlux name and it's appeared on stuff that probably isn't anything at all to do with Nokia or Finlux of Finland.

So as per usual, an old name resurfaces and is stuck on some junk (probably)

Wiki Finlux http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlux or in Scandinavian (more text) http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlux


edit: no surprises that Vestel own the name now!

More here: http://www.finlux.ro/en/finlux.html

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orbitalzone

I have to correct some of what Nigel says (that's unusual!) - Finlux used to be a very good Finnish company, part of the Lohja group, they made some excellent TV's in the 1980's and early 1990's..... they made very slimline and advanced models (stereo, multiband options, and much more, well before most Japanese or European TV's had those options) and our shop sold many, they were kind of like the B&O without quite a high price....

You were obviously far more impressed by Finlux than me?

Certainly they were slimline, and multi-standard, but so were many European TV's - in my experience they were pretty unreliable, and not of particularly good construction.

Wasn't it Granada Rentals who first started using them?.

[paulksound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

You were obviously far more impressed by Finlux than me?

Certainly they were slimline, and multi-standard, but so were many European TV's - in my experience they were pretty unreliable, and not of particularly good construction.

Wasn't it Granada Rentals who first started using them?.

I seem to remember Granada under the name Red Arrow
used the name Finlandia

[nordsee]

Granada also used to supply Salora sets under the Finlandia brand

I once had a retail Salora set the 1H4C 22" it had a good picture and fab but mono sound nice rosewood case too

Sadly the sound was only mono no scart, though it had a 6 pin Din instead

Dave

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nordsee

Granada also used to supply Salora sets under the Finlandia brand

I once had a retail Salora set the 1H4C 22" it had a good picture and fab but mono sound nice rosewood case too

Sadly the sound was only mono no scart, though it had a 6 pin Din instead

6 pin DIN was the European standard before the French invented SCART - we did a lot of grundig sets that used them, and their V2000 VCR's

[Sibeber]

I have recently bought a 26" finlux lcd as a 2nd set for our conservatory just over 330 quid with freeview and 2 HDMI'S and yes its what keeps getting described as a cheap and nasty Vestel ,

I however am delighted with the picture and sound quality and the stylish cabinet.I know it's only a month old so we'll see what it's like reliability wise but at present I think it's great value for money.

[Orbitalzone]

Finlandia was the name used by Granada, I do think that around 1993 onwards, Granada DID then use Finlux and rebraned as Finlandia! (confused?!) Earlier than that and Finlandia had nothing to do with Finlux as far as I'm aware. I'd agree that the Finlandia/Finlux models weren't the best in the world..... far lower quality than the earlier Finlux models. Nokia buying the brand didn't help things much!

We sold the pre 1993 models: 1000 and 3000 series which were really good, solid and quite expensive and we found a good market position where customers didn't want a common Philips/Ferguson/Sony/Panasonic - they wanted something that looked smart, but didn't want to pay stupid B&O prices (especially as B&O often had Thomson innards) so Finlux was a good mid/higher priced option.

Finlux did make one of the first ever 100Hz CRT's, we had one in for a customer who'd seen one at the ideal home exhibition, it cost about £1500 in or around 1991 I think.....it was a 32" CRt and the pictures looked pretty awful, like big lego blocks moving around! - 2 years later and the LOPTX failed and Finlux couldn't supply one as they said no one had every purchased that model of TV in the UK... it was news to them that we'd sold one! - I think the customer scrapped the set and got a decent Panasonic, albeit a somewhat less sylish looking TV, the pictures were 100 times better (and 50Hz)

[paul.grogon]

I got a 32" for my mother last year from Richer Sounds for £450, it's still going strong and has a great picture and sound. The guy told me they were practically Hitachi.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul.grogon

I got a 32" for my mother last year from Richer Sounds for £450, it's still going strong and has a great picture and sound. The guy told me they were practically Hitachi.

Other way round, Hitachi bought and badged Finlux sets at one time.

[digitalsatman]

Hi everyone,

It arrived yesterday, but has now gone. I really can't stand these cheap LCD brands! The TV took ages to come on, then lines appeared down it, then it just broke.

Luckily, on Wednesday, there giving me a nice shiny Humax or Panasonic!

Tom

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by digitalsatman

Hi everyone,

It arrived yesterday, but has now gone. I really can't stand these cheap LCD brands! The TV took ages to come on, then lines appeared down it, then it just broke.

Luckily, on Wednesday, there giving me a nice shiny Humax or Panasonic!

If you have a choice, get a Panasonic, that's a good top end set, the Humax are cheap LCD's with poor pictures - we don't sell Panasonic (though I've seen plenty of them), but we do have Humax sets for sale (basically to show the difference between cheap sets and dearer ones).

[Sibeber]

Sorry to hear your Finlux(VESTEL) wont belly up on day one.As i stated earlier I have bought about a month ago the 26" version and for £338 i'm delighted with it in terms of cabinet design, picture quality, sound and connectivity.Is it me or is there a vendetta against Vestel who obviously are not doing badly as a company as I know they churn out millions of cheap tellys in Turkey ?.If all Vestel products were crap surely they would have gone out of business by now however it seems that as a manufacturer they are thriving.I have a 3 year old Hitachi 42" plasma in my lounge that I was warned was crap however in terms of picture quality/ sound and the fact that the cabinet which is high quality glass and aluminium with detachable quality speakers as opposed to the same old same old piano gloss black plastic cabinets you get from everyone these days has delighted me from day one (mind you 3 years ago it cost £2000.I know that you only get what you pay for however I would not be put off buying another badged up Vestel cheapo telly as a 2nd or 3rd set .I know I might eat my words if it go's belly up in a months time but for now Vestel can do no wrong for me . ps saw a stunning looking 26DAEWOO lcd in Comet today ...are they made by Vestel ?

[Orbitalzone]

I think I read that Vestel are now the 3rd largest TV manufacturer in the world!, so they must be doing something right....


of course Amstrad used to sell millions of HiFi (yes, an oxymoron if there ever was!) , VCR and TV's and many of those were pretty cheap and chearful (I'm being kind here)

Like most budget products, some last well and perform ok and some are downright rubbish.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sibeber

ps saw a stunning looking 26DAEWOO lcd in Comet today ...are they made by Vestel ?

No idea, but Daewoo usually make their own cheap sets, and make them for other people as well.

Vestel's OK as long as you know that's what you're buying, as long as it's cheap enough, and you don't have any great expectations - I bought an Asda Onn FreeView box made by Vestel, and it's perfectly fine, but it was cheap and I knew it was Vestel.

Liki I mentioned before, I looked in an Hitachi (Vestel) the other day, and it was the poorest made LCD I'd ever seen!, I was truely horrified how bad it was.

[Nigel Goodwin]

By some strange coincidence, we've had a load of Finlux 15 inch portables delivered today!

[Sibeber]

Hi Nigel have you any idea where my Hitachi 42 Plasma (3 years old cost over 2 grand then ) originated from ...would this be a badged Turkish Vestel (bloomin well hope not ..although I love the set).I agree on the Hitachi (vestel) lcd it looks really shabby .

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sibeber

Hi Nigel have you any idea where my Hitachi 42 Plasma (3 years old cost over 2 grand then ) originated from ...would this be a badged Turkish Vestel (bloomin well hope not ..although I love the set).I agree on the Hitachi (vestel) lcd it looks really shabby .

As far as I know it's probably an Hitachi?, certainly you get Hitachi/Fujitsu plasma panels - some of the old Sony plasma sets use them.

[Sibeber]

Thanks Nigel

Do you know where Hitachi make their own telly's i.e the non vestel ones .I remember seeing a panasonic telly box with made in Czech republic or some eastern european country.Have Hitachi a plant somewhere like Poland etc ?