My 50" Hitachi Projection TV Is Dying! :-(

[Lone Gunman]

My 50" Hitachi projection TV is on it's last leg as the picture will work fine then at times the top and bottom work their way up and down meet in the middle and it goes off. It will usually come back on and work "normally" for some period of time then it does this again. I've had it since back in 1998 so I've gotten my money's worth out of it and it's probably time to buy something else. And BTW, yeah, a few months ago I was bragging about it still working?? How's that working out for me now?

So, I've been looking at the new plain Jane 55" LED TVs (no smart tv) and when looking at the specs for them I notice that NONE of them mention a coax cable connection input? Most have 3 HDMI and component connections but haven't seen anything mentioned about coax?? This is a major issue for me as I use RCA RF modulators on all my TV systems (3) and just want a TV that I can put in place of that Hitachi and not have to rewire the entire system.

So can someone confirm whether there is or is not a coax connection on these new TVs?
Thanks

 

[KE4EST]

All the ones I have seen still do. It is just not heavily pushed in the adverts because most people are looking at HDMI inputs etc. these days.

 

[FaT Air]

As long as the specs mention ATSC/NTSC (and maybe 'free' QAM) they will have an "F" connector.
Think you'll need the NTSC tuner for your modulator.

 

[FaT Air]

Find an 'old school' TV repairman.(?) Sounds like the vertical deflection circuitry is going out. Sounds like a cap in the bootstrap is taking a crap.

 

[Lone Gunman]

Yeah Phat, I thought about trying to find someone to repair it, but, it would be a PITA to carry it to a repair shop and back plus I figure that it would probably cost a couple of hundred dollars to fix it and it's just not worth that much to me when I can by a new LED 1080P 55" for under $500. I remember I paid like $2200 for that Hitachi when I bought it back in 1998?

Actually that RCA RF modulator has 4ea component ins so all my receivers and DVD player connect to that, then the single coax goes to the TV. In that coax line I have an F type push button "A" "B" switch that I use to change back to OTA antenna in for local programming. So that's why I'm so concerned about the "F" coax connection. The vendors could make life a lot easier for me if they would include that info in the specs listed on the websites.

These are the two that I'm looking at right now. Anyone have any experience with these.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-E555BV-FMQR-55-1080p-60Hz-Class-LED-HDTV/19527757

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hitachi-LE55G508-55-1080p-120Hz-Class-LED-HDTV/39254948

 

[FaT Air]

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sceptre-E555BV-FMQR-55-1080p-60Hz-Class-LED-HDTV/19527757

Built-in Tuner ATSC / NTSC source: http://www.sceptre.com/spec-191.html (under specifications tab)

Cant find that model Hitachi at http://www.hitachi-america.us/products/consumer/tv/
so may be a specials product for the discount retailers here. But similar models say
" (1) Antenna (RF) Input "
If that does includes NTSC would be a guess on my part.

I so the same with a modulator. Only without an A-B switch, Set the freq-agile modulator to an unused channel, combine with the OTA with a splitter in backwards. Select modulator channel for FTA, OTA is on their own channels.

 

[Lak7]

Save yourself, get a Plasma TV.

 

[Corrado]

I was on the fence earlier in the year about purchasing a new TV or repairing my 61" Samsung DLP model from 2007. Apparently it was a known issue for those to develop dots on the screen.

After all my research I couldn't find a TV I was satisfied with. What further irritated me was I learned about a month too late that Samsung was fixing them for free and stopped in Feb this year. I ended up purchasing the DMD module online and repairing it myself. Saved myself over hundreds of dollars for the repair and probably over a $1000 for a comparable model to replace it.

 

[Lone Gunman]

Save yourself, get a Plasma TV.

Why? And don't tell me picture quality because I've been perfectly happy with that projection TV for the last 16 years. I seriously doubt that there's a 55" plasma available for under $500 either.

Ennywho, went to my local Wally World this afternoon intent on buying a TV but NEITHER of the ones I'm interested in were in stock at this store. Cheapest 55" they had in stock was $678 plus tax. I'll have to order one online then pick it up 6 days later at the store.

I guess nothing is simple any more, hey!

 

[. Raine]

Bad connections on the vertical output I.C. or cap in same circuit, or convergence board/circuit, most likely. Like you said, probably cost as much to pay someone to fix your Hitachi as buying a new TV and if you buy a new one, it won't be SD and so big! Those TVs were nice back in the day, but their day is past.

 

[Lone Gunman]

Think I'm going to advertise this old TV in the trader paper for free. Maybe some electronic geek type will move it for it and I won't have to haul it to the dump.

 

[Lone Gunman]

I went ahead and ordered that Sceptre 55" from Wallyworld and although this TV had some good reviews on different sites, I did something I hadn't done in a while and bought the 4 year extended warranty. Total shipped to my door is $470 including tax and it will be here on the 19th, just in time for Christmas.

Thanks for all the comments, suggestions and information guys.

 

[Lone Gunman]

Update: Well, ordered this TV on the 13th from WalMart. Picked it up at the store on the 17th and spent almost the entire day yesterday getting it setup in it's new home. We watched our first movie on it last night.

With that old Hitachi gone and the way we have this one setup, we have more floor area in the room. That big screen was just that, BIG and I had forgotten just how big until we moved it. I'll bet that thing weighs a couple of hundred pounds and my back is sore today.

Oh, and I have a friend that does my machine work for my race engines and he fools with these projection TVs. He's got one setup in his basement that covers almost an entire wall. I called him yesterday and told him what I had and he wants this one for parts so looks like he will haul it off for me.

Ennywho, hope this one lasts as long as that Hitachi did.

And a final note, if you click the link I posted up the page you'll see that this TV has gone up from $399 to $428 and the add on 4 year warranty has gone up from $49 to $55 so it's a good thing I bought this one when I did.

 

[migold]

I ;think you were very wise to buy the extended warranty. Years ago, when I was in the service business, I didn't recommend them. Now, with so few brands caring about longevity on their products, I changed my mind, particularly on the lesser known brands. Now, you are covered for 4 years, and after that time, you may want to change again, since technology is so rapidly evolving...

 

[Magic Static]

I bought an extended warranty for my Samsung LCD. The store that had been in business for 50 years went out of business and a week later the TV died. 2 months later the warranty expired. and I had to fix the TV myself. I was supposed to get half the warranty price back if not used. That didn't happen either. One would think Walmart will still be around in a few years, but you never know

 

[migold]

Magic - You are right, you never know. Lots of these extended warranties are sold by a company that basically 'insures' the set, and they are not dependent on the store (or organization - such as Amazon, etc...) that sells them. To get coverage, you have to contact a 'warranty company' and follow their procedure. It is good to know who is behind the 'warranty'. But, of course, that is just another company that could go out of business....

 

[Lone Gunman]

I ;think you were very wise to buy the extended warranty. Years ago, when I was in the service business, I didn't recommend them. Now, with so few brands caring about longevity on their products, I changed my mind, particularly on the lesser known brands. Now, you are covered for 4 years, and after that time, you may want to change again, since technology is so rapidly evolving...

Yeah I'm not usually one to buy the extra warranty either but in this case I had $500 in the budget for it so I did. This brand name has been around for a while as I've seen computer monitors made by them for 3 or 4 years now. Most all the reviews were good except for the sound but that's understandable as the sound in the flat screen computer monitors sucks also. This one isn't real bad but needs some base, which will be added in the near future. We were really amazed at how bright this thing is. So much so that we don't even need a light on in the room.

Ennywho, just hoping that it will last a while like the old one did.

 

[dfergie]

I had good luck with Hitachi's, first one lasted from early 90's till I replaced with an HD set the weekend of the Columbia Disaster ... replaced it with a Sony about 3 or 4 years ago, convergence was way off on it (and the first one).

 

[Lone Gunman]

Questions on these BIG HD TVs.

The way my home entertainment system is setup I have to use an RF Modulator to get the signal to the two other TVs here in my house via RG6 coax inside the walls. The Modulator I use is a CRF940 made by RCA, which is a 4 channel one with buttons on the front to choose the various devices connected to it. I've got two satellite receivers and a DVD player all connected to that RF modulator via RCA cables, ie, R, W, Y.

Ok so now to the problems. The Micro HD I have is connected to that new 55" LED TV via HDMI and the RCA outputs on it are connected to that RF modulator so I can send that to the other TVs in the house. HD TV via the HDMI input from the Micro HD looks good but it NEVER says that it's anything other than 480i even on known HD channels?? On OTA via the antenna on the roof via the RF input on the TV does HD fine and says what channels are HD, but, the SD picture looks like krap? I mean that old Hitachi looked WAY better on SD than this LED does??

I know all this might sound confusing to some as I get confused with it myself from time to time and I'm standing here looking at it. So my questions are:

Is it normal for LED HD tvs to have really krappy looking SD picture?

Is it normal for an HD LED TV to only show 480i through the Micro HD HDMI cable connection or from the RF input from the RF Modulator?

Am I going to hork up anything by using BOTH outputs (HDMI and RCA) on that Micro HD at the same time?

And does the Micro HD signal passing through RCA cables to that RF modulator kill the HD reducing it to SD when it exits via RF?

Sorry if this sounds confusing but it's about the best I could come up with.

Thanks

 

[Balock]

Crappy SD picture? Could be that the LED tv is showing you all the SD signal's crappiness in glorius detail My old 27" Sony CRT tv looked great for SD, but the 37" Samsung LCD I replaced it with looks bad with many SD signals.

The MicroHD has a menu to set the HDMI resolution...it's under the System Setup menu. HDMI on the uHD is not dependent in the composite output, whuch is always 480i IIRC.

No, you can use both outputs at the same time...the composite signal will mirror the HDMI. Mine was hooked that way with my monitor and my old original Slingbox.

IIRC, the composite output is always 480i, regardless of the HDMI resolution.