TVs don't last like they used to...

[Foxbat]

I admit it, I'm a dinosaur, so I remember the days of analog TVs that just worked, and worked, and worked. The only reason I don't have a tube TV anymore is I'm getting older and I want to recycle my Sony 27" XBR before I wasn't physically able to move it. That was a few Electronics Recycle-Fests ago and I've had two LCD sets since 2007, a Toshiba 1080p 40" set with CCFL backlight and a Samsung 1080p 55" with LED backlighting. The Toshiba's up in the master bedroom and I've been happy with it.

Until, the ISSUE:

(ignore the herringbone; the point is this is supposed to be a flat grey background!)

In regular TV viewing I first noticed it last weekend watching the F1 race from Brasil. I noticed on some shots there was a lightening in a band on the right-hand side of the screen, but it wasn't consistent. Or, it was more obvious with some scenes than others. I didn't think it was the panel at that time, I though, "oh, great, NBCSports has an issue with the FIA World Feed, or Dish has issues with NBCSports", but I didn't think "TV" until I was watching the ABC app on my AppleTV and saw the same 2.5" band on the right side of "Grey's Anatomy".

After I checked all the HDMI Inputs as well as OTA, I decided the Toshiba panel driver has developed a flaw. Is it worth getting it repaired? After all, this was a $1000 TV back in 2007. But in the back of my mind was the e-mail I received from Crutchfield earlier this week saying the Sony KDL-40W600B was on sale this week, $50 off the normal $499 price. Also, due to some previous purchases, I have an additional $25 I can knock off the price, making the bottom line $425 delivered to my door.

I'm looking around at other sites and the delivered price seems to be as low as I can find. The reviews seem positive as well, with CR rating it #4 (66 rating) behind more expensive sets in the 40"-43" range.

Regarding the Toshiba, the picture still looks as good as ever on most program material, which means it annoys me more when I see it. Originally I had thought about using it in our family vacation home, but now I think it's going to the guest room.

 

[tigerfan33]

I say get another.
TV's these days aren't really made for repairing. After shipping or if you lucky enough for a tech visit you'd probably be out $125-$150 and that's not even counting parts and labor.
Fortunately there some really good deals out there to ease the pain.

 

[waylew]

Google the set and see if there's a similar issue/fix for that model.
Or,if you're electronically handy,remove the 3 or 4 hundred screws(not really it just seems that way) take the back off and remove/reseat all the plugs for the display panel,might as well do all the other plugs while you're in there too,and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Foxbat]

Google the set and see if there's a similar issue/fix for that model.
Or,if you're electronically handy,remove the 3 or 4 hundred screws(not really it just seems that way) take the back off and remove/reseat all the plugs for the display panel,might as well do all the other plugs while you're in there too,and see if that makes a difference.

I thought about that, since it worked well with my blinking Mitsubishi RP-HDTV, but since this isn't a full death, just a partial screen failure, I can wait until I can find a replacement. Not that I planned anything, but Black Friday IS nearly here...

I don't feel like ripping it apart right now. We have a major Maintenance outage at work coming up and I've been concentrating on that for the past few weeks. Maybe this weekend I can relax by tearing it down and seeing what I can find. I'm willing to bet the screen is divided into eight or ten sections vertically and the last section's driver voltages are slightly off. If I'm lucky, it will be like you said, re-seating a ribbon cable will bring it back into spec. Even a bad discrete component is fixable if I can identify it.

We've had so many LCD panels fail at work that I'm not very hopeful. My wife is at least happy that I'm not going to be spending another $1K on the bedroom TV...

 

[Scherrman]

If you want your flat panel TV to last longer be sure it's plugged into a good surge protector and turn the brightness down in the settings. This can and your TV should last over 10 years.

 

[Foxbat]

The Sony arrived today in a shipping box that I swear is smaller than the Toshiba Regza 40" HDTV it's replacing.

Seven years has certainly changed the idea of what a TV is. The KDL-40W600B includes all of the Smart TV features like YouTube, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Crackle, Amazon Prime video, etc., and has at least a hundred apps as well. You can add a wireless subwoofer (I might look into that). The set has both a CAT5 jack and WiFi Ethernet connections for its Internet services. It uses the Internet to populate the Channel Guide instead of PSP data gleaned from the ATSC streams. In the "Discover" mode you are presented with "Top Picks", "TV", "YouTube", "Video Unlimited" (a Sony Network property), "Crackle", "500px", USB/Home DLNA, "FIFA World Cup Moments", "Football videos", and "Featured" which opens up marketplaces for Fitness, Opera TV Apps, videos shot with a Sony ActionCam, and SocialLife News.

But in the "Have they gone too far?" category, the TV features a Social View button on the remote. Press it, and the program shrinks down and a Twitter feed opens up with a hashtag feed related to the program you're watching. Also, there is a Football button which can set the picture and audio for watching live Football, both American and what the rest of the world considers football. It also can pull up YouTube videos related to soccer/football. I wonder if the "B" one the end of the model number stands for "Ball", as in football. There's lots of 2014 FIFA World Cup content available.

It has one feature I am looking forward to. I like to put on one of the Dish music channels to fall asleep to (setting the TV to sleep after 30 or 60 minutes) but it was distracting to have the Music Artist/Title/Album box on-screen, lighting up the bedroom. The Sony has a Pic Off feature that shuts off the backlight. I'll be able to drift off to soothing music and a dark room.

The ATSC tuner may not be as good as the Toshiba's tuner. I notice that one of the Low Power stations is breaking up and I never had an issue with it before.

All in all, a much more capable HDTV than the Toshiba set I had. I'm trying to learn all the basics so I can give my wife the 4-1-1 rundown.

 

[Mike]

I would never buy a TV based on the so called "smart TV" features. Unless you are paying some kind of subscription fee to Sony or whoever, they have no obligation to update the TV when one of the content sources breaks.

Eventually, one of those apps on the TV is going to break. Maybe Twitter has to change their protocol for some reason. Sony has no incentive whatsoever to release a firmware update, if they no longer sell that TV. So Twitter goes away. And maybe next month, something else breaks. The premium content guys (Netflix, Amazon) might have some incentive to try to ensure their protocols still work with older TVs, since they are getting some subscription revenue. But eventually they are going to need to update as well, so those features will break.

I would totally disregard any "smart TV" features when looking to make a purchase, and consider them to be time limited special bonus features that may or may not work tomorrow.

 

[Stargazer]

Its not worth the extra cost for Smart Tv's since you can buy a Chromecast device cheaply.

By the time a tv goes bad they will have such a change in technology that some people would want a new tv anyways, kind of like a computer where people buy a new one every 3-5 years.

 

[navychop]

My primary TV is pushing 10. I just don't see what is to be gained by replacing every five years.

I'm hoping mine lasts until OLED (or OLET) sets become affordable at the 60+ inch size.

 

[bigjohnok]

and to fix a flat screen will cost more than going and buying a new one.
I fix all sort of electronics on the side and outside of replacing a fuse or one or two capacitors I will not attempt to fix a flat screen tv.

 

[jayn_j]

Hmmm, are we all forgetting the good old days, when every drug store had a tube tester and every kid got good at pulling them all out of your set and testing all of them. Seemingly every 3 or 4 months? When you say your set lasted 20 years, how many times did it get hauled off for a week or two for the $100 repair?

Yeah, replacing is a drag, but I think overall reliability is up. My LCD is currently at 7 years and my plasma at 6. Given the initial prices, I don't think they owe me much. Seriously, we are comparing a $300-600 repair against the cost of a new set.

 

[Stargazer]

I think the tube tv's lasted anywhere from 7-15 years before they went out heck some 20 years or more. I wonder how long these flat screens are lasting compared to that? The technology is newer so the first generation may not be lasting as long as the current ones. The flat ones have been around 10-15 years for the most part. How many still have one from 10-15 years ago when they first came out?

 

[T134]

I still have my $1500 47" Philips from around 2007. For the first 5 years it literally ran almost 24/7. Still works fine minus the couple minor scratches I managed to put on the screen. In addressing the original post, if something were to happen I'd look at parts if possible. This was a top of the line model when it came out and has quality and features you don't get with today's $500 Walmart special. If I had to buy another nice TV in that size or bigger I'd definitely skip the cheapies and get another quality unit.

As others have said, screw the smart tv's. Streaming stuff changes so fast that most of them will be obsolete and not functioning after a short period. Add on devices on the other hand tend to have better support for this sort of thing, they can go from TV to TV and be easily replaced.

 

[satjay]

We have a 55 inch Toshiba widescreen that is about ten years old in the man cave. Pushing ten years old, HD picture is good, helps that tv is not on much of the day. I purchased a 70 inch sharp last year hope that lasts a long time!

 

[Foxbat]

Regarding the "Smart" features, I was not looking for them as I prefer an external Smart box like a Roku or AppleTV. Like everyone has pointed out, the streaming services change so quickly it makes no sense to bake them into the TV. I was surprised to see there was an update available for the TV when we got back from visiting family for Thanksgiving. I had update it after I got a few weeks ago. That's encouraging that Sony's updating it on a frequent basis.

I was more interested in the 4 HDMI inputs (Dish, Blu-ray, AppleTV, and a side port for expansion/MHL device). The Smart features were a "harmless" add-on since they can be ignored. Using the TV's Opera-based web browser is a good way to exhaust your patience.

 

[navychop]

Just build a Roku into the TV and let Roku send future updates. Maybe guarantee 5-10 years of updates.

 

[pickone4me]

If you want your flat panel TV to last longer be sure it's plugged into a good surge protector and turn the brightness down in the settings. This can and your TV should last over 10 years.

I would recommend a UPS unit instead, that way it is protected during brown outs, and those pesky quick power drops.

 

[Stargazer]

Roku's get outdated so having them built in won't solve the problem but it would help.

 

[navychop]

My 2 is still good. TVs will expand Roku an keep them updated.

 

[fred555]

My 27'' Sharp CRT TV is still going and the picture looks great.
No need to replace it. Similar to this one:

Here is a chart to ponder, if you view more than a certain distance resolution does not matter: