My TV died.

[Cam]

Last night, my 50 inch 1080p TV that I used as a monitor for my PC inexplicably went black as I was computing. Good thing it did not happen during the six-hour race yesterday. I can't even get the Toshiba logo to come up if I restart it. The screen very briefly flashes when I turn it on. I hate generating waste, but it is probably not worth trying to fix. I think I am better off just buying a new TV, since 4K seems to be the standard now. I have another 32 inch 720p TV in the living room that I use for Xbox, but it is smaller and lower resolution. I also have a spare 19 inch monitor connected to my old PC, but again, too small and lower res.

/me goes shopping for TVs.

[Kchrpm]

This should be a good resource: https://www.rtings.com/

They do thorough reviews, and have a YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/RtingsTV

[Yw-slayer]

Sorry to hear it. I personally hope that our Panasonic 1080p plasma lasts for at least 5-7 more years.

[FaultyMario]

Knock on wood. Our heavy, old LG 32" LCD has been a solid computer monitor for me.

[Cam]

Yeah, my 32 inch Samsung is 15 years old. The TV that died was only 7. One of my closest neighbours has a very similar TV in their trash this morning. Just no telling when these things will just stop working for what seems like no reason.

[21Kid]

I'm not sure that anyone even repairs electronics anymore. :-(

I love rtings.com, as Keith shared above. Very good data to compare.

Even the cheapest models today are much better than TV from even a few years ago.

[Rare White Ape]

Are you confident or know to solder? It probably blew a capacitor. If you’re conscious enough about saving waste, the ultimate fix-up is to pull out the main board and check every capacitor with a multimeter and then put a new one in where you discover a fault.

Other than that, I peeeeeeeeersonally recommend the Sony XBR-49X900F as it is among the best mid-range TVs for gaming. And depending on your graphics card capabilities you’ll be able to run it in 1080p mode at 120Hz. On balance of the waste in throwing out the old unit, the new one will be more energy efficient so it will gain back that loss over a few years.

[Cam]

Too late. I recycled to old TV and bought a new 55" 4K TV. Unboxing it right now.

[Rare White Ape]

Sweet as!

[Cam]

Just waiting for Lori to finish an online meeting so she can help me put it on the wall.

WTF? She's been talking for like two effing hours.

[Jason]

Wow, she just does not love you at all, where are her priorities

[Cam]

She loves her work more than me. I just accept it.

[drew]

I'm waiting for mine to die. 9 year old 60" Plasma.... I can't justify buying a new one with it being "functional". Though, I don't think she cares, at all.

I'm very gunshy with thunderstorms/lightning, having had my childhood house hit three years in a row, and office twice. So I unplug everything at the first sign of a storm.

When we went on our trip a couple years ago for 3 weeks, I unplugged everything except the TV, got home, all excited, and then it turned on. Motherfucker.

[Kchrpm]

My 10+ year old Mitsu RPTV had its 3rd bulb blow last year, and I took that as an opportunity to get a suddenly discounted Sony 65" LED. It's not fully HDMI 2.1 compliant, so it probably will never support 120 fps or variable refresh rate, but it looks beautiful and I leave it on for 8+ hours a day while working from home without me worrying about burn in, and the Android TV functionality is quite nice.

[Cam]

I do not use my TVs as TVs, so none of that built-in stuff is relevant to me. I used to joke that the only station my TV gets is Playstation.

[drew]

:lol:

[Kchrpm]

Is it possible that I watch videos of Cam playing a video game on my TV more than Cam watches videos of anything on his TV...

Or do you just mean that you watch things on it, but only through a computer interface?

[Rare White Ape]

My 10+ year old Mitsu RPTV had its 3rd bulb blow last year, and I took that as an opportunity to get a suddenly discounted Sony 65" LED. It's not fully HDMI 2.1 compliant, so it probably will never support 120 fps or variable refresh rate, but it looks beautiful and I leave it on for 8+ hours a day while working from home without me worrying about burn in, and the Android TV functionality is quite nice.

What model is yours?

I have a 2018 Sony X900E and it supports 120Hz at 1080p.

If it’s one of the 2020 models there’s a high chance that there’s a software update available to unlock 120Hz at 4K and VRR.

[Kchrpm]

X950H (https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/sony/x950h)

Coincidentally, it just updated today. I do not know what that update did, though.

[Cam]

Is it possible that I watch videos of Cam playing a video game on my TV more than Cam watches videos of anything on his TV...

:lol: Uh, I watch YouTube videos on my TV, but in a browser window. That is the closest I get to watching TV on my TV.

I don't even watch movies anymore. Lori and I just finished the latest season of The Expanse, but we watched it on her computer. :lol:

[21Kid]

:lol: Uh, I watch YouTube videos on my TV, but in a browser window. That is the closest I get to watching TV on my TV.

I don't even watch movies anymore. Lori and I just finished the latest season of The Expanse, but we watched it on her computer. :lol: We just started season 2... Watching on the projector, from the PC app. LOL

I use the pc for most of my "TV" watching now. Both Amazon and Netflix allow you to download shows on their apps, instead of streaming them.

Not sure it really makes a difference... But I pretend that it does.

[JoeW]

I have two older panny plasmas that are still going. Since we are in Tampa (advertised lightning capital) they have been hit a few times by lightning and repaired. But it’s not the power interface that gets the damage. Mine have both been damaged via the HDMI ports. My 50” only has one working port and my son now has the older 47” in his room where all HDMI ports are gone and we run his PS4 through a component/hdmi converter box. No damage to our 1yr old A8G OLED yet. Both PS4s have had their LAN connections replaced due to lightning as well. Wireless still works but with online racing I needed the best connection working.

I’m thinking the lightning strikes are so close that the static electricity just kills really fragile stuff.

[drew]

you lost me at "repaired". I take that as an opportunity for an upgrade. :finger:

[JoeW]

My Sony A8G OLED died a few days ago. Very upset. Displayed some screen issues starting a few months ago. Contacted Sony who said fuck off...TV is 2 months out of warranty. Top of the line set...fuckers. Dealt with it over the last few months until a few days ago it decided to turn off after 10secs being turned on and displaying red blinking lights. Did everything I could to figure out the issue until i said fuck it.

Went down to Best Buy and bought a LG C1 OLED. AND got the 5yr warranty. New TV is better than the A8G but it pisses me off that it only lasted just over a year.

[Rare White Ape]

Is there any part of your consumer laws that states that you should expect a reasonable life of service for an item that expensive?

If there is, then write a nice letter to Sony.

[Tom Servo]

Might have some protection if you bought it with a credit card. Otherwise, I've felt like Sony seems to do that a lot, I ran into a lot of their devices (apart from Playstations, thankfully) that seemed to last just slightly longer than their warranties.

[21Kid]

I got the LG CX 65". They're really nice.

[Jason]

I’ve been rocking my LG B6 Oled for a few years, no real complaints

[Yw-slayer]

Probably another 2-3 years left before I switch to OLED. 15 year old plasma coming up soon!!

[JoeW]

Honestly the LG C1 seems to be better quality. The OS on it is better as well. The actual viewing experience is definitely better.

[stephenb]

Probably another 2-3 years left before I switch to OLED. 15 year old plasma coming up soon!!

Preach it brother! Still rocking my Pioneer 'kuro' from 2008.

[JoeW]

You’ll change your tune when you switch to OLED :)

2 Panasonic Plasmas still working in my house and the difference is quite noticeable.

[TheBenior]

I'd like to eventually get an OLED, but the Panasonic plasma that I bought in 2010 keeps trucking along.

It had a board short out right after the factory warranty expired (good thing I got the extended SquareTrade warranty), but the warranty replacement part is still going. The TV made a buzzing sound during very light/bright scenes (common issue) for a while, but that seems to have ceased. Why? Don't know!

Guy I know who lived across from me gave me a 65" TCL when he moved, but it's one of the more entry level TVs. It makes no claims of dimming zones or local dimming, so I'm going to assume that grayish dark scenes will annoy me.

[Jason]

Yeah for the brief period I had my Panasonic Plasma and LG OLED at the same time, the OLED made the Plasma look like trash almost right away, and I *loved* my Plasma :lol:

[Yw-slayer]

You’ll change your tune when you switch to OLED :)

2 Panasonic Plasmas still working in my house and the difference is quite noticeable.

I'm sure it's better - but why bother switching if it works fine?

[JoeW]

You shouldn’t bother at all if you aren’t interested in 4K and the highest picture quality. If you are happy then no need to spend the money.

[Yw-slayer]

Yeah, I'd be happy to have a higher quality picture. But IN A WORLD where I can't find a PS5 for less than usd800 and I'm still running a 6700K with a 1070 on a 120HZ 34" 21:9 monitor I think I might as well save the dosh for now.

[stephenb]

You’ll change your tune when you switch to OLED :)

2 Panasonic Plasmas still working in my house and the difference is quite noticeable.
I'm sure I will but every year LG's new range comes out I keep telling myself not until my plasma dies 😅