Any new TV experts out there?

[JamesA]

Our TV tube went last night and so everything is blue/green.
It looks like everything is under water!

Anyway, I'd been hoping to wait until next year to buy an 40 inch LCD TV as I had heard that the technology is not good enough yet and was hoping the new models would be better.
Is this true? Would I be better off getting a cheap cathode ray for now?
I think it was on CH5's gadget show they were talking about it...

If you buy a decent £1500+ panasonic are they OK?

 

[Diyisfun]

You can probably get a cheaper flat tv, if you stay away from the 'household names', I bet most of the components are common anyway.

 

[notb665]

Have you tried percussive maintainance?

 

[breezer]

Have you tried percussive maintainance?

in other words, Thump it

 

[Belle427]

http://www.avforums.com/forums/index.php
have a read on here,they tend to go a bit overboard but there is a lot of good advice there,i think lcd technology is good up to a certain size screen

 

[dabaldie]

LCD's are coming down in price all the time.
I got a 32 Tosh for 550 by searching the online retailers and getting last years model.
The main difference between models (i used to work for Currys a while back), is generally style and these days adding anothe HDMI or DVI port...
the filters are gradually getting better... but as i said.. get last years model and save a fortune... This years version of the same tosh is exactly the same except it now has two HDMI ports instead of one.. saved £350.!!

ok there is a big price hike between 32 and 37 and 40 (42).. make sure you have the room before committing to a bigger screen.

 

[Richardp]

Try amazon, they have a 15ins one at the moment for 150 quid.
I got one in the kitchen on a wall bracket arm thing so's it can be put away fat against the wall.
HD ready ones here
http://www.e-techland.co.uk/lcd.htm

 

[JamesA]

Have you tried percussive maintainance?

in other words, Thump it

Given that just red seems to have gone, I might try giving it a shake/thump tonight (with the plug out) to make sure there's no loose electronics.

Thats interesting about the newer models just being cosmetic changes.
I'd have thought the actual workings inside might have been upgraded.

I'd heared that the picture can lag behind on cheap LCDs because the LCDs just can't be switched on/off as quick as the sound is processed.
I thought more expensive ones had ways to conpensate.
I might read up on it a bit more, but maybe its too small to notice anyway...

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

...I might read up on it a bit more, but maybe its too small to notice anyway...

If giving the set a good thumping fails to improve its performance then, as ch427 says, the avforums link is extremely useful. They break down the TV section into categories ie plasma, LCD, HD. Also explained are the 'benefits' of HDMI connections etc. If you are interested in a particular model then it is highly likely that it will be reviewed, or if it is new on the market, previewed. Good luck.

 

[Dippy]

I'd heared that the picture can lag behind on cheap LCDs because the LCDs just can't be switched on/off as quick as the sound is processed.
I thought more expensive ones had ways to conpensate.
I might read up on it a bit more, but maybe its too small to notice anyway...

You are partially correct. However if you have an LCD TV which has a significant lag between picture and sound then it is basically a duff design!

What you do need to be aware of is that cheaper LCD panels do no have a high enough response time for a good picture, although I must state that this is subjective. As I'm sure you are aware, TV works on the principle of refreshing the picture at frequent intervals, too fast for the human eye to notice the flicker (although we do not all have the same eye/brain sensitivity). Some cheap LCD panels cannot actually work this fast so that they effectively lag behind the real TV signal and end up missing frames.

You need to see for yourself. I think I have sensitive eyes, because I can easly see the artifacts in an LCD TV that come from the low response time. But my wife can't.

Right now CRT technology still provides the best quality TV picture. Plasma TVs and expensive LCD TVs come close. Cheap LCD TVs are a long way behind.

 

[olly_k]

Our TV tube went last night and so everything is blue/green.
It looks like everything is under water!

Anyway, I'd been hoping to wait until next year to buy an 40 inch LCD TV as I had heard that the technology is not good enough yet and was hoping the new models would be better.
Is this true? Would I be better off getting a cheap cathode ray for now?
I think it was on CH5's gadget show they were talking about it...

If you buy a decent £1500+ panasonic are they OK?

This is more than likely dead cheap to fix, it is very UNlikely to be the tube, because specific colour faults normally have symptoms of one constant colour always on i.e. there is a slight colour shade with a black screen. Even then if the telly isn't that old it is more likely an electronic fault.

As for LCD / Plasma I personally have yet to see a one display good quality quick moving images etc.. but I don't really look that hard! Let the masses buy them for now on their MEW money and get your old telly fixed, or a cheap Asda CRT instead!

 

[Thermo]

blimey must be something in the air, mines gone tonight as well. Tried the old size 9 technology as well (and the swearing loudly at it) didnt work though!

 

[keyplayer]

Might I suggest you bin the television and don't replace it? I know this is radical but if you don't inform tv licensing you can get hour after hour of top quality entertainment with your friends laughing at the extremely threatening letters they send you warning of imminent legal action should you not renew your license forthwith! Far more entertaining than Eastenders et al. I assure you. The clever part is, you haven't actually committed a crime!! lol

 

[JamesA]

blimey must be something in the air, mines gone tonight as well. Tried the old size 9 technology as well (and the swearing loudly at it) didnt work though!

I took the back off last night and removed most of the dust as well and given everything a good "wiggle" to make sure no connections were loose.
Even shaking the thing didn't do anything...

Maybe its all those storm flies we've been having in the hot weather getting into the circuits.

 

[snowwaz]

Having repaired sets for a living your best (cheapest) bet is to get a tv guy out. With it being localised to just one colour you probably have a blown driver transistor. Costing less than a fiver. Call out and possible an hours works to find and replace= a cheap fix until you decide which way to go the with the new purchase.

Lcd's have come on leaps and bounds in the last year, and as with all computer technology there will always be something just that bit better round the corner, but as others have mentioned, a decent LCD now 32" around the 600 quid mark... great value..