Dead TV, what to do?

[yliu]

Put in a SST-90!

Joking, I'd say you should get a new TV. You can find some older TVs on sale in most places. A plasma TV would give you a very good value if you want a big TV

 

[cdrake261]

Rip lens and mirrors out, convert that into a homemade project.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Multimedia-LED-Projector/

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

I can't afford an LCD or plasma, so I am waiting for a local CRT set that can display 720p and 1080i to become available for $50 or less. I watch very little television, but it would be nice to upgrade!

Just to follow up, I scored a 34" (86.36 cm) 16:9 Sony flat screen CRT HDTV with stand for $75.00 off the local craigslist. It has the same picture tube as the best consumer Sony CRT HDTV ever made, and retailed for $1,200. It is in the garage right now, since it is too heavy for me to lift. Once a few burly gentlemen come over and lift it into its new home, it will be enjoyed thoroughly. It has an integrated ATSC (digital) tuner, two component inputs and an HDMI input, plus s-video and composite.

So if you can't afford or don't want to spend the money on the latest and greatest, for under $100.00 (and sometimes much less) you can get a spectacular picture with phenomenal black levels, zero ghosting, and close to 180 degree viewing angles.

I discovered this site recently, and except for the ads (which are annoying, but not prohibitively so) I used it to track down the TVs in my area. A lot of these will wind up in landfills, which is sad. On the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," ladder, reusing is second from the best, so grabbing one of these on the cheap can bring you a sense of satisfaction in putting fewer materials into a landfill.

Let us know what you decide to do.


LEDAdd1ct

 

[snakebite]

get just the lamp and install it in your housing.
buy from a dealer that has a good gaurantee and sells only original osram or phillips lamps.
if it played good just before the lamp went fix it.
if it was getting discolored areas or bright/dead pixels junk it as the light engine is failing.

 

[EZO]

Two weeks ago I went through more or less this same experience with a 5 year old black Macbook computer. I spent about a month trying to troubleshoot my home wi-fi network because I kept losing the signal. Long story short, it turned out to be a failing wi-fi card in the computer that worked intermittently until it failed completely.

I took it to the only authorized Mac dealer in town (where I've been a long time customer) and the owner told me that it would cost close to $200 to replace the card (it would be a used or refurbished card) and even then it might turn out to be the logic board and so on and so forth and it really wasn't worth it to put money into such an old machine, etc., etc., etc. Then he tried to sell me a new Macbook Pro.

Well, for one thing this laptop does everything I need in a laptop for the time being as I do all my computer "heavy lifting" on two powerful desktop machines in my office. For another thing, this would not be the ideal time for me to blow 1500 bucks or more on a new computer that I primarily use to surf the internet, show jobs to clients and do basic word processing on. Finally, I've previously installed a much larger, higher speed hard drive in this machine and maxed out the amount of ram it will accept, so along with all the latest software updates this little old laptop performs pretty admirably.

So I went home to weigh my options and found a reliable dealer on eBay that offered a used 802.11n card (which would be an upgrade from my 802.11g card) for 26 bucks delivered, with a 12 month warranty.

Well, taking the computer apart was a bit of a challenge because this generation of Macbooks has a bit of a Chinese puzzle like design (For example, looking at a row of ten identical screws you need to remove screws number 2,4,7 and 9) but all in all not too bad and the web site iFix-it was a great help.

In the end my computer is fully repaired and upgraded to the 802.11n protocol for 26 dollars total and I am entirely delighted and even feeling a little smug about how the whole thing worked out.

Obviously, risking 26 dollars is different than 200 but if you can find a source for the lamp you need at a good price it could well be worth the risk.

When I've told this story to a few people I know I've gotten the same weird comment. "He was just doing his job!" Really? To me having someone try to convince a customer that it is in his best interests to throw away a perfectly good computer and buy a new one is like taking your car to the dealership and having them tell you that you need a new water pump but, hey, the transmission or engine could go on you at any moment so it would be better to let us sell you a new car.

There seems to be a real disconnect in our society between all the popular talk about sustainability and the notion of living in a throw away consumer culture. I vote for trying to repair the TV if it really only needs a basic part and the rest of the unit is OK. Like snakebite says, find a reliable lamp dealer and if the price is good it should be worth the risk. You just might be pleasantly surprised with the results.

 

[march.brown]

get just the lamp and install it in your housing.
buy from a dealer that has a good guarantee and sells only original osram or phillips lamps.
if it played good just before the lamp went fix it.
if it was getting discolored areas or bright/dead pixels junk it as the light engine is failing.

Check the capacitors for any sign of bulging ... They might well be all OK ... My 13 year old Sony CRT 32" set is still going strong in my Daughters house ... The only snag with it is that it is a two-man lifting job when she decorates.

Your set is only about five years old ... If you can get another five years for the cost of a genuine bulb , then go for it ... When that bulb eventually blows , get a new set.
.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

Or, post it on Craigslist, be explicit and honest about the problem in your listing, and try and get half the cost of the bulb.

Technology is a bummer when it comes to recouping costs.

 

[beerwax]

is there a future for projection tv. i had one for a week in a holiday unit once. it was big and worked but wasnt awe inspiring. wasnt a sony either. you see them side by side with flat panel plasma and lcd in the shop and they appear the poor cousin. cheers

 

[al93535]

I have 61" Sony, if the CRTs go out, you bet your *** I will buy a premium replacement bulb. Hahahaha people here spend 200 on a light but not on a bulb to save a big screen tv!

 

[PhotonWrangler]

is there a future for projection tv. i had one for a week in a holiday unit once. it was big and worked but wasnt awe inspiring. wasnt a sony either. you see them side by side with flat panel plasma and lcd in the shop and they appear the poor cousin. cheers

Personally I've never liked projection TVs (with the possible exception of one DMD set that I saw). The rear-projection surface tends to add a milky appearance to the picture, and all of the projeciton technologies have a light emitting device (bulb or CRT) that is pushed really hard in one way or another.

 

[angelofwar]

you are lucky - you have full justification for an upgrade . you have 'worn out the old tv' and it is not 'economically viable' to repair and if repaired is 'superceded technology'.
you have the green light to go shopping for a new toy . enjoy ! .

+1...Micheal Douglas wasn't "economically viable" either, and you saw what he did...

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

My "new" direct view (not projection) Sony CRT HDTV was hooked up yesterday, and I love it! Tuned in the locals on UHF without any issues, and there are only a couple channels still on VHF which we need the old antenna for. Even better, the old TV I got rid of a couple weeks ago was a Sony Trinitron made in 1992. On a whim, I hit the "Power" button on my universal remote, and guess what? The codes are the same! The remote I've used for years, which I am comfortable with, which my fingers have an excellent "memory" of works perfectly with the "new" Sony TV.

With respect to projection TVs, I've never cared for them, either. There is something which seems funky about them, though I am not sure exactly what.

--------> To the OP:

Did you decide what to do yet?

 

[jtr1962]

With respect to projection TVs, I've never cared for them, either. There is something which seems funky about them, though I am not sure exactly what.

Same here. Every one I've seen has a washed out looking picture. Besides, you're not gaining any resolution from the huge picture.

 

[acrosteve]

I say fix it. I can't find the darn email I have, but I had a similar situation, but my cousin gave me a 46" rear projection Samsung that was out. Lucky thing was that I already had a 60" Samsung rear projection that actually took the same bulb. So a quick bulb swap to verify nothing else was wrong, and whamo!

I found a deal with free shipping for two bulbs, so I got them both for about $100 each. Now I have a spare bulb for either TV, plus a killer screen in the kitchen.

If you can still find them RPTV are way more bang for the buck quality wise, and I don't mind a tv that is 6" deep, I don't need 3 just to be cool.

 

[Lite_me]

If you can still find them RPTV are way more bang for the buck quality wise, and I don't mind a tv that is 6" deep, I don't need 3 just to be cool.

It's not just about 6" vs 3" being "cool". It's about the advancement in technology. Meaning, picture quality. Rear projection TV technology is dead. Newer LCD & PDP TVs have noticeably better picture quality and you don't have to get one of the more expensive models to see it either.

But, if you are content with knowing that and what you have... is good enough, and you're not the type that likes/wants to keep up with the latest and greatest, or can't afford the upgrade, fixing it is a viable option.

For me, it's a darn good reason to upgrade.

Just like most of us here, that want the latest & greatest in flashlight technology, there are other groups that want the same in the video world.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

For me, a quality HD "direct view" tube set with integrated ATSC tuner has a wonderful, full, rich quality to it, and at under $100 (with some patience) it can't be beat. It is lacking some of the sharpness of the modern sets, but it beats the rear projection models (from what I have seen) and for the price, makes me giddy whenever I turn it on. That "nth" degree of sharpness is made up for by the darkest blacks, super-wide viewing angle, and lack of any blurring with motion.

I can't wait to get my new media player and plug it in to play things via HDMI. Need to sell a few things first, though.

 

[lctorana]

Just to follow up, I scored a 34" (86.36 cm) 16:9 Sony flat screen CRT HDTV...

A full HD CRT TV? You're in TV heaven, and I'm jealous.

 

[march.brown]

A full HD CRT TV? You're in TV heaven, and I'm jealous.

The only snag with Full HD is that you have to sit really close to see the full effect ... 1.5X the screen width is the optimum for a person with 20 / 20 vision ... This is the calculated distance based on the human eyes ability to resolve detail ... If you can't see ALL the detail then it is not worth having HD ... A 50" screen is calculated to be 72" viewing distance ... "What Hi-Fi" magazine quotes 2.1 metres (about 83") ... Mathematically this is too far , but even less than seven feet from a 50" screen is still close if you have a big room.

I sit at about eleven feet from our new Sony 3D 46" (1080P) screen , so I am not seeing fully resolved HD due to the large viewing distance ... When viewing a HD source , I can move gradually closer to the screen and suddenly it becomes amazing HD ... It doesn't seem to be a gradual improvement , it seems to snap into HD ... In my case , with a 46" screen , it is at just under six feet from the screen ... So I don't normally see the TV in all it's full HD ... I don't mind though as , in the interests of household peace and harmony , "Her Indoors" dictates the living room layout and thus my viewing distance.

Viewing 3D sources even at eleven feet is still amazing ... I'm glad my Wife bought the set.
.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

It goes up to 1080i, but from what I've read, unless you have a TV quite a bit larger than 34", and, as march pointed out, you are sitting really close, you won't notice any difference. Here's what to do:

1) Visit this wiki page here

2) Pick one of the models from the top box

3) Check out the reviews online

4) Use searchtempest to find one near you

5) Haggle away! Do not pay more than $100 for it, tops. If the set breaks in a year, paying more will just make you sad. Under $100 is a deal, more than that is a bad investment. You can think of it as a couple or three tanks of gas thrown away if it breaks. If the seller can't find anyone else, he or she will eventually get back to you, because they will want the beast out of their house, and if someone else is silly enough to pay $200 for it, let them: be patient, and wait for the next one.

6) Find some strong friends and a vehicle with ample height, width, and depth

7) Enjoy your "new" TV!

 

[beerwax]

and lack of any blurring with motion.

whats the state of play in regard to 'blurring with motion' in LCD. is it fixed ? will it be fixed ? its one of the reasons ive stuck with my crt. cheers



100 dollars for a 2nd hand big crt beats 100 dollars for a new bulb for a rear projection set.