Re: OT: HDTV madness

On Jun 20, 6:24 pm, "R&B" <none_of_your_busin...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Memorial Day weekend, I took the plunge into the 21st century and
bought a 46-inch HDTV.

Both my son and my best friend had bad experiences with Samsung sets,
as their sets suddenly stopped working.  This was not the news I'd
hoped to hear, as I had pretty much decided I wanted a Samsung.  I
think they have the best pic of all the HDTVs on the market (in LCD
anyway).

My best friend had recently replaced his Samsung when it stopped
working with a Sony.  I knew that for several decades, just about every
television post-production house in the country had Sony monitors, and
I'd owned nothing but Sony TVs for years for just that reason.  They're
the industry standard.

So when I bought the same model Sony that my friend had, I was very
pleased with it.

Then the fun began.

The second day I had the set, when I went to turn it on, there was no
sound.  Since I have the audio going through my stereo system and big
studio speakers, I figured it was probably my fault.  I must have
accidentally pushed the wrong button on my stereo.  But no.  There just
wasn't any sound coming out of the set.  So I powered it off, then back
on, and the sound returned.

Well, that's annoying.

But thinking it might have been just a once-in-a-lifetime occurance, I
figured it wouldn't happen again.  But it did.  About every 6th or 7th
time I'd turn it on, there'd be no sound.  I could turn it off, then
on, and the sound would come on.  But this clearly isn't the way it's
supposed to work.

So, since the store has a 30-day return policy, I returned it, in hopes
of exchanging it for another set of the same model.  But the store near
me was out of that model.  They had two in-store across town, and
offered to have it sent to the store in my neighborhood.  But I had
some free time that day, and wanted to get this done, so I drove across
town and exchanged the set there.

The replacement set they gave me was in a box that had been all torn
up, which always gives me the heebie jeebies when I'm spending a
substantial amount of money, and especially when electronics are
involved.  But the guy at this store told me the only other set they
had was a "returned" set, and he figured I wouldn't want that.  (He was
correct.)  So I took it home and hooked it up.

As soon as I opened the box with this second set, I knew there'd be
trouble.  The molded styrofoam pieces that are intended to keep the
television in place without banging around inside the box were all
broken into little pieces, and there were parts missing.  The batteries
for the remote were not included (as they were in the first one), and
the pouch containing the warranty card, user guide and the rest of the
documentation was missing.

Ironically, this second set worked fine.  But after seeing how the
screen had nothing to secure it in place and had been banging around
inside the box, I insisted that they get a third set shipped from their
warehouse in the midwest.  I've seen enough instances where circuit
boards and other computer components have shaken loose to be wary of
this set given that it had been loose inside the box.  Besides, am I
not paying for all that packing material and documentation as well?  Of
course.

So it took a few days, but a third set arrived at the store this past
Tuesday.  So I packed up the second one and exchanged it.

The second time I turned on this third Sony, the picture came up with a
decidedly pink tint.  I had fumbled around with the remote, and I'm not
sure what channel it was on at the time, but I noticed that it was
showing some sort of documentary about Gay Pride.  So I guess I kind of
halfway figured that maybe the pink picture had something to do with
that.  (In hindsight, I think I was actually trying to convince myself
there was some other reason -- ANY other reason -- for the pink picture
besides that I got a third bad set.)

But, no.

Last night I turned the set on and the picture was pink.  Not just a
pink screen, but a very pink tint to the picture.  Just like with the
first set coming on with no sound, I was able to power the set off,
then on, and the picture (or in the case of the first set, the sound)
would come on correctly.

But you should have to turn on a set, then turn it off, then back on
again, for it to work properly.

Today was the 30th day I had to make use of the store's 30-day return
policy.  So you can probably guess what I did.  I returned the third
set.  They didn't have any more Sonys in the model I'd wanted, and
after this ordeal, they urged me to consider another brand.

There are only two brands of HDTV I would consider -- Samsung and Sony.
 I would rather go back to my 27-inch Sony SDTV than buy an LG.  And
I'll never own anything GE, except possibly a light bulb (and maybe a
toaster).

So, in just 30 days, I'm now on my FOURTH HDTV.  This time, a Samsung.

So far so good.  And I paid for the five-year warranty, so if this one
blows up, they'll either repair it for free...or give me a new one.

What a nightmare.

But maybe now I can watch TV...instead of boxing it back up and hauling
it to the store again and again.

Do I think this is a bad reflection on Sony? No.  I just think they got
a bad batch of switches from the component factory in China, which
could happen with any brand.  But talk about a hassle!

By the way, for those interested, I learned something pretty
interesting while in the store today that I did not know.  It seems
that DirecTV and Comcast cable (can't speak about any other systems)
are currently broadcasting their HD channels in 720p.  DirecTV is
supposedly going to be the first to convert their HD channels to 1080p,
which is supposed to happen by the end of the year.  (No word yet on
when Comcast will switch to 1080p.)  I was unaware that the HD we were
getting was 720p (even though my sets have all been 1080p).  FYI.

Randy

I retailed things like TV for a few years. Sony Trinitron TVs all had
dark green screen disease. If you wanted them, you had to buy a new
one every 2 years or so to keep the nice picture. They did have the
best picture when they worked well. They were grossly overpriced
though. In Canada, a grade for a 20" triniton, which was ridiculous
for a TV that would work well for maybe 3 years. Hitachi made the best
vaccum tube TV's. IMHO. Nice picture, not as nice as trinitron, but
better than the rest, IMHO, but again pricy, but not as pricy as Sony.

OTOH, Sanyos were always cheap and always worked well. Not the best
picture, but OK, and no customer complaints.

I was dumb enough to get a Panasonic flat screen TV back in the day.
It blew up in less than a year. 400 bucks US for that sucker, which
was a lot for a TV of that sort. Went to Wal Mart and bought a 100
buck 30" Sanyo, and still have it 10 years later and it works as well
as the day I got it!

Next time I need a TV I'll probably go to the flat screen. I too like
the LCD better than the plasma. They intyensity of the image will fade
(it will get darker) over time; just a fact of LCD technology, and
there is nothing you can do about it.

IMHO, you are better to buy at the bottom end of the food chain than
the top with these things. The parts all come from more or less the
same places, and while you are supposed to pay for better QC, how easy
is it for them to just sell the name (ie you pay the extra to support
the advertizing) at the expense of the better QC. *NEVER* buy heavily
advertized brands...as you and only you are paying for that
advertizing...and all you are getting is that advertizing...I suppose
it gives you better peace of mind to think this is the brand
"everybody" beleives in, but that doesn't mean much practically.
.