TV is on the fritz...

[Manedwolf]

Nice edit, removing the "I don't suffer fools lightly". I saw that.

And apparently, no-one else need post any replies, because you know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING, and will be rude and condescending to anyone who offers different information. You can't say "I disagree, I have more recent information from X source"....no, you need to be superior and rude about it.

Frankly, it makes for an unpleasant experience in posting here, if anytime you post what you believe is helpful information, a rude, superior know-it-all comes along and spits at you for it.

[K Frame]

Knock it off. Now.

I bought an LCD. I'm exceptionally happy with it.

Enough said.

[RocketMan]

And LG is Goldstar. Goldstar is still Goldstar, buttons that fall off, etc.

I believe LG is actually owned by or is part of Philips.  As in "LG Philips".  I see that a lot in researching OEM LCD display panels for industrial PCs.

[atomd]

Say that when you get your electric bill.

Actually, One of my TVs is a plasma (Panasonic) and my electric bill is fine. My plasma on @ 2 hours/day would cost me about $30 or so per year in electricity. If my TV is left on standby 24/7 that would cost me about another $17 or so per year on top of that. I based that on the US national average for the electricity pricing. Oh, and it still doesn't make a crappy LCD look any better than a good plasma.

And about Vizio, according to their website the best constrast ratio they have on any of their TVs (really) is 1600:1 which is on one of their 47" models. That's horrible. Most of the models they sell are 1000:1 and the cheapest ones are 700:1. All I know is that Vizios look pretty poor overall and I have spent some time actually looking at them.

LG stands for Lucky Goldstar. And they are in a joint venture with Phillips in tv production. Goldstar used to make junky products but LG has a fairly decent reputation recently as far as most of the stuff they make. They also sell those panels to other companies who use them in their products. I don't think they are excellent or anything but they make far better televisions than Vizio.

[Paddy]

Knock it off. Now.

I bought an LCD. I'm exceptionally happy with it.

Enough said.

LCD's don't do very well with fast action like ballgames or races.  They can't keep up.  You must be into golf or something.   

[Firethorn]

SD is being dropped from "Over the air" broadcasts in 2008...

Actually, February 2009 is the latest word.  That said, it may not be worth fixing given that you will only get another year and few months out of it.  Unless you buy an HD to SD downconverter box with the subsidized coupons .gov will be giving everyone.

Sigh...

They are NOT killing SD(Standard Definition), they're killing analogue transmissions.  There will still be SD broadcasts, it's just that they'll be digital.  And from what I've read, HD broadcasts will down convert just fine to display on a SDTV set.

LCD's don't do very well with fast action like ballgames or races.  They can't keep up.  You must be into golf or something. 

They've done quite a bit to fix this; it shouldn't be a problem anymore with a quality set.

[K Frame]

Knock it off. Now.

I bought an LCD. I'm exceptionally happy with it.

Enough said.

LCD's don't do very well with fast action like ballgames or races.  They can't keep up.  You must be into golf or something.   

Well, let's see...

I watch several football games a weekend.

I watched just about every inning of every game in the World Series, and quite a bit of the series that led up to the World Series.

I routinely watch the weekly Aussie Rules Football recap.

I occasionally watch the odd soccer match, trying desperately to figure out what people see in it.

And I've been known to tune in my fair share of NASCAR.

I've yet to notice an appreciable difference between a CRTHD, a Plasma HD, and my Toshiba LED in fact action rendering.

[Phyphor]

Knock it off. Now.

I bought an LCD. I'm exceptionally happy with it.

Enough said.

LCD's don't do very well with fast action like ballgames or races.  They can't keep up.  You must be into golf or something.   

Well, let's see...

I watch several football games a weekend.

I watched just about every inning of every game in the World Series, and quite a bit of the series that led up to the World Series.

I routinely watch the weekly Aussie Rules Football recap.

I occasionally watch the odd soccer match, trying desperately to figure out what people see in it.

And I've been known to tune in my fair share of NASCAR.

I've yet to notice an appreciable difference between a CRTHD, a Plasma HD, and my Toshiba LED in fact action rendering.

Then again, it could be just that everything's blurry through all the sauerkraut fumes.   

[280plus]

 

[El Tejon]

On the fritz?  So, the sound is in German?

[mfree]

Part of the big reason I ended up with a CRT rear projection TV (asides from getting 1080i/HDMI for $600) was the zero "fuzz" on fast moving pictures and no odd pixellation or "screen door" effects on lower resolutions.

That said, everything is WORLDS better in those two respects than they were even just a year ago.

[Manedwolf]

Part of the big reason I ended up with a CRT rear projection TV (asides from getting 1080i/HDMI for $600) was the zero "fuzz" on fast moving pictures and no odd pixellation or "screen door" effects on lower resolutions.

That said, everything is WORLDS better in those two respects than they were even just a year ago.

And stores, especially big-box discounters, have no problems selling you last year's model or even a 2005 model. Caveat emptor, look at the manufacturing date.

[Paddy]

That said, everything is WORLDS better in those two respects than they were even just a year ago.

That's probably true.  It's been nearly three years since I bought my HD plasma.

[280plus]

On the fritz?  So, the sound is in German?

No, I threw it out the window and it LANDED on Fritz... 

Well, while I was at the range last night Mama couldn't take it anymore and managed to rig an old TV we had in the basement to the cable box. So she'd happy and that buys me some time before I have to buy another one.  Meanwhile, I'm in Beantown today and tomorrow and my room has a Fairly decent tv so I'm good for tonight anyways. Thr effin ROOM cost an effin MINT though. It's a long story but let's just say they had me by the nads on this one. Beantown traffic SUCKS!! btw... 

[Perd Hapley]

I've got you all beat.  My TV cost about thirty dollars.  You suckers, paying three or four digits. 

[sm]

I don't personally own a TV.
My 1979 13" Sony with rabbit ears, did not like being dropped the last time I moved.
About all I used it for was watching VHS tapes of movies or some educational tapes anyway.
Never replaced it.

Mom, had a JVC she got from Sears.
Her Sunday School class at the time and Consumer Report "said" get this one.
It died.
"I want exactly what I had" she said.
I may be dumb, but I ain't stupid.

Sears, first stop, Young sales lady (mom wanted her to wait on her) "this is what you bought, just updated due to years gone by, and oh, it is on sale!"
Hot Damn!
Now I had mentioned a small TV for her bedroom, but I am just the eldest son...
"You know, these little Philips are just cute in a bedroom, and it is on sale too".

I am just the eldest son with a truck.
Funny, I got the 27" JVC in the house and set up fine.
Busted my ass on a throw rug with the little 13" jobbie...

"This new remote has bigger buttons I can see and feel better" - mom
"Take off your glasses and you screw this TV up like you used to do the old one with smaller buttons you could not see, or feel". - I suggested.
"Ha! You are just being cute" - mom
"No, actually I am serious, I am not sure I can survive without the weekly calls you screwed up the TV and need me to come over and fix it".


Any chance of me gaining Sainthood went out the window by the time I was 3 years old....

[K Frame]

I've got you all beat.  My TV cost about thirty dollars.  You suckers, paying three or four digits. 

So, you get the Dumont Network on that massive, 7-inch fish eye screen?

[Perd Hapley]

It's a 27", and it gets no channels at all, except to monitor the DVD and VCR, and that Atari 2600 Jr. I am ready to sell.  Hint, hint. 

[LadySmith]

I'm sorry 280, but I have and like RCA TVs. They work well for me. I bought a Zenith once when I couldn't find any RCAs, but it crapped out shortly after the warranty expired. I have a little Toshiba with a built-in DVD player, but that's only to take to work if they don't already have one. Did I mention I sometimes have really cool jobs?

[Harold Tuttle]

did anyone notice that best buy no longer sells CRT TVs?

Best Buy ends analog television sales
Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:54pm EDT
(Adds company comment, details)

ATLANTA, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Retailer Best Buy Co (BBY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday it has pulled all analog television products from its stores ahead of a planned 2009 U.S. switch to digital television.

The consumer electronics retailer said its stores were instructed to stop selling analog products on Oct. 1 and it will now sell only digital video tuners.

The move is designed to help boost awareness of the switch to digital signals by U.S. broadcasters that is due to take effect by Feb. 17, 2009. At that point, many older TVs using analog signals will not work.

"The majority of people don't know about (the switch)," Mike Vitelli, Best Buy senior vice president of electronics, said in an interview.

While consumers who have cable or satellite service will not notice a big change, those who still use rabbit-ear or rooftop antennas to get television will not be able to watch TV after the transition, unless they get a converter box, subscribe to cable or satellite, or get a digital TV.

Vitelli estimated that 25 million to 30 million households with analog TVs would be affected by the change.

Best Buy said it was the first electronics retailer to publicly announce an exit from analog sets. "The analog TV portion of our assortment has been dwindling each year," Vitelli said.

Circuit City Stores Inc (CC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which also sells electronic goods, said on Wednesday it would provide educational pamphlets and boost store signage to help make consumers aware of the digital transition, which is expected to bring improvements in video and audio quality. (Reporting by Karen Jacobs)

[LadySmith]

I'm hoping a significant amount of people refuse to make the switch just to see what happens.

[mtnbkr]

They'll end up just like the folks who refused to switch from B&W to Color TVs.  Eventually their TV will fail and they will either do without or buy the new type.  It's really only an issue for the folks who get their TV from OTA antennas (as I was just over a year ago).  Folks on cable or satellite won't notice.  The point is to reclaim some of the radio-wave spectrum for other uses.

Chris

[Harold Tuttle]

I have a Yagi OTA antenna in my attic.
Its pointed down county at Washington DC

Last month I plugged my new Element (Polaroid off brand) 15 inch LCD into the antenna

I was surprised to receive a ton of digital channels
2, NBC 4s
Fox
3 ABC 7s
2 CBS 9s
WETA, 20, 50

Instead of the slight snow on some of the analog channels
I get a nice sharp image

the Element is a nice 1280 unit
It has every input including a VGA db9 from your computer
http://www.elementelectronics.com/pages/products/tv_monitor.asp

I am tempted to upgrade my livingroom Sony 20" tube to a 32" Element
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Element-32-LCD-HDTV-FLX-3210/sem/rpsm/oid/175549/catOid/-12869/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do?linkid=j13459594k1971&affiliateid=k1971&mid=sduidp0t541774

[Manedwolf]

Europe has handheld digital HDTVs already. You can order them, but they're PAL, so they won't work in the US.

There's this one in Japan, too. H.264 OTA!



We don't have them here yet. They better hurry. Lots of game fans are going to be pissed when their little LCD tvs suddenly become paperweights.

[Harold Tuttle]

FYI, the new format for tuners is ATSC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATSC_tuner

The FCC has issued the following mandates for devices entering the US
By July 1, 2005 all televisions with screen sizes over 36" must include a built-in ATSC DTV tuner
By March 1, 2006 all televisions with screen sizes over 25" must include a built-in ATSC DTV tuner
By March 1, 2007 all televisions regardless of screen size, and all interface devices which include a tuner (VCR, DVD player/recorder, DVR) must include a built-in ATSC DTV tuner.
It should be noted that devices manufactured before these dates can still be sold without a built-in ATSC DTV tuner.

Analog TV broadcast switch-off
In early 2006 the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 became law, which calls for over-the-air television stations to cease their analog broadcasts by February 17, 2009 (this cut-off date had been moved several times previously). Following that date, TVs and other equipment with legacy NTSC tuners would be unable to receive over-the-air broadcasts. This switch-off would cause tens of thousands of TVs to go dark and would cut off many lower-income viewers from their only source of television. A Congressional bill has authorized subsidizing converter boxes that would allow people to receive the new digital broadcasts on their old TVs. The final plan is to make two $40 coupons available from January 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009 for all households with the initial $990 million allocated, after which an additional $510 million in coupons will be available for each household that relies exclusively on over-the-air television reception.

Unlike my "middle class" family, most of the "lower-income" kids at my daughter's school seem to afford premium cable TV