Is my TV dead for good?
- Thread starter McCoy
- Start date
CaptainHawk1
Commodore
No. You should invest hundreds of dollars to get it fixed instead of just buying a new one.
CaptainHawk1
Commodore
That's exactly the point I was making. Treat yourself, you deserve it for being a trooper with the same tv for 20 years. 
Had my tv die last month and it was either spend $800 to get it fixed or spend $1300 to get a 65" 1080p Mitsubishi DLP HDTV.
My old tv was a 1080i HDTV and even with that I don't know how I lived without it.
With your old girl... well, when you get your new tv you can thank me then.
Had my tv die last month and it was either spend $800 to get it fixed or spend $1300 to get a 65" 1080p Mitsubishi DLP HDTV.
My old tv was a 1080i HDTV and even with that I don't know how I lived without it.
With your old girl... well, when you get your new tv you can thank me then.
It's rarely worth it to repair TVs nowadays, especially ones that are so old (I don't think they even make CRT TVs anymore). Just take the broken down hulk to a place where it can be recycled and be done with it.
Your power supply is going out.
Now, even though everyone claims it's cheaper to junk the TV rather than fix it, consult a local repair shop. Eight years ago, the power supply in my RCA was on the fritz (it would randomly shut off before refusing to power on) and people told me to trash it and get a new one. Well, this one is a 27" TV that was roughly 7 years old at the time, but for what I was finding at around $300 - $500 wasn't impressing me. So, I called a local TV repair shop that diagnosed it and repaired it for $107.
Also, now that there is a recession in effect, repair shops are now filled with work. If you are on cable or satellite, and this is an unforeseen event, then I'd see what the price of repair would run. Put off that major purchase for the future.
Now, even though everyone claims it's cheaper to junk the TV rather than fix it, consult a local repair shop. Eight years ago, the power supply in my RCA was on the fritz (it would randomly shut off before refusing to power on) and people told me to trash it and get a new one. Well, this one is a 27" TV that was roughly 7 years old at the time, but for what I was finding at around $300 - $500 wasn't impressing me. So, I called a local TV repair shop that diagnosed it and repaired it for $107.
Also, now that there is a recession in effect, repair shops are now filled with work. If you are on cable or satellite, and this is an unforeseen event, then I'd see what the price of repair would run. Put off that major purchase for the future.
It's probably not worth trying to fix it given the DTV switch.
As JP said it's likely the power-supply which should be a fairly "cheap" repair but that money would be better spent towards a new TV than trying to fix an old, outdated, one.
A 19 year old CRT (what size) probably isn't worth as much as the PS will cost to purchase and install it.
As JP said it's likely the power-supply which should be a fairly "cheap" repair but that money would be better spent towards a new TV than trying to fix an old, outdated, one.
A 19 year old CRT (what size) probably isn't worth as much as the PS will cost to purchase and install it.
If he is on cable or satellite, DTV has zero bearing on the issue
If he is on cable or satellite, DTV has zero bearing on the issue
True. Other than offering superior picture quality and SD still being a dead and inferior technology.
If he is on cable or satellite, DTV has zero bearing on the issue
True. Other than offering superior picture quality and SD still being a dead and inferior technology.
No, it's got nothing to do with that. Any TV, no matter how old, that's connected to cable or satellite will be totally isolated from the DTV switch. The changeover does not affect those programming sources. It's only relevant to those who watch TV over-the-air.
If he is on cable or satellite, DTV has zero bearing on the issue
True. Other than offering superior picture quality and SD still being a dead and inferior technology.
No, it's got nothing to do with that. Any TV, no matter how old, that's connected to cable or satellite will be totally isolated from the DTV switch. The changeover does not affect those programming sources. It's only relevant to those who watch TV over-the-air.
Yes, I know that. I'm not an idiot.
Still HD TVs offer better picture quality and Standard Definition is STILL a dead and inferior technology.
Not knowing the logic that makes it decide to turn itself off, but I suspect either the tube or transformer, probably the latter if it knows enough to shut itself down.
I'm into all the latest and such. There is just something comforting about watching an old familiar program on a CRT with its few hundreds lines of resolution. Brings you back.
See how much it'll cost to fix it, power supply, capacitor, or transformer problems are all relatively cheap to fix. You can fix them for a small amount (compared to a mid or high quality HDTV ~$800 to $3000+ depending on make, model, size and capabilities i.e. 1080p, number/types of inputs, cable card ready, plasma, DLP or LCD). Then buy the HDTV. You would then have a TV for another room and a HDTV for your main room, or theater room.
If it's the picture tube, ditch it. But please don't send it to the dump. Find your local recycling center so it can be disposed of properly and protect the environment.
If it's the picture tube, ditch it. But please don't send it to the dump. Find your local recycling center so it can be disposed of properly and protect the environment.
The problem is fixing/replacing that is going to cost a couple hundred dollars.
$200 or even $100 is too much to spend on a 19-year-old TV that's not worth that much money. If he needs an older, CRT set for another room in the house that $100 would be better spent going to a garage sale or a Goodwill store and buying a "new" old TV.
When I was a teenager, my parents bought me a 'family sized' second-hand tv which did exactly this after a couple of years. But it was a really cool set. The remote control was a brick, and it operated with ultrasound. But I loved it
We never found out what the problem was. I thought it might have been a safety feature switching itself off if something was dangerously wrong (a voltage or temperature), or it might just have been a worn out 'on' switch
In retrospect, the power supply seems a likely candidate. I think it's common for the big capacitors which wear out in power supplies. Typically, the repair involves replacing them, but it's not something I'd dare attempt on a tv with all it's kill-o-volts!
As for buying a new set -- they don't make stuff like they used to. New technology regularly disappoints me. If you love your set, and you don't care for new fangled stuff, then stick with it
Digital switch over has nothing to do with HD TV.True. Other than offering superior picture quality and SD still being a dead and inferior technology.
No, it's got nothing to do with that. Any TV, no matter how old, that's connected to cable or satellite will be totally isolated from the DTV switch. The changeover does not affect those programming sources. It's only relevant to those who watch TV over-the-air.
Yes, I know that. I'm not an idiot.
Still HD TVs offer better picture quality and Standard Definition is STILL a dead and inferior technology.
OK, it has a little to do with it. You wouldn't have HD at an affordable price if there wasn't already the digital infrastructure in place. But the premise of Digital switch was to send Standard Definition signals digitally and cease analog. If you want HD, it requires a separate subscription and a higher cost.
For example, I have Standard Def digital at my house. I only have small screen TVs, so High Def has absolutely no meaning to me. The digital signal comes through the cable box, from there I can output through a variety of options from crappy coax (old style cable line), composite or svideo. I can hook it up (and do on the extra TV upstairs) to a 30 year old set.
HD TV is offered in so few markets, and on so few channels that it's not all the hype you claim it to beTrue. Other than offering superior picture quality and SD still being a dead and inferior technology.
No, it's got nothing to do with that. Any TV, no matter how old, that's connected to cable or satellite will be totally isolated from the DTV switch. The changeover does not affect those programming sources. It's only relevant to those who watch TV over-the-air.
Yes, I know that. I'm not an idiot.
Still HD TVs offer better picture quality and Standard Definition is STILL a dead and inferior technology.
Have you even priced a television lately? Let's say the cost to repair his old set is $150 parts and labor. Granted, he hasn't told us how large the screen is, but in my area, a 19" LCD runs about $200. That's a no brainer to repair the old set, which is 27", rather than spending $200 on "the latest and greatest" which is *smaller*.
You're automatically assuming it isn't cost effective to repair the set, because you come from a generation that's never fixed anything. It's broken, so you automatically toss it into a landfill rather spending a couple of bucks for maintenance.
Believe it or not, I have an acquaintance who still has a ROTARY telephone and listens to music on gramophones and record players he restores. Just because something is old doesn't mean it's useless. A lot of what's made today is total garbage.
HD TV is offered in so few markets, and on so few channels that it's not all the hype you claim it to be
Um...no?
Local news is on a slower rollout because the affiliates have to pay for the equipment and set and gfx, but pretty much everyone at this point has a digital signal and is at least relaying HD feeds of network programming.
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