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  #1  
09-22-2011, 06:27 AM
Sossity Sossity is offline
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My parents have a an old school CRT 32 inch Sony TV, they also use an antenna, with a digital converter box to get free over the air TV. For financial reasons, they have stuck with this & continue to do so despite that now the TV has been acting weird for quite awhile now, but they have just adjusted to it.

when the TV is 1st turned on, the picture does not come up completely, it is just a mess of stripes & a horizontal strip in the middle of the black screen. My mom, has found that after the TV has "warmed up" for about 1/2 to an hour, the picture finally decompress or "pops" & fills the whole screen normally.

So when the TV picture finally gets to normal, or as normal as it gets, it is like the striping finally retreats but not completely to the top of the screen, (there is still a little at the top) but it is watchable, we gather around in the living room to watch TV. This has been going on for about a year now, but now the TV takes longer for the picture to go to normal. Sometimes after it has been on or "warming up" the picture still does not fill the screen. So my mom will turn off the TV, leave it off for about 5 minutes or so, then turn it back on, & within about 10-15 min, the screen straightens it's self out.

Despite the picture problem, the sound seems OK, while warming up we can still hear the evening news, just cannot see the news yet when the TV is turned on for the evening.

Parents have discussed a new TV, but they are just a bit too expensive now, & the ordeal of getting the old tube TV out (it weighs over 100 Lbs, & I had to help my dad with a bad back get this monster in to our house when he first got it in 2008 from a thrift store)

If we do get a new TV any suggestions on what to get? we may have our eyes for Black Friday sales this year. The TV would be in a cluttered living room with mediocre light.

It would be nice if we could use the internet or somehow hook up our pc to a new TV for internet use. It would also need older hookups, for a VCR, DVD player, & an antenna connection, along with a digital converter box. (we do not have cable or satellite or anything like this) A usb connection would be nice as well, or memory card slots. Dad said something in the 40 inch range, like a 40 in LCD TV, & mom says she likes Sony, because despite the Sony TV problems we have now, when the picture is good, it has nice color to it & mom likes this.
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  #2  
09-23-2011, 07:20 AM
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Quote:
Is our Sony 32 inch tube TV dying?
Yes.

Quote:
when the TV is 1st turned on, the picture does not come up completely, it is just a mess of stripes & a horizontal strip in the middle of the black screen. My mom, has found that after the TV has "warmed up" for about 1/2 to an hour, the picture finally decompress or "pops" & fills the whole screen normally. So when the TV picture finally gets to normal, or as normal as it gets, it is like the striping finally retreats but not completely to the top of the screen, (there is still a little at the top) but it is watchable, we gather around in the living room to watch TV. This has been going on for about a year now, but now the TV takes longer for the picture to go to normal. Sometimes after it has been on or "warming up" the picture still does not fill the screen. So my mom will turn off the TV, leave it off for about 5 minutes or so, then turn it back on, & within about 10-15 min, the screen straightens it's self out.
And all of this is why it's dying. The electron gun inside the TV sounds as if it is completely shot. Eventually it will give out, or one of the colors will go (no blue for example, so all the image is green/red). It's just going to get worse. How quickly that may happen, however, depends on the quality of the TV. I've seen televisions in this condition hang on for another decade. But you'll probably get tired of having to massage it long before that.

Quote:
Parents have discussed a new TV, but they are just a bit too expensive now,
What number is considered not expensive?

Quote:
If we do get a new TV any suggestions on what to get?
For starters, buy online to save some serious $$$ or $,$$$ on a television. Everything you find locally is severely marked up -- especially the good brands. And that's even if the store carries good brands! Many low-end box stores (Walmart, Target, etc) mostly carry junky cheap Chinese brands these days.

Quote:
we may have our eyes for Black Friday sales this year.
Black Friday is not the cheapest time of year -- October is. If you wait until November, you'll largely find yourself with loss-leader items. Low-quality TVs for cheap prices. Finding a Sony TV during Black Friday is going to be unlikely. Expect to see deals on no-name brands like Vizio, or second-rate brands like LG.

Quote:
The TV would be in a cluttered living room with mediocre light.
Go for an LCD.

Quote:
It would be nice if we could use the internet or somehow hook up our pc to a new TV for internet use.
The computer just needs an HDMI output. Your Mac probably has one. The Mac Mini does. Some LCD sets have VGA, but that's less and less common now. HDMI is common.

Quote:
It would also need older hookups, for a VCR, DVD player, & an antenna connection, along with a digital converter box. (we do not have cable or satellite or anything like this)
Most HDTVs have limited number of connections, unless you buy one of the higher-end TV sets. You'll get at least two legacy devices connected, maybe 3-4 if lucky. If you don't have enough slots, you can get a switch box of some kind. It's not like you can use some of these things at the same time anyway. Some of them will also chain, like antenna/DTV converter box into VCR.

Quote:
A usb connection would be nice as well, or memory card slots.
Many HDTVs have one or both of these, to "play" images on screen.

Quote:
Dad said something in the 40 inch range, like a 40 in LCD TV,
You'd be looking at 42" most likely. I suggest going as big as you can afford (or as big as your space allows), but that's obviously curtail by budget. If any size were available in the budget, what's the biggest set you'd like to have? If I found a 60" Sony LCD for cheap, would it fit? 50"? Or is 40" the most that fits?

We get deals emailed to the site in advance, by various merchants. J&R, Tigerdirect, Amazon and Buy.com often have incredible sales on HDTVs at hundreds off in-store prices. They're create/freight shipping, guaranteed not to be DOA when delivered, and carry same return policy and warranty as you'd expect anywhere else.

Quote:
& mom says she likes Sony, because despite the Sony TV problems we have now, when the picture is good, it has nice color to it & mom likes this.
I agree with Mom. Sony easily makes the best TV sets. It generally has noise filters, motion filter, advanced color calibration controls, audio options, and basically anything you can imagine to really enhance the video and audio to make a truly enjoyable viewing experience.

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  #3  
09-23-2011, 05:08 PM
Sossity Sossity is offline
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40 or 42 inch would probably be about the biggest, I dont think we have room for anything bigger.

anything over $600.00 to $800.00, would be too expensive, $300.00 to $600.00 is about our budget. I know this may be limiting, but mom & dad are truly on a budget, even these prices would be a serious dent to our budget.

The input on my mac may be more modern, but the problem is my mac is set up in my bedroom, way far way from the living room where the TV would be, & I dont want to move my mac closer, as I would lose privacy of my bedroom, that was part of the reason I got it, was before, I was on an 2004 PC stationed in the kitchen, & trying to do my online classes, while people are getting food out of the fridge behind me was a pain.

To run an HDMI cord from my mac to the living room would have to be very long. My mac does not have an HDMI output, it has mini DVI, I would need a mini DVI adapter, & the DVI port on my mac is being used with an external monitor in my room.

The current computer closet to the TV would be the 2004 Dell PC in the kitchen which has VGA digital connector, & just a single one. How would we connect a TV to it for internet use? are there HDMI VGA adapters? & since the current digital single hookup on the PC is being used for it's monitor, how would we connect to a TV at the same time? would we have to plug & unplug the monitor?

I looked quickly online & I saw VGA splitters, & VGA to HDMI adapters, would I need these to hook up to the Dell? so as to feed or get the internet onto the LCD TV in the living room? & if this is so, the VGA to HDMI adapter would have to be a very long cord, as the kitchen & living room are far away from one another.

My dad today just showed me a fry's ad in the paper that showed a 40 in LED TV with built in wi-fi, with youtube, etc printed in the ad, & it says major name brand, but does not say the brand. It is going for $599.99.

what is LED? would it be better than LCD? & wi-fi? would we need a wi-fi router? that was a problem too, the older Dell PC does not have wi-fi capability, I currently have it & my mac on a wired network.

Last edited by Sossity; 09-23-2011 at 05:34 PM.
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  #4  
09-25-2011, 05:03 AM
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I notice your budgets and sizes have changed a few times across the various threads. I just now saw where you were asking about a $1,350 Sony 46" from Best Buy, and were given some links to better deals, including a Sony 46" from Amazon for $728. Has the budget increased since this post?

That other post was here: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/home...-hdtvs-3d.html

HDMI cables have a maximum length anyway.

As per the other post, there's no such thing as a "LED" TV. At least not in the consumer sense. It's an LCD with an LED light source. A non-LED LCD is using a CCFL light source. LED is not superior to CCFL, simply a newer light source option.

You can add WiFi ability to a computer. Either add a PCI card, or get an external USB2 adapter.
Amazon has a good one for $20: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B002RM08RE

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  #5  
09-25-2011, 06:18 PM
Sossity Sossity is offline
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I was asking based on what one of the other forum members posted for suggested TV's.

My parents preference seems to be a 42 inch TV by Sony, although 40 inch is ok too, and under $600.00 would be preferable, $1,000 or more is too much, likewise, I think 46 inch is a little too big.

I looked online & had trouble finding a 42 inch, they seem to go from 40in straight to 46in.
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  #6  
09-30-2011, 12:05 AM
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Where I live, the "big Sears" closed down, and was replaced by a small Sears store that only carries non-clothing items. I went into the store today, just to browse around and get some walking exercise.

What I found was a beautiful new LED-lit LCD HDTV from Samsung -- the new "D6000" 2011 model. It's probably far outside your price range, but I wanted to mention it for the benefit of any other readers. It had a clean quality image, multiple levels of filters to tweak lighting, color, contrast, noise reduction and motion enhancement. It's every bit as good as the Sony HDTV that I currently enjoy at home. (The only drawback, I would note, is that the Samsung has a slight shiny screen that would look terrible in a room that has lots of backlighting. You'd see reflections in the screen. To this day, I don't know what person thinks seeing reflections in a screen is a good idea.)

Have a look at the Samsung UN46D6000 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV (Black)
- Amazon ($985 shipped): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B004NB13KI
- Buy.com ($999): http://www.buy.com/prod/samsung-un46...219976841.html
- J&R: http://www.jr.com/samsung/pe/SAM_UN4...ductTabDetails
- Sears: About $150+ more expensive compared to other online prices.
- TigerDirect: In-stores only

The smaller Samsung UN46D6000 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV (Black) should have the same features
- Amazon ($815 shipped): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B004NB4TTA
- TigerDirect ($810 + shipping): http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...175&CatId=5989
- J&R: http://www.jr.com/samsung/pe/SAM_UN4...ductTabDetails

As usual, Amazon.com has the best prices.

The D6000 series also has 32" and 55" models available.
There's also a D6300 and D8000 series, with sizes up to 65" -- simply incredible. (See Buy.com for those models.)

Looking at some of the newest televisions on display, you definitely want these three things:
- LCD (LED or non-LED, doesn't matter) -- plasma is simply icky looking these days, with dull and dim picture quality (even when tweaked)
- 120Hz, anything else just doesn't look anywhere near as good
- Ample filters to control noise reduction, motion compensation/enhancement, black level, gamma, white balance

Those three things make or break the viewing enjoyment.

Also, I suggest a 40" or larger screen, which is comparable to a 29-32" tube TV (but wider, at widescreen 16:9 instead of squarish 4:3 aspect ratio). Anything smaller, and you won't really have a good image that's easy to see across a room, even from 10 foot away. The larger, the better. With a 60" screen, I don't have to go to the movies anymore -- I have a cinema at home. I can watch DVDs or Blu-ray movies at leisure, and the money saved on a theater visit ($20-25 total cost of the trip) is instead used to pay off the TV.

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  #7  
09-30-2011, 10:36 AM
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Sossity --- check this out: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/deal...html#post17525

Quote:
LG Electronics 42" Widescreen 1080p Full-HD 120Hz LCD HDTV (42LK520 REF)
List Price: $799.99
You Save: $415 (52% OFF)
Your Final Price: $384.99
Sears has it for $800. Walmart for $650. Amazon for $580.
Seriously, $200 cheaper than Amazon --freakin' amazing.

If you want a decent TV (even if not Sony or Samsung), at a steal of a price, this is it.
$385, expires today.
I saw this TV recently, and it was quite nice. (At least I think it was the same model.)

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