Good Brand of New Television Set ?

[HiTech]

I work with these sets daily and at my workplace we have dozens of them in use-- often 24/7. Undoubtedly the Sharp Aquos line is excellent. The Samsung and LG models aren't bad either but if I were to buy a set for myself, it would be a Sharp hands down. Sharp these days is the new Sony. Consumer Sony has cheapened their products and aren't what they were back in the 90's.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Sony has always been crappy for other stuff as far as I'm concerned except for the Trinitron CRT. Sony TV's, I have no experience with, Their audio junk, yes.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I work with these sets daily and at my workplace we have dozens of them in use-- often 24/7. Undoubtedly the Sharp Aquos line is excellent. The Samsung and LG models aren't bad either but if I were to buy a set for myself, it would be a Sharp hands down. Sharp these days is the new Sony. Consumer Sony has cheapened their products and aren't what they were back in the 90's.

I can only hope Sharp in the USA are totally different to Sharp in Europe - where they have had a terrible (and deserved) reputation for a great many years

Sony and Panasonic are still by far the best made TV's over here.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Sony has always been crappy for other stuff as far as I'm concerned except for the Trinitron CRT. Sony TV's, I have no experience with, Their audio junk, yes.

I've been repairing Sony for decades, their TV's are still the best (along with Panasonic), but audio while it was fairly decent in the past is now mostly cheap lower end stuff - but the Japanese have never had much of a name for higher end audio.

 

[MrAl]

Hi again Nigel,

So you're saying you've seen less Sony's and Panasonic's than the other brands? That's a good sign i guess.

You also brought up the point about location, being either here or there (USA vs Europe). Unfortunately over the past 10 years or so i get the feeling that they are sending us all the crappy stuff.

On a related note, I also wonder why my 'inverter' Panasonic microwave oven has a power setting where you have to press the power button 10 times to get to power level '1' when all other microwaves i have used have a power button where you press that once and then the number of the power like 1,2,3, up to maybe 10. Are all the "inverter" type Panasonic ovens this way or just some models?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Hi again Nigel,

So you're saying you've seen less Sony's and Panasonic's than the other brands? That's a good sign i guess.

We're a Sony dealer, and get very little back faulty - Panasonic dealers report similar.

Just a few years back we had more faulty Samsung's back than Sony's, despite selling over 99% Sony TV's, and less than 1% Samsung.

You also brought up the point about location, being either here or there (USA vs Europe). Unfortunately over the past 10 years or so i get the feeling that they are sending us all the crappy stuff.

On a related note, I also wonder why my 'inverter' Panasonic microwave oven has a power setting where you have to press the power button 10 times to get to power level '1' when all other microwaves i have used have a power button where you press that once and then the number of the power like 1,2,3, up to maybe 10. Are all the "inverter" type Panasonic ovens this way or just some models?

I can't say I've ever really noticed, but we haven't sold Panasonic ovens for a considerable time now - although I've repaired a number of the inverter models over the years. To be fair, it's nothing but a gimmick - although it does make them easier to carry

All the ones I've done have had the exact same fault - the mag fails, and kills the inverter as well

 

[MrAl]

Hi Nigel,

What is a gimmick, and what is it that makes them easier to carry?

Oh ok, that's a little bad news. But what about the power control button, is it (or at least the ones you did) normally set up so you have to push it 10 times to get to power 1 for example or did they have the more 'common' (or what i though was common) push once and then push the number for the power like 1,2,3 up to 10 ?
See mine is set up where to get to power 10 you press the power button once or not at all, to get to power 9 you press twice, to get to power 8 you have to press three times, etc., so for power 1 you must press the power button 10 times. All the other ovens i have owned over the years had a power button like "Pow" and you press that one time only, then press a digit like "3" to get it set to power 3, then press start. I was wondering if this was some sort of 'norm' for Panasonic or just in their inverter models or whatever they are up to.

 

[Reloadron]

About 6 years ago we put a Sony in the living room. That set sees constant use and has been flawless. Just a few weeks ago we replaced a 25 year old Panasonic in our bedroom with a 32" Samsung. While I am happy with the Samsung as to a very good quality picture I can't speak for the longevity. However, as I mentioned, while that Sony Bravia did cost more it has been running for 6 years almost constantly without a problem. I have seen plenty of sets fail about 24 to 30 months into service and generally most have the power supplies fail. If I were to replace the large Sony I would, without a doubt, get another Sony.

Just My Take....
Ron

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Hi Nigel,

What is a gimmick, and what is it that makes them easier to carry?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimmick

They are MUCH lighter to carry

Oh ok, that's a little bad news. But what about the power control button, is it (or at least the ones you did) normally set up so you have to push it 10 times to get to power 1 for example or did they have the more 'common' (or what i though was common) push once and then push the number for the power like 1,2,3 up to 10 ?
See mine is set up where to get to power 10 you press the power button once or not at all, to get to power 9 you press twice, to get to power 8 you have to press three times, etc., so for power 1 you must press the power button 10 times. All the other ovens i have owned over the years had a power button like "Pow" and you press that one time only, then press a digit like "3" to get it set to power 3, then press start. I was wondering if this was some sort of 'norm' for Panasonic or just in their inverter models or whatever they are up to.

I've never noticed Panasonic were any different, and I had a Panasonic at home for many years - but not an inverter one.

 

[ronv]

I always just buy the one with the picture I like the best. I buy stereos the same way. But having said that I still have a 35 year old SONY Trinitron in the bedroom. The others have just been replaced with newer technology. I did have one stereo fail. Caps in the power supply close to a hot transformer.

 

[MrAl]

Hi Ronv,

How do you know which one has the best picture? Around here the lights in the store drown out the picture so it's hard to tell before you get it home.

Interestingly, i found out that Radio Shack will not accept a return of many of the tv's they sell (like Samsung) for ANY reason. They state that it is because of the policy of the manufacturer.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Hi Ronv,

How do you know which one has the best picture? Around here the lights in the store drown out the picture so it's hard to tell before you get it home.

Which is why sets have 'shop modes', which increase the picture brightness and contrast to compensate - generally stores are far brighter than a home environment.

Interestingly, i found out that Radio Shack will not accept a return of many of the tv's they sell (like Samsung) for ANY reason. They state that it is because of the policy of the manufacturer.

I've no idea what the situation is in the USA?, but in the UK it's nothing whatsoever to do with the manufacturer, the purchasers contract is with the retailer, and all your legal rights are against the retailer.

However, wanting to return a TV because you don't like it isn't really a valid reason for returning it

 

[ramuna]

Interesting odds & ends
I took a look at this list of TV makers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_manufacturers
which includes famous names from the good ol' days of television, such as Nordmende. I clicked on the link on that page for Sharp & reached https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharp_Corporation

This has the following memorable sentence:
"2012 was the 100th anniversary for Sharp but it announced the worst financial record in its history, with a loss of 376 billion yen (US$ 4.7 billion) in April 2012. In September, Sharp announced massive job cuts."
Ouch!!
On the list page, there's also a link to what some consider to be the Rolls Royce / Lincoln Continental of consumer audio/video, Bang & Olufsen.

 

[MrAl]

Hi again,

ramuna:
I had a Sharp microwave oven and it cut down in power when the line voltage only went down a little. I didnt like that. But that was a very low end model like around 60 dollars USD brand new so maybe not the best example. The newer Panasonic is not like that and is able to regulate it's power output, but it was twice the cost too.

Nigel:
In this country it's getting weirder and weirder, i think they let stores get away with too much.
I could check to see if RS can really get away with that legally, but just the fact that they state that makes me want to stay away.
Not only that, but i called on RS shop and they said they have only three TV's in stock and one of them is broken, so i had to laugh. Maybe they were trying to get rid of the demo model. The third TV was a Samsung and the other two were low end but only the demo works supposedly.
That's not the end of it either. The employee's are being less and less trained. It took me like a full 5 minutes one day to pay for my stuff purchased at Wall Mart when at other places it would take about 5 seconds to swipe the card. The cashier did not know how to do a card purchase! I had to laugh at that too but the people behind me in line did not laugh much
I had to experiment with the card machine to figure out how to get it to accept a card purchase, which took time. I usually dont go there and that was the first time in like 3 years or something.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

On the list page, there's also a link to what some consider to be the Rolls Royce / Lincoln Continental of consumer audio/video, Bang & Olufsen.

No body in the trade considers them that, they are simply a fashion statement - not technology

Their VCR's were simply bought-in from Philips (one of the poorest manufacturers), and their audio gear is a joke in HiFi circles - they never submit gear for review (as it would get slated), and mostly advertise in glossy magazines, never HiFi ones.

I will say some of their old CRT sets were quite nicely made (physically at least), with really nice solid mechanical controls and positive latching mechanisms (and remote's that weighed about 3 pounds ), but they were fairly poorly made electrically, riddled by dry joints due to poor construction/design.

Essentially B&O is a 'designer' brand, like Nike etc. - make a cheap product, stick a 'designer' name on it, and sell at an inflated price

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Hi again,

ramuna:
I had a Sharp microwave oven and it cut down in power when the line voltage only went down a little. I didnt like that. But that was a very low end model like around 60 dollars USD brand new so maybe not the best example. The newer Panasonic is not like that and is able to regulate it's power output, but it was twice the cost too.

Good point, as switch-mode supplies are inherently regulated - however, it's a concern in the UK with the excellent quality mains we have

Nigel:
In this country it's getting weirder and weirder, i think they let stores get away with too much.
I could check to see if RS can really get away with that legally, but just the fact that they state that makes me want to stay away.
Not only that, but i called on RS shop and they said they have only three TV's in stock and one of them is broken, so i had to laugh. Maybe they were trying to get rid of the demo model. The third TV was a Samsung and the other two were low end but only the demo works supposedly.
That's not the end of it either. The employee's are being less and less trained. It took me like a full 5 minutes one day to pay for my stuff purchased at Wall Mart when at other places it would take about 5 seconds to swipe the card. The cashier did not know how to do a card purchase! I had to laugh at that too but the people behind me in line did not laugh much
I had to experiment with the card machine to figure out how to get it to accept a card purchase, which took time. I usually dont go there and that was the first time in like 3 years or something.

I wouldn't have thought RadioShack were ever the place to go to buy a TV?, and they have gone seriously downhill in recent years by all accounts.

Don't you have any proper electronics shops over there?, there always seems plenty in the films

 

[ramuna]

Nigel Goodwin said:
No body in the trade considers them that, they are simply a fashion statement - not technology

Yes, I have heard that said before. But I did not know how widespread that view was. That is why I phrased it as "some consider", to play safe . Thanks for putting me straight on that though.

 

[ronv]

Then you have to decide how "smart" you want it.

 

[MrAl]

Good point, as switch-mode supplies are inherently regulated - however, it's a concern in the UK with the excellent quality mains we have



I wouldn't have thought RadioShack were ever the place to go to buy a TV?, and they have gone seriously downhill in recent years by all accounts.

Don't you have any proper electronics shops over there?, there always seems plenty in the films

Hi again,

Yeah everybody goes to WallMart now so everything else basically closed up. We might have one left but it's around 15 miles away if it is even still there, unlike Radio Shack which is 1 mile away. We used to have hardware stores one in every town just about and now we have only one which is two towns west of here. Home Depot helped put them out of business.

 

[Reloadron]

Mr Al, do you have any H.H. Gregg stores around you in NJ?

Ron