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TV repair?

Botch

Botch

MetaBotch Doggy Dogg Mellencamp
Superstar
I set up my system in 2010, the time I joined this forum. I dropped cable at that time, and went strictly OTA (I only watch the news and football). That worked beautifully for a few years, but then one, then another, and soon all stations wouldn't come in (I finally attributed it to a 10-story RAM facility on HAFB, but never for sure). I had to resubscribe to cable (just to get the major networks) and whined about that ad nauseum here.
Just a few months ago I saw that EweTube offered a web service that included all three local networks, for half the price. I called my internet provider to see how much it would cost to double my monthly data limit; they saw I was a long-timer and gave me unlimited data, doubled my speed, and lowered my monthly bill (sweet!!) I was very happy.
The BotchLuck™ Gods learned of my happiness, and within 6 weeks my system started flashing error messages that I couldn't get out of, even by turning off my rack and leaving just the TV on; but, when I unplugged my rack, that message went away. I then switched my TV's input to "Antenna Direct", and suddenly I got all my local OTAs in, clear as a bell! (the installers wired my OTA antenna to a splitter box mounted behind my TV on the wall, one feed directly to the TV, and the other to my rack via optical, so I could turn on just the TV to watch the news, or turn on the whole 5.1 system to watch a football game, and that worked great, at first).
Anyhoo, I could now watch OTA with no issue, but without the Ewetube internet, and my disk player wouldn't light up the TV either, only audio. Finally, last weekend ABC was fritzing badly and NBC wouldn't display at all (TV just showed a "No Signal" banner that moved around on the screen). CBS was still coming in okay, thru the second playoff game on Sunday. Monday morning, nothing, I get the "No Signal" banner on all OTA channels. I plugged an Amazon Firestick into the HDMI4 port of my TV, plugged it in, and the TV was just a black screen. I'm 97% sure my TV is toast, I want to try one more thing tomorrow.

After all that blabbing, here's my question: What are the chances of a repair shop being able to fix a thirteen-year-old LED TV? A buddy in 'Nawlins found a discarded LED on the street, and within an hour he replaced one board and got it working again (he's a damn wizard); have others here been able to get an LED TV fixed (most electronics, this last 20 years or so, have not been worth trying)? Looking for feedback.
And here's a second question: If I end up buying a new TV, it'll probably be a 55" LG OLED, their picture is stunning. Anything else I should be looking at? Thanks in advance.
 
Personally, I wouldn't spend the money to fix a 13 year old tv, especially with the price of new tv's so cheap lately. Plus, there have been huge picture quality improvements over the last few years. Don't know anything about the LG OLED tv's, other than I've heard OLED looks awesome. I've been pretty happy with my recent purchase of the Samsung Neo Qled, so I wouldn't count those tv's out as well.
 
I’m with Huey.
That said if you’re in love with the TV and/or don‘t want to buy a new one for whatever reason … I’d imagine that a diagnostic fee at a reputable electronics repair shop would be around $100 and they’d provide a cost estimate. If the cost to repair is more than 25% of a similar performing replacement I’d just buy a replacement.
 
Hell Samsung wouldnt fix my 14 month old TV.

Parts were already out of stock and probably wouldn't be available.
 
Botch,
I'm going to agree with the consensus. Buy a new TV. Life is short. You are now a retired man about town!! You said you thought the LG OLED was stunning. Buy it and don't look back!!
Mike
 
Thanks guys. Yeah, I did some reading up on reviews, and advice on Crutchfield's site, and apparently I got a lot more years out of the old girl than are expected. The LG C2 55" is $1,300, and the local bestbuy also has an "open-box" unit for $900. I want to do some further reading up on the Sony Bravias (which also looked fantastic) but I do know now that it will be an OLED, and not the Samsung "QLED".
 
Botch said:
Thanks guys. Yeah, I did some reading up on reviews, and advice on Crutchfield's site, and apparently I got a lot more years out of the old girl than are expected. The LG C2 55" is $1,300, and the local bestbuy also has an "open-box" unit for $900. I want to do some further reading up on the Sony Bravias (which also looked fantastic) but I do know now that it will be an OLED, and not the Samsung "QLED".
Click to expand...
Are you member at Costco or Sams? I know for sure Costco has the LGs and Sonys. Often they’ll run a promo for free 2 year warranty thru Allstate and additional years on the warranty on top of that if you use their Citi card.
 
Batman said:
Are you member at Costco or Sams? I know for sure Costco has the LGs and Sonys.
Click to expand...
I am not, because I can get similar deals at the USAF Commissary, and I'm a lifetime member. BUT, I forgot the damn Commissary sells TVs. Thanks Chris, I have another place to visit!
 
Botch said:
Thanks guys. Yeah, I did some reading up on reviews, and advice on Crutchfield's site, and apparently I got a lot more years out of the old girl than are expected. The LG C2 55" is $1,300, and the local bestbuy also has an "open-box" unit for $900. I want to do some further reading up on the Sony Bravias (which also looked fantastic) but I do know now that it will be an OLED, and not the Samsung "QLED".
Click to expand...
Well, if you aren't stuck on the LG I have a Sony OLED and love it..FWIW.
 
i have a sony 900h, but its mostly for playing games.

if i was on a budget, id consider Vizio M series, but then again i consider this because my kids and lego...
 
So, I'm guessing "Smart TV" means there's a streaming thingie built-in? (the Sony's just switched to Google TV)
I have a fairly recent Roku (which I think is 4K) cabled into my 13-yr-old Yammie AVR (which is not 4K), so I was toying with the idea of buying a new Apple iTV (4K) and patching it directly into the new TV, but maybe I don't even need to do that?
Also, what's the relationship between Bluray disks (my Oppos) and 4K? I'm not really worried about upgrading my AVR to pass 4K to my TV, as HD is already sharper than my aging eyes and the Sony supposedly has excellent upscaling. Not sure what/if I'll be missing anything.
 
Botch said:
1. So, I'm guessing "Smart TV" means there's a streaming thingie built-in? (the Sony's just switched to Google TV)
2. I have a fairly recent Roku (which I think is 4K) cabled into my 13-yr-old Yammie AVR (which is not 4K), so I was toying with the idea of buying a new Apple iTV (4K) and patching it directly into the new TV, but maybe I don't even need to do that?
Also, what's the relationship between Bluray disks (my Oppos) and 4K? I'm not really worried about upgrading my AVR to pass 4K to my TV, as HD is already sharper than my aging eyes and the Sony supposedly has excellent upscaling. Not sure what/if I'll be missing anything.
Click to expand...
1. yes, it just means your tv has the capabilities to utilize apps, which in most cases are based on the os the tv is on. samsung has its version and so does sony.

2. personally i dont think you'd need another streaming device, since your tv can or is already to do this. BUT..... some tvs, including mine, have limited storage available, so at times it may need a usb drive installed. even then you cant even move some apps. my sony, despite being super awesome, ends up having some apps that crash because of this. the big names that do is paramount plus and hbomax.
 
Sigh.
Installation completed about 1 this afternoon. They got the new TV hooked up to my wifi easily, but no sound thru my AVR/speakers. We tried using the Roku (also hooked into my AVR) and the screen kept showing an alternating error code, he fiddled with it a bit and got it stabilized, the audio was on. This signal was coming from the TV's WIFI input.
After they left, I tried switching the TV's input to OTA antenna (this doesn't go thru the AVR). The TV Schedule button worked, but only NBC came in with a DTV signal, the other two said onscreen "No antenna attached". When my old TV was in its final throes, CBS came in but the other two did not. This is so GD frustrating I can't stand it!
I then started playing with the built-in "Google TV OS", and am learning a bunch of things all over again. Finally got my "Google TV" paid service to come up, that took two hours. That OS's interface had changed, so it took me awhile to find my "cloud DVR" recordings, finally did. The new remote doesn't have any "FF/Rewind" buttons, but soon figured out the 4-way cursor touchpad gives me those in DVR/library mode. So, it looks like I'm still stuck paying $65 for my local channels, but I'm starting to realize the worth of a OTA "DVR"/Pause ability, so I won't worry about it too much. I did have a live schedule available for my selected Google TV channels, but I haven't found it yet...
The picture is better than my old LG, but only just a bit; I'm sure the TVs in the showroom are running 4K at full brightness, I've read that Google TV doesn't offer the best PQ, but I'm using it mainly for News so no biggie. I'm watching some Dr show on NBC right now with the sound off, pic is good with more contrast.
The installers were able to attach it to the existing wall mount from 13 years ago, thankful for that. But in a final dose of BotchLuck™ the vertical swivel springs are too strong for the new TV's lighter weight, I point the screen down about 10˚ towards my sitting position, and in ten minutes or so it's pointing 10˚ UP; argh. I found a "sanus.com" sticker on that mount, will give their "American operators are standing by" folks a call tomorrow (their online installation video didn't mention a spring adjustment feature, but their are two allen-head bolts on the vertical hinge that I'm betting are tension adjustments, so hopefully that'll be fixed tomorrow.)
I haven't tried to run a disk thru my Oppo yet, that's on the schedule for tomorrow; anxious to see how a Bluray looks on this screen.
The straight sound off of the TV is pretty damn good. Apparently the Bravias have forward-facing stereo and center channels behind the video screen, and a rear-facing "sub"woofer in the back. That's more than adequate for news/std TV, I'll turn on the AVR/5.1 for the Superbowl (if I can) and also do that for bluray/DVD concerts.

A frustrating afternoon, but it'll get better. I hope.
 
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Botch said:
Sigh.
Installation completed about 1 this afternoon. They got the new TV hooked up to my wifi easily, but no sound thru my AVR/speakers. We tried using the Roku (also hooked into my AVR) and the screen kept showing an alternating error code, he fiddled with it a bit and got it stabilized, the audio was on. This signal was coming from the TV's WIFI input.
After they left, I tried switching the TV's input to OTA antenna (this doesn't go thru the AVR). The TV Schedule button worked, but only NBC came in with a DTV signal, the other two said onscreen "No antenna attached". When my old TV was in its final throes, CBS came in but the other two did not. This is so GD frustrating I can't stand it!
I then started playing with the built-in "Google TV OS", and am learning a bunch of things all over again. Finally got my "Google TV" paid service to come up, that took two hours. That OS's interface had changed, so it took me awhile to find my "cloud DVR" recordings, finally did. The new remote doesn't have any "FF/Rewind" buttons, but soon figured out the 4-way cursor touchpad gives me those in DVR/library mode. So, it looks like I'm still stuck paying $65 for my local channels, but I'm starting to realize the worth of a OTA "DVR"/Pause ability, so I won't worry about it too much. I did have a live schedule available for my selected Google TV channels, but I haven't found it yet...
The picture is better than my old LG, but only just a bit; I'm sure the TVs in the showroom are running 4K at full brightness, I've read that Google TV doesn't offer the best PQ, but I'm using it mainly for News so no biggie. I'm watching some Dr show on NBC right now with the sound off, pic is good with more contrast.
The installers were able to attach it to the existing wall mount from 13 years ago, thankful for that. But in a final dose of BotchLuck™ the vertical swivel springs are too strong for the new TV's lighter weight, I point the screen down about 10˚ towards my sitting position, and in ten minutes or so it's pointing 10˚ UP; argh. I found a "sanus.com" sticker on that mount, will give their "American operators are standing by" folks a call tomorrow (their online installation video didn't mention a spring adjustment feature, but their are two allen-head bolts on the vertical hinge that I'm betting are tension adjustments, so hopefully that'll be fixed tomorrow.)
I haven't tried to run a disk thru my Oppo yet, that's on the schedule for tomorrow; anxious to see how a Bluray looks on this screen.
The straight sound off of the TV is pretty damn good. Apparently the Bravias have forward-facing stereo and center channels behind the video screen, and a rear-facing "sub"woofer in the back. That's more than adequate for news/std TV, I'll turn on the AVR/5.1 for the Superbowl (if I can) and also do that for bluray/DVD concerts.

A frustrating afternoon, but it'll get better. I hope.
Click to expand...
Botch,
As far as the audio through AVR goes I assume you are using HDMI? Make sure in the audio menu on the TV you set the sound output to your AVR.
Something like this:

  • Select Display & Sound → Audio output → Speakers → Audio system.
  • Select Sound → Speakers → Audio system
Whenever my TV starts up, it always flashes a statement at the bottom. "Switching to external speakers"

Good luck with the rest of your ....eerrr...issues!!
Mike
 
It got better.

This morning, every time I left the room, I swiveled the TV back down, and after 3 or 4 times it kept its location; don't know if taking the weight of the old TV off the springs gave them a "memory bounce" or what, but its held the downward tilt all day today, cross that one off the list.

I was able to get a DTV signal for CBS, OTA, but it would drop out every so often for a few seconds and I'd get the "No antenna connected" signal again, but only for a few seconds. This is similar to what my old LG TV was doing, so its something in either the cabling, my antenna on the roof, or that 10-story building on HAFB filled up with RAM that I've mentioned before. I will be continuing my "EweTube TV" paid subscription, so OTA antenna issues are no longer a concern (EweTube TV is the only streaming service here that includes CBS, ABC, NBC and Faux).

This new Sony now uses "Google TV" OS, which I haven't used before, nor the base Sony hardware OS; I'm getting things figured out, and now realize the Google OS and the EweTube TV channel combine in a different manner than explained on some of the youtube videos I've watched (the printed Sony TV manual is worthless, doesn't explain operation at all!). I found the "Favorites" listing on the EweTube TV, but apparently its stored on the TV itself and not on ET TV's website, and I had to rebuild it from scratch (not a biggie, I don't watch that much variety). I also lowered the overall Brightness and the Contrast, and am really loving the PQ now.

I've understood that there's a "Sony Tax" just like there's an "Apple Tax", higher prices for better sw/hw/chip quality, and I'm okay with that. But tonight I noticed this:

tempImage726F4E.jpg

This is the upper-right corner of the TV, nice thin bezels with a perfect symmetry.

tempImageSobG8R.jpg

This is the upper-left corner; the vertical bezel is about 20% thinner than the horizontal!
I had to take a closer look, and the metal bezels themselves are perfect; the inner black border is the picture itself, not the hardware. I don't know if the OLED screen is crooked within the Sony case, or the PBS broadcast is sent out crooked (I'm guessing the former). Not a biggie, but I kinda found it interesting...
 
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