Akai tube-TV died

PH-2

PH-2

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So, I'm in the market (I hate spending gun money on anything but, well, ...guns)

1) Is there ANY U.S. made TV?

2) Plasma, LCD, or LED?

Your mentorship is appreciated,
Thank-You,
Mike
 
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A tube TV can be repaired...if there is someone around that knows how to put new tubes in it. :(

I've got one- an early 1960's Zenith console B&W- biggest they made at the time- it is not solid state. My wife likes color TV- which I think is vastly overrated- and that's the reason it's in the guest bedroom.
 
I don't think any TVs are made in the US. I'd get a Panasonic plasma. Cheaper and look better than the LED.
 
Thanks, guys.

By "tube", I mean picture tube, Plasma seems to have a good black.
Is there a real advantage to 1080p vs. 720p?

Mike
 
Andy Griffith said:
A tube TV can be repaired...if there is someone around that knows how to put new tubes in it. :(

I've got one- an early 1960's Zenith console B&W- biggest they made at the time- it is not solid state. My wife likes color TV- which I think is vastly overrated- and that's the reason it's in the guest bedroom.
Click to expand...

Don't let that get away from you.The Amp and tubes are worth some money to the Guitar/Amplifier/Tone Nuts.:cool:
 
double,

I'm a Sam's member, I'll check-'em out.

Thank-You,
Mike
 
PH-2 said:
So, I'm in the market (I hate spending gun money on anything but, well, ...guns)

1) Is there ANY U.S. made TV?

2) Plasma, LCD, or LED?

Your mentorship is appreciated,
Thank-You,
Mike
Click to expand...

I work for Best Buy. We do not carry Visio so my knowledge on them is limited.Visio is based in the US, with some manufacturing done here, but the components are made in China. Some of there manufacturing is going that way as well.

You will be hard pressed to find any, readily available, consumer electronic be american. Zenith is owned by LG.

The first question I am going to ask is: What size room?

Bedroom: 32"-40"
Living Room 42"-70"
Office 15-32

Back in the heyday of that tube TV, a 32 was a large television, trust me I have lifted several hundred, but now with the aspect ratio has shifted from 4:3 to 16:9, a 32 is rather small.

The second thing I will ask is: Is the room dark or bright?

Plasmas, in my opinion offer the best bang for your buck. They offer the best blacks, and are relatively inexpensive for their size. But since it is basically a big glass light bulb(Charged Gas), they are best in dark rooms. They do put off heat.

LCDs are great, they are getting close to the black levels of Plasma, but if its an cheap LCD TV, it can suffer from being too white. This is caused by the back light behind the LCDs. It will make everything have a glow to it.

LEDs are LCD televisions with a light emitting diodes replacing the back light of the standard LCD. This means they have great blacks and contrast ratios, and are generally thin.

And finally how much do you want to spend?

Panasonic, Samsung and Sony make excellent TVs. LG and Toshiba makes some pretty good ones as well.

I would steer clear of anything RCA, Sansui, Sanyo etc.

I said I work at Best Buy, Insignia is our own brand and they make some good TVs for the money. Plus they have a 2 year warranty, rather than the standard 1 year.
 
I had a big tube Sony go down two years ago. It was less than 7 years old, IIRC. The local TV guy said that Sony had stopped shipping spares for tube TVs some time ago and it was $200 just to come get the boat anchor and see what was wrong. He could give no guarantee that even if he diagnosed the problem that parts would be on hand to fix it. I cut my losses and bought a top of the line Sony LCD and has happy to pay $40 for the removal of the old one. It must have weighed close to 300lbs.
 
LVSteve said:
I had a big tube Sony go down two years ago. It was less than 7 years old, IIRC. The local TV guy said that Sony had stopped shipping spares for tube TVs some time ago and it was $200 just to come get the boat anchor and see what was wrong. He could give no guarantee that even if he diagnosed the problem that parts would be on hand to fix it. I cut my losses and bought a top of the line Sony LCD and has happy to pay $40 for the removal of the old one. It must have weighed close to 300lbs.
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Yeah, sony made 36" tubes that would bend the spade on a hand truck. Now try lifting one of those over your head to put it on a shelf!
 
When I retired, and then bought a place in the country, I wanted some good TV's. I never got to watch much TV when I was working, so I wanted to "catch up" on what I had missed as well as having a good "screen" for CD's.

So the wife and I went to Sams and stood at the same distance fron the TV's that we would be sitting from out TV at home.

We both agreed that a particular SONY model looked the best.

I would recommed you do the same thing.

Pick the best TV for your eyes.

However SONY does seem to have a very good record of reliability, and longevity.

Also I recommend a TV that mounts on the wall.
 
I've been on the lookout for a new TV - All of ours are CRTs....
At the big WalMart stores they have a big wall of TVs.
So far the Vizio E421VL (42") looks THE BEST to me.
Now I'm shopping for the best price :)

BTW - Visio is a Microsoft flow chart program. Vizio makes electronic equipment....
 
DeadAye said:
BTW - Visio is a Microsoft flow chart program. Vizio makes electronic equipment....
Click to expand...

LOL! I'm a retired IT guy, what do you expect? I fixed the spelling, but the info is still correct.

Here are a couple things you might want to read befor making your decision:

Disposable TVs: Vizio Tells Owners Their Sets Are Un-repairable
Disposable TVs: Vizio Tells Owners Their Sets Are Un-repairable | HD Guru

Vizio Comsumer Complaints and Reviews
Consumer Complaints about Vizio

Vizio Replacement Boards
Vizio Replacement Boards Forum

Vizio Customer Service
Vizio customer service complaints, reviews, ratings and comments
 
DeadAye said:
Oh my -
Thanks!
Click to expand...

You're welcome!

I bought a Sharp 52" for our living room, and a LG 32" for the den about two years ago. So far they've been great. My son recently bought a Vizio 52" 3-D. We're keeping our fingers crossed. I did read somewhere that Vizio contracted with Sears for on site service, so maybe there's hope.
 
When ABC News did the American made makeover on that house a while back, taking out everything that wasn't American made (one vase left) and replacing it with all made in the USA goods, they mentioned that the people who lived in the house probably were not watching because they could not find a TV that was US made. As far as I know, Curtis Mathes was the last true maker of TVs in the US.

CW
 
LED technology is where it's going. Plasma are on their way out.

Sharp
Panasonic
Vizio
Samsung
Sony
LG

Not a hill of beans difference
 
i really appreciate ya'lls input, now, to look at a bunch of tv's!

Thank-You,
Mike
 
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