# Big Brand v's 'the rest' LCD TVs



## Delboy (29 Jul 2008)

JVC 32" widescreen (old style TV) has just died after 4.5 years only (I always thought TV's could last for donkeys years). The screen kept going green which I think is a tube problem and now the TV just keeps switching itself off and on in the space of a second. Any idea what this could be?

But I plan to buy a new TV, LCD probably 32 to 37". And was wondering if anyone could tell me if the difference in price between Sony/Panasonic/Samsung is worth paying over brands like LCD or Sharp. Can you tell the difference


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## iggy (29 Jul 2008)

Sounds like tube alright delboy.
As for a new lcd, I would go to Aldi`s and buy whatever they are selling as they give a three year guarantee plus cheaper than almost everywhere else.. The days of buying named brands is gone as most lcd tvs are uneconomical to repair now no matter how small the problem is. I am a tv engineer for the last 29 years btw.


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## Ham Slicer (29 Jul 2008)

Not sure about Aldi option as I personally think they are quite ugly most of the time.

I recently bought a Beko 32 inch in Power City.  It was on sale at the time for 400.  Normally 500.  Nice looking machine and no problems yet (admittedly only c2 months)

I have a scale in my head of crappy brands, the best crappy brands and good crappy brands.

I wouldn't stretch to a good brand name as I feel it's a waste of money but I also wouldn't but a crappy brand (Aldi, Lidl, cheapest option in Power City etc.) but I would buy a Beko as I feel this is one of the better crappy brands.

I more than likely have my thinking arseways but it hasn't failed me yet.


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## truthseeker (29 Jul 2008)

i bought a crappy brand lcd tv and it developed a screen fault. the retailer referred me back to the manufacturer who did not have a manufacturing plant in Ireland, hence a lot of faffing about trying to organise the repair. i would say go for whatever brand you want but try to buy one that has a manufacturing plant in ireland otherwise if there is a problem you could have a long wait to get a part shipped over to repair it (in my case they couldnt seem to manage it at all and retailer ended up replacing tv).


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## Towger (29 Jul 2008)

truthseeker said:


> who did not have a manufacturing plant in Ireland


 
??? Who does ???


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## truthseeker (29 Jul 2008)

sorry, I should have said a manufacturing plant OR repair centre (cos the repair centres will also have the parts).

Phillips have a manufacturing plant in Ireland (according to powercity) and of course Sony have sony centres all over the place that can do repairs. I dont know who else.


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## efm (29 Jul 2008)

truthseeker said:


> i bought a crappy brand lcd tv and it developed a screen fault. the retailer referred me back to the manufacturer who did not have a manufacturing plant in Ireland, hence a lot of faffing about trying to organise the repair.


 
For a start the retailer was wrong to refer you to the manufacturer - your contract was with the retailer and it was their responsibility to look after it - Irish Consumer Law supports this no matter what some retailers might try and tell you.



truthseeker said:


> i would say go for whatever brand you want but try to buy one that has a manufacturing plant in ireland otherwise if there is a problem you could have a long wait to get a part shipped over to repair it


 
I don't know of any brand of TV that has an assembly or manufacturing plant in Ireland (if they do they're mad and should move East as fast as possible) so your advice may not be practical.

Edit - Towger got in there before me 

Delboy - some videophiles (www.avforums.com) who say they know about these things will say there is a definite difference in quality between models and manufacturers but ultimately the final choice should be yours - go and look at a couple of different makes and see which one you think looks best and don't dismiss the plamas either as many say that the latest Pioneer plasmas are the best ever and better than the lcds.


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## MrMan (29 Jul 2008)

As regards Sony/panasonic/samsung over Sharp I would say that sharp would actually be one of the top brands as they lead the way in lcd to my knowledge. They have a huge range now but I think mostly in the uk and only a fraction of that over here. I used to be a sony man but their costs no longer reflect in their quality and I would recommend someone like Samsung because they are good looking, well priced and a big range. 
Aldi tvs and the like are cheap but they really do fall down on screen quality and that is after all what you are buying an lcd for. i never understand seeing a huge screen tv in someones room with crap definition - what's the point?


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## truthseeker (29 Jul 2008)

efm said:


> For a start the retailer was wrong to refer you to the manufacturer - your contract was with the retailer and it was their responsibility to look after it - Irish Consumer Law supports this no matter what some retailers might try and tell you.


 
There is another thread elsewhere here with my tv woes, despite this advice I think you will find in any electronics store they will refer you to the manufacturer for repair, I do not know of any way around this, I initially stood my ground and was told that the only way to get something repaired was to contact the manufacturer directly - this is off topic, but to say the contract is with the retailer is correct, however practically speaking they will NOT look after repair. 



efm said:


> I don't know of any brand of TV that has an assembly or manufacturing plant in Ireland (if they do they're mad and should move East as fast as possible) so your advice may not be practical.


 
Im repeating what i was told in Powercity, when choosing a replacement we stated we wanted something that would not have to await parts delivery from the UK and that is what the guy said.


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## efm (29 Jul 2008)

For what it's worth I second the Samsung recommendation - I have a 32" in the kids playroom and it is excellent, particularly any of the Pixar movies which look brilliant on it.


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## efm (29 Jul 2008)

truthseeker said:


> .... this is off topic, but to say the contract is with the retailer is correct, however practically speaking they will NOT look after repair.


 
Fair enough - unfortunately (for you) it seems you have more practical experience than I in these matters 




truthseeker said:


> ...Im repeating what i was told in Powercity, when choosing a replacement we stated we wanted something that would not have to await parts delivery from the UK and that is what the guy said.


 
Fair enough again; I didn't know that Philips manufactured tv's in Ireland - I'm surprised given all I hear about the high costs of doing business here.


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## Delboy (29 Jul 2008)

iggy said:


> Sounds like tube alright delboy



would the tube cause the TV to keep switching off and on every second as soon as you plug it in? I just thought the tube would mean the screen went


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## CGorman (29 Jul 2008)

efm said:


> I didn't know that Philips manufactured tv's in Ireland - I'm surprised given all I hear about the high costs of doing business here.



Hmm... had a quick search there, they appear to be made in Poland and the far east these days... could the staff at powercity be mistaken into thinking we live in Poland?


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## iggy (29 Jul 2008)

Delboy said:


> would the tube cause the TV to keep switching off and on every second as soon as you plug it in? I just thought the tube would mean the screen went


 Yes, especially when you said it was going green ( 3 guns in crt, red green and blue).


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## huskerdu (30 Jul 2008)

> Fair enough again; I didn't know that Philips manufactured tv's in Ireland - I'm surprised given all I hear about the high costs of doing business here.


 
Philips do not have a manufacturing plant in Ireland and they no longer have a repair facility either. They have a contract with a 3rd party repair company ( I'm not being negative about this, my experience of Philips products has been quite good, just stating the situation)


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## Delboy (31 Jul 2008)

iggy said:


> Yes, especially when you said it was going green ( 3 guns in crt, red green and blue).



any idea if replacing a tube is a big job in terms of cost?


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## csirl (31 Jul 2008)

> I recently bought a Beko 32 inch in Power City. It was on sale at the time for 400. Normally 500. Nice looking machine and no problems yet (admittedly only c2 months)
> 
> I have a scale in my head of crappy brands, the best crappy brands and good crappy brands.
> 
> I wouldn't stretch to a good brand name as I feel it's a waste of money but I also wouldn't but a crappy brand (Aldi, Lidl, cheapest option in Power City etc.) but I would buy a Beko as I feel this is one of the better crappy brands.


 
I'd agree that Beko are one of the better cheaper brands.

I bought a Beko TV (CRT, not LCD) in the 1990s when nobody had ever heard of Beko - I remember getting comments from friends and relatives about it sounding like something from eastern europe, that it would probably break within 6 months and wasnt even worth the very low price I paid for it. Still in full working order in a house full of telly addicts. It even survived a lightning strike that knocked out some other appliances.


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## iggy (31 Jul 2008)

Delboy said:


> any idea if replacing a tube is a big job in terms of cost?


 Wouldn`t be economical.


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## advisor (4 Aug 2008)

Most of the components that go into t.v's now come from the one place and are just shipped to the relevant companies for the fancy exterior assembly.  There are a one or two  i'ld steer clear of, but on the whole they are all the same.  Watch out for Tesco offers they are pretty good.


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## zahir (5 Aug 2008)

I would recommend Samsung LCD's as they are the best bang for the back for me. Not so expensive but very good pictures and quality.


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## Leo (5 Aug 2008)

advisor said:


> Most of the components that go into t.v's now come from the one place and are just shipped to the relevant companies for the fancy exterior assembly. There are a one or two i'ld steer clear of, but on the whole they are all the same. Watch out for Tesco offers they are pretty good.


 
If by 'one place' you mean the Far East, then maybe. There are quite a few manufacturers making LCD panels now, and there are significant differences in the quality of image these can display. 
Leo


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## Delboy (5 Aug 2008)

went for a philips 37",series 5. 779 in Dixons. best value of all the shops i looked around. they deliver this week....do they have to take away my old tv under the WEEE directives


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## advisor (6 Aug 2008)

do they have to take away my old tv under the WEEE directives
Yes they are obligied to remove your old T.V under weee regulations


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## wjc (13 Aug 2008)

Bought Philips series 5 37" last week. Nice tv. HD ready. Have normal sky+ box but picture not quite as sharp as I would have expected. Bit of fuzziness especially when watching sports. Would this be normal for lcd tv. Have not owned one before. Does not look as sharp as display in shop.


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## SirMille (13 Aug 2008)

To the best of my knowledge, there are three very large manufacturers of LCD screens in China.

Samsung and Sony use the same factory, and while the prices are quiet different, the technology isn't apparently.

What you need from a new TV is *full HD* progressive at 100%, and a large screen, e.g. 42 inches.

A 32" full HD TV makes no sense as it's too small to show the detail, 42 at minimum.

A 32" full HD TV is like buying a C180 with the classic trim level "a merc by any means!"


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## oopsbuddy (18 Aug 2008)

Forgive a stupid question from someone trying to get up to speed on these issues; I read in other posts about the victory of Blu-Ray over HD (re DVDs), but does this have any bearing on "full HD" or "HD Ready" TV sets?


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## MFK (18 Aug 2008)

I have had many bad experiences of Beko TV's
My parents had a 21" with detachable side speakers and it packed up after 15mths
My cousin had a 14" portable in her bedroom and it was left on standby(I know you shouldnt do it but...), in the middle of the night the on/off button shot out of the tv along with sparks and landed on the bed causing a small fire, luckily it made a bang sound and she woke up!!
My uncle had one and after about 2 years it just packed up and smoke bellowed from the back of it.

No more Beko's in our family for sure - those experiences were about 7-8years ago, may have improved but too many bad experiences to chance them again.

I believe the make good fridges but no experience of them


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## SirMille (23 Aug 2008)

oopsbuddy said:


> Forgive a stupid question from someone trying to get up to speed on these issues; I read in other posts about the victory of Blu-Ray over HD (re DVDs), but does this have any bearing on "full HD" or "HD Ready" TV sets?


 
none


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