TV Advice

[Jerry Bruette]

I have a 12 year old Sony HDTV that's giving me an error code, something about overvoltage. TV model is KD-34XBR960 with a CRT flat tube. Called one repair shop that's 80 miles away, they can fix it for about $350 in my house.

Is it worth it or should I put the $350 towards a new TV.

If the combined wisdom of The Creek says thumbs down to the repair what would be a decent TV to buy? Not looking to break the bank maybe $500.

[Barry McFadden]

I wouldn't spend that on a CRT TV... You could get a much better one for $500.... as to which one...you will get as many answers as there are tv's on the market....I'm am partial to Samsung or LG... but that's just my preference...

[Jerome Stanek]

I go to the store and look at the tv's on display some don't have a nice white. I ended up with a Hisense that had a nicer display then some high priced ones. I have had it for 6years and it is on all day long even when we are gone.

[Von Bickley]

My vote would be for a new TV.....

[John Stankus]

I have a 12 year old Sony HDTV that's giving me an error code, something about overvoltage. TV model is KD-34XBR960 with a CRT flat tube. Called one repair shop that's 80 miles away, they can fix it for about $350 in my house.

.

KD-34X probably means that this is a 34" TV.
I just purchased TWO 32" Vizio HDTVs for about $400 total. (i.e. about $200 each)
There are quite a few nice TVs for $400 or less. In December we purchased a 40" Sony for $399 (if I remember correctly) (the Vizio were for the bedroom and exercise room)

I would go for the replacement TV. This is coming from a guy who replaced a 1992 36" CRT, and two 1993 or so vintage 27" CRT TVs. I was waiting for them to fail, but when we decided to ditch satellite we figured we could pay for the upgrade with the savings.

John

[Bruce Page]

I had a 32" Sony XBR CRT, a great TV in its day (Weighed ~ 200+ lbs). The modern TV's are superior in every category.
Go new.

[Roger Nair]

I've purchased Samsung and Vizio flat screens, both are good but I prefer the Samsung tuner since I live in a fringe area.

[Steve Peterson]

Considering that many LCD TVs in the 40" range will cost less than $300, it seems like an obvious choice to buy a new one instead of spending $350 to fix the old one.

My TVs have crept up in size as my eyes have gotten older. If you are looking for a TV that will fit in a specific cabinet, then get the largest one that will fit. Any of the big names should be fine, Sony, Samsung, LG, Visio.

Steve

[Jerry Bruette]

Heh, been a dozen years since I've researched TV's. Didn't know I could buy a fancy new one for the cost of fixin' the fancy old one. I'm convinced what to do, all I have to do now is convince the finance manager how nice a flat panel would look.

[Bruce Wrenn]

First thing to do is open up old set, and take a look at the capacitors in power supply section. If you see any that look pregnant, replace them. Replacements can be gotten off ebay (no more Radio Shack) for pennies each.

[Jim Becker]

No way would I pay to repair something like that with that age. There are many good options to replace it for very reasonable cost not much above that repair quote, depending on the size you want. (screens tend to be larger now because with LED type technology, etc., bigger is more watchable even when viewing distance isn't large. Buy a new one and get more for your money. :)

[Steve Schlumpf]

No way would I pay to repair something like that with that age. There are many good options to replace it for very reasonable cost not much above that repair quote, depending on the size you want. (screens tend to be larger now because with LED type technology, etc., bigger is more watchable even when viewing distance isn't large. Buy a new one and get more for your money. :)

I agree with Jim, get a new TV.

I had a 35" tube that worked just fine and I wasn't going to pay for something that I didn't need. Well, that all changed when our cable company switched everyone over to strictly digital and we were going to have to pay for a converter box to adapt the TV just to view anything. Picked up a 'Smart' Vizio TV, a 49" screen and absolutely love it. Seriously, if I had known how much nicer the entire viewing experience was going to be, I would have dumped that old tube TV years earlier! You will love watching movies on a big screen!!

[Matt Meiser]

I would assume its also not 16x9 which is the current standard. Definitely replace. You can buy a decent (not top-of-the-line) 42" LCD for that price. We have a Toshiba, a few Vizio's and a Hanspree in our house. All are good enough for me. The Vizios are all smart which is a nice extra.

[lowell holmes]

How do you get rid of the old TV?

Inquiring minds want to know :)

[Bryan Lisowski]

Get a new TV. As for getting rid of them, ask your garbage people. They usually won't take, but where I live they run a place on Saturdays that you can drop off. I found this out by asking them.

[Mike Henderson]

How do you get rid of the old TV?

Inquiring minds want to know :)

Around here, they have free electronics recycling. You just have to take it to the place where they accept the stuff. Also things like hazardous chemicals and paint.

Different places, such as Home Depot, will have a parking lot electronics recycling day every now and then. You just have to look for the signs.

Mike

[Matt Meiser]

Our county does a free electronics recycling program in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. HfH ReStore provides the dropoff point and keeps an eye on what's being dropped and the county Health Department manages the rest.