When my mom died in 2014 I inherited her big Magnavox wooden console tv, that they bought used back in 1976. It has record player and AM/FM radio. Speakers are excellent and probably better than any of these modern speakers. IT was heavy to move and probably weighs 180 to 200 lbs. I never want to move it again. Tv will work with an analog to digital converter box. I am told they are about $30.00 at wal mart. I do not have a converter at this time. We do not watch tv. Our daughter plays albums from time to time though. Tv's are just another disposable item now days, I see big screens put to the curb almost daily.
New tv's just don't last
- Thread starter jakewells
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Originally Posted by BJD78
When my mom died in 2014 I inherited her big Magnavox wooden console tv, that they bought used back in 1976. It has record player and AM/FM radio. Speakers are excellent and probably better than any of these modern speakers. IT was heavy to move and probably weighs 180 to 200 lbs. I never want to move it again. Tv will work with an analog to digital converter box. I am told they are about $30.00 at wal mart. I do not have a converter at this time. We do not watch tv. Our daughter plays albums from time to time though. Tv's are just another disposable item now days, I see big screens put to the curb almost daily.
Are you saying you actually set that thing up in your living room? Donate it to a museum instead !!
When my mom died in 2014 I inherited her big Magnavox wooden console tv, that they bought used back in 1976. It has record player and AM/FM radio. Speakers are excellent and probably better than any of these modern speakers. IT was heavy to move and probably weighs 180 to 200 lbs. I never want to move it again. Tv will work with an analog to digital converter box. I am told they are about $30.00 at wal mart. I do not have a converter at this time. We do not watch tv. Our daughter plays albums from time to time though. Tv's are just another disposable item now days, I see big screens put to the curb almost daily.
Are you saying you actually set that thing up in your living room? Donate it to a museum instead !!
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This underlies the real problem of using software to do something that hardware should.
What's dumb is that there is no reason not to have nearly indefinite app support, YouTube would just need to send lower res content in the older format, same goes for Netflix, generally they have this support built in for cellular companies who want to send unlimited video content but the drive is towards planned obsolescence while at the same time not offering any significant improvement to content.
That said I have had YouTube working on PCs over 20 years old, using patched old software,
To me the whole electronic and software market is in a place of decay, requiring increasing specs to justify their own existence.
What's dumb is that there is no reason not to have nearly indefinite app support, YouTube would just need to send lower res content in the older format, same goes for Netflix, generally they have this support built in for cellular companies who want to send unlimited video content but the drive is towards planned obsolescence while at the same time not offering any significant improvement to content.
That said I have had YouTube working on PCs over 20 years old, using patched old software,
To me the whole electronic and software market is in a place of decay, requiring increasing specs to justify their own existence.
Originally Posted by Rmay635703
This underlies the real problem of using software to do something that hardware should.
What's dumb is that there is no reason not to have nearly indefinite app support, YouTube would just need to send lower res content in the older format, same goes for Netflix, generally they have this support built in for cellular companies who want to send unlimited video content but the drive is towards planned obsolescence while at the same time not offering any significant improvement to content.
That said I have had YouTube working on PCs over 20 years old, using patched old software,
To me the whole electronic and software market is in a place of decay, requiring increasing specs to justify their own existence.
So Youtube netflix and others should keep transcoded footage around in every old format so guys that are using decade+ old TV's and don't have to change anything?
Right. Who pays for that storage ?
Depending on any japanese company to keep a PC software based product working has never been a winning strategy.
The answer to the Panasonic tv hanging up on a youtube player is to simply feed it with a streamer like a roku or apple TV type device - problem solved without a new tv.
Trying to keep legacy stuff working so people dont spend any money is how we got the lousy NTSC system to begin with - we had to protect those 4000 clients so we compromised the whole system for 50 year by jamming in color underneath black and white signal.
No significant improvement to content?
I would thoroughly disagree.
We've seen encoding quality increase and more and more picture delivered in an ever smaller package
H:264-H"265 - same quality smaller file. Requires a 10+ fold hike in compute power.
NTSC-HD - remasters
HD 30FPS- 60 FPS
remastered recolored content from film stock - to HD/2K/4K and HDR from a piece of cellulose 20-50 years old.
Guys want 4K on phones now - you cant have everything - while spending nothing.
UD
This underlies the real problem of using software to do something that hardware should.
What's dumb is that there is no reason not to have nearly indefinite app support, YouTube would just need to send lower res content in the older format, same goes for Netflix, generally they have this support built in for cellular companies who want to send unlimited video content but the drive is towards planned obsolescence while at the same time not offering any significant improvement to content.
That said I have had YouTube working on PCs over 20 years old, using patched old software,
To me the whole electronic and software market is in a place of decay, requiring increasing specs to justify their own existence.
So Youtube netflix and others should keep transcoded footage around in every old format so guys that are using decade+ old TV's and don't have to change anything?
Right. Who pays for that storage ?
Depending on any japanese company to keep a PC software based product working has never been a winning strategy.
The answer to the Panasonic tv hanging up on a youtube player is to simply feed it with a streamer like a roku or apple TV type device - problem solved without a new tv.
Trying to keep legacy stuff working so people dont spend any money is how we got the lousy NTSC system to begin with - we had to protect those 4000 clients so we compromised the whole system for 50 year by jamming in color underneath black and white signal.
No significant improvement to content?
I would thoroughly disagree.
We've seen encoding quality increase and more and more picture delivered in an ever smaller package
H:264-H"265 - same quality smaller file. Requires a 10+ fold hike in compute power.
NTSC-HD - remasters
HD 30FPS- 60 FPS
remastered recolored content from film stock - to HD/2K/4K and HDR from a piece of cellulose 20-50 years old.
Guys want 4K on phones now - you cant have everything - while spending nothing.
UD
Originally Posted by UncleDave
Guys want 4K on phones now - you cant have everything - while spending nothing.
4K on phones? Most smartphones have screen pixel density per inch better than a 4K TV, but the screen is so small that viewing 4K content won't really be detectible unless people use a 10x magnifying glass to view the screen.
Guys want 4K on phones now - you cant have everything - while spending nothing.
4K on phones? Most smartphones have screen pixel density per inch better than a 4K TV, but the screen is so small that viewing 4K content won't really be detectible unless people use a 10x magnifying glass to view the screen.
Originally Posted by john_pifer
Bought a new Panasonic TC-P50ST50 plasma 50" in 2012 (Black Friday). It replaced a 25-year-old Magnavox tube TV.
The ST50 has been great, with a wonderful picture, except for the fact that, about a week ago, the built-in YouTube and Netflix apps, which I've used almost daily, have stopped working. The YouTube app hangs on the startup screen, and the Netflix app (which has had intermittent problems for years) comes up with an error message.
Very frustrating.
It started working again.
Bought a new Panasonic TC-P50ST50 plasma 50" in 2012 (Black Friday). It replaced a 25-year-old Magnavox tube TV.
The ST50 has been great, with a wonderful picture, except for the fact that, about a week ago, the built-in YouTube and Netflix apps, which I've used almost daily, have stopped working. The YouTube app hangs on the startup screen, and the Netflix app (which has had intermittent problems for years) comes up with an error message.
Very frustrating.
It started working again.
My neighbor gave me a Westinghouse 46" LED TV at some point. I replaced the ribbon cable to the LED strip and it's working great at a family member's house because I have no need for such a large TV. He leaves it on all day every day.
Funny thing is the warranty replacement Westinghouse went out about a year later so my neighbor gave me a second one. I even had a ribbon cable left over. Unfortunately I broke the connector off the LED strip by accident so I ended up scrapping it.
Personally I've had the best luck with Samsung and LG... That's all I ever buy for TVs and monitors. Panasonic used to be great but at least some of their models are made by Vestel which is junk!
Funny thing is the warranty replacement Westinghouse went out about a year later so my neighbor gave me a second one. I even had a ribbon cable left over. Unfortunately I broke the connector off the LED strip by accident so I ended up scrapping it.
Personally I've had the best luck with Samsung and LG... That's all I ever buy for TVs and monitors. Panasonic used to be great but at least some of their models are made by Vestel which is junk!
Nope, did not set it up to watch that would require buying a special converter. Just keep it in the basement. It does have a super antenna, We live in Lincoln and the am will easily pull in radio from Denver, Kansas city,Des Moines Sioux Falls SD. None of newer radios have that type of range. The speakers are top notch as well. Old as they are they will put these new fancy Bose or Pioneer speakers to shame. My wife has a dozen or so old albums from 70's and 80's that she like to play on occasion. I would gladly give it away, but I have zero interest in lifting that beast up stairs any more. Who ever I decide to give it to can lift and carry it. LOL!
In the late 90's I bought a 1996 vintage 36" Sony Trinitron crt for $200 from a lady friend of a friend that was moving/downsizing due to some health problems. That thing weighed about 200lbs and there was no good way to move it. If you grabbed the plastic lip across the lower front (where all the weight was) it would crack. My brother who always helped me move hated it but I loved that thing. Pic was great and it wouldnt die. I stored it in my shop when I was offered a $100 57" HD DLP sony that the furniture store I was temporarily working at was selling in 2011. For years it repeated promotional dvds on the showroom floor 12 hours a day 6 days a week. By the time they were ready to sell it, floor standing rear projection tvs were fairly outdated . It died in 2014 and I replaced it with a 65" Samsung from sams club. After 4 years its got 1 dead pixel. I've bought 4 other samsung tvs since then, a 55" a 40" and two 32" all seem to hold up well so far but will likely disappoint when compared to that 200 lb sony.
I got my Panasonic TC-P50ST50 50" plasma in 2012 for $999 on Cyber Monday. Still the best picture I've seen on a TV.
I watch a news channel that has a static logo in the lower left corner, and constantly has the ticker going across the bottom, which has caused some slight burn-in, but it's not noticeable unless there's a solid white screen for some reason.
Other than the sporadic problems with the built-in YouTube and Netflix apps, it's been great.
I know plasmas use a lot of energy, but I haven't seen an LED TV that compares, picture-wise.
I watch a news channel that has a static logo in the lower left corner, and constantly has the ticker going across the bottom, which has caused some slight burn-in, but it's not noticeable unless there's a solid white screen for some reason.
Other than the sporadic problems with the built-in YouTube and Netflix apps, it's been great.
I know plasmas use a lot of energy, but I haven't seen an LED TV that compares, picture-wise.
Went to dinner at a friend's house last year...picture this, million dollar waterfront home in FL, gigantic place but everything is terribly outdated. He has lived there for 35 years and hasn't updated anything he didn't absolutely have to. He had a football game on this monstrous old big screen TV with a TERRIBLE picture. He proudly told me he had a lifetime warranty from Sears and as soon as it died he'd get a new one for free!
1. This guy's a retired general surgeon and can surely afford a new TV
2. He better hurry if he wants to use the Sears warranty.
I seem to recall that my dad bought our first color TV in the mid-to-late 70s from a motel that was going out of business and liquidating, because he was too tight to buy a new TV. That thing lasted for 30 years.
If you think TVs are disposable, take a look at other appliances. My mother had the same Hoover upright sweeper for 35 years, now they're plastic and fall apart every couple of years. Don't get me started on washers/dryers/refrigerators, I've had fits with those recently.
1. This guy's a retired general surgeon and can surely afford a new TV
2. He better hurry if he wants to use the Sears warranty.
I seem to recall that my dad bought our first color TV in the mid-to-late 70s from a motel that was going out of business and liquidating, because he was too tight to buy a new TV. That thing lasted for 30 years.
If you think TVs are disposable, take a look at other appliances. My mother had the same Hoover upright sweeper for 35 years, now they're plastic and fall apart every couple of years. Don't get me started on washers/dryers/refrigerators, I've had fits with those recently.
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Samsung is a huge company with their hands in many arenas so blanket statements here can be problematic. I'll make one anyway; Samsung QC is questionable at best. I would be careful with them as a brand, generally speaking. Remember the melting cell phone batteries?
The one glowing exception is with SSD storage. Intel and Samsung make the best SSDs. Samsung is the OEM provider for all of those Macbook air hard drives, very reliable.
Samsung washer and dryer failure rates per Consumer Reports--27%--the worst in the business! As for TVs, I laugh at the people saying TVs are cheap. Sure if you just want that 4K label and don't care how it looks you can get one for a few hundred. That's what my father did, terrible picture quality. Honestly between a $500 LCD and an old CRT, I'd take the CRT! If you actually want to replicate plasma-like black levels you'll spend a few Gs. When plasma TVs were still being made Panasonic and Pioneer were the best. Now? I don't know I like the LG OLEDs (and have one) but again you are going to pay for it.
The one glowing exception is with SSD storage. Intel and Samsung make the best SSDs. Samsung is the OEM provider for all of those Macbook air hard drives, very reliable.
Samsung washer and dryer failure rates per Consumer Reports--27%--the worst in the business! As for TVs, I laugh at the people saying TVs are cheap. Sure if you just want that 4K label and don't care how it looks you can get one for a few hundred. That's what my father did, terrible picture quality. Honestly between a $500 LCD and an old CRT, I'd take the CRT! If you actually want to replicate plasma-like black levels you'll spend a few Gs. When plasma TVs were still being made Panasonic and Pioneer were the best. Now? I don't know I like the LG OLEDs (and have one) but again you are going to pay for it.
Originally Posted by CincyDavid
Went to dinner at a friend's house last year...picture this, million dollar waterfront home in FL, gigantic place but everything is terribly outdated. He has lived there for 35 years and hasn't updated anything he didn't absolutely have to. He had a football game on this monstrous old big screen TV with a TERRIBLE picture. He proudly told me he had a lifetime warranty from Sears and as soon as it died he'd get a new one for free!
1. This guy's a retired general surgeon and can surely afford a new TV
2. He better hurry if he wants to use the Sears warranty.
I seem to recall that my dad bought our first color TV in the mid-to-late 70s from a motel that was going out of business and liquidating, because he was too tight to buy a new TV. That thing lasted for 30 years.
If you think TVs are disposable, take a look at other appliances. My mother had the same Hoover upright sweeper for 35 years, now they're plastic and fall apart every couple of years. Don't get me started on washers/dryers/refrigerators, I've had fits with those recently.
The Hoover vacuum my grandmother bought at Woolworth in 1979 has outlasted three replacements.
Went to dinner at a friend's house last year...picture this, million dollar waterfront home in FL, gigantic place but everything is terribly outdated. He has lived there for 35 years and hasn't updated anything he didn't absolutely have to. He had a football game on this monstrous old big screen TV with a TERRIBLE picture. He proudly told me he had a lifetime warranty from Sears and as soon as it died he'd get a new one for free!
1. This guy's a retired general surgeon and can surely afford a new TV
2. He better hurry if he wants to use the Sears warranty.
I seem to recall that my dad bought our first color TV in the mid-to-late 70s from a motel that was going out of business and liquidating, because he was too tight to buy a new TV. That thing lasted for 30 years.
If you think TVs are disposable, take a look at other appliances. My mother had the same Hoover upright sweeper for 35 years, now they're plastic and fall apart every couple of years. Don't get me started on washers/dryers/refrigerators, I've had fits with those recently.
The Hoover vacuum my grandmother bought at Woolworth in 1979 has outlasted three replacements.
LOL, The 4K Hisense TV I got at Walmart this year only lasted 3 months...............YES 3 months !!
Thought it was a smokin deal lol $209 for a 43" 4K TV !!
On the last week of return window the INPUT #2 was acting weird with my PS4. Every time I turned on my PS4 the remotes would stop working ??, BOTH my cable TV and tv remote !! I would have to go and unplug PW cord and reset it for remotes to work again
Thankfully local WM is friendly and they swapped me for a new ROKU 4K Hisense no questions asked
Hopefully this new one last more than 12 weeks
Dave
Thought it was a smokin deal lol $209 for a 43" 4K TV !!
On the last week of return window the INPUT #2 was acting weird with my PS4. Every time I turned on my PS4 the remotes would stop working ??, BOTH my cable TV and tv remote !! I would have to go and unplug PW cord and reset it for remotes to work again
Thankfully local WM is friendly and they swapped me for a new ROKU 4K Hisense no questions asked
Hopefully this new one last more than 12 weeks
Dave
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I've really enjoyed this thread. My wife and I are not innovators when it comes to new technology. We did buy our first non-traditional TV back in 2006. It was a Hitachi rear screen projection plasma TV. It lasted six years. We were always replacing the lamps which got expensive. The picture was really nice though. Finally gave it to my son and his wife. It gave up the ghost not longer after. One thing I can attest to though was the significant drop in our power bills once that beast was gone. I never realized what a power hog that thing was.
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