Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: TheBoy on 02 January 2022, 16:15:38
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One of my tasks for my time off between Xmas and NY was to find a suitable replacement for Microsoft's long abandoned Media Center, which most of you will know has been my device of choice to sit under the telly to deal with everything TV related. Well, actually, the search began a couple of years back, by getting a Humax TV recorder and a gay-ray player.
Well, the Humax is just about dead now - not that I mind, because it was shite really.
So a concerted effort to find a replacement PC based solution.
So, hear is the summary of all my trials:
Kodi: Shite
Plex: Expensive and Shite
Media Portal 2: OK but unreliable
MythTV: Didn't support my tuners
Win 8.1 Media Center: "Just works"
So after several days, I'm back where I started, and still using a product that got its last update over 13 years ago.
I think Win8.1 goes out of support in early 2023, so I guess I'll either have to do it all again next year in the hope something has improved, or just yank the network cable out of the back of the damn thing next year, and all streaming will have to be via another device.
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Are you moaning again. You're as bad as the gobby scouser. ;D ;)
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I got mythtv working with a dual Hauppage tuner card (on Linux) about 15 years ago. It needs to have the firmware installed each time it is restarted. Can't remember what I had to do to make that happen - I think 'hotplug' was involved
I haven't tried Kodi
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Amazon firestick? . £40
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Been using 2 x Humax 1100s in different rooms OK for some years, though what idiotic design with the indicator light underneath necessitating sticking a piece of silver paper under the light so it is visible. :o
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Amazon firestick? . £40
You cant record and save for later though.
Or can you?
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Amazon firestick? . £40
You cant record and save for later though.
Or can you?
No need to record Amazon content, it's available at any time. There are no 'live' programs anyway, only football now and again, and that can be viewed anytime later.
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You have to be a prime member to use it, though. £7.99 a month.
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Gi sunbird?
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the trouble with More4 etc is that you still have to endure adverts before & during the programme. At least they can be skipped through when recorded.
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I got mythtv working with a dual Hauppage tuner card (on Linux) about 15 years ago. It needs to have the firmware installed each time it is restarted. Can't remember what I had to do to make that happen - I think 'hotplug' was involved
I haven't tried Kodi
Yeah, I want something that is faff free. It has to be Mrs TB friendly.
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Amazon firestick? . £40
Thats purely a streaming device.
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Yeah, I want something that is faff free. It has to be Mrs TB friendly.
I'm not sure that there has been anything that is woman friendly when it comes to watching telly via anything other than directly through an aerial. There's been load of conversations at work with respective partners along the lines of the telly needs to be on blah blah & the Humax on blah blah and ....
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Yeah, I want something that is faff free. It has to be Mrs TB friendly.
I'm not sure that there has been anything that is woman friendly when it comes to watching telly via anything other than directly through an aerial. There's been load of conversations at work with respective partners along the lines of the telly needs to be on blah blah & the Humax on blah blah and ....
There was. Its called Media Center. Though sadly needs additional thought about continued use beyond Jan 2023 :(
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When I leave the sky box recording late at night, I put both the sky box and tv on standby. The reason is that both of them, and other stuff, are plugged into one extension block so one flick of a switch at bedtime turns everything off.
You can turn both the tv and box back on in the morning from the sky remote, but try telling wifey how to do it. The most simple of operations but, no, far too technical.
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When I leave the sky box recording late at night, I put both the sky box and tv on standby. The reason is that both of them, and other stuff, are plugged into one extension block so one flick of a switch at bedtime turns everything off.
You can turn both the tv and box back on in the morning from the sky remote, but try telling wifey how to do it. The most simple of operations but, no, far too technical.
I feel you're pain Steve. ;Dthe trouble with More4 etc is that you still have to endure adverts before & during the programme. At least they can be skipped through when recorded.
Very true. ;)
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Been using 2 x Humax 1100s in different rooms OK for some years, though what idiotic design with the indicator light underneath necessitating sticking a piece of silver paper under the light so it is visible. :o
I also have two Humax boxes in different downstairs rooms - their Freesat HDR 1100S models, and they are brilliant. Dumped Sky several years ago, and never regretted it, and infinately cheaper overall. One of the best recorders made by Humax, but sadly no longer made after Humax stopped their affliation with Freesat.
Can't rate them highly enough.
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I got mythtv working with a dual Hauppage tuner card (on Linux) about 15 years ago. It needs to have the firmware installed each time it is restarted. Can't remember what I had to do to make that happen - I think 'hotplug' was involved
I haven't tried Kodi
Yeah, I want something that is faff free. It has to be Mrs TB friendly.
the biggest faff was extracting the firmware (.fw?) file from the Windows installation. Once I had that I had to create a new script file that loads the firmware when the tuner is initialised . Once set up it just works with no further intervention.
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It took me long enough to faff about getting mythtv to work that, by the time I'd got something half working, I'd realised there's nothing on TV worth recording anyway. I never managed to throw enough computing power at it for it to not run like a total dog. :(
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Mythtv indexes everything. I miss being able to run a quick search of everything I have recorded and everything scheduled for the next 2 weeks.
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It took me long enough to faff about getting mythtv to work that, by the time I'd got something half working, I'd realised there's nothing on TV worth recording anyway. I never managed to throw enough computing power at it for it to not run like a total dog. :(
And to start adding the level of power needed for a single piece of hardware to do backend and frontend functions means fans (or very elaborate quieter cooling systems).
Its the same problem with all those ones that were originally forked from XBMC.
Although, for me, that main reason for only spending a couple of hours with MythTV was nobody made any Linux drivers for my tuners... ...and when I pissed around enough to get an old SD only Hauppauge one to work, I realised the PC wasn't powerful enough.
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Been using 2 x Humax 1100s in different rooms OK for some years, though what idiotic design with the indicator light underneath necessitating sticking a piece of silver paper under the light so it is visible. :o
I also have two Humax boxes in different downstairs rooms - their Freesat HDR 1100S models, and they are brilliant. Dumped Sky several years ago, and never regretted it, and infinately cheaper overall. One of the best recorders made by Humax, but sadly no longer made after Humax stopped their affliation with Freesat.
Can't rate them highly enough.
With the experiences of my last 2 Humax devices, I don't think I'd get another TBH. Shame, as the original was great, if a bit sluggish, and still working in it's new home.
I think I'd just buy the cheapest triple/quad Freeview recorder money could buy next time. Its not like Humax offers anything unique, and quality seems to have gone down the toilet.
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When I leave the sky box recording late at night, I put both the sky box and tv on standby. The reason is that both of them, and other stuff, are plugged into one extension block so one flick of a switch at bedtime turns everything off.
You can turn both the tv and box back on in the morning from the sky remote, but try telling wifey how to do it. The most simple of operations but, no, far too technical.
Are you sure you should be turning off the Sky box? Don't know specifically about the new stuff Sky pedal, but generally these devices are designed to be left "on" (inc standby) 24/7, and often do "stuff" when idle overnight.
My setup, power wise, behind the telly, is one of those remote controlled power strips (with all the usual anti surge crap in), that leaves certain outlets on permanently, with the others going on and off with the strip's remote. Can't remember what make, as I don't venture into that rat's nest of cables too often ;D. Belkin? Startech? One of those sorts of companies, anyway.
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When I leave the sky box recording late at night, I put both the sky box and tv on standby. The reason is that both of them, and other stuff, are plugged into one extension block so one flick of a switch at bedtime turns everything off.
You can turn both the tv and box back on in the morning from the sky remote, but try telling wifey how to do it. The most simple of operations but, no, far too technical.
Are you sure you should be turning off the Sky box? Don't know specifically about the new stuff Sky pedal, but generally these devices are designed to be left "on" (inc standby) 24/7, and often do "stuff" when idle overnight.
My setup, power wise, behind the telly, is one of those remote controlled power strips (with all the usual anti surge crap in), that leaves certain outlets on permanently, with the others going on and off with the strip's remote. Can't remember what make, as I don't venture into that rat's nest of cables too often ;D. Belkin? Startech? One of those sorts of companies, anyway.
You, yourself, have mentioned on here in the past about sky+ boxes drawing 25 watts even when on standby. I don't GAF what they do overnight, they can do it during the day. I even switch it off when I go out.
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For current Humax owners, have they sorted out standby yet, or is it still the case if you use a proper standby, it takes anywhere between 4 and 12 mins to turn back on?
By standby, I mean <1W power, not the old scheme Humax used to use which effectively kept the device on all the time at 20-40W (which isn't really standby).
Effective standby is important to me now, as I try to reduce my leccy bill after ending up on a standard variable tariff.
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By standby, I mean <1W power, not the old scheme Humax used to use which effectively kept the device on all the time at 20-40W (which isn't really standby).
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How would I measure it? My Humax turns on again quite quickly .... a few seconds.
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By standby, I mean <1W power, not the old scheme Humax used to use which effectively kept the device on all the time at 20-40W (which isn't really standby).
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How would I measure it? My Humax turns on again quite quickly .... a few seconds.
So its not actually going off in the case of Humax - it simply changes the LED colour, and drops the signal telling the TV its on from the HDMI port. Power consumption still remains about the same as if you didn't turn it off. Or certainly thats the case with most Humax boxes, including the latest Aura box.
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By standby, I mean <1W power, not the old scheme Humax used to use which effectively kept the device on all the time at 20-40W (which isn't really standby).
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How would I measure it? My Humax turns on again quite quickly .... a few seconds.
So its not actually going off in the case of Humax - it simply changes the LED colour, and drops the signal telling the TV its on from the HDMI port. Power consumption still remains about the same as if you didn't turn it off. Or certainly thats the case with most Humax boxes, including the latest Aura box.
Exactly the case with my sky box.
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Exactly the case with my sky box.
you can choose the power saving options on SKY HD boxes ;)
and NOW TV boxes
and YOUVIEW boxes
your BETAMAX video recorder / player maybe not Uncle Stemo ;D
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Exactly the case with my sky box.
you can choose the power saving options on SKY HD boxes ;)
and NOW TV boxes
and YOUVIEW boxes
your BETAMAX video recorder / player maybe not Uncle Stemo ;D
No need. Switch off at the mains turns it off, no power being used. I think power saving settings merely power down after a certain period of time, thus putting it into standby, when it's still using around 25 Watts.
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Exactly the case with my sky box.
you can choose the power saving options on SKY HD boxes ;)
and NOW TV boxes
and YOUVIEW boxes
your BETAMAX video recorder / player maybe not Uncle Stemo ;D
No need. Switch off at the mains turns it off, no power being used. I think power saving settings merely power down after a certain period of time, thus putting it into standby, when it's still using around 25 Watts.
How very "climate friendly / green" of you
I'll keep mine always ON to balance the power you save with the power i use :y :D
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Exactly the case with my sky box.
you can choose the power saving options on SKY HD boxes ;)
and NOW TV boxes
and YOUVIEW boxes
your BETAMAX video recorder / player maybe not Uncle Stemo ;D
No need. Switch off at the mains turns it off, no power being used. I think power saving settings merely power down after a certain period of time, thus putting it into standby, when it's still using around 25 Watts.
How very "climate friendly / green" of you
I'll keep mine always ON to balance the power you save with the power i use :y :D
I'm not green, just tight.
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Exactly the case with my sky box.
you can choose the power saving options on SKY HD boxes ;)
and NOW TV boxes
and YOUVIEW boxes
your BETAMAX video recorder / player maybe not Uncle Stemo ;D
No need. Switch off at the mains turns it off, no power being used. I think power saving settings merely power down after a certain period of time, thus putting it into standby, when it's still using around 25 Watts.
How very "climate friendly / green" of you
I'll keep mine always ON to balance the power you save with the power i use :y :D
I'm not green, just tight.
I'm very tight too
but the cost involved in keeping it on VS not having to explain how to turn the TV ,SKY , NOW TV etc back on is a saving
and keeping the planet warm too
I live on top of a hill so not worried about flooding due to some ice caps melting :)
there's some penguins down the road at the zoo if i felt the need to look at one :P
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Exactly the case with my sky box.
you can choose the power saving options on SKY HD boxes ;)
and NOW TV boxes
and YOUVIEW boxes
your BETAMAX video recorder / player maybe not Uncle Stemo ;D
The YouView ones don't support a proper standby. Not sure about NowTV, as not interested in pure streaming devices.
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I'm very tight too
but the cost involved in keeping it on VS not having to explain how to turn the TV ,SKY , NOW TV etc back on is a saving
and keeping the planet warm too
I live on top of a hill so not worried about flooding due to some ice caps melting :)
there's some penguins down the road at the zoo if i felt the need to look at one :P
I too live on the top of a hill, and try to create as much rubbish as possible by not recycling, so raise land levels. And care not about the environment, and will never I've up cows. Ever.
But I am tight when it comes to paying energy companies, and the £2.5k I pay Gritish Bas, which is estimated to go up to approaching £4k in the Spring, is already way too much. So even 30W on 24/7 needs to be looked at....
...thats in addition to potential fire risks from cheap Chinky devices being left on. Not sure why fire is always at the back of my mind...
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I'm very tight too
but the cost involved in keeping it on VS not having to explain how to turn the TV ,SKY , NOW TV etc back on is a saving
and keeping the planet warm too
I live on top of a hill so not worried about flooding due to some ice caps melting :)
there's some penguins down the road at the zoo if i felt the need to look at one :P
I too live on the top of a hill, and try to create as much rubbish as possible by not recycling, so raise land levels. And care not about the environment, and will never I've up cows. Ever.
But I am tight when it comes to paying energy companies, and the £2.5k I pay Gritish Bas, which is estimated to go up to approaching £4k in the Spring, is already way too much. So even 30W on 24/7 needs to be looked at....
...thats in addition to potential fire risks from cheap Chinky devices being left on. Not sure why fire is always at the back of my mind...
Why not generate your own electricary then
just amass all the combustibles, aerosols, etc in the garage until you have enough to power a furnace to run a turbine :)
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I'm very tight too
but the cost involved in keeping it on VS not having to explain how to turn the TV ,SKY , NOW TV etc back on is a saving
and keeping the planet warm too
I live on top of a hill so not worried about flooding due to some ice caps melting :)
there's some penguins down the road at the zoo if i felt the need to look at one :P
I too live on the top of a hill, and try to create as much rubbish as possible by not recycling, so raise land levels. And care not about the environment, and will never I've up cows. Ever.
But I am tight when it comes to paying energy companies, and the £2.5k I pay Gritish Bas, which is estimated to go up to approaching £4k in the Spring, is already way too much. So even 30W on 24/7 needs to be looked at....
...thats in addition to potential fire risks from cheap Chinky devices being left on. Not sure why fire is always at the back of my mind...
I've just had aHarry Ramsdens cow pie. Lovely.
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By standby, I mean <1W power, not the old scheme Humax used to use which effectively kept the device on all the time at 20-40W (which isn't really standby).
.....
How would I measure it? My Humax turns on again quite quickly .... a few seconds.
So its not actually going off in the case of Humax - it simply changes the LED colour, and drops the signal telling the TV its on from the HDMI port. Power consumption still remains about the same as if you didn't turn it off. Or certainly thats the case with most Humax boxes, including the latest Aura box.
Exactly the case with my sky box.
My new LG telly has an energy saving setting .... ie it switches itself off after so long of inactivity, but because channel changing & volume etc is done via the a/v box it'd tell us it was about to switch off. I found the setting to tell it not to - eventually after a pointer from YouTube :y
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By standby, I mean <1W power, not the old scheme Humax used to use which effectively kept the device on all the time at 20-40W (which isn't really standby).
.....
How would I measure it? My Humax turns on again quite quickly .... a few seconds.
So its not actually going off in the case of Humax - it simply changes the LED colour, and drops the signal telling the TV its on from the HDMI port. Power consumption still remains about the same as if you didn't turn it off. Or certainly thats the case with most Humax boxes, including the latest Aura box.
Exactly the case with my sky box.
My new LG telly has an energy saving setting .... ie it switches itself off after so long of inactivity, but because channel changing & volume etc is done via the a/v box it'd tell us it was about to switch off. I found the setting to tell it not to - eventually after a pointer from YouTube :y
All of our Samsungs have done that, nannying bastards ;D
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My new LG telly has an energy saving setting .... ie it switches itself off after so long of inactivity, but because channel changing & volume etc is done via the a/v box it'd tell us it was about to switch off. I found the setting to tell it not to - eventually after a pointer from YouTube :y
My Samsungs do that, and being an avid Media Center user, the TV just gets set to HDMI1.
Fortunately, because its rare I sit in front of a TV for 4 hours, its rarely a problem. I had found a way to disable it previously, but have since factory reset it due to it being sluggish, and CBA to look again ;D
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My new LG telly has an energy saving setting .... ie it switches itself off after so long of inactivity, but because channel changing & volume etc is done via the a/v box it'd tell us it was about to switch off. I found the setting to tell it not to - eventually after a pointer from YouTube :y
My Samsungs do that, and being an avid Media Center user, the TV just gets set to HDMI1.
Fortunately, because its rare I sit in front of a TV for 4 hours, its rarely a problem. I had found a way to disable it previously, but have since factory reset it due to it being sluggish, and CBA to look again ;D
The Samsung that it replaced was too old for such electrickery ;)
The a/v box now changes the HDMI1 to something else now when you go onto Netflixs/etc
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I've fixed a few TV's/PVR's for friends and family. It's almost always the power supplies that pack in - usually the diodes in the switch modes PSU's. Things with external power bricks aren't worth fixing - just replace the brick. But TV's more often have a built in mains switch mode supply
IMV turning small electrical/electronic devices on and off to save electricity is false economy. Turning stuff on is usually when the PSU's have the greatest loads put on them, as they charge all the internal smoothing capacitors. This strain is when the PSU is most likely to fail. Once the TV is up and running the load on the PSU is fairly constant - there are fewer surge loads. I can't remember the last time something went 'pop' whilst it was in normal use. I can remember lots of things that went 'pop' as I tried to turn them on.
I haven't checked what my setup draws (Humax Freeview PVR + generic 42" flat screen telly), but I doubt it's anything like 20W. Even if it is, running a 20W load for 24 hours costs about 9.5 pence - so less than £35 a year. I think my PVR box was around £100, and the TV about £300. I doubt either would last more than a few years if they were turned on and off 365 times per year.
So £35 for ever, or £300+ every few years to replace the TV because some fool has been turning it on and off every night to "save money". Hmmm.
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My cheapo Samsung 40" tv is a bout 5 years old and gets turned off and on about 4 times daily. That's means the sky box does too. Both still working fine and, by your reckoning, and if they're off 50% of the time, I'm at least £70 up.
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My cheapo Samsung 40" tv is a bout 5 years old
My 48" is about the same, though suspect I'll have to replace it soon. I'm guessing mine is one of the Samsung's of the era that used those shit LG panels, judging by all the purple blotches.
Given the cost of the backlight LEDs, its probably not worth changing multiple strips (not sure now many strips are on mine, but I reckon I have at least 3 LEDs across different strips that are shining purple instead of white.
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My cheapo Samsung 40" tv is a bout 5 years old
My 48" is about the same, though suspect I'll have to replace it soon. I'm guessing mine is one of the Samsung's of the era that used those shit LG panels, judging by all the purple blotches.
Given the cost of the backlight LEDs, its probably not worth changing multiple strips (not sure now many strips are on mine, but I reckon I have at least 3 LEDs across different strips that are shining purple instead of white.
My 44"?? Samsung just started to show black lines towards the bottom of the screen about 6" long ... a day or two later 1 became 3 .... I never even considered repairing it
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My cheapo Samsung 40" tv is a bout 5 years old
My 48" is about the same, though suspect I'll have to replace it soon. I'm guessing mine is one of the Samsung's of the era that used those shit LG panels, judging by all the purple blotches.
Given the cost of the backlight LEDs, its probably not worth changing multiple strips (not sure now many strips are on mine, but I reckon I have at least 3 LEDs across different strips that are shining purple instead of white.
My 44"?? Samsung just started to show black lines towards the bottom of the screen about 6" long ... a day or two later 1 became 3 .... I never even considered repairing it
Samsungs are basically throw away tellies. Although John Lewis will give you a five year guarantee.
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My cheapo Samsung 40" tv is a bout 5 years old
My 48" is about the same, though suspect I'll have to replace it soon. I'm guessing mine is one of the Samsung's of the era that used those shit LG panels, judging by all the purple blotches.
Given the cost of the backlight LEDs, its probably not worth changing multiple strips (not sure now many strips are on mine, but I reckon I have at least 3 LEDs across different strips that are shining purple instead of white.
My 44"?? Samsung just started to show black lines towards the bottom of the screen about 6" long ... a day or two later 1 became 3 .... I never even considered repairing it
Samsungs are basically throw away tellies. Although John Lewis will give you a five year guarantee.
So does Costco ;)
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My cheapo Samsung 40" tv is a bout 5 years old
My 48" is about the same, though suspect I'll have to replace it soon. I'm guessing mine is one of the Samsung's of the era that used those shit LG panels, judging by all the purple blotches.
Given the cost of the backlight LEDs, its probably not worth changing multiple strips (not sure now many strips are on mine, but I reckon I have at least 3 LEDs across different strips that are shining purple instead of white.
My 44"?? Samsung just started to show black lines towards the bottom of the screen about 6" long ... a day or two later 1 became 3 .... I never even considered repairing it
Samsungs are basically throw away tellies. Although John Lewis will give you a five year guarantee.
So does Costco ;)
There you go, then. Your crappy Samsung will last for five years, and you can turn it off and on a hundred times a day if you feel like it. ;D
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I'm in bed watching a 9 year old Samsung, only got freeview but the picture is fine.
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I'm in bed watching a 9 year old Samsung, only got freeview but the picture is fine.
Can't you think of anything better to do in bed than watch telly Steve? ::) Hooray! smilies back to normal. :D