Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: The Barge Captain on 13 September 2006, 14:55:28
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I've got to get a new telly as my old one is beond "economical repair" according to the warrenty muppets. I'm thinking of getting LCD or a plasma telly to replace it (got to get it from Currys or Currys digital as replacement vouchers can only be spent there)
What would you recomend? I'm after nothing smaller than 32"
Or what should i avoid?
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Naturally, I'm gonna say avoid Sony. Useless, unreliable, unusable piece for junk from a lying, deceiteful, disgraceful, useless company.
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LCD is the way forward and is now just at a stage where it can be considered good.
Plasma is old hat, not massively reliable, power hungry, heavy.....should be avoided realy.
Interestingly the best LCD's I have seen recently have been the Philips and Tosh ones with the LG screens fitted.
Dont forget that you idealy want a built in freeview tuner and it should be HDTV compatible
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Depends on how much you want to spend.
Plasmas - panel or TV - benefits with both, Pioneer are very good, as are Panasonic
LCD are more TV based, there are SDTV only ones, but if you want future proof you want a 1080 vertical resolution screen.
For 46" look at the Sony KDL46X2000U, this is the best on the market at the moment.
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=331883
Smaller scour the same site and see what people think, I have seen the above TV and it is good, There is a large Phllips LCD which is pretty good, The Sony S series are basic and the V series are in between. There has been a Toshiba announced - give that a month to appear.
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I wish I'd scanned avforums before I bought my last Sony TV, then I would have realised what a piece of shit they truely are >:(.
Still, my own fault, I would only consider Sony, so thats what I bought. And regretted.
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One thing I have learnt years ago - if it is too cheap it is no use
My current TV is nearly 7 years old, my old portable is over 20 years old. Both Sony
I have seen a few LCD TVs and some are dreadful, same with Plasmas.
CRTs well until they disappeared Trinitron tubed ones were good, but when they tried to compete on price things were not so good. Mine is well made, but when it wears out I will have to get a flat panel type or a rear projector.
So if a Sony item is cheap it is propably naff.
If the price makes you wince it will be fine.
As to any TV, I have never seen a TV where it was perfect with everything, you have to choose what you want.
What actual model TV did you have Jaime?
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LCD is the way forward and is now just at a stage where it can be considered good.
Plasma is old hat, not massively reliable, power hungry, heavy.....should be avoided realy.
Interestingly the best LCD's I have seen recently have been the Philips and Tosh ones with the LG screens fitted.
Dont forget that you idealy want a built in freeview tuner and it should be HDTV compatible
Got to agree with Mark on this one - LCD [smiley=thumbup.gif]
Having seen LCD and Plasma sets, LCD is definitely the better of the two. I'm also told by those in the know that they will last a lot longer than Plasma sets.
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I bought my 32" TV as it was the only 50Hz flat screened IDTV with no surround sound on the market, at the time the only boxes were Ondigital boxes and they were £200 and not as good.
No point paying for TV surround sound speakers as they are usually naff.
DVD - not many shops selling them, interest free credit, £100 off and actually being available meant I got a Sony first time.
H/C receiver, money off and 5* awards off HCC and HE did this for me.
Video cameras I will not mention my 1982 one bought S/H in 1985 but this is one area where Sony are among the top brands, my MiniDV one was one of the first to do anamorphic widescreen without losing vertical resolution, it was one of the better cameras at the time and was praised in the press. I got mine from Jessops after playing with a few Sony and Canon ones.
I have quite a bit of non Sony stuff such as a Pioneer DVD player, Castle speakers, a Pace PVR ect.
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LCD is much much better i agree with mark and as TB said avoid sony LCD is much clearer aswell ;)
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LCD is the way forward and is now just at a stage where it can be considered good.
Plasma is old hat, not massively reliable, power hungry, heavy.....should be avoided realy.
Interestingly the best LCD's I have seen recently have been the Philips and Tosh ones with the LG screens fitted.
Dont forget that you idealy want a built in freeview tuner and it should be HDTV compatible
Got to agree with Mark on this one - LCD [smiley=thumbup.gif]
Having seen LCD and Plasma sets, LCD is definitely the better of the two. I'm also told by those in the know that they will last a lot longer than Plasma sets.
As to Toshiba - wait for the 1080p TVs out in a few months
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LCD is much much better i agree with mark and as TB said avoid sony LCD is much clearer aswell ;)
What problems have you had with Sony?
I hope you haven't been buying their cheap stuff!
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OK who make Sony stuff and why I say avoid the cheap stuff.
All in one home cinemas - Samsung
Vhs VCRs - Hitachi, Smasung, NOT Sony
Their Freeview PVR is a Digifusion, their Freeview box was much better.
Sony stuff which is good, anything which makes you wince.
They are still leaders at video camera technology
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I have had a 42" plasma for a year now & am well happy with it (goodmans).
Thing is if you want a BIG telly,plasma is the way to go cause of the high price of comparable lcd's ATM. If I had say £3500 instead of £1100 would have prolly bought the LCD.
Both have their pro's & cons,ie colours are better on a LCD but the viewing angle is better on a plasma.
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One thing I have learnt years ago - if it is too cheap it is no use
My current TV is nearly 7 years old, my old portable is over 20 years old. Both Sony
I have seen a few LCD TVs and some are dreadful, same with Plasmas.
CRTs well until they disappeared Trinitron tubed ones were good, but when they tried to compete on price things were not so good. Mine is well made, but when it wears out I will have to get a flat panel type or a rear projector.
So if a Sony item is cheap it is propably naff.
If the price makes you wince it will be fine.
As to any TV, I have never seen a TV where it was perfect with everything, you have to choose what you want.
What actual model TV did you have Jaime?
Had my (current) Sony TV around 4 years. Cost over £1500, and was supposedly best 28" trinitron Wega they did apparently. Its the FQ series shite. Paid a Sony price, got a Goodmans quality TV. And its not a 1 off, this is the 4th I've had (under warranty).
I have a C&G 224, specialising in colour television, so I know exactly what is wrong with this set, but apparently the Sony call centre staff know more about electronics than I do..... >:(
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KV28FQ75?
Supposedly quite good, however it is a 100Hz TV [smiley=thumbdown.gif]
If you have a fuzz on the picture there is a fix which involves playing with the service menu. On avforums somewhere
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KV28FQ75?
Supposedly quite good, however it is a 100Hz TV [smiley=thumbdown.gif]
If you have a fuzz on the picture there is a fix which involves playing with the service menu. On avforums somewhere
Yeah, thats the model. Yes I have the focus issues. Yes I have the geometry issues (not fixable due to design problem with PSU). Yes, I have the scrolling black bars associated with this model (and all 100hz TVs according to Sony - tossers), apparently not fixable according to Sony UK - shame other countries have sorted this with an expensive fix. Yes I have the sound issues from the left speaker.
Still, the particular one I have now is better than the previous 3, but still crap (ignoring the price for a mo)
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KV28FQ75?
Supposedly quite good, however it is a 100Hz TV [smiley=thumbdown.gif]
If you have a fuzz on the picture there is a fix which involves playing with the service menu. On avforums somewhere
Yeah, thats the model. Yes I have the focus issues. Yes I have the geometry issues (not fixable due to design problem with PSU). Yes, I have the scrolling black bars associated with this model (and all 100hz TVs according to Sony - tossers), apparently not fixable according to Sony UK - shame other countries have sorted this with an expensive fix. Yes I have the sound issues from the left speaker.
Still, the particular one I have now is better than the previous 3, but still crap (ignoring the price for a mo)
Guessed due to the problems with that model
Smearing fix
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116374
Speaker - people suggest adding shielding (if that problem)
Srolling bars can be poor quality Scart leads
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130518
Geometry - DIY in service menu
Have you considered replacing the PSU?
Are you in LIVE mode or have you set up PERSONAL, out of the box the tube is overdriven to melt retinas, pulling the brightness down works wonders
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I haven't investigated speaker much, as generally use seperate amp.
Focus, I can't seem to get focus all over screen - as soon as one bit comes back in, another bit drops out. The Sony 'engineers' couldn't do better either
Geometry. Pointless adjusting due to poor PSU design. Its close on medium screens, but darker or lighter scenes cause it to go out again. The PSU hasn't got the power to run the coils.
The bars are due to interference inside the set. Sony tried blaming the ixos scarts, until I showed them the bars with the scarts all unplugged...
Not considered changing PSU, as on main board. The TV is a heap of shit, so why bother.
Just can't wait to be rid of it.
Sony have lost another once loyal customer.
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IXOS are quite good.
The FQ75 is a lemon of a TV.
I think you can cure the scrolling by adding some tin plate shields to the scart area including the switching chip.
Now my 7 year old Wega has had a few issues relating to being an very early IDTV and needed a mod. for Ondigital CAM, and a software update for Freeview changes.
I had to change the picture settings - brightness and contrast, then geometry - one corner went out after a week or so of use. I get feedback from the DVB-T tuner to RGB Scart 1 which is killed off by switching to an analogue station before watching a DVD.
Picture quality on mine is stunning, I have had good support.
BTW the FQ80 had all the FQ75 bigs fixed
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BTW the FQ80 had all the FQ75 bigs fixed
Err, only according to Sony... ...the ones I've seen are probably as bad or worse than the 75.
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BTW the FQ80 had all the FQ75 bigs fixed
Err, only according to Sony... ...the ones I've seen are probably as bad or worse than the 75.
Oh dear - a bit of a fall from the FD1s
Anyway try the shielding - it might work!
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I have 32" 100hz Wega Sony....had it when they first came out....quite a few years ago...ok i did go thro 3 tv's within about 3 weeks....but this one has been fine....slightly outa focus on teletext left hand side of screen....but watching programmes etc you carnt tell
My Dad has just bought one of these......picture quality is brilliant!!
http://www.digital-point.co.uk/model.php?ID=2476
Tho my neighbour has a Sony LCD....dunno what model....and i think the picture quality on that one is rubbish imo
Pays ya money and takes ya choice imo
Cheers
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I have 32" 100hz Wega Sony....had it when they first came out....quite a few years ago...ok i did go thro 3 tv's within about 3 weeks....but this one has been fine....slightly outa focus on teletext left hand side of screen....but watching programmes etc you carnt tell
My Dad has just bought one of these......picture quality is brilliant!!
http://www.digital-point.co.uk/model.php?ID=2476
Tho my neighbour has a Sony LCD....dunno what model....and i think the picture quality on that one is rubbish imo
Pays ya money and takes ya choice imo
Cheers
The early Sony ones were poor, but since they got their joint plant running, and spent some serious R&D money their LCD TVs are now very good, S-basic, V-mid range, X-top range
Is yours the KV32FX60? - no black base
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I have 32" 100hz Wega Sony....had it when they first came out....quite a few years ago...ok i did go thro 3 tv's within about 3 weeks....but this one has been fine....slightly outa focus on teletext left hand side of screen....but watching programmes etc you carnt tell
My Dad has just bought one of these......picture quality is brilliant!!
http://www.digital-point.co.uk/model.php?ID=2476
Tho my neighbour has a Sony LCD....dunno what model....and i think the picture quality on that one is rubbish imo
Pays ya money and takes ya choice imo
Cheers
The early Sony ones were poor, but since they got their joint plant running, and spent some serious R&D money their LCD TVs are now very good, S-basic, V-mid range, X-top range
Is yours the KV32FX60? - no black base
You made me move my dvd stacks to have a look Martin ;D
Its KV32FX60U......dunno what the U means....but yes i guess
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I have 32" 100hz Wega Sony....had it when they first came out....quite a few years ago...ok i did go thro 3 tv's within about 3 weeks....but this one has been fine....slightly outa focus on teletext left hand side of screen....but watching programmes etc you carnt tell
My Dad has just bought one of these......picture quality is brilliant!!
http://www.digital-point.co.uk/model.php?ID=2476
Tho my neighbour has a Sony LCD....dunno what model....and i think the picture quality on that one is rubbish imo
Pays ya money and takes ya choice imo
Cheers
The early Sony ones were poor, but since they got their joint plant running, and spent some serious R&D money their LCD TVs are now very good, S-basic, V-mid range, X-top range
Is yours the KV32FX60? - no black base
You made me move my dvd stacks to have a look Martin ;D
Its KV32FX60U......dunno what the U means....but yes i guess
That period
KV = tube TV
32 or 28 tube size
F-flat
D-IDTV
X-stereo
S-DPL
20 - 50Hz
60 - 100Hz
U - UK
Hence KV32FX60U yours, KV32DX20U mine, KV28DS60U my Dads ect
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Naturally, I'm gonna say avoid Sony. Useless, unreliable, unusable piece for junk from a lying, deceiteful, disgraceful, useless company.
say what you mean Martin :D
Marks DTM right as usual!
LCD in.... plasma so out of date and less likely to be hd.....
intrestingly i rate lg very very higlhly, maybe because when they won a phone handset contract with us they gave us several dozen 32" LCD`s for our offices.
And you know what we show on these state of the art screens - wall queues and wait times and service levels.... :(
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42 Inch LCD, HD ready 8-)
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I have 32" 100hz Wega Sony....had it when they first came out....quite a few years ago...ok i did go thro 3 tv's within about 3 weeks....but this one has been fine....slightly outa focus on teletext left hand side of screen....but watching programmes etc you carnt tell
My Dad has just bought one of these......picture quality is brilliant!!
http://www.digital-point.co.uk/model.php?ID=2476
Tho my neighbour has a Sony LCD....dunno what model....and i think the picture quality on that one is rubbish imo
Pays ya money and takes ya choice imo
Cheers
Yeah, mine always had focus problems on left, mainly noticable on teletext and titles on DVDs. It has got worse, and is not possible to to fix completely. It is further noticable now because I use a MCE as my primary recorder/player
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I have 32" 100hz Wega Sony....had it when they first came out....quite a few years ago...ok i did go thro 3 tv's within about 3 weeks....but this one has been fine....slightly outa focus on teletext left hand side of screen....but watching programmes etc you carnt tell
My Dad has just bought one of these......picture quality is brilliant!!
http://www.digital-point.co.uk/model.php?ID=2476
Tho my neighbour has a Sony LCD....dunno what model....and i think the picture quality on that one is rubbish imo
Pays ya money and takes ya choice imo
Cheers
Yeah, mine always had focus problems on left, mainly noticable on teletext and titles on DVDs. It has got worse, and is not possible to to fix completely. It is further noticable now because I use a MCE as my primary recorder/player
Did you look at the smear fix?
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my problem is focus, not a colour smear as suggested in that post.
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my problem is focus, not a colour smear as suggested in that post.
So what causes the poor focus?
WHy didn't you get heavy to get this one sorted?
They can do good TVs, you have had bad luck - one last thing do you switch off or standby?
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Sounds like the switch mode is struggling to provide the peek current requirements and as a result the HT is sagging.....probably fixable with a suitable cap or tweak to the circuit.
By the way, Sony dont (or at least didn't) do there own TV PSU designs, they are/were done by Sanken......
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Mark has hit the problem exactly - the PSU is flawed. During bright colours, the geometry adjusts as it cannot drive the coils hard enough to reach the edges of screen. The focus, I think, is again to PSU underated, and unable to provide the power to drag focus in. Thats why focus is good in middle, but awful at edges.
Its not a one off. I have had 4. I have seen several others. They are awful, horrid, crap, useless TVs, from a lying, deceitful company.
Sony UK got in a bit of trouble for refusing to honour the warranties on this set, basically causing the retailers to have to take a lot of the burden for 'faulty' sets that Sony claimed were 'within spec'
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Blimy - I didn't expect so many reponses for such a quick question. So its definatly LCD, and avoid sony unless i want to spend about 3 grand!
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Sounds like the switch mode is struggling to provide the peek current requirements and as a result the HT is sagging.....probably fixable with a suitable cap or tweak to the circuit.
By the way, Sony dont (or at least didn't) do there own TV PSU designs, they are/were done by Sanken......
So you think sticking a better PSU in would help?
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Blimy - I didn't expect so many reponses for such a quick question. So its definatly LCD, and avoid sony unless i want to spend about 3 grand!
Well I'm going to be saving - 46" X series would do me!
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Mark has hit the problem exactly - the PSU is flawed. During bright colours, the geometry adjusts as it cannot drive the coils hard enough to reach the edges of screen. The focus, I think, is again to PSU underated, and unable to provide the power to drag focus in. Thats why focus is good in middle, but awful at edges.
Its not a one off. I have had 4. I have seen several others. They are awful, horrid, crap, useless TVs, from a lying, deceitful company.
Sony UK got in a bit of trouble for refusing to honour the warranties on this set, basically causing the retailers to have to take a lot of the burden for 'faulty' sets that Sony claimed were 'within spec'
What picture mode is it in? (LIVE, MOVIE ect)
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Mark has hit the problem exactly - the PSU is flawed. During bright colours, the geometry adjusts as it cannot drive the coils hard enough to reach the edges of screen. The focus, I think, is again to PSU underated, and unable to provide the power to drag focus in. Thats why focus is good in middle, but awful at edges.
Its not a one off. I have had 4. I have seen several others. They are awful, horrid, crap, useless TVs, from a lying, deceitful company.
Sony UK got in a bit of trouble for refusing to honour the warranties on this set, basically causing the retailers to have to take a lot of the burden for 'faulty' sets that Sony claimed were 'within spec'
Wow so I do remember some of my TV theory, was thinking last night focus comes from LOPT which is part and parcel of the switch mode so PSU isn't coping properly under load. Looks like I'm not totally brain dead LOL.
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the lopt is usually not part of psu, but obviously performs a not dissimilar function.
Martin, I tend to vary mode depending on what I watch. And the brightness is turned down (we all know the reason they put brightness up to 100%).
I did consider changing PSU a couple of years back (could have got one from a 36" sony one, not fq but similar, and may have been an easy fix), but simply couldn't be bothered with it, as it wouldn't cure all the issues. I could spend hours playing with additional shielding and filters to try to reduce internal interference....
BUT, why the hell should I when I pay a premium price for a supposed premium product. A mate bought a no name type Argos special for about a quater of the price of mine, and its a far better TV.
Not going to bother too much with it now, as the tube is going soft (only around 4 yrs old). It needs replacing...
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Well guys i have got 1 of these only had it 3 months and i love it 8-)
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/455_321443.html
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Not going to bother too much with it now, as the tube is going soft (only around 4 yrs old). It needs replacing...
THats bad mine is 7 years old!
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Well guys i have got 1 of these only had it 3 months and i love it 8-)
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/455_321443.html
Nice price
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Well guys i have got 1 of these only had it 3 months and i love it 8-)
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/455_321443.html
Nice price
Yeah m8 does the job love it very nice pic aswell
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Well guys i have got 1 of these only had it 3 months and i love it 8-)
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/455_321443.html
Nice price
Yeah m8 does the job love it very nice pic aswell
The Koreans are coming on - interesting to see the shifts of technology