Help w/ dead RCA TV (1 Viewer)

[Mark Hedges]

I was wondering if anybody can give me some help deciding what to do with my now dead tv. It is a 27" RCA, 1996 vintage.

Last night I heard a pop, then a squealing sound coming from the tv. There was also an odor of burning electronic components.

Basically I am trying to decide if it is worth lugging it down to the repair shop to get an estimate.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Mark

 

[JackS]

Mark- The time has come for a replacement. If your TV was in perfect working order, you would have a hard time getting $75 bucks for it. I suggest you not spend a dime trying to fix it.

 

[Mark Hedges]

Yeah I know - I was hoping it would last another year or so so I could buy a HDTV without reservation. If I have to buy a new TV now I don't think I will be able to get hdtv since I dont see anything under $1400 or so.

Actually, I was always pleased with the picture from the RCA. I recently calibrated it w/ Avia and I thought the picture looked really nice, especially considering the TV will only accept composite video. My only beef with the set is that it is quite bubble shaped and I have glare problems from it a lot.

Mark

 

[Max Leung]

So, will your next TV set be an RCA?

(They are notorious for being unreliable)

Maybe you can consider an RPTV or a front projector?

 

[Carl Johnson]

Just toss it, about ten years ago I bought an RCA tv and it died on me after less than six months. When I took it back to the store they wanted cash just to look at it.

 

[Mark Hedges]

No, no more RCA for me. Judging by everything I hear I must have gotten lucky with this one - almost 7 years w/o a problem.

I cannot fit a projection TV in where I live now. If I buy a new set it will be 27" or 32", CRT-based flat screen, w/ a 16 by 9 mode. Any recommendations? Figure $800 as the absolute max.

Mark

 

[Michael G Jones]

I have a 10yr old 27" Toshiba that I am waiting to kick to bucket. I thought it was gone for good about a couple months back when the power kept going out in the area. When I turned the TV back on, it was black&white. If it were to kick the bucket, I can only dream of what tv I would really want to buy. Unfortunately, reality(girlfriend) will pop that thought bubble fast.

No recommendations on tv as I only know Canadian. For $800, you can get a JVC 32"

Happy hunting.

 

[Max Leung]

You can get a decent Panasonic direct view TV set. The reliability is not bad on their direct-view CRTs. Although, I have no idea which ones support the 16x9 squeeze trick, except some of the Sony's.

Do you think you could fit a 40" or 42" RPTV? The footprint isn't much bigger than a 32" CRT...wider for the RPTV, but under 2 feet of depth. But then again, direct-view sets tend to be more reliable.

 

[Mark Hedges]

I decided to splurge and get a HD set - the sony 32hs500. They are delivering it on Tuesday - I can't wait!

Boy, those salesmen at Best Buy get really pissy when you decline the extended warrentee. I generally think those things are rip-offs and at $300 (for a $1200 set) I wasn't buying. Can anyone recommend a good internet seller of warrentees? If i can get one for under $150 I would consider it.

Mark