Funeral for a TV
They say television is dead.
In my case, it couldn’t be more literal. Our 9 year old Sony WEGA 32″ television has now transformed itself into a 200 lb paperweight.
The telltale signs were there.
At first, it would take a few moments before the picture came on. The interval of time between powering the TV on and the picture showing up on the screen gradually grew. For a while, we never powered our TV off – preferring to power off the DVD receiver hooked up to it, instead.
Two days ago, in an absent-minded state, I powered off the TV, not thinking much about it. Big mistake.
The TV refuses to come back on. I’ve tried all sorts of methods to resurrect the set, including leaving it unplugged for several hours, but nothing seems to work. Apparently, I’m not alone. A bit of googling yielded similar such cases. From what I gather, the “sweep” circuitry, which is responsible for displaying the scanlines on the set, no longer functions.
I’m not sure what repair costs would be, but it’s probably going to be expensive. Repairs may be moot altogether, because we have no way of transporting the TV to the repair shop.
Will we buy a new TV? Not anytime in the near future. Aarti watches more TV than me, but we’re both prepared to use the Internet for catching our favorite programs instead.
While the byproduct of not watching TV has its benefits, I’m quite disappointed in Sony’s poor quality. Nine years is not an acceptable lifespan for a television set. I will think twice before buying another Sony.
-Krishna
These beautiful and intelligent people wrote
Tell me what you think!
Ted
April 25, 2009 at 7:03 pmWow, tough break, Man. Hulu is really good though, Honestly I get more entertainment from the net than tv anyway… Now if the COMPUTER goes by the wayside…
B.J. Herbison
April 25, 2009 at 7:43 pmSorry to hear about the death.
The repair costs are not necessarily moot. When my 36″ tube set died (an RCA, not a Sony), the repair shop sent someone to our house. When it couldn’t be fixed at our house, they took some of the boards out of the set back to the shop.
Barry Buchanan
April 26, 2009 at 12:38 amSorry about your TV but 9 years is not that bad. IMHO just pull the trigger and buy a new TV. You can get a really nice set with HD and probably pay less than you did 9 years ago. Come on, HD rocks! However all that said not having a TV would allow me to get more done for sure.
oranges
April 26, 2009 at 3:42 am9 years is a very acceptable life span for a TV set….
oranges
April 26, 2009 at 3:43 amShould have included in the first post, but it also doesn’t make much sense to base your consumer decisions on a 9 year old product.
Krishna
April 26, 2009 at 9:13 amConsidering that my parents have a perfectly functioning TV that’s over 25 years old – and paid significantly less for their set – yes, I do feel that 9 years is a low number. I mean, it’s a Sony WEGA. These were not cheap when they came out.
Of course, most products these days come with built-in obsolescence…
Dylan
April 29, 2009 at 7:52 pmTry Craigslist! I’ve seen these Tv’s go on my local site for only $125.
Aaron
April 26, 2009 at 7:18 amDon’t worry about replacing a TV. There is nothing good on anyway. :)
Normand C.
April 27, 2009 at 2:08 pmAnyone saying 9 years is a good life span for a TV has evidently been brainwashed by our consumerism society. There’s more to life than shopping and buying products, people! Albeit this is from a guy who bought an HDTV set 7 years ago when there were hardly any HD channels, has bought 4 digicams and changes his computer every 3-4 years. :-P
Still, 9 years, and for a Sony at that, come on, this is unacceptable.
fyrebaugh
April 27, 2009 at 5:55 pmUnfortunately, the tube sets were always longer lasting. I’ve actually been told that the plasma sets life expectancy is 5 years. After that the visual acuity starts to degrade. Sad but true, Electronics do not have the life expectancy nor the repairability that they used to. You are expected to replace your stuff more often than in the decades past.
madbard
April 27, 2009 at 9:21 pmi have a JVC 27″ tube on its 11th year with no sign of dying. before that i had a Panasonic 19″ tube that was 6-7 years old when I got it used and I used it for another 5-6 years. only got rid of it because i was moving and didnt have space for it.
kinda sucks because i’ve convinced myself not to get a replacement big screen until the JVC dies. by then, Tri-D surround wall technology should be cheap, right?
right?
Darin
April 29, 2009 at 4:58 pmI would loan you my 25″ GE TV. It’s about 16 years old and still works great. I recently upgraded about a year ago to a Sharp Aquos LC42D64U 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV and the picture is INCREDIBLE. Especially watching HD channels on Optimum Online. It also comes with 3 HDMI ports and tons of RCA and Supervideo ports. I’m only using one HDMI for the DVR-Cablebox, but plan on a Blue-ray or PS3 to take the other 1 or 2. My LC42D64U is now going for $999. I got it at around $1,200. I think the D64U section of the part number is the generation. Don’t get any of the D62U. They were okay, but had their issues. Twitter @unixgod