LCD Monitor stopped working. :(

[RFBurns]

Are these panels Samsung panels? Or are they made to Spec for Sony by Samsung?

All of them outsource the LCD pannel from one manufacturer or another. Its not uncommon to see a Sharp LCD pannel inside a Panasonic, or a Samsung pannel inside a Sony.

As far as vendor, try to find an independant dealer with a service shop. Extended warranty does no one any good if the vendor has no service shop and technician to back up that extended warranty. Remember, Sony does not sell extended warranties. It is the retailer you buy from that offers extended warranty. So make sure the retailer you buy from has an on-board service facility. If they dont ask if they contract to a local service shop for warranty repairs. If they dont have either an on board service facility or contranct one and you buy extended coverage, you might as well just toss your money out the window or burn it for firewood.

Sony never has offered extended warranties and is not obligated to honor extended warranty coverage sold by retailers.

[toomanycats]

I believe I read somewhere that Sony was it with Samsung to use their panels. This is not a bad thing to me. Since most problems with LCD's are the supporting circuitry I think Sony and Samsung would be a good combo. I know Tigerdirect.com offers extended warrantees as does Walmart and Sears too I am not sure about who else does.

[RFBurns]

Well extended warranty is ok if there is someone to honor it with a repair shop. The main problem with those is when the set reaches a certian age. These days it is not uncommon for a brand to no longer carry replacement parts 5 years after date of manufature. It used to be about 7 to 10 years that stock of repair parts would be available.

But today's tv's are "glorified" computers that can recieve RF signals and sport a very large screen. How long did that P2 800Mhz PC last in the average home?

Its the same "cycle out" scenario that is taking place with televisions. A set built in 1995 is extremely difficult to find replacement parts for. And a set built in 2001 is begining to reach that 5 year point of "no return".

Yep, this is no longer the 1970's, when a set could and would run 20 years without a glitch. Those days are LONG gone. The mindset is "if its broke, replace it". And we can all point the finger right back at us...the consumers who demanded cheaper prices and more of it. Thus the manufacturers followed that demand and now the market is saturated with cheap stuff.

Granted a $5,000.00 LCD pannel tv is not cheap by any means. But to a maker who makes 100,000 of them at a fraction of the retail cost, refuse to sustain a parts stock longer than 5 to 7 years because they must pay inventory tax on those parts on sets that they have already developed better versions of. In their minds, what is the point?!!!

Its the way the market is unfortunately.

Do not get "hooked, lined and sinkered" by the "we can sell you an extended warranty to cover your purchase well after the manufacturer's warranty runs out" pitch. Anyone and everyone should ask the salesperson "do you have a service/repair shop or contract to a repair shop that can honor this extended warranty you are about to sell me?"! If they stutter or hesitate to answer, WALK AWAY!!!!

Trust me...Ive been there, done that, and have seen the endless frustrations over extended warranty issues. None of them have ever gone through without some kind of hasstle, delay, or shrugged from one customer service rep to another or put on hold for hours.

[toomanycats]

That's why I liked Tigerdirect's extended warrantee's. They basically replace the units with the closest thing currently available if they cannot fix it. I got a new DVDBurner like that thru them. Considering how short the warrantee are for these large ticket items I still think it is a good idea. If I spent $4000 for a Plasma TV and it broke in two years I'd be pissed. Most of these TV'S are warranteed for only a year.

[RFBurns]

That's why I liked Tigerdirect's extended warrantee's. They basically replace the units with the closest thing currently available if they cannot fix it. I got a new DVDBurner like that thru them. Considering how short the warrantee are for these large ticket items I still think it is a good idea. If I spent $4000 for a Plasma TV and it broke in two years I'd be pissed. Most of these TV'S are warranteed for only a year.

Some of them carry a 2 year warranty on the CRT like the WEGA units, plasmas should also have 2 year warranty (I think) for the TUBE....thought I would make that one bold so everyone can see what is in a plasma set.. and LCD optic engine carries a 2 year warranty and 1 year on the lamp. (Sony's) Other brands may have longer warranty or not.

You see...once a certian technology becomes "peaked"...as we call it in the design area, which means the device has reached its peak development and no other improvements can be made or are pointless because of something else to replace it.....it makes sense to move away from supporting such outdated technology and support the new. Since CRT based units are in fact on their way out and into history..just as the 8-track and vinyl has, manufacturers with remaining stock will sell these things dirt cheap to clear warehouses and paperwork for the new stuff. Some might even offer incentives like throwing in a DVD player or something to get rid of the older stuff.

The thing to keep in mind however...is the fact that if you purchased a CRT based set today...and brand XYZ plans to wipe out their inventory of parts next year...and your CRT dies in 1 1/2 years....your SOL on a replacement even though the CRT original warranty was 2 years. And the extended warranty you paid for......might as well throw that piece of paper into the fireplace and roast some marshmallows. They cannot fix it because there is no CRT to replace the old one with! So in a sense it makes no sense to be stuck in the mud with old technology at this point because of the fact that replacement parts are non-exsistant.

Some might think this is crazy...but even the plasma units and their flat tube display...it too will fade away into history..much sooner than the CRT will. Why?...very simple.

It is a tube...a flat tube with a history of going out far sooner than a typical CRT. A manufacturer wont continue to make and support a technology with a history of repetitive failure...tis is why the development and improvement in LCD display technology has been chugging along at a frantic fast pace, and surpassing plasma display quality anyway. The only thing that LCD has not matched to plasma yet is the size. But that is about to change.

The biggest plasma unit you can get is Panasonic's 103" unit. A very heavy, very cumbersome unit to get into your average home with average doorways and hallways. It takes some hefty hardware and studs in the wall to mount this warship boatanchor. It has a very good picture and improved emitter plates giving brighter images and improved "black". But there is that fact that it is a tube...a very large flat tube filled with a gas. And like the flourescent lamp that is a tube filled with a gas....the plasma tube goes bad after a period of time...just like the flourescent tube lamp. Some last a little longer than others...the plasma also has that history...some last a little longer than others.

If Tigerdirect offers replacement units during your extended warranty coverage, its a good deal. Hopefully no hasstles comes with that coverage. Often those things are like insurance policies. Whom ever had a "no-hasstle" routine when making a claim to insurance!!! Some do...some dont.


I hope you never have to excersise that extended warranty, but if you plan to buy a CRT unit...and you get a 5 year extended warranty for example....and the CRT dies in 4 years from date of purchase....chances are 99 percent that a replacement CRT will not be around. I doubt very seriously Tigerdirect, or anyone else would replace that 40" CRT unit with a 40" LCD unit....at least not directly..there might be some upfront money involved. Tigerdirect would be on the phone hunting down a CRT. They might find one on the 3rd party parts market..mostly consisting of collected parts bought up from parts houses, or find a "bumped" (rejuvinated) CRT to use to replace the dead CRT.

We are about 2 and a half years out till that big switch on NTSC will be shut off for good, so there is still some time to enjoy the old 4:3 and analog video on that good ol tube set. But times move forward as does technology...often too fast like the PC has over the last 10 years. Hopefully everyone will be ready for that day and enjoy pure ATSC on those pretty 16:9 units. Then we can all go down to the Smithsonian and see the CRT on display next to the Model-T!

[toomanycats]

WOW, I'm not the only person who thinks Plasma's are doomed. I still like my LCD Projector and with the price of some of these TV's one could get a really nice LCD projector for the price, and watch TV at 80" . I think my next puchase will be a new LCD Projector, then with a couple of years I am going to get a 42" or greater LCD panel. They should have most of the bugs wotked out by then. I have not noticed any of the latency issues on my projector that I see on big LCD TV's. Is this because the panels are smaller?

[RFBurns]

BINGO!

See...the space inside the LCD rear projection is not enough to use a lens assembly that can optically magnify the smaller LCD emitter pannels found on a screen/wall LCD projector, thus the rear projector unit must have larger LCD emitters and require the upscalers so the video frame fits properly on the LCD emitter pannels. And the cost is far cheaper than it would to outfit a rear projector unit with a large optic lens assembly that would not be easy to keep clean of dust between the individual lenses within the lens assembly. It is fairly easy to get at, open up and clean a lens assembly on the LCD screen/wall projector.

[nwg]

A quick update.

I ordered a 19" monitor which arrived damaged. This is a different 19" monitor which I chose after I got a refund.

It is a Hanns G (HannStar Group) HC194D. It cost £120 from Amazon.co.uk.

[toomanycats]

Very Industrial, I like it.

[nwg]

They also do a 19" widescreen in similar style but I don't like the high resolution. I am still using 1024 x 768 nstead of 1280 x 1024 with this monitor. I prefer to have it big rather than have more information onscreen but too small to read.

[NightTran]

If You think I am Hijack the thread I am really sorry, but is there LCD monitor that you can hook both computer and cable too ( at the same time I mean)?

Thanks

[RFBurns]

If You think I am Hijack the thread I am really sorry, but is there LCD monitor that you can hook both computer and cable too ( at the same time I mean)?

Thanks

Yes. Sony has two types that have built in ATSC tuners and external video/audio inputs that support composite, RGB, HDMI, and S-Vid. The differences between the two is one is the standard 4:3 screen and the other is wide screen 16:9. They both have built in speakers at the bottom of the cabinet.

You could go a bit farther and just get a 27 direct LCD pannel unit that also has the SVGA connector and a supplied cable to boot.

I am almost certian that other brand names and their LCD units also have the ability to connect to the PC.

[soup]

My 32" Samsung LCD has that capability.

[carolin]

How do I use the speakers of an LCD monitor? do I need drivers?Hi I just wanted to know what I need to do in order to get sound from my LCD monitor. Also, can you please recommend me 19" and 20" top lcd monitors I can afford up to $800. thanks.
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market samurai ~ marketsamurai

[doctorhardware]

You need an audio cable which has 3.5mm stereo plugs on each end. On is plugged in to the monitor, there should be a jack light green in color. The other end goes to the green jack on your computer.