Long-standing TV finally died
Discussion
So after 14 years, our main TV - a Samsung F8500 plasma - has died.
My daughter asked to play Playstation earlier today, i turned the TV on with the remote, there was an audible "BONK" sound and ever since its completely unresponsive. Read the internet, let is sit for a while in case the power protection equipment had tripped, but no. Plugged in it is no more responsive than unplugged.
So that means its time for a new TV. Its such a shame that Samsung can't seem to make the Frame TV concept...work. I aboslutely love the idea of a TV that doesnt look like a giant black rectangle most of the time. I'm old enough to have decent art and the wall with the TV on it is the worst looking thing in the living room. But it seems anyone who uses a Frame TV as an actual TV (rather than as a large digital photo frame) hates it.
A quick search of reviews highglihts a few popular options:
LG C4 OLED
Samsung S90 OLED
TCL QM8
I use a Roku Ultra so will not be using any of the built-in apps. Because i had a dated HDMI TV before, i also have an HDMI passthrough box to my surround sound, so if the TV's Atmos plays up, that's not really a problem. As a result, I will never ever use the built-in speakers. I'm not particularly brand concious, i've had good experiences with Samsung, I have a Sony PVM for retro gaming, and 2 other TCL TVs in our mountain house, which perform flawlessly.
My biggest bugbears are probably (1) motion smoothness - i HATE a jerky picture during sports or pan shots in movies and (2) the presence of any annoying, intrusive features you can't turn off (eco-shutdown being one...i have two kids, so quite often the TV is on all morning for Bluey, then all afternoon for sport and when its decided you've had enough electiricty for one day and you have to find the manufacturers remote in a drawer its a pain in the arse).
PH A/V gurus...advise me
My daughter asked to play Playstation earlier today, i turned the TV on with the remote, there was an audible "BONK" sound and ever since its completely unresponsive. Read the internet, let is sit for a while in case the power protection equipment had tripped, but no. Plugged in it is no more responsive than unplugged.
So that means its time for a new TV. Its such a shame that Samsung can't seem to make the Frame TV concept...work. I aboslutely love the idea of a TV that doesnt look like a giant black rectangle most of the time. I'm old enough to have decent art and the wall with the TV on it is the worst looking thing in the living room. But it seems anyone who uses a Frame TV as an actual TV (rather than as a large digital photo frame) hates it.
A quick search of reviews highglihts a few popular options:
LG C4 OLED
Samsung S90 OLED
TCL QM8
I use a Roku Ultra so will not be using any of the built-in apps. Because i had a dated HDMI TV before, i also have an HDMI passthrough box to my surround sound, so if the TV's Atmos plays up, that's not really a problem. As a result, I will never ever use the built-in speakers. I'm not particularly brand concious, i've had good experiences with Samsung, I have a Sony PVM for retro gaming, and 2 other TCL TVs in our mountain house, which perform flawlessly.
My biggest bugbears are probably (1) motion smoothness - i HATE a jerky picture during sports or pan shots in movies and (2) the presence of any annoying, intrusive features you can't turn off (eco-shutdown being one...i have two kids, so quite often the TV is on all morning for Bluey, then all afternoon for sport and when its decided you've had enough electiricty for one day and you have to find the manufacturers remote in a drawer its a pain in the arse).
PH A/V gurus...advise me
Well I wouldn't bet against it being fixable, of my last two failures one involved a failed capacitor and the other was a bad power supply transistor that vapourised one of the protection capacitors, causing a loud pop, tripping the power and leaving a spray of vapourised stuff inside.
Both repaired by me for very little outlay, TVs are simple things these days and it's almost always just the PSU if it goes 'pop'.
Even if you don't fix it there's likely value in the parts, either because it's fixable from a common failure or because others die from broken panels and the panel is still good.
Both repaired by me for very little outlay, TVs are simple things these days and it's almost always just the PSU if it goes 'pop'.
Even if you don't fix it there's likely value in the parts, either because it's fixable from a common failure or because others die from broken panels and the panel is still good.
AVForums is an excellent souce of information:
https://www.avforums.com/categories/tvs.297/
There's even someone with much the same problem as you:
https://www.avforums.com/threads/another-dead-50-p...
LG OLEDs are usually well regarded. Go into Richer Sounds & have a play to find the UI you get on with best as some use Android & some their own OS.
https://www.avforums.com/categories/tvs.297/
There's even someone with much the same problem as you:
https://www.avforums.com/threads/another-dead-50-p...
LG OLEDs are usually well regarded. Go into Richer Sounds & have a play to find the UI you get on with best as some use Android & some their own OS.
Wadeski said:
Maybe im being naive, i assumed parts & support for 2012-model plasmas would be long gone?
Depends what popped. If it's just a PSU failure it's normally an individual component or two that has actually gone and that's fixable. Or you look up the module part numbers and you'll likely find one or two floating on Ebay.
I had my arm twisted into buying a Philips plasma back in about 2008 or 9, wanted a Panasonic but hey. It went pop about 2 weeks before the 5 year warranty was up but got it repaired and it went on until about 2020.
I'm so glad I got an Panasonic OLEd to replace it, what a transformation, the Philips was a piece of crap really, don't know why I suffered it so long...
I'm so glad I got an Panasonic OLEd to replace it, what a transformation, the Philips was a piece of crap really, don't know why I suffered it so long...
TEKNOPUG said:
OLED > Plasma.
Mostly...
Ugh - don't start this bullsMostly...
ttery 
I think it is fairly safe to say that OLED's are now leagues ahead. The last plasma TV at retail was 14 years ago. . .
AI . . .
Why Plasma Had Advantages:
Cost: While new, high-end, high-refresh-rate OLEDs are expensive, they deliver significantly better, more modern performance than the best plasma TVs.
Motion Blur: Plasma is still highly regarded for lack of motion blur.
No Burn-in: Unlike early OLED, plasma was largely immune to permanent burn-in.
Ultimately, OLED is the superior technology for modern viewing habits, providing vastly higher resolutions, better HDR, and more vibrant images, whereas plasma is considered outdated and increasingly hard to repair.
/AI
As you were
The old question is how big makes you happy missus??? Similarly have Dolby 5.1 and use sky so not interested in TV abilities, got hisense 65" few yrs back that is now considered small, however is a good TV
I think they're all much of a muchness now with good soft/hardware, like smart phones they're fairly homogeneous
I think they're all much of a muchness now with good soft/hardware, like smart phones they're fairly homogeneous
v8notbrave said:
The old question is how big makes you happy missus??? Similarly have Dolby 5.1 and use sky so not interested in TV abilities, got hisense 65" few yrs back that is now considered small, however is a good TV
I think they're all much of a muchness now with good soft/hardware, like smart phones they're fairly homogeneous
P.s. if you can't go too big in main room get a projector for another room, they're cheap and awesome I think they're all much of a muchness now with good soft/hardware, like smart phones they're fairly homogeneous
There’s shelves around wheee the TV goes, I don’t think I can go more than 65”.
TCL QM8k is looking very tempting. $1100 and will be on sale for Memorial Day no doubt.
I forgot to say I do own an OLED - the world’s first commercial one! It’s a 7” PVM that would have been used in mobile edit or as a viewing monitor on shoots. The build quality is just lovely.
TCL QM8k is looking very tempting. $1100 and will be on sale for Memorial Day no doubt.
I forgot to say I do own an OLED - the world’s first commercial one! It’s a 7” PVM that would have been used in mobile edit or as a viewing monitor on shoots. The build quality is just lovely.
Wadeski said:
There s shelves around wheee the TV goes, I don t think I can go more than 65 .
TCL QM8k is looking very tempting. $1100 and will be on sale for Memorial Day no doubt.
I forgot to say I do own an OLED - the world s first commercial one! It s a 7 PVM that would have been used in mobile edit or as a viewing monitor on shoots. The build quality is just lovely.
I have failed to mention that I own a C4 65" & I am extremely happy with it.TCL QM8k is looking very tempting. $1100 and will be on sale for Memorial Day no doubt.
I forgot to say I do own an OLED - the world s first commercial one! It s a 7 PVM that would have been used in mobile edit or as a viewing monitor on shoots. The build quality is just lovely.
Only real downside is the sound which is serviceable for general viewing, but I have an AVR & speakers to switchover to for movie viewing. Also be nice if the remote was backlit but not really an issue.
Owned for nearly 2 years & now thinking a 77" could work in the space available. . .
Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff