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The lifetime of a television set?

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  • The lifetime of a television set?

    In the 34 years I have been more or less on my own I had 4 television sets.
    1. 1981 to 1985 - 9 inch black & white set from JC Pennys
    2. 1985 to 1998 - Sears 13 inch color TV
    3. 1998 to 2009 - 19 inch color TV set
    4. 2009 to 2016 - 19 inch Magnavox


    The first set was working fine but when I was able to afford a color TV in 1985 I purchased the 2nd set for $250 and dumped the first set after there were no takers for it.

    That 2nd set lasted pretty long, other than the fact in its final days it displayed things kind of darkly, didn't noticed it that much as watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine and Voyager the backgrounds were dark to being with. It is only when I played the movie Top Gun I sort of remembered at the beginning the movie took place in daylight and not really in dusk like conditions (expect when the Tomcats landed).

    Set #3 belonged to Albert and I was holding it (and using it) until he got back on his feet (which he did), at that point I purchased set #4, which kind of stopped working about a month ago (June 2016). Managed to give the set to a TV repair place to dump since I was thinking of getting a bigger TV set for my place anyway.

    I haven't gotten a new TV set yet, but I kind of thinking that 7 years is kind of long for electronics to last now a days? I don't expect things to last forever.

    This thread is about comparing other peoples experiences with the lifetime of their television sets. How many years have your current television set being operating?

    Originally posted by helen View Post
    Picked up a Magnavox 19" LCD (model #: 19MF338B) from Sam's Club about 2 weeks ago for around $240 (which includes tax). It's does not do HD tho. I don't think my place could not support a TV bigger than 22 to 24 inches.

  • #2
    Re: The lifetime of a television set?

    The first set I purchased new was a 19" LXI set I bought at Sears in Hilo in 1994. It was about $200, fifty bucks cheaper than a nearly identical model that came with a remote. Yes, until last January, I have never owned a TV with a remote. I always just used the VCR (later, the TiVo) controller as the remote, using the VCR and TiVo tuners instead of the TV's tuner. I'm still using it, although it's really been unwatchable for the past year. So that makes it 21 years.

    A year and a half ago, I bought a 32" Samsung at Costco. It's still in the box for some reason.
    But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
    GrouchyTeacher.com

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    • #3
      Re: The lifetime of a television set?

      I notice that the high definition TVs we have today don't last as long as the good old fashioned cathode ray tube TVs. TVs I owned:

      1973 - Sears 13 inch black and white TV.... worked to around 1985 and only broke because power cable that was hard wired into the set got loose and could not be easily fixed.

      1984 to 1999 - Hitachi 19 inch color TV - This sucker lasted a long time. Pure basic TV with two dials and no remote (VHF and UHF). Given that over the air reception was lousy in my area during analog TV days, I got cable. When that happened in 1984 basic cable was like about $15 a month with 30 channels. Over time Oceanic added more channels, many which I did not like, and jacked up the prices.

      1999 to 2011 - Panasonic 19 inch color TV: Got this one immediately after the Hitachi died so I could continue watching Babylon 5 and Star Trek. Cable TV rates continued to climb... $33, $45, $69, $70... ouch.

      2011 - Panasonic died and I haven't bought a TV since. I also dumped the expensive (I hate paying for channels I don't watch) cable and have been internet only for the most time.

      From 2008 to 2015 or so I did have a small flatscreen 7 inch TV that I used for over the air viewing with a digital adapter hooked up. I got rid of it this year after doing a massive clean up of my place. So now I am internet only and view TV content with computers only.

      I do however think about getting a new flatscreen HiDefinition TV but am leary of the durability of new sets. Most of my CRT TVs have lasted more than 10 years.
      I'm still here. Are you?

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      • #4
        Re: The lifetime of a television set?

        isn't 5 years max the normal 'electronics' lifetime expectancy today?
        https://www.facebook.com/Bobby-Ingan...5875444640256/

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        • #5
          Re: The lifetime of a television set?

          Use to be in the TV repair biz until a couple of years ago. The older CRT sets were much more reliable then the current flat screen crap. I have seen the old Hitachi, Toshiba sets last 10-15+ years with no problems. These new ones are lucky to last at least 5 years at best.

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          • #6
            Re: The lifetime of a television set?

            I built my first TV from a kit, in 1975. It lasted about 10 years, until I bought a Sony from Hoffman TV in Aiea. That TV turned out to be a returned and repaired unit. I had to fix it again (bad solder joint) and it lasted until about 2010. I bought a Vizio 50 inch. It quit within a year and was replaced under warrantee, by a 55 inch of the same model. It seems to be OK so far. It’s the cable that is the problem now.
            "Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it. Do not count on them. Leave them alone."
            Ayn Rand

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            • #7
              Re: The lifetime of a television set?

              The old cathode ray TVs really do last long. I had a 19" Sony bought in 1992. Shortly after 2005, I wanted to buy a flat screen TV but was in no hurry, so I was waiting for my Sony to break down first. I kept waiting and waiting, but the Sony just wouldn't break down. Finally, I couldn't wait any longer and decided to just go ahead and buy a Samsung 32" HDTV. I placed the old Sony on the sidewalk, in the bulky item area, and someone rescued it within six hours. They got a good TV. I do like the Samsung, though. It makes it a lot easier to read captions for foreign movies or Netflix.

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              • #8
                Re: The lifetime of a television set?

                Originally posted by Ron Whitfield View Post
                isn't 5 years max the normal 'electronics' lifetime expectancy today?
                The 5 year lifetime is normally for computers with the disk drive being the limiting factor due to the spinning hard drive.

                In any event I haven't purchased a replacement TV set yet. I am debating on either getting a 32 inch set or a 39 inch/40 inch set. I lowered a shelf where the 19 inch set used to reside, so a 32 inch set will fit okay with no problem. This space will not support a 39/40 inch set due to the width of the shelf unit itself, but I could clear up other space in my place to support the new set (which I haven't done yet).
                Last edited by helen; September 3, 2016, 07:00 PM.

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                • #9
                  Re: The lifetime of a television set?

                  if it's for living room use where others will be watching, then bigger would usually be the ticket, but for single use then it's a toss up. my aged LG monitor is 20''-ish diagonal and less than 3' away at my desk where I do my viewing, so it works for me. but picture quality is paramount, the slightest weirdness would distract and annoy me to no end, finding a set with even near perfect imaging is more than difficult, it seems.
                  https://www.facebook.com/Bobby-Ingan...5875444640256/

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                  • #10
                    Re: The lifetime of a television set?

                    I have been eyeing something from Vizio for the last 2 months or so, either the 32 or the 39 inch versions. Sometimes I would think about the Samsung or the Magnvox.

                    I figured this weekend I would buy a set, so today (9/24/16) I finally picked up a Magnvox 40 inch, model #: 40MV336X, from Sam's Club for $249.88.

                    Reasons why.
                    1. Remote control. The Magnavox had a numerical keypad while the Vizio didn't.
                    2. You can control the Magnavox without the remote control, there are buttons in the right rear edge.
                    3. I could not find any reference to Vizio as a supported devices on the oceanic cable remote control. Since my last TV was a Magnavox, I figured my oceanic remote would still be valid and it did when I finally turned it on.


                    The biggest hassle I had was trying to screw in the legs. Spent another $14 or so on more screwdrivers but finally managed to do it.

                    I haven't tried the smart TV features yet but I was able to watch stuff from Oceanic and from my DVD player.

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                    • #11
                      Re: The lifetime of a television set?

                      Less than 4 years old and my 40 inch Magnvox stopped working very early this morning (3/1/20). Tried a few times to unplug it and plug it back in to no avail.

                      I am not totally bummed about this, I was thinking of a getting another but smaller TV that has Apple Play on it for the bedroom. I was originally thinking about getting a 24 inch but since the main one died I might as well get something slightly bigger like a 32 inch. I don't know about getting another 40 inch at this time.

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                      • #12
                        Re: The lifetime of a television set?

                        Went to Best Buy to get more information about turning in my non-working TV to them. After that I checked their selection of TV. There was an Insignia 19 inch TV set for $69, so I purchased it. Not the smallest TV set I owned but definitely the cheapest one so far (the 9 inch JC Penny was around $99).

                        This TV is not a Smart TV, kind of no frills, which is good for a 2nd TV in the bedroom for later on.

                        Got it running a few minutes ago, hardest part was putting those screws to the legs.

                        For the short term this TV is the main one for now. Soon or later I will get a bigger one somewhere between 24 to 32 inches, 40 inches at the most. Just deciding on what features I want the one to have, but for now I have functional TV set.

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                        • #13
                          Re: The lifetime of a television set?

                          Went to Walmart today, a 70" flatscreen for $150-$500. Wow!

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                          • #14
                            Re: The lifetime of a television set?

                            While I could afford a $150 70 inch flatscreen, I pretty much sure it is too big for my needs.

                            As far as size goes that new 19 inch seems to be okay for me.

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                            • #15
                              Re: The lifetime of a television set?

                              I finally turned in my non-working 40 inch TV to Best Buy today (8/26/21). I should have done this a year ago when the fee was $25, now that fee is $29.99.

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