I think my tv is screwed.

[siggy1964]

Last night my Samsungs TV's colors screwed up. At first I thought it might be the cable but I put in a movie and got the same result. Here's what I got going on. Everything is green, red, blue, black and yellow with some white. It kinda looks like tye dye. It's about 6 years old so I guess it's about time to replace it but I just bought a truck so if I can fix it cheap that's what I want to do. Any suggestions?

 

[MoodyBlues]

It's about 6 years old so I guess it's about time to replace it but I just bought a truck so if I can fix it cheap that's what I want to do. Any suggestions?

TVs have changed a lot in the last 6 years. Just in the past year or so I've replaced all three TVs in this house with new flat panel ones, and there's just no comparison. They're all 32", which works well in each room they're in, and they're so lightweight compared to the TVs they replaced...wow! Plus, TVs are really inexpensive now. I don't know how much it would cost to repair yours, but I'm guessing that you can buy a new one for about the same amount, or perhaps a little more, money. Unless, of course, you're a do-it-yourselfer and can fix it yourself, then you're only out for parts. I do NOT fall into that category, at least not for TV sets! I fix my own computers, but don't know a thing about fixing a TV.

 

[mikedt]

Last night my Samsungs TV's colors screwed up. At first I thought it might be the cable but I put in a movie and got the same result. Here's what I got going on. Everything is green, red, blue, black and yellow with some white. It kinda looks like tye dye. It's about 6 years old so I guess it's about time to replace it but I just bought a truck so if I can fix it cheap that's what I want to do. Any suggestions?

What sort of TV is it, a CRT one? If so, you haven't got a toddler who's been playing with magnets on it? Or it got moved, because that can sometimes mess the colours(colors) up with a CRT. Usually they just need degaussing. On the other hand if it's an LCD or plasma flat-panel TV that's malfunctioning, it's probably time to buy a new TV.

I know about repairing TVs, but that was TVs that had valves(vacuum tubes) in them. They were easy.

 

[Speed Daemon]

My last LCD TV looked an awful lot like that after it fell off the flight case that I was using as a temporary stand. Since then I've learned to put large flat panel LCD displays on a base that's as wide as the panel itself, so that doing something as simple as standing up after working behind the panel won't knock it over. If I owned the place, I'd wall mount my TV.

 

[netlinkz]

Last night my Samsungs TV's colors screwed up. At first I thought it might be the cable but I put in a movie and got the same result. Here's what I got going on. Everything is green, red, blue, black and yellow with some white. It kinda looks like tye dye. It's about 6 years old so I guess it's about time to replace it but I just bought a truck so if I can fix it cheap that's what I want to do. Any suggestions?

Dude you answered your own question. Do that thing you do. A new t.v. means a whole new world of imagination. It's like giving lcd 3D to a generation from the 50's....

 

[siggy1964]

It's an LCD so I think I'm just going to have to get a new one. I just have a couple unexpected bills to pay which is why it sucks that it happened now.

 

[SiempreTuna]

That's a bummer - these things always seem to happen at the most inconvenient time.

If you have a repair place near you, it might be worth taking the TV to them (to save on callout charges) to ask for a quote, however I suspect that it's going to be cheaper to buy a new one

As earlier posts have mentioned, you can get a pretty decent TV for not very much these day (even in the UK), so long as you're happy to do without funky new features like 3D and (maybe) full HD.

If you have to have the latest and greatest though, the prices are every bit as stratospheric as they've always been - personally, I'm way too tight to pay $2K for something I watch maybe an hour on a school night, possibly 2 or 3 hours some nights over the w/end.

 

[MoodyBlues]

As earlier posts have mentioned, you can get a pretty decent TV for not very much these day (even in the UK), so long as you're happy to do without funky new features like 3D and (maybe) full HD.

If you have to have the latest and greatest though, the prices are every bit as stratospheric as they've always been - personally, I'm way too tight to pay $2K for something I watch maybe an hour on a school night, possibly 2 or 3 hours some nights over the w/end.

That hasn't been my experience. All three of the TVs I have now are HD, 32", flat panel, and none cost more than ~$400.

 

[SiempreTuna]

High end TVs are clearly a lot cheaper state-side!

We're thinking of getting something relatively basic - around 40" with Freeview HD (British thing) - without fancy stuff like 3D or gesture control and prices seem start around $1K here

 

[Speed Daemon]

Do you guys in the UK still have to pay taxes on TV receivers? That may account for at least some of the difference. OTOH I wouldn't be a bit surprised if I turned on the TV to see a red guy with horns and a pitchfork, telling me it was time to honor my end of the contract that I had signed after neglecting to read the fine print...

 

[Hadron]

The TV license is nothing to do with the sale price. However, British prices are always quoted including sales tax, while US prices are quoted without, so that does make some difference (20%).

But even so, I think they are cheaper stateside. Important to check brand & spec though, as it

 

[SiempreTuna]

Yes - the TV license is an annual 'tax' we pay to support the BBC. And well worth every penny

 

[Speed Daemon]

The TV license is nothing to do with the sale price. However, British prices are always quoted including sales tax, while US prices are quoted without, so that does make some difference (20%).

That's why I asked. Over here where we get hit with sales and excise taxes after the sale, the whole VAT thing is a mystery to us. Ditto for a TV license. :dontknow:

 

[Speed Daemon]

Yes - the TV license is an annual 'tax' we pay to support the BBC. And well worth every penny

No doubt! I probably pay my cable company more annually for the package that includes a hundred channels that I'll never watch and BBC America. All that just so I can watch reruns of "Top Gear". And it's worth every penny!

Seriously, I'd be a lot more happy if every annual assessment that I paid had an upside like BBC original programming included. :thumb: Most of our taxes can't be traced to any discernible benefit here. That causes all sorts of problems. (But that's a matter for a different part of this forum...)

 

[Hadron]

That's why I called it sales tax - if there are technical differences between that and VAT they don't matter to the customer.

It's a cultural difference. Probably more of a shock for a European visiting the States, as we're used to the display price being the price you pay, so then being charged more is a nasty surprise the first time it happens (I know it was for me ).

 

[Speed Daemon]

It's a cultural difference. Probably more of a shock for a European visiting the States, as we're used to the display price being the price you pay, so then being charged more is a nasty surprise the first time it happens (I know it was for me ).

No doubt it gets exasperating when a European visitor goes to a different state and gets charged a different tax rate.