How often do you upgrade your TV?

[dalekphalm]

Well mine just died out of the blue. There weren't any signs before that either.

Most likely just some caps blew inside. Bad luck on your part. Hell, if you had the skill and inclination, you could potentially take the TV apart, replace the caps, and it might work perfectly fine after that. At work, we have pretty much 99% Dell monitors, and the old ones have caps that blow occasionally. We often just replace the caps and the monitors are good for a few more years.

[Greggers]

Up to now it was whenever it breaks, I still had a huge bulk back CRT 24" in 2009, it broke in 2008 (fuzzy lines on the top) but I couldn't be bothered to buy a new one right away. I have a Samsung 42" LED TV now and I don't have any plans to upgrade it.

[ionbasa]

Whenever they hit the bucket. My oldest TV to date is an Phillips 1080i 42" LCD. It was manufactured in 2004, So its a decade old. What's funny is that at the time "flat screen" meant 4 inches thick. It works like the day I un-boxed it.

 

My second oldest TV was also Phillips Reverse Projection TV that did 720p via component or DVI. It was 50 inches. and was bought in 1999/2000. That TV had the green lamp die on me, then a few capacitors leaked from the power supply. It died in 2010.

 

The lesson to be learned here is to keep using your TV/Monitors till they die. Spending a little bit extra on a TV from a known brand or that is manufactured to last will ensure a good investment (in my experience)

 

PS: At the time the reverse projection TV cost my family over $1500

[chilicheeseburger]

Most likely just some caps blew inside. Bad luck on your part. Hell, if you had the skill and inclination, you could potentially take the TV apart, replace the caps, and it might work perfectly fine after that. At work, we have pretty much 99% Dell monitors, and the old ones have caps that blow occasionally. We often just replace the caps and the monitors are good for a few more years.

Probably but I have no idea how to replace those..

[dalekphalm]

Probably but I have no idea how to replace those..

It takes a  bit of skill, but nothing that anyone can't learn.

 

What you'll need is a soldering iron (Can be bought at most hardware stores, an entry level one may run you $20-$30, good and professional ones can run over $100), some solder (the silvery metallic thin wire, also found in any hardware store), and some replacement caps. The specific capacitors you need will need to be identified first, by unscrewing the back cover of your TV, and examining the circuit board for any ruptured or bulging caps. If you find any that look fat or bulgy, or have ruptured and are spilling out a liquid (might be dried by the time you see it), then you can read the part number or ratings off of the dead caps.

 

Then you use a soldering iron to desolder the caps, and solder new ones on. You can buy the new caps online at places like EBay or Amazon, or at your local electrical electronics supply store if you have one.

 

Here's a somewhat crappy beginners video:

It's a bit too shaky for my tastes, but the guy is obviously not a professional videographer.

 

Alternatively, if all the caps look good, you could still just replace them all just in case. Sometimes caps will go bad without actually showing any physical signs (though this is less common). Caps are cheap, and a soldering iron is useful to have, so your total costs could be under $50. The caps themselves should be a couple bucks tops.

[chilicheeseburger]

Alright thanks. I don't have that particular TV anymore but I'll keep that in mind in case it ever happens to me again. Thanks!

[pjm0925]

I really love my TV, I got a 55" Samsung LCD a little over 4 years ago, right before the LED TVs got real cheap.  I forget the model number but it was one of the highest end Samsung TVs at the time and everything looks really nice on it.  I won't upgrade until it breaks or until 1080p becomes outdated, whichever comes first.

[knight_40k]

Whenever I feel I'm no longer satisfied with it.

[Thorium19]

We've had one since around 2006, it's about 26" with I think 720p HD.

Another we've had since around 2009. It's a 32" with I believe 1080p, which we got in a Costco sale as they had loads in due to overstocking. Both are panasonics, and both will be there to stay until they die, as my parents don't see the point in upgrading when most TV is in the same quality as it was when they got them. And even then, with no programmes being show consistently in 4K there's no point upgrading from standard HD.

[Stagea]

Every 2-3 years, as the sweet spot moves. A 70" now costs about as much as a 50" 3 years ago; that's a doubling of screen area.

 

The replaced TV gets demoted to other rooms.