Samsung flat screen TV’s
@roxy1927 Robert Harris the great film restorer(Lawrence, Spartacus, My Fair Lady which is coming out next week in 4k and the spectacular reviews are saying it is the new reference for UHD) says TVs need to be professionally calibrated. That's a pretty good endorsement. These are all classic films lovingly restored. The restoration on My Fair Lady in particular must be some kind of reference for both picture and sound. It's difficult to imagine how it could be any better without losing that lovely period feel. As far as reliability goes one good standard might be when you are getting impatient for something to break down as an excuse for replacing it. In my experience that doesn't happen too often, although I do have an old Sony portable radio (1990s) that appears to be indestructible. As for televisions, I wonder if anyone is still running a cathode ray set. I can't remember having seen one recently. They must be getting quite rare nowadays. |
Have an LG 86" which I like very much. Can’t imagine anything smaller for my relatively small living room and I don’t even consider it very big for my space. Kind of wish I had gotten a projector for 120". Robert Harris the great film restorer(Lawrence, Spartacus, My Fair Lady which is coming out next week in 4k and the spectacular reviews are saying it is the new reference for UHD) says TVs need to be professionally calibrated. So I'm thinking wow my TV can look even better? But I have no idea how much it will be so I have to be satisfied for now. |
Had our 15-year old washing machine repaired a year or two ago. Repairman said, "if you ever want to get something newer, please call me because I have a list of people looking for these." He basically went on to say that some of the newer machines don't wash the clothes as well, are difficult to repair, and typically reach a point where they are unrepairable much sooner than the machines like ours. The energy-saver thing seems to be a double-edged sword at best. In some cases, the manufacturers achieve the energy savings by providing a less robust operating mechanism, which then wears out faster. It has long been my observation that conservation is the greenest (and most economic) approach - build it to last. |
@quinten, "The problem is that all appliances seem to be junk these days... no matter what brand, people are always having problems if you look at reviews." Thats our problem. The manufacturers must see it the other way around. Just how are they going to keep us buying? Replacing or upgrading? Since true innovation is quite rare (repackaging and cosmetics is easier) far too many of them resort to built in obsolescence. Apple deliberately tie their consumers into their rather restrictive ecosystem and fit their products with puny batteries which, unless very carefully protected, are next to useless in about 2 years. This strategy has made them the most successful company on the planet. Others will no doubt seek to copy it. Nevertheless it’s still good to see small scale brands like Harbeth who genuinely expect to see their products last 25 years or so without any need for repair. |
Samsung 65" Plasma, failed twice, first time main board, second time power supply board. Luckily I had square trade warranty. It's just over 5 years old now and does work fine and has an amazing picture. Now for their appliances, have the whole kitchen suite... Gas range is fine Dishwasher has been repaired once under warranty (dryer fan LOUD!!!) and when the water brake (strange name for the water inlet canister) failed square trade determined that the dishwasher was unable to be repaired and refunded me the purchase price. Now the price of dishwashers has just about doubled it seemed! Ordered the water brake and fixed the problem (dishwasher would fill, then drain, then refill and work). Then the dishwasher started leaking some out the door bottom. Replaced the fan/evaporater dryer and its working perfectly again. Refrigerator leaking in crisper tray and ice maker freezing up. Actually repaired the leak with the water drain fix and replaced the icemaker and sealed up the enclosure and its working fine with an occasional ice jam. Microwave is still working but does get quite loud after 5 minutes or so of use. The problem is that all appliances seem to be junk these days... no matter what brand, people are always having problems if you look at reviews. Best to buy what you like and get the extended warranty... some places have fairly good prices, square trade was good, but they are more expensive now. Dread having to buy any appliance... period! |
I’ve a Samsung KS8000 bought in 2016 that’s used in my main room. It’s worked flawlessly for 6 years and still going strong. I’ve also got an OLED E6 that I bought in 2017 that’s rarely even used in the bedroom along with an Oppo 203. Great picture, but it’s not seen more than 10 4k blu rays the entire time I’ve owned it. How all of you have dead Samsung’s is beyond imagination. |
Stick with Sony.... ....or if you are not hung up on higher resolutions than 1080p, get an older Pioneer Kuro. I had mine now since 2009 and it still works flawlessly. If you sit more than about 8 feet away from the screen, you will not quite notice the difference anyway. Plus, you will get the speed of plasma as well. |
I certainly watching either of two Panasonic plasma televisions over the 4K Samsung LED and I think about it sort of like the old tubes vs. SS discussion, with the plasma TVs being more believable/lifelike to watch even if giving up a little in resolution. Some interesting information on why the plasma television is no more. I believe weight was the final straw and they are correct, a 65-inch plasma is a heavy lift. |
I have a few friends who own Samsung TVs and have had some issues with them. I own a 55" LG OLED bought over 4 years ago and the picture is stunning. My only complaint is their operating system. It seems to disconnect from my Wifi network about once a week and the only way to reset it is to unplug the tv from the outlet and plug it back in. I decided to use an Amazon Firestick instead if the poor TV interface and never had the Wifi problem again. |
purchased 36" sony xbr in 2000. ruined the right side of my body getting it in the house. 400 pounds +/- with the stand. dead in 23 months. $2500.00 bucks, poof. no more sony tv for me. purchased 32" samsung a few years later. 2 years dead. free repair. gave it to my neighbor. purchased 49" LG around 2007. in the basement now, still working great. current tv is LG E-65 OLED. purchased a few years ago. best picture i had ever seen. as of today i haven't seen any tv beat a top of the line LG. the reports of voice lag are real, and i don't care. when run through the marantz that issue is eliminated. had some friends over to watch the Masters golf tournament . the comments were "Stunning" and "beautiful". i could go on and on. blue rays and 4K content, hdr,....yadda blah...lg fan boy stuff. my 2 cents.. |
I discovered a trick for this: Buy the television at Best Buy, and get the maximum tern on the warranty. When it fails, after the third trip to you house, including the initial diagnogsis, and return with the correct parts, they buy if back for what it, or an exact equivlavent then sells for. The last one only cost me $170, including the cost of the warranty. It actually works great, but lost its "Smartness". I asked what to do with it, and was told that if I returned it, there would be a disposal fee. This experience was enough to prove to me that they are disposable junk. Don't waste your money on expensive ones. |
There is a good reason they killed off the Plasma TVs. Reason one, they generally last longer. Reason two, the picture is more natural and easier on your eyes. The LED TVs are way too bright and it has been proven that that form of light emitted from LEDs is not good for you. I have two large Plasma TVs and they are still going strong since 2002 |
For me personally the only tv brand i buy is Sony or Panasonic. Have never had any issues either either one. My 15 year old Panasonic plasma still blows away the new lcd screens we have bought. IMO samsung is garbage. Had a washer and dryer from them and they had to be repaired every three years. I finally set them out to the curb and bought maytag. Not a single repair since. |
my 10 year old samsung lcd still works fine, tho i had to replace some failed capacitators right after the one-year warranty expired (a widespread problem which apparently triggered a class action). my lg tvs, otoh, have been flawless. fwiw, a couple of salesmen at abt recently told me that sony is the best-built and that samsung has historically been problematic but is much improved in recent years. |
cd318, I know that sounds like a lot of work, but I was lucky to find a forum where people discussed such details. I can see having a professional calibrate a new set, but when I found recommendations for calibration for my model, I thought, “This is something I can do.” It is a bit time-consuming and slightly tedious, but I only had to do it once. After calibrating my new set, I looked for suggestions for calibrating my old 42” and that did help. I noticed that the old set isn’t as bright, no matter how I adjusted brightness, contrast and color saturation, but it is definitely still watchable. |
Started off with a 50" Samsung plasma in 2007. Still working fine but started showing a reddish burn-in during really dark scenes about 3 years ago. Moved it to the bedroom and replaced it with a 55" LG OLED about a year ago. The LG has a superb picture, but a very weird remote and some very odd function logic quirks. Still, an excellent TV. The 2004 27" Toshiba SD flat-screen CRT that was in the bedroom is still going strong, as is the 1989 21" Sony Trinitron it replaced. The Sony's tuner finally went bad, but the CRT works just fine with and external DTV converter into the auxiliary input. Picture quality on both is excellent for SD TVs. |
Had a 75" Samsung 1080p (2/2014) from Costco that a couple of strips of LEDs went out after about 4 years. I had the extended warranty with a year left. They sent me a new one but wouldn't let me upgrade. So the new one has been running for about 3 years with no problems. I also have a 65" Samsung 4K curved screen (2/2015) from Costco that doesn't get as much use, but still doing OK. Every once in a while I have to unplug it for a few minutes to reboot it when it glitches and the remote doesn't work. |
@bob540, "I researched before buying and learned that some versions had screens made in China that were inferior to those made in Korea. There were 4 digit codes that indicated which screen was used, so I made sure to have the salesman verify the code for me. I also went on-line and found calibration codes and configured it myself, and it definitely made an improvement." That’s an impressive amount of research. Somehow I just end up going around in circles. When our electric cooker repairman called round to install a new electric oven element he informed us that the Kenwood cookers made in Italy weren’t as reliable as the ones built in Japan. Fair enough, but I’m not sure how I was supposed to know that beforehand. It looked pretty good with its all aluminium hob in Currys... I know it’s not the same but I have a 2004 19 inch ultrasharp Dell monitor that just wouldn’t break down. In the end I got fed up of waiting and bought a new Dell 27 inch wide screen model. What I hadn’t counted on was that the higher resolution might make some things (480p YouTube) actually look worse! |
I doubt that's the case. From what I understand the model numbers may be slightly different but the specifications are almost always the same. This is the case for models sold at Best Buy, Costco, BJ's, Walmart, etc. It's a way for the manufacturer to keep track of what's going to which retailer and also to help retailers avoid price matching. |
I'm wondering how many of the problematic Samsungs and other brand problem TVs come come from Costco. Some of the products they sell are special runs done for them to meet a certain price point. I've never bought a TV at Costco and I've never had a TV fail. We end up replacing them after many years as a result of newer technology but only after a considerable period of time. Our current most used is a then TOTL Sony purchased new and dated February 2011. Purchased, delivered, and installed amazingly enough by Amazon, future owners of planet Earth. |
PLASMA!! Pioneer Elite! 17 years and still running strong! Zero Issues..... Grand sons beat on the screen, no ill effect. 50 year life expectancy on a good Plasma TV. To bad the government killed off Plasma due to high electrical usage, and excessive weight. (My Plasma weighs over 100 pounds) I look at LG's OLED everytime I go to Costco, but can't justify the purchase when I come home and view my 1080i Plasma! |
I have had good reliability with Sony, but I have also had pretty good reliability with Samsung. Sony and LG (Samsung in flagship models only) are the premier brands. I would own a Hisense before I owned a Samsung. This does address reliability, but only for the worst brands. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_JrZ_roLF4 Some research will indicated that Samsung other than their flagship models are mediocre. Samsung does have the best glare resistance, but that is a problem only in the worst rooms. Samsung does not support Dolby Vision, but has chosen to go with HDR 10+ standard that no one uses. With Dolby Vision brightness is automatically turned to Max as the brightness and contrast are changed dynamically from scene to scene as it is embedded in signal. I like Sony LCD TV as I like a bright screen and have a bright room in daytime, great motion, and color is true out of the box without having to get calibrated. Lastly, I do not like the calibrated settings... boring, and just does not look the TV’s best, never had a problem, but I get a new TV every 7 to 10 years, as tech moves quickly. I am so done with Samsung as experience has shown me they are advertising hype. |
This is the best reply - we've had a pair of Samsungs - one for over 10 years and a larger 4K for 8 with no problems at all. Reading online and in the manuals led us to changing the picture level from the factory settings that shorten the tv's lives. You can do this yourselves though - it is a simple process. dyson200430 posts 05-09-2021 9:50pm The answer is to get your TV professionally calibrated after you buy it. That way the TV does not have to struggle to produce a great picture. All TV’s in shops have their colour and brightness boosted. There is no way you should use these settings because they can cause burn-out too soon. |
Hey recluse, Was the one that turned on and off hooked up to a cable box? I don't mean to state the obvious if everyone knows this, but cable boxes have to be rebooted from time to time or else they will exhibit this same behavior, making it appear the TV isn't working. I've had a Panasonic for 13 years, an LG for 9, and a Vizio for 6 (all LCD or LED) and they're all going strong. |
Thanks, cissado, We've got a reasonably dark space for the RV room, fortunately. There won't be any gaming. Agreed on not spending 30k for the OLED richopp. I didn't even know you could spend that on a TV! I enjoy a decent picture, but the experience is not moving to me in the way that good sound is. I'll put the Sony on my list. Definitely seem to be some reasonable 85" options at 2000 or less, esp. for last years' models. |
Have two early curved 55inch OLED LGs (pre 4K) that have been faultless for years of daily use and still amazing picture; always had problems with Samsung stuff and the newer Pioneer gear is very disappointing. Can't stand all this smart TV stuff- have Sky Q and a nice home theatre set-up so don't want a 'clever' telly with supposedly good sound, just a basic reliable good picture |
I am in the market for a big TV. My 65" SHARP, which is at least 15 years old, is fine and hanging in the bedroom now and so far it is working fine. My new house has a place for an 85"+ screen, and my research says that the best picture is now the LG OLED TV, but it is a bit expensive right now so I will probably wait a while. Cheers! |
"anyone with experience with the lower end of the 85" range?" I've been looking around for an 85 or larger. I've learned a little bit by watching the very good YouTube reviews. The bottom line is where will you use the TV. Bright room, dark room, windows... If you need a brighter tv or for gaming etc... then you can choose. It seems the reviews are very critical, much like people here about audio. Nothing wrong with it, they are fans of optimal equipment. I say go look at it and if it looks good to you, then it's good. Doesn't matter if it only has 800 nits instead if 1200 nits etc etc... Personally, I think the Sony 900H is a very good buy. Roughly $2000 at Costco or anywhere. Doesn't really need calibrating. The colors are great out of the box, 85 inches and it's a Sony. Good luck |
Sorry to hear about your experience with Samsung. I've only had Sony and Panasonic over the years with no issues. Current unit is a last gen top of the line Panasonic plasma bought nearly a decade ago. Has moved with me twice and still looks and functions beautifully. I absolutely love my plasma and will replace (when I have too) with an Sony or LG. |
Interesting to hear about the long-lived Panny Plasmas. I'd always heard they were twitchy, and mine failed after about three years. Replaced it with an entry level 65" Samsung, and the picture was pretty awful compared to the plasma. Upgraded to 4k, and that Samsung has been trouble free for 6 years. Samsung washer and dryer trouble free for 2 years. Plan to stay with Samsung when the TV goes: anyone with experience with the lower end of the 85" range? |
I bought a 65” 4K Samsung over 5 years ago and have had no problems. I researched before buying and learned that some versions had screens made in China that were inferior to those made in Korea. There were 4 digit codes that indicated which screen was used, so I made sure to have the salesman verify the code for me. I also went on-line and found calibration codes and configured it myself, and it definitely made an improvement. I don’t have the set plugged into anything other than a high-quality surge protector and so far no problems. I bought a refurbished Samsung 42” TV back in 2010 and it is still going strong. Meanwhile, my girlfriend’s son bought a used 70” Sony from a friend and it went out within a year. We don’t know how old the set was, but he was sure bummed. I have heard good good things about LG and Sony, and not such good things about Visio. |
