I came home tonight to find my old Zenith TV is dead. It has been coughing blood for some time, with a picture that has been getting progressively dimmer over the past couple of months (I’ve been wondering why all the shows have been filmed at midnight). Tonight, I turned it on, and nothing – just “click click” dark screen with a little green dot. Sigh. Crap.
So, I am on the market for a new TV. I should also mention that my VCR doesn’t work very well either (it’s about 12 years old, the TV was about 15). I don’t have a DVD player. I was thinking about getting one of those combination TV/VCR/DVD players (they have them at Sam’s Club). I also have cable and am a total idiot about hooking things up unless there are color-coded cables involved.
I should also mention that I don’t have much in the way of money. I’m looking to spend about 500 USD or that range. I have a small house and don’t need a huge screen, but I need a reliable TV. Nothing fancy – I don’t want to launch the space shuttle, I just want to watch HBO!
Any recommendations out there? I need to shop this weekend. I’ll get cranky without my TV for more than a week.
Best recommendation?
Don’t do it.
If you’re going to spend $US500, you can get the separate components and be a lot better off. DVD players and VCRs are super cheap ($40 - 60) and you can get a 27" TV for anywhere from $225+.
It should also be noted that most modern TVs will have multiple inputs, so hooking up the whole mess should be relatively painless.
I agree. Stay away from combo’s.
I just bought a new TV and DVD player. The TV won’t fit in the price range you mentioned, but the DVD would and I’m very impressed with it. I got the Phillips DVP642 for about $60. The picture is very clear, menus and boot time are pretty fast and making it region free was VERY easy. I’m told it also has Macrovision disabled out of the box (not that this matters to me).
If you need a new DVD, this is a damn good one.
Another vote for “Don’t do it!” If you buy a combo, there is (usually) no way to hook up a seperate device. So, at some point the vcr part quits. You now have to replace the whole thing (another $500) in order to watch your prized copy of Airplane 12: The Quickening rather than spending $67.50 for a cheapo VCR.
My daughter bought one for her son and it was ideal. It is small, cheap, easy-to-use and portable. But, unless you are two years old and can be counted on to put a peanut butter and jelly sammich in the slot at some point, Stay away.
(I don’t mean to imply that I think you are two years old and put sammiches in inappropriate slots.)
If you’re not looking for huge, surround-sound, state-of-the-art or flat, you should be able to find perfectly fine equipment in your price range.
Thanks for the opinions. I called my sister who informed me the dead Zenith in the living room is actually closer to 20 years old, which I guess is a good long life for a TV. She also said to avoid the combos.
So I went to three stores after work to compare prices and features. One store had a 24" RCA on sale for 145, and a Samsung 24" flat screen for 250. Is there that big a difference in picture quality that would justify another 100 bux? Sam’s Club had a 23" Sylvania for 129. I’m leaning toward the RCA model.
The other problem is getting the sucker home. I have a Honda Civic hatchback and I was looking at those boxes. I’m not sure it would fit in the back of the car. I wonder if they deliver.
Get the flat screen. You want to regret it.
As for getting the whole lot home, consider taking the TV out of the box. If you want to keep the box, you can fold it flat.
:smack:
You won’t regret it.
Sam’s Club deliver? Yeah, they usually have an outfit that would deliver to your house for a fee. Better to find a friend with a larger car or pickup and save yourself some $. I ditto the others’ advice on staying away from combos. Been there, got screwed when one part went bad. Flat screen is nice if you can afford it.
Flat screen as in it’s a CRT where the front of the tube is flat or flat-screen as in it’s an LCD? If it’s a flat CRT, get it if your budget will take it. The viewing angles and such are so much nicer with a flat CRT.
Well, I made an executive decision and am the proud owner of a Sony 24" flat screen. I paid about 300 bux with tax; other sets I looked at were less expensive, but the picture on the Sony looked better in the store.
The toughest part was getting it in and out of the Civic. They said it couldn’t be done, but I am here to tell you that it CAN be accomplished so the hatch closes and I didn’t have to take it out of the box. One of my neighbors helped me pull it out of the car when I got home, and I managed to get it into the house by myself (I’m not a weak girly-girl, but that sucker was bullky).
Thanks for the input. Now to save up for a DVD player so I can continue my march into the 21st Century of electronics!
Consider getting a region free unit with a built-in PAL converter. I bought one over 4 years ago in order to watch movies not available in the US (like all of Michael Palin’s travel shows).
I bought a Phillips TV/DVD/VCR combo and I broke off the dvd player part that comes out to put the dvd in within he first month! The dvd holeder piece was jammed and wouldn’t open so I took a butter knife to open it and brke the whole thing off. (I’ve had the tv for about 3 years) Now I’m stuck with a TV/VCR and no DVD. I had to buy an extra DVD player (about 40 bucks) to hook up to the tv. It looks stupid. Now I will always buy the tv, vcr, or dvd player in separate pieces.