My nice 32" television set has apparently conked out. It was a very well-known and respected brand-name model, which I chose in the expectation of getting many years of service. Ha!
Seven years, three months. Average usage, 3-4 hours/day.
To me, this is a deplorably short life-span for such a big-ticket item 
So tell me, how long do your sets last?
My Sharp TV that I bought in 1983 lasted for 18 years. I currently have a Philips, bought two years ago. I hope to have it awhile.
My family had a Zenith TV for about the same length of time before it finally gave out. I’ve heard 8-10 years seems to be about average for most TVs nowadays, though (no cite, sorry).
Ten years is probably the median age – the good news is, you can replace your TV for about 1/4 the price you paid for it 7 years ago. Happy shopping!
In the last 10 years or so, the quality of consumer electronics has gone downhill dramatically. And it’s the consumer’s fault, not the maker’s. People, for some strange reason, will pass up the quality TV for the crappy one that costs $30 less.
Seven years is a reasonably long time nowadays. Anything over 4 years is a bonus.
I concur, and i am somewhat guilty of this. 3 years ago i passed up a name brand like a magnavox or zenith 19" for a $30 cheaper (hell, i could’ve gotten a name brand for the same price had i waited for a sale) Konka 19" that had the coaxal cable attachment break off a year ago. Luckily my brother knew how to repair it but if it weren’t for him that TV would’ve had a 2 year lifespan.
With something like a Zenith, i think about 8 years is average. I know my parents and my brother prefer Zenith’s and about 8 years is the average i’ve seen them.
Well, I had a Panasonic that was about 10 years old when water was spilt on on, rendering it unusable. After moaning and groaning at the expense, I went and bought a Phillips/Magnavox.
My parents took the dead Panasonic, planning on dumping it in the trash. On a whim, my dad tried the TV about a week after the incident. Worked fine.
That was 5 years ago.
Now THAT TV is working fine at the cabin and the P/M is dying (when you turn it on it takes a few minutes before there’s a picture).
Oh, but we do have a 50 year old (yes 50… it’s a huge console with a 12" screen) that works great.
I agree with those who state you get what you pay for.
I wonder what the longevity will be on the flat screen / lcd tvs?
I have a little Philips television (12’’ color screen) that I got in 1983. Still works fine. I should add that I don’t watch very much television, even less so since I’ve discovered SDMB.
I have a similar story. My parents bought us a Sears (Sanyo) TV for our first anniversary. It was under a hanging plant, and my wife one day over-watered the plant, pouring a lot of water down its back.
We waited a few days and turned it on. It worked fine, and worked well for another 17 years.
8 years ago we bought a set, which we didn’t like and gave to my in-laws. It’s still working.We bought a Hitachi big screen that started turning off once in a while, and had some phosphor problems after 7.5 years. We moved it into another room as a video game monitor. It’s working well enough for that.
Compared to computers and cars, TVs are pretty good.
I’m currently using a TV made in 1978.
See also: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=183932
From last month
In a related vein, does anyone have reliability anecdotes/experiences with Mitsubishi widescreen teevees?
I have a tv from 1951, but I rarely use it, because each time you use it, it is more and more likely that the tubes will blow. This was not a problem before, back then, you just went to the drugstore and bought a new tube. Today, it is very difficult to get “new”(working) tubes. Furthermore, I dont know of any drug store which still has “tube testers” anymore. For that matter, I dont know of any tv repairmen that have tube testers.
If the picture tube goes, it would be even more difficult to find a new picture tube.
However, if availability of parts was not a problem, the older tvs would last forever, since any worn out part could easily be replaced by anyone back then, tubes, resisters, condencers, etc.
Sorry, this is slightly off-topic of your request but felt like sharing.
I have a 27 inche mitsubishi for about 8 years now. Good t.v. but I did have to replace a computer thing-ma-bob a couple years ago. I would be comfortable with a Mitsubishi just based upon my experience with them.
However…
I purchased the Panasonic widescreen rear-projection HDTV. I’d really look into the Panasonics.
I’ve got a dirt-cheap Goodmans 20" television that was bought about 10 years ago and at the time was 100 pounds ($150) cheaper than any other make in the store. It’s still doing fine, and has survived numerous moves and nearly being stolen (burglars lugged it out my room and down the stairs but then decided it was too heavy and left it). I don’t really believe that the brand is all that important - are there any studies on this?
My bedroom set-- a 19" Sharp purchased 14 years ago-- just finally conked out two weeks ago.
I’m having a hard time putting its lifeless corpse out on the curb. I just keep it on the stand in the corner of my room. I look at it as I’m falling asleep every night and remember all the “Good Times” and “Happy Days” we shared.
sniff
Happy
I bought a 19-inch (or was it 21/) Panasonic in late 1989 and it’s still going strong. It’s now being used by my stepdaughter, who probably doesn’t watch that much TV, but still. And it was a discounted “floor model” (no guarantees) that I picked up, IIRC, for <$300.
In a related area I bought a Zenith VCR in '92 or '93. It was fairly expensive at that time, costing about $340, four-track, stereo. That’s still going strong too, or at least it was until we finally got a DVD player a few months ago. Proof once again that you get what you pay for.
I’m still using the 36" GE I bought 10 years ago. It started to act funny for a while about 4 years ago (large dark spot in the upper left corner) but the problem just went away after about 5 weeks and no problems since.
Bought a 24" Toshiba color set in 1985… at a pawn shop.
Still works fine. My daughter uses it in her bedroom now.