eXcentris

Years ago, I gave my old Sony 36XBR200 CRT TV to my aunt and uncle. Aunt called me and said they no longer have a picture but just "a mess of random color patterns on every channel". They called the cable guy and he told them it's not the cable, it's the tv. I called a repair guy and an "evaluation" is $100 plus taxes. Guy was honest and said that depending on the problem, he might not even find the parts anymore. So $100 + (if parts) maybe couple hundred more to fix. I say it's not worth it. Might as well buy a new tv. Do you guys agree?

If so, what would be an affordable replacement? I figure 40/42" would be fine. My aunt and uncle are both over 80 y/o so they obviously don't understand or give a hoot about LED, 120/240 hz or any other bells and whistles. Even 720p would be fine (if you can still find those). Anyway, any suggestions?

I will obviously do the shopping/install for them. I figure $500 max??? Haven't shopped for tv's in a while...

GreenMonkey

You can do a 40" 720p plasma for around $500. Considering they will probably watch nothing but 4x3, a cheap 32-37" LCD would probably be better though (I can imagine the 4x3 box burned into it). Are they like most older folks, and watch lots of SDTV on it?

Something like a Vizio is normally pretty good bang/buck ratio, without the higher likelihood of complete utter failure and sucking like a lot of cheap brands (stuff like GE, Westinghouse, etc).

mrhan

I think Vizio should be added to the list of cheap brands. The one I had failed on me a within a year. It was a bedroom TV and I barely used it. This happened before Costco changed their return policy and I was able to return it and exchange it for a Panny. I did contact Vizio to get it repaired but they just gave me the runaround.

I think the OP should just get a 42" Panny. This one is $435. It's basic but probably better than any Vizio at the same price point.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIER...6328968&sr=8-3

eXcentris

Yeah, they will mostly watch SDTV. So LCD is probably better. I'm kind of weary of brands like Vizio and Dynex. I checked Best Buy and Future Shop and they have an LG 42" and a Sharp Aquos 42" for $599. I'll probably compare prices with Costco.

I'm not looking forward to explaining why there are black bars on the tv.

mrhan

Burn in is not an issue with the Panny but if your set on an LCD go for it. And I don't think OAR would be an issue; they probably wouldn't notice the difference if you stretch the pic. Like you said I don't think at their age they would give a crap about that stuff; just as long as they have a working TV.