Television.

[piman]

Hello all,

I have a Sony Bravia television and I'm fed up with it's unreliability in functions like BBC I Player (I know there have been problems and I am on the latest software) and now trying to play a DVD it just says there is no disc, tried it both ways round, another disc, factory reset, nothing happens.

Can anyone recommend a reliable television as I'm really fed up with this one. Not particularly interested in the latest super HD or such, I just want a device I can switch on and know it will work. i have been in touch with Sony support and find that just as unreliable.

Alec

 

[mart]

I have a Panasonic. I stood in the shop and carefully observed the picture quality, and found that Panasonic was a very sharp picture. That, together with the 5 year warranty on parts and labour provided by Panasonic were the selling points in 2010 when I purchased it. I don`t know what warranty deals are being offered at the moment.

 

[Robotstar5]

Can you get to a branch of Richer Sounds I've bought a couple of TV's, PVR etc from them, very good for advice and keen pricing.

 

[wristpin]

Had Panasonics for the last twenty years, would need a lot of persuading to try any thing else!

 

[mike 109444]

Don't the "WHICH" magazine people do reviews on various electrical items from time to time? Available online ??

 

[gordon stephenson]

X2 for Richer Sounds. They did their own warranty deal i believe. 5 years cover cost £10-00 per £100-00 spent.

 

[wristpin]

[QUOTE
Don't the "WHICH" magazine people do reviews on various electrical items from time to time? Available online ??
/QUOTE]

Yes, they do but reading some of their reports on products that I know and use I find myself questioning whether some of their test criteria are "real world".

 

[piman]

Hello Robotstar,

I see from their website that they have a store in Chester, which is not too far away.

Mike, yes I know that but I don't know if their reviews concern long term reliability? My set is a few years old now but I also have a small Toshiba bought at the same time, that has not given any problems whatsoever (Although not internet connected).
Has anyone else had similar problems with a Bravia, or am I just unlucky?

Alec

 

[julianthegypsy]

We've had a toshiba for a few years now.it was a reasonable price, picture is great and so far the only problem is that the remote control keeps going missing!

 

[ajlelectronics]

As a retailer, our main sales are Toshiba, followed by Samsung, LG and then Panasonic. Never ever Sony as I refuse to sell it now. The major reason for for that is the "rootkit"** fiasco of 2007. Add to the fact that after the last Freeview channel allocation update, the Sony was the only set that tried to add the channels instead of replacing them, causing it to fall over.

** look it up if you have half an hour to spare. Their arrogance is staggering. It's also one of the reasons that their fortunes declined, as many large buyers then went elsewhere.

 

[Robotstar5]

It's odd how makes vary between users, I've had Sony TV's and VCR's (remember those?) since about 1990 with no complaints, but had all sorts of problems with Panasonic VCR's and PVR's.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I have LG and find it good. For warranty go to John Lewis Partnership or Costco [who also now do online] for their free 5-year guarantees.

 

[piman]

Hello AJL,

Quite!

Robotstar, the television side is fine, it is just the internet side (which needed an expensive Sony dongle rather than a generic one, or so I was told?), I just can't rely on it working, and I've had to go through the re connection procedure to my router so many times, BBC I player doesn't work (I get that through my BT box now), and now for a simple integral DVD player not to work is surprising? As I hinted, Sony support is very hit and miss. One time I had an e-mail asking for the model and serial number in response to a support query, I replied with the information and nothing further was heard from Sony.

Alec

 

[cumbriasteve]

Got an LG telly and dvd player, never had a problem and more than happy with them, previous TV was an Hitachi that lasted about 8 years of heavy abuse by the Grandkids.

 

[shtu]

Heresy, but I'd suggest avoiding "smart" TVs for a good while yet. It seems to be in the nature of such things that the services evolve far faster than the software on the TV, and the manufactuers aren't that interested in updating software for their older models.

For your iplayer needs, nip out to Tesco and spend £15 on a NowTV box, which will give you the BBC, ITV, 4 and 5 catchup services in a neat little box. Buying sports or movies is entirely optional. The channels available are very limited though, as the boxes themselves are a loss leader for NowTV, Sky's PAYG budget service.

If you want a wider range of online TV services, £40 on a Roku Streaming Stick gives you access to Netflix, Youtube and the like. (the NowTV box is actually a stripped-down Roku device)

 

[Wendelspanswick]

Heresy, but I'd suggest avoiding "smart" TVs for a good while yet. It seems to be in the nature of such things that the services evolve far faster than the software on the TV, and the manufactuers aren't that interested in updating software for their older models.

For your iplayer needs, nip out to Tesco and spend £15 on a NowTV box, which will give you the BBC, ITV, 4 and 5 catchup services in a neat little box. Buying sports or movies is entirely optional. The channels available are very limited though, as the boxes themselves are a loss leader for NowTV, Sky's PAYG budget service.

If you want a wider range of online TV services, £40 on a Roku Streaming Stick gives you access to Netflix, Youtube and the like. (the NowTV box is actually a stripped-down Roku device)

You can get the Now TV box online for £9.99 including 1 months free movies and delivery.