Does anyone know modern Philips TVs?

[henene4]

So, we have a 37" Philips LCD TV with Ambilight (yes, seems useless, but it actually is kind of cool) and had it in heavy use for the past 6 years.

We have had it repaired under extended warranty at the 2,5 and 4,5 year mark. Once, the main bord and once the actual LCD panel have been exchanged.

Last summer, we recognized that when our living room hit temps of 70F or more, the left quarter of the screen started to create random picture errors like stripes, colorchanges or stretching. That got worse over the past week, happening on and off quite randomly and getting worse to the point of complete black-out of that screen area.

It is well out of its warranty period, so if we would get it repaired, we would have to pay that.

My question that hopefully someone might be abled to answer: Any idea what the repair would be, how much it would cost and if you think it is worth it.
Personally, I really like that TV: Nice sound, good picture quality and (sounds strange) it fits our living room furniture.

Model: 37PFL8404H/12
Serial-No: VN2C0942062051

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[dartman]

As far as LCD tvs go that thing is tiny and old. The TV has some part that has become heat sensitive so could be about anything controlling that side of the screen. If you don't know how to troubleshoot and fix it yourself it could get expensive fast though most shops just swap parts now rather than do board level trouble shooting. It might be cheaper to buy a new bigger set as decent 50" sets can be had pretty cheap now, especially if you buy one of the generic brands that get good reviews.
We got lucky as family bought us a nice 42" Sony for Xmas 2012 then lil sisters hubby bought them a 4k set and gave us their nice Sony 50" they bought when everyone went in on our smaller set a few years before.
Good luck, it can probably be fixed but is it worth it now is the question.

 

[tolivac]

May be better to spend your efforts into shopping for a new TV-they are becoming less expensive,better,and have more features.Reemember those Philips "Ambulite" sets-beleive the Sylvania "Halolite" sets were their ancestors!Don't see those Philips sets around anymore.

 

[foraloysius]

You already had two repairs on it, I wouldn't waste money on it now, the costs will probably more than it's economical value.

If you're going to purchase a new one, don't consider Philips. Too many complaints about the newer models like turning itself on or off, problems with software updating etc. One thing you have to look at if you are buying a new one is how the brands are dealing with apps. For instance Sony stopped supporting the Youtube app on some models. For me that would be a dealbreaker, I watch Youtube daily on my Smart TV (Samsung).

 

[panthera]

The answer is in your text

<span style="font-size: 12pt;">No. A television which has failed three times in such a short span of time is not worth repairing.</span>

<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We have had to update the firmware on our Philips surround sound system twice (each time after a thunderstorm) in the last few years and I won't by their A/V equipment again.</span>

<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ambilight is very attractive and their styling is great. Hmmm - they bought Grundig awhile back. Remember the old saying about Grundig? </span>Außen <span style="font-size: 12pt;">hui, Innen pfui!</span>

 

<span style="font-size: 12pt;">That seems to be the motto for the current Philips line.</span>

 

[foraloysius]

"they bought Grundig awhile back"

Yes, I thought so too, but that was already in 1993 I found out after googling it. They then had a majority share in Grundig of 60%. They sold the shares again in 1998. Nowadays the label Grundig belongs to Arçelik.

We had Grundig TV's in the past, we had a black and white one, the second one, color TV came in 1971, the black and white one was still working. Both Grundig TV's did well, better than the Saba we had later.

Now back to Philips. lol

 

[henene4]

Yeah, I thought already it won't be worth it. Just hoped it might some kind of common problem with that series and it would be an easy fix, but whatever...

On the repairs: Our first flat screen was a LG that lived exactly 2 1/2 years before something went wrong and the repair would have been ~600€. Then we got that Philips with a 5 year warranty which was a good investment after all.

Have been looking at Samsung, Sony or Sharp. Problem is that there is a wall mounted closet with doors right above it, limiting the heith of the TV to 59.2cm, basicly 40" or max 42" screen size.
(Actually, the TV is in front of it, so there is free airflow to the TV, but the doors would not open if the the TV was any higher.)

We got enough backups in the house, so we will hope it last another few months, and will most likely buy one after this one completly fails.

 

[panthera]

Right, I'd forgotten

that. Even Philips couldn't save Grundig by that point. Such a pity - their stuff was once quite good.

I had the opportunity (no salesperson in sight) to adjust all the flat-screen TVs on display at our local store a few months back.

And - you know what?

Every single one of the 4K sets, regardless of whether they were the cheapest (Emerson) or most expensive (SONY), once properly adjusted, had pictures which were so nearly identical it was absolutely impossible to tell the difference amongst them.

Sound, yup, big difference. But that's an easy fix.

I'll never spend money on an expensive name brand TV again. The salespeople are obviously 'tweaking' the better sets and not setting up the less expensive sets as well.

 

 

[lordkenmore]

>Every single one of the 4K sets, regardless of whether they were the cheapest (Emerson) or most expensive (SONY), once properly adjusted, had pictures which were so nearly identical it was absolutely impossible to tell the difference amongst them.
>I'll never spend money on an expensive name brand TV again.

Interesting discovery! I guess I'm not totally surprised--it seems like the heart of a TV is the screen unit itself, and I have a funny feeling that there are only a few companies making those.

I wouldn't necessarily rule out an expensive TV based on this one experience--one never knows. There might be an expensive TV out there worth the money. That said, however, it should have to prove two things:

1. Is it better somehow?
2. The difference justify for a given person the extra money?

>Sound, yup, big difference. But that's an easy fix.

Frankly, I'd use some sort of external amplifier/speakers no matter what TV I had. I have yet to hear a TV cough up particularly good sound. (And I am including CRT sets here. Yes, they may have been "better" than flatscreen, but the sound is still pretty limited. I have a smallish CRT set--maybe 24"?--and running the sound through my audio system gets a noticeable improvement EVEN on 1960 TV shows.)

 

[panthera]

Lord Kenmore,

It's become true of many things that one is paying for the label.

Look at Maytag - it's just rebadged Roper or Estate. At best.

Cheap trash in a pretty box.

Mutton dressed as lamb.

The same with Apple products - there's nothing special inside of them, their software is pretty crummy, the Resistance is Futile, let's all be the same and pretend we're special mentality is what one is paying for.

 

 

[mattl]

Back to the original question I guess how you proceed depends on your skill level and finances.  If it was my set, I'd open it up and aim a hair dryer at various points on the circuit board and try to narrow down the problematic section. Then try to identify the problem component.  But you need to be comfortable tearing into electronic equipment. If not you either have to pay the price of repair, high at this point, or replace.

 

[henene4]

If it would be a washer, dryer, dishwasher, oven or what ever I'd go ahead. But I'm not to comfortable with TV/HiFi equipment...

 

[mattl]

Modern TVs don't use the very high voltage used in the past with picture tubes, often 25,000v.  Now most everything is digital and operates mostly on 5v, 12v or 19v.  There may be some higher voltages used to operate the light source behind the LCDs though- often lower than an appliance.  That being said if you are not comfortable tearing into it, don't.