My TV seems to have just died.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

It flickered and went out. I turned it back on, but it stayed on only for a few seconds; then it flickered and went out again and won't turn on, either with the remote or the power switch. I did all the troubleshooting stuff (unplug, wait, plug in again) and it still won't turn on. It's about 10 years old. Should I call someone to come in and try to fix it, or just get a new one?

[edbermac]

1. Kinda old as is mine.

Might buy a smart TV

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. New one, Costco...4k , make sure it is 4k, state of the art.

[chillfactor]

3. what a terrible time for your tv to quit....

with all of the primaries going on today. My tv went out a few months ago....for what I had to pay to get fixed...I could buy a new which I did.

[Va Lefty]

4. You're probably better off getting a new one.

Really don't know anyone who "works" on TVs today. Plus you'd have a warranty with a new one.

[jberryhill]

5. Before it quit, was there any time that Giuliani was on it?

You do know that if Giuliani is on your TV screen, that sort of thing can happen.

[Glamrock]

6. Hahahaha

Great one j!

[jberryhill]

27. You have to turn on the G-Chip

The G-Chip was required to be installed in all new televisions by the FCC years ago.

When activated, it detects the presence of Rudy Giuliani and automatically switches to cartoons.

[Glamrock]

32. Haaaaaaaaa!

Ya killing me over here!

[jberryhill]

57. Most viewers don't even notice the switch

[elehhhhna]

28. Fckjaws 911uliani breaks everything. Every. Thing.

[jberryhill]

38. I turned on some damned show last night

And there was his ugly mug, two feet tall in glorious high definition. Hell, I’d rather just trade TVs with our colleague here.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

45. There are definitely some drawbacks to HDTVs.

You get to see some really unattractive people, larger than life and in way more detail than you'd want. Those are some butt-ugly electrons getting into your tv.

[jberryhill]

47. I only rent the electrons

ALternating current electricity is the biggest fraud ever foisted on the consuming public. They bill you to send those electrons into your house and then they suck them all right back out again, 60 times every second. Can you imagine any other business where they sell you the same thing over and over like that?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

48. They say beer is never purchased, merely rented.

But you don't actually give it directly back to the liquor store. It has to make its way through the hydrologic cycle until it can become beer again.

[Freethinker65]

7. Get a new one, or find someone that is upgrading to the latest technology...

And take their perfectly fine working old one.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

8. Really, it's 10 years old and I'm under the distinct impression

the newer ones are better. And depending on what you paid 10 years ago and what you'd want now, you might be able to replace it for a lot less.

Meanwhile, you'd be surprised how much TV you can watch on the internet. Trust me. I haven't owned a TV in 10 years now, and I'm not at all deprived. At least not by my standards.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. I didn't pay anything for it - I inherited it. They do seem to be cheaper now.

I'm not in a hurry; tv is making me nervous these days.

[pangaia]

14. Are there big tubes in the back?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. Not THAT old!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

21. Oh, then you definitely won't be getting one cheaper.

But try going without for just a bit. Treat it as an experiment. After all, you can always buy a TV. The only other consideration is if you're already paying for cable or satellite, but a lot of networks allow you to watch them if you can tell them who your provider is and do some sort of password. I hate the ones like that, since I, without a cable or satellite provider, can't log on.

But that's only an annoyance.

Plus, as regards to the news, whenever something big happens somewhere, local stations often go to live streaming, and they are doing much better coverage than at the national level, in my opinion. Plus, you won't just have the TV on, watching endless replays of something.

When I moved to my current place (I relocated some 800 miles after a divorce) I decided not to buy a TV for several reasons.
1. I didn't want to fork out the money for a TV.
2. I didn't want to fork out the money for cable or satellite.
3. The only place to put the TV, where the cable hook up was located, was right in front of the one living room window. Which would block the window, which strikes me as dumb. Plus, I live in northern New Mexico, at 7,000 feet, and the light here is very strong, so the blinds would have to be closed to watch TV. Didn't like that either.

I saw it as an experiment, and honestly thought that in time, maybe a few months, I'd go back to conventional TV and cable. But the longer the experiment lasted, the better I liked it. I didn't miss any important news. Best of all I was spared commercials. I've gotten so that when I travel I never bother to turn on the TV in the hotel room because I can't bear the commercials. Plus, when I watch some conventional show, it's much shorter because I don't have the time-waste of commercials.

Win-win.

[tazkcmo]

42. Me too

No TV since 1995.

[subterranean]

9. Check the plug where it goes into the TV.

I had a problem with my TV once, and it turned out the plug had simply come loose in the back.
That may not be your problem, but it's worth checking.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. Did that. No luck. I think it's kaput.

[Lochloosa]

12. Look on craigslist for a 2-3 year old flat screen.

A lot of people have to have the latest greatest TV.

I've seen nice ones cheap.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. I'll get a new one for the warranty and for the installation.

I can't carry or install one myself and have to get rid of the old one - too big and heavy for me to move.

[pangaia]

13. Consider yourself lucky.

You have received a message from god.

[Ohiogal]

15. At least you still have US! 😀😀😀

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

20. There's that!

[bluedigger]

18. I'd go buy a smart tv.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. Woo hoo! I just discovered I can get MSNBC (audio) through my Alexa thing

via Sirius FM! Between that and my laptop I can do without TV for a long time.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

22. Yep!

What did I tell you?

[MiniMe]

23. What kind of TV, LED or tube TV

I haven't had much luck with the LCD's or LED's. They only seem to last 5 years or so with me at the most. Had one die after 2.5 years. Tube TV's used to last forever, I think it is built-in obsolesnce.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

24. The last tube tv I had caught fire while I was watching it.

[MiniMe]

33. Wow.

I just got an OLED TV, great picture, phenomenal picture, but it was expensive. I also got an extended warranty on it because the TV I had before that was the one that only lasted 2.5 years.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

35. It wasn't a blazing fire, just smoke coming out the back, but disturbing enough.

I'll look into OLED TVs.

[csziggy]

54. OLEDs are very expensive though they do have better images

Last fall we bought a new LG Smart TV for a third of what an OLED cost at the time. We're happy with it though I do have one major complaint.

The LG Smart TVs do not have as wide a range of streaming channels available. We can get Hulu, Netflix, Sling, Amazon, and the big streaming services on it. But we cannot get Acorn TV, Britbox, and some of the smaller streaming services. LG simply does not allow adding them.

Our other non-smart TVs have Rokus attached and Roku lets us add almost any streaming service.

No biggie - sometime in the next few months we have to move that TV. It's sitting on the piano which is going to my nephew. When we move the TV off the piano, I'll have a Roku ready to plug into it. Right now it's not worth it to try to get to the back the TV to hook it up.

[jberryhill]

39. Was it Giuliani then, too?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

41. LOL!

I think it was 60 Minutes, actually. Don't remember who was on; having your tv catch fire is sort of distracting.

[tazkcmo]

43. You are better off without one.

Based on this thread, I think it's a health hazard for you!

[jberryhill]

40. And you could x-ray the kids for free!

[lunatica]

25. This is your chance to get your dream tv

Just go for it if you can. Get one with high definition (HD) with a nice large screen. It’s just as good as going to the movies. The quality of the colors and definition is wonderful.

I’m a real movie buff and political junkie and I’m quite happy fulfilling my needs with the tv.

[saidsimplesimon]

26. It would cost more for a repair. imo

Look for sales, like moving out home sales in your area or on the net.

[Corgigal]

29. Same thing happened

to our TV last month. Got a new one.
Last week, the oven part of the stove went poof and smoke. Ten years old, new one arriving on Friday. This shit is getting old, I remember a time when things last. Not anymore, good luck to you.

[procon]

30. If you're a Dish subscriber, check out Dish Anywhere and watch

MSNBC and many other shows on your computer and various media devices. That will get you by until you can buy a new TV.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

31. Not a subscriber - got Comcast.

But I can get a lot of streaming shows there, too.

[Ptah]

34. It happens from time to time.

More oil!

[samnsara]

36. get a new one...they are so cheap right now....

[TexasBushwhacker]

37. Just get a new one. Check out Best Buy

They have weekly sales and a Deal of the Day which often has TVs. Get a TV with Roku built in. It makes streaming much easier. Be sure and either mount it on the wall or to a stand that allows you to attach a TV to it. The flat screen TVs are relatively light and easy to tip over.

[LSFL]

44. there is a capacitor. ...

If you have a repair shop nearby they can fix it. It is a part that stores energy and kind of kick starts your tv. If it is bad they can fix it on the cheap. But sets have come a long way in 10 years.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

46. I can find capacitors at a local surplus/junk store

but then I'd have to take the damn thing apart, or somebody else would have to, and a 10+ year old TV doesn't have all the cool bells and whistles, like Internet connections and Roku.

[mnhtnbb]

49. Get a new one.

It's cheaper to buy a new one. Ten years is a pretty good life for a TV these days.

[virgogal]

50. Get a new one.

[Louis1895]

51. Did you check the circuit breaker?

Make certain the outlet is getting power?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

53. Yup, did all that stuff.

R.I.P., TV.

[rurallib]

52. Get a new one, 4K if you can

and get a large screen - sure wis I had.

Keep your old one if you want and then if you want to try to get it fixed, there is no hurry.

[Demovictory9]

55. TVs NEVER die!!

[LuckyCharms]

56. Depending on your financial situation...

I would buy a new one. Go state of the art as mentioned above. Then if you have the money and location for another TV, you might consider getting this one fixed and putting it in a secondary location, but that is probably not worth it.

I stopped paying for appliance repairs years ago because in my circumstances anyway, it never seemed to make sense financially, especially with rapidly changing technology.

Good luck!