After placing my 3rd flat panel (all Vizeos that I liked, not a knock on them) "on the curb" in recycle bin, I am done with "disposable" consumer commodities, prone to fail, at much earlier than appliances from our past. I pulled out a broadcast Sony Super Fine Pitch CRT (real television box set) and hooked it to the HD convertor... hooked up to my ~venerable~ Mission Cyrus amp, running an assortment of traditional box enclosures, in 2 channel set-up. Ah' much like the "old days", familiar, and pretty complete. The Cyrus products epitomize compact... yet super high performance.
*gotta admit, I kind of lost where this thread originated [I am frustrated with]
"home theater" >>> smash <<< home audio. Sort of diluting both...
Old School Audio / Visual = AV Guy here.
*gotta admit, I kind of lost where this thread originated [I am frustrated with]
"home theater" >>> smash <<< home audio. Sort of diluting both...
Old School Audio / Visual = AV Guy here.
Most TVs today have the option to disable the internal speaker in favor of RCA outputs. Then you have to decide just how important your old speakers are. I have some but I like the sound of my cheap 2.1 channel computer speakers more. Newer and better computer speakers come with blue tooth so you can play music from your phone on them. I have computers connected to my TV's, which is great for slide shows and home movies when the family visits. Ideally, you want a TV; computer; stereo all integrated but it depends on your home and family. Most people use a "smart" TV because netflix etc are connected via the internet anyway and you can plug a USB drive with your photos into a smart TV. Perhaps instead of a TV, you should just get a TV USB tuner for your computer, although large computer monitors are a bit expensive, so you'd probably just use a TV anyway. Then there is cable boxes and blue-ray players. For the those you need a HDMI input. Computer Blue-ray drives are expensive compared to consumer player, but maybe the days of any kind of DVD/BR disks are over. I bought a couple Blue-ray drives and burned 25G of photos on BD-R disks but now 25G is hardly worth bothering with, so I never used them.
I'm wondering how you could be using a CRT TV in 2022. I think there may be one UHF analog channel still operating here, but that's all. It will probably cost you to dispose of your CRT TV today. For a while Best Buy etc were taking them but that's now history. 36" CRTs were "huge" and heavy but a 40" LCD is now "small" and cheap.
I'm wondering how you could be using a CRT TV in 2022. I think there may be one UHF analog channel still operating here, but that's all. It will probably cost you to dispose of your CRT TV today. For a while Best Buy etc were taking them but that's now history. 36" CRTs were "huge" and heavy but a 40" LCD is now "small" and cheap.
Luckily, I can just put the volume to 0 and get full blast from S/PDIF - There are no RCA outs on this set and I don't think it has a TRS either but it has Bluetooth 🙂
And have you seen the prices of soundbars today?
Costing as much as a tv!
You're right, they're crap.
And I don't mind spelling it out.
I purposely bought a "dumb" Panasonic LED tv back in 2014, I'm opposed to those "smart" sets.
When I want to watch tv, it's broadcast(digital now), I get 60 channels free.
I watch maybe 6 or 8 of them.
I don't need to be lured into going on the internet with a tv set.
That's for geeks and addicted types.
In my other rooms of the house (office, bedroom, kitchen, basement) I still have CRT sets on digital boxes.
They all work fine, I'll get flat screens when they dinally die and I can't fix them.
If you want/need clear dialog, stereo simply won't cut it. If you watch movies with a lot of dialog, a center channel is essential. A sound bar would be your best choice. Yes, an additional expense, but they work surprisingly well. There's one for every budget. They are not all crap.
We have a flat screen, and I just connected the RCA out from the digital satellite box to an old amp, and on to a speaker.
The old CRT TV, tube died, had the speaker connected to an external speaker, my Dad gets up at 0430, and watches the news, so I put a speaker next to his chair so he can listen without disturbing us.
Speaker is from old Philips set, sounds better then the ones that were in the old TV.
As for 2.1 and so on, maybe the HDMI can be used to feed the amp, sound bar or whatever.
Here sound bars were free with 43" and up TVs, and are really 3 to 4" speakers with built in amp and supply....could find the blaster things on old CRT somewhere to use.
You can use 4 to 6" powered speakers, or maybe recycle a home theater as a sound source, and if you like loud, then it depends how much you can disturb the people around you.
Building a sound bar is simple, and maybe you can fit it behind your chair for the main channels, sub under the seat, nice enjoyable private sound.
Will work as a massage chair too.
The old CRT TV, tube died, had the speaker connected to an external speaker, my Dad gets up at 0430, and watches the news, so I put a speaker next to his chair so he can listen without disturbing us.
Speaker is from old Philips set, sounds better then the ones that were in the old TV.
As for 2.1 and so on, maybe the HDMI can be used to feed the amp, sound bar or whatever.
Here sound bars were free with 43" and up TVs, and are really 3 to 4" speakers with built in amp and supply....could find the blaster things on old CRT somewhere to use.
You can use 4 to 6" powered speakers, or maybe recycle a home theater as a sound source, and if you like loud, then it depends how much you can disturb the people around you.
Building a sound bar is simple, and maybe you can fit it behind your chair for the main channels, sub under the seat, nice enjoyable private sound.
Will work as a massage chair too.
Compact amplifier can be salvaged car amp, and some of the subs I see on cars on American TV will do very well as couch shakers.
Weather permitting, head out to the car breaking yards...have fun.
Weather permitting, head out to the car breaking yards...have fun.
I suspect you've never had good stereo speakers. I've NEVER needed a centre channel - vocals sound as if they are coming from right in front of me. My speakers had an MSRP of 2000$ USD though.
The best sound bar is worse than entry level floor standing speakers IMHO.
As far as a smart TV vs dumb TV? If you want a new television and you don't want "smart" features, you'll end up with a piece of sh*t.
As far as 60 channels for free? I get ATSC too. But because I have a Samsung, I also get free television. https://www.samsung.com/us/televisions-home-theater/tvs/tvplus/
And some of us watch Netflix or Prime Video etc. It's far more convenient to watch those theough the app on the television. The processor is 3 times the speed of the cable box with Netflix built in, and I can hook up a drive full of videos to the television and watch them directly. This is not for "geeks and addicted types", it's for normal people who don't want to eff around using a computer on their TV.
My last CRT television was a 25 inch Sony Trinitron professional video monitor - I threw it away 15 years ago. It looked good for it's time but it was still a low res POS at the end of the day - nice colour though.
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The major advantage of connecting bookshelf speakers directly to the internal TV amplifier (disconnecting the internal speakers) is that the TV remote will work as normal. On some TVs you need to use different keys to control the volume on the phone jack output, or you need to dive deep in the setting menu to configure bluetooth or digital audio output devices (maybe with restrictions) - unless you buy the expensive matched soundbar, of course.
If you know what you are doing, opening the TV does not necessarily means that the warranty is void. This is what the instruction manual says, but reality may be different. I once worked for a company that also sold truckloads of cheap off-brand TVs to convemnience stores. The warranty procedure we sent to the authorized service centers was as follows: 1. check if the proof of purchase is valid. 2. check if the returned product is the same model number. 3. Check if the serial number has not been tampered with and does match with the proof of purchase (if applicable). 4. dispose of the returned TV and ship a new replacement to the customer. Customer was happy, and if the % of warranty claims was less than the amount declared by the far east manufacturer, no one was bothering to do further checks because the replacement cost was already accounted for. The service center scrapped most of the returns, but kept the working TVs and major working parts for out-of-warranty repairs, such as smashed screen replacements. This is where their profit was, the warranty repair was being compensated with a very low fixed price fee that only covered their costs. Even if the service center would find a modification inside the TV, rejecting the warranty claim would have been a very dumb move because they would lose our fee, spend their billable time dealing with a angry customer for free, and maybe receive a unwanted call from us if the customer decided to call our customer service.
By the way, if you never opened a modern TV before, check out a video on youtube, use the opening tool (the spudger-like device made with spring steel, also used on smartphones) and start on the bottom seam, because if the tool slips and you scratch the plastic, it would not be visible.
If you know what you are doing, opening the TV does not necessarily means that the warranty is void. This is what the instruction manual says, but reality may be different. I once worked for a company that also sold truckloads of cheap off-brand TVs to convemnience stores. The warranty procedure we sent to the authorized service centers was as follows: 1. check if the proof of purchase is valid. 2. check if the returned product is the same model number. 3. Check if the serial number has not been tampered with and does match with the proof of purchase (if applicable). 4. dispose of the returned TV and ship a new replacement to the customer. Customer was happy, and if the % of warranty claims was less than the amount declared by the far east manufacturer, no one was bothering to do further checks because the replacement cost was already accounted for. The service center scrapped most of the returns, but kept the working TVs and major working parts for out-of-warranty repairs, such as smashed screen replacements. This is where their profit was, the warranty repair was being compensated with a very low fixed price fee that only covered their costs. Even if the service center would find a modification inside the TV, rejecting the warranty claim would have been a very dumb move because they would lose our fee, spend their billable time dealing with a angry customer for free, and maybe receive a unwanted call from us if the customer decided to call our customer service.
By the way, if you never opened a modern TV before, check out a video on youtube, use the opening tool (the spudger-like device made with spring steel, also used on smartphones) and start on the bottom seam, because if the tool slips and you scratch the plastic, it would not be visible.
It also depends on the television. Would I open up my 46" Sony I found for free? Sure. Would I open my 85" set I paid 2000$ for? Not unless it was not working and out of warranty. Not to mention I'd need friends to help me get it down off of the wall 😀
Most things I've opened to service had a warranty seal you needed to break - voiding the warranty obviously.
As far as volume control - absolutely. Most sets have line out only, not variable with the volume control. Others have a HP jack that kills the speakers and volume works as expected. In my case, I use the Armstrong method of volume control - I get up and turn the knob.
A computer store I worked for would deny claims based on scratched paint / wear on the screws!
For the record, the only warranty service I've ever used has been for failed hard discs - nothing else I've had failed within warranty or was worth bothering having repaired. I'm not paying 50$ to ship a 55$ coffee maker for warranty repair - I'll have a new one and sooner, too.
Most things I've opened to service had a warranty seal you needed to break - voiding the warranty obviously.
As far as volume control - absolutely. Most sets have line out only, not variable with the volume control. Others have a HP jack that kills the speakers and volume works as expected. In my case, I use the Armstrong method of volume control - I get up and turn the knob.
A computer store I worked for would deny claims based on scratched paint / wear on the screws!
For the record, the only warranty service I've ever used has been for failed hard discs - nothing else I've had failed within warranty or was worth bothering having repaired. I'm not paying 50$ to ship a 55$ coffee maker for warranty repair - I'll have a new one and sooner, too.
True, it depends on the service policy of the store and the price of the TV. For cheap products sold by convenience stores or online retailers, that don't have internal service, I guess that the warranty procedure is not very far from the one I described, and there is a fair chance that no one will ever check the warranty seal.
About the wiseoldtech post: I also bought a Panasonic TV 10 years ago and I guess that it will still work for a while. Unfortunately, this type of product has been a failure in the consumer market and they don't make it anymore. If I would search for a similarly basic-function but long life and service friendly replacement now, I would look at conference room displays. They are also easily available as second hand from rental companies.
About the wiseoldtech post: I also bought a Panasonic TV 10 years ago and I guess that it will still work for a while. Unfortunately, this type of product has been a failure in the consumer market and they don't make it anymore. If I would search for a similarly basic-function but long life and service friendly replacement now, I would look at conference room displays. They are also easily available as second hand from rental companies.
If you have the parts a point to point gainclone following the guidance in the 'done right' and 'pcb vs p2p' threads. My current setup uses Peter Daniels LM3875 boards implemented with that guidance and a Plitron toroid salvaged from broadcast gear in a painted Hammond cast box. Measures and sounds better than the Music Hall and Technics amplifiers it replaced.
You would suspect wrong. I've heard plenty of great floorstanders (I've a few pairs), bookshelf (had more than few pairs), and active speakers. Just not through a TV, or used for movies/streaming 🙂 Dialog is god awful through stereo speakers. Why do think they came up with a center one? I just assumed the OP didn't want to fuss about with a 2.1 setup, HDMI connections and the like. From the inference of his post, he simply wanted something to provide stereo from a new TV. If that's truly his use case, then a modest sound bar would certainly fit the bill and sound way, way better than any TV speakers, and not break the bank. He'll even actual hear clear dialog and maybe even enjoy it. 🙂 In my listening room I have Elac Navis active speakers for music and for movies a 7.1 Atmos system. 🙂 At my computer station, I finally settled on a very nice 23" Bose sound bar that provides rich fullness for the occasional music, but more importantly great dialog when I'm simming, watching you tube videos, or listening to podcasts. Something for every situation.
I'm sorry, but BOSE, rich full sound? hmmm I know its a cliche to hate on bose, but it isnt for no reason. the imaging is non-existent.
Which reminds me of an incident we had at the shop years ago...
A customer brought in an RCA 27" CRT set for repairs - common problem was a bad flyback transformer, which we had plenty in stock.
Two weeks after said customer picked up his repaired set, he came back in with his set, and claimed it wasn't working - and wanted it repaired again.
Our warranty was 30 days on parts and labor.
But guess what???
This set was not the same one that we repaired 2 weeks earlier.
Different serial number, identical set. - the customer was trying to pull crap on us to get a free repair of another tv.
Slick, but not slick enough - we record serial numbers on our repair documents, just not on the customer's receipts, which only have the model number.
When we had him return to the shop to discusss repairs, and told him our findings, the look on his dumb face was priceless.
He paid for the repairs - of course.
As for the Panasonic sets, they were not a "failed" product, mine is 7 years old and perfect.
Panasonic had other ideas for dropping their line - likely due to the fact that Samsung, Vizio, LG were so prominently displayed at big box stores that hardly anyone saw or bought Panasonics.
That, in my opinion, is shameful business practice, an somewhat political.
After being in the service shop for decades, my opinion of Panasonic is that their tvs are one of the most long-lasting sets of all other brands.
I saw and noted which TVs came through our door....yearly.
Sony - a lot of them.
Samsung - a lot of them.
Vizio - a lot.
LG, many of them.
Philips/Magnavox - plenty.
Polaroid-Westinghouse-Sylvania-off brands - plenty.
Panasonic - 1 or 2 maybe in a year.
So naturally, as a tv service tech, and seeing this kind of thing, which brand do you'd think I would buy for my home?
You all can debate and babble on about your own conclusions and biases, I'll go with my own experiences.
I bought a Alientek D8 a couple of years ago for my tv and I think it works great. I also hooked up a chromecast audio to it with an optical cable and send roon to it. Some tvs only have an optical output so this would work in that situation. These are available from AliExpress or Ebay.
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I know. I use to hate on Bose too. But where and how I'm using it the majority of the time, full sound stage is not required and they're more than adequate.