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Home audio & video: Questions about plasmas in general and wal-mart's ilo.(Long)
Questions about plasmas in general and wal-mart's ilo.(Long)
by Fredrick_NP - 10/28/06 11:21 AMHow long does an image have to be on screen for it to burn? For example I watch fox news a lot, so is the logo and / or news ticker going to burn in? Or is it not on the screen long enough between commercials for that to happen?
Also, how big of a problem is the short life of plasmas? I've read that they can lose up to 50% of their original brightness after 30k-60k hours. Is that as bad as it sounds, or is that still at an acceptable viewing level?
The Plasma I'm looking at it actually from a Wal-Mart brand called ''ilo''. Wal-mart claims they use top quality components in their ilo brand, and I believe them somewhat. My mom manages the electronics department at a wal-mart, and she says they get fewer returns of the ilo than of any other plasma they carry.
It's a 42'' and it's only $1,200. And with my mom's discount it will be ~$1,160 total. Now assuming it is in fact reliable (and the picture is nice), would you say that's an ok deal, or would it still be better to spend ~$300-400 less to get a 36-37'' LCD?
Normally I would go with an LCD, but after seeing how huge 42'' is in real life, it's very tempting. But if the burning, and brightness issues are as bad at they sound, I may just steer clear of it.
Oh
by Fredrick_NP - 10/28/06 11:33 AM In reply to: Questions about plasmas in general and wal-mart's ilo.(Long) by Fredrick_NPI forgot to mention this will be an everything TV as it will be in the living room. So that means TV, Movies (including HD DVD), and video games.
Say Hello Your Mom And Tell Her.....
by RoadRunner6 - 10/29/06 4:07 AM In reply to: Questions about plasmas in general and wal-mart's ilo.(Long) by Fredrick_NP.....no offense but I highly recommend you stay far away a 42'' HDTV selling for $1200 at Wal-Mart. This is one component you do not want to skimp on in quality. Go only for top name brands in plasmas. There is a big difference in the internal circuitry. Wal-mart at one time had a plasma called a Voire or something like that name. It is very poor quality from what I remember hearing. There are many other brands of budget plasmas that have loads of problems.
In general with top quality plasma brands you don't have to worry (with some common sense and care) about burn-in or life span. Current minimum life is at least 60,000 on top plasmas. If you watch 4 hours of TV per day, that should last you for 41.09589041 years!!! 
You watch 6 hours per day? OK, shame on you! So it still will last for 27 years to half brightness. You will have a different TV by then, trust me. If you buy that plasma at Wal-Mart you should be more worried if it will last until the 2008 Super Bowl!
Now this is really going to throw you for a loop and you won't listen but I have to say this otherwise my conscience will bother me. Regarldess of what you have heard and what you are going to hear, this is how you can best spend your $1200.
Buy a 42'' EDTV plasma from Panasonic. The model number is TH-42PD60U. Dont'be put off by the EDTV designation instead of an HDTV. It is a highly misunderstood concept in plasma display resolution.
The Panasonic 42'' EDTV at the same price will have a far superior picture to the 42'' ILO HDTV on standard definition TV signals, DVD movies, and even high definition TV signals due to the far superior deinterlacing and scaling circuits in the Pnansonic.
I have a top quality EDTV in a JVC model and it looks great in SD TV, DVD and has an outstanding picture when fed an HDTV signal. Yes, the scaler inside downconverts the HDTV signals to 480p.
In the same brand at a 10 foot viewing distance, most people cannot distinguish an EDTV from a HDTV. If you compare the Panasonic TH-42PX60U (which is the HDTV model and currently runs about $1800 at Costco) to the 42'' EDTV Panasonic, the EDTV will have a slighlty better picture quality on SD TV and DVD signals than the HDTV set. On HDTV signals and output from one of the new high definition DVD players (HD-DVD or Blu-Ray) the HDTV Panasonic will have a slightly better signal than the EDTV. The emphasis here is on ''slighlty.''
The Panasonic EDTV set will be superior with all signals to the ilo plasma. Don't believe that they use top quality components. The Panny's I mentioned plus other top brand displays do use top quality parts.
Note: here is a link to some numerical ratings for tests on 42'' plasmas. The TH-42PD50U is last years version of the one I mention above, the TH-42PD60U. See the ratings which are very close in number to the HDTV scores and much higher than scores for HDTV's and some other EDTV'
s from budget brands like Vizio, Sampo, Samsung, Gateway, Electrograph and even Sony.
http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/compare-reviews.php
http://www.6ave.com/product.jsp?zipz=11001&x=TH42PD60U&w=1
OK, now here is the catch, you can actually find the HDTV Panny online for $1400 (just $200 more).
http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/panasonic-th42px60u-review.html
http://www.digital1234.com/product.jsp?x=TH42PX60U
Food for thought.
RR6
ILO 42 inch LCD TV and fixing it.
by micoder - 1/12/08 4:25 PM In reply to: Say Hello Your Mom And Tell Her..... by RoadRunner6I bought a 42 inch ILO last year from Walmart. I am retired and price was the over riding reason for selecting this TV. It cost me $700. This is still a very good price.
I found several issues with the TV and chose to fix them myself rather than return the unit. I just did not have the money to buy the more expensive TVs.
The first problem I had was that the sound out was not variable. I have this TV hooked to an amplifier and 4 large speakers. I was forced to use the stereo remote to adjust sound.
The fix: I went to ebay and bought a $10 transformer that hooked to the speakers inside the TV and then gives you a line output. This is easily done if you have any experience with moding.
Second problem: I discovered that this TV will make a buzzing sound when it is first turned on and is cold. In the upper peninsula winters, our tv room gets cold.
The fix: None at this time. I just leave the set on for a few seconds and it warms up and the problem disappears.
Third problem: When our tv room gets nice and toasty and the TV has been on a couple of hours, the picture will begin to show unpleasant looking artifacts in the dark areas of the picture.
The fix: I installed two muffins fans on the plastic rear cover. These were 12 volt low volume fans. These were mounted over the areas of the TV that got quite warm while powered up. I discovered these areas by running the tv set with the rear removed for several days. You cannot just use screws to mount these fans. They will make too much noise if they are mechanically coupled to the TV. I finally bought some foam insulation tape from Kmart. One side was sticky. I put this tape around each fan hole. I then drilled two holes in the plastic cover the matched up to the screw holes in the fans. I used those little girl stretchable hair loop thingies to fasten the fans in place. I simply put a tie wrap through these thingies. (bear with me, I don't know the name of these things). I threaded one end of the thingies through the back case and through the fans. I then pulled them over and tie wrapped them to the next over fan mounting hole. This made a nice snug fit without any hard connection. These fans were ball bearing fans and the only noise they make now is simply the sound of the air blowing. They are VERY quiet. I ran small speaker wire inside the back cover to supply the 12 volts and fastened it in place with duct tape. The wire comes out the rear bottom of the set. I just used an outlet strip that powers up my stereo, room lamp, DVD recorder, and 12 volt wall wart when I turn on the TV.
If anyone still has a 42 inch ILO and wants to do these mods, I could send pictures. If you keep your 42 ILO I strongly recommend the fan mod because I believe the life span of this TV will be short if it is always run hot. My wife and I really enjoy movies and this set has a very nice picture. We sit close to the TV and so it provides us with a large screen experience with nice bass from four 12 inch woofers.
The fans were four bucks a pieces from All Electronics on the web. We have a nice movie experience on the cheap. I see similar sets now selling at Walmart for over a thousand dollars.
It was a poor design, but is fixable.
Fixes for a budget TV
by Dan Filice - 1/12/08 5:01 PM In reply to: ILO 42 inch LCD TV and fixing it. by micoderMicoder,
Being able to create a work-around for your TV problems was a good, creative solution, but I don't care how much, or little, a TV costs, there is no excuse for ANY TV to have problems like the ones you describe. A TV should work perfectly right out of the box and it should work for many years with no problems. I understand the budget limitations when you bought a TV, and there probably wasn't any alternatives for a TV purchase in that price range. I'm just making a point that no TV should have these type of problems. That's why many people here recommend buying a brand name, like Sharp, Samsung, Toshiba, Pioneer, Panasonic, etc. Yes, they cost more, but they don't require you to use duct tape to fix anything.
fixed poor design
by micoder - 1/13/08 10:53 PM In reply to: Fixes for a budget TV by Dan FiliceDan,
I agree that there is no good excuse for the mistakes made with this TV. It must have been rushed to market with little or no testing. I have worked in consumer electronic design back in the early 80s. I would have a product that I was designing and had just gotten running. The president would come by see a picture and demand that it be marketed immediately. I remember very well saying that some parts ran too hot and I needed to do more work to make it bullet proof. NO joy. I was forced to provided a schematic to the circuit board designers and let it go out the door and start the next project.
This is a very tough environment in which to earn a living. I quit and went to work designing systems for a medical school. What a pleasant difference.
need to fix my ilo
by mikeattieh - 1/16/08 2:39 AM In reply to: ILO 42 inch LCD TV and fixing it. by micodermicoder,
I have the same model 42 inch ilo plasma and for about a year now just like you described the colors look realy bad when its a dark scene as if it was animated! The problem is that i moved to the philippines last year for work and out here NO One could fix it. I would be so greatful if u can help me fix it. i got a U.S landline via voip ( internet phone) if u'd rather talk . Please help me . thank you
MORE ON WALMART SPECIALS
by stewart norrie - 10/29/06 10:18 AM In reply to: Questions about plasmas in general and wal-mart's ilo.(Long) by Fredrick_NPBuying any t.v. from walmart scares the crap out of me. but I love there $5.00 d.v.d. movies I have seen sharp hi-def T.vs on sale at my local Walmart stores and Sharp would be a better choice they have been around for years and would be a better choice good luck steweeeee
EDTV
by dinox64 - 1/14/08 2:23 PM In reply to: MORE ON WALMART SPECIALS by stewart norrieI too own an EDTV. Bought back when an HDTV cost as much as a nice used car. EDTV was more like a decent used one. Anyway. Burn in has never been calculated to exact length of time. I have hit pause on my DVR to get up to do something like get a drink. Then start making a sandwich,then hit the garage for who knows why then the bathroom and we know why. Still no burn in.
Panasonic has a screen saver mode which adjusts the screen quicker than the eye can see to prevent this from happening. I bought an industrial model which is cheaper(in cost)to the retail model. No tuner,stand or speakers,just a monitor. You can get these in HD as well. I bought directly from a distributor on Ebay and saved about $1200 bucks almost four years ago. And as stated above,when sitting about twice the distance from the display(42"). My friends with HD say DVD playback looks just as nice as their HD sets. Broadcast is another story,nice but not HD.
WHATWHATWHAT?
by batman823 - 1/16/08 9:56 AM In reply to: EDTV by dinox64I would love to know where I could get an industrial TV if it's cheaper.
I turn the TV volume all the way down and route everything through the TV, sending it to the surround sound. so as long as it has the HD inputs, bring it on!
I have no need for the pretty stuff and the sound system in the TV, but would like to get TrueHD in a bigger screen.
I'm all for shopping at Walmart....
by Rollbar - 1/17/08 7:32 AM In reply to: WHATWHATWHAT? by batman823... for some things, but not state of the art electonics. Sorry Mom.
I will, and do, spend money at "The Wall" though.
Gary
Caped one
by dinox64 - 1/17/08 9:54 PM In reply to: I'm all for shopping at Walmart.... by RollbarGo to Ebay under home electronics. You can type in The name brand you like and within a mile range you're willing to drive if you don't want to wait for shipping. I bought right from a distributor. Tuners and speakers are sort of unnecessary if you have a satellite or cable box,and always use your AVR with video switching and audio as I and you and i'm sure a lot of others do. Plus it's just a cleaner look to me with a narrow plain black bezzle.
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