# Most Reliable Brand LED TV?



## Maxx62

About four years ago I purchased a Camel brand LED television model #CTV-LED32K11. The diagonal size of the screen is slightly under 32". I can't remember exactly how much I paid, but I think that it was somewhere between ten to fifteen thousand pesos. 

For the most part it was a surprisingly decent television, considering what I paid, but recently it has developed some strange issues such as half of the screen remaining very dark at all times, screen remaining totally dark while sound still works, and only displaying startup splash screen while still playing sound. 

I talked to a friend of mine back home who used to repair televisions for a living, and he said that it was most likely either the power supply board had gone bad, or the LED back lighting system was going bad. He said that spending money on it would not be a wise investment because the quality of the replacement parts are garbage, and it will probably exhibit the same symptoms all over again within the next few months. Does this sound like a likely cause for my screen going dark or only displaying the startup screen? Has anyone else experienced this type of problem?

Also, what are the best brands for LED televisions over here. I've been price shopping at places at the local mall, but all they have in my immediate area is off the wall brands that look pretty terrible. My budget for a new TV is about 25,000. Should I just buy another cheap 12,000 peso TV, and hope it lasts, or should I spend more?


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## bidrod

I bought a 42" and 48" by Devant last year at S&R for P50K total. They have performed well. Lazada has Devant TVs from less than P15K for 32".

Chuck


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## bigpearl

Maxx62 said:


> About four years ago I purchased a Camel brand LED television model #CTV-LED32K11. The diagonal size of the screen is slightly under 32". I can't remember exactly how much I paid, but I think that it was somewhere between ten to fifteen thousand pesos.
> 
> For the most part it was a surprisingly decent television, considering what I paid, but recently it has developed some strange issues such as half of the screen remaining very dark at all times, screen remaining totally dark while sound still works, and only displaying startup splash screen while still playing sound.
> 
> I talked to a friend of mine back home who used to repair televisions for a living, and he said that it was most likely either the power supply board had gone bad, or the LED back lighting system was going bad. He said that spending money on it would not be a wise investment because the quality of the replacement parts are garbage, and it will probably exhibit the same symptoms all over again within the next few months. Does this sound like a likely cause for my screen going dark or only displaying the startup screen? Has anyone else experienced this type of problem?
> 
> Also, what are the best brands for LED televisions over here. I've been price shopping at places at the local mall, but all they have in my immediate area is off the wall brands that look pretty terrible. My budget for a new TV is about 25,000. Should I just buy another cheap 12,000 peso TV, and hope it lasts, or should I spend more?


In Oz I brought a 42 inch samsung tv, (12 years ago now) at 5 years it played up, asked the company what the problem was and they said take it to repairer as it was 5 years old,,,,,,hardly used it as I am out of the country or working interstate, frustrated I used my friend google, turns out a very expensive reputable brand of tv I purchased had a common problem, failed power supply, the design was for 12 volt DC capacitors and the power supply manufacturer installed about 8 x 10 volt capacitors, I read, I learnt, I purchased the correct capacitors, pulled the tv apart, replaced the blackened and very swollen capacitors,,,,,,,,,,,,,7 years later that tv is still going. The moral here is expensive means nothing, I also have a 46 inch NEC, nary a problem,,,,,I lie, if you don't turn the main power switch off on the set it likes to turn itself on when you least expect it, another reputable brand. I purchased a 55inch 4K smart elcheapo KOGAN brand 2 years ago @ AU 900.00 and it hasn't missed a beat,,,,,,,early days yet.
We brought a 50 inch in Manila, I think it is a Viano (2 buck brand) 4 years ago for about AU900.00 and that now lives with the outlaws, is hammered day and night and no problems.

Set your budget, do your research. Personally I will go cheap and not by favoured brand, they mean diddly squat from experience. Only my opinion.

Cheers, Steve.


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## M.C.A.

Max for sure look around, I'm in the same boat you are both my cheap 32" Coby HD TV's (bought in 2011) are kaput or nearly, one has all sorts of lines on the screen and huge blocks of different colors the other one burned something.

It's been a couple months but the best TV I looked at was either an LG or a Samsung I forgot but it had a really nice picture, sound system like a stereo and something new to me is the Smart feature so limited internet access, I was in Robinsons Appliance center they also have an option for a little more to get a warranty. I checked out all these odd brand names in the grocery store or malls and the sound system is horrible the picture isn't so dynamic and these off brand names fail frequently from what I read online. So basically I've narrowed it down to LG or Samsung.

Don't forget when that remote fails hope for some decent TV buttons or ease of use.


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## BGCExpat

Don't forget that the power here in the Philippines is both inconsistent and unreliable with power surges and brown/blackouts happening at any time, all the time...

If you want ANY electronic device to last please, please, please spend a little extra for a power conditioners/battery back-ups. The first thing to go on most devices after being hammered day in and day out with bad/dirty power is the power supply. Most electronic devices thrive on consistent and clean power, if you provide it for them they tend to last much longer.

I put everything electric on conditioners and critical items such as computers and the phone system on conditioners and battery back ups. Nothing has failed yet, knock-wood!


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## Tukaram

I bought a Sony 32" for almost p15,000 4 years ago. So far so good... All I watch is my 27" Acer computer monitor. The TV speaks very little English ha ha

Make sure you get AVRs for all your electronics (Automatic Voltage Regulator). The drops in voltage are worse here than the spikes.


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## Maxx62

BGCExpat said:


> Don't forget that the power here in the Philippines is both inconsistent and unreliable with power surges and brown/blackouts happening at any time, all the time...
> 
> If you want ANY electronic device to last please, please, please spend a little extra for a power conditioners/battery back-ups. The first thing to go on most devices after being hammered day in and day out with bad/dirty power is the power supply. Most electronic devices thrive on consistent and clean power, if you provide it for them they tend to last much longer.
> 
> I put everything electric on conditioners and critical items such as computers and the phone system on conditioners and battery back ups. Nothing has failed yet, knock-wood!


I'm with you on that one. I purchased automatic voltage regulators for both my PC and my television soon after I arrived here, due to the fact that my PC kept having all sorts of problems with the flaky voltage in my area. Something you never really have to think about back home.


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## Maxx62

bigpearl said:


> In Oz I brought a 42 inch samsung tv, (12 years ago now) at 5 years it played up, asked the company what the problem was and they said take it to repairer as it was 5 years old,,,,,,hardly used it as I am out of the country or working interstate, frustrated I used my friend google, turns out a very expensive reputable brand of tv I purchased had a common problem, failed power supply, the design was for 12 volt DC capacitors and the power supply manufacturer installed about 8 x 10 volt capacitors, I read, I learnt, I purchased the correct capacitors, pulled the tv apart, replaced the blackened and very swollen capacitors,,,,,,,,,,,,,7 years later that tv is still going. The moral here is expensive means nothing, I also have a 46 inch NEC, nary a problem,,,,,I lie, if you don't turn the main power switch off on the set it likes to turn itself on when you least expect it, another reputable brand. I purchased a 55inch 4K smart elcheapo KOGAN brand 2 years ago @ AU 900.00 and it hasn't missed a beat,,,,,,,early days yet.
> We brought a 50 inch in Manila, I think it is a Viano (2 buck brand) 4 years ago for about AU900.00 and that now lives with the outlaws, is hammered day and night and no problems.
> 
> Set your budget, do your research. Personally I will go cheap and not by favoured brand, they mean diddly squat from experience. Only my opinion.
> 
> Cheers, Steve.


I've been looking at a few videos on the Internet, and the more I look the more I'm convinced that it is most likely the power supply board that has gone bad. Problem is that the manufacture (Camel) doesn't seem to have a website to order parts from, and to the best of my knowledge there isn't any place in my area to buy component parts off the shelf. Right now I think I'm leaning toward getting an LG or a Samsung.


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## Maxx62

M.C.A. said:


> Max for sure look around, I'm in the same boat you are both my cheap 32" Coby HD TV's (bought in 2011) are kaput or nearly, one has all sorts of lines on the screen and huge blocks of different colors the other one burned something.
> 
> It's been a couple months but the best TV I looked at was either an LG or a Samsung I forgot but it had a really nice picture, sound system like a stereo and something new to me is the Smart feature so limited internet access, I was in Robinsons Appliance center they also have an option for a little more to get a warranty. I checked out all these odd brand names in the grocery store or malls and the sound system is horrible the picture isn't so dynamic and these off brand names fail frequently from what I read online. So basically I've narrowed it down to LG or Samsung.
> 
> Don't forget when that remote fails hope for some decent TV buttons or ease of use.


Looks like I'll probably go with a middle of the road Samsung or LG. I used to have a nice 48" Samsung when I was living back in the states, I gave it to one of my sons when I moved out, and man I really miss that thing. 

One of the reasons I purchased the cheap Camel TV that I have now, is because I know that people will always look at your stuff when they come into your house in order to see how much money you've got. All of my in-laws have 54" Sony Bravia televisions, so that can't really come to me pegging for a loan when they need money. If anyone asks me for money, I just tell them that they are more rich than me because they have better televisions and cell phones than I do. I guess I'll have to be careful not to buy too nice of a TV.


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## fmartin_gila

Have a Samsung 32" on the wall. She watches somethings everyday. Have had it a bit over 2 years.

Fred


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## bigpearl

bidrod said:


> I bought a 42" and 48" by Devant last year at S&R for P50K total. They have performed well. Lazada has Devant TVs from less than P15K for 32".
> 
> Chuck


Thanks for jogging my memory Chuck, the 50 inch we purchased in Manila was a Devant and as said the outlaws flog it and no issues yet.

Cheers, Steve.


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## bigpearl

Maxx62 said:


> Looks like I'll probably go with a middle of the road Samsung or LG. I used to have a nice 48" Samsung when I was living back in the states, I gave it to one of my sons when I moved out, and man I really miss that thing.
> 
> One of the reasons I purchased the cheap Camel TV that I have now, is because I know that people will always look at your stuff when they come into your house in order to see how much money you've got. All of my in-laws have 54" Sony Bravia televisions, so that can't really come to me pegging for a loan when they need money. If anyone asks me for money, I just tell them that they are more rich than me because they have better televisions and cell phones than I do. I guess I'll have to be careful not to buy too nice of a TV.


Maxx, I do like your line of thinking with regards to the relatives, taken on board and in my mental diary.
As for Samsung, I know it is a reputable brand as mine had a 3 year warranty and only seem to hear good things, same with LG.
A quick story, when I had the problem with my LCD tv I did speak to their tech devision and they fobbed me off, as said in an earlier post I researched with my friend google and found a plethora of bad reviews about my particular model and they were all to do with a faulty power supply, hundreds of complaints, I went back to Samsung and asked them about these issues which they had apparently never heard of and again advised me to take it to an authorised repairer,,,,,, I insisted that they had a fault power supply in that model TV and they denied it, they said sorry but it's out of warranty anyway,,,,,,,,any decent company would have had a recall or replacement program.

Anyway about 8 bucks worth of capacitors and 2 hours work the problem was solved (with help from youtube of course).
LG would be my choice on principle bit when we purchase TV's in PH. I will research further, I was very happy with the no name brand "Devant" and may go down that path again,,,,,then I will be considered poor by visitors, lol.

Cheers, Steve.


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## BGCExpat

Maxx62 said:


> One of the reasons I purchased the cheap Camel TV that I have now, is because I know that people will always look at your stuff when they come into your house in order to see how much money you've got. All of my in-laws have 54" Sony Bravia televisions, so that can't really come to me pegging for a loan when they need money. If anyone asks me for money, I just tell them that they are more rich than me because they have better televisions and cell phones than I do. I guess I'll have to be careful not to buy too nice of a TV.



^
Get a big screen LG or Samsung for your bedroom and a smaller Changhong, Hisense, or other Chinese TV set for the living room. You get the nice tv, guests think your kuripot for buying a cheap Chinese TV - problem solved! Maybe you can go on offense and start asking for 'loans' since you don't have the pera for a decent TV...👍


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## bigpearl

Maxx62 said:


> I've been looking at a few videos on the Internet, and the more I look the more I'm convinced that it is most likely the power supply board that has gone bad. Problem is that the manufacture (Camel) doesn't seem to have a website to order parts from, and to the best of my knowledge there isn't any place in my area to buy component parts off the shelf. Right now I think I'm leaning toward getting an LG or a Samsung.


Maxx, For 5 years, when I turned the Samsung on it went on, little use but still.
one day I turned it on and it seemed to take a little longer, 2 weeks later longer still, it would click click click every 5 or so seconds (relay switching,,,,,,,,trying)
Most manufacturers of electrical goods whether TV's or washing machines source components from many manufacturers to build their products, many like Samsung have high if not very high standards and strict quality control but they do outsource and in my case the company supplying the power board cut corners, Samsung's Quality control goofed, will it happen again? Probably and not only with them, life's a gamble in our consumer driven world, long gone are the days of the proverbial 30 or 40 year old refrigerator.

If you can establish what the problem is and whether or not it is worth repairing there are plenty of online electronics sellers to help,,,,,,,,,,but will they be delivered? I ordered a new battery for an iPhone 3 in PH about 6 years ago, still waiting and out of pocket.

Cheers, Steve.


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## Maxx62

BGCExpat said:


> ^
> Get a big screen LG or Samsung for your bedroom and a smaller Changhong, Hisense, or other Chinese TV set for the living room. You get the nice tv, guests think your kuripot for buying a cheap Chinese TV - problem solved! Maybe you can go on offense and start asking for 'loans' since you don't have the pera for a decent TV...👍



I've got a smalll 24" Chang Hong brand television (cheapest looking piece of crap you've ever seen) in the bedroom which I use as a TV / computer monitor. Maybe I should put that in my living room to discourage my in-laws? Gotta think one step a head over here.


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## Maxx62

bigpearl said:


> Maxx, For 5 years, when I turned the Samsung on it went on, little use but still.
> one day I turned it on and it seemed to take a little longer, 2 weeks later longer still, it would click click click every 5 or so seconds (relay switching,,,,,,,,trying)
> Most manufacturers of electrical goods whether TV's or washing machines source components from many manufacturers to build their products, many like Samsung have high if not very high standards and strict quality control but they do outsource and in my case the company supplying the power board cut corners, Samsung's Quality control goofed, will it happen again? Probably and not only with them, life's a gamble in our consumer driven world, long gone are the days of the proverbial 30 or 40 year old refrigerator.
> 
> If you can establish what the problem is and whether or not it is worth repairing there are plenty of online electronics sellers to help,,,,,,,,,,but will they be delivered? I ordered a new battery for an iPhone 3 in PH about 6 years ago, still waiting and out of pocket.
> 
> Cheers, Steve.


About ten years ago I ordered some software off of ebay while I was staying over here. It literally took nine months for it to arrive at my door. I had totally forgotten I had ordered it, and then one day the postman shows up with my box of Windows XP. Also, a few months back a friend of ours living in Stuttgart, Germany sent us a box of miscellaneous household items through the mail. When we checked the tracking number on line the website indicated that the package had been received at the local post office her in Cebu City. When we went to the post office we were told that the box had not arrived yet. When we told the clerk that the tracking number showed it had been delivered to the post office he said, "Well, who do you believe, me or the compute?" In my opinion having things shipped in over here is a very dicey business. 

I think that I'll probably but a new TV early next month, and then fix the old one at my leisure.


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## M.C.A.

*Expensive branded TV's*



Maxx62 said:


> I've got a smalll 24" Chang Hong brand television (cheapest looking piece of crap you've ever seen) in the bedroom which I use as a TV / computer monitor. Maybe I should put that in my living room to discourage my in-laws? Gotta think one step a head over here.


Maxx I'm with you but nothing works if you are an expat, you have money even if you dress down, you pay extra even if you look like a vagrant or ride an old bike (me), drive an old car with windows that dont roll up anymore (still me),  so dress your best, buy quality electronics because these cheap TV's burn up and there's nobody to fix them or they have to be fixed over and over again the price would be like buying a quality TV. The repairmen/in-laws/neighbors want us to give up on our electronics so they can take them home and fix them, so my stuff sits on the shelf.


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## hogrider

I am Engineering Manager for Dubai Media Office and we use Samsung exclusively. I guess we must had over 30 units of various sizes from 55" up to 85". They are used in all Master Control Rooms and Studios plus offices and Conference rooms. We have never had a problem with any of them over a period of more than 6 years. LG are probably as good but I don't have any first hand experience with them. I also have a 50" Samsung at home that has been trouble free for 4 years.


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## bigpearl

hogrider said:


> I am Engineering Manager for Dubai Media Office and we use Samsung exclusively. I guess we must had over 30 units of various sizes from 55" up to 85". They are used in all Master Control Rooms and Studios plus offices and Conference rooms. We have never had a problem with any of them over a period of more than 6 years. LG are probably as good but I don't have any first hand experience with them. I also have a 50" Samsung at home that has been trouble free for 4 years.


I too work in film and television (for well over 22 years), for 12 years I have worked on a particular site for 6 month stints annually, many others between, though I am only a lowly logistics and infrastructure manager I do talk daily with our tech guys, MCR, TX Gallery, Avid suites,,,,,,,,, all 27 of them, streaming/recording/play outs/internet/sat links etc.
Production/accounting/feeds etc. We have hundreds of led screens from 100 inch (studio floor) down to 15 inch monitors, all reputable equipment including Samsung, LG and many others, they all die at one point in time be it 1 year or 10. We have back ups for faulty equipment and a barrage of techno whizz dudes to repair expensive equipment failures immediately if not sooner, ****** the warranty, we don't have time for that, throw the back up in there (from the 2 dollar shop) until we fix the expensive one.
These guys always tell me to buy what you like to look at, it's a tv and no matter the brand they die. If you like the 2 dollar Devant or the exy brand buy it
To you hogrider I think your company has been lucky to date with no repairs, your buyers/contractors obviously researched to the enth degree these particular products before purchasing.
For me I will find a 2 dollar brand and replace it every 2 or 4 years and in the mean time the money I saved is doing other things.
Maybe I need glasses, I see little difference between a 1K and a 3K tv but I will take on board your opinion with regards to reliability/durability versus outlay for a known brand.

Now I'm not doubting your experiences one bit, but these are mine and we are here to share.

Cheers, Steve.


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## Gary D

A friend in the UK recently bought a 55" curved screen Sony and it lasted 1 week. So they can all go wrong.


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## M.C.A.

I may end up buying the old tube tv again is see brand news ones still sold and also refurbished or repaired ones ... that's the only tv we have a Sanyo that works bought it in 2001 now and the Karaoke came with an old or used tv tube style and still working these LED seem to have too many hang ups similar to the automatic washers sold here, I also reverted to the old washer and seperate dryer unit, real reliable and cheap.


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## Maxx62

Gary D said:


> A friend in the UK recently bought a 55" curved screen Sony and it lasted 1 week. So they can all go wrong.


Holy cow! I won't be buying one of those.


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## Maxx62

M.C.A. said:


> I may end up buying the old tube tv again is see brand news ones still sold and also refurbished or repaired ones ... that's the only tv we have a Sanyo that works bought it in 2001 now and the Karaoke came with an old or used tv tube style and still working these LED seem to have too many hang ups similar to the automatic washers sold here, I also reverted to the old washer and seperate dryer unit, real reliable and cheap.


The only problem with that is the cathode ray tube type televisions usually have much smaller screens with much lower resolution. Over the past fifteen years I've really gotten addicted to flat screens with a wider picture. Going back to the tube type of television would be like going back to the 1980s again. I don't know if my eyes are good enough to see a screen like that anymore.


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## Gary D

Maxx62 said:


> The only problem with that is the cathode ray tube type televisions usually have much smaller screens with much lower resolution. Over the past fifteen years I've really gotten addicted to flat screens with a wider picture. Going back to the tube type of television would be like going back to the 1980s again. I don't know if my eyes are good enough to see a screen like that anymore.


I though Philippine TV was like going back to the 80s


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## hogrider

bigpearl said:


> I too work in film and television (for well over 22 years), for 12 years I have worked on a particular site for 6 month stints annually, many others between, though I am only a lowly logistics and infrastructure manager I do talk daily with our tech guys, MCR, TX Gallery, Avid suites,,,,,,,,, all 27 of them, streaming/recording/play outs/internet/sat links etc.
> Production/accounting/feeds etc. We have hundreds of led screens from 100 inch (studio floor) down to 15 inch monitors, all reputable equipment including Samsung, LG and many others, they all die at one point in time be it 1 year or 10. We have back ups for faulty equipment and a barrage of techno whizz dudes to repair expensive equipment failures immediately if not sooner, ****** the warranty, we don't have time for that, throw the back up in there (from the 2 dollar shop) until we fix the expensive one.
> These guys always tell me to buy what you like to look at, it's a tv and no matter the brand they die. If you like the 2 dollar Devant or the exy brand buy it
> To you hogrider I think your company has been lucky to date with no repairs, your buyers/contractors obviously researched to the enth degree these particular products before purchasing.
> For me I will find a 2 dollar brand and replace it every 2 or 4 years and in the mean time the money I saved is doing other things.
> Maybe I need glasses, I see little difference between a 1K and a 3K tv but I will take on board your opinion with regards to reliability/durability versus outlay for a known brand.
> 
> Now I'm not doubting your experiences one bit, but these are mine and we are here to share.
> 
> Cheers, Steve.


Hi Steve

Thanks for sharing. I've also been in Television industry for long time, over 35 years, Dubai TV before setting Dubai Media Office, but actually that has little bearing, coz back in the day all monitors were CRT. The only experience that is relevant here is the past few years when all CRT's were replaced by flat screens, plasma's then LCD's then LED's. We also use them in our Edit Suites, Production, Galleries, MCR's and TX Play-out.
I'm not sure what you mean by 1k or 3k, whether you are referring to price $1k or $3k or resolution. All of our Samsung are HD, later 1080P and the latest ones 4K. The difference is amazing. I'm sure you would see the difference if you saw true 4k quality content, it will blow your mind. Maybe we've been lucky with all of our Samsung's. I selected Samsung after exhaustive research and trials and happy with my decision.

Cheers
David


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## Gary D

This is starting to look like a small world, I work for a company that manufactures interface equipment for the broadcast industry. A company called Crystal Vision.


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## hogrider

Gary D said:


> This is starting to look like a small world, I work for a company that manufactures interface equipment for the broadcast industry. A company called Crystal Vision.


Small world indeed Gary.


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## bigpearl

hogrider said:


> Hi Steve
> 
> Thanks for sharing. I've also been in Television industry for long time, over 35 years, Dubai TV before setting Dubai Media Office, but actually that has little bearing, coz back in the day all monitors were CRT. The only experience that is relevant here is the past few years when all CRT's were replaced by flat screens, plasma's then LCD's then LED's. We also use them in our Edit Suites, Production, Galleries, MCR's and TX Play-out.
> I'm not sure what you mean by 1k or 3k, whether you are referring to price $1k or $3k or resolution. All of our Samsung are HD, later 1080P and the latest ones 4K. The difference is amazing. I'm sure you would see the difference if you saw true 4k quality content, it will blow your mind. Maybe we've been lucky with all of our Samsung's. I selected Samsung after exhaustive research and trials and happy with my decision.
> 
> Cheers
> David


Hi David, readers.
As you and Gary D said it is a small world, though a very big industry so we are bound to run into folks in the same game.
Top name brands are great, have good reputations and quality components,,,,, that is the theory behind top notch quality control, the components that don't meet their criteria are passed on to 2 dollar manufactures/assemblers ie; a top brand company may state to a supplier that the screens that you supply for this particular model may only have one or two dead pixels,,,,,,, 3 dead pixel screens go down the line to another manufacturer with a less stringent requirements etc; now between you and me and David, the only way you will ever, if ever see those 3 or 4 dud pixels is if they are together or very very close, same for all the bits that go into an expensive tv that can die quickly or have a very long life.

1K-3K was dollar value David, I have a 55 inch 4K smart tv we purchased 2 years ago for 1K, still going strong, great tv and picture, even the sound is good though not studio quality but hey that's what sound systems are for, the same tv can be brought today for under 800 bucks, why after my pathetic experience with a top name brand/s would I depart with 3 or 4K.
Our tech guys agree that quality goes into important areas but the back ups for them are elcheapo that come into play often.

I remember when shooting the first Matrix movie,,,,,,1998 if memory serves. We had a very large road case arrive on set with 2 handlers, no one was allowed to go near let alone touch, it was a 50 or 55 inch LCD tv for a live prop on set, 20K I think was the value was sprouted, 17 years later I purchased a 55 inch 4K led tv for a thousand bucks, god, what will be available in the next few years.

Good to hear you have had positive experiences with Samsung, as I said earlier you or someone did their home work very well with the products sourced, just hope you don't have to deal with a warranty claim or a known recorded fault after the warranty runs out. Mind you in our industry we simply buy a replacement with no questions asked, the show must go on, not so good for the mums and dads out there though.

Theory? Spend 1K, so far 2 years for a 4K smart 55 inch tv still going strong, spend 1K for a Devant 50 inch LED tv, 4 years plus later still going strong, spend 3 plus K for a known brand 42inch LED and repair it after 5 years, spend 2K on a 46 inch known brand that turns itself on when you least expect it.
Each to their own I suppose but I will now always look at cheap and replace as required, feel I will be miles in front and as mentioned by another contributor, "buy cheap so the rellies think you are poor" when living in the Philippines.

Cheers, Steve.


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## M.C.A.

That's the problem now nothing is 100% If you can afford it buy it I guess and look for a good warranty, that's what I'll do.


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## bigpearl

M.C.A. said:


> That's the problem now nothing is 100% If you can afford it buy it I guess and look for a good warranty, that's what I'll do.


Warranties are great but most are short term, products are generally produced to outlast this period, fingers crossed.
You are right M.C.A. nothing in this world is 100% guaranteed, only birth, death and taxes.
Nada to everything else,,,,,,, depends on how hard you play the game.

I had a pleasant surprise with Apple a couple of years ago, I have a 17" MacBook pro that, after 5 years gave up the ghost, While I did purchase apple care (extended warranty for 3 years) I never gave that a thought as my mac was 5 years old but I contacted them and told them my problems and they started to help me diagnose the problem/s, I asked how much this was going to cost me? The operator said "Steve" you had apple care and though the warrantee ran out 2 years ago we will honour that as you never contacted us or made a claim, after 2 weeks of multiple quadruple sessions with them they advised that the hard drive was corrupt, the battery was almost dead, numerous other faults, frustrated in the mean time I purchased a new 15 inch, (much quicker but smaller screen) I gave up, they didn't, they contacted me many times for an outcome/update, sad it's dead I told them, no said they, take it to an authorised repairer and they will fix it, you have a Rolls Royce lap top, don't throw it away,,,,, I gave it to Bengie, he took it to our local repairer and 500 bucks later he has a Rolls Royce with a new hard drive, new battery, doubled RAM and latest OS.
One company that strived to make a difference.
Interesting with all the bad vibes one hears about them.

Cheers, Steve.


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## bigpearl

bigpearl said:


> Warranties are great but most are short term, products are generally produced to outlast this period, fingers crossed.
> You are right M.C.A. nothing in this world is 100% guaranteed, only birth, death and taxes.
> Nada to everything else,,,,,,, depends on how hard you play the game.
> 
> I had a pleasant surprise with Apple a couple of years ago, I have a 17" MacBook pro that, after 5 years gave up the ghost, While I did purchase apple care (extended warranty for 3 years) I never gave that a thought as my mac was 5 years old but I contacted them and told them my problems and they started to help me diagnose the problem/s, I asked how much this was going to cost me? The operator said "Steve" you had apple care and though the warrantee ran out 2 years ago we will honour that as you never contacted us or made a claim, after 2 weeks of multiple quadruple sessions with them they advised that the hard drive was corrupt, the battery was almost dead, numerous other faults, frustrated in the mean time I purchased a new 15 inch, (much quicker but smaller screen) I gave up, they didn't, they contacted me many times for an outcome/update, sad it's dead I told them, no said they, take it to an authorised repairer and they will fix it, you have a Rolls Royce lap top, don't throw it away,,,,, I gave it to Bengie, he took it to our local repairer and 500 bucks later he has a Rolls Royce with a new hard drive, new battery, doubled RAM and latest OS.
> One company that strived to make a difference.
> Interesting with all the bad vibes one hears about them.
> 
> Cheers, Steve.


Sorry, birth is not Guaranteed nor warrantied.

Cheers, Steve.


----------



## pagbati

*Apple and Dell in the Ph - recent experience*



bigpearl said:


> ..... I had a pleasant surprise with Apple a couple of years ago, I have a 17" MacBook pro that, after 5 years gave up the ghost. ...... One company that strived to make a difference. Interesting with all the bad vibes one hears about them. Cheers, Steve.


Interesting story Steve and nice to hear. However, even assuming one is pleasant and respectful to the Apple representative, you’re be lucky to get that sort of treatment here. Take my own recent experience in the Philippines. I was having some problems with my MacBook Air (well outside any guarantee/ warranty period) spinning beach ball etc., amongst other problems; eventually I was unable to receive Gmail in my Mailbox which drove me to action.

To try and cut a long story short, despite having sufficient memory, the system wouldn’t allow me to upgrade to El Capitan. I couldn’t upgrade to Yosemite either. I tried a whole range of 'solutions', which included cleaning up files and folders, backing up on Time Machine and an external hard drive before formatting the Mac hard drive and re-installing OS X Lion but the problems persisted. At the end of the day, I decided to talk to the technician at the local iStore. The representative ‘offered’ to try and install El Capitan for me. Remember, this is something that you’re supposed to be able to download for free from the App Store. He also said that there was no guarantee that it would work and that my computer could be sluggish after the upgrade, before eventually telling me that it would cost me about P2,500/ 3000 for the privilege.

I thought it was reasonable to ask if Apple would return my money if El Capitan didn’t work or he couldn’t manage to download it. He was very clear that I would not get my money back. Whilst I appreciate that labour is time and costs money, I didn’t think it was right for a company of Apple’s size and reputation not to give me my money back if the upgrade didn’t work; especially when you are supposed to be able to download the upgrade free from the App Store. Nor was I a stranger to the shop as my wife and I go there from time to time to purchase connection cables etc. Anyhow, with those sorts of odds, I declined Apple’s ‘offer’.

Two months later, I received a generic e-mail from Apple offering a free upgrade to MacOS Sierra. I went to the App Store, clicked it on and success, everything downloaded well and my mail problem and the spinning beach ball etc disappeared. By the way, when I was in the USA previously with a Mac problem, the Apple representative there was more than helpful. Just an example of how so much depends on whom you’re dealing with and where you are.

On a slightly different matter, we recently went to a Dell shop here to look at their laptops. All products in the shop were covered in cellophane. We were interested in a particular model and asked if they had a showroom model to enable us to have a closer look. 
_“Yes sir, that one you are looking at”. _ 
Wonderful, I say, can you take the cellophane off so that we can have a proper look, connect it up, turn it on and let us get a feel for Windows 10 and the touch pad etc? 
_“Yes sir, but you must buy it first”. _
Sorry, I say, I think you may have misunderstood me, I want to see it working and have a better look at it before I decide to buy. 
_“No problem sir, you can return it within 7-days if it doesn’t work"._
So, I say, in order for me to have a closer look at this computer, I have to buy it first, fork out so many thousand pesos, drive home with it, try it out there and if I don’t like it, bring it back to the shop and try to get my money back?
_“Yes sir, but it must be within 7 days"._
Do you sell many computers here, I ask?
_“No sir”._
Thanks, I say, have a nice day and good luck with your sales, before walking out of the shop.

The guy’s English was perfect so this wasn’t a language issue. It was also an authorised Dell dealership so I guess I was expecting better customer service. I dare say Dell must have problems with locals coming in and spending hours fiddling around with new computers so the company policy must be not to have any ‘showroom models’ available to look/ practice on. Can’t quite see how that works for them but it certainly didn’t work for me.


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## DonAndAbby

Maxx62 said:


> The only problem with that is the cathode ray tube type televisions usually have much smaller screens with much lower resolution. Over the past fifteen years I've really gotten addicted to flat screens with a wider picture. Going back to the tube type of television would be like going back to the 1980s again. I don't know if my eyes are good enough to see a screen like that anymore.


Also, they suck up a lot of electricity!


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## DonAndAbby

Back to the original topic, I have a Coby 32 inch about 5 years old, still fine but unused at the moment, an LG 42 inch 4 years old, still fine, and a Samsung 55" 4k 6 mo old. I have also owned LG and Samsung flat screens back in the U.S.

Not sure if you want a SMART internet TV, but if that is the case, I would rank LG at the top. Get one with the Magic Remote (or buy seperately) and it is a mouse pointer for your TV. With the others you have to scroll around and it is very cumbersome. I never had a problem with an LG.

My Samsung 4k is awesome and the processor is very fast. The only problem with it is that sometimes YouTube and Netflix won't work properly, but that is an app problem, not a TV problem. I wish it had the Magic Remote. I rarely get to use it as the kids are watching it all the time.

You should be able to get a nice LG for your budget. Prices have come down a lot.

You might want to take your old TV to a local repair shop. They might be able to fix it very cheap. My BIL fixes electronics in Bohol and he is very good. When he visited he fixed a few things around the house. He mostly fixes CRT TVs because the cost of the parts for the LED TVs is cost prohibitive. However, sometimes he can fix the old part, such as a power supply. Or they might have a used part from another unit.


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## fmartin_gila

Going a bit off topic again but to do a couple recommendations. 

Octagon Computers in Robinsons Mall in Iloilo was where I bought my Asus Laptop a bit over 2 years ago, came with a 1 year warranty. Two weeks ago it went bluescreen on me and I couldn't get it to do anything. The closest Octagon to me is in SM City going out north. I took it there and explained I had bought it at the other store because they were out of stock of this particular model when I purchased. The Tech spent just about an hour and handed it back to me & said now OK. He personally would not accept the Pesos I tried to hand him and I asked if there was a store charge and he said no. Very impressed with him & Octagon.

The Asawa's Acer Netbook is about 7 or 8 years old and still runs windows 7. It has been giving her a lot of grief lately and considering how I was treated at Octagon, I decided to see if they could repair it. Went to the SM City and on the way to the Octagon store I spotted a Acer store so I went in and asked if they could fix it. The Tech spent about half hour doing this & that (my technical description) with the software and then popped the keyboard out and cleaned it. He handed it back to me and said it would now work. I was very surprised when there was no charge considering how old it was and that I had actually bought it when I lived in the states. 

I would like to recommend both these shops to anyone in the need. They are both located on the top floor where all the electronics stores are being relocated to at the SM City Mall out on Diversion Road going out towards Pavia & the Airport.

Fred

Sorry I got a bit long winded but felt they should be recognized.


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## pronse

An advice to all ...
Most these PCs come with a slow Hard Disk Drive making booting to windows a real pain!
You just replace that HDD with an SSD and voila. They boot up to windows in seconds!
I know this coz I had done it on my new one and discarded an old one cos it slowed down too much.
The cost, at most, is $100 USD depending on what kind of SSD you buy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## M.C.A.

*Coby 32" TV*



DonAndAbby said:


> Back to the original topic, I have a Coby 32 inch about 5 years old, still fine but unused at the moment, unit.



We must have both bought our Coby TV's the same year, I don't see them anymore. We had troubles with the wall adapters the first couple days we bought ours (not the TV) and there's a back up power supply (not sure of name) that keeps the blue light going well after you unplug the set, this didn't work all the time and the TV would also freeze up we'd have to unplug it and if all else failed had to reacquire the TV channels, I now call Coby ... "Never Again", also the sound system is somewhat cheap.

I can't remember which TV I was looking at but it was either an LG or Samsung 32" and the price was 20,000 pesos it had the Smart but the sound system was unbelievable for a TV.

Getting back to Coby, we did have a local electrical technician look at our TV and at the time the one with all the lines in the screen, guy sure worked us good and we've been using him for over a decade he must have needed money, he seen that the TV had lines and still when through the process of opening it up and doing some minor soldering checking the inside components out and only to tell me after sticking it back together again that I'd have to trade TV for another at the Coby authorized repair spot in San Pablo Laguna for 4,000 trade on another refurbished or repaired Coby, it doesn't sound like a good deal.


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## hogrider

fmartin_gila said:


> Going a bit off topic again but to do a couple recommendations.
> 
> Octagon Computers in Robinsons Mall in Iloilo was where I bought my Asus Laptop a bit over 2 years ago, came with a 1 year warranty. Two weeks ago it went bluescreen on me and I couldn't get it to do anything. The closest Octagon to me is in SM City going out north. I took it there and explained I had bought it at the other store because they were out of stock of this particular model when I purchased. The Tech spent just about an hour and handed it back to me & said now OK. He personally would not accept the Pesos I tried to hand him and I asked if there was a store charge and he said no. Very impressed with him & Octagon.
> 
> The Asawa's Acer Netbook is about 7 or 8 years old and still runs windows 7. It has been giving her a lot of grief lately and considering how I was treated at Octagon, I decided to see if they could repair it. Went to the SM City and on the way to the Octagon store I spotted a Acer store so I went in and asked if they could fix it. The Tech spent about half hour doing this & that (my technical description) with the software and then popped the keyboard out and cleaned it. He handed it back to me and said it would now work. I was very surprised when there was no charge considering how old it was and that I had actually bought it when I lived in the states.
> 
> I would like to recommend both these shops to anyone in the need. They are both located on the top floor where all the electronics stores are being relocated to at the SM City Mall out on Diversion Road going out towards Pavia & the Airport.
> 
> Fred
> 
> Sorry I got a bit long winded but felt they should be recognized.


Thats a great story Fred and a welcome departure from the usual...." you can't get anything professional here" type of thread. Very encouraging.


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## pagbati

fmartin_gila said:


> .... Octagon Computers in Robinsons Mall & Acer store ...... I would like to recommend both these shops to anyone in the need. Fred. ...


Thanks for that tip Fred. Always good to know.


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## pagbati

*Good Experiences and Bad - Both are worth hearing*



hogrider said:


> Thats a great story Fred and a welcome departure from the usual...." you can't get anything professional here" type of thread. Very encouraging.


Hogrider, yes, I’m sure we all agree that Fred’s is a nice story and it’s always good to hear positive outcomes. Having enjoyed many of your posts, I'm also sure that it's not your intention to knock members who are willing to take the time to share their experiences with us, even if it’s not what we want to hear or perhaps differs from our own experiences.

There are many good reasons for living here, hence my wife and I have no plans to move and will remain here whilst the benefits continue to outweigh the negatives. But make no bones about it, there are negatives and we see no point sticking our head in the sand about them. We’re continually re-assessing and do so as people ‘living and enjoying our dream’ whilst at the same time, observing rather than criticising.

Keep the stories coming I say. It’s great to hear what other members are experiencing and I for one learn quite a lot from reading them. When it’s not to our liking, we can always hit the ‘log out’ button or move on to the next thread.


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## hogrider

mabrouk said:


> Hogrider, yes, I’m sure we all agree that Fred’s is a nice story and it’s always good to hear positive outcomes. Having enjoyed many of your posts, I'm also sure that it's not your intention to knock members who are willing to take the time to share their experiences with us, even if it’s not what we want to hear or perhaps differs from our own experiences.
> 
> There are many good reasons for living here, hence my wife and I have no plans to move and will remain here whilst the benefits continue to outweigh the negatives. But make no bones about it, there are negatives and we see no point sticking our head in the sand about them. We’re continually re-assessing and do so as people ‘living and enjoying our dream’ whilst at the same time, observing rather than criticising.
> 
> Keep the stories coming I say. It’s great to hear what other members are experiencing and I for one learn quite a lot from reading them. When it’s not to our liking, we can always hit the ‘log out’ button or move on to the next thread.


Hi Mabrouk
Point taken. However, it's not a case of reading stories that I don't want to hear. Yes of course I can just scroll down, ignore them, or in extreme cases not bother with the forum at all. That would be a shame because I too enjoy most of the posts and also learn something along the way. 
I guess I just find that sometimes people, and I say this in a very general way, are at times a little too willing to criticize and get things out of perspective. 
We all know and accept that Philippines is a poor, 3rd world, developing (we hope) country. Everything is bogged down in archaic systems that are slow and inefficient, there's corruption, poverty and ignorance all around us. Yes I accept all of that, but knowing all of that, still we choose to make it home, surely that means that despite all these things we must on balance accept that it is a positive experience. Why else would we be here?
Don't misunderstand, I'm certainly not looking at everything through the proverbial rose tinted glasses and certainly don't have my head in the sand, I do find some things a tad annoying, but I accept that that is the way things are and rarely feel the need to have a rant as some often do. Different folks deal with things in different ways I guess.
Anyway, this post is not meant to create waves or cause strong reactions, just the way I feel.
I would add that I often wonder what the Filipina wives and girlfriends have to go through on a regular basis if their foreign spouses feel so negatively and complain so much about their country. Can't be much fun for them. Just have to put up with it I guess. Just wonder how things would be if the situation was reversed and the same couple were living in UK, USA, Oz or wherever, and all the husband heard all day was the foreign wife criticizing and complaining about their own country. Just saying.....

Best wishes to all, really.


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## pagbati

hogrider said:


> Hi Mabrouk
> Point taken. However, it's not a case of reading stories that I don't want to hear. Yes of course I can just scroll down, ignore them, or in extreme cases not bother with the forum at all. That would be a shame because I too enjoy most of the posts and also learn something along the way.
> I guess I just find that sometimes people, and I say this in a very general way, are at times a little too willing to criticize and get things out of perspective.
> We all know and accept that Philippines is a poor, 3rd world, developing (we hope) country. Everything is bogged down in archaic systems that are slow and inefficient, there's corruption, poverty and ignorance all around us. Yes I accept all of that, but knowing all of that, still we choose to make it home, surely that means that despite all these things we must on balance accept that it is a positive experience. Why else would we be here?
> Don't misunderstand, I'm certainly not looking at everything through the proverbial rose tinted glasses and certainly don't have my head in the sand, I do find some things a tad annoying, but I accept that that is the way things are and rarely feel the need to have a rant as some often do. Different folks deal with things in different ways I guess.
> Anyway, this post is not meant to create waves or cause strong reactions, just the way I feel.
> I would add that I often wonder what the Filipina wives and girlfriends have to go through on a regular basis if their foreign spouses feel so negatively and complain so much about their country. Can't be much fun for them. Just have to put up with it I guess. Just wonder how things would be if the situation was reversed and the same couple were living in UK, USA, Oz or wherever, and all the husband heard all day was the foreign wife criticizing and complaining about their own country. Just saying.....
> 
> Best wishes to all, really.


Thanks Hogrider, you raise a lot of valid points in your post, most of which I wholeheartedly agree with and some are worthy of further discussion, probaly best done over a beer or coffee rather than a forum. Bottom line, I think we’re both on the same page. I’ll leave it at that as we’re veering off the original topic.


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## pronse

My wife just go silent if I criticize anything Filipino ... She has a rule is to never go against me ... I wonder why?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bigpearl

Default Apple and Dell in the Ph - recent experience
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigpearl View Post
..... I had a pleasant surprise with Apple a couple of years ago, I have a 17" MacBook pro that, after 5 years gave up the ghost. ...... One company that strived to make a difference. Interesting with all the bad vibes one hears about them. Cheers, Steve.
Interesting story Steve and nice to hear. However, even assuming one is pleasant and respectful to the Apple representative, you’re be lucky to get that sort of treatment here. Take my own recent experience in the Philippines. I was having some problems with my MacBook Air (well outside any guarantee/ warranty period) spinning beach ball etc., amongst other problems; eventually I was unable to receive Gmail in my Mailbox which drove me to action.

Mabrouk, I was dealing with Apple tech support in the U.S. as one can from any country, I was surprised but happy they honoured a very outdated apple care warranty, 10 to 12 calls to them over a 2 week period to remedy my faults was always met with professionalism and the willingness to help, still a Mac user and probably always will be, as also said the authorised repaired of that 17inch pro were the same, pro's and not expensive.
My experiences only, I'm sure there are nasty stories no different to mine with regards to Samsung, lol, and several other companies to boot.

Cheers, Steve.


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## fmartin_gila

WOW!!! Guess I should have started a new thread. Just felt since we were discussing electronic things I would mention something good instead of my rants as I sometimes do. Sorry it got hijacked quite a ways off subject.

Fred


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## bigpearl

pronse said:


> My wife just go silent if I criticize anything Filipino ... She has a rule is to never go against me ... I wonder why?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Off topic but hey,,,,,,, I try not to question any more as the usual response is "that is how we live here" or "don't rock the boat" while living there, for 2 years on and off. Bengie has never queried nor criticised our ways here in Oz, acceptance, tolerance and patience are values I have learnt with my better half both in the Philippines and also Australia.

The 32 inch led tv in our bedroom that we purchased second hand died 3 times,,,,,,, I kept out of it and Bengie dealt with it and them, them was the operative word as there were generally 2 technicians fronted up to repair the out of warranty wall mounted tv. First visit, I asked Bengie the cost, no cost as that tv shouldn't have that problem, months later, back again, months later back again, no charge, that tv Sir Bengie shouldn't do that and we are sorry to inconvenience you. (Was it because I was there? Closed mouthed but present?) Doubt it.
A far cry from western cultural experiences when it comes to warranties let alone out of date product warranties and known faults.
As hard as it can be in the Philippines it appears to me that it is only as hard as you make it, let go, join in and be guided by those who know, those you trust, the principle reason for us moving back ASAP.

Cheers, Steve.


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## hogrider

mabrouk said:


> Thanks Hogrider, you raise a lot of valid points in your post, most of which I wholeheartedly agree with and some are worthy of further discussion, probaly best done over a beer or coffee rather than a forum. Bottom line, I think we’re both on the same page. I’ll leave it at that as we’re veering off the original topic.


Beer or coffee sounds like a plan


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## Maxx62

Well, since the television is now on the fritz, my wife now goes over to her mother's house each afternoon for a few hours in order to watch her favorite programs. I think that I may drag my feet for a few more weeks before I go out and buy a new set. I saw a 32" Samsung smart TV at SM Mall for less than 15,000, I'll probably go that way.


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## Gary D

Maxx62 said:


> Well, since the television is now on the fritz, my wife now goes over to her mother's house each afternoon for a few hours in order to watch her favorite programs. I think that I may drag my feet for a few more weeks before I go out and buy a new set. I saw a 32" Samsung smart TV at SM Mall for less than 15,000, I'll probably go that way.


It was discussed sometime ago, I can't remember if it was on this furum but the story went that SM and the likes take all of the seconds from the TV manufacturers. I don't know how true this is but it is certainly within character of Philippine businesses.


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## pronse

May be that's why SM Appliances and Robinsons' have good pricing?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Gary D

pronse said:


> May be that's why SM Appliances and Robinsons' have good pricing?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


But they are still 20-30% more expensive than here in the UK.


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## fmartin_gila

Maxx62 said:


> Well, since the television is now on the fritz, my wife now goes over to her mother's house each afternoon for a few hours in order to watch her favorite programs. I think that I may drag my feet for a few more weeks before I go out and buy a new set. I saw a 32" Samsung smart TV at SM Mall for less than 15,000, I'll probably go that way.


There are times when a bit of 'self time' is muchly appreciated.

Fred


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## fmartin_gila

Gary D said:


> It was discussed sometime ago, I can't remember if it was on this furum but the story went that SM and the likes take all of the seconds from the TV manufacturers. I don't know how true this is but it is certainly within character of Philippine businesses.


I have heard of that practice in the states, places such as Walmarts gets the seconds. 

Fred


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## Maxx62

fmartin_gila said:


> I have heard of that practice in the states, places such as Walmarts gets the seconds.
> 
> Fred


Ah well, it will fit in with all the other plastic junk in my house that is made in China. In the meanwhile things are peaceful without an idiot box always jabbering in the background.


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## bigpearl

I am looking at an ad from a retailer in OZ from a "reputable" company selling a non brand 2 buck TV as follows: SONIQ 65 inch ultra HD Smart TV, Quad core etc. AU $ 998.00 PHP 35K
WOW, so cheap as is the brand name in OZ lol but I have to say that I did put 2 SONIQ brand TV's into one of my twin Greenrooms (like a motor home) some 5 years ago and after travelling around on film locations all over OZ they are still working and not missed a beat, rough roads, rough treatment, intermittent power.
If you like the picture you see then buy it no matter the cost, you have to live with it.

Cheers, Steve.


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## M.C.A.

Update I finally broke down and bought a new tv, I just can't afford the larger than life brand names and I didn't want to buy the Chinese brands but my next stop was for groceries and I found a 32" Hanabishi for 9000, Hanabishi is made here, came with a 2 year warranty and life time warranty on services so? Also purchased the TV Plus cable box system for 1500 pesos, sure wish I'd got this a long time ago, I can't afford cable and my wife kept streaming Tagalog movies on the internet and so ... this is for my family and a good alternative for mainly Tagalog movies no commercials during the movie, also noticed that the picture is much better than I'm getting on the roof antenna. Next purchase is one of those hand held game systems FC Pocket with the older Nintendo games and others and it can plug into the tv they run about 1000 pesos.


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## pronse

I think the Hanabishi are good. I have a rice cooker that have been using (daily of course) and is still going fine!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## fmartin_gila

Have a Hanabishi countertop oven/roteserie that we bought about a year & half ago. She uses it about once a week on average. Except for the timer which quit in the first week, it has worked OK with no other malfunctions. Found out we didn't need the timer anyway so it is just ignored.

Fred


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## Maxx62

I actually ended up getting a 32" Sharp LCD television for around 12,000. I was going to get an LG, but at the last moment I realized that I wouldn't be able to connect both my Blue Ray player and my Sky cable box due to limited number of inputs. I think that it had only one set of RGB inputs, and did not have any red, white, and yellow RCA type inputs. 

Too much hassle having to unplug the connectors each time I want to switch from one component to another, and I don't really like the idea of using "Y" connectors to hook up both devices. The Sharp had one set of both RGB inputs and red, white, and yellow connectors so I went with that instead of buying a new Blue Ray player. (Unfortunately my Blue Ray player doesn't have HDMI, so had to go with a slightly lesser TV.)


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## M.C.A.

Another update, I've decided to get my two Coby LED TV's repaired, they both turn on but one has a burning electrical smell and the other has the lines on the screen, we took it to the same grocery store I bought it from and the same salesman we bought it from 5 years ago, he can only repair Coby, Nova and Hanabishi products so good, we are waiting to get an estimate before they go to work so I'll find out within a couple days the cost and whether to pursue fixing.


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## M.C.A.

*Update on LCD TV Repairs*



M.C.A. said:


> Another update, I've decided to get my two Coby LED TV's repaired, they both turn on but one has a burning electrical smell and the other has the lines on the screen, we took it to the same grocery store I bought it from and the same salesman we bought it from 5 years ago, he can only repair Coby, Nova and Hanabishi products so good, we are waiting to get an estimate before they go to work so I'll find out within a couple days the cost and whether to pursue fixing.


I dropped off my two older Coby LED TV's for repair at this same grocery store I purchased them in 5 years ago, but I got a call 4 days later from the contracted appliance repair center that they don't have screens or parts so I was supposed to pick up my TV's, they never delivered them I was told to try again next thursday ... wow talk about ? and when I turned the TV's in they had me sign a document stating if TV's aren't picked up within 60 days they get to keep them. :flame:


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## Gary D

M.C.A. said:


> I dropped off my two older Coby LED TV's for repair at this same grocery store I purchased them in 5 years ago, but I got a call 4 days later from the contracted appliance repair center that they don't have screens or parts so I was supposed to pick up my TV's, they never delivered them I was told to try again next thursday ... wow talk about ? and when I turned the TV's in they had me sign a document stating if TV's aren't picked up within 60 days they get to keep them. :flame:


And when they do arrive all of the good bits will have been stripped out.


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## Maxx62

M.C.A. said:


> I dropped off my two older Coby LED TV's for repair at this same grocery store I purchased them in 5 years ago, but I got a call 4 days later from the contracted appliance repair center that they don't have screens or parts so I was supposed to pick up my TV's, they never delivered them I was told to try again next thursday ... wow talk about ? and when I turned the TV's in they had me sign a document stating if TV's aren't picked up within 60 days they get to keep them. :flame:


I wasn't going to mention it before, but when I first purchased my new Sharp TV it wouldn't work right when I first turned it on at home. Instead of displaying a normal picture it displayed a scrambled looking image with a flickering green tint. 

Next morning I boxed it all up and took it back to the local mall where I purchased it. When I first purchased it the salesman assured me that I could return it within seven days if I had a problem. Well, when I went into the store it took about 20 minutes before anyone would acknowledge me. After a while I was able to talk to the manager (some girl about twenty years old) and she stated that I could not return my TV because it worked fine when they tested it in the store, so I must have somehow broken it myself. I pointed to a sign on the counter indicating that they would return factory defect items within a one week period. The manager said that the sign did not apply to me because my TV was not a factory defect. She then walked away and left me alone. I was pissed! 

I told my wife that I was thinking about smashing the TV on the floor, and then walking out and buying another one at a larger store at a mall in downtown Cebu. But, I actually did something better, I stood near the entrance of the store with my TV box and receipt in my hand and when an expat and his wife started to walk into the store I told them not to buy anything there, because they will not honor their products. 13,000 is not a lot, but it is too much to just throw away. 

After a while the manager came out and told me that one of her employees would come to my house to see if the TV was really defective, and if it was they would see what they could do. Long story short I bring an employee back to my house and the TV displays the same garbled greenish image. Their employee spent a while playing with the settings, and then he announced that the problem must be that my house is too far from the main road, and that my cable signal isn't strong enough. I told him that my old TV never had any problems, with the signal strength, and then I showed him a four output signal booster I have hidden in the cabinet below cable box. 

He kept claiming that the signal coming in on my main line wasn't strong enough and that there was nothing wrong with the TV. To show him that the cable strength wasn't the issue I went to another house in my compound and borrowed their cable box and brought it back to my house. 

When we hooked up the other cable box the new Sharp worked fine. The store employee told my wife that the new cable box was digital and that is why it worked while the other one was only analogous (A BS answer if ever I've heard one). Luckily I was able to swap cable boxes with my sister-in-law, and my old box worked fine on her TV, while her box worked fine with my TV. 

In the end I managed to have a working TV, but I was not really given a satisfactory answer as to why it wasn't functioning properly. Nowhere on my sister-in-law's cable box does it say digital, and I think that the salesperson just made up that excuse to impress my wife. 

Bottom line is most small mid-sized retailers over here are not going to honor their own store warranties, no matter what, and if you get a lemon product, their attitude is "Ha Ha, you stupid ****** - we've got your money and there is nothing you can do about it." Seriously, the manager in the appliance store was rude and dismissive when I tried to explain my complaints to her. She could not care any less, and she just wanted me to go away.

If I had to do it all over again I probably would have gone to one of the larger retailers at SM Mall, or at Ayala, and I would be hesitant to buy an appliance from one of the smaller local malls.


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## DonAndAbby

A bit off topic, but just in case anyone is in the area and interested. Royal Duty Free has an "Extreme" brand (Chinese I'm sure) 32 inch curved HD TV including a free external sound system (sub-woofer and 2 speakers). The picture looked very good and the sound was good too. Price: p9999.

It is at the "new" Royal Duty Free, the one closest to Harbor Point mall. They had just built that branch about 2 years ago and now they renovated it, tripling the size. It is really big and nice now. The "Grand Reopening" started yesterday.


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