Roundie sitting in water in dumb digital TV commercial.

[Thyratron]

Has anyone else seen the commercial with the roundie set sitting in a pool and the narrating lady sitting in a chair in the background? I would assume that it's just a "special effect" being that it's basically floating on the top of the water, but what exactly are they trying to say with this? Maybe that the bottom is filled with flat sets and '90s Goldstars and the best has risen to the top?! (One can hope, anyway).

[Rental Limo]

I never seen the commercial, but from what you discribe it sounds like HDTV propaganda. Stuff that messes with peoples heads telling them to buy an HDTV set before 2009 otherwise their analog sets wont work. What people dont realize is that the local channels wont be converted to 2012. That way the lower income people without cable, or satellite can enjoy their present sets without worrying about buying a new one. Everyone just hears the negative, and not the real truth. I recently told a guy at work that if the HDTV flat screens go down in price to $100.00 with a one year warranty i would buy one. He called me a cheapskate. That way if the set breaks down in a year i would get my moneys worth. It must really suck if you buy an overpriced HDTV flat screen, and it breaks down in a year. Especially if the warranty is dried up. Then you are taking a big loss. When people buy they dont think logically. They just want to be the showoffs of the neighborhood. Just like when the Chrysler PT Cruiser came out. Everybody had to have one. Being the neighborhood showoff is tempting, but i would rather not have a car payment, and watch my old 1997 Zenith SY2572DT color set. Also known as the bad CRT Zenith. Back then i did not know the CRTS were bad, so dont throw rocks at me. It has low hours and works fine. When peoples brand new flat screens break i will have the last laugh!!

[jpdylon]

Originally Posted by Rental limo

When peoples brand new flat screens break i will have the last laugh!!

Damn straight. HDTVs are nothing more than over-glorified computer monitors. They die within a couple of years. I only watch tv on my 54' capehart B&W set. 53+ years old and has a great picture.

[electronjohn]

I'm resisting the flat screen siren song with all my might. My 31" RCA still has a great pic after 10 years of use...it's on a LOT and has only had one trip to the shop to the tune of $125. My wife's making noise about getting one like our son's. Admittedly, he has a very nice 42" Sony...but also fell victim to price drop syndrome. Bought it...2 weeks later could've had the same set for $300 less. Told my wife we're going to squeeze every hour we can out of the RCA...then I'll pull the 27" Zenith out of storage and we'll watch that! Besides...I still like the look of a CRT picture.

[radiotvnut]

Originally Posted by Rental Limo

I never seen the commercial, but from what you discribe it sounds like HDTV propaganda. Stuff that messes with peoples heads telling them to buy an HDTV set before 2009 otherwise their analog sets wont work. What people dont realize is that the local channels wont be converted to 2012. That way the lower income people without cable, or satellite can enjoy their present sets without worrying about buying a new one. Everyone just hears the negative, and not the real truth. I recently told a guy at work that if the HDTV flat screens go down in price to $100.00 with a one year warranty i would buy one. He called me a cheapskate. That way if the set breaks down in a year i would get my moneys worth. It must really suck if you buy an overpriced HDTV flat screen, and it breaks down in a year. Especially if the warranty is dried up. Then you are taking a big loss. When people buy they dont think logically. They just want to be the showoffs of the neighborhood. Just like when the Chrysler PT Cruiser came out. Everybody had to have one. Being the neighborhood showoff is tempting, but i would rather not have a car payment, and watch my old 1997 Zenith SY2572DT color set. Also known as the bad CRT Zenith. Back then i did not know the CRTS were bad, so dont throw rocks at me. It has low hours and works fine. When peoples brand new flat screens break i will have the last laugh!!

I've had to convince (or, try to convince) several people that they did not have to buy a new digital TV because their old set will be just as useful with a cheap converter as it is now. Of course, the younger crowd I know just want to be what you call the "showoffs of the neighborhood." They think having all the latest electronic gadgets, nice cars, big houses, etc. makes them somebody. For me, I'll keep watching my mid '80's 19" Sony and other older TV's. They've already outlasted some of the new stuff. There is a local store claiming that the new HDTV's are designed to last between 15 and 25 years of normal use. Just more propaganda to get people to buy the new sets. It's interesting that there are members of this forum who have 50+ year old TV's that work fine.

[zenithfan1]

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

I've had to convince (or, try to convince) several people that they did not have to buy a new digital TV because their old set will be just as useful with a cheap converter as it is now. Of course, the younger crowd I know just want to be what you call the "showoffs of the neighborhood." They think having all the latest electronic gadgets, nice cars, big houses, etc. makes them somebody. For me, I'll keep watching my mid '80's 19" Sony and other older TV's. They've already outlasted some of the new stuff. There is a local store claiming that the new HDTV's are designed to last between 15 and 25 years of normal use. Just more propaganda to get people to buy the new sets. It's interesting that there are members of this forum who have 50+ year old TV's that work fine.

Me too and I'm starting to sound like a broken record! And as far as the showoffs go, they can waste all of their money on that new crap! But I'll be the one laughing when all their crap dies, the cracker-box house falls apart and their plastic car disintegrates in a 5 MPH collision. And after all this happens, they will be still paying the loans off when I retire! The only bad thing is, all of the new things in life are being based on what these people want. This scares me a little....... No matter what, I will be watching my '50s and '60s tvs driving my "85 Silverado and living in a house that is at least 50 years old {just watch out for asbestos!LOL} mine is 115 years old! That is just the way I am, I'm 25 but with a very old soul!

[zenith2134]

Couldn't agree more. I have my 1980 XL-100 connected to digital cable, and thats above and beyond my needs. I really don't watch much tv, I could suffice with antenna and NTSC forever. (the parents pay my cable bill since its included with the other boxes.)

Wanna have a good laugh on my family? I told my mother to cancel my DTV box once, and she said No, keep it, why wouldn't you want it?

Well i really don't use it. Only for occasional on-demand movies, cable news, and TBS. Everything else is network TV.


But yeah, One family I know recently spent about 3 thousand dollars on a huge Sony LCD set. When we set it up, the first thing I suggested was to turn down the backlight setting from 10 (stock) to 6-7, since there was absolutely no difference in brightness either way. Maybe this was due to the contrast being 100%. Anyway he said he didn't care how long it lasts, just wants to make it look good. Enough said.

[old_tv_nut]

Just to throw a little ballast on the other side of this "discussion" - when color first came out, there were plenty of buyers who were "just showing off" and didn't care if it needed more service than a black and white. AND there were plenty of people who looked at the pictures and saw misadjusted color and said "I'll wait until they 'perfect' it." As an engineer working on TV design I got those comments all the time "When do you think they'll perfect color TV?"

By the way, is anyone going to find out what that commercial was that started this thread?

[Thyratron]

Originally Posted by zenithfan1

But I'll be the one laughing when. . . the cracker-box house falls apart. . .

Good description! Nothing like some plastered-over styrofoam and chicken wire! But, hey, at least it has a "media room"!

As for the commercial, old_tv_nut, it's one of about two or three which now play around here regularly and give the usual "information," plus a website for more info (which I can't remember at the moment). I just didn't really understand the whole tv standing in water part, and it annoyed me that they used a roundie for it, though it was a nice tv to look at!

[radiotvnut]

I saw another DTV commercial. It showed an older lady with what looked like a late '40's or early '50's round screen B&W console displaying snow. She was talking about not getting an off the air signal after 2/17/09 but cable and sat. people would be fine. The toll free number was given for the DTV converter box coupons.

[kx250rider]

Has anyone been able to capture and post one of these commercials? If KTLA-Los Angeles gets one to air, I might be able to get hold of it. I'll ask.

Charles

[Ken G]

I didnt know what these flat tv sets were all about . I repair stuff for a living .
I had the chance to test these as store returns at my old job and fix a few .
I was turned off by the high price . After being around them a couple years and playing with so many LCD sets i found the pictures on them very good and the space they save is nice too .

Now i have 2 digital LCD sharps given to me broken that i fixed ( both shipping drop damage ) With a digital high def signal on these you cant compare the clarity of the picture to anything period .. its nice .

No .. i dont need high def and still enjoy old tv`s but the flat sets are great if you just get past your problem with ``change``

Yes they break . Most all newer stuff does anymore . My 2002 Sharp LCD i bought new has no problems and it has been played almost every day for hours . There not all bad .

[zenithfan1]

Yes the are! Anything made in china is bad in my book, Years ago we could spend our hard earned money on something and we could be proud to have it, now we can only just try to pay bills and long for the old days of quality that are now sold out and gone!

[Dave A]

I've seen the floating set spot and another one...in the desert maybe? They both used a early 50's B&W rectangular set with a color picture matted in.

Dave A

[Jeffhs]

I have an RCA (Thomson) 19" (the set shown in my avatar) and a Zenith 19" TV that both work very well on digital cable. The RCA has only had one repair in the eight years I've had it, and the picture is as good as the day I bought it; the Zenith is 12 years old and hasn't had one repair yet. The picture on the Zenith is great as well and the set still has its original CRT, as does the RCA.

I agree with Jordan that HDTV flat-panel sets are little more that glorified computer monitors, and that they don't last more than a couple of years. Another problem with flat panels is, in many cases, the video driver ICs are molded into the cable that connects the panel to the chassis, and the cable itself is, like as not, hard-wired at both ends; when one of those ICs go bad, the entire panel is rendered useless, even if the panel itself still has plenty of life left in it.

It is for these reasons that I fully intend to keep my two analog TVs until the wheels fall off, figuratively speaking. Both sets are working fine now, and frankly I don't see the RCA going bad for some time to come. When it does finally gasp its last breath, I'll just pull my 19" Zenith out of my bedroom and watch it until it finally dies; then, and only then, will I consider getting a flat-panel. I've toyed with the idea of getting a 15" Magnavox FP as are advertised in Best Buy and Circuit City newspaper advertising flyers, but I don't want a set with a picture not much larger than a slightly oversized postage stamp. When I finally get a FP, I will look for a set with a picture at least as big as my analog TVs.