To ask advice about my TV

[TheoriginalLEM]

Our tv is getting worse - glitching and stammering to the point that it just stops. It has been glitchy for a long time. We are not big tv watchers, just have freeview so it's not bothered us. Can live without constant repeats of the chase!

So is it
A- the TV
B- the set top box
C- the Ariel?

I would like a new telly but it's a big spend that i don't want to do if its either b or c.

I have a budget of £500 At a push but do see tellies for 250 are they as good?

Any ideas/recommendations?

Nobody? Ahhh come on mnet I NEED you

Have you tried retuning?

Do you have a digital aerial? Glitching and pictures freezing on free view from a digi aerial can be common, this can be for various reasons. (Like large trees blocking the signal , very bad weather, or maybe an aerial upgrade needed) If you have a smaller tv you can try on the freeview box connected to the aerial, try that first as the issues would be the same as on the main tv. If it's ok then it would likely be the tv.
(One of my ds's used to work in a tv/aerial company)

I was also going to add you can also try a retune, as pp has said.

How old is the tv?

If it’s an ancient CRT model from the 90s then it might be time to retire it.

Stammering and stopping, I'd say it's the box. I presume your TV is not digital if you only get freeview, have an aerial and have a box?

Either way, I'd probably get a new TV, which will now be digital and no need for a box, and a basic one shouldn't be too expensive. But buy from a reliable brand. And you probably don't need a huge screen.

Try a different scart lead? That’s what ours did when the scart needed replacing.

@bridgetreilly every single day!

Hmmm yes might try the SCART lead however another issue is when we retune (This used to provide a temporary fix) it losee channels etc. Now not fixing the glitching

Just asked dp how old the telly is - he said oh between 5 and 15 years

So it guess at ten then?

I have one like this in my gym - its moved from room to room to die there gracefully.

Time to replace I'd suggest ... and I think I'll replace ours too.

Not sure on the price bracket - but if you get The Frame by Samsung - it looks like a framed print on the wall when it's off !

(That's what I've been replacing ours with slowly ! Much nicer as you can actually forget it's a tv ! )

We thought it might have been the SCART lead but don't think it is. It must be a digital telly because we can pick up channels without the freeview box however only about two. No glitching though.

I really want a smart tv, and my eyesight is getting worse so we want a bigger screen so we have decided to buy each other a tv for Xmas except we'll get it after.

So now looking for advice on what tv. No bigger than 43" though

@666onmyhead I also want this “frame” tv.

Sorry to be dense, but how do you slowly replace a tv? Or do you have a number of tvs you’re slowly replacing? If so, I take it the frame ones are worth the price?

Oooh I love those frame tv's- they are a bit over budget and we actually don't have a wall that works for it

SCART is 1970s technology. You should be on HDMI by now.

A plain 'dumb' TV can be made smart with a Roku or NowTV stick.

Lots of bargains in the supermarket Jan clearout of the 2019 models.

In practice, all the good ones have panels (screens) made by LG, Samsung or Hisense (cheap Chinese knockoff technology.)

A proble with most of them is the speakers which point downwards. There is no need for this, but they like to sell you a soundbar while they're about it.

Hmmm I think our telly has HDMI as that is what the x-box is attached with.

It is a mine field.

I lost half an hour of my life in John Lewis last week when we were collared by the Panasonic man who tried to persuade me that parting with circa 2k for a OLED tv with true blacks!! I'm just grateful if the picture doesn't freeze and what is 4k anyway and why do I need it if most of the stuff isn't even in 4k?

I genuinely can't see the difference between those tellies and the £250 jobbies.

What should I avoid?

What is 4K?

An old school square TV shows a picture that is 720 pixels (dots) wide and five hundred and odd down. 720P is HD Ready, 1400 dots wide x 720. Full HD is 1080P, 1920 X 1080, this is the size of an HD channel on Freeview or Satellitte.

4K is 2160P. There are no 4K channels on Freeview, test transmissions on Satellite and some on Sky you pay a fortune for. Most people cannot see the difference, and no one could see the difference on anything smaller than 55 inches. 4K is not TV, it is home cinema. Good if you like that sort of thing.

1080P is just fine, especially for screens up to 43 inches.

OLED

It is the best picture. It has no backlight. Each dot is its own light, so the black parts of the screen are switched off. Costs a bomb, and there's a big dirty secret they don't tell you.

The blue dots start to wear out after a couple of years, so you have to chuck it and buy a new one. OK if you are filthy rich and catflap and like the neighbours to see what you can throw away, otherwise avoid.

Thankyou for that, reAlly useful information. Makes you wonder if it will go the same way as plasma tv's that were so popular a while back.

1080P it is then.

Is it attached to an Ariel on the roof? Because those can go glitchy in winter if water gets into the cable.