The TV I'm interested in buying (as a 2nd TV...not the main one) is an
inexpensive Sylvania 20" flat screen CRT TV. I happened to notice that what
appears to be the exact same TV is available at Circuit City under their ESA
brand name for $20 less (due to rebate). It likely is the same exact TV as
the Sylvania, but is labeled differently for Circuit City.

I'm just wondering if I ever needed to get this repaired after the warranty
expired, would the ESA brand name be a problem in terms of finding someone
willing to fix it?

On the other hand, the TV only costs $120 to $140, so maybe it's not even
worth worrying about whether or not it could be repaired, but I believe at
least one place in my area offers free estimates on repairs.

Is the ESA brandname a problem if it should ever need repair?

Thanks,

J.

The ESA Line is built and back by Funai Corporation, they are supplying both
Service Literature and Parts for these sets. BTW Funai also makes Sylvania.
"jeff" wrote in message
news:f0bud.2498$pZ5.840@trndny06...
The TV I'm interested in buying (as a 2nd TV...not the main one) is an
inexpensive Sylvania 20" flat screen CRT TV. I happened to notice that
what appears to be the exact same TV is available at Circuit City under
their ESA brand name for $20 less (due to rebate). It likely is the same
exact TV as the Sylvania, but is labeled differently for Circuit City.

I'm just wondering if I ever needed to get this repaired after the
warranty expired, would the ESA brand name be a problem in terms of
finding someone willing to fix it?

On the other hand, the TV only costs $120 to $140, so maybe it's not even
worth worrying about whether or not it could be repaired, but I believe at
least one place in my area offers free estimates on repairs.

Is the ESA brandname a problem if it should ever need repair?

Thanks,

J.

The ESA Line is built and back by Funai Corporation, they are supplying both
Service Literature and Parts for these sets. BTW Funai also makes Sylvania.

And the big problem is Funai has no support for these names. Buy an ESA, you
have to go through Circuit City for parts or manuals, Sylvania you have to go
through Sears for parts or manuals. Call Funai and ask to get any parts for
these brands and they will just refer you to Sears or Circuit City.
Let me guarantee you it is *no fun* to attempt to order parts through these
companies.
Ron

"RonKZ650" wrote in message
...
| The ESA Line is built and back by Funai Corporation, they are supplying
both
| Service Literature and Parts for these sets. BTW Funai also makes
Sylvania.
|
| And the big problem is Funai has no support for these names. Buy an ESA,
you
| have to go through Circuit City for parts or manuals, Sylvania you have to
go
| through Sears for parts or manuals. Call Funai and ask to get any parts
for
| these brands and they will just refer you to Sears or Circuit City.
| Let me guarantee you it is *no fun* to attempt to order parts through
these
| companies.
| Ron

I have an old Funai brand breadmaker with a lost paddle. Try finding a
source for those!

N

I've gotten Sylvania parts from Funai no problem.

Mark Z.


"RonKZ650" wrote in message
...
The ESA Line is built and back by Funai Corporation, they are supplying
both
Service Literature and Parts for these sets. BTW Funai also makes
Sylvania.

And the big problem is Funai has no support for these names. Buy an ESA,
you
have to go through Circuit City for parts or manuals, Sylvania you have to
go
through Sears for parts or manuals. Call Funai and ask to get any parts
for
these brands and they will just refer you to Sears or Circuit City.
Let me guarantee you it is *no fun* to attempt to order parts through
these
companies.
Ron

P.S.

Some really cheap DVD players and combos don't have parts availability, for
these I've gotten referrals from some of these companies, which means "buy a
new one". The parts I've gotten from them were for the bigger 27" tv/vcr/dvd
combos.

Mark Z.


"RonKZ650" wrote in message
...
The ESA Line is built and back by Funai Corporation, they are supplying
both
Service Literature and Parts for these sets. BTW Funai also makes
Sylvania.

And the big problem is Funai has no support for these names. Buy an ESA,
you
have to go through Circuit City for parts or manuals, Sylvania you have to
go
through Sears for parts or manuals. Call Funai and ask to get any parts
for
these brands and they will just refer you to Sears or Circuit City.
Let me guarantee you it is *no fun* to attempt to order parts through
these
companies.
Ron

I've gotten Sylvania parts from Funai no problem.


I just emailed them last week for Syvania parts, got the very polite reply
"Sears model, go to Sears", damn idiots there are lucky to have the sense to
answer a phone. let alone supply parts. "Wemote contwol? There as no list for
that pawt" ARRGG.
Ron
Ron

Sears happened to have a sale on the Sylvania 20" flat screens for $99 so I
bought it today. I guess, for that price, if should ever break out of
warranty I could always simply get another inexpensive TV instead of
repairing it.

Maybe I'm being very picky, but even though the TV is supposed to be a flat
screen, to me, it seems like the actual screen of the CRT tube itself,
inside the TV, may be very slightly curved, (not truly flat) and they
compensated for it by adjusting the picture geometry. Granted it could just
my imagination or perhaps I'm being very nit-picky. Can't complain at all
for $99 though.

By the way, is there any way I can adjust the picture geometry, etc. myself?
In other words, is there a special key combination when powering up the unit
that would allow me access to special extra setup commands, etc.

Thanks,

J.

By the way, is there any way I can adjust the picture
geometry, etc.

What do you want for $99 perfect geometry ? Its not going to be.


kip

On Tue, 14 Dec 2004 01:47:00 GMT, "jeff"
wrote:

Maybe I'm being very picky, but even though the TV is supposed to be a flat
screen, to me, it seems like the actual screen of the CRT tube itself,
inside the TV, may be very slightly curved,

It's very common for cheaper TVs to have a CRT like this. It's
basically just a standard CRT with extra glass to make the outside
flat. The thicker glass makes the picture look worse and the set
heavier, but people want flat screens... Even CRTs that appear
totally flat are actually slightly curved on the inside.

Andy Cuffe

"Andy Cuffe" bravely wrote to "All" (14 Dec 04 12:43:38)
--- on the heady topic of " Bought Sylvania 20" flat screen (???almost =
flat???) for $99"

AC From: Andy Cuffe

AC On Tue, 14 Dec 2004 01:47:00 GMT, "jeff"
AC wrote:

Maybe I'm being very picky, but even though the TV is supposed to be a flat
screen, to me, it seems like the actual screen of the CRT tube itself,
inside the TV, may be very slightly curved,

AC It's very common for cheaper TVs to have a CRT like this. It's
AC basically just a standard CRT with extra glass to make the outside
AC flat. The thicker glass makes the picture look worse and the set
AC heavier, but people want flat screens... Even CRTs that appear
AC totally flat are actually slightly curved on the inside.


Andy, how is the colour affected by the extra time the beam has to
travel at the edges compared to the center? Is there a compensation
for this and does it even need to be corrected for?

A*s*i*m*o*v

.... Is reactance then illusory? No, it just appears that way...

It's very common for cheaper TVs to have a CRT like this. It's
basically just a standard CRT with extra glass to make the outside
flat. The thicker glass makes the picture look worse and the set
heavier, but people want flat screens... Even CRTs that appear
totally flat are actually slightly curved on the inside.

Andy Cuffe

Thanks for the reply. This isn't a standard CRT. It certainly is flatter
than a standard CRT, but it's just that it appears to be curved slightly on
the inside and have subtle imperfections in the shape. I guess for $99
(regularly $139) I should not be complaining.

By the way, how long can I reasonably expect this TV to last, that is, how
many thousand hours is the expected lifespan of an inexpensive flat-screen
CRT TV manufactured by Funai?

Thanks,

J.

Thanks for the reply. This isn't a standard CRT. It certainly is flatter
than a standard CRT, but it's just that it appears to be curved slightly
on
the inside and have subtle imperfections in the shape. I guess for $99
(regularly $139) I should not be complaining.

By the way, how long can I reasonably expect this TV to last, that is, how
many thousand hours is the expected lifespan of an inexpensive flat-screen
CRT TV manufactured by Funai?


Funai? Those are about the bottom of the barrel, I would say 2-3 years of
moderate to heavy use. You might get lucky and have it last a decade but I
certainly wouldn't expect it. Probably 20% chance it'll fail within the
first year.

Funai? Those are about the bottom of the barrel, I would say 2-3 years of
moderate to heavy use. You might get lucky and have it last a decade but I
certainly wouldn't expect it. Probably 20% chance it'll fail within the
first year.

Ok, hopefully I'll luck out.

Question: I have an old Emerson (made in 1988, and made in Taiwan). The
model number is ECR1350. It's a 13 inch TV that has been used a lot in the
past and is used only lightly now. It is 16 years old. Was this one really
made by Funai?

J.

"jeff" wrote in message
news:%iJvd.10000$sU4.2934@trndny01...
Funai? Those are about the bottom of the barrel, I would say 2-3 years
of
moderate to heavy use. You might get lucky and have it last a decade but I
certainly wouldn't expect it. Probably 20% chance it'll fail within the
first year.

Ok, hopefully I'll luck out.

Question: I have an old Emerson (made in 1988, and made in Taiwan). The
model number is ECR1350. It's a 13 inch TV that has been used a lot in
the
past and is used only lightly now. It is 16 years old. Was this one
really
made by Funai?

J.



Dunno, Emerson is very low end as well, but I had one that was still working
when I gave it away probably 15 years after I got it. Sometimes you get
lucky. TV's don't fall apart as quickly as cheap VCR's at least.

"Asimov" wrote in message
...
"Andy Cuffe" bravely wrote to "All" (14 Dec 04 12:43:38)
--- on the heady topic of " Bought Sylvania 20" flat screen (???almost
flat???) for $99"

AC From: Andy Cuffe

AC On Tue, 14 Dec 2004 01:47:00 GMT, "jeff"
AC wrote:

Maybe I'm being very picky, but even though the TV is supposed to be a
flat
screen, to me, it seems like the actual screen of the CRT tube itself,
inside the TV, may be very slightly curved,

AC It's very common for cheaper TVs to have a CRT like this. It's
AC basically just a standard CRT with extra glass to make the outside
AC flat. The thicker glass makes the picture look worse and the set
AC heavier, but people want flat screens... Even CRTs that appear
AC totally flat are actually slightly curved on the inside.


Andy, how is the colour affected by the extra time the beam has to
travel at the edges compared to the center? Is there a compensation
for this and does it even need to be corrected for?

Why would the color be affected? The beam sweeps across the screen at a
constant rate, the distance makes no difference, we're talking about
something with effectively zero mass travelling at very high speed, a few cm
will have no effect.

Question: I have an old Emerson (made in 1988, and made in Taiwan). The
model number is ECR1350. It's a 13 inch TV that has been used a lot in the
past and is used only lightly now. It is 16 years old. Was this one really
made by Funai?

Emerson built their own sets back then. Some were pretty decent really. Only
recently has Funai taken over making most the low end sets.

"James Sweet" bravely wrote to "All" (15 Dec 04 00:06:07)
--- on the heady topic of " Bought Sylvania 20" flat screen (???almost
flat???) for $99"

JS From: "James Sweet"

JS "Andy Cuffe" bravely wrote to "All" (14 Dec 04 12:43:38)
JS --- on the heady topic of " Bought Sylvania 20" flat screen
JS (???almost flat???) for $99"
AC It's very common for cheaper TVs to have a CRT like this. It's
AC basically just a standard CRT with extra glass to make the outside
AC flat. The thicker glass makes the picture look worse and the set
AC heavier, but people want flat screens... Even CRTs that appear
AC totally flat are actually slightly curved on the inside.


JS "Asimov" wrote in
JS message ...
Andy, how is the colour affected by the extra time the beam has to
travel at the edges compared to the center? Is there a compensation
for this and does it even need to be corrected for?

JS Why would the color be affected? The beam sweeps across the screen at
JS a constant rate, the distance makes no difference, we're talking about
JS something with effectively zero mass travelling at very high speed, a
JS few cm will have no effect.

I calculate (from speed of light delay aprox 9ns/ft) that there is a
phase shift of about 1 degree of 3.58MHz for a 1 inch difference.
Forgive me, I don't know what I was thinking, the guns are only
intensity modulated from the phase difference in the subcarrier & not
at the crt. Okay, I answered my own question. Thanks, James & Andy!
As the late Gilda Radner would say, "Never mind!"

A*s*i*m*o*v

.... This message transmitted on 100% recycled photons.

Jeff,

According to "Choice", who collect figures on failure rates of various
appliances, there is usually hardly any difference in the failure
rates for cheaper versus dearer items. Typically 98% of dearer items
may be trouble free in the first year versus 96-7% for cheaper items.
Since the price differential may be huge, you would often be better
buying two of the cheap ones!

I've bought many cheaper items over a lot of years, since I mostly buy
pretty much on price. Nearly all these things have worked fine for
many, many years.

As for the alleged 20% failure rate in the first year of use for cheap
stuff posited by another poster? Fantasy. People have to give one year
warranties these days, and they just won't stock things that are big
trouble for them re returns.

Ross


On Tue, 14 Dec 2004 21:14:25 GMT, "jeff"
wrote:

It's very common for cheaper TVs to have a CRT like this. It's
basically just a standard CRT with extra glass to make the outside
flat. The thicker glass makes the picture look worse and the set
heavier, but people want flat screens... Even CRTs that appear
totally flat are actually slightly curved on the inside.

Andy Cuffe

Thanks for the reply. This isn't a standard CRT. It certainly is flatter
than a standard CRT, but it's just that it appears to be curved slightly on
the inside and have subtle imperfections in the shape. I guess for $99
(regularly $139) I should not be complaining.

By the way, how long can I reasonably expect this TV to last, that is, how
many thousand hours is the expected lifespan of an inexpensive flat-screen
CRT TV manufactured by Funai?

Thanks,

J.



(To get email address ROT 13)

"jeff" wrote in message
newsCrvd.2514$ag6.274@trndny07...
Sears happened to have a sale on the Sylvania 20" flat screens for $99 so
I
bought it today. I guess, for that price, if should ever break out of
warranty I could always simply get another inexpensive TV instead of
repairing it.

Maybe I'm being very picky, but even though the TV is supposed to be a
flat
screen, to me, it seems like the actual screen of the CRT tube itself,
inside the TV, may be very slightly curved, (not truly flat) and they
compensated for it by adjusting the picture geometry. Granted it could
just
my imagination or perhaps I'm being very nit-picky. Can't complain at all
for $99 though.

By the way, is there any way I can adjust the picture geometry, etc.
myself?
In other words, is there a special key combination when powering up the
unit
that would allow me access to special extra setup commands, etc.

Thanks,

J.


Melbourne, Australia - couple of months ago I bought a 21" "Sonwa" - Chinese
brand X - dead flat screen, stereo sound, s-video input. Perfect picture.
Bought it for $199, but now being sold for $150. That's $150 Australian.
That's probably less than $100 US.

Good for consumers, but bad for workers in the electronic and computer
industries. I would say it is also bad for our economies...

Henry.

Melbourne, Australia - couple of months ago I bought a 21" "Sonwa" -
Chinese
brand X - dead flat screen, stereo sound, s-video input. Perfect picture.
Bought it for $199, but now being sold for $150. That's $150 Australian.
That's probably less than $100 US.

Good for consumers, but bad for workers in the electronic and computer
industries. I would say it is also bad for our economies...

And if the devices fail quickly and get thrown in a land fill it may be bad
for the environment.

What made you sell the "brand x" after only a couple of months?

J.

"jeff" wrote in message
news:QU%vd.9603$t44.2712@trndny03...
Melbourne, Australia - couple of months ago I bought a 21" "Sonwa" -
Chinese
brand X - dead flat screen, stereo sound, s-video input. Perfect picture.
Bought it for $199, but now being sold for $150. That's $150 Australian.
That's probably less than $100 US.

Good for consumers, but bad for workers in the electronic and computer
industries. I would say it is also bad for our economies...

And if the devices fail quickly and get thrown in a land fill it may be
bad
for the environment.

What made you sell the "brand x" after only a couple of months?

J.



I think he meant they've dropped to $150 in stores, not that he's selling
his.

"RMD" wrote in message
...
Jeff,

According to "Choice", who collect figures on failure rates of various
appliances, there is usually hardly any difference in the failure
rates for cheaper versus dearer items. Typically 98% of dearer items
may be trouble free in the first year versus 96-7% for cheaper items.
Since the price differential may be huge, you would often be better
buying two of the cheap ones!

I've bought many cheaper items over a lot of years, since I mostly buy
pretty much on price. Nearly all these things have worked fine for
many, many years.

As for the alleged 20% failure rate in the first year of use for cheap
stuff posited by another poster? Fantasy. People have to give one year
warranties these days, and they just won't stock things that are big
trouble for them re returns.

Ross

That was based on my own experience, we've purchased a large number (several
hundred) TV's and VCR's over the last few years where I work, and while
they're quite heavily used, quite a few of them, likely closer to 10% did
fail early on. They had warrantees but the problem is they make you pay
return shipping so in the end people usually just junk it and buy a new one
rather than search for a suitable shipping container, pay to send it back,
and then wait for the replacement.

On Tuesday, 14 Dec 2004 15:06:24 -500, "Asimov"
wrote:



Andy, how is the colour affected by the extra time the beam has to
travel at the edges compared to the center? Is there a compensation
for this and does it even need to be corrected for?

A*s*i*m*o*v


It's not affected at all. Geometry and convergence are big problems,
but the yoke takes care of most of that. Of course on these cheap
flat CRTs it's not an issue because they are as curved as a regular
CRT on the inside.
Andy Cuffe

It's not affected at all. Geometry and convergence are big problems,
but the yoke takes care of most of that. Of course on these cheap
flat CRTs it's not an issue because they are as curved as a regular
CRT on the inside.

As best I can tell by looking closely from the outside, the CRT appears to
be *almost* flat but I do agree it seems to have a *slight* curve. In other
words, as best I can tell, the surface of the CRT does not seem to be nearly
as curved as a "classic" standard CRT.

J.

"jeff" wrote in message
news:Tt8wd.109$5m3.45@trndny04...
It's not affected at all. Geometry and convergence are big problems,
but the yoke takes care of most of that. Of course on these cheap
flat CRTs it's not an issue because they are as curved as a regular
CRT on the inside.

As best I can tell by looking closely from the outside, the CRT appears to
be *almost* flat but I do agree it seems to have a *slight* curve. In
other
words, as best I can tell, the surface of the CRT does not seem to be
nearly
as curved as a "classic" standard CRT.

J.



It really depends on the tube, some are quite flat, some are just as curved
as any other modern CRT. They're not as bad as the old 80's tubes, but more
like the "reduced curvature" ones that came out in the mid-late 80's, which
for some reason were advertised as "flat, square" tubes regardless of the
fact that they were obviously not flat.