Let's Build a Better LCD TV

[mmartell]

Or

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love my Television. 😁

I bet we all have gripes about how current tv's are designed and built. Lets shame the manufacturers and put some improvements in a single thread. I'll start with two.

First having to remove the LCD screen to get to the LEDs is a giant pain in the ass. They should have easier access. What if they were in tracks and could be slid out the side of the tv through an access hole after removing the back ? For that matter the LEDs themselves could be preassembled with a lens and a mounting device like a snap so you could pop them on and off in seconds. Imagine changing out all the LEDs in your backlit tv with just a screwdriver ?

Secondly, I think things would be easier forgot all techs and hobbyists if the manufacturer would use all the same screws or at least as few groupings of different screws as possible.

So what's your gripe/improvement ?

[chrismurphy]

Re: Let's Build a Better LCD TV

Nope ... made to a price ,people wont pay extra just for the repairer's convenience

[diif]

Re: Let's Build a Better LCD TV

Agreed, removable LEDs would increase the cost and selling "Easy to fix TVs" doesn't inspire confidence in the reliability.

[zomi]

Re: Let's Build a Better LCD TV

Also would result in thicker sets.
esp as now they are using the back on the lcd panel as the actual back of the tv on alot of sets.

Best would be just to increase the led count by 3 or 5
would make it better, and the leds are pennies anyway.
its silly why they use so few...

And just limit the current.

[nomoresonys]

Re: Let's Build a Better LCD TV

Or

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love my Television. ��

I bet we all have gripes about how current tv's are designed and built. Lets shame the manufacturers and put some improvements in a single thread. I'll start with two.

First having to remove the LCD screen to get to the LEDs is a giant pain in the ass. They should have easier access. What if they were in tracks and could be slid out the side of the tv through an access hole after removing the back ? For that matter the LEDs themselves could be preassembled with a lens and a mounting device like a snap so you could pop them on and off in seconds. Imagine changing out all the LEDs in your backlit tv with just a screwdriver ?

Secondly, I think things would be easier forgot all techs and hobbyists if the manufacturer would use all the same screws or at least as few groupings of different screws as possible.

So what's your gripe/improvement ?

+1, Great idea about sliding them out the side, wonder why they don't make any like that, especially since led lit tvs are much less reliable than any tvs they have come out with in the last 50 years.

[dick_barton]

Re: Let's Build a Better LCD TV

There was a set on here recently where the led strips were easily individually removable from the rear of the panel which made an led, led strip replacement so much easier. If only all the makers could allow access to the leds this way.

[nomoresonys]

Re: Let's Build a Better LCD TV

There was a set on here recently where the led strips were easily individually removable from the rear of the panel which made an led, led strip replacement so much easier. If only all the makers could allow access to the leds this way.

+1, Cool I would buy one of those.

[mmartell]

Re: Let's Build a Better LCD TV

I guess I meant this as an exercise from OUR perspective though some things carry over to the consumer. I know many people consider cost paramount but some common failures for which people throw their sets into a landfill might reconsider if they knew for a few dollars more they could have enjoyed their set longer because it was repairable.

So I'll add another - replaceable cof's

[mmartell]

Re: Let's Build a Better LCD TV

Also would result in thicker sets.
esp as now they are using the back on the lcd panel as the actual back of the tv on alot of sets.

Best would be just to increase the led count by 3 or 5
would make it better, and the leds are pennies anyway.
its silly why they use so few...

And just limit the current.

Backlit sets need overhead already for the lenses - I bet someone could design a replaceable unit without adding height.

And there's no reason Edge lit panels can't be engineered to make those replaceable as well at least as a single strip replacement.

Your second point is of course valid as a means of extending functionality for current designs.

But it's just a thought experiment, don't be so serious

[tom66]

Re: Let's Build a Better LCD TV

Replace the screen with an AMOLED screen and build it to last... done.

LCDs, etc. actually aren't that unreliable. I see many less faulty ones now. They've started becoming commodity items that last longer because a lot of the faults that afflicted earlier sets have been figured out.

This happens a lot in consumer electronics. Early models are reliable because they are overbuilt. Then they strip away parts and figure out how to make them cheaper. But they go too far and they start breaking. Then they fix them again, and since manufacturers find it hard to compete on features, they start competing on reliability and brand instead.

[freakaftr8]

Re: Let's Build a Better LCD TV

Replace the screen with an AMOLED screen and build it to last... done.

LCDs, etc. actually aren't that unreliable. I see many less faulty ones now. They've started becoming commodity items that last longer because a lot of the faults that afflicted earlier sets have been figured out.

This happens a lot in consumer electronics. Early models are reliable because they are overbuilt. Then they strip away parts and figure out how to make them cheaper. But they go too far and they start breaking. Then they fix them again, and since manufacturers find it hard to compete on features, they start competing on reliability and brand instead.

But of course the manufacturers will never tell you that they've gone too far before they stepped up reliability again

[petehall347]

Re: Let's Build a Better LCD TV

i invented a self repair tv . then one with user replaceable cards .like plug in replacements . then thought this is no use as they are all throwaway items and most folk want a new one when old one breaks down . they done it again and sold the crap first then made newer ones more desirable the industry is always far ahead of us consumers .

[freakaftr8]

Re: Let's Build a Better LCD TV

Motorola Quasar did this year's ago with thier works in a drawer. Cool concept, but replacing Vacuum tubes were still hard to get to when you have a fixed position fly back transformer and the HV rectifier and shunt regulator was still in a cage. Also the bad thing was, kids could open the drawer and if that happened, that would be bad...