10 replies to this topic

[Simon]

This rant is slightly different from the norm, as it's rather positive.

When we moved into our new house in August 1999 I was tasked with purchasing all the electrical equipment (TV, Video, Microwave, hi-fi, washer, fridge, freezer etc.) As a bloke I obviously approached the task with relish and ensured that we got all the best brands at the cheapest prices available to man.

The television was a Phillips 28'' Wide screen Dolby surround sound home cinema system (very appealing don't you think?). It was £650 but I'm sure you'll agree for that specification it was well worth it. Unfortunately after the warranty ran out (to the day) it started to go on the blink, which we lived with for almost 18 months, until earlier this week it died.

Obviously I felt personally hurt by the sudden departure as I had purchased it and assured the wife that it was bullet proof. Anyway to get to the point I telephoned a reputable local TV repair shop to see if the TV could be resurrected? As soon as I mentioned Phillips 28'' wide-screen he stopped me and said "your tubes gone mate, it's a well know fault with em."

He told me that it could be fixed for about £300 but said I should try Asda.

Wow! Was he right - Asda you are the new gods of electrical retailing?Yesterday I purchased a Pacific (Asda own brand) silver 28'' wide-screen TV for £229, absolutely unbelievable. Believe me I've never been so excited about parting with my money. I expected something to go wrong (like it usually does) but it had automatic tuning and the picture is crystal clear.

As the TV came with a FREE 3 year warranty I don't care now if something does go wrong as within the warranty they will replace it or out of warranty it will go to landfill and be replaced with maybe an even cheaper version.

Asda take a bow?
:D :D :D :P

Simon

[mikelond]

Sounds like the perfect excuse to buy a new television to me.........
Although I am still perfectly happy with the five year old Daewoo (is there anything they don't make?), I am sure that a quick comparison between the Asda set and the 'named' brands in the Argos catalogue will be sufficient to pursuade the better half to agree to the change.
I must admit to walking straight past the electrical goods etc in the local Tescos simply because of the thought that they may be 'lower' quality than the big boys, but on reflection, the likes of Samsung and LG were once perceived as such, and look at the quality of their latest gear!
On the subject of Asdas, I was pleasantly surprised by the price and quality of their suits - enough to end up spending £44.00 in getting a perfect fit off the peg suit that, if it lasts a year (which it looks very much as if it will) will owe me virtually nothing! In fact, I may go back for a couple more this weekend, now the thought has entered my head. As the wife is away this weekend, a silver 28" widescreen tv may fall into the trolley as well - you know how poorly stacked some of these displays can be..............................
Thanks for the tip - if I dont contribute to the forum for the next couple of weeks, it may be as a result of broken fingers or widescreen lacerations.
I'll keep a look out for cheap video recorders on your behalf, Simon, as you will eventually get to the 'cramming- the-slot-full-of-marmite-sandwiches' phase with your next-born (all the best, by the way) :D

Mike

[mikelond]

Marmite................no ther's a discussion forum in itself! :D

[Simon]

Wow! Was he right - Asda you are the new gods of electrical retailing? Yesterday I purchased a Pacific (Asda own brand) silver 28'' wide-screen TV for £229, absolutely unbelievable. Believe me I've never been so excited about parting with my money. I expected something to go wrong (like it usually does) but it had automatic tuning and the picture is crystal clear.

As the TV came with a FREE 3 year warranty I don't care now if something does go wrong as within the warranty they will replace it or out of warranty it will go to landfill and be replaced with maybe an even cheaper version.

The Pacific has started whistling like a kettle on first switch on of the day. I don't know whether it's the cold mornings that are affecting it, but the whistling is quite loud and goes on for about 10 minutes or so…very disconcerting. I'm probably gonna try some WD-40, as it seems to cure most things and I can't see a choke on the bugger.

Price isn't everything.

Simon

[Charles.C]

Dear Simon,
I was doing a bit of searching and I came across this oldie -

Wow! Was he right - Asda you are the new gods of electrical retailing?Yesterday I purchased a Pacific (Asda own brand) silver 28'' wide-screen TV for £229, absolutely unbelievable. Believe me I've never been so excited about parting with my money. I expected something to go wrong (like it usually does) but it had automatic tuning and the picture is crystal clear.

As the TV came with a FREE 3 year warranty I don't care now if something does go wrong as within the warranty they will replace it or out of warranty it will go to landfill and be replaced with maybe an even cheaper version.

Would appear the 3 year guarantee has just expired. Is it still going or have you long ago upgraded as a reflection of upward mobility ? (Presumably you have stopped using VCR's also, I am currently looking at the digital recorder market but the confusion over standards, BlueRay etc, is horribly reminiscent of the Betamax fiasco except with a higher price tag for the unlucky).

Rgds / Charles.C

[Simon]

Would appear the 3 year guarantee has just expired. Is it still going or have you long ago upgraded as a reflection of upward mobility ? (Presumably you have stopped using VCR's also, I am currently looking at the digital recorder market but the confusion over standards, BlueRay etc, is horribly reminiscent of the Betamax fiasco except with a higher price tag for the unlucky).

My how time flies when you're watching tele. Yes I still have him; I even dropped him screen face down when we were moving; nothing but a liltte scratch. He is very screen heavy; virtually dived onto the floor, a real tough guy. I have been thinking about replacing him now flat screen TV's have come down in price, they take up a lot less space and are much more sleek and stylish. The thing is I'm a bit frightened what the Pacific will do to me if I tell him it's over.

I have a dvd / video combo as I have loads of old videos. No idea what BlueRay is mate.

Simon

[Charles.C]

Dear Simon,

bluray -

http://electronics.h...com/blu-ray.htm

Rgd / Charles.C

[Simon]

Thanks for enlightening me Charles, I think I'm getting old.

Have a great week.

Simon

[MartLgn]

the confusion over standards, BlueRay etc, is horribly reminiscent of the Betamax fiasco except with a higher price tag for the unlucky.

I agree Charles, the cost of a bad choice on this one would be horrendous but is the occupational hazzard of the early adopter, whilst the Blu-ray- HD-DVD camps battle it out I have a £60 recorder form Asda that records to all the current RW+/- formats ( none of which I pretend to understand) and has been going strong for 12 months now, I have seen them online recently for £35!!!

It seems that Sony can't help themselves developing achingly desirable pieces of kit but then saddling them with their own format that is totally incompatible with the oposition, Beta is the prime example but they did it with their early mp3 players also.

[Charles.C]

Dear Martin,

Amazing prices indeed though I suspect you don't get too much, on-board, hard drive capacity thrown in ?
I would like to transfer around 200 odd video casette tapes lovingly accumulated and now slowly losing integrity. Would still mean a lot of discs of course but a reduction of 10x already looks so tempting. Mind you, the other real stroke of genius for me would be if someone offered a high speed casette reader to transfer the AV contents onwards. Have seen such for audio units but never for video, by eye the video head is spinning at a fearsome speed already I guess.

I agree about Sony. At least with Beta they could argue it was in the name of creating a new technology but subsequently it has surely been for marketing purposes only. To borrow from Franco - e grande gnocca!

Rgds / Charles.C

[Simon]

I would like to transfer around 200 odd video casette tapes lovingly accumulated and now slowly losing integrity. Would still mean a lot of discs of course but a reduction of 10x already looks so tempting. Mind you, the other real stroke of genius for me would be if someone offered a high speed casette reader to transfer the AV contents onwards. Have seen such for audio units but never for video, by eye the video head is spinning at a fearsome speed already I guess.

We have around 200 videos, currently boxed and stored in the loft, destined never to see the light of day again. It would be great to have them on disc or better indexed on a hard drive. Then to the hundreds of old 45's and 33 and a 1/3's. How I miss them, technology eh?

Maybe Asda do something.

Simon