Why are you all having problems?

All electronics goes bang sometime. Usually it's the main power supply, which is under great stress. There should be fuses after this that stop any surges that might damage the circuitboards. Micro-circuitry usually lasts well if it gets past a month's use, any faults here usually faulty soldering that fails after a few heating/cooling cycles, but soldering techniques today, running the circuit-board through a molten tin bath, is VERY good and reliable. Overheating kills micro-processors and other stressed components. My experience is that some manufacturers are beginning to design-in heat-traps that will kill the unit a year after the guarantee is invalid. I found SWEATING processors in my LG DVD/VCR. This should never happen. Out with the drill and bored big holes under the front left of the unit and at the top of the back, to let physics do the cooling. My TEAC CD is still perfect after 15 years, as it's simple solid design ment it never got hot, the laser transport just needed a clean and lube to be perfect again, stopping the occasional 'hunting'. But modern processors, especially DVD's, seem to run very hot. PC's use alloy fins and fans, why not DVD's? Intermittent, flickering pictures on DVD lasers 'hunting' for the track are usually bad connecting sockets, usually connecting several different circuitboard cards. Several cards overlapping each other can have such connector-sockets. Carefully press down on these sockets to ensure a good connection. The HDMI card on my LG cannot be screwed tight to the chassis as it then puts pressure on the 2 cards underneath, causing the sockets to prise apart after a month or two, causing bad pictures. My TV, a 10 year-old 21" Sony Trinitron CRT is perfect, has never given any trouble. There is nothing wrong with CRT's, very good technology. They went LCD because they wanted to sell bigger, wider TV's, and CRT's couldn't get bigger than 32". Here too, check the ventilation as it does get hot. The picture is as good as HDTV. I use top-class cables to the DVD and cable-box, Swedish Supra, spend the money, it's worth it! The original cables were cheap crap, the difference in the picture was amazing! We use SCART in Europe. The Trinitron has only SCART. I'm NOT going to buy an LCD TV until the Sony can't be used anymore. Ten years is a good life for electronics, but if you keep it tuned and dust-free and cool 15-20 years is not impossible. But you must accept it if something goes wrong earlier, like life, it does happen. Good advise: NEVER buy other than a well-known name product. They do lots of research, develop ideas, spend money on the production process, and test components. The no-brand names cut corners, use mainland Communist Chinese electronics etc. Buy and be aware!

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