Tenant wants 3 year old TV replaced.. any TV experts here?

I got this email from a tenant who rents a condo from me in Bangkok. I have 2 x TV's in the condo.. a 55" LCD in the lounge and a 32" LCD in the bedroom. I bought both Samsung's brand new 3 years ago. The TV's are situated back to back with a wall dividing the lounge and bedroom so they share the same coaxial cable which runs through the dividing wall.

The troubleshooting he did with the laptop doesn't sound the best way to isolate the problem because I think it would have the same signal if he connected the laptop to the TV's HDMI outlet... or should it have a different signal?

How would you reply:

1. tell him to investigate further by swapping the TV's around to determine if it's a problem with the TV or the connection (bit of a hassle).

2. give him 8,000 baht (AU$270) to buy a replacement.. he pays 31,000 baht a month rent (probably the easiest solution).

3. spend AU$300 on a return flight and sort it out myself. I can bring back the old TV if it needs replacing and give it to the old guy who might be able to fix it (I get to visit Nana plaza while I'm there).

dex,

I'm currently staying in xxx Condo in which I believe you're the owner of.

The TV in the bedroom has recently had white lines down most of the picture which makes watching it almost impossible, I've plugged my laptop in via an HDMI cable and the result was the same, this suggests to me that its not a problem with loose cables, signal etc but with the TV itself. Therefore, if you agree, I would like to have this replaced at some point in the near future.

I did contact the property manager office earlier on but, to my surprise, I was told to contact you directly myself. I was under the impression that they were supposed to act as the middle man on almost anything to do with the condo.

Best regards,

Adam
 
I think his trouble shooting seems reasonable. If his laptop output gives the same symptoms then it would rule out poor reception, antenna cables etc. plus if the other TV is working fine it would suggest the same.

I imagine a repairman in Thailand would be inexpensive. Can your property manager send one over to investigate further?
 
I am reading this differently to you guys :confused:

If the TV has reception problems and when he plugs in his laptop it also has problems then to me, the problem would be in the signal feed.

I would ask him to plug his laptop into both TV sockets and compare the signals. If it works well in one but has poor signal in the other then I would be looking at the socket, maybe a wire/join is loose in the socket ?
 
The troubleshooting was correct. He rightly found out by isolation that the issue is with the TV rather than reception.
If I am not mistaken there are dead pixels on the TV, which is common with the LCDs (and Samsung). Repairing this will be a costly affair, I believe.
If you have an extended warranty, this is the time to use it.
I dont see any benefit in you flying there. Just buy a new cheap flat screen and put it.
 
I'm with Macca on this one.

If the tenant has replicated the same fault on his laptop using the same cable it would indicate a cable/signal fault not a hardware problem.

A further test would be to connect the 'faulty' tv to an internal aerial/rabbits ears. This will clearly identify whether the tv has a fault or the connection.
 
I'm with Macca on this one.

If the tenant has replicated the same fault on his laptop using the same cable it would indicate a cable/signal fault not a hardware problem.

A further test would be to connect the 'faulty' tv to an internal aerial/rabbits ears. This will clearly identify whether the tv has a fault or the connection.

It cannot be the same cable! He is using HDMI to connect the laptop to the TV isolating the TV with the antenna/signal-reception. So, its not the aerial antenna. Its the TV screen.
 
I read it that the TV has a fault on the screen.

When he plugs his laptop into the TV via the HDMI cable the fault is still there on the TV screen. I imagine he is playing a video on his laptop and using the TV to watch it via the HDMI.

Therefore it must be in the TV
 
Thanks guys, I also found his troubleshooting method a bit unclear so I asked him to do as Macca suggested and get him to plug his laptop into the other TV

This is his reply:

Hi dex,

Thanks for the reply, I'll try to explain the process I've gone through a little better.

- Using the Coaxial cable/antenna input and TV Input selected on the TV menu the initial problem became apparent a few days ago i.e. the white vertical lines previously described.

- I plugged my laptop in via the HDMI port and HDMI input selected on the TV menu and the same problem exists.

- This morning I plugged a USB flash drive in, again with USB input selected, and tried to watch a movie, again with the same picture problems.

My understanding is that, essentially, they are three different and independent inputs all from different sources. The chances of all three inputs developing the exact same problem at the same time have to be minimal (the source can also be verified simply by viewing the picture on my laptop and the picture on the TV combined with the fact that the HDMI input and USB input work on the other TV with no problems) ,therefore, the problem has to exist somewhere downstream of the inputs i.e. the TV itself.

Let me know if you would like me to try anything else.

Best regards,

Adam
 
Trust me. I had a 55 inch Samsung LCD and it had the exact same issues. Samsung replaced it with a new model without any questions.
 
Hi Dex,

I guess you will have to trust him but if you would like him to test it further I would be assuring him you are happy to fix it, you just want to fix the right bit.

He sounds like a decent tenant :)
 
I got this email from a tenant who rents a condo from me in Bangkok. I have 2 x TV's in the condo.. a 55" LCD in the lounge and a 32" LCD in the bedroom. I bought both Samsung's brand new 3 years ago. The TV's are situated back to back with a wall dividing the lounge and bedroom so they share the same coaxial cable which runs through the dividing wall.

The troubleshooting he did with the laptop doesn't sound the best way to isolate the problem because I think it would have the same signal if he connected the laptop to the TV's HDMI outlet... or should it have a different signal?

How would you reply:

1. tell him to investigate further by swapping the TV's around to determine if it's a problem with the TV or the connection (bit of a hassle).

2. give him 8,000 baht (AU$270) to buy a replacement.. he pays 31,000 baht a month rent (probably the easiest solution).

3. spend AU$300 on a return flight and sort it out myself. I can bring back the old TV if it needs replacing and give it to the old guy who might be able to fix it (I get to visit Nana plaza while I'm there).

Not an expert here, so disclaimer (take my words with a grain of salt and not responsible if inaccurate!)....but it sounds like a mainboard failure. One of the IC is not working properly or moisture has killed it - not surprised if in boiler Thailand....

Cost of repair in Aust is $120 for a mainboard and perhaps $100 for labour...all up approx. $220....81% or so of a new TV in Thailand, bearing in mind AUD Labour and parts costs!!! Better off with a new TV....

Even if you decide to fix it, other things might start to go wrong e.g. Powerboard, LED might get dead pixels down track....I reckon sell it for parts as salvage value and buy a new TV...
 
Thanks guys, yes he's a good tenant especially as he works offshore and only stays there every second month. He's off playing golf in Hua Hin for a few days so I told him to go buy another one when he gets back and deduct it from the rent. This was an LCD that died but I believe the new ones are LED though not sure about the difference in quality.
 
Thanks guys, yes he's a good tenant especially as he works offshore and only stays there every second month. He's off playing golf in Hua Hin for a few days so I told him to go buy another one when he gets back and deduct it from the rent. This was an LCD that died but I believe the new ones are LED though not sure about the difference in quality.

Same tech, only diff being the backlights....
 
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