My wife and I are not looking for a new TV. We are fine with the one we have. But she works at Amazon and employees sell and give away a lot of things, they have their own Craigslist-like email chain.
A guy is offering a free 53" Pioneer 530HDi rear projection TV that is in good condition. We told him we want it, but are waiting to hear back.
Thing is, I don't know anything about these kinds of TVs. I have heard rumors about the screens burning out easily, and I don't want to inherit something that will soon become a broken giant brick in my house that I can't get rid of because it is too big to throw away and everyone wants flatscreens these days.
So, any info on this thing? Are they reliable? Would you take a free one?
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
You should not, in the modern era, buy a rear projection TV. But if you get one for free and have space for it, it will not disappoint you for another couple of years. At some point, you will wind up throwing it away or giving it to someone else on Craigslist, but that may not be the end of the world.
Posted by stilesbn (Member # 11809) on :
In my experience, they are very large and take up a lot of room. The one's I've had are annoying in the day time because the screen usually isn't bright when daylight is shining through a window on it. It's not a glare problem necessarily it's like trying to watch a projector without turning off the lights.
I've never had any problems with them working though.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
If it was free and I had the space, I'd certainly take it, but I wouldn't pay for it.
Posted by Stone_Wolf_ (Member # 8299) on :
quote:Originally posted by stilesbn: In my experience, they are very large and take up a lot of room. The one's I've had are annoying in the day time because the screen usually isn't bright when daylight is shining through a window on it. It's not a glare problem necessarily it's like trying to watch a projector without turning off the lights.
I've never had any problems with them working though.
100% agree...very dim, huge, but work.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
My brother had a rear-projection TV about that size, though his was an older standard-definition model. The thing weighed a ton and really dominated the room. His TV eventually got a cracked mirror down in the corner, and of course it wasn't worth it to fix it. Calibrating them can also be kind of a pain. He tried for a while to sell it, and I think he ended up giving it away because no one wanted it. I wouldn't take a free one, but that's just me.
Posted by Phillyn (Member # 12597) on :
Ditto to Jon Boy's comment. We had one for years worked great, excellent picture but when one of the projectors packed up it wasn't worth fixing so we gave it to the repairman for $50. Was a Sony.
Posted by Dogbreath (Member # 11879) on :
My sister had one for a number of years - I think she might actually still have it. The thing was a pain in the ass to move, and I moved her something like 8 times. They're not light, and not fun to carry up stairs.
It worked well enough, though. I have no complaints about the picture quality.