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How Often Have You Replaced Your TV In The Last 10 Years?

Throughout my childhood, I remember visiting my grandparents and watching their Zenith TV (which used a Space Command ultrasonic remote, the source of the term "clicker"). Back then, most folks kept their TV for 15 or 20 years before replacing it, usually when the old one finally gave up the ghost. And there was little need to—TV technology didn't evolve much in those days. Once color television was well established, TVs were much the same from one year to the next.

Now, of course, the replacement rate for TVs is much faster, because performance improves, screens get bigger, and cool new features are added while prices drop every year. This leads me to ask, how often have you replaced your main TV in the last 10 years? Has your pace of replacement increased over that time?

Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.

How Often Have You Replaced Your TV In The Last 10 Years?
Never
11% (406 votes)
Once
42% (1527 votes)
2 or 3 times
36% (1313 votes)
4 or 5 times
7% (247 votes)
More than 5 times
3% (105 votes)
Total votes: 3598

COMMENTS
Ovation123's picture

Twice. Once to replace a stolen TV, once to upgrade the display in the HT. The latter was an HD PJ (the TV is now in the living room).

Sackrat's picture

Yes I am a AV guy. I had my first HDTV in 1998. However I have been slowly replacing older analog with digital ever since. Three months ago my 2001 Panasonic DLP HD quit so I replaced it also. So I replaced one HD tv with another plus five older analog in the last ten years. Once you go HD you cannot go back, right?

Mike_Mc's picture

I upgraded my 50" Pioneer Elite CRT rear projector, for a Mitsubishi 720P Diamond 62" DLP, I started having trouble after only four years,and was disapointed with the technology going bad so soon. I bought a 60" Pioneer Elite Kuro before they were gone, had it ISF calibrated, and am thrilled with the plasma.

kelsci's picture

A older cousin of mine had a space command Zenith 19 inch portable in the latter 1950s. It was wonderful. Thank god that we have remote controls for many things today. Imagine setting up a surround system without one yet during the quad era of the 70s I do not recall any of those units having remote controls; who thought about it.

Steve Caliendo's picture

I had a hand me down 27" RCA CRT for years until it died in 2005 (I think I dropped it while moving it) which led me into a whole new era of Home Theater bliss and I've never looked back. I replaced that RCA with a Samsung HLR5688W pedestal 1080p DLP which I loved until I heard Samsung was getting out of the DLP business so I quickly snatched up one of the remaining Samsung HL67A750 LED DLPs in 2007 and sold my "old" set for a great price. I've had the new set ISF calibrated twice and the picture is great. Although, if they ever do come out with a 67" or 70" 4K OLED, I may have to move my current set to another room. :-)

marsbarrow's picture

Had to replace a 46 inch DLP TV with an early model LCD and then a new LCD and then a 59 inch plasma, that my daughter broke that I replaced with insurance money (Panasonic 60 inch Plasma)...

Robert.J's picture

Well, there are things that we never think about much but maybe we should. I bet there are a lot of people who are replacing their TVs more frequently now. It actually seems like we are replacing a lot of things more frequently now.

ispeed's picture

i replaced a 25" crt with a 53" Sony rear projection then got rid of that when my son was old enough to try and destroy it and got a 42" Samsung plasma to hang on the wall , then we bought a house with a dedicated media room so i bought a Toshiba 72" DLP for that room , well after 3 years the Toshiba died (not just the bulb ) and after 5 years the Samsung plasma died , so i went and bought a 50" LG plasma at xmas for about $ 600.00 , the funny thing is that Sony rear projection i sold to my friend 9 years ago is still going strong , imho the build quality on any of the new sets built in the past 5 or 6 years is terrible regardless of the brand .

Oreo's picture

I upgraded from a 27" Magnavox SD set to a 42" Sony Wega 3LCD rear-pro in 2006. That set died before the lamp did in just over 3 years, so I replaced it with a 50" Panasonic Viera plasma in 2009. Hopefully it will work for many years to come. We still have a 19" Magnavox that my wife got in 1995 that doesn't have any problems, and the 27" is still going strong as well.

Except for a certain model of cheap headphones, I plan to never buy another Sony product.

applebyter's picture

I'll echo the comment about build quality. I replaced a TV last year because it had died after about 6 years. Otherwise I would have hung on to it for a while longer.

Scottyb09's picture

27" Sony Wega -> used 40" Toshiba 16x9 TheaterWide standard def -> 42" 720p Panasonic plasma (600U model) -> 50" 1080p Panasonic plasma (85U model) -> 60" Elite LED which I plan to keep for a long, long time :)

Albert71292's picture

Bought a 46" Sony Bravia LCD about 3 years ago after my 13 year old 27" Sony Trinitron CRT finally bit the dust. I never replace a television until one dies.

JustinGN's picture

Let's see...

I started with an old Sony 20" CRT TV, a hand me down from my parents. It had one set of Composite inputs, and worked well for me for ~10 years (my Mom bought it in the 80s). When it came time for my own TV of my choosing, I settled on a Samsung 26" CRT HDTV with 1080i -and- 720p input capability over Component or HDCP-DVI. I wanted to use it as a PC monitor too, but it never worked quite right due to overscan. Still, for gaming and progressive scan DVDs, it was phenomenal and still one of my favorite sets (shame I sold it).

After that, I entered the flat panel era with a 720p Westinghouse LCD set, purchased for $1500 in 200...5? 2006? I then replaced it with a 1080p Sharp Aquos LC-46D64U in 2007 (Black Friday), and gave the Westinghouse to my good friends in Clarion, PA, where it recently gave up the ghost (Total lifespan: seven years). The Sharp Aquos was replaced with a Panasonic 50" G20 Plasma when I got my own place, also $1500, and the Sharp now sits with my Dad, where I installed it into my Mom's furniture consoles so the screen stretches edge to edge - it looks like a pretty swanky projection setup, and he loves it.

The Panasonic will likely be my main set for years to come, since Active Shutter 3D gives me a host of health issues, and passive 3D isn't quite there yet for my tastes. I may get another, bigger TV to replace it in the living room, but I'll definitely hang onto it for my bedroom or Office. I may not replace it at all, though - having grown up in a family with a TV in every room, I've found that I'm perfectly content with the solitary set in the Living Room.

steve1971's picture

Replaced my tv once due to it being stolen. I do not plan on replacing my current tv anytime soon.

Tedd's picture

First upgrade was to go hdtv. Gained smaller footprint with going DLP, 720P, and an hdmi input.

Next upgrade was driven by a desire to go 1080P and the need for more hdmi inputs. Went a with a LCD flat panel and wall mount.

emmaorabelle's picture

Overall, while the replacement rate for TVs has increased in recent years, it still varies widely among consumers based on their individual needs and preferences. tunnel rush

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