How are Apex television sets?

[Nocturnal]

Comp USA has a 20" Apex TV on sale for $99.99 out the door. Does anyone know the quality on these suckers? I currently have a 13" generic brand TV that I play games and watch DVDs on.

I'm sure it's a huge upgrade, but I'm wondering if these things go bad kinda fast?

 

[Praetor]

They're actually pretty decent from what I've heard and seen. Well worth the $99.99 you'll pay for it, IMO.

 

[PliotronX]

I got a 24 incher last summer and it's great. A couple of minor annoyances are that when performing a degauss (hitting the switch to power down then back up a while later) the set forgets the time so I never set it anymore (I've got enough clocks ), and the input setting doesn't stick when going into standby so I have to hit video input four times whenever bringing it out of standby to set it for the S-video input (used with the satellite receiver and PS2). But when I turn it on it's usually used for a good amount of time to make that one forgivable.

 

[radioouman]

These are not stereo TVs, if that makes any difference to you. Although they certainly look like it!

 

[bunker]

I'm staring at my 20" I got about a month ago from Circuit City for $100. Not bad at all.

As was mentioned though, it's not stereo even though it has speakers on both sides.

 

[Nocturnal]

My current TV is non-stereo as well. It has ONE speaker on the right hand side.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Most TVs will at least last 3 years before they break down. If you divide the price by 3, look at it as an asset that expires and then compare it to a nicer model that might last 5-7 years (like hitachi). That's how I usually pick my equipment and I've not had many failure issues versus my expenditures. (yeah...I've been drinking...that whole thing I just said was B.S.)

 

[Flashram]

Anyone heard anything about the Apex 51"?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I've got the 24" one right now. I haven't had it long, but it's been great so far. One of the main reasons I got it was so I could use it for my computer for any movies I wanted to watch. It has an S-video in which was what I was looking for. For $159, it was a great deal, as most tvs at that price don't come with S-video and are usually less than 24".

I realize that you're considering the 20" which doesn't come with S-video, but I'd imagine the quality is quite similar between the two. Like I said, so far it's been quite good. There's a few things that are odd about it (like if you turn it off with the button on the tv rather than the remote, the remote won't be able to turn it back on unless you turn it on with the button and off with the remote). But other than that, no problems.

I'm a poor college student who was looking for something on a budget, and I think I made a really good choice with this one. If it lasts another 3 years until I'm out of college, I'll be quite impressed. At this point, the lifespan is my only worry about the tv.

 

[Bullhonkie]

We have a 27" Apex flatscreen that was picked up over the holidays. Hasn't given us any trouble at all. Ours has left/right speakers and there's stereo along with fake surround modes. It was a pretty good find for under $200.

 

[HannibalX]

Most TVs will at least last 3 years before they break down.

Damn I bought my 27 inch Sharp TV back in 1993 and its still goin! I lost the remote though!

 

[rh71]

Apex 27" for $150 during the Black Friday Circuit City sales of 2002. Been great for a bedroom tv... like I said in a previous Apex thread... the thing is really heavy, but I don't plan on moving it again...

 

[timmyG]

Originally posted by: Bullhonkie
We have a 27" Apex flatscreen that was picked up over the holidays. Hasn't given us any trouble at all. Ours has left/right speakers and there's stereo along with fake surround modes. It was a pretty good find for under $200.

my friend has that set also. i am pretty impressed by it when i go over to his house but of course i have all 5+ year old curvy screen Tvs.

 

[Nocturnal]

Thanks I'm definately gonna go to Comp USA after work and check it out. I'm on a budget as well but watching a 13"er sucks.

 

[jagr10]

if it's for your room then it's ok to go with a cheap company like apex/general electric/sansui/ etc. If it's a main tv though then get a quality one. Even for my room i went for a samsung 27" 4 years ago because consumer reports gave it a good rating for 27" models.

 

[ChinamanatNCSU]

Originally posted by: rh71
Apex 27" for $150 during the Black Friday Circuit City sales of 2002. Been great for a bedroom tv... like I said in a previous Apex thread... the thing is really heavy, but I don't plan on moving it again...

That's the same thing I have. I don't know what's with the strange speakers on the side, but I can't complain about the picture, especially for that price

 

[kmac1914]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I've got the 24" one right now. I haven't had it long, but it's been great so far. One of the main reasons I got it was so I could use it for my computer for any movies I wanted to watch. It has an S-video in which was what I was looking for. For $159, it was a great deal, as most tvs at that price don't come with S-video and are usually less than 24".

I realize that you're considering the 20" which doesn't come with S-video, but I'd imagine the quality is quite similar between the two. Like I said, so far it's been quite good. There's a few things that are odd about it (like if you turn it off with the button on the tv rather than the remote, the remote won't be able to turn it back on unless you turn it on with the button and off with the remote). But other than that, no problems.

I'm a poor college student who was looking for something on a budget, and I think I made a really good choice with this one. If it lasts another 3 years until I'm out of college, I'll be quite impressed. At this point, the lifespan is my only worry about the tv.

I have almost that exact same television and I'm in the exact same situation ( college student), although I managed to get mine for 135...but like everyone else has said in this thread, it's a damn decent TV for the price. You should go for it.

 

[JCobra14]

For god sakes stay away from cheap sh!t consumer electronics. Its true most new sets will need their first service around the 3 year mark, a good quality set (like Toshiba, JVC, Sony ETC (for 20")) can be easily repaired for $40-60, giving you plenty of more life out of the set.

A set like an APEX will likely be headed for the trash as soon as you start seeing problems. Poor parts availability. Also the lower cost sets simply mean lower QUALITY. Cheaper, lower tolerance components. Less of an osmium coating will be applied to the CRT's cathodes, meaning you will see loss of brightness/clarity much sooner than on a quality TV set.

If you HAVE to have a cheap TV soon, consider the APEX. If you want the best bang for your buck, stay away from the cheapies.. Even RCA/Zenith/Magnavox (middle of the line sets) will offer you a better life than a no-name cheapie.


<-- In-home television service tech

 

[JCobra14]

A good friend of mine works for a consumer electronics retail store.. they see a significant amount of RMA's on these cheaper sets due to SIGNIFICANT loss of picture quality within warranty... These are not component failues, they simply make the CRT's so cheap, they dont last. T

The CRT is by far the biggest expense for TV manufacturers.

I own a 32" JVC tv set.. its 10 years old, it has had 1 major repair, and been into my shop for alignment one time.. It looks every bit as good as any new TV i've seen. (Not hi-def).


You get what you pay for.