Changhong? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2015, 10:09:28 pm
content: Hi folks,I received an eBay deal in my mailbox... 40" LED 1080p LED for $285. I've fixed a Samsung and Philips TV recently, not impressed with them at all. Crappy power supplies. I have no interest in Changhong but wanted to know if you guys have any experience with them:http://deals.ebay.ca/5001881640_Changhong_40__Class_1080p_LED_HDTVSo are these the "Won Hung Lo" products that Dave rants about? According to Wikipedia, in 2004 Changhong made 90% of Chinese TV's that were exported to the USA:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChanghongI assume that has now changed. But since I don't recognize the name AT ALL, are they basically like a Foxconn making TV's that are branded by other companies? Anyone know what TV brands are being made by Changhong? My experience with my recent Philips repair I realized that Emerson, Magnavox and Philips, among others (Sylvania, Insignia, etc), are not made by those companies anymore and just branded with their name. Perhaps Changhong makes most of these.Thoughts anyone?

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2015, 10:19:27 pm
content: Please just stay away from them. They may seem like great deals but there is a reason they cost so little.The only Chinese company I've seen producing good TVs (well, OK ones) is AMTran. Vizio, JVC and others re-badge these TVs. They aren't too badly made. I have some complaints, but I have seen a lot worse. Their modern designs are fairly decent. They use LG panels in most of their sets which are pretty decent.Changhong I'm guessing produces some of those "715G-RoHS" boards I've seen popping up lately. Lots of issues with those due to bad BGA soldering and defective flash memory causing various issues. They will use bottom of the barrel panels, usually Samsung glass but bonded ICs in China with lots of issues due to heat.The company that made a lot of Philips/Magnavox/etc TVs is called Funai (a Japanese company) and their TVs are even more garbage. They use a 1980s self-oscillating power supply for all the power rails. This power supply is great fun to repair because any short or bad cap on the outptu will cause it to blow up a load of parts on the primary. They usually end up with dead diodes due to lack of proper cooling. The poor regulation actually damages the LCD panel because over time due to DC bias, the VCOM will drift leading to permanent image retention (here's a Funai with this fault:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/97/Emerson-McDonalds_CNN_Burn-In.jpg)It might sound like a cliche, but really, buying name brands here is best: Panasonic and LG are good recommendations. (Stay well away from Samsung until they sort out their panel sourcing issues. Complete lottery as to what you get with any TV.)A 40" LED-backlit LCD panel costs about $200-$220, how much do you think they can include for the other $65? Bear in mind: Power supply, main board, LED driver, remote control, packaging, shipping... Compromises will be made.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2015, 10:46:06 pm
content: I'm very surprised they are using the "Changhong" name. I thought they'd try to re-badge them or come up with a less Chinese-sounding name to try and distance the consumer mind from the poor build reputation. Then again, since I've never quite seen a "Changhong" TV anywhere before, they have no reputation in most consumer minds and people will be willing to try them out. I mean, Samsung had very little reputation when they first came out and they undercut and sold tons of sets before problems started cropping up and tarnished their reputation.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2015, 11:15:37 pm
content: Here in the U.S. Newegg sells Changhong TVs. The reviews there are generally good, but I don't think they've been available long enough for the durability to be known. My first LCD TV went bad back in November after almost exactly 8 years of use. I bought a Sanyo to replace it.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2015, 11:42:09 pm
content: I would avoid Samsung myself. Too many failures of the LCD panel and LED backlight compared to other manufacturers. Even very new TVs dying with panel faults.

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 12:10:24 am
content: QuoteChanghong was THE largest producer of CRT-based TV until may the late 1990s and early 2000s. They then jumped unfortunately into plasma TV when the market moved to LCD.Even today, they are one of the largest TV makers in the world.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 12:12:42 am
content: Isn't that Chungwha? They used to have a factory in Scotland for CRT.Chungwha produced one 46" 480p plasma panel, and announced plans for a 50" version but never released it.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 07:15:39 am
content: A 40 inch 1080p Westinghouse can be had for $250, probably a re-badge but I have one for over two years and it is still ticking, then again we don't watch much TV at home, usually we only turn it on when we are not home to play pandora for the dogs via a roku.It has VGA in with audio, composite in with audio, component in, and 3 HDMI in, one analog audio and 2 digital optical audio outs.LED back light and of course there is a bit of bleeding of light because at that price you can't expect a perfect back light but we can't hardly tell. Then again we only watch movies on it every now and then.So we turn it on at least 5 days a week for 4 to 5 hours while we both work, now that our kids are in college. But before it would be on 7 days a week for longer hours.Sound is not great and you have to aim the remote to the right spot, and most of the bad reviews complain about those two things and that the quality of video is inferior to their DLP TVs.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 09:56:21 am
content: Quote from: tom66 on February 12, 2015, 12:12:42 amChungwha is a Taiwanese company that used to be big in CRT production, but struggled with the transition to flat panels. They have nothing to do with Changhong.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 10:03:43 am
content: Quote from: dannyf on February 12, 2015, 12:10:24 amChanghong were everywhere in the late 90s. Their mismanaged transition to flat panel TVs, especially through the period where panel prices fell weekly, drove them into massive losses. They are coming back now, though, and you see their TVs in most shops once again.

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 10:19:07 am
content: I can't believe there is a company called "Changhong" - it's like the name that would be used in a semi-racist fashion on SNL.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 10:46:19 am
content: Quote from: george graves on February 12, 2015, 10:19:07 amIt means something like "long rainbow", which I suppose is a reasonable name for a company making colour displays.

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 11:03:20 am
content: Ah! Well you learn something every day.

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 12:06:50 pm
content: I'm still waiting for the flood of Chinese cars to hit the American shores. As it was predicted years ago. Nope. THe big 3 stepped up, and you can't compete in the market.

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 12:16:38 pm
content: Many experts predicted the Japanese' demise in the 1970s and 1980s too, with more confidence and more credential than you do. Look how those predictions fared?Just give it time and history will play out right in front of your eyes.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 01:08:24 pm
content: Reminds me of BTTF III:QuoteChina is gaining such traction in the market. My Rigol scope, and Lenovo laptop are good examples of quality products made and designed in China. But, at the same time, compare with Japan's rise in the 60s-70s. Wages have risen so much to make it uneconomical to make a lot of stuff there... China will have to be careful to avoid this.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 03:01:48 pm
content: Quote from: tom66 on February 11, 2015, 11:42:09 pmI'd stay away from anything labelled "smart" for a TV,especiallya Samsung:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31296188http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31424596

author: baljemmett
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 03:57:57 pm
content: Quote from: mojo-chan on February 12, 2015, 03:34:39 pmOr rather, they're owned by Tata - an Indian company. At least, that's what they reckonQuoteYou might be thinking of Nanjing (now part of SAIC), who bought what was left of MG Rover and continues to use the MG name - the Rover name reverted to Ford, who sold it (along with JLR) to Tata.

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 05:34:30 pm
content: QuoteWow!QuoteI think that's still in litigation as to if they can use the Rover name on cars.Either way, it is similar to the mess VW/BMW/Bentley were in a couple decades ago.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2015, 05:38:22 pm
content: Quote from: mojo-chan on February 12, 2015, 03:34:39 pmJaguar and Range Rover are owned by Tata (India). Volvo cars is owned by Geely (China). The old Rover cars business is owned by SAIC (China).