Insignia NS-19D310NA19 Rescue
 

I found this baby Insignia (19 inch) at the local recycling bin. It was not even TWO years old when it died. Took it home and it had an open LED.
But what really bothered me was the sticker on the back about recycling this set.

TV's are throwaway, especially at that size. Probably sold for $89.

Adjust for inflation a 12" B&W from the 80's.

All Best Buy house brands have that same sticker on the back. I don't think they care about recycling as much as they want to keep the buyers in the loop at Best Buy one way or the other.

John

I have the 32" version of this TV, bought new about a year, maybe two, ago (I'm not sure exactly when I bought it). It still works as well as it did when it was new. I also have an Insignia 19" flat screen, bought perhaps ten years ago; it too still works very well, although when I bought my 32" set I put the smaller one in storage, for use if and/or when the 32" set quits.

As well as the 32" set works, however, I don't expect it to quit for quite a while, and of course I intend to keep it as long as it does work. I am almost convinced many, if not most flat screen TVs quit not just from component or display screen failures (except perhaps from defective parts in brand-new sets); rather, they wind up in the trash because they are abused (knocked off a stand, dropped, something is thrown at the screen, causing said screen to crack, etc). The last can and probably has happened when, in a fit of anger, a football fan throws something at the screen, or kids do wrong-headed things such as swinging baseball bats or throwing balls (!) in front of or near the set. Many people simply do not realize how fragile flat screen TVs are; they are not like the old CRT sets were, where the worst that could possibly happen might be the safety glass in front of the tube shatters or breaks. With a flat screen HDTV, once the screen cracks or breaks, the TV is junk; I do not think the display screen can be replaced.

The comment I read stating that today's HDTVs are throwaways when they go bad, or are for any reason abused, is right on the button. As was mentioned in a previous post, these TVs are cheap enough these days (as one poster said, some sets are selling for well under $100) that they simply are not worth repairing when they do quit or malfunction. I see a day coming (if such a day hasn't already) when TV repair shops will have no choice but to go out of business, the reason, of course, being what I just mentioned: flat screen TVs simply are not worth fixing once the warranty expires. There could be exceptions, such as a $1000 flat screen with a 90-inch (!) picture, but for most HDTVs with screens in the 19-30" range, reparing them is just not cost-effective. I would not be the least bit surprised if many TV shops might actually refuse to even look at a flat screen of that size, for just that reason.

The new sets are repairable if you DIY, but labor from a shop will easily exceed the cost of new for most smaller and lower end sets. If you're handy, boards can be swapped, LED strips are also easily changed. Parts are readily available on eBay from sets that got knocked over or a kid tossed something at the screen.

The funny thing is that I've gotten 2 HDTV sets (Flat Panel sets) that were "junk sets" and they had a really simple fix to get them going, one of them was a Samsung 32" Plasma Smart TV from 2015 that the set wouldn't turn on anymore (I got it from a friend of mine) and all that was wrong with it was one of the boards was bad in it (the main board was bad, because the main control chip had some cold solder joint issues which was supposedly able to be fixed by reflowing the solder under the chip with a heat gun, but that didn't work for me) so I ordered a replacement board on eBay for $20 and free shipping, popped the new board in and the TV has been working fine since (I forgot to mention it was a 3D Smart TV.)

My housemate now has the 32" Plasma and is using it for his computer, and that's because I found at the local recycling center a 55" LED LCD Smart TV from 2016 that all that was wrong with it was that the smart software was no longer updateable but it still worked otherwise, I just use a Roku Smart TV device with it and its just as good as having the orginal Smart TV software.

I'm glad you were able to get that 55" TV working again simply by using a Roku device. Roku states in its ads for its players that their devices can turn almost any flat-screen HDTV into a "smart" TV, for a fraction of the cost of a new TV. I use a Roku device (Roku 2) with my own Insignia 32" HDTV; it worked immediately after connecting it to my TV. I like it a lot.

Roku really has a winner in its devices; I hope they stay around awhile, as these devices, as I said, can convert almost any flat-panel HDTV to a "smart" TV for much, much less than it would cost to replace an existing TV. One good feature of the Roku devices is they will keep going for years, as long as the software can be updated; in fact, I read somewhere not too long ago that there is no need to upgrade a Roku device if it still works, unless you eventually find some features becoming unusable by virtue of being out of date.

My best advice is to keep your Roku device as long as it works, replacing or updating it only if or when the day comes when the device will not work at all anymore, or if some functions which formerly operated well now no longer work (for example, I have read that some features, such as HBO Plus, et al. are failing on some older Rokus, particularly very old ones such as the first or even some 2nd-generation devices). Again, as long as your Roku device works well for you, keep it and use it until it either quits or becomes unusable by virtue of outdated software (the player's automatic update feature will work only so long and will simply refuse to update the software after a certain date).

BTW, one thing I like quite a bit about Roku devices is they eliminate the need for a TV antenna in any reception area (even fringe and deep-fringe areas) as long as the user has an Internet connection, since they do not use RF signals. I am especially grateful for this because I live in a near-fringe TV reception area where one of the stations, the CBS affiliate in Cleveland (which was sold and moved from channel 8 to channel 19 over a decade ago), does not reach; several other local stations, most of them on UHF channels, do not reach this area well or at all either, for that reason. However, the Roku device eliminates the need for any kind of antenna, which suits me to a T since I cannot use any kind of outdoor TV antenna here (lease restrictions).

As I said above, I am sold on Roku devices. I do hope they are around a long time, as they can and do solve TV viewers' reception problems, especially in weak-signal or outright fringe areas. I sometimes wonder if these devices might eventually put the TV antenna manufacturers out of business. Since most folks have Internet connections and computers these days, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that day eventually arrives, even if it takes a while.

Sony and probably others did offer free disposal without strings.
I would bet BB has strings like you must buy a new one from them.
IIRC with Sony you called an 800 ## & got an RA it also HAD to be a Sony.
They gave you a list of places you could drop it off in the area. I thinks there were 2 0r 3 with in 20 miles of me. Not tied with a new set sale.

73 Zeno:smoke:
LFOD !