scored a 55" plasma for $25 bucks!! questions...

[stereorob]

its or i guess its a early plasma, no hdmi inputs regular tuner all metal and glass weighs about 1,000,000 pounds. the brand is Sole. -i have never heard of them and i really cant find anything about this thing anyware on the web. there is no model number on it. all i know is that it the picture is beautiful but i cant get any sound out of it. im guessing its a somewhat early late 90s model. can anyone tell me about this thing???

[Eric H]

Cool score.
Does it even have speakers in it? It might be a Monitor only.

Most sets now have the option to turn the speakers off if you want to use an external system, it might require the remote to turn them back on if that's the case.

[mstaton]

It may have separate speaker plug ins, the spring loaded type or just an output for an amplifier. As Eric said, probably just a monitor. HDMI was mot available till 2004 and hardly any sets had them. By 2006, most larger high end sets had HDMI. Does it use BNC connecters or RCA or a combo? Does it have a tuner? More than likely made by Hitachi, Samsung or LG.

[stereorob]

it has a regular co-ax hook up and rgb hook up. thats it. 55" plasma by sole.

[Jeffhs]

It could be that this particular TV was originally meant for industrial or educational use and is set up to use an external sound system. Can you see jacks on a panel on the back, side, etc. marked "audio", "L/R" or similar? If so, you can try hooking up the audio outputs from one set of these jacks to your stereo system, if you have one. It seems to me that you have already found the video in/out jacks, as you mention RGB video inputs in your post; the audio in/out jacks will probably be in the same area, if this set has them.

BTW, how did you get your plasma TV in your house if it weighs so much? Where will you put it when you resolve the audio issues? If you plan to put it in your living room, I hope you have one the size of the state of Texas, since you're going to need it (and sturdy floors) if the TV is as big as and weighs as much as you say.

I cannot believe you can't find any information on this TV. There has to be a model number somewhere, either on the cabinet or inside it, since some company made the unit. Have you tried doing a Google search for "Sole 55 inch plasma television" on the Internet? I would think there would be at least some info on this TV online. There is a chance, however, your set may be an "orphan", made by a little-known company for which little or no info is available; I think this one might fall squarely into that category.

The other thing I'd do is to look inside the set and note whether or not there are any recognizable markings or brand names on major components or anywhere on the chassis. As I said, some electronics firm, somewhere in the world, made this TV, but finding out just who the manufacturer was will obviously be a challenge.

Good luck. Your set is basically working if you say you can get a good picture. If worse comes to worst with the sound issues, I'd just connect the set to an external audio amplifier and speakers and use it that way. Many people with TVs as big or bigger (!) than yours quite often connect the set to an external stereo system (or specially-designed A/V receiver) and have had good results. CBS television advertises many of their prime-time programs as being presented not only in HD, but 5.1-channel surround sound as well. This is overkill, IMHO, for most programs on television these days (who wants to listen to the CBS Evening News, for example, in 5.1-channel surround sound?), but the signal is there to be sent to a compatible stereo system, if desired.

[jr_tech]

Perhaps? :

http://www.soletv.com/productos.htm

not affiliated,
jr

[old_tv_nut]

By "regular tuner" do you mean digital or analog? What sources are you watching?
Looking at your pictures, can't tell if there are any speakers, so maybe it is intended for an external audio system only.

[zenithfan1]

You can't beat the picture and size for the price! That's for sure. Nice score! I've never heard of a "Sole" either. How do you even say it? Sole like in a shoe?? OR is it "So-lay" like maybe french? I dunno......just english and japanese here ;3

[stereorob]

its pronounced so-lay. it has no speakers in it at all, but id dose have a audio amp in it it has spring loaded speaker clips on it. its very very very heavy. it took 4 strong guys with everything we had to get it in the house. it has rgb hook ups and co-ax hook ups but no hdmi hookups, it just has a anolouge tuner.

[stereorob]

Originally Posted by jr_tech

Perhaps? :

http://www.soletv.com/productos.htm

not affiliated,
jr

thats the company. but mine is 55in and they dont sell a 55in anymore. maybe i can finally figure out what the hell this thing is..

[vinyldavid]

Can you post pics of the connections?

There are converter boxes that'll take in component and output RGBHV (also known as VGA).

[Eric H]

Wonder why it's so heavy? My 50 " set only weighs about 80 lbs, I can lift it myself if I have to.

Early stuff is usually built like a tank and if it's professional gear even more so.

[stereorob]

Originally Posted by Eric H

Wonder why it's so heavy? My 50 " set only weighs about 80 lbs, I can lift it myself if I have to.

Early stuff is usually built like a tank and if it's professional gear even more so.

its gotta be a early model. like i said 200+ pounds. it has to be!

[Eric H]

I'd like to see it hooked up and displaying a picture!

[CoogarXR]

Many of the early plasmas were monitors only. I run a 1998 Pioneer 50" plasma, it only has VGA, component, and composite. No tuner, and no speakers. It is also about 275lbs.