Replacing A Television
My 32 inch Sony television is now past its best, as it’s been on Radio 5 so much, the phosphor on the plasma screen has been damaged. I originally bought it in John lewis in Cambridge and when I moved, I mounted it on a John Lewis swing mount, so I could watch it in both my living room and the kitchen, when I’m cooking. The system works well and I can link it into any related device with ease to watch films on my laptop or BBC iPlayer.
So it would seem logical to upgrade it with something more modern, that had more than one HDMI port, an LED screen and perhaps some built-in smart technology. My watching habits are fairly simple, in that I never record programs for later viewing, but I do use iPlayer regularly. With the exception of sport, I never watch a channel with adverts. If I could pay a subscription for advert free television, I might watch programs like Downton Abbey. Incidentally, I’ve never seen an episode.
My reasoning suggested that a modern Sony of a maximum of 40 inches from John Lewis, that fitted the current bracket might be a good purchase.
But firstly, the Sony I thought I should buy, would appear to be difficult to fit on a swing mount. Apparently, it needs to go flat on the wall. So I suppose you can’t use it in buildings like lighthouses or windmills.
I then settled on a Samsung, but the John Lewis assistant, then told me, it would have to have a new bracket if they fitted it, despite the fact that the new bracket would be the same as my old one. I know it will be mounted on a very solid brick wall and the new television will be a lot lighter than the old television, but drilling a new set of holes is probably not a good idea.
I did buy the Samsung and I’ll fit it myself.
It does strike me though, that with new technology coming in regularly, many people will want to replace a television and will get rather annoyed, when they find they either can’t fit the obvious one of their favourite make or they need an unnecessary new bracket.
The Anonymous Widower 
I find it odd tht you need a new bracket, as televisions for some years have used standard fixing holes. If your old or new televisions have non-standard bracket fixings it may be possible to get an adapter plate.
Comment by John Wright | October 23, 2013 |
The Sony is designed, so it goes flat on the wall and doesn’t fit any swivel bracket and the Samsung can use the old one, but John Lewis have to fit a new bracket if they mount the set for you.
So Sony should get a new design team and John Lewis a new rule book. I think the assistant was rather bemused, as after seeing a picture of my brick wall and knowing the weights of the two televisions, he felt that there wouldn’t be a problem.
But then rules is rules!
Comment by AnonW | October 23, 2013 |