When You Buy A New TV Do You Keep It On Its Factory Setting?
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
March 5, 2010 3:51pm CST
Hello Lotters! Personally, I would never, ever buy a new television without "messing with it" once it arrived at the house. Why? Because we are all different and have varied tastes in how a telly should look and sound. That's my theory anyway!
My Mum has a new Sony HD Ready TV, a 32" version and very nice it is too. However, I don't think it sounds as good as her old CRT (even plugged into her Sky+ Digibox) that had amazing Nicam Surround Sound emitting from it. I had to mess with her new telly for ages before the sound even came close to her CRT.
My in-laws have the Panasonic equivalent to Mum's HDTV, also a very nice set BUT the difference with their television is...they have kept it on the factory setting and both the picture AND sound are awful. I cannot imagine why they do this. Is it laziness? Do they like it sounding and looking like a much cheaper set? Every time I go round I'm dying to grab hold of the remote control and "get it right" for them but I haven't got the courage to ask them if I can have a play lol.
As for us. Don't ask! We've got an extremely old Toshiba and I wish it would break (nah, I don't really) but you know what I mean!
My in-laws have the Panasonic equivalent to Mum's HDTV, also a very nice set BUT the difference with their television is...they have kept it on the factory setting and both the picture AND sound are awful. I cannot imagine why they do this. Is it laziness? Do they like it sounding and looking like a much cheaper set? Every time I go round I'm dying to grab hold of the remote control and "get it right" for them but I haven't got the courage to ask them if I can have a play lol.
As for us. Don't ask! We've got an extremely old Toshiba and I wish it would break (nah, I don't really) but you know what I mean!1 person likes this
6 responses
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
6 Mar 10
I am a settings fiddler too.
I think older people sometimes worry about what might get broken if they change anything.
Our TV is made up of a huge monitor my husband was given by work, it has settings for displaying menus and stuff plus different connector sockets all up one side.
I had to find a cable so we could plug it into the digibox thingummy.
Then we have speakers that come out of the digibox too as the monitor is not a TV.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
6 Mar 10
Yes, you could be right about older people not wanting to break things. I remember when Mum first got her new TV and it was frustrating for her because I was 100 miles away and couldn't really help much. Dad tried to help out.. and to cut a long story short the reason why nothing was happening was that the DIGIBOX, not the television wasn't switched on. Haha!
1 person likes this
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
7 Mar 10
Ah! all these news bits and pieces and every one of them is something else to learn how to use.
@Mztlatina (19)
• United States
5 Mar 10
I rarely change anything on my TV after I buy it. I pretty much just leave it on the factory settings. The only time I will change the settings is if I do not like them.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
6 Mar 10
Well that's such a logical response my friend I cannot argue with it, good for you! Welcome to MyLot!
@MrKennedy (1978)
•
5 Mar 10
Whenever I get a new gadget or something, I like to tweak and modify any available settings and adjustments exactly to my liking
Some people absolutely fear touching the settings because they think that they will completely muck things up. Guess what? Fiddling with the settings won't damage your item
Some people absolutely fear touching the settings because they think that they will completely muck things up. Guess what? Fiddling with the settings won't damage your item@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
6 Mar 10
I totally agree with you. My in-laws had the cheek to say our telly (which is the same as their previous one) was "far too dull and not bright enough." Well, excuse me, at least the grass looks natural when the football is on and anything red doesn't make you want to put sunglasses on looking at it. I really felt like saying this at the time but had to bite my tongue! 
My in-laws had the cheek to say our telly (which is the same as their previous one) was "far too dull and not bright enough." Well, excuse me, at least the grass looks natural when the football is on and anything red doesn't make you want to put sunglasses on looking at it. I really felt like saying this at the time but had to bite my tongue! 
@kaylachan (69714)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
5 Mar 10
Sometimes I may adjust the video and audio settings, but we like how our new tv sounds. It didn't take my partner, George, long to get used to the new set. He complained about the size (it is a flat screen) But, after a day he didn't seem to notice the differance. We're saving up for a new one for the bedroom too. But, I normally don't change the settings unless George asks me to. (he's not very tech savy so I have to do everything technology-related).
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
6 Mar 10
Thanks for your response my friend. To be honest, I can never watch telly in a bedroom. For me at least it's a place to relax and sleep. There's no way I could watch something on television in bed then be able to fall asleep straight afterwards, my head would be whirring. It's the total opposite with music, however. Many times over the years I have listened to the radio in Sleep Mode and I find that more relaxing than watching telly, always have done. Mind you, I don't need either at the moment because I'm so tired all the time!
@udayrao2 (781)
• India
7 Mar 10
Normally not; but I see that I know everything reading the manual,before connecting and normally the company representative comes for installation here ( of late this is because of the stiff competition among TV manufacturers) - so that time I play or rather explore all the buttons and menus etc in his presence so there is no problem if it goes blank!!!
@MagicalBubbles (5103)
• Canada
5 Mar 10
Hello Janey!
My husband will play with the buttons and try everything he can possibly fiddle with. We have 3 tv's. A 57" in the living room, a 26" in the kitchen and the third one is also used as my pc monitor, its a 42" tv. We sometimes watch this one when we're eating instead of the smaller one. My pc is in the kitchen so I can do other things while working.
He's played with all 3 of them......oh I forgot to say theres another one in the garage, actually there are 2 side by side......not sure why as Im not the one to watch tv there haha!!
All of them have great sound and perfect image once he's fooled around with them. I did a few settings of my own on the 42" I use as pc monitor also so its not too bright.
I cant understand people who get a tv, plug it in and think its ready to look at. Not anymore Im afraid!!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
6 Mar 10
Oh my! 57" and you say that so matter-of-fact lol! There are people here who buy televisions that big..only one problem though..their houses aren't big enough to accommodate them! It's true! I'm amazed that your PC monitor (also a TV) is 42"! I'm gobsmacked! I thought Mum's telly was big at 32" and ours is a measly 26"! It's great that your hubby adjusts them all though. Good for him. Send him round to my in-laws 'cos they haven't got a clue haha!
