Television & Film
Buy and sell television and film in Costa Rica.
A Costa Rican living room rarely runs on the screen alone. Behind it there is often a Roku or Fire TV Stick bringing an older set’s apps back to life, on the shelf below a disc player for the films no streaming service carries, and in more and more homes a projector that turns a white wall into the screen for La Sele’s next match. Those are the pieces that change hands, new and pre-owned, along with the wall brackets, projector screens and replacement remotes that go with them. Nearly all of it fits in a car boot and can be tested in minutes before any money moves.
Televisions, disc players and projectors:
the screen comes first for most people, and flat panels of every size sit under televisions. Discs have a shelf of their own in Blu-ray and DVD players. Around them goes the kit that makes a set more useful: a projector for a picture bigger than any panel you could afford, a bracket to get the screen off the furniture, and the universal remote that replaces the one the dog chewed. A soundbar to sit under the TV goes in audio.
A Roku, Fire TV Stick or Google TV device against the apps built into the TV:
a stick is the cheapest way to revive a set whose own apps are no longer supported. All three carry the main services, so the accounts you already use decide most of it, and two details matter more than the brand. A 4K stick only pays off on a 4K screen with an HDMI port that handles HDR, and one that switches the TV on and controls its volume over HDMI-CEC saves you juggling two remotes.
Projectors and the lumen figure on the box:
the cheapest models stretch it furthest. Mini projectors advertise thousands of lumens and 4K, but measured in ANSI lumens, the standard figure, many manage a few hundred, and “supports 1080p” means the projector accepts that signal, not that its panel shows it. For a lit living room or a big picture, look for a 3LCD or DLP projector from Epson, BenQ or Optoma that states its ANSI lumens and native resolution. In a dark room a smooth matte white wall does the job of a screen. Price follows the light. An unbranded mini projector sells new for around ₡45,000 to ₡60,000, while a 1080p model from a known brand starts near ₡330,000. Streaming sticks cost about ₡25,000 new, which caps what a used one fetches, since it is always weighed against a sealed box. A brand-name projector holds its value better, though the hours left on its lamp count for more than its age.
Lamp hours and dust blotches on a used projector:
the menu tells most of the story. A lamp-based projector logs how long its lamp has run; if that is close to the rated life in the manual, find out what a replacement lamp costs before agreeing a figure. Laser and LED models have no lamp to wear out. Throw a plain white image, then a black one. Blotches on an LCD projector are dust inside the optics, and a yellow or green cast means ageing panels; fixed white or black dots on a DLP point to a failing chip that is rarely worth repairing. Leave it running a while to catch a whining fan or a heat shutdown. A used stick should be the 4K version if sold as one, come with its original voice remote and be signed out of the last owner’s accounts.
Provider decoders and boxes sold with every channel:
both are worth walking past. The decoder a cable or fibre company installs is lent with the contract, and Costa Rican providers expect it back when the service is cancelled, so one offered on its own belongs to the company and will not work on anyone else’s account. Android boxes promising every channel free depend on unlicensed lists that tend to vanish overnight.
Putting a projector, stick or wall bracket up for sale:
photograph the projector’s lamp-hours screen and a picture thrown on a wall, and give the brand, model and the ANSI lumen figure from the manual rather than the box. For a bracket, state the VESA pattern and the largest screen it is rated to hold, which is what decides whether it fits the buyer’s TV, and bag every bolt and spacer. Someone driving in from Cartago or Cañas to collect a projector will want to watch it fill a wall in a dark room, so draw the curtains and have it warmed up before they knock.