Check out this article before buying a new Plasma or LCD TV

[kozak]

http://www.hdguru.com/

Flat panel TV bargains abound these days. With prices dropping 30%-40% from 2006 to 2007 (confirmed this week by LG US CEO Michael Ahn) one can easily be tempted by the leader pricing of the “new brands” (called tier two and tier three by the consumer electronics industry) that undercut top panel maker prices by hundreds of dollars.

What the enticing, price driven TV commercials and their dealers don’t tell you is that Westinghouse, Polaroid and other tier two and three set makers add costly charges during the one year warranty period and buyers may incur substantial service charges after their warranties expire. In fact, two companies surveyed don’t support service at all after the one-year warranty expires!

Name Brand HDTV Service

All the top name brands including Panasonic, Sony, Hitachi Samsung, Philips, LG, Mitsubishi, Sharp and Toshiba etc. have in-home factory authorized warranty service for their larger size TVs (usually 32” and up). Out of warranty service is no problem. All the major name brand TV companies have vast parts supplies and a nationwide network of factory authorized servicers. The latest trend, started by Panasonic is “concierge” service. If a Panasonic plasma is taken out of the home for service, Panasonic will provide a loaner plasma TV until the set is returned. This extra service is free; set purchasers only need to register with Panasonic.

Bottom line: the top tier TV companies invest in the future, spending collectively many tens of millions of dollars to keep their customers coming back to them. The “new brands” look for the sale today and do not have policies that will retain customers. With better warranties and service, the top brands have an incentive to build higher quality more reliable HDTVs.

[Lososaurus]

We have a Westinghouse at work, looks great, has never given us a problem and was easy on the company wallet.

[beingbobbyorr]

Getting these things serviced is such a logistical hassle that if I had it to do over again, I'd have stuck with a model & size whose 2- or 3-year replacement cost won't give me pangs of regret.

BTW: can someone repeat the the rule on how far away you should sit vs. the LCD/plasma display size? (paging SirJW) I've poked around http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/ but could not find it.

[psychopuck]

I think it's 1.5 times the diagonal width.

[SuxBeingU]

thats sounds like a shill for the big box retailers trying to scare the innocent comsumer. if its that cheap just throw it away after the 1st year if you have a problem with it adn get another. How many issues are there with TVs? very few. Not to mention most retailers offer extended warranties

[Fisch]

You get what you pay for.

[lagwagon0]

Originally Posted by SuxBeingU

thats sounds like a shill for the big box retailers trying to scare the innocent comsumer. if its that cheap just throw it away after the 1st year if you have a problem with it adn get another. How many issues are there with TVs? very few. Not to mention most retailers offer extended warranties

Absolutely concur, feels like whining due to some simple good for the consumer competition. If the bigger companies dislike the lower prices then do something about it to increase the customer base.

[zandterman]

I work for a repair parts distributor that deals with many of the brands listed. Turns out, if you have a problem with any of these outta the warranty period, you're gonna be hurting. Plus, what most of these warranties don't tell you is that they pay for the parts, but often not for labor.

Warranty repairs are generally a headache, but out of warranty is often not worth fixing based on the cost. Off brands are worse though. You'll be lucky if you ever get a part. For example, a particular Polaroid part integral to functioning of a popular unit has had over 100 on backorder with us all summer. That's assuming you can figure out the problem or the correct part. Service info on off brands is slim, and often, there is none provided at all.

I am sure my viewpoint is skewed as I only deal with the problems, but there's enough problems on both sides that neither has the answer. Panasonic's Concierge idea sounds like it has a bit of merit though. As much as I hate the idea of a $1000 TV failing, I also hate the idea of waiting 3+ months to have a $4000 TV fixed. Maybe Panasonic's idea will catch on to other high end manufacturers and solve that issue.