BENQ LCD Issue

[acarey]

My best buddy asked me to recommend a HD Panel for him awhile back, I sent him an email with units recommended from Audioholic members.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived to setup his system after the sales person talked him into purchasing a BENQ senseye DCDi DV3750.

I kept my thoughts to myself as I could see he was excited with his new purchase and I didn't want to rain on his parade. Although I did comment that I didn't know BENQ made consumer TV's, since I'd only seen computer LCD's in the past.

The horror story starts here, 11 months in and the Panel makes a load pop & fizzle then dies. He takes it back to the store (well known & not a box shop) in Southern Ontario and they replace it.

Now 13 months later, pop & fizzle repeats itself, the well known store say's it's out of warranty and BENQ is no longer in that market. He's SOL.

Can anyone give me some pointers on the best path to explore getting this system repaired (without forking over $100 to a repair shop to even look at it).

My opinion is that these units have power supply issues, is it even worth the repair attempt.

Thanks in advance !!

 

[TLS Guy]

If it is junk before the repair, it will be junk after the repair. By the way, was that unit hung over a fireplace by any chance?

 

[stratman]

Your friend is better off saving money, listening to you and buying a new unit. Several members have had issues trying to repair LCD panels, in the end its cheaper to buy a new one. I had a Westinghouse unit given to me by my father in law, it suffered from a bad supply board, it almost cost as much to repair than buying new, I scrapped it, never looked back. Next time tell him to listen you and read Audioholics.

 

[acarey]

If it is junk before the repair, it will be junk after the repair. By the way, was that unit hung over a fireplace by any chance?

Beside it

The search begins then, round two. A $1,500 to $2,000 panel should have more than a one year warranty......

 

[TLS Guy]

Beside it

The search begins then, round two. A $1,500 to $2,000 panel should have more than a one year warranty......

All flat panel TVs should be kept well away from fireplaces.

 

[Cygnus]

All flat panel TVs should be kept well away from fireplaces.

Why is that? My parents have a big (56"?) Plasma above their fireplace in their bedroom and it hasn't had any problems for two-three years now.

 

[TLS Guy]

Why is that? My parents have a big (56"?) Plasma above their fireplace in their bedroom and it hasn't had any problems for two-three years now.

Flat panel TVs generate significant heat in small spaces, especially plasmas. Being near, and especially over fireplaces, causes overheating of critical components. There have been safety alerts on this because of fires. Even if nothing catastrophic happens, it will shorten life, as all solid state components have a heat current survival curve.

If a TV is over or near a fireplace, the fireplace should not be in use while the TV is on. The best advice is to keep them well away from TVs and other sources of heat.