most reliable ?

[just-some-guy]

my wife is disabled. she watches a LOT of tv. she wants a new set. probably in the 32" range. she has a 26" now. so i figure a 32" would be about the same height, just wider. max picture quality is not an issue, nor are "bells & whistles".
reliablity is MAX !!! so, what is the most reliable format these days ? any brands to stay away from ? $$$ is a factor. anything else ?

tia

btw, i did search. but on dialup, its hard to find info.

 

[Midcow2]

Lcd -tv

my wife is disabled. she watches a LOT of tv. she wants a new set. probably in the 32" range. she has a 26" now. so i figure a 32" would be about the same height, just wider. max picture quality is not an issue, nor are "bells & whistles".
reliablity is MAX !!! so, what is the most reliable format these days ? any brands to stay away from ? $$$ is a factor. anything else ?

tia

btw, i did search. but on dialup, its hard to find info.

Just-some-guy.

First sorry your wife is disabled. I have had a Vizio 37" LCD TV for about two years and I am very pleased with the reliaiblity as well as the PQ; it is less expensive than Sony or Panasonic The sound from the Tv is good, but I run it through HT. As far as relailbity over the years I have had excellent luck with Sony TVs. The top of the line Sony XBR is excellent, but expensive. Another good brand is Panasonic.

Considering $$$ is a factor I would get a Vizio or Panasonic LCD TV.

Good Luck!

MidCow2

P.S.- The downsides of LCD is that it doesn't show deep blacks and earlier versions blurred in fast motion because of refresh speed; this is not much of an issue now, I have never noticed a problem with mine.

 

[strube]

I and many people I know have had great luck with Samsung LCD televisions. Amazon sells a very wide range of them (usually with free shipping). I have always found them to be very reliable. I also have two Samsung computer monitors.

Depending on your altitude you may want to just be sure you stay away from plasma. The price may be right but they tend to overheat and fail at higher altitudes very quickly, plus they hum like crazy. I find LCD to be the most reliable of the three latest (DLP/LCD/Plasma) technologies.

Also, I have not heard good things about the low end LG's.

 

[Hi Ho]

Most of the major brands are quite reliable. I have always had excellent experiences with Panasonic. The only Panasonic product I ever had a bit of trouble with was a microwave that was repaired under warranty and hasn't exhibited any problems since. Panasonic is consistently the top performer in the Consumer Reports reliability charts followed closely by Pioneer.

I work in the industry and while the business I work for represents a tiny sample I can certainly say there are some trends as far as brand reliability goes. The store I work for is also a service station for most major brands and we handle service work for many extended warranty companies, Best Buy, Circuit City, Frys, and others.

Samsung is a brand I thought very highly of before I had my current job. While Samsung LCDs are better than their plasmas they definitely have a higher defect rate than most other brands. The other thing about Samsung is that there support is not very good and they are frustrating to deal with from a service center perspective. I have lost quite a bit of enthusiasm for Samsung. I would never buy a Plasma from them after seeing the number of problems they exhibit. I don't know if we've sold even one in the past 2.5 years that hasn't needed service within the first year. That's not good. Their LCDs aren't as bad but quite a few of them have needed service as well.

Sony is, overall, quite reliable. I have seen a few defective sets but the defect rate isn't bad.

Pioneer is virtually perfect. I can remember two Pioneer sets that have needed service in the 2.5 years I've been on the job.

Panasonic is even better. I can only recall one Panasonic flat panel requiring service.

Mitsubishi is a set I would not buy myself unless I was getting a good extended warranty to go with it. Their DLP sets have a very high defect rate within the first year. I can't count the number of Mits DLPs that have been in service multiple times in one year and beyond. Their LCD sets have had issues as well, mainly with defective panels which are produced by who? Samsung.

If you're looking for a good 32" set then I would look into the Panasonic TC-32LX85.

 

[just-some-guy]

Panasonic TC-32LX85. just ordered it.

 

[just-some-guy]

the set is installed (just sitting on a dresser in bedroom, lol). its a nice set. so nice, for the price, that i just went to newwegg to order one for myself. guess what. the price went up $50. i thought prices on electronics were going down.... i'm not buyin yet.

 

[allargon]

Samsung is a brand I thought very highly of before I had my current job. While Samsung LCDs are better than their plasmas they definitely have a higher defect rate than most other brands. The other thing about Samsung is that there support is not very good and they are frustrating to deal with from a service center perspective. I have lost quite a bit of enthusiasm for Samsung. I would never buy a Plasma from them after seeing the number of problems they exhibit. I don't know if we've sold even one in the past 2.5 years that hasn't needed service within the first year. That's not good. Their LCDs aren't as bad but quite a few of them have needed service as well.

Sony is, overall, quite reliable. I have seen a few defective sets but the defect rate isn't bad.

Pioneer is virtually perfect. I can remember two Pioneer sets that have needed service in the 2.5 years I've been on the job.

Panasonic is even better. I can only recall one Panasonic flat panel requiring service.

Mitsubishi is a set I would not buy myself unless I was getting a good extended warranty to go with it. Their DLP sets have a very high defect rate within the first year. I can't count the number of Mits DLPs that have been in service multiple times in one year and beyond. Their LCD sets have had issues as well, mainly with defective panels which are produced by who? Samsung.

If you're looking for a good 32" set then I would look into the Panasonic TC-32LX85.

I do concur with the Pioneer recommendation. However, I have to say you've been lucky with your Sony rear projection sets. I've seen quite a few Sony's brought back to Fry's as well as read many a complaint on AVS about things breaking. Of course, they're not in the same league as Mitsubishi, Toshiba or Samsung, but they have issues, too. Pretty much all rear projection sets are known to be problematic.

Maybe the OP needs a few brands he/she should avoid:

Sceptre
Westinghouse
Polaroid
Ilo
Insignia (hit or miss)

I'm not so sure about the Vizio plasmas, but their LCD's if taken out of torch mode seem to be solid. The only plasmas I would definitely avoid are the ones from Hitachi--strange birds.

 

[just-some-guy]

i was looking at my wifes set. and i desided to not give up. googling found em at a place for less than she paid, $500 shipped. hopefully there will not be a problem, and it will be here this week.


i saw them talking about the samsung 73" dlp sets. and i was thinking about a 67". and i would get it, if i could sell my pioneer for a few bucks. but whats the chance of selling a nearly obsolete(sp) set.

 

[just-some-guy]

i was looking at my wifes set. and i desided to not give up. googling found em at a place for less than she paid, $500 shipped. hopefully there will not be a problem, and it will be here this week.


.

well, guess what. there is a PROBLEM. turns out i ordered it from one of the internets scam retailers. i found this out after ordering (dah).

 

[bandphan]

The price may be right but they hum like crazy. I find LCD to be the most reliable of the three latest (DLP/LCD/Plasma) technologies.

.

Hum like crazy? Most reliable? its comments like these along with burn in that keep uninformed people mis-informed.

 

[annunaki]

Depending on your altitude you may want to just be sure you stay away from plasma. The price may be right but they tend to overheat and fail at higher altitudes very quickly, plus they hum like crazy. I find LCD to be the most reliable of the three latest (DLP/LCD/Plasma) technologies.

That is odd considering that the last report I saw (I believe it was consumer reports) showed LCD with a 50% higher defect rate than plasma (though they were both fairly low):

Plasma: 2%
LCD: 4%
Projection televisions: 18%

 

[just-some-guy]

well. i ordered a toshiba 32" from newegg, $499 shipped, for myself. i hope i don't regret it.

 

[onlinegadgeteer]

The sound qaulity of Sony is good and it is more reliable.

 

[just-some-guy]

i don't buy sony anything. i have had soooo many sony electronics break down on me.

oh, and panasonic. i like their stuff. but i now have a tv that the remove stopped working, and its not the remove. and the channel buttons on the set works weird. its has been replaced.

 

[just-some-guy]

i now have the toshiba. nice set.

 

[ClevelandPlasma]

Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, and Toshiba make great products.

 

[jostenmeat]

Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, and Toshiba make great products.

Welcome Cleveland. I've read posts of yours at AVS, and definitely learned a thing or two. Anything from Mack warranty stuff, to comparative feature sets of displays. Anyhoo, nice to have you here.