Disposable Flat panels???

[annunaki]

Thinking about purchasing that bargain LCD or Plasma? You may want to think again. Here is a great article on servicing procedures from www.hdguru.com

Your New Disposable Flat Panel HDTV

Updated Monday July 30, 2007-Now Includes Olevia HDTVs
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!

Polaroid’s HDTVs, which sell mainly through Circuit City, would seem to be bargain-priced compared to the “name brand” competitors. Polaroid’s 1080p 42” LCD Model number PLD 4241TLXB, for example, sells for $1149.99 at Circuit City, while Toshiba’s 42HL167 goes for $1699.99.

Read the full article here:
http://www.hdguru.com/?p=107

 

[gus6464]

Wow it's funny how you posted the article the next day after my Toshiba LCD broke. I've only had it for 2 months and I didn't get the Sears extended warranty but I found out that sears will still service it if you are within the 1 year manufacturer's warranty because they are an authorized service center so you don't have to deal with Toshiba at all.

The panel broke on it and it costs $3400 to get a new panel so they are just going to give me a return authorization and replace it with a brand new one. All I have to do is lug it back to store but it's not a problem since it's 5 mins. away.

I guess in the flat panel world the saying "you get what you pay for" holds true.

 

[annunaki]

I am surprised this article has not received more attention. I guess most people here already knew/assumed this. No issue.

 

[jcPanny]

Great warranty info.

Thanks for the warranty info.
I guess you get what you pay for.

I bough a budget Sceptre 32" LCD and also have one of their 20" PC monitors. Both are working great so far. At the time I got it, the 32" set was about half the price of the same size from Samsung. I also bought it from Costco so I could take advantage of their liberal return policy if necessary.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Another point of view

I'm reading this thread, and I keep thinking to myself - what happens when a JVC or Sharp unit breaks down out of the warranty window? Do these people someone get discounted service? No, you're going to pay out the rear end to get them fixed. Add that to the big price tag you just paid on that unit, and IMHO you're way behind as far as value is concerned.

When you buy a Vizio or Olevia, you usually pay about half what the big names cost. So if your no name (and they aren't no name anymore - Vizio is the leader in flat panel sales to date) flat panel dies, you can still purchase another one and be exactly where you would have been had you spend twice that on a more expensive brand.

I've got two Olevia's in the house, and haven't had one issue with either of them. Both units are ~ 3 years. The 37" was $699 and the 20" was $249. I'm thrilled with the picture on both. Because of the low price, I expected lousy customer service (which is true), and rolling the dice after a year of ownership. You know what? If you check repair histories on LCD units as a whole (consumer reports), or within a mfg., the less expensive brands aren't any higher than the premium priced units.

BTW, watched my first Blu ray movie on my Sony BD player last night on the 37" Olevia, and what a difference over standard DVD. I'm hooked, and can't wait to get my next 3 Blu ray movies from Blockbuster online.

 

[Duffinator]

I'm reading this thread, and I keep thinking to myself - what happens when a JVC or Sharp unit breaks down out of the warranty window? Do these people someone get discounted service? No, you're going to pay out the rear end to get them fixed. Add that to the big price tag you just paid on that unit, and IMHO you're way behind as far as value is concerned.

I'm with Buck on this. Any LCD or Plasma tv that has a panel break out of warranty goes straight into the dumpster regardless of brand name. This is nothing new and the same applies to LCD computer monitors. And is this any different than when a CRT went bad? I don't think so. CRT's are cheaper for sure but how many people that you know replaced a CRT in the past 20 years?

 

[MDS]

I'm with Buck on this. Any LCD or Plasma tv that has a panel break out of warranty goes straight into the dumpster regardless of brand name.

Good point. It is not cost effective to repair most electronics as the cost of repair will likley be about the same or only marginally less than buying a new one - especially if you've owned it for a year or two.

Unless it is high quality vintage gear that is more or less irreplaceable, just say no to repairs.

 

[Audioholics]

Can you tell we live in America?

 

[annunaki]

I'm reading this thread, and I keep thinking to myself - what happens when a JVC or Sharp unit breaks down out of the warranty window? Do these people someone get discounted service? No, you're going to pay out the rear end to get them fixed. Add that to the big price tag you just paid on that unit, and IMHO you're way behind as far as value is concerned.

When you buy a Vizio or Olevia, you usually pay about half what the big names cost. So if your no name (and they aren't no name anymore - Vizio is the leader in flat panel sales to date) flat panel dies, you can still purchase another one and be exactly where you would have been had you spend twice that on a more expensive brand.

I've got two Olevia's in the house, and haven't had one issue with either of them. Both units are ~ 3 years. The 37" was $699 and the 20" was $249. I'm thrilled with the picture on both. Because of the low price, I expected lousy customer service (which is true), and rolling the dice after a year of ownership. You know what? If you check repair histories on LCD units as a whole (consumer reports), or within a mfg., the less expensive brands aren't any higher than the premium priced units.

BTW, watched my first Blu ray movie on my Sony BD player last night on the 37" Olevia, and what a difference over standard DVD. I'm hooked, and can't wait to get my next 3 Blu ray movies from Blockbuster online.

Have you read the article as to handle an in warranty procedure with some of those companies? It does not look too good if you are outside a 30 day return policy.

 

[Alex2507]

It cost me around $65 to ship my Protron to California only to have them send me a very new looking different model. The main difference was the connections. The new one has VGA as opposed to DVI. Oh well. The initial problem was burn in due to watching 4:3 on the widescreen. A line burned in at the black stripe. I jumped on the return right before the warranty was up. Lousy customer service. I hate it when a company hires people who can't speak English worth beans to speak English for a living.

So I spent $900 for a disposable TV? And it doesn't handle motion very well? Okay, yes I did. Once. I'm pretty sure a Vizio isn't gonna handle motion in films as well as a Panosonic. Just a guess.

My next TV will be a brand name with an extended warranty. At least I'll know that it'll last 4 or 5 years. I'm glad I didn't buy an extended warranty for the Protron. Spending an extra $400 to garranty that I'm saddled with this thing for another 4 years isn't my idea of money well spent. Live and learn, right?

Having said all that I'm still glad to have stepped up to HD and widescreen. It just would have been better if I had discovered this site prior to making purchaces.