Elite Screens BUYERS BE AWARE!

[photoeye]

I'm having issues with Elite Screens. I have their 100" manual screen that just fell down one day. Looks like they used some cheap adhesive to hold the screen up to the mount! I was fortunate, it did not damage my equipment or fall on my pets.

I contacted their customer service. They told me I had to come pick up the replacment screen/bring the end caps or pay for the shipping of the replacement screen. Do you see anywhere on their warranty policy that states customer is responsible for shipping of the replacement screen?

I shipped back the end caps of the screen and they are refusing to send me the replacement screen unless I pay for the shipping. They never instructed me to send back the defective screen, just return the end caps. The screen has a manufacture's defect, it is not a result of error on my end.

So please be aware when you buy from guys. EXTREMELY LOUSY AND POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, same as their product.

 

[Audioholics]

Paying for one-way shipping for warranty service is SOP for about 90% of all A/V companies. However, you may be making this much more of a problem than it is.

For example, they aren't even asking you to ship back the entire screen before offering you a brand new replacement, which they could have done at your expense.

Now, if they aren't honoring the warranty as written then ask to speak to a supervisor or manager about it and report back:

From what I read:

# One (1) year warranty parts and labor from purchase date as follows (except for refurbished units or International purchases as specified below):
# Refurbished units carry a 90-day parts and labor warranty.
# Demo units or open box items are AS IS items and do not carry a warranty.
# Each party will be responsible for one way shipping during the warranty period.

...but you also better have bought from an authorized dealer, etc...

 

[photoeye]

I would have absolutely no issues if the warranty policy stated customer is responsible for shipping fees both ways.

As stated, each party is responsible for one way shipment. They did not request the screen but the end caps to be sent back, so I sent back the end caps. I should not have to pay for the shipping of the replacement screen per the policy.

A decent business would take care of the shipment fees, no questions asked, especially when it comes to a manufacture's defect.

 

[Rob Babcock]

What did you think of the screen material? I only ask because my Elite is a total peice of junk. It was cheap, but even so it was a waste of money.

 

[photoeye]

The screen material is no better than a white wall. During brightly lit scenes, such as snow or blue sky, you can see the ugly texture of the screen material.

If they are not willing to pay for the shipment of the replacement screen, I will just take it as a lost, another learning experience and move on.

It's definately not worth spending another $40-50 bucks to pay for shipping
of another pull down white wall

For the screen just to fall off though was very annoying. One of their reps mentioned a few people have had this issue so I'm not the first.

 

[Jack Hammer]

If it's that bad, why bother putting anymore money into it? I'd just write it off as a loss. Maybe you can try gluing it back together yourself, to get yourself through until you find something better.

As far as warraties go, it's been my experience that most companies, not all, only pay the shipping (if any) from their factory back to you. It is up to you to get the product to them. Which in some cases is stupid because the cost of shipping is a substantial percentage, or more, than the cost of a replacement in many cases.

Again, if you are that unhappy with the quality of the product, save your money and get something else. One of my friends had talked about some kind of special paint you put on the wall that smooths it out and is a special white for use with projectors. Supposedly it gave a real nice picture. I don't know if he was on to something or just confused (could have been snake oil). It might be worth looking into.

My $0.02

Jack

 

[photoeye]

Thanks. Yes, I'm not going to spend any more time or money into something so lousy as this. I just thought they would be decent enough to pay for the replacement since it's a manufacturer's defect. They don't understand the liability issue of it falling downing and breaking something.

Definately moving onwards

 

[Kai]

I would also suggest sending a letter of compaint to your local Better Business agency and a copy of it to Elite Screens.

Doubt it will get you anywhere but it may save someone else some money and aggravation as well as letting Elite know you are not just pissing in the wind with your complaint.

You could even send a letter to your Attorney General's office...seems to be quite a safety issue with liability issues worth looking into.

 

[Rob Babcock]

The screen material is no better than a white wall. During brightly lit scenes, such as snow or blue sky, you can see the ugly texture of the screen material.

That's my major gripe, too. "Dirty Sky" syndrome. Sparklies during brightly lit scenes of solid colors. Plus, mine has some blemishes/marks on it that are visible when the PJ is off. Lastly, the material is much thinner than my Da-Lite, and is very wavy/wrinkled.

 

[iluvmovies]

Elite screens

I have used an Elite screen for about a year now, with
no problems, but I don't roll it up very often.
regards

 

[Rob Babcock]

I've never rolled mine up. Once I get my Carada I'll probably cut up my Elite and ship the peices around to let a few people look them over. I'm curious if mine is typical of their products.

 

[Jack Hammer]

I've never rolled mine up. Once I get my Carada I'll probably cut up my Elite and ship the peices around to let a few people look them over. I'm curious if mine is typical of their products.

Man, you must really, really hate your screen to want to cut it into pieces.

 

[RLA]

The screen material is no better than a white wall. During brightly lit scenes, such as snow or blue sky, you can see the ugly texture of the screen material.

Hello All,
I don't have much experience with Elite but many screen surfaces can be cleaned and uniformity can be improved using denature alcohol and a cloth baby diaper. The alcohol smoothes out the gradient texture and dulls the sparkles created when the screen is sprayed. You may want to contact Elite to see if this is a viable solution. When you wipe the screen down go in one direction starting at one end and continuing until you get to the other end applying minimal pressure (no circles). Wax on Wax off very very bad

 

[RLA]

One more tip I forgot to mention. If you have wrinkles in the material use the use of a hair dryer about three inches from the surface may help straighten them out. Just be careful not to burn the screen. Once the wrinkles are removed leave the screen down so the screen material can get re-acclimated to the room temperature.

 

[Rob Babcock]

That wouldn't really help- it's not set wrinkles, it's caused by the way it hangs and the fact that there's insufficient weight on the bottom. Plus, the material is extremely light & thin. True, I never thought of denatured alcohol, but unless it dramatically improved the color, too, it's probably a waste of time. I might try it just to see what happens.

I really only bought it to tide me over til I could afford a nice fixed frame screen. I don't really have time & tools to build a DIY frame for the Elite, even if I was so inclined.

 

[McED]

No good

That sounds like a horrible experience! It's too bad that even though the TV sucks, the company couldn't even make up for it in customer service! Did you replace it with anything else?

 

[majorloser]

One word to solve your problems.......

Stewart

Can't do much better when it comes to screens.

 

[photoeye]

That sounds like a horrible experience! It's too bad that even though the TV sucks, the company couldn't even make up for it in customer service! Did you replace it with anything else?

probably will get a Carada Screen later. Like Rob mentioned, though it's cheap, it's still a waste of money plus the higher shipping fees because of the length.

I'm sure many appreciate the suggestion of wiping down the screen but I highly doubt that will fix the problem. I can't imagine myself on a ladder trying to wipe down a 100" screen Point is, you should not have to do any post work on the product, should be good to go.

I have Infinity speakers and have the utmost praise and respect for their customer service/tech support. They will do what it takes to satisfy their customers.