View Full Version : CR Reports Reliability on Flat Panels - Good News for Most Manufacturers
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20061012/pl_usnw/consumer_reports_finds_lcd_and_plasma_flat_panels_as_reliable_during_first_two_years_as_tube_tvs183_xml
...no repair issues during the first year or two of use for LCD TVs from JVC, Panasonic, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba. Dell LCD sets have had higher than average repairs.
In plasma, there have been no repair issues for Fujitsu, Hitachi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Sony or Toshiba. The repair rate for Philips and Vizio plasma sets has been higher than average.
...during the first year or two of use, LCD and plasma TVs have been just as reliable overall as picture-tube TVs
97XBAM
10-14-2006, 09:48 AM
I have also heard that Consumer Distorts recommends not buying a warranty extension for a new HD tv .Bad advice , as I've seen more than a few posts from angry HD set buyers whose large investment turned into an expensive paperweight when the cost of repair came to half or more of the the purchase price of the set . What I'd really like to see is a breakdown of reliability of HD sets by the countries where they were assembled . I'm willing to bet sets assembled in Japan have a far better reliability record than those assembled in slave wage/ low skill countries like Mexico !
Consumer Reports is but one source of info for consumers and not always one that gives good advice either . Unfortunately for many it's considered the one and only never wrong bible of consumer products ! I prefer to read user reviews from actual users of the product on the internet on sites like this one ,also CNET , Circuit City , and Price Grabber are a few sites with customer reviews . To me these give a more user oriented view of the product ,rather than CR which basically pushes products made by a few select brands . The same brands year after year after year !
Fore left!
10-14-2006, 11:41 AM
CR would be correct in recommending no extended warranty. More often than not, you'd be giving your money away.
JU1CYFRU1T
10-14-2006, 12:09 PM
CR would be correct in recommending no extended warranty. More often than not, you'd be giving your money away.
I'd rather give away ~$300 and not have to worry about my $5000 TV for 4 years, then to take the chance that in 2 years it would be cheaper to buy a new set. If you bought a TV for somewhere near $1500 or less, then a warranty may not be worth it, but if we are talking about a 60-70" RPTV, with a sticker price of between $4000-7000 (before tax), you would be crazy to risk that type of investment. I'm not going to explaing to my wife that 2 years after spending ~$5000 on a TV, I have to spend another $1000 to make it work again. :injured:
With new technology, there are always going to be minor problems here and there. Remember, we aren't talking about Trinitron technology, that ruled the world for nearly a quarter of a century. This technology (in some cases) is less that 5 years old.
These sets are being thrown together as fast as they can be, in order to meet production goals, so there are bound to be problems. I don't have a problem with anyone who wants to gamble with the longevity of their set... but I WON'T.
Great example HERE (http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=27516) .
JU1CYFRU1T
This is not an extended warranty discussion thread. That has been discussed in other threads and please feel free to continue it in one of them.
You are not going to get a 4 year warranty on a $7000 plasma/LCD for $300. You MAY be able to get one on a $2000 TV for that, however, that $2000 TV will be worth about $1000 in a couple of years, so, it's up to you if you want an extended warranty. People are roughly evenly divided if they wish to buy this "insurance".
See the HDTV FAQ "Extended Warranties".
97XBAM
10-14-2006, 04:13 PM
CR would be correct in recommending no extended warranty. More often than not, you'd be giving your money away.
Consumer Reports rapidly became a dinosaur in the information age after the invent of the internet , which is a true exchange of information between people instead of a biased birdcage liner which always seems to be brand biased . Would you buy a brand new car with only a one year warranty ? I'm old enough to remember when cars cost as much as some of the new tvs , which in many cases are rapidly built with unskilled third world slave labor with lemons aplenty !
gparris
10-14-2006, 04:20 PM
You can get Consumer Reports on line, like I do, for a reduced rate and I find it more convenient to use than paper and it is kept up-to-date with revisions, too.
As for them reviewing HT items, they are trying harder than ever before, I just don't agree with their assessment of HD DVD - I think their reporter/testers need their eyes checked.
HT and CR doesn't add up to complete and unbiased reporting, IMO and I think they should stick to reporting on recalls, vacuums and autos. :whistle:
Maybe they just "don't get it" yet, not knowing what to look for in home electronics as they aren't a HT magazine, after all. :D
Would you buy a brand new car with only a one year warranty ? I certainly would if they were charging $4000-6000 for a 4 year warranty on a $30,000 car, which is the typical percentage for an EW on Electronics.
My last two cars were purchased used and I negotiated a 6 month warranty on each. The cars cost 1/3 and 1/2 of the original price and had 20,000 miles and 10,000 miles on them respectively. This saved me tens of thousands of $. Both vehicles are very reliable with minimal repair costs.
I would also do so knowing that only 10% of the items bought have issues and often those issues can be repaired for around the cost of an EW.
If EWs are such a good deal for customers, then the stores wouldn't be making such a huge profit margin on them, and it is huge as indicated in the FAQ.
If you want to make yourself comfortable with an EW, by all means buy one, however, don't ever try to justify it on the basis of economics over your lifetime. I've had electronics for over 40 years and the small amount that I've paid for repairs is less than 1/10 what I would have had to pay for EWs on the stuff.
I have insurance on my car and on my house for catastrophic loss, with a very large deductable, to reduce the premium a whole bunch. I don't insure the small stuff.
97XBAM
10-14-2006, 04:58 PM
This is not an extended warranty discussion thread. That has been discussed in other threads and please feel free to continue it in one of them.
I've read this forum for many months until I've seen a thread that prompted a response and I'm sorry if my post sent it off into a different tangent , but threads do tend to go off in different directions . However a person paying 2k for a set isn't going to care if it's only worth 1k after two years and needs a 1k repair . All they see is a set now costing them 3k that's only worth a third of that and that's why I see an extended warranty as a no brainer despite what some overrated , obsolete magazine says ! True it's up to the individual as you say , but IMO the smart consumer will always opt for the extended warranty on an expensive new technology device , especially those made with unskilled labor in third world countries like Meh-he-ko .
...the smart consumer will always opt for the extended warranty The conservative consumer may opt for a EW, however a "smart" consumer who knows that over his lifetime an EW is a poor investment, will invest his money elsewhere, putting some in the bank for an occasional repair.
If EWs were a good idea for consumers, stores would not be making money hand over fist pushing EWs. If consumers were coming out ahead, stores would not be pushing EWs at all.
Your logic is flawed because it doesn't properly take the probability of the repair into account. A smart consumer doesn't buy lottery tickets either for the same reason.
97XBAM
10-14-2006, 05:39 PM
Well we'll have to agree to disagree on this one , but I don't think 10% or so of the purchase price is a waste of money on new technology that in many cases is thrown together in third world countries by dirt wage workers . And you'd have a hard time telling a co-worker of mine that he wasted his money on a EW on his Panasonic LCD RP set that would've set him back $1200 if he didn't have an EW . Over 30 years ago an instructor at Lincoln Technical Institute in Allentown PA told us students ,never buy a tv set made on a Monday or Friday and that is especially true today ! Now Monster Cables , those are a complete waste of money !
itzbinnice
10-14-2006, 06:44 PM
I've heard that same information regarding cars, never buy one made on a Monday or Friday. My question to you is how do you know when the TV was made? I'm assuming it's in the serial # somewhere, but does it narrow it down to date? And if it is in the date each manufacturer would have differing code encryption. Do you walk into Circuit City asking please tell me the serial #'s of your Sony TV's so I can pick the one I want.
If you know a method how to achieve this I sincerely would like to learn how to do it.
Regarding EW's, I am in total agreement with 57U and feel it's not a wise investment. That's where sales make there best profits, it's like Las Vegas, the odds are in favor of the house. I've never purchased one, in my experience, stuff usually breaks right away for me, and I get it fixed covered with the warranty. I have been fortunate in that regard and should I need to spend 3,000.00 to replace a TV, over the years I have saved that much in not buying the EW, and best of all my money earned interest in the bank.
But each to his own, if it gives you peace of mind, by all means buy it.
97XBAM
10-14-2006, 06:58 PM
That never buy a set made on Monday or Friday was purely rhetorical and never meant to be taken seriously , I thought that was pretty obvious ! But the info on the net and country of assembly is out there for consumers and a far better source of data than CR will ever be. If an educated consumer shops smart , they can find the set they want at a price on the net , that even adding a 4 year EW will still have the final purchase price hundreds lower than the brick and mortar stores ! So there is more than one way to waste your money out there !
damondlt
10-14-2006, 08:21 PM
Yea they make your EW $300 because they know the only thing thats going to go in that time, is maybe your Bulb.for $200.I'll just pay the $200 for the bulb! I'm sure in a few more years the bulbs will be cheaper anyway.
97XBAM
10-15-2006, 03:32 PM
Of course in a few years those RP sets that need bulb replacement every 6-8k hours could also be obsolete technology . Newer longer lasting LED light engines , the falling price of flat panel sets , and new technologies like SED and laser could make them dinosaurs in a few years ! And with fewer bulbs being sold the price of them is more likely to go up , rather than down .
