How's your luck with TV's?

[Grumpz]

Here’s a brief history of mine…well now that I’m done typing, it’s not too brief and it isn’t good.

Got married 12 yrs ago, bought a 27” Trinitron with some wedding money. Had the tube replaced under warranty due to a burnt out pixel. Ended up moving 2 yrs later, and the movers dropped the TV. Damaged the picture but still watchable. Had to take them to small claims court because they claimed it was already damaged. Won the case but was only awarded $175 bucks. Couldn’t fix it or buy a new one with that. What a joke! So now we jump ahead few yrs. The TV dies, obviously had its life expectancy shortened by the drop. So I go out and buy a 26” Toshiba LCD. No problems with this TV all…touch wood! I LOVE IT.

Now, let’s jump ahead to a yr and a bit ago. I move again and now it’s time for a real TV to fit in our great room. We sit around 15’ away. I do a bunch of research and find out the LG 47LBX is a good TV. My parents are in Direct Buy, so I can get this TV for $2100ish after taxes! CHEAP! So I buy it, bring it home, and within 2 weeks I’m getting horizontal static type lines running through it and audio drop outs. LG sends out a repair guy, he replaces a board which takes 4 weeks. The new board does the same thing, so another board is ordered. The new board is even worse. So finally after dealing with LG’s customer service for like 6 months, they allow me to exchange the TV. Unfortunately, they’ve replaced the 47LBX with the Scarlet. These blow compared to the TV I had, so I “upgrade” to a 50” plasma. It takes 2 months to complete the swap. Bring the plasma home, and right out of the box, the picture is horrible, but even worse, when using the PS3 for games or movies, black horizontal bars start to flicker across the entire screen.

So now I’ve had enough! I call LG and demand my money back. They actually try and send out a repair guy knowing the history from the first TV!! After another few weeks of bickering, they finally agree. So it took about 1 yr, 1 LCD, 2 repair visits and 1 plasma and where did it put me you ask? Right back to needing a new TV!

So this time, about 2 months ago, I look at current reviews and based on price, narrow it down to the Samsung 650/750 which everyone seems to like and the Sony KDL52W4100. I end up going with the Sony because it’s at least $400 cheaper than both the Samsung models and I waited close to a month to see if there was going to be any real movement. Anyways, I bring the Sony home and I love it! Everything works great…then……….4 days after the 30 day exchange warranty expires, a pixel stays open dead center on my screen! YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! I just spend $2300 bucks and it’s already got a flaw!?!/!? I Phone up Sony, they send a guy out the next day and he says this is normal and Sony may not repair it! C’MON, IT’S 34 DAYS OLD AND IT’S GOT A WHITE DOT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT!

Anyways, a week later the repair shop calls, and the guy says we’ve got your part. So 2 days later they pick up the TV and return in the same day! SO FAR SO GOOD
I’m serious…TV’s have shaved 5 yrs off of my life…I KNOW IT!

[Beta Man]

Had a TV in 1997 that a friend still has, and looks/works GREAT......

Got an LCD given to the wife and I a few years ago, and it's a piece of junk.... turns itself on at night sometimes.... whether or not the remote is even in the same room (we tried to narrow down the problem)

Other than that.... I haven't had my other TVs long enough to comment.... or had any problems with the other ones

[wafi]

Damn Grumpz! You have every reason to be grumpy! Tough luck buddy! Lets hope and pray everything is fine from here on onwards for you.

PS Still have my Trinitron 27" from 2001. Works perfect.

[Grumpz]

Originally Posted by wafi

Damn Grumpz! You have every reason to be grumpy! Tough luck buddy! Lets hope and pray everything is fine from here on onwards for you.

PS Still have my Trinitron 27" from 2001. Works perfect.

Ok, that's just mean!

[Fors*]

It's when stuff likes this happens that I start to believe my wife's "karma" stuff.....man, you must have done something really messed up in a prior life. Geez...I wish you the best of luck from this point on.

[Dirk504]

That sucks

[phantompwr]

My first TV was a 27" CRT. My friend had a 25" and I just had to beat him. Two days after I got it I was trying to move the wheeled cart it was on and it fell over and broke. I actually fell to my knees and screamed "NOOOO!". I went back and returned it to the store and got a 20" that was more reasonable.
I focused more on the audio side of things for a while. I sold that 20" to my parents and it still works. My wife and I used her 25" CRT until I bought my current one. That one is still going strong.

[brett_day]

i have had luck like yours dude. My first flat panel was a Westinghouse LCD, i was excited but was not expecting much as i knew they were not the best tv's. It last about 13 months and then the panel went out on it. Best Buy came out and looked at it, decided that it was not worth fixing and they trashed it out, and gave me store credit.

I went to Best Buy and picked out a Samsung 4066f 1080p 40" LCD. also got the extended warranty. Got it home and the amount of clouding was crazy! huge white blotches everywhere. I took it back and got another one, same thing only worse than the first! onto my 3rd one, it was much better, still clouding but it was significantly less than ther first two.

Move on 7 months and the panel goes out. I had a black vertical line running down the screen. Best Buy came out, ordered a new panel. The best buy tech tells me that the panel that was originaly in the tv is no longer produced and has been replaced with a different model number panel by Samsung. 1 week later the panel comes in, BB come back out and install the new panel, the picture is shockingly bad! BB order another panel, it comes in, is put in the tv....same results.

The BB tech cannot believe how bad the picture looked on the tv. He called Samsung and was like, look this new panel is not working in this tv. Samsung said they would then send one of their techs out to take a look. 2 days later i get a call from samsung saying they are denying me service, even though the tv is just 7 months old because best buy had performed work on the tv. I even got them to admit that the new panel was not compatible with the other components in the 4066f.

I Called best buy, told them that Samsung were refusing to service my TV because Best Buy had already worked on it, Best buy then turn around and tell me that they will no longer work on the tv as they have exhausted all avenues and that i am basically stuck with a dud tv. I was freaking furious! I got right up the tech ladder at BB and spoke to someone who said they would interview the tech that done the work to see what he had to say about the situation. The tech told them that the tv looked awful, but best buy still said it is samsungs problem as it was still under their warranty. Anyway..3 and a half months, tons of phone calls, arguments and a lawyer later, i get best buy to agree to giving me store credit.

I got my panny plasma and so far all is great with it! I love it! I did not buy the extended warranty as best buy do not honor it. especially the "if we cannot fix it within 60 days, we will replace your tv" part of it.

Sorry for your bad luck though, i feel ya!

[David Craig]

Had a no-name black and white set as a student. After a few years the audio stopped working.

Had a Toshiba 20 inch tube TV for twenty years - no problems at all. Gave it away.

Had an Emerson 20 inch tube TV for 8 years and then the picture died.

Had a 32 inch Panasonic tube TV for 10 years. The picture tube was crooked initially but Panasonic picked up the set and straightened the tube. Gave it away.

Have a 36 inch Panasonic HiDef tube TV since 2001. Still have it. The glass has a small defect in it that is only noticeable when the set is off. Can't see the flaw when the set is on.

Have a 58 inch Panasonic plasma for 1.5 years. No problems at all. The picture is stunning.

[twill812]

Originally Posted by Grumpz

Here’s a brief history of mine…well now that I’m done typing, it’s not too brief and it isn’t good.

I’m serious…TV’s have shaved 5 yrs off of my life…I KNOW IT!

Sorry about the streak of bad luck with TV's. No problems here with TV's unless I created them myself. (drops, bangs and whatnots..) I have had 5 TV's in the past 3 years. Two 27" Sony Trinitron (giving away) one- 27" JVC, a 32" Sony Trinitron (bought in 1998) still working and my current 46" LCD bought in 2007. Current looking to replace my 32" Sony with a 40 - 42 " LCD before June.

[haste]

ive only owned one tv myself (in sig) and it has been running flawlessly for 18 months now after an initial swap at BB because of backlight bleeding. here is to another 18 months!

[Grumpz]

Originally Posted by brett_day

i have had luck like yours dude. My first flat panel was a Westinghouse LCD, i was excited but was not expecting much as i knew they were not the best tv's. It last about 13 months and then the panel went out on it. Best Buy came out and looked at it, decided that it was not worth fixing and they trashed it out, and gave me store credit.

I went to Best Buy and picked out a Samsung 4066f 1080p 40" LCD. also got the extended warranty. Got it home and the amount of clouding was crazy! huge white blotches everywhere. I took it back and got another one, same thing only worse than the first! onto my 3rd one, it was much better, still clouding but it was significantly less than ther first two.

Move on 7 months and the panel goes out. I had a black vertical line running down the screen. Best Buy came out, ordered a new panel. The best buy tech tells me that the panel that was originaly in the tv is no longer produced and has been replaced with a different model number panel by Samsung. 1 week later the panel comes in, BB come back out and install the new panel, the picture is shockingly bad! BB order another panel, it comes in, is put in the tv....same results.

The BB tech cannot believe how bad the picture looked on the tv. He called Samsung and was like, look this new panel is not working in this tv. Samsung said they would then send one of their techs out to take a look. 2 days later i get a call from samsung saying they are denying me service, even though the tv is just 7 months old because best buy had performed work on the tv. I even got them to admit that the new panel was not compatible with the other components in the 4066f.

I Called best buy, told them that Samsung were refusing to service my TV because Best Buy had already worked on it, Best buy then turn around and tell me that they will no longer work on the tv as they have exhausted all avenues and that i am basically stuck with a dud tv. I was freaking furious! I got right up the tech ladder at BB and spoke to someone who said they would interview the tech that done the work to see what he had to say about the situation. The tech told them that the tv looked awful, but best buy still said it is samsungs problem as it was still under their warranty. Anyway..3 and a half months, tons of phone calls, arguments and a lawyer later, i get best buy to agree to giving me store credit.

I got my panny plasma and so far all is great with it! I love it! I did not buy the extended warranty as best buy do not honor it. especially the "if we cannot fix it within 60 days, we will replace your tv" part of it.

Sorry for your bad luck though, i feel ya!

Dude, we should start a support group!

[bageleaterkkjji]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Had a TV in 1997 that a friend still has, and looks/works GREAT......

Got an LCD given to the wife and I a few years ago, and it's a piece of junk.... turns itself on at night sometimes.... whether or not the remote is even in the same room (we tried to narrow down the problem)

Other than that.... I haven't had my other TVs long enough to comment.... or had any problems with the other ones

unplug/hit surgeprotector powerbutton switch off?

[Uniquely]

My first HDTV was a 42" Sony Grand Wega LCD RPTV that I purchased in 2001. ($3200 back then... top of the line.... it had one DVI input and 2 component inputs. The only things that I had available to hook up to it that were even remotely HD were my original XBox and my PC.) I sold it to a friend of mine about two years ago for $250. It is still going...... and on the original bulb!

[slaizer2000]

if your tv or electronics go within the 30 day return period of the store then retun it for a replacement or refund.

Reason being is if you get a lemon, it can take months for the service guy and the manufacturer to fix it or replace it. Which results in an unusable or unpleasant experience as well as possibly months before they decide to exchange it.

Never let them talk you into getting it fixed if you can return it within the 30 day period.

[wafi]

Originally Posted by Grumpz

Ok, that's just mean!

Wasn't planning on sounding mean bud. My apologies.

[Grumpz]

Originally Posted by wafi

Wasn't planning on sounding mean bud. My apologies.

No worries, I wasn't being serious...JERK!

[wafi]

Originally Posted by Grumpz

No worries, I wasn't being serious...JERK!

Yer a meanie!