Post by Skaggs on Mar 21, 2007 7:07:41 GMT -5
From the Kim Komando Show Daily Tip:
Q:I have heard that plasma TVs have a high failure rate. Furthermore, if they do break, I’m told they cannot be fixed. Is this true?
A:I have a plasma flat panel in our conference room. It is three years old, and we haven’t had a second’s trouble. But that’s just one set. We need to know how plasmas in general are doing.
For that information, I went to Consumer Reports. This organization maintains reliability information on many, many products. Its data is gathered through surveys of its millions of members. (You must subscribe to access most information on Consumer Reports’ site.)
First, a caveat: The explosion of interest in flat panels is a recent phenomenon. So there aren’t years and years of data available. Nonetheless, Consumer Reports has found that sets that are one to two years old are highly reliable.
Overall, both plasmas and LCDs have a problem rate of about 3 percent. In other words, 97 percent of sets have had no problems. That is the same rate as conventional tube-type televisions.
Consumer Reports also names names. The most reliable plasma brands, it says, are: Fujitsu, Hitachi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Sony and Toshiba. Brands with more repairs than average are Philips and Vizio.
Among LCDs, the most reliable brands are: JVC, Magnavox, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba. Dell is shown with more repairs than average.
Your second concern also fails scrutiny. According to Consumer Reports, most repairs to flat panels cost less than $200. So they can be repaired, and repairs are not especially expensive.
This also raises the question of extended warranties. These are essentially insurance policies. They are very profitable for the stores. So you can assume that you will be pitched.
Extended warranties cost a few hundred dollars. So let’s say you buy a three-year warranty. Most extended warranties run concurrently with the TV manufacturer’s warranty. If that is one year, you only have two more years of warranty.
Insurance companies have tons of claims data. So they know how likely you are to need your policy. They can price their warranties for maximum profitability. The salesperson, on the other hand, will play to your emotions. (“What if it breaks? These things are expensive to fix!”) Someone has an advantage here, and it’s not you.
In my experience, electronics are very reliable. If they are going to break, it probably will be early. In that case, the manufacturer’s warranty should cover it.
Q:I have heard that plasma TVs have a high failure rate. Furthermore, if they do break, I’m told they cannot be fixed. Is this true?
A:I have a plasma flat panel in our conference room. It is three years old, and we haven’t had a second’s trouble. But that’s just one set. We need to know how plasmas in general are doing.
For that information, I went to Consumer Reports. This organization maintains reliability information on many, many products. Its data is gathered through surveys of its millions of members. (You must subscribe to access most information on Consumer Reports’ site.)
First, a caveat: The explosion of interest in flat panels is a recent phenomenon. So there aren’t years and years of data available. Nonetheless, Consumer Reports has found that sets that are one to two years old are highly reliable.
Overall, both plasmas and LCDs have a problem rate of about 3 percent. In other words, 97 percent of sets have had no problems. That is the same rate as conventional tube-type televisions.
Consumer Reports also names names. The most reliable plasma brands, it says, are: Fujitsu, Hitachi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Sony and Toshiba. Brands with more repairs than average are Philips and Vizio.
Among LCDs, the most reliable brands are: JVC, Magnavox, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba. Dell is shown with more repairs than average.
Your second concern also fails scrutiny. According to Consumer Reports, most repairs to flat panels cost less than $200. So they can be repaired, and repairs are not especially expensive.
This also raises the question of extended warranties. These are essentially insurance policies. They are very profitable for the stores. So you can assume that you will be pitched.
Extended warranties cost a few hundred dollars. So let’s say you buy a three-year warranty. Most extended warranties run concurrently with the TV manufacturer’s warranty. If that is one year, you only have two more years of warranty.
Insurance companies have tons of claims data. So they know how likely you are to need your policy. They can price their warranties for maximum profitability. The salesperson, on the other hand, will play to your emotions. (“What if it breaks? These things are expensive to fix!”) Someone has an advantage here, and it’s not you.
In my experience, electronics are very reliable. If they are going to break, it probably will be early. In that case, the manufacturer’s warranty should cover it.