Your average TV life

[brettie]

Panasonic plasma 42" bought in 2008, no issues of any kind.
Second Panny plasma 50" bought in 2013, no issues at all.

OP must be feeling frustrated after reading all these messages!

haha.. not really. Had to spend 9k for Y board. It's fine now. Point was just to get a gist of what's happening with panels and boards here. Glad to see most are having their investment worth it Please do continue. Also, if possible, share best practices.

 

[filmguy]

Initial request for service. Once their service engineer visits and confirms that the parts needed for the service are not available, they will offer you the compensation (please tell them to service your TV at any cost, else they may say that the customer does not wants service and may close the request), provided you can provide the original invoice. They says that typically they were supposed to provide service and spares for 7 years. So if the TV conks off within 7 years from purchase date, then only it will be considered. Not sure about the basis of calculation of quantum of compensation. They offered me 50% for a 4.5 years old plasma. I simply accepted it. My TV actually costed me 65K, but the invoice was 76500/-. I got 38250/- back. So essentially I lost 27K only in the bargain.

In fact, that precisely is the reason, there is no point buying expensive extended warranty. In most cases, after 2-3 years, they simply can't service the TV, as the spares for new TV is different from earlier gen. For most of the premium brand they offers similar compensation (the key is to have the original invoice) and also to request for service from their authorised service centres.

so they didnt charge you even initial service charge to give estimate (last i checked that was approx ₹1000+) ?

 

[raptor77]

haha.. not really. Had to spend 9k for Y board. It's fine now. Point was just to get a gist of what's happening with panels and boards here. Glad to see most are having their investment worth it Please do continue. Also, if possible, share best practices.

Thanks! My regime is very simple: I keep picture contrast and brightness a bit low in the first 100 hours or so. Then I increase them a bit but they're still around 70 to 75 for contrast (on a 0-100 scale) and 55 or so brightness. Color temp to the highest possible, Sharpness 0, all artificial edge and motion enhancements off. If you're used to watching ultra bright pictures on your TV similar to showrooms, it takes a while to get used to this kind of picture! But eventually you realise that it's more natural and warm this way with lots of detail available even though it's without sharp edges.

Wish you more luck after this!...

 

[edjamesx]

I had purchased Samsung (32") HD Ready LCD Tv 11 years back ,
Still its working great without any issues - no issues with contrast ,backlight also.

Even my Tv had traveled long with me across cities 6 times.

 

[dillihifi]

Well my LG plasma 50PZ550 finally died. Bought it in 2011 and it was a FHD 50 inch one and was running fine. Recently the TV goes into standby whenever switched on. The LG tech came to inspect the TV and stated that the panel needs to be replaced. Waiting for the replacement. Estimate of 30k.

 

[Hari Iyer]

Looks like a power supply issue and not of the panel

 

[Hari Iyer]

My neighbor's 5 year old 32" Sony Full HD TV developed hum bars on the top 1/4 part of the screen which will not go off. The TV technician as usual told him the panel has to be replaced. After he consulted me, i told him that the power supply capacitors needs replacement. After he did that, his TV is back to normal and working fine.

Its a standard answer by TV mechanics that the panel needs replacement. Some due diligence on our part will help to solve the root cause of the issue.

 

[sanjivnayak]

LG LCD TV Model- 42LG80FR still fully functional with original remote bought in 2008.

 

[dillihifi]

Looks like a power supply issue and not of the panel

Well that what I told the guy from LG but he insisted that it was a panel issue and said he deals with such cases on a daily basis.

Further I received a phone call from the guy stating that they wanted to check out the power supply yesterday and voila after replacing the power supply board the TV started functioning normally again. Total damages 3k including service charge.

 

[efernand1]

The fact remains is that Built quality is never upto the mark! Cheap MADE IN CHINA components used which have a short lifespan when compared to MADE IN JAPAN.

Lucky for me, my 32 inch Toshiba LED works fine.....5 yrs +...not a single issue in panel or SQ or PQ or overall performance.

Be it any brand.....BIG or SMALL.....if something has to fail it will.....my two cents of advise.....given the busy work schedule most of us are engaged in...we barely get time to spend in front of a TV.......

So get a TV which can meet your current expected use ....features and within costs.....no point investing so much in features you will hardly or not use...also TVs keep getting updated.......older models can be purchased at cheaper rates.....all depends on your expectation and desires.....

 

[asmoah]

My neighbor's 5 year old 32" Sony Full HD TV developed hum bars on the top 1/4 part of the screen which will not go off. The TV technician as usual told him the panel has to be replaced. After he consulted me, i told him that the power supply capacitors needs replacement. After he did that, his TV is back to normal and working fine.

Its a standard answer by TV mechanics that the panel needs replacement. Some due diligence on our part will help to solve the root cause of the issue.

I am not technical person, so i didnt understand what is power supply capacitors n how to replace them? As my neighbour having similar type issue on his Sony 32 hdready 32 inch tv n he asked me what is best in market as he labelled Sony as Cheap . So your reply is valuable to them. My self have Panasonic Plasma HD ready 42 inch bought in 2012 n Sony LED Full HD 32 inch (for bedroom) bought in 2015,both are working good till date but dont know which brand is best or worst as every top co. looks best to me as and when i enter the showroom.

 

[efernand1]

Videocon , VU, Some Samsung Models..(older series) may be available cheap....check for warranty and service.....sometimes it so happens that if the panel fails within the warranty period and the model is old....some brands offer a buy back and then you end up putting more money to get another updated TV.......(this happens bcoz parts or panel replacement is not available...so this could be a sale strategy or a genuine fact of parts not available)

Given lifespan of TVs available nowadays is limited to 3-5 years....go for something within budget and which meets your expectations....dont be too brand concious

 

[Lakshminarasimhan]

My Panasonic 50AS670D developed horizontal lines across the screen. ST says it has a panel failure. I almost did not use the tv for a year as I was out of country and watch 2 hours a day and on weekends. Replacement cost is a bomb and is equal to new unit today. I have complained to Panasonic and await their response for replacement.

 

[Lakshminarasimhan]

Initial request for service. Once their service engineer visits and confirms that the parts needed for the service are not available, they will offer you the compensation (please tell them to service your TV at any cost, else they may say that the customer does not wants service and may close the request), provided you can provide the original invoice. They says that typically they were supposed to provide service and spares for 7 years. So if the TV conks off within 7 years from purchase date, then only it will be considered. Not sure about the basis of calculation of quantum of compensation. They offered me 50% for a 4.5 years old plasma. I simply accepted it. My TV actually costed me 65K, but the invoice was 76500/-. I got 38250/- back. So essentially I lost 27K only in the bargain.

In fact, that precisely is the reason, there is no point buying expensive extended warranty. In most cases, after 2-3 years, they simply can't service the TV, as the spares for new TV is different from earlier gen. For most of the premium brand they offers similar compensation (the key is to have the original invoice) and also to request for service from their authorised service centres.

Similar offer made by Panasonic for 3.6 years old LED. They have offered replacement, not sure on what cost though!