Warranty...overrated? HDTV question

[He Man]

Costco offers 2 years extended limited warranty when purchasing any tv or computer as part of their membership service. They have a vizio 32"  for 479.99 with $50 mail in rebate.

but circuit city has a Sony 499.99 32" lcd but the warranty is 30 days at circuit city, and 1 year mail in by Sony.

Which one would you get? Im leaning towrds the vizio 32" but maybe the warranty is overrated. They do have a samsung for 599.99 but thats out of my price range.

[Popeye the Sailor]

The Sony, is, IMO, a better product and will last you longer.

If limited warranties were worth it, they wouldn't sell them 


Circuit city may be willing to deal-they're not doing so hot these days.

[He Man]

Thats what i thought too. but theres always christmas HDTV deals, and costco has a 90 day return policy.... i can have one now and return it later if i decide to....

As far as dealing wit hcc, they dont have any stock in store, so id have to order it online from CC. 

[Popeye the Sailor]

Thats what i thought too. but theres always christmas HDTV deals, and costco has a 90 day return policy.... i can have one now and return it later if i decide to....

As far as dealing wit hcc, they dont have any stock in store, so id have to order it online from CC. 

Just remember the old saying.


"I'm too poor to buy cheap".

[He Man]

makes sense. That was my mp3 phase. after buying a new device every year, i ponied for a nice Zune and ive had it for almost 2.5 years without incidence.


http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=209058#availability


HAHA ITS BACK IN STOCK AT THE STORE!!!!

[Super T.I.B]

The Sony, is, IMO, a better product and will last you longer.

If limited warranties were worth it, they wouldn't sell them 


Circuit city may be willing to deal-they're not doing so hot these days.

You do know that most if not all the manufacturers use the same panel, it's just that the firmware is different.   

[supakpow2]

You do know that most if not all the manufacturers use the same panel, it's just that the firmware is different.  

That is true to a point. There are about 3-4 major manufacturers of LCD panels. Most of the major brands use panels from one of these. SONY makes its panels with SAMSUNG, I believe. Pretty high quality there as well as dependability. Unlike most manufacturers, Sony makes most of the internal components for its TVs and makes the sets itself. The major difference is not just the firmware but the electronics (such as the signal processor, the graphics chip, the audio chip, the navigation interface) as well. The combination of the two make a better picture with better features And will last longer.

With the prices being equal, buy the SONY you will thank yourself later. I have several friends that have VISIO and are not overly thrilled after having them for awhile.
Just compare them side by side and the picture quality is very noticeable. All the SONY equipment I have ever purchased had very few problems and lasted for many years.

The warranty can be a good thing if it's not too expensive. I bought a Toshiba DLP TV four years ago with the $180 warranty (separate warranty company). The bulb blew after 2 years and the warranty guys wouldn't replace it (said they offer a separate warranty for DLP bulbs that I didn't purchase). The bulb is $220      Anyway, the company I bought the TV from (J&R) paid for half the bulb since their salesman told me the warranty covered the bulb when I specifically asked if it did.
Point of the story is: make sure any warranty you buy covers common problems with the type of equipment you are buying.

[printman]

circuit city is in bankruptcy, so I don't know how warranties work. All the CC are closing near us, but you can take the price over to Bestbuy and they have been matching them.

[redxblack]

Costco is a pretty ethical company. I'd throw my cash that way for that reason alone. That said, I've never been that fond of the Visio stuff. Maxim or Men's Health gave them the highest marks in bang for the buck, but I went with a Philips for not much more money and got a much sharper/brighter picture.

[Super T.I.B]

That is true to a point. There are about 3-4 major manufacturers of LCD panels. Most of the major brands use panels from one of these. SONY makes its panels with SAMSUNG, I believe. Pretty high quality there as well as dependability. Unlike most manufacturers, Sony makes most of the internal components for its TVs and makes the sets itself. The major difference is not just the firmware but the electronics (such as the signal processor, the graphics chip, the audio chip, the navigation interface) as well. The combination of the two make a better picture with better features And will last longer.

With the prices being equal, buy the SONY you will thank yourself later. I have several friends that have VISIO and are not overly thrilled after having them for awhile.
Just compare them side by side and the picture quality is very noticeable. All the SONY equipment I have ever purchased had very few problems and lasted for many years.

The warranty can be a good thing if it's not too expensive. I bought a Toshiba DLP TV four years ago with the $180 warranty (separate warranty company). The bulb blew after 2 years and the warranty guys wouldn't replace it (said they offer a separate warranty for DLP bulbs that I didn't purchase). The bulb is $220      Anyway, the company I bought the TV from (J&R) paid for half the bulb since their salesman told me the warranty covered the bulb when I specifically asked if it did.
Point of the story is: make sure any warranty you buy covers common problems with the type of equipment you are buying.

Thanks for clearing that up. 

I will probably be in the market for a plasma next year and have been researching a bit. I'm either going Panasonic or Samsung.

[He Man]

Hmmm.. good info here!

you guys pretty much summed up my mind on dishing out the extra funds on a higher quality set. now just comes to sony and samsung.

Circuit City has the Sony 32" for $499.99, with tax, thats $541.88 manufacturers warranty only.

Costco has the Samsung 32" for 599.99, with tax that is 650.269, 2 year extended warranty. and as redxblack points out, they are very ethical and have replace computers that have a dead pixel almost 2 years later without questions.

I can purchase the sony online for $499.99 free shipping no tax.

Bestbuy doesnt carry that model.

So which one do i get? lol

[redxblack]

Samsung and panasonic trade off on being the best picture. I prefer Samsung all things being equal. Good hunting!

[Super T.I.B]

Samsung and panasonic trade off on being the best picture. I prefer Samsung all things being equal. Good hunting!

I am leaning towards the Samsung.

The TV I have now is a Panasonic and it's getting on 15 years old now, the thing weighs a ton, but it has not missed a beat. I'm trading up because she who must be obeyed wants a new entertainment/TV cabinet. The old one looks like it belongs in the Waltons house. 

You can't have a new cabinet without a new TV. 

[He Man]

You can't have a new cabinet without a new TV. 

nothing a nice wall cant beat

[Bun-bun]

I know I'm coming into this late, and I don't want to muddy the water, but. . .

We have a Vizio 40" as our bedroom Tv, and we've been very happy with it. Excellent picture, decent sound, no problems in over a year now.
The 50" Sony DLP in the theatre room has been a different story. Bulb blew after two years, replaced it for $160, it blew again a year later. Another $145 and 6 months, and we're holding. Hopefully this bulb will last longer than a year.