With the glut of off-brand HDTVs from Vizio, Insignia, Dynex, and more flooding the market, HDGuru did a little legwork and found the real price of these sets lies in their often inadequate extended service.
The major brands, like Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic, may have higher prices, but they back it up with service, especially in warranty and repair. After all, they’ve got the integrity of their name to protect. But the lesser-known brands (often just rebadged, unidentifiable Chinese models) often have repair options to match their low prices. Almost all of these brands researched require the customer to ship the HDTV out, which usually costs a few hundred dollars. If any warranty is included, it’s invariably meager (90 days), but many simply have no option for repair.
Considering a certain flammable Insignia set, extended warranties seem more pressing now than ever. Maybe spending a few more bucks now isn’t such a bad idea. [HDGuru]
matt
Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 3:57 PMnot that ive had any problems, but my 4k sony lcd only came with a 1 year warranty and a pretty bad dead pixel policy, whereas samsung – still a good brand but noticeably cheaper – gave a 3 year warranty with a zero dead pixel policy.
toosoontotell
Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 4:34 PMyeh but it’s still a Samsung
c1ockwork
Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 7:13 PMPoor man pays twice.
pewpew
Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 8:50 PMnot any more they dont, samsung with their new range are offering only 1 year warranty now. not that i’d ever buy one i see more of them back faulty than any other tv
Steve
Friday, April 17, 2009 at 1:05 PM@toosoontotell
Is it nice under that rock? While you’ve been down there, Samsung have put out some of the nicest LCDs on the market.