Survey says: LCD and plasma TVs highly reliable

LCD and plasma TVs are far more reliable than older rear-projection types, according to a report by Consumer Reports. On average, only 3 percent of flat panel TVs need repairs, with the majority of those repairs being free thanks to warranties. Rear projection TVs had a far higher repair rate of 18 percent, probably due to the limited life of the bulbs contained in these TVs. When flat panels TVs did need an out of warranty repair, they cost around $260 for LCDs, and nearly $400 for plasmas, with rear projection TV repairs costing around $300. The report also called out expensive extended warranties, saying that they're only worth it if you're particularly paranoid and they're cheaper than any possible repairs.

[stitifier @ Nov 3rd 2007 6:23PM]

If I see a customer ahead of me even thinking of getting an extended warranty, I make it a point to tell them how much of a scam it is. Jeez, Best Buy offered me an extended warranty on a CD I bought a while ago. No thanks, I'll take my chances.

Anyhoo, this is welcome news to me. I'll be in the hunt for a replacement for my 27" CRT (yes, I'm in the Stone Age) in a few months and it's good to know that these new-fangled HD sets are apparently built to last. Not that I'm not going to miss my Big-Bertha sized CRT-- we've been through some tough times together-- but it's time for me to get my visual tech on.

[Joe C @ Nov 3rd 2007 7:50PM]

Let me guess you're also one of those guys that tells a person looking at 40" set or lower that they HAVE to have 1080p too?

[Ayle @ Nov 3rd 2007 8:56PM]

I think you misunderstood his comment...

[Mile @ Nov 3rd 2007 9:07PM]

You sure it was an extended warranty for that CD and not some type of insurance in case you got busted using the formerly protected "Fair Use" law/clause/whatever and ripped it to your phone or DAP?

BTW, I'm the guy that tells those peeps to get the 1080p.

[Darren @ Nov 3rd 2007 10:17PM]

Homer: Extended warranty! how can I lose?

[FrannckyB @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:26PM]

Well I often think the same way, but when I bought my sony SXBR60 tv, I got "fooled" into taking the extended warranty. Since it was for an extra 4 years it seemed like it might be worth it... Turns out that it just broke and the Service Guy told me he as to change the entire optic assembly of the TV... I just saved myself 2500$

So yeah, sometimes, depending on the worth of the TV, extended warranties might be a GREAT idea. ;)

[Jack Storm @ Nov 4th 2007 1:51AM]

Yes my BestBuy warranty just got me a 46" samsung (lnt4671) for like $200. 2v2n though it took em like 2 weeks for em to tell me they couldnt repair my old set it was definetly worth the wait. so stop being a cheap and why do you have to make a point to a total stranger? i think you just have attention problems. im a psych major and by that comment i recomment you get an evaluation.

[DAZA @ Nov 4th 2007 4:14AM]

Err - I'm not sure how much warranties are in America but here they aren't a huge scam at all. Would you spend $3400 on your new Sony Bravia which only has a 1 year warranty, and not fork out the extra $100 for a 5 year in-home service? Even if it was $150?

Sure, I wouldn't consider a warranty that was any more than $200 - but at a particular retailer which I work at, our warranties are only between $99-159 AUD for 5 year protection on any LCD. Those are the retail prices, negotiation can bring them down much further!

[GhostDoggy @ Nov 4th 2007 5:47AM]

stitifier, every situation is different. When I bought the original Xbox five years ago I bought the best buy two year replacement plan for $15. When it got damaged after a lightning storm, I brought it back into the staore and they handed me a new one. This was something I'd have to had spent an additional $200 on had I not gotten the replacement plan.

As a result, I had $185 more to spend on games than following your modus. Cheers!

[Archy Bald @ Nov 4th 2007 8:00AM]

Richer Sounds do extended warranties that ARE good value.
And if you want another alternative, you can get good value and no quibble from Domestic and General insurance. The latter can include accidental damage from the date of the policy being taken out, so is exceptionally good cover.

I have no vested interest - I just want to pass on some helpful advice.

[Tym @ Nov 3rd 2007 6:35PM]

People can be so silly when buying electronics. Not much point in plunking down the money for a 4 year warranty for a gadget that'll be obsolete by then and not even cost the price of the warranty. OMG, my plasma screen only has a lifespan of 10 years of nonstop function?? Gosh, I thought I'd just buy one TV and keep it for the rest of my life, not like any of these gizmos get any better over time.

[paragraph @ Nov 3rd 2007 7:29PM]

two points:
some extended warenties cover bulbs for projection TVs, so read into that, i'd rather drop $400 on a warenty that covers a $300 bulb + install, sometimes twice.

secondly, lets compare this with CRT for a second, notice how your old CRT from 1982 is still kickin? HD CRTs will still last longer than any LCD, Plasma, or RPTV. The exception that i can tell is LED Projection.

Honestly, i'll stick with my CRT until LED projection stop sucking... and if it breaks, guess what i'm getting... a CRT...

[Mile @ Nov 3rd 2007 9:09PM]

My CRT from like 98 or something still looks great, though like another poster I'm looking at next year getting something HD. From a search I did a couple months ago, HD CRTs are dam expensive. Do you think they'll ever come down? I don't. People want flat.

[thejfed @ Nov 3rd 2007 7:35PM]

I got a LCD last spring. It was a tough call for me whether to go lcd or plasma. In the end while not a lot I do own a ps3 and play games and the burn in was still a small concern for me with the plasma. If I didn't game at all I would have gone plasma but lcd is just so much more versatile.

[Joe C @ Nov 3rd 2007 7:46PM]

What is the median length of time that a respondent has owned their HDTV? If you look at the cost of LCDs relative to the adoption rate, many people have just recently purchased their sets within the past year or two. So I fail to see how this data can be relevant, I'd say its a waste of money to buy a 2 or 3 year warranty, but a 4 or 5 year at a good price is the ticket.

I've had my set serviced 2 times all far after the 1 year warranty. The first time my set blew up and was arcing electricity across the circuit board, this was 2 years after I purchased it. Now I'm near the end of my 4 year warranty and I've also had one other minor repair on my 47" Panasonic CRT and they where all done on site for free. Not to mention the fact that under the manufacturers warranty many companies require you ship the set to them for service. There is something to be said for warranties. From my point of view their just isn't enough data here in the article provided to back their claims. Secondly they don't even list how many people they polled, I also think they must have some data on the length they've owned their HDTV too.

[Russell @ Nov 3rd 2007 7:46PM]

I think we will see another big jump with the LED backlit panels like the samsung 81 series...

Of course they are not yet true rgb led backlit yet, but even still an LED array has got to be much longer lasting and reliable than a single large CCFL/inverter system.

[diablonhn @ Nov 3rd 2007 8:45PM]

The problem with CRTs is that they need constant adjustment. And over time, it will get out of spec and no adjustments will correct that. That's just the way with CRT technology. And not to mention screen burn-in...

But with LCDs, what will break? Most likely the backlight but it's usually just a florescent tube - lasts a long time and cheap to replace. If it's an LED backlight, then no need to worry about it breaking. The other thing that may break is the inverter. Anything dealing with high voltage will see accelerated wear and tear. Failure in the high voltage components is the main reason CRTs die. But fortunately, LCD inverters are relatively cheap because they only need to output one or two voltages. And they simply last longer than CRT components.

[tintin @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:45PM]

Well, I've had nothing but an excellent experience with my Sony 50" LCD RPTV since March 2006. I skipped the extended warranty - although some extended warranties do cover bulb replacement (few and far between).

On my Sony at least the bulb is user-replaceable and the bulbs are available for $200 or so. I haven't had to do mine yet - should be good for another year or two.

Takes up no more room than an LCD or Plasma (sure I can't hang it on the wall - probably fewer than 10% of people do this anyhow) but it also doesn't generate tons of heat.

I'll grab a 50-60" LCD in two years or so when there's enough 1080p content to warrant a 1080p set.

[paul @ Nov 3rd 2007 11:53PM]

A warranty is the amount of time a company guarantees the product will work for.

I work handling disputes in warranty claims for an electronics manufacturer, and I can't tell you how many people come to me telling me expecting me to extend their warranties because their product has failed outside of 12 months.

A good rule of thumb is how long you expect to be using this product. Five years you say? And it comes with a 1 year warranty? Let's see...

Your TV cost $2000
Extended warranty costs $500 for another four years
Total cost per year: $500

Whereas, if it failed at 13 months and wasn't repairable, cost per year is just under $2000. It's up to you to balance that against a % risk factor.

[nizzy1115 @ Nov 4th 2007 1:09AM]

i paid 49 bucks for a 4 year warranty on my sk-32h240 i bought over the summer for a sick deal of 499. I'm hoping it kicks the can in about 2-3 years so i can get a new one and probably bigger and better for the same price.

[Ashraf @ Nov 4th 2007 1:22AM]

Sometimes Extended Warranties are there when you really need them.

For instance, two days ago, my 60 inch Sony SXRD TV was not displaying white properly. it was displaying yellow. Seems that the Best Buy guy had to replace the whole engine for the TV, and who knows how much that costs! The TV itself is $4000!

Also, my brother's PSP messed up when he was on vacation this summer. So we went to Best Buy and took our PSP and our insurance (2 Years, $30). He has a new PSP now, and I always tell him that he would have that messed up PSP that couldn't play UMD...

Anyways, I hope this was helpful and sometimes Extended Warranties and Insurances really save you alot of money.

[JB @ Nov 4th 2007 10:07AM]

Due to warranties. Sure, I didn't pay anything other than $60 to ship my Norcent 27" television back for its RMA, BUT it took them FIVE MONTHS TO FIX IT.

They had the worst customer service I have ever encountered. I was forced to look up all my tracking information from months prior, so they could find my television in their warehouse. They insisted I did not exist, rather than accepting that they are clueless and lost my TV. Within a day after providing the tracking number they found it and shipped it a mere THREE WEEKS LATER!

Do not buy Norcent anything.

[dave @ Nov 4th 2007 10:21AM]

still running a, probably, 10-year-old 63" standard-definition rear projection set. no problems at all, actually halo 3 looks better on my set than on any TV that my friends can throw at me, HD or otherwise.

but verizon's offering a free 19" 720p LCD if you ink a 2-year contract for the FiOS services, so i might take the plunge.....but my xbox is staying where it is.

[GU @ Nov 4th 2007 10:56AM]

i think the question here is about LCD and Plasmas on an extended warranty. From what I know a helluva lot more than 3% fail, I don't know where Consumer Reports came up with that number...and considering most of them are less than 3 years old I don't know how they know that they are going to last

[Ashraf @ Nov 4th 2007 10:58AM]

Sometimes Extended Warranties are there when you really need them.

For instance, two days ago, my 60 inch Sony SXRD TV was not displaying white properly. it was displaying yellow. Seems that the Best Buy guy had to replace the whole engine for the TV, and who knows how much that costs! The TV itself is $4000!

Also, my brother's PSP messed up when he was on vacation this summer. So we went to Best Buy and took our PSP and our insurance (2 Years, $30). He has a new PSP now, and I always tell him that he would have that messed up PSP that couldn't play UMD...

Anyways, I hope this was helpful and sometimes Extended Warranties and Insurances really save you alot of money.

[Arsenic0 @ Nov 4th 2007 4:21PM]

I think this is just another one of those biased reports on LCD/Plasma with no real knowledge of DLP's and warranties.

So I buy my DLP TV for 2k from Best Buy. Best part was we talked them down $200 bucks from the listed price if we got the extended warranty, so in reality i paid only $100 over retail with a 4 year warranty.

The TV comes with a 1 year warranty with 1 bulb, the extended warranty covers that 1 year + 3 years with one bulb replacement.

Considering the bulbs are ~300 bucks to begin with, and a DLP bulb is guarenteed to go dead in 4 years, i basically end up with a $100 left over 4 years if something else breaks. 25 dollars a year for 4 years..or risk having to take my $2000 TV set to the dump. Tough question.

[Steve D. @ Nov 4th 2007 8:27PM]

Sample size smaller then 30, qualitative data cannot conduct t-test. Hypnosis cannot be tested.

Result = LIE ABOUT IT.

[Coyote @ Nov 5th 2007 3:18AM]

Ugh. Why does CR count a lamp replacement as a repair? That is a user-servicable item, just like printer cartridges. Some of those are also $200!

If you discount that, how many RP sets really need service? (FWIW, mine did, but that was because Comcast actually managed to brick the tuner with their f&#%ed up digital cable!)

LCD and plasma panels might be more reliable than RP light engines, but the display is just one part of the set. Flat panels still have power supplies and/or inverters that wear out prematurely if faced with heavy duty cycles. If the extended warranty is < 10% of the purchase price per year, get it.

[morgan @ Nov 11th 2007 7:34AM]

Like stitifier I am looking to replace my CRT next year so this is pretty good to know. Now I just need to decide between LCD or Plasma! For anyone interested in replying I use my TV for 90% regular TV 5% movies and 5% gaming (Xbox 360, Wii and PS2). I have nothing HD yet but plan to get SkyHD (I am UK based) when I get an HDTV and probably a BluRay or HDDVD player as well (or both if we ever see dual format systems).

[JTM @ Nov 3rd 2007 7:51PM]

"I have nothing HD yet"

You do know that the Xbox 360 can output an HD signal right? It can do 720p, 1080i and 1080p.

[Morgan @ Nov 3rd 2007 9:42PM]

What I meant was I don't have anything for HD video yet.