HDTV Service and Repair

[littlebit]

I'm trying to get information about the service and repair records of different HDTV manufacturers. Most of the product reviews don't provide much historical context about how well different TV's hold up over time, how prone they are to problems, how responsive the manufacturers are to solving them, etc. Though reliability is/should be an important consideration and it should be a reflection of the quality of components used and design, I haven't been able to find that information or how well companies respond to problems in reviews apart from anecdotal horror stories. For example, I know people who swear by Vizio sets and praise them for having high value for the price. But many have reservations about their reliability and quality control -- perhaps because they are comparatively new and sell at lower prices than better established names. On the other hand, I've heard lots of complaints about Sony, for example, and their failure to follow through on customer service problems. That runs counter to their long term image and their historical reputation for high quality.

Maybe the best source is TV repair people who see the good, the bad and the ugly. I realize that part of the problem is that the business is continually looking to what is new and next because that addresses the next sale. That leaves customers largely in the dark about incipient problems with certain TV's or the service problems that may await them if/when an issue arises.

Does anyone know of reviews that cover reliability and service records for different models and different manufacturers? Or are there sites that address product quality problems, service issues and how they are or aren't resolved?

 

[hang-the-9]

Every manufacturer will have tons of bad reviews because those are the types that get posted or circulated. When was the last time you had something work well and you went online to post a good review?

Samsung, Sony, Toshiba I'd pick for top reliability. Vizio, LG tend to have issues with quality control across broad ranges of product lines.

 

[littlebit]

Every manufacturer will have tons of bad reviews because those are the types that get posted or circulated. When was the last time you had something work well and you went online to post a good review?

Samsung, Sony, Toshiba I'd pick for top reliability. Vizio, LG tend to have issues with quality control across broad ranges of product lines.

Thanks for the reply. My experience is that looking at customer reviews doesn't necessarily reflect more negative than positive posts, although those who have negative experiences may have much stronger feelings that will show up in their postings. I think many/most are interested in providing a resource for shoppers to use in evaluating potential purchases.

The problem is that each of the experiences is anecdotal. If you get enough of them, a pattern may emerge. Otherwise, the experience people have to relate may be heavily colored by marketing/advertising, past reputation, prestige, or the frustration/anger at having a positive expectation disappointed. The internet makes possible collecting many responses so that the patterns that show up in larger numbers of responses can be seen. But what is harder to catch are situations where companies with strong reputations for product or service quality opt for cost-cutting or have problems that aren't sufficiently debugged in new products, causing a drop in product or service quality that isn't immediately detected. You see this in cases where early reviews are positive but followed up by more negative reports as more people run into the same problem and note it. Conversely, if a company significantly improves product or customer service, it takes time for people to catch on to the change and replace an outmoded image of the company and its products with something more accurate and up-to-date.

That's why I was hoping to get feedback from those who get a better look under the hood and can evaluate things like the quality of components used, changes in quality, potential problems, etc.