Quality control issues with 2010 range of TVs

[bigboss]

Am I the only one noticing that users are reporting far more issues with this year's range of TVs, be it Panasonic or Philips or Sony or Samsung? Last year, Sony was dominating the headlines in this regard. Panasonic seems to be leading the way this year.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Nope, not the only one.

 

[Anonymous]

yea its strange bb, i cant help thinking that the roll out of the new 3dtv's, and the makers efforts at perfecting them, has meant that some issues that would have been spotted in a normal year have slipped under the radar..

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

Ahh but this is the downside of the forums - everything is broken!

There have been problems with electronics for years and most are within the tolerances you would expect. It is just that now every individual unhappy consumer can reach hundreds of thousands with a few clicks. The explosion in reviews and the demand for perfection also highlights the issue.

With any major problem it is how the manufacturer handles the situation that is the real issue. I can think of a few over the years ( returns over 10% ) that are not common knowledge that have been sorted without fuss.

The best advice is to see the product you are actually buying first hand and ensure you have a hassle free after sales service should there be a problem.

 

[Clare Newsome]

I agree.

Add in the facts that

a) more TVs are being sold this year - more than 10 million in the UK alone and

b) more people are contributing to online Forums (for example, our traffic is already up 40% on last year!)

and there may well be more complaints, but not necessarily a statistical rise in failure rates.

Still doesn't stop it being a pain, though - I was gutted when my iPod Touch developed faults then died

Yes, it was under warranty, and I got a replacement, but it was still damned annoying.

 

[Andy Clough]

It's probably worth mentioning that the latest generation TVs are hugely sophisticated pieces of kit, many having to cope with Freeview HD, Freesat, internet connectivity, 3D, Blu-ray, high-definition playback, numerous apps, BBC iPlayer and heaven knows what else. All that computing power is bound to trip them up occasionally.

 

[bigboss]

That's a fair point. More sophisticated TVs at a time when information can be disseminated so easily can be difficult for manufacturers to escape even minor issues with TVs. I just hope they keep up the pace with quality control. Android TVs are coming as well........I'm waiting for all this technology to just hold for a couple of years, so that manufacturers can concentrate on perfecting existing technology rather than jumping on new technology.....like what Pioneer was doing with Kuro technology before its demise.

 

[Anonymous]

Andy Clough:It's probably worth mentioning that the latest generation TVs are hugely sophisticated pieces of kit, many having to cope with Freeview HD, Freesat, internet connectivity, 3D, Blu-ray, high-definition playback, numerous apps, BBC iPlayer and heaven knows what else. All that computing power is bound to trip them up occasionally.
so do you think its worth buying extended warrenty then
i still think they are a rip off imo.

 

[Andy Clough]

At least some of these issues can be fixed by firmware upgrades. We're used to upgrading our computer software/firmware all the time, now it's getting like that with other electronics.

 

[Anonymous]

i think that extended warranties are mandatory! last month my Sony w4500 developed a line of dead pixels, 1&1/2 year after purchase, had i not got the optional extended warranty i would have been £££££ out of pocket, but for the comparatly small sum i payed for it i now have a brand new panel worth ££££ fitted free of charge andd delivered back to my front door. i think anyone who opts out of the extended warranty is either very stupid or very brave.

 

[bigboss]

jst23:i think that extended warranties are mandatory! last month my Sony w4500 developed a line of dead pixels, 1&1/2 year after purchase, had i not got the optional extended warranty i would have been £££££ out of pocket, but for the comparatly small sum i payed for it i now have a brand new panel worth ££££ fitted free of charge andd delivered back to my front door. i think anyone who opts out of the extended warranty is either very stupid or very brave.

You've got Sale of Goods Act which covers you for up to 6 years, & EU law, which covers you for 2 years, which you can use if the TV goes bust prematurely.

I returned my 18-month old Sony Vaio laptop to Amazon for a full refund when its motherboard developed a fault. No questions asked. And my laptop had only a 1 year warranty.

 

[Anonymous]

i think you were very lucky then, because even though i had my warranty i still had a little bit of trouble getting my tv fixed, confirming i purchased the extended warranty etc etc, and im sure that problems such as dead pixels fall into a grey area, i went to my local sony centre prior to phoning them direct about my tv and stated that it had dead pixels and the chap behind the counter took great pleasure in telling me that he couldnt help me and that dead pixels are the suppliers problem rather that the makers, upon which i went home and found that the supplier had gone bust during the reccesion

thankfully i had purchased my extended warranty from Sony direct and all is well now

 

[Anonymous]

All this talk of quality control is putting me off buying a new telly. Had my trusty Tosh for over 10 years and not a single problem.

 

[6th.replicant]

All the spin in the world, spuriously clinging to the premise that-for-every-customer-with-a-faulty-TV-there-are-thousands-who-are-satisfied can't hide the fact that contemporary TVs are clearly rushed to market with minimal R&D/product testing.

Granted, the above will no doubt attract a "sweeping statement" charge, but perhaps BBC.co.uk's recent article, Top 10 Consumer Complaints Revealed, which found TVs to be no-2 for customer complaints (according to data from Consumer Direct), indicates otherwise?

 

[Clare Newsome]

again, with no agenda, i'd just state the obvious- if more than 10 million tvs are going to be sold this year, there may be a large number of people with issues, on a pure percentage basis (and TVs are a lot more complex - sadly - to get the most of than dishwashers)

 

[Anonymous]

Sometimes the worst thing you can do when looking into buying something is looking in a forum. I have seen many people put off after reading a few lines from Mr Angry on a website. Part of the problem is the small % of TV perfectionists will point out issues with a TV set that probably the vast majority of people wont know / see / care about.

No TV is perfect as with most things try it out your self, does it do what you want and are you prepared to pay that much money for it if the answer is Yes then get it and be happy

 

[aliEnRIK]

I agree that statistically youd expect to 'see' more complaints as more and more people use computers to come onto forums etc

However - we are also in the worst global ('Ill change that to ONLY) economy meltdown theres ever been. Id expect the electronics manufacturers to make cutbacks and qualitys were id expect to see it. People would rather (generally speaking, especially with tvs) buy specs over quality (Believing the 2 are one and the same when theyre clearly not)

 

[StanleyAV]

I wish I had delved into the forums online before purchase, online reviews etc don't appear to tell the whole story. I got caught out, it won't be happening again.!!

 

[aliEnRIK]

StanleyAV:I wish I had delved into the forums online before purchase, online reviews etc don't appear to tell the whole story. I got caught out, it won't be happening again.!!

What issues you had Stanley?

 

[StanleyAV]

Motion, posterisation, and audio problems on 2 Panasonic V20Bs. They are particularly awful during the first few days of use, some settling occurs, but the problems never really go away. I found upon subsequent reading of online forums that these issues are affecting many Panasonic models this year from the G20s up to the VT20s.

This is quite far removed from the impression that reviews were giving : as noted on another thread I started here.

While there could be faulty batches : why is it affecting more than one model? Clare Newsome, What HIFI Editor is seeking a statement from Panasonic.

In the meantime, I have ordered last year's flagship the Z1 (46"), I had recently owned a Panasonic Viera G15 with none of these issues.

I am more confident that this model will behave itself with regular UK broadcasts, unlike the V20 model.

 

[aliEnRIK]

StanleyAV:
While there could be faulty batches : why is it affecting more than one model? Clare Newsome, What HIFI Editor is seeking a statement from Panasonic.

Ahhh. I recall that. Looks like Panasonic are shying away from it

 

[Anonymous]

I have this idea, that its different departments at Panasonic designing the various models. Quite sure that the group of people who made the Z1 is absolutely not the same people who made the low-end models, which this year includes V20 and VT20 in my perspective. The old experienced get the flagships, ofacuse its prestige to work on the flagship - and we are in a Japaneese company - perhaps borrowing from the professional section ? Speculations ofcause.

How can you else explain the huge differece in build quality, electronic design etc,. buzzing power supplies, all sorts of problems - we will see when StanleyAV gets his Z1.

Personally I always go for the flagship - cost no-issue products where a team of the most experienced developers put all what they know into a new model. Plus they usually are 1-3 generations ahead compared with the "normal" models, in terms of specs and technology.

 

[Anonymous]

Stanley,

I would be VERY interested to know how you find the Z1 and if you have any issues, as I am also temped with the 46" Z1, which is available for around £1500 - £1700 price range looking on the web (Comet). Considering the price when it was released, and until quite recent times, it appears to be amazing value. I know there are those who will say the 'v' & 'vt' models are a great improvement, but to the ordinary viewer is there really that much difference (especially if you are not doing a side-by-side comparison, and just taking it as you see it)? Also, as you say, you have to consider the quality and top-end product that you are getting.

What screen size are you going for and at what price?

Pauled.

 

[Anonymous]

I know there are those who will say the 'v' & 'vt' models are a great improvement,

I think the difference between Kuro, V10, V20 and Z1 is so small, that it is more the qualifications of the callibrator that determins a difference, than the sets them self.

Actually many say that the picture quality on the 2010 models, especially the black level is a step back compared with the 2009 models. One major reason is the discovery of the black level over time problem - Panasonic did aparently choose not to run the 2010 panels so hard, and adjusted the driving electronics to start at a "higher level" in order for the user not to experience the dramatic decrease in black level after a few months.

Z1 is pre this - so I would recommend to be gentle on the set ( that goes for all TV sets ), turn down the contrast and light and spare the panel - put yout hand on the front glass - if you can frie an egg on it, you may consider to adjust the contrast/brightnes or prepare to save for a new set soon - I say max hand warm. Many of the problems user experience may very well be caused by stressing the poor panel too hard in the attempt to achieve the black and white levels promised in the reviews - stressing the underdimentioned buzzing power supply etc ;-) Will also prevent retentation problems. Remember - one lamp lit and the black level is gone anyway. The old panny 50PX600 is cool on the front glass - but this TV set is from before they began to run the panels hard to achieve the black and white levels. There are 5-6 fans in the Z1 I see, there is a reason for this - so I wouldnt try to reproduce the sun too often even it probably could to some extend

 

[Anonymous]

peterherz, the 2010 panny plasma range has deeper blacks across the board than the 09 range, with the v/vt sets in particular having much deeper blacks than last years v series, or z1 series for that matter..