Which HDTV Needs the Most Repairs?

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Which HDTV Needs the Most Repairs?
Consumer Reports issues a new study.
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (November 6, 2007) -- Rear-projection HDTVs are more likely to need repairs in the first three years than flat-screen LCD and Plasma sets.

That's the conclusion of a new study from Consumer Reports magazine.

In its December issue, Consumer Reports has published a study on brand repair rates for flat-panel and rear-projection TVs. According to CR, flat-panel LCD and Plasma TVs require few repairs during the first years of use.

However, rear-projection sets were much more "repair prone," the magazine said.

The study was based on the magazine's National Research Center's Annual Product Reliability Survey which covered almost 93,000 sets bought between 2004 and 2007.

The magazine found that Plasma and LCD HDTVs each had just a three percent repair rate, more evidence, it said, that consumers should bypass extended warranty offers.

In other findings, Consumer Reports found that Panasonic's 50-inch TH-50PZ700U Plasma set had only a two percent average repair rate. (The magazine also named the set the best flat-panel TV it had ever tested.)

Other brands with low repair rates: Sony, Sharp, Samsung, Toshiba, JVC for LCDs; Panasonic, Pioneer and Samsung for Plasma sets.

Brands with "less reliable" repair rates: Dell and Hitachi LCDs and Philips Plasmas.

Among rear-projection sets, Toshiba and RCA DLPs and Hitachi LCDs were most repair-prone, the magazine said About one-quarter of the rear-projection repairs involved replacing the bulb inside the set.

However, many bulb failures occurred early in the set's life and were likely covered by the standard warranty.

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Swanni (Phillip Swann) is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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