This is a warning to RV owners and anyone buying a a large screen TV. This posting is done in an effort to educate and save YOU from the trap we fell into.
LONG STORY SHORT, MORE DETAILS AVAILABLE IF YOU WANT THEM.
We bought a Rear Projection TV, and were told this 60 inch Sony would need a projection bulb every 6000-8000 hours of usage (Store owner's version). 4 hours a day = minimum of 1500 days = around 4 years. Cost around $400 installed by professionals. We bought an extended warranty that cost around $450. We were told it covered everything. Total cost $5,009.71, plus the $300 stand.
That is the Filco story today(where we bought it in Sacramento, CA).
June 19, 2008 the set failed, the bulb died with around 3,000 hours. I called the extended warranty people to find Filco had never sent our money to them to activate our insurance. I called Filco and they said they would check into it. Approximately 900 days after we bought it, FILCO says they have activated the insurance, and by the way, this bulb is not covered. Had I not called, FILCO would never have bought this policy and they would have kept the $450 without paying taxes on it.
I told the manager my wife and I do NOT remember them telling us one word about projection bulbs. After all, we bought the unit New Years Eve, around 3pm (to get the sales tax break in 2005 -- we bought our motorhome that year).
I told the FILCO owner I got 15 years out of the last big screen TV we bought from them and this is a SONY, we figured we would get 15 years out of it also. 15 years at $400 every two year is $3000 more. No sane person would buy a TV that they would have to pay an average of $200 a year for the life of the TV. Maybe I am wrong. Had I been told the truth, I would never have bought this unit. There were plenty of less expensive TVs.
There is much more to the story, but if this story saves even one of you from this mess, it is worth it. I am not sure where to post this, but I hope you leave it somewhere so people can read it. EDIT: In trying to be factual, I forgot about a forum rule about mentioning --
how to say this correctly -- we are not supposed to discuss what we plan on doing about it. I hope I said that correctly. Sorry about that. We are retired, on a fixed income, this is not what I wanted to spend my money on. We were materially misled and the store owner at Filco told us too bad. Local store owners gripe about the internet and Walmart, but I could have saved money by buying it there, enough to pay for the bulbs for some time.
Please take note I have tried to tell the facts. No name calling, etc.
BTW, the fastest way to find problems in large ticket items is to ask about the extended warranty and what does it NOT cover. Insurance is "Risk Based". If the product has a part that fails a lot, that part will usually NOT be covered in the warranty. Ergo, had I been told this extended warranty from GE would not cover the bulb, I would bought something else.
PS - if you wonder why I trusted FILCO, it is because we had bought several major appliances there in the last 20 years. What we were told now is that there was a change in ownership. Guess I am getting old.
* This post was
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edited 06/27/08 07:50pm by dllfo *
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I'm afraid that this is a case of the buyer not doing their own research before purchase. All projection TV's, front, rear or DLP use a bulb as a 'consumable'. This is not the case with LCD, Plasma or CRT.
As a buyer you should be aware that no insurance policy will ever cover consumables and so if you purchase one then you need to understand this.
As far as the non-purchase of the policy then that is a fault of the seller although I am surprised that you never questioned why the paperwork for it never arrived.
The main point to be made I think, is never believe what a salesman tells you - double check the information and do your homework before purchase.
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The attraction .....(I have one) is low cost and ... Best bang for the buck!!!!! I paid 1500.00 for a 1080p Samsung top of the line 50" Rearpro Tv 8 months ago...... Bulbs can be changed yourself for 1/2 the cost of a service call as easy as ..well Changing a light bulb ... about 200 - 300 $$
Even at 3000 hours (low time use by most estimates... I have a 9 year old Mitsu Std Def that has NEVER had a bulb changed) thats about 2 years of 5 hours a day tv watching !!!!.
you can buy a lot of bulbs for the difference in a large lcd or plazma price. Agreed they are 12- 14" thick and not as sexy as a flat screen that can be mounted on the wall but most flat screens are not mounted on the wall they sit on a table where a Rear projection would fit easily. Since they arent the sexy thing you can get the same (or better ) picture for big $$$ less in a Large 50" or better TV.The disadvantage is Most makers cant make Big $$ in rearPro so are moving to where thay can ... LCD.
that said RV use does not exist as nobody really needs a 50" or better tv in their RV LCD is the king in that area
Bill
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So you got taken on a bad third party extended warranty. Sorry to hear that. Unfortunately this happens everyday to many uneducated consumers for all kinds of merchandise. In the future do more due diligence before purchasing such a thing....
Just my 2cents, Viewing angles on all DLPs have been horrible.
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You are lucky you even got that long out of that DLP Lamp, I have seen many that don't go past 1 year.
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tvman44 wrote: You are lucky you even got that long out of that DLP Lamp, I have seen many that don't go past 1 year.
It's based on hours, not days. In any case your viewing habits must be like mine. I have a rear projection but not a DLP or LCD (not the flat screen LCD) that requires a replaceable lamp. If I had one of those I would be paying for a replacement lamp every 9-12 months. When I install large screen sets for customers as part of a home theater install and they want to go with a rear screen set I require them to sign a contract that includes a warning about lamp replacement every 3000 hours under normal use. When my old set goes belly up I will add an LCD (flat panel) to my home theater but will miss the old tube style analog set. The old shotgun tube sets will go from 8 - 10 years without any service and even the new Plasma or LCD's are only rated for 5-7 years before starting to go bad.
???? side View of a DLP (mine) is just the same as a LCD ... Its a Projection on a flat screen how is that different from a front projector angle?? And in most cases better than LCD which has a reputation of poor off angle viewing (move to the side of your laptop if you don't believe me).
LCDs loose pixles with time and dont do high speed motion well and plazma gets dimmer and dimmer 10,000 hour?? AND no bulb to be replaced just throw out the set (they already are dim and need a darker room. I know i'm in the minority with my love of DLP rearpro. but MANY pro reviews give them high marks. to ea there own.YMMV
FWIW, although I've never purchased an extended warranty on anything before, I DID buy one when I bought my latest 60" rear projection Sony TV (which sounds very much like the one the OP bought)-- specifically because the warranty I purchased, unlike most, offered an addendum to cover bulb replacements (maximum of two over the life of the 3 year warranty). The cost of the complete warranty, including bulb replacement, was $227 (less than two bulbs will cost)-- and by paying for the TV with American Express, the warranty is extended for free for an additional year or two (I forget which), so I have either four or five years of coverage for that price.
I haven't had to replace any bulbs yet, but posters at avsforum.com indicate that the warranty bulb replacement process consists of making a phone call to an 800-number telling them you need a bulb, then replacing it yourself when it arrives. Takes less than five minutes (certainly not worth a service call, even if you have to pay for the bulb) The bulbs are specifically designed to be user-replaceable, full instructions on how to do it are in the owner's manual.
It appears to me that the OP didn't do his due diligence-- the slightest bit of internet research would have produced a plethora of information about the cost and frequency of bulb replacements necessary on this type of TV.
Relying on what the salesman tells you? Who does that anymore? Thirty minutes on the internet will make you more knowledgeable about virtually ANY product than the average salesman selling it!
Caveat emptor.
* This post was
edited 06/22/08 04:54pm by flibmeister *
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... about 200 - 300 $$
(they already are dim and need a darker room. I know i'm in the minority with my love of DLP rearpro. but MANY pro reviews give them high marks. to ea there own.YMMV
