Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater DLPs and Extended Warranties...

I just purchased a Samsung 46" DLP monitor that will be delivered Tuesday. I still have an opportunity to get the service contract if I wish. I should note that this was an internet order (Circuit City) and I have not seen a copy of the specific warranty yet, to know of such details as to whether or not it covers lamp replacement, etc. It's $499 for 4 years.

I'm one of those people who never get the extended warranty, but I'm unsure in this case. I've researched this monitor and its competition for a long time, and I'm satisfied that this was the monitor I preferred. When I look at the user reviews, though, I see that some people have had some issues with it… as others have had with other monitors as well.

I realize that there can't be any definitive answers as I don't have any specifics about the warranty, but I'd like to ask in general terms:

Are DLPs one of those semi-problematic items that just may warrant a warranty?

I am also one that does not buy extended warranties, but for something like this, I would consider it just for peace of mind.

Mark,

I also purchased a DLP HDTV this weekend, although I got the Mit 52725 DLP. I bought mine from Tweeter; since it was the only place I could find the 52725. I am also the type that never gets the extended warranty. BUT in this case I put up the cash ($350 4 years) for the warranty, mainly for the following reasons.

First - the warranty covers the light bulb, which is rated for about 4000 hours use. New bulb cost (atm) around $250.

Second - On all the post I read there was only one reoccurring problem, the light engine (replacement $1200 plus)

Third – I figured if any thing went wrong with the TV after the one year manufactured warranty it would cost a lot more than the $350 I paid.

I am curious if you got the Samsung Model: HL-P4663W and if CC was willing to deal with you any. I didn’t think I would ever say this, but I think the 52” Mit is too big for my room. I sit a little over 11 feet from the screen, but this thing still looks huge. I am considering returning the Mit and buying the 46” Sammy.

Take care,

In reply to:

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I am curious if you got the Samsung Model: HL-P4663W and if CC was willing to deal with you any.

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Yes, that's the model I got.

I've been keeping en eye on these for awhile, and there was a pre-Thanksgiving, web-only sale for $2429, a good $600~$700 less than I normally see it for. I didn't jump on it right away and was discouraged to see that on Friday that the price went up to $2564.... until I realized that you now get a $100 gift card in addition.

I was going to "pick up" at a local store, but when I dropped in to make an absolute, final confirmed decision between the Samsung and a Pannie 43", the salesman recommended that I choose delivery (it was free) as the unit would get handled less. When I came home and placed the order, I was to call an 800 number to arrange delivery. I had to call 3X over 5 hours because their computers were down each time. When I finally called the fourth time and the 'puters weren't down, the woman was looking at 4 weeks out to make the delivery. I asked if I could change the order to "pick up" and it couldn't be changed; I would have to cancel the original order and re-place it. The order was placed on a debit card and, to be frank, I didn't have enough in that account to place a second order with the first amount remaining on "hold" for 7-10 days. In addition, the woman on the phone started in on the extended warranty speil, even though I told her that I wasn't going to commit to it without at least seeing a copy to look over. I found myself getting annoyed that the whole thing was turning ugly. She thought that she could have the local store deliver, but it was now after 5PM and she couldn't contact the delivery staff of the local store. She said that she would check into it the following day (Sunday) and call me back to confirm delivery and find out about my decision on the warranty. I really didn't think she would, and I would have to call them again and start from the beginning.

Lo and behold, she called today and said she could arrange for the local store to deliver it Tuesday and if I thought I might be interested in the warranty, I could just look it over at the local store and decide after.

So, for the moment, my faith is restored. The pricing was the lowest I've seen and it finally puts to bed the last large piece of the HT.

In reply to:

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I think the 52” Mit is too big for my room. I sit a little over 11 feet from the screen, but this thing still looks huge.

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Is the picture too large, or the unit itself? I'm curious because that will be approximately the same distance I'll have for a viewing distance. One of the primary factors in choosing the Samsung was it's small bezel frame. I have limited wall space and most of the DLP/LCD projectors are wide... with the speakers mounted on the side. It seems as though the Samsung and LG model are about the only units with a very high picture size-to-unit size ratio.

Mark,

I am starting to get worried; I am hearing the Twilight Zone music playing in the background. I bought the Mit mainly for two reasons, First – picture quality, the Mit has one of the best screens I have seen (The Mit and the Sammy have the same dlp generation chip.) Second – Bezel sizes, the speakers on the Mit are mounted on the bottom and the bezel is only about 2” in width on the sides. Total width of the screen is little less than 50”.

I also have a very limited wall space, little more than 7 feet. I needed room for the TV and two M60ti speakers, plus a little breathing space (very little, LOL). To answer your question it’s the screen size that’s to big for me at the moment, although I had the family over this weekend and I was the only one complaining. Maybe I just need to get used to the size of the TV or it might just be that it looks so big since it covers 2/3 of the wall. I have been researching DLP, LCD and LCOS for about 4 months and it was between Samsung and Mit (both DLP models) for the last 2 months. I don’t think you can go wrong with either set.

Del

This was my previous setup to having the Axioms.

Because of the limited wall space (a little over 8'), I never really looked at anything larger than a 50" model....and was considering that to be somewhat large for the upper limit. (I did want to include 50" models, though, because there were so many of them and in case I came across a great deal). That's probably why I'm not familiar with your model. It was the same situation with the JVCs as well. The Mitsubishi DOES have a great picture. I know that even besides size, I initially would have dismissed it because of it's reflective screen… though I later heard it was removable (I don't have a room that I can make completely dark and reflections of windows have always been an issue with my existing 32" Sony). I know what you mean about "breathing room"; in my smallish 13' x 13' living room, avoiding the "cramped" look is important to me!

With the rule of thumb being "proper seating distance is 2.5X your diagonal screen size", the Samsung will actually be exactly that in my room. Because of it falling within those guidelines, I wasn't really concerned that the screen size would be too big for the material or seating distance.

What I was (am?) concerned with was whether or not it will look ostentatious or "showy" for that room. I haven't bought a TV stand yet for that reason as I want to experiment with different heights for the monitor both for viewing preference but also knowing that the monitor won't be quite so overwhelming if placed a little lower. Despite all that, I know that there is a relatively narrow vertical viewing angle. I think, all things considered, that I'm going to end up building a stand and roughed out this design yesterday to show my wife what I had in mind:


It would be Beech with an inlaid-style textured black Formica surface on the horizontal surfaces to match my Beech M60s and their black grills. The other obvious alternative would be to get the matching Bell'o piece to my audio rack but, thanks to a great suggestion here (Spiffnme if I remember right?) I think I'm going to end up putting the rack into the closet on the left (with the door off so it just looks "inset").

The idea would be to have only the monitor and the M60s on that wall…(maybe the matching Beech Axiom sub too if that location sounds good). I think it will have a nice, clean look when it's all done!

At least I hope so!

I bought a 61" Samsung DLP from Ultimate Electronics recently. I usually don't buy extended warranties either but in this case the salesman knocked off the price of the warranty from the price of the TV. Also in the back of my mind was the fact that this is relatively new technology. I bought the floor model which knocked off an additional $800.00. Delivery was free. I got a great deal even with the purchase of the warranty.

The cool thing is that after about three days I noticed a line in the screen when there was no signal going to the TV. I called the salesman to tell him about it thinking he would send a tech out to check it out. Instead, he sent a brand new in the box TV which made it an even sweeter deal.

MarkS, DelD,

Like both of you, I would normally not get an extended warranty, but in the case of DLP, a new, complex technology (plus there's that spinning color wheel), I would be inclined to get one.

Also, i checked Consumer's Report frequency-of-repair records, admittedly on direct-view CRT sets, but a huge data base (71,000 respondents) and Samsung is so-so. The only brand listed that has worse reliability is RCA.

That said, the relibility records are still quite good, compared to some other products. Samsung has a repair frequency of about 7% over five years. Put another way, after five years of use, 7% of Samsung CRT (HD and non-HD) set owners had to have them repaired. By the way, Mitsubishi is not listed, I think because they have so relatively little market presence.

By comparison, laptop computer repair records are considerably worse. I wish I'd bought an extended warranty for my hp laptop. I didn't, and the hard drive went after 18 months, out of warranty (naturally!).

As to screen size, my preference would have been a 46-inch but they did not have reviewer's samples in that size available, so I opted for the 50. It certainly dominates the room (the screen size). With HD and DVD, I love the picture, viewing it from about 10 or 11 feet. With non-HD, it doesn't start to look acceptable until I'm about 15 feet away.

A 52-inch from 11 feet away sounds a bit large to me.

Regards,

Mark, I bought the HLP5063w same as yours, but 52". I looked at some internet "discount" stores, they had some really low prices, and they would show 79.00 or 99.00 or 149.00 fixed shipping. They were like 500 bucks cheaper than the lowest local store price. But when you order it, the shipping on all of these scam places sky rockted to the point there was very little savings. I was also afraid to buy this kind of ticket idem from someone 1000 miles away. When I bitched about it enough, they said "well we don't have em in stock anyhow". This happened MANY times. Some of these places suck!! they all seemed to be out of new york. I printed the price and shipping and used it a a negotiating tool. they did not match internet stores, and the listed shipping charges turned out to be boogus, but they did not know that. I got the TV for 2699+tax. (at that time) that was 600.00 less than their tag price. I brought it home, and I swear it was fine for about 20 minutes, and then nothing, I broght it back, and they gave me a no hassle exchange, and never had a problem since. That was about 4 months ago. Despite that, I did not buy the warranty, largely cause it was every I could do to get the TV at almost 3k with tax. I declined the warr. On a TV of that investement, I think theres alot of merit in a warranty. I hate when they push a 20.00 extended warranty on a 79.00 idem, hell I'll take my chances. A 3,000 TV is a different story all together. BTW I love the TV, but it looks better at 15 to 20 ft, than 11 ft.

Mark,

I have a degree in electronics, and I have fixed every electronic device that has failed in my house in the past 20 years. My #1 concern when buying any large ticket item that plugs in is "Can I buy parts for it?". I bought a Mits 65" RPTV in October of 2003. I ended up buying the warranty. The service manual alone is nearly $80. $500 bucks is dirt cheap when you consider that just getting a guy to your house to look at a problem will set you back by about $150. If you need parts, or more labor, $350 isn't going to buy very much. Ask the waranty company if they have a replacement program that will get you a new set if they can't fix yours after 3 attempts.

Del... Relax, keep her a month and you'll begin to think you could have gone a little BIGGER. I have the 65", and I sit about 10 feet away. Same thing. I thought it was way too big when I first got it. Now I wonder why I didn't get the 73". Oh... I forgot, I would have had to knock out 2 walls to get it in the house...