dannyz
04-11-07, 12:49 AM
Okay, I am posting this with some hesitation. I'm not sure what, if any, response I'll get.
I have a 2003 Mitsubishi CRT Rear Projection HDTV yadda yadda. I bought it new and got the extended warranty (5-years). Basically the teenage sales guy told me that it covered any and all issues I could ever have with the TV. I asked specifically if that included burn-in / phosphor burn. He and his boss both told me that was covered too. This was the reason I purchased from Fry's because I had also gone to Ultimate Electronics about the same TV and they told me that phosphor burn was not covered. I knew I'd be playing video games on this TV quite a bit so this was a concern. Well, after a year or two, sure enough I can start to see burn-in on the screen. It was hard to notice, but got worse over time. It's still not something that you really see right away. Most of my friends don't notice unless I point it out. But once you see it, any bright scene, espescially white, it shows up pretty bad. I called Fry's on two occasions. The first time, the repair tech came out and said right away that it was phosphor burn and I'd have to replace the CRTs to fix it. Long story short, Fry's refused to pay for the repair. I didn't have the $1300 to do it so I was pretty mad. I did not have the repair done. I decided to go back to Fry's and ask them again about their warranty plan. I acted as if I were interested in a CRT HDTV and asked about the burn-in on them. He said AGAIN that it was covered on their extended warranty. I asked him to show me in writing (so I could use that on my TV) and after 3 hours of back and forth, the store manager tells me they cannot do that because I haven't bought the TV yet and if I buy it and an extended warranty, I can get it in writing. WTF?. So I told them I had the TV already and it had burn-in and that they wouldn't cover it. At that point, the store manager said they don't cover that on the warranty and they could offer the repair to me at the cost of the parts, around $900. What a bunch of bull. So basically they tell you that to get you to buy the warranty and then don't deliver if you ever need a repair. I tried writing letters to the headquarters and what not but never got anywhere. I just gave up and decided I would never buy from them again.
Anyway, fast forward a couple years. I've been living with the burn-in and really don't think about it anymore, but now I am thinking about getting a new set and dumping mine for $500 or $600 to someone who would want it. I don't play video games anymore so burn-in isn't an issue anymore. I love the CRT based sets because of the deeper blacks and smoother image than the fixed-pixel technology, but if I had to go with something besides CRT, it'd be a Mitsu DLP set. This makes me sick though because I have a very good TV other than the burn-in and I want to get it ISF calibrated, but it's kind of pointless with the phosphor burn, ya know? I am still under the warranty and I've come to realize that the only repairs that it will cover are if the TV just stops working or something. At this point, I'm 99% positive it would just be replaced with a new set of equal value, because it is an older unit, but I would be ecstatic if it could be repaired (replacing the CRTs). Someone out there surely can tell me what I can do to see that this happens. I realize this is a bit of an ethical quandary or whatnot, but after what I was told by the salesman and supervisors at this store, I could care less at this point.
What would it take to get my TV fixed/replaced under warranty? A power surge would not work -- I've found out that is not covered (neglect to use a surge protector). Obviously it has to appear natural, like a defect or something. I've heard that CRTs themselves can actually rupture and leak. How does this happen? Maybe someone can tell me something I can do.
I have a 2003 Mitsubishi CRT Rear Projection HDTV yadda yadda. I bought it new and got the extended warranty (5-years). Basically the teenage sales guy told me that it covered any and all issues I could ever have with the TV. I asked specifically if that included burn-in / phosphor burn. He and his boss both told me that was covered too. This was the reason I purchased from Fry's because I had also gone to Ultimate Electronics about the same TV and they told me that phosphor burn was not covered. I knew I'd be playing video games on this TV quite a bit so this was a concern. Well, after a year or two, sure enough I can start to see burn-in on the screen. It was hard to notice, but got worse over time. It's still not something that you really see right away. Most of my friends don't notice unless I point it out. But once you see it, any bright scene, espescially white, it shows up pretty bad. I called Fry's on two occasions. The first time, the repair tech came out and said right away that it was phosphor burn and I'd have to replace the CRTs to fix it. Long story short, Fry's refused to pay for the repair. I didn't have the $1300 to do it so I was pretty mad. I did not have the repair done. I decided to go back to Fry's and ask them again about their warranty plan. I acted as if I were interested in a CRT HDTV and asked about the burn-in on them. He said AGAIN that it was covered on their extended warranty. I asked him to show me in writing (so I could use that on my TV) and after 3 hours of back and forth, the store manager tells me they cannot do that because I haven't bought the TV yet and if I buy it and an extended warranty, I can get it in writing. WTF?. So I told them I had the TV already and it had burn-in and that they wouldn't cover it. At that point, the store manager said they don't cover that on the warranty and they could offer the repair to me at the cost of the parts, around $900. What a bunch of bull. So basically they tell you that to get you to buy the warranty and then don't deliver if you ever need a repair. I tried writing letters to the headquarters and what not but never got anywhere. I just gave up and decided I would never buy from them again.
Anyway, fast forward a couple years. I've been living with the burn-in and really don't think about it anymore, but now I am thinking about getting a new set and dumping mine for $500 or $600 to someone who would want it. I don't play video games anymore so burn-in isn't an issue anymore. I love the CRT based sets because of the deeper blacks and smoother image than the fixed-pixel technology, but if I had to go with something besides CRT, it'd be a Mitsu DLP set. This makes me sick though because I have a very good TV other than the burn-in and I want to get it ISF calibrated, but it's kind of pointless with the phosphor burn, ya know? I am still under the warranty and I've come to realize that the only repairs that it will cover are if the TV just stops working or something. At this point, I'm 99% positive it would just be replaced with a new set of equal value, because it is an older unit, but I would be ecstatic if it could be repaired (replacing the CRTs). Someone out there surely can tell me what I can do to see that this happens. I realize this is a bit of an ethical quandary or whatnot, but after what I was told by the salesman and supervisors at this store, I could care less at this point.
What would it take to get my TV fixed/replaced under warranty? A power surge would not work -- I've found out that is not covered (neglect to use a surge protector). Obviously it has to appear natural, like a defect or something. I've heard that CRTs themselves can actually rupture and leak. How does this happen? Maybe someone can tell me something I can do.