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Bought a 73" Mitsubishi DLP; should I buy a Best Buy service plan?

post #1 of 14
9/16/12 at 12:41pm
Thread Starter 
I just got a decent deal on a 73" Mitsubishi DLP [ WD-73642 ] Should I buy a service plan for it? $249 for 4 years, $170 for 2 years. I've never really owned a nice new TV, always had throw away hand me downs, so I'm not sure how well these things hold up. However, I am very mechanical [motor building, transmission building, etc]. Folks have told me the only issue to worry about is the bulb and it's easy to change. Does the Best Buy plan cover the bulb? How is Mitsubishi's factory warranty?

The TV was $1169, I don't wanna waste $250 on a service plan when I could use that towards a home theater package.

Advice?

-Dustin-
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post #2 of 14
9/16/12 at 1:18pm
It is a waste of money.
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post #3 of 14
9/16/12 at 2:07pm
Well, it's only a matter of opinion here, but I believe in extended warranties, and have always bought them. One repair with a TV out of warranty will equal or exceed the cost of a warranty. They have saved me a lot. But remember, a warranty is only as good as the warranty provider.

You'll get lots of different opinions...
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post #4 of 14
9/16/12 at 4:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by taichi4 View Post

Well, it's only a matter of opinion here, but I believe in extended warranties, and have always bought them. One repair with a TV out of warranty will equal or exceed the cost of a warranty. They have saved me a lot. But remember, a warranty is only as good as the warranty provider.
You'll get lots of different opinions...

I agree. Get the warranty, especially if it includes lamp replacement in the plan. And congratulations on the new set!
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post #5 of 14
9/16/12 at 4:58pm
Thread Starter 
I bought the DLP even after the Best Buy guy told me they are so outdated they don't even have one in the store anymore. "They blow bulbs all the time, the picture quality is so-so with a slow refresh rate, and everything else on the market blows them out of the water". But I've got a big room and need at least at 60 if not a 65-70+ screen; and LCD, Plasma, etc were going to break the bank. So I went to a coworker's house that has a Mitsu73" and I was sold after watching the Bears vs Packers in HD. Man what a picture!

I guess what I've got to do it find out if the plan replaces a bulb and if so how many times. I think my parents had our Sony Flat CRT covered for like 8 years total, never needed it, but for them it was worth the piece of mind. I'll head into the store and get the service plan brochure, I know they used to have all the fine print in those years ago. I'm just not sure what kind of issues newer DLP's are having.

Of course if I do get it, it comes down to $80 for an additional 2 years of coverage. And sometimes they let you renew it after that.

Thanks for the comments so far.

-Dustin-
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post #6 of 14
9/16/12 at 9:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bersaglieri View Post

I just got a decent deal on a 73" Mitsubishi DLP [ WD-73642 ] Should I buy a service plan for it? $249 for 4 years, $170 for 2 years. I've never really owned a nice new TV, always had throw away hand me downs, so I'm not sure how well these things hold up. However, I am very mechanical [motor building, transmission building, etc]. Folks have told me the only issue to worry about is the bulb and it's easy to change. Does the Best Buy plan cover the bulb? How is Mitsubishi's factory warranty?
The TV was $1169, I don't wanna waste $250 on a service plan when I could use that towards a home theater package.
Advice?
-Dustin-

If you are Costco member then for $100 you will get 4yrs of warranty from squartrade. HTH
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post #7 of 14
9/17/12 at 2:28am
They say it's not worth it but definitely don't buy it from Worst Buy!
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post #8 of 14
9/17/12 at 9:22am
The 73 is a great set, and you were smart to let your own eyes guide your selection, rather than an ill-paid blatherer.
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post #9 of 14
9/26/12 at 12:23pm
Thread Starter 
TV showed up last night and even though I was dead tired I watch a little "Alien" on one of the HD movie channels. Pretty nice. I'm still torn on the best buy plans... the clock is ticking.

Also, about how high of a stand do you guys used with these? 18" or so? You'd probably want your seated height to be mid screen right?

-Dustin-
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post #10 of 14
9/27/12 at 9:42am
If it buys you peace of mind, go for it. However, I haven't heard good things about the BB warranty.

Check out squaretrade. Also, if you have a costco membership, they sell the squaretrade TV warranty for a less than whats posted on the website. (TV does not need to be purchased at costco for you to buy the warranty).
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post #11 of 14
9/27/12 at 10:48am
I, for one, have greatly benefited from extended warranties. As I mentioned before, one out of warranty repair can easily exceed the cost of a warranty. Some will never need to use such a warranty, but insurance is always a gamble and a judgment call..

I've heard good things about Square Trade, although you will be presented with another dilemma if you got your set at discount...whether to insure for actual discounted price, or for retail (costlier), which means you get more replacement value.

With regard to BB, I've never bought a big ticket item, just smaller things such as phones, headset, etc. In my experience, with these smaller items, BB simply replaces them. It's likely that with HDTVs they would attempt a repair before replacement, which leaves you at the mercy of whoever BB sends out.

But I've never lost from buying an extended warranty.

So...how do you like your Mits a day or two on?
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post #12 of 14
9/27/12 at 12:27pm
Thread Starter 
It's impressive. I've been real busy with things around the house, but its funny when I watch the news I notice things about the people's appearance I never noticed before. Football on it is awesome! Great detail and with the large screen I no longer have to squint or lean in to get a closer look. The view from every angle in my living room and into the kitchen is good. The best buy guy and a few people at work were wrong about it's horrible side angle viewing. I went from a 42" Panasonic Plasma to the 73" Mits DLP and I'm not regretting anything. The Plasma was nice but was so small you couldn't make out the good detail. Now it's going to the bedroom and the DLP owns the big living room.

I'm waiting to get the surround sound and PS3, but with HD DirecTV alone it's been worth the investment. I can't imagine what upconverted DVDs or even a Bluray would be like.

PS: I see people talking about tuning the TV, what's that involve? Just fixing the color and stuff? I used to do that with tube TV's way back when, but it seems like there is more to it with newer TV's.

Thanks for the service plan advice. I'll going to talk to Best buy today and see what it covers and how many bulbs they can replace.

-Dustin-
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post #13 of 14
9/27/12 at 12:56pm
Regarding viewing angles, my experience, again, is that 73 inch is a sweet spot with Mits DLPs. In this size not only are viewing angles more tolerant than with larger sets, but so is evenness of illumination.

You're talking about calibration, which is a way of optimizing the picture according to certain standards. There are DVDs that can help you do that, as well as more specialized hardware, and you can also have a calibrator come out to do it. Your BB purchase might include a calibration, but not many BB techs that are sent out are really trained to do it optimally.

Do a search for calibration, and once you start reading it you won't have much time to do your chores, or watch your new TV!

Congratulations on your purchase. I think you'll find that it does pretty good 3D as well!
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post #14 of 14
9/27/12 at 1:37pm
I think it should be noted that calibration does not need to be more complex than what you did with the old CRT TVs. You can do as much as you like using essentially the type of controls. However if you want more precise adjustments, these are available as well. It is up to your taste, your desires and your budget.

Yes self calibration using the discs and the basic controls will always help those that want a better picture.
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