AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › DVD Recorders (Standard Def) › Bought A 2006 Panny EH55 200GB HDD For $424
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Bought A 2006 Panny EH55 200GB HDD For $424

post #1 of 8
4/15/07 at 11:13pm
Thread Starter 
at Crutchfields. They had two of these for sale- full warranty,30 day return. It was a scratch and dent special- no shipping ,no tax. I was surprised when I opened it that it had no dents/sctratches, plus it had all accessories including the DVD-RAM disc. I hooked it up via HDMI to my Panny Plasma display(TH-42PX50U) and played the DVD movie "U-571"(anamophic, 2.35:1) and it was excellent in rendering the video, equal if not better than my Panny XP-50 DVD player(which is a great one) using component. Anyone have tests they would like me to run against the 2006 160 GB HDD Pio 640 as far as recording etc?
PS- If this unit passes tests over the next two weeks it would make me think about selling my pristine 2004 Panny DMR- E500H 400 GB HDD which has a remaining 3 year extended warranty. My problem is that I have an excess of HDD DVDR models currently.
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 8
4/16/07 at 8:18am
Yep, you really never have to worry about buying something from Crutchfield even from their Scratch & Dent store because they will stand behind them if your not happy with your purchase.

I really think that a lot of the Scratch & Dent stuff is really nothing but Floor Models from their store & that a very small amount is from customer returns.

A friend of mine years back bought a VCR from the Scratch & Dent & he had some kind of problem with it & they replaced it with a Brand New One to keep him happy.

What kind of a price would you be looking for on the Panny 500?
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 8
4/16/07 at 1:15pm
Over the past few months I was able to pick up two EH55s at J&R, also opens box units, for $389 plus shipping. Just as with yours, mine came complete with all accessories and they look new.

Just last week (Easter Sunday) J&R had another EH55 for that price plus an EH75 for $299, so someone got some good prices on those.

To top it off, I took a flyer on an E500 on EBAY that was listed as non-working, and I'm getting it back this week from Panny repair center. Turns out they only charge a flat fee of $130 to repair out of warranty dvd recorders, so I'm quite happy (the broken part was a board that lists at $497 on the Panny website).

So now I'll have two E500s and the EH55s. I need a lot of things to record!
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 8
4/16/07 at 1:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill1313 View Post

Yep, you really never have to worry about buying something from Crutchfield even from their Scratch & Dent store because they will stand behind them if your not happy with your purchase.

I really think that a lot of the Scratch & Dent stuff is really nothing but Floor Models from their store & that a very small amount is from customer returns.

A friend of mine years back bought a VCR from the Scratch & Dent & he had some kind of problem with it & they replaced it with a Brand New One to keep him happy.

What kind of a price would you be looking for on the Panny 500?


"Floor" or "demo" units are often used in a "demo" mode. There is always the potential for literally hundreds of hours of use and premature problems!
At this point, anything that you buy labelled "open box" or "demo" would most likely not be a customer return, since these units were sold out several months ago. These are going to be either store demo units, repaired store demo units or repaired customer returns.......no thank you!
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 8
4/16/07 at 4:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by slprp1 View Post

"Floor" or "demo" units are often used in a "demo" mode. There is always the potential for literally hundreds of hours of use and premature problems!
At this point, anything that you buy labelled "open box" or "demo" would most likely not be a customer return, since these units were sold out several months ago. These are going to be either store demo units, repaired store demo units or repaired customer returns.......no thank you!

I've gone this way three times with DVD recorders and several other times with other CE components and have had only one problem (optical disk died a few months after purchase) and the manufacturer covered the repair under the normal warranty agreement (i.e., no cost, carry-in repair). I'm a believer that this route is a good, low risk money saver.

In a relevant example - If you are considering the $799 Amazon EH55 vs. the Crutchfield $424 EH55 - both covered by the same manufaturer warranty (and crutchfields ironclad return policy) - you need to ask yourself whether the ~$375 premium "markup" is worth it. In my view your "risk" is the same for either unit (i.e., they are both covered by manufacturer warranty - even though there may be a higher probability that you would actually have to use the warranty on the demo unit) but with the Amazon unit you are guaranteed to be out $375 MORE than the Cruthfield demo unit no matter what!
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 8
4/16/07 at 5:00pm
Crutchfield is a highly reputable outfit. I purchase a lot of things from them and I wouldn't have any problem at all buying a Scratch & Dent item.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 8
4/17/07 at 12:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by vferrari View Post

I've gone this way three times with DVD recorders and several other times with other CE components and have had only one problem (optical disk died a few months after purchase) and the manufacturer covered the repair under the normal warranty agreement (i.e., no cost, carry-in repair). I'm a believer that this route is a good, low risk money saver.

In a relevant example - If you are considering the $799 Amazon EH55 vs. the Crutchfield $424 EH55 - both covered by the same manufaturer warranty (and crutchfields ironclad return policy) - you need to ask yourself whether the ~$375 premium "markup" is worth it. In my view your "risk" is the same for either unit (i.e., they are both covered by manufacturer warranty - even though there may be a higher probability that you would actually have to use the warranty on the demo unit) but with the Amazon unit you are guaranteed to be out $375 MORE than the Cruthfield demo unit no matter what!

New is new......and I don't like starting out with someone else's problems!
(especially when you've put hours upon hours on a hard drive and it fails prematurely......a likely possibility with a used and/or abused demo, return, etc.)
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 8
4/20/07 at 8:44pm
Still makes no economic sense when the warranty coverage is the same. You are paying a $375 PREMIUM for nothing - your risk is the same either way. But its your money...
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: DVD Recorders (Standard Def)

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › DVD Recorders (Standard Def) › Bought A 2006 Panny EH55 200GB HDD For $424