[luebster]

I was at the Polaris Best Buy in Columbus, OH this weekend and the gentleman working the Digital TV section told me that BB recently changed their protection plan to include replacement lamps. Can anyone confirm this? This would make 4yrs at $400 much more palatable.


I'm not sure how much I can believe him, since he claimed Samsung "eliminated" rainbows with the HLP series and that they would also get the 74 series "a couple weeks after they are released." They didn't carry the "Tantus" so I doubt they would carry the 74s.


He also said 10' seating distance would not be far enough for a 56" set...that I should think about a 50" instead. The most common recommendation I've heard is double the screen size...so 56 x 2 / 12 = 9.3 feet. Does anyone have thoughts on this?

 

[iqwertyi]

It's possible to compete with Circuit City's plan which covers the bulbs.

 

[tjk]

This is true - the price went up to cover the bulbs. A manager I talked to at a Best Buy, who was actually very knowledgeable about the TV's, said they changed it and increased the price because they were getting so many complaints from people that paid $250 and assumed the bulb was covered.


Best Buy's $400 warranty does in fact cover the bulb, making it a pretty good deal.

 

[Barrybud]

This is an interesting topic and there will be post on both sides. For the most part if it fails prematurely they will cover it. If it has run near its life, they may not. The bulb/lamp in RPTV's are like brake pads, belts and hoses in cars. They are edible or consumables.


Make sure the plans states the bulb inclusion in the text of the contract. That or make sure its not listed in items not covered. You want it in print and having a salesman hand write on the contract does not make it binding.


None of the DLP makers has eliminated rainbows and the only solution is a 3 chip system which is not planned for RPTV anytime soon.


I had the 56" and sat 9 feet from it. It depends on what you like. Do you sit in the front of the movie theater when you go? If so they you will do fine. If you like the middle or back, go with the 50. At that distance the 50 will look sharper. (same # of pixels in a smaller screen)

 

[luebster]

The "eliminated rainbows" comment was thrown in there as more evidence that sales monkeys will say nearly anything for a sale...that's why I was skeptical about his lamp coverage claim.


Thanks for the movie theater analogy. I'll have a seating distance of ~10.5', so 56" should be fine for me and my family. Thanks.

 

[jtirak]

Best Buy changed thier policy in late Spring. In June I upgraded the warrenty I had to the new one to cover the bulb. They just prorated it. Cost me another $85

 

[mchuckp]

I was told at best buy that the bulb was covered. I didn't exactly say that I could replace it as wear and tear but hinted to it. If I get mine there, I will definitely clarify that and make them hand write it if they tell me that verbally. They also told me that it includes free yearly cleanings. If the bulb is covered as a wear and tear item then I would think $400 is a good deal. I think Circuit City has a similar deal but there's is $600. At least that is what I was told.


Anyone, have any bad experiences with either stores service plan? It all looks good on paper but it boils down to how well they honor it.

 

[neilometer]

I bought my Sammy HLN5065W last Sept. and the 4 yr/$400 / bulb included warranty was in effect back then. I've also had them come out and inspect the fans in my unit for excess noise. The service guy seemed pretty knowledgable, but was pessimistic about getting the fans to be quieter. He said my noise level was "normal" and that he has heard even louder from brand new sets. This was last year, though, so I'm guessing the newer units are quieter??


Also, BB has a Lemon policy where if you have the service people come out three times for a problem, then they will replace the whole TV no questions askec. Pretty good, IMO.


-Neil

 

[Just me_2004]

Anyone know if any of these companies (or any others) will sell one of these warranties separate of a TV purchase? Purchased HLP through power buy but really wanted a warranty that did include bulb. Any help appreciated!

 

[mchuckp]

I was wondering the same thing. I always felt too stupid to ask them.

 

[c1courtney]

I went on to BestBuy.com and dropped a Sammy 5063W in the cart (first RPTV w/ a bulb that came up) Then clicked the 'view cart' link, clicked on the '4 - yearr PSP DLP Digital TV' link to pop up the warranty. The selecte Ohio for the state (I did the same for Texas.)


It does not mention bulbs or lamps specifically in the warranty. And it specifically states
Quote:

Also not covered are replacement costs for lost or consumable parts

Lamps are a consumable part of a DLP/LCD/LCoS RPTV. If somebody keeps it on 24/7 that's 35K hours in that 4 year window (that's 7 bulbs over the warranty.) This is a bit on the ridiculous side, but if it's in a place of business it might just be left on 24/7 I wouldn't want to replace the bulb that many times. A more realistic number is 4-6hrs a day that's 4.8K to 8.8K hours. That's a typical 1 bulb over the 4 year warranty. At $200 a pop + labor on a waranty, they'd be breaking even only if nothing else goes wrong with the set. The $400 would make sense to include the bulb replacement, but if its not stated as covered, and the wording can be used to exclude it, I'm not going to buy the policy.


If it were a more perfect world the TV manufactures would put a none resetable timer in the TVs that keep track of how many hours the TV has been in use. Then you could pro-rate the cost of the bulbs if they burn out early. The only issue with this is that you'd probably have to have a service tech come out and record the data every time you replaced a bulb, because they TV manufactures wouldn't be smart enough to do something as simple as build a peice of host software that pulls the timer data out of the TV via USB, 1394, Serial Port, ... and send it back to them over the internet to determine if you get a pro-rated bulb or not. After all why overcomplicate some nitwit on the phone's life when you can just hand over $200 of your hard earned money because their bulb blew in 1000hrs instead of the suggested average life of 5000hrs.


CCourtney

 

[Prodeje79]

I work for Best Buy in Columbus. The PSP does cover the bulbs.


For the record, it is not a warranty, it is a performance service plan. :> We will not call it a warranty in any of the brochures. Pick up a brochure and read it for more exact details of what you want to know. :>

 

[neilometer]

Well, all I know is that the sales guy told me it covered the bulb and the service tech that came to my house told me that if the bulb blew, they would replace it under the service plan that I have. Maybe I got a different plan because I bought my TV last year. I do know that they used to have more problems with bulbs blowing out early in the 1st and 2nd generation units.


Right now, I'm more concerned with my color wheel/light engine going out. It's starting to make loud noises when I first turn on the TV, before it warms up. At least THAT'S guaranteed to be covered

 

[c1courtney]

Quote:

Originally posted by Prodeje79 I work for Best Buy in Columbus. The PSP does cover the bulbs. For the record, it is not a warranty, it is a performance service plan. :> We will not call it a warranty in any of the brochures. Pick up a brochure and read it for more exact details of what you want to know. :>

I will agree that BB does not call it a warranty in it's brochure. Everything in it implies that it is a waranty though.


Using the term 'car' instead of 'Porsche' to describe Porsche 911 does not mean that that it's not a car. Just because Porsche does not state that it's a car in it's brochure, and they do not state it's a car in their brochure.


Now that the issue of me describing the PSP as a warranty is over, can you tell me that the BB PSP brochure states that it will replace the bulbs/lamps on RPTVs using LCD/DLP/LCoS technologies.


Can you tell me that the brochure does not state
Quote:

Also not covered are replacement costs for lost or consumable parts

which I quoted directly from the brochure.


Can you tell me anything beyond that fact that BBs current practice at your location is to replace the bulb/lamp if not working and the customer bought the current PSP.


The fact is that this doesn't mean squat 2 years from now. If it's not written into the warranty, service plan, guaranty, or whatever you wish to call it BB can change it practice w/o liability and stop replacing the bulb/lamp for free, because it is technically a excluded item in their PSP.


CCourtney

 

[neilometer]

CCourtney,


You sound like a person who has been bitten by this kind of thing in the past.


Your skepticism has encouraged me to call my Best Buy service center and ask them specifically about this. Of course, as you stated previously, this won't change the fact that it may or may not be written in my PSP, but at least I'll know that, now and possibly in the near future, if my bulb does prematurely go out, I'll have a "free" replacement coming.


-Neil

 

[c1courtney]

Neil,


I personally have not been bitten by this. I actually have never purchased an extended warranty on any home electronic or appliance in my life. And I'm happy to say that I've never had any of these that went out between the 1yr manufacturing warranty and the 3-5yrs extended warranties that people have tried to sell me over the years. Maybe I'm just lucky. My guess is that I've saved somewhere near $3K over the last 10yrs by not purchasing such warranties.


But when I get my DLP TV in the spring I will most likely get an extended warranty. I've heard to many stories about people's light engines needing to be replaced. I'd like to see some statistics on it, because as any reader of forums can tell you, the perception of comon issues can be drastically overstated on forums.


On the other hand I have had a number of neighbors and relatives get bitten by warranties which did not cover this or that and they paid to much for them.


CCourtney

 

[Prodeje79]

Well let me start by saying I am not here representing Best Buy in any way. I was simply sharing the information I was told. I am not even in the Home Theatre Department. I am curious and want to read the newest PSP brochure. I know in the past the bulb was not covered, but recently we received word it is covered.


CCourtney: For the record, I did not even see your post when I made my post, therefore my post was not an attack on you or anything. I kind of feel you are being a little nasty towards me. Sorry for any confusion, I am just trying to help out.


I totally understand your concern over the "Also not covered are replacement costs for lost or consumable parts". I urge you to ask your sales person for the proof that a bulb is covered. I urge you to get it in writing from a manager on your CPO.


The main debate is what is a "consumable part". I urge you to discuss, find, and/or get it in writing from your sales person or manager. Someone’s word will not help you 2 years down the line, you are correct.


Good analogy on the car 'Porsche' thing. I am not exactly sure why a PSP is not called a warranty at Best Buy, but it is not allowed to be called one no matter what. It is also not to be called an insurance policy. I think a true "warranty" is technically only between the manufacturer and the buyer. Oh well, you think what you want and I will think what I want. :>


It is all up to personal preference and luck as far as needing to buy/use a PSP.

I must say I see a lot of them being used for problems. I am not sure what the odds are of failure/trouble with a device. I personally think certain items might be useful to have a PSP on more than others.

I think laptops are a good thing to get a PSP on myself. The Li-on battery is replaced under a PSP, it is not a consumable item. We often replace batteries under a PSP. li-ion seems to go bad after a year or 2 for sure. See Ipods. :> Another thing is dead pixels on LCDs. Normal wear on a keyboard / touchpad over a couples years. It is nice to know you can get a new keyboard touchpad as needed.


OK I do not want to imply a PSP is an insurance plan, but think of the concept behind insurance. You might buy life, fire, and auto insurance and have your coverage for 30 years with no claim or major loss. Do you consider that a failure and you should not buy insurance? It is for peace of mind. I think of a PSP as piece of mind. If my $4000 laptop starts smoking from one of the fans not spinning correctly and fries the motherboard, etc 1.5 years after I bought it, I would be greatly disappointed. FYI: A PSP also covers Power Surges as well. Although this may never happen, a person might like this piece of mind. Again this is all personal preference. Please do not consider me being nasty in any way. Maybe you do not want it for peace and mind, maybe your mortgage or lien company requires the coverage. Either way, it is personal preference. I am sure Insurance companies would not exist, or PSPs would not exist if the odds (over time), were against them. I realize we are not talking about 30 year PSPs, as a PSP can be from approx 2 to 5 years depending on the product.


The most common things I see from people being bitten by a bad experience with a PSP are if it expired or if the product was physically damaged. Physical damage from dropping etc like with a point of impact is not covered. Please see a sales person or manager for any clarification in writing as needed. It is not an insurance policy. Let’s please not go into further details about any specific problems you had. :>

 

[Paul_PDX]

Since BB owns Magnolia does Magnolia offer the same performance plans???

 

[c1courtney]

Prodeje79,


Sorry you took offense, I did assume that the warranty comment was directed towards me. I see now that I was incorrect.


I'm sorry if you feel my comments were being a bit on the testy side.


As you stated the main issue is on "consumable part" By taking it at face value a "consumable part" is any part which would normally be replaced during the lifetime of the product do to normal usage. If the bulb/lamp in these TVs which have an average life span of ~5000hrs (depends on bulb and set) are not consumable items then I don't know what is.


In the case of Computers the PSP makes specific reference to items such as Monitors, Keyboards, Peripherals which would be replaced. This is not the case with the bulb on DLP/LCD/LCoS RPTVs. That's my objection to what's in the (or rather not in) the PSP Brochure for these RPTVs.


As far as what a Warranty means, I take it to be "A legally binding written guarantee" as Webster's dictionary defines it. If the PSP is not that then what is it, why would BB be so opposed to stating that it is a warranty? Does stating that it's warranty make it legally binding while not stating it makes it more flexible to interpretation by the courts?


I would only pay $400 for this PSP/warranty if it specifically stated that it covered bulb replacements.


CCourtney

 

[lovebuzz#836]

The Term WARRANTY is fine, I think the issue is actually with the term Extended Warranty and all of the negative connotations associated with them. They want us to stress the extra coverage that you get with the Performance Service Plan. The brochure does include a specific exclusion for consumables, but the DLP bulb is one that is now specifically covered. I know that the newer brochures that are coming out state this, but the brochure doesn't affect whether or not it does. The purchase date is the controlling factor. Anything purchased after June 15th, 2004 does include the bulb coverage as well as preventative maintenance on traditional CRT big screen. If you paid $399 for a 4-yr, it includes the bulb. I consider myself to be of great integrity and always fight for the customer in situations where I think they were unfairly treated. I have copies of the memo they sent out when these changes went into effect and I've even given some of those out as proof.

Quote:

Since BB owns Magnolia does Magnolia offer the same performance plans???

Best Buy runs the Magnolia corporation as a completely seperate entity. I'm not saying if they do or don't, but what one does currently does not affect the other.