[Kingmeow]

So I was at Best Buy the other day and came that close to getting a 52" Sharp LCD. I was all ready with my wife's SUV but just when I was about to take the credit card out the sales guy asked me how I'm going to take it home? I said, I'm going to lay it flat, screen facing up, in the back of my wife's SUV.


No, no, no! You should not lay it flat or the screen will crack said the sales guy. WHAT? I reminded him it was a LCD and not plasma. Same response. I further reminded him that the screen will be facing up and thus no force will be on it.


As a mechanical engineer I find that a bit hard to believe. He further said that anything over 32" LCD should not be lying flat, even in the box.


So he lost a sale and I proceeded to walk out the door. Low and behold, near the checkout there were tons of LCDs bigger than 32", some as big at 42", lying flat, stacked 4 high. At least the store followed the box warning to stack no more than 4 high.


If this is true (do not lay flat) then "Stack no more than 4 high" warning on the box will mean they stack them on the edge 4 high???? That's a feat that I would like to see!


So, experts, can I carry that baby home lying flat with nothing resting on top of the box?

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I would not. The glass is self-supporting and, with the vibrations of transport, can crack. Lying horizontal but static when stacked does not apply the same stress.


Frankly, I would never transport a large panel monitor myself. For the small cost of delivery, the responsibility for success goes off my shoulders.

 

[TKI]

if its an LCD would it really matter? =\\ if it was a plasma i think it would matter

 

[nm88]

I damaged an LCD monitor once by transporting it flat. The pressure around the edges was too much, and now it has a permanent red hue all around the edge.


Don't get me wrong, this Best Buy salesman, like most others, was an idiot, but even a broken clock is right twice a day.

 

[darthhen]

Just to safe, transport it up. The weight of the panel itself is its own downfall. During transport, the center of the screen will experience the most force because there's nothing really holding it in place. We took one of big LCD's apart at work once and this is what I observed. Like a window screen, it's going to flex. I've seen plenty of people in front Fry's loading their new LCD facing flat.


The logistical movers all know to transport these babies up right. I've been to a warehouse once where there were a LOT of Sharp sets, all sitting upright.


Also, just to make sure I wasn't paranoid once, I checked the box my Sharp came in, there's a logo that said you should transport it up. So I think it is safer to follow the manufacture on this.


Just my $0.02

 

[Jakeman02]

I would transport it up, why risk it. I did transport my 40" lcd I purchased in November laying flat in the back of a pickup. I guess I was luck as everything with the set is perfect but had I known then what I've found out since then it would have been transported up right and no, the BB guy didn't say anything about it, they even brought it out of the store and put it in the back of the truck for me.

 

[Buckeye911]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingmeow /forum/post/15316703


So I was at Best Buy the other day and came that close to getting a 52" Sharp LCD. I was all ready with my wife's SUV but just when I was about to take the credit card out the sales guy asked me how I'm going to take it home? I said, I'm going to lay it flat, screen facing up, in the back of my wife's SUV.


No, no, no! You should not lay it flat or the screen will crack said the sales guy. WHAT? I reminded him it was a LCD and not plasma. Same response. I further reminded him that the screen will be facing up and thus no force will be on it.


As a mechanical engineer I find that a bit hard to believe. He further said that anything over 32" LCD should not be lying flat, even in the box.


So he lost a sale and I proceeded to walk out the door. Low and behold, near the checkout there were tons of LCDs bigger than 32", some as big at 42", lying flat, stacked 4 high. At least the store followed the box warning to stack no more than 4 high.


If this is true (do not lay flat) then "Stack no more than 4 high" warning on the box will mean they stack them on the edge 4 high???? That's a feat that I would like to see!


So, experts, can I carry that baby home lying flat with nothing resting on top of the box?

The warnings not to lay flat are for transporting, it's okay to lay flat if it's in the box and stationary. I would absolutely not transport a plasma TV laying flat, an LCD would have less chance of becoming damaged in transport but why take the chance? You may think that the salesman lost a sale but maybe he saved his store the return of a damaged TV. I don't know about BB but I have actually seen CC employees refuse to lay a TV flat in a customer's SUV. They also told the customer that they could not allow him to take the TV with him if he did not have proper transportation. In the end they reached a compromise, they took the TV out of the box and were able to fit it in upright.

 

[BoilerJim]

I've been told that if you do transport an LCD laying flat, you should do it face down rather than face up to lessen the stress on the screen.

 

[kappy1]

Mine fit in my SUV, it was at about a 60 degree angle, only had about a 20 minute ride, Tv is fine, I probably would have not layed it flat, one guy at the store told me ok to lay flat, the guy loading it said no.. I compromised I guess.I would go with the delivery if you can.why take the chance with an expensive purchase. This was a 46 inch in the box..

 

[ws6whiteshark]

Our warehouse guys load LCD's flat all the time into SUVs... no problems. However, if you can transport them standing upright, that would be preferred.

 

[JamE55]

Was told the same thing when i picked mine up. Luckily i had my cousins Honda Oddessy(sp?) to transport my 55" XBR8 and had the unit standing up. Worked out pretty well.

 

[xraffle]

Whoa! Had I known about this earlier, I would've have been more careful when transporting my new 32 LCD. I laid the TV flat in my car when I transported that thing home. But I lucked out and everything was in perfect condition. The ride was only 5 minutes though so that's probably why I got lucky.

 

[ftaok]

Just to add my two cents.


My Sharp 46" LCD has a warning on the box to ensure that you transport it standing up. I borrowed a minivan to transport it, so I was covered.


ft

 

[Kingmeow]

Thanks for the info guys. I was trying to avoid taking a day off to sit at home wait for the delivery. My wife's SUV is mid size and can not take the box standing upright so I was trying to get away with lying it flat.


Like most of you said, I rather play it on the safe side.


(Note to self: now who do I know that has a mini-van?????)

 

[biggziff]

I brought 2 Sony 52" XBRs and 3 Sharp 37" Aquos LCDs from DC to NY in the back of a rented Ryder truck lying on their backs on some blankets. They made the trip just fine.

 

[nick124]

if i remember right if you lay it flat you are supposed to stand it upright for a while before you turn it on. something about the liquid crystal setting.

 

[saturation]

If you transport or lay the TV flat, there is a large risk for cracking the screen. You can only do it briefly for static loads. This has less to do with TVs, but more to do with basic glass.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2#post14755102


Its one reason you never see glass sheets transported flat, or windows for that matter, at least by responsible carriers.

 

[MrEastSide]

Would the TV be OK? Probably, but they don't want to take the chance. I work at CC and we always tell the customer not to lay it flat. If they choose to we will let them, but we tell them once you lay it flat and leave you cannot make a return if the screen has any type of physical damage. That right there stops most people dead in their tracks and they go get an open bed truck. Is it a coincidence that SONY, Samsung, Panasonic, etc, box their large TVs in such a way so that they are standing upright? No.

 

[saturation]



Quote:
Originally Posted by MrEastSide /forum/post/15329767


Would the TV be OK? Probably, but they don't want to take the chance. I work at CC and we always tell the customer not to lay it flat. If they choose to we will let them, but we tell them once you lay it flat and leave you cannot make a return if the screen has any type of physical damage. That right there stops most people dead in their tracks and they go get an open bed truck. Is it a coincidence that SONY, Samsung, Panasonic, etc, box their large TVs in such a way so that they are standing upright? No.

Worse yet, I am not sure of this, if you damage the TV lying flat you can void your warranty. Of course how will they know? You either have to tell the maker that, someone watches you do it and testifies, or lie about not having done it.


In my Sharp how to transport and open the TV was written all over the box.


When I received the TV, I had a checklist of things to do from the deliverer.

 

[MrEastSide]

At my store we tell them that if they damage it we will not take it back. We also comment their receipt on this if they decide to lay it flat. I usually don't have to tell people it will void the manufacturer's warranty if it's physically damaged. I think most people just assume that. Still, we still get the boneheads that insist on taking it and I just go, "Whatever, it's your choice".