samha75

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $8000.00 from Bose store

Summary:
I bought this TV from Bose store and had some intermittent power-on problems. The sequence of power-on is that when you plug in the TV, you get a red LED light, then when you press the power button on the remote, the TV clicks and turns on showing a green LED.

Soon after I purchased the TV, I noticed that it would not turn from red to green sometimes. Red LED would just turn off. So I called Philips Customer "Service" and they would "diagnose" the problem. They would "reset" the TV by telling me to unplug for one minute and then turn it back on. When the TV turns on, the representative would simply say there may be a minor "software" problem and that I am all fine. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE TV!!! This problem would happen intermittently so after I always heard a parrot (i.e., the customer service rep) basically tell me the same thing over and over again, many times I just "reset" the TV myself thinking all was fine.

Over time, the one year warranty expired and the problem started getting worse. Red LED would power off without turning to a green LED. And over time, the number of "reset" efforts increased for each instance of the LED turning off. The kicker is that the TV would turn on sometimes and REMAIN on for as long as few months without any problems. However, if the TV is turned off again, the problem would recur. Now this has gotten to a point where the red LED simply does not even turn on anymore. Sometimes it takes a few days for the red LED to turn on.

I call customer service and all they would say is "you are now out of warranty for x amount of time and there is nothing we can do for you." This is now all I hear despite the fact that I tell them about the history of problem with this TV. More so, since they delete all their customer service records after three months, they say I may be lying to them because they don't have any records of me saying any of that to them. I even tried talking to a "manager" who is also a parrot in saying "you are now out of warranty for x amount of time and there is nothing we can do for you." Incredible...

So now, three years after paying $8000 for a TV, this old technology TV (words are verbatim from the Philips customer service manager) needs to get repaired by me. I even offered cost sharing for service. But because they delete all the phone calls I made to them after three months, "there is nothing more we can do for you at this time except you writing a letter to Philips corporate."

There are lots of other comparable TVs out there. Do not buy this TV if you don't want to be stuck in customer service from hell which is Philips...

Weaknesses:
See above regarding longevity and customer service from hell

sourceburn

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $7999.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I have owned a Philips 42" plasma since 2002, and have nothing but problems with it. The unit has been warrantied twice, with the entire screen being replaced both times, and the power unit replaced the second time. It is now suffering from power problems and is not turning on at all. It has always been connected to a quality surge protector. After numerous attempts to resolve this issue through their customer service, I was told that they would not help with any repair work, not even sharing the expense of parts and labor, despite the history of problems with this unit. I would not recommend a Philips television, and will never buy another Philips component again. Besides, for the money, other brands offer better picture and processing/features.

Strengths:
None versus any other products out there.

Weaknesses:
Poor customer service, history of problems, unreliable performance.

Similar Products Used:
None yet, getting ready to buy either a Panasonic or Pioneer or Samsung.

Price Paid:  $4200.00 from good guys

Summary:
I don't know crap about plasma tv's so I started to do my homework and found a good deal for this plasma tv. I did initially buy the E box and got home with just the monitor and could not figure out how to cable signal into the monitor (which I later found out you can't). I got the E box and noted there are several different versions of the E box. I got the 65 model for around $725. At least the stands are included but are not the fancy looking ones you see at the store. They are foot stands so make sure you see a copy first or shell out the $300 for the fancy ones. Also I have regular comcast cable and will have to have the cable box that is set up for HDTV and pay the $5 a month. It took a week for the appointment for them to show up.

Strengths:
Big, easy to set up, can be mounted or set on a table top. Remember if you mount on wall you don't have option of moving it around the room.

Weaknesses:
It seems like they stick you in buying all the options, ebox, mounting kits, cable box for HDTV. Do your homework first and write down everything you want then go in an negotiate. I save about 800-1000 just negotiating. I also bought the 5 year warranty package but that might be foolish. Does anyone know what my odds are that it will have problems over the next five years?

Price Paid:  $4599.00 from Tweeter

Summary:
Purchased this Plasma from Tweeter on a 24-month np/ni plan. Couldn't be happier with this set. Meets and/or exceeds all of my expectations. I strongly recommend purchase of the optional E-Box Plasma TV tuner, too. It's an additional $799, but well worth the investment. This box servers to consolidate up to five analog/component imputs into one VGA cable that extends from the E-Box to the Plasma. Great if you're fussy about cable management. It also up-converts analog signals to improve overall analog picture quality. Progressive scan is to die for! Satellite and OTA HD picture is jaw-dropping. Progressive scan for DVDs is also noteworthy - it's like you're watching DVDs for the first time. This set garners my highest possible recommendation!

Strengths:
Too numerous to list. - Picture quality. - Ability to customize the viewing experience (using the optional E-Box). - Bang for the buck.

Weaknesses:
Only one. Had the component cables from my DirecTV satellite receiver routed through a Denon AVR-3300 Receiver, which attenuated the signal sufficient to cause drops/interruptions in video. Re-routed the cables to go directly from the receiver to the E-Box and life's good again!

Similar Products Used:
First plasma. Previously owned a Toshiba 42H81 HD-ready RPTV.

Price Paid:  $5299.00 from MachineBox.com

Summary:
I purchased this plasma tv from MachineBox.com and couldn't be happier. I had a really good shopping experience on the site and they have fantastic customer service. The TV arrived and it was really easy to set up.

Strengths:
This TV has a fantastic picture - just like the guys from MachineBox.com said it would. The "Auto Sharpness Control" has 7 steps; which is more than enough. The picture freeze & replay is a really cool feature and the picture is perfect on the freese frame.