Home audio & video: Name Brand versus Off Brand
Name Brand versus Off Brand
by Softs emachine - 2/14/07 8:43 AMI too have been fretting over the purchase of a flat panel TV. However, the only reason I am even looking is that my Sony Wega flat screen is a piece of junk. Within two years of buying it I had to sink about $200 into it when something fried inside. Then about two years after that, the same thing happened, so I pulled out the old Phillips from the attic until I could decide what to do next. ($400 in repairs on a $500 TV within four years? I don't think so!) One thing for certain, I am not repairing the Sony again nor am I buying a Sony again ever. Even my Sony CD player is a disappointment - I can't wait for it to die so I can buy another one of a different brand. As for off brands, I once had a Sears TV that lasted for 20 years, and friends and family have bought off brand TVs that functioned very well for long periods of time. (The repairman that Sony sent out on my second TV malfunction said, "They don't make these to last 10-20 years anymore." Now that's confidence in your product.) When I buy my flat panel sometime this year, it will be off brand - I bought Sony because of its rep and as far as I can tell, its rep ain't worth jack.
Better luck next time around
by NM_Bill - 2/14/07 9:48 AM In reply to: Name Brand versus Off Brand by Softs emachineI really feel I will buy my next TV from an experienced independent dealer here (Albuquerque) who is also the authorized repair center for some brands. I've dealt with him for 3 equipment purchases but not TV.
He offers 30 day in home trials for the expensive stuff - he doesn't sell junk. I negotiated politely but firmly with online price info. So far, it's cost only 8% above lowest reputable online price - for real service, & worth it.
By your handle I'm guessing you're a Pittsburgher. As an old one myself, here's an example: E-mail Sony for the area authorized repair center. It's on a side street in Sharon - some guy repairing for 40 years. Excepting the latesd new tech feature, he knows what breaks down. He'll sell you a Sony at a decent price - that he knows is a reliable model because they don't come flocking into his shop. Not quite as cheap as the Sony outlet store at the Grove City Factory Shops, but those employees there don't know zilch.
So you can go dawhtahn to see the Stillers & pump an Iron for me.
Main Brands vs Off Brands
by samanthaskii - 2/14/07 1:46 PM In reply to: Name Brand versus Off Brand by Softs emachineI have to agree with the Sony person...I have been known to take chances on off brands only because the name brands gave me a headache. Not only do the name brands boast at being the best but they can market themselves everywhere!! while off brands are forced to just put their product on the shelf with hopes that people with limited income (me) will take a chance.
A few years back I bought my mother a dvd recorder/player by some brand called Lite-On...unbeknowest to me there were not well known then. Fortunately they still produce awesome products (I bought my dvd burner from them too) and would consider them for other such products. As for HDTV's well, I am in the market and have been looking. I personally would not hesitate to purchase one so long as the warranty and return policy allowed me the chance to try it.
Haier 37" LCD HDTV and Sylvania 32" LCD HDTV
by lpr416 - 2/14/07 3:48 PM In reply to: Name Brand versus Off Brand by Softs emachineNormally I have bought name brands, especially with new technology. However, my wife's son bought a Haier and has been very happy. Saw a Walmart.com special on a Sylvania. So far, so good. I saw as much variation between name brands as I did between name brands and off brands.
A 10 to 15% differential I can justify; not 25 to 30%.
Sylvania
by cc3 - 2/14/07 7:26 PM In reply to: Haier 37" LCD HDTV and Sylvania 32" LCD HDTV by lpr416I wouldn't automatically call Sylvania off-brand. They have been around for decades, unlike some of the newer TV Manufacturers.
My family's color TV somewhere in the early 90's was a Sylvania and it was pretty good.
It takes a lot of rather "inside" business knowledge to keep
by NM_Bill - 2/14/07 9:20 PM In reply to: Sylvania by cc3track of the history of former manufacturer brand names transitioning to today. Is there any corporate consistency of, say the company stopping manufacturing but continuing to do tech design but with assembly farmed out to who whose factory across the pond with what level of quality control. After all, the major PC brands set the standards then have non-name brand factories in China or wherever do the work to what high level of quality or not.
Lots of old reliable at one time brand names simply became a trademark relic of some company & whoever wound up owning the rights to the name sold it to some investors for some negotiated amount of money.
At one point in time Westinghouse sold off all equipment, facilities, patents, etc. & used the money to buy & become CBS. Who bought the Westinghouse name to put of TVs? Someone knows this small bit of trivial pursuit obscurity? And what does the name now stand for? Eh?
Sure, us oldsters fondly remember those names like Sylvania, Stromberg Carlson, DuMont, Philco, etc. & the list goes on.
no
by egood - 2/14/07 5:02 PM In reply to: Name Brand versus Off Brand by Softs emachineremember you get what you pay for. sony i like but only for certain items; my sony receiver lasted me years and not a glitch. you just gotta find out which maker specializes in what. I usually tend to run with brand names but not because of the name but reputation. i have klipsch speakers and they have fallen 100's of times and function perfectly. moral of the story BUY A SAMSUNG!!!!!!!!!!!
MR BUERG SO SORRY ABOUT SONY PROBLEMS BUT
by stewart norrie - 2/14/07 6:38 PM In reply to: Name Brand versus Off Brand by Softs emachineThe reason I choise a top brand hi-def d.l.p. set was the fact that there is factory service centers in my area Most warrenty stations will not touch off brand t,v,s period . So you can forget about factory suppost unless you want to ship that big thing millions of miles from home. Second Most off brand sets look great showing a hi-def picture, but just try watching a s.d. program ha ha, If you could see your cheepie t.v. showing a hi-def program next to a Sony Believe me you would fork over the extra bucks stewee
very happy with my 32" aoc envision
by bklynrickel - 2/14/07 6:46 PM In reply to: MR BUERG SO SORRY ABOUT SONY PROBLEMS BUT by stewart norrieand the customer service is very responsive.
hyundai also makes a great lcd.
One big reason to think twice about off brands...
by DTKempII - 2/14/07 7:03 PM In reply to: Name Brand versus Off Brand by Softs emachineI bought an off-brand LCD TV from Micro Center...their PowerSpec brand. The TV is ok, and the price was right. The problem is that the remote was not a universal. I was using a universal to control other devices. However, no codes for this, or other universals that I tried, would work for this TV. That left me with either using multiple remotes, or finding a remote that could be trained by placing head to head.
Beyond that limitation, this TV has served us well for over 2 years now.
name brands v.s. off brands
by hornfrog - 2/14/07 8:08 PM In reply to: One big reason to think twice about off brands... by DTKempIII think the question should be who is the manufacturer of the television in the first place, not who has put there name on it to sell it. When you think of the marketing, advertising, customer support, warehousing etc. that the major brand companies do (after all that's why they're well-known companies) it kind of explains where the higher price comes from.
Does anyone know where to find the names of the original manufacturers that build the sets that companies then distribute under their name? Seems to me that if I could find a certain model DLP/plasma or whatever that has been on the market long enough to get the bugs worked out, I could then buy it at the lowest price regardless of whose name is on it. Order it via the internet, skip the tax and even possibly get the shipping for free...
Sorry to sound so cheap but it's just a television ya know?
MR. FROG ITS MORE THAN JUST A T.V. HA HA
by stewart norrie - 2/15/07 12:47 PM In reply to: name brands v.s. off brands by hornfrogI believe hi-def is the hottest thing since the lite bulb , really. I have worked in electronics for 45 years now iam 68 and ready to croke, but for all those years standard t.v. was totally a joke unwatachable, no matter how much cash you spent anolog was horrible, Anyway after I retired I spend all my savings on a 73" d.l.p. monster Expensive Atlantic Technology 7.1 speaker system. Denon amp Blue ray player v.c.r. and lazer disk player+ hi-def sat system Its like watching the news you think you are in a Imax theater And The best part of owning a nice little home theater system is if you are really careful and shop rite you can have a sweet window to the world for about two grand thats progress. Also cnet folks are so cool and most of us are cheap scates harda ha ha steweee
Lack of Universal remote support with some off-brands
by DTKempII - 2/15/07 8:16 PM In reply to: name brands v.s. off brands by hornfrogI wish it was as simple as that... The Microcenter PowerSpec-branded LCD TV we bought doesn't respond to any of the codes from my various universal remotes, including several generics, the old Sony RM-AV3000, or the IR/RF remote that we use now, MX-600. Fortunately, the latter can learn some of the commands from the original remote using the head-to-head teaching method. Unfortunately, there are many features that it can't learn, such as setting the sleep mode!
Love my Maxent!
by woolleylady - 2/14/07 7:19 PM In reply to: Name Brand versus Off Brand by Softs emachineLast year we went to Costco and bought a 42" Maxent Plasma television. The price was very inexpensive (high by today's standards, boy, have they gone down in price) Hooked it up and, WOW! what a great picture!! About two months later we were having problems with our electricity going off and on during storms. Afterward the speakers were not working. Called Maxent, talked to a REAL PERSON! He contacted a service center in our area and four days later the television was good as new! I am definely a Maxent fan!
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