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General discussion

TV sound comes in and out

Aug 6, 2005 1:44AM PDT

I have a 36" Mitsubishi TV that is 12 years old. It works great, but the sound sometimes cuts out. If I turn it off for a few seconds, it will usually work again, but go off again after a short time. Usually after going through this drill a number of times, it will stay on. Is this something I can fix? Is it worth having a repair person fix it?

Discussion is locked

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36" Mitsubishi TV that is 12 years old.
Aug 8, 2005 2:16AM PDT

I have a 14 year old 32" Toshiba that is developing a video problem.
So this puts us between a rock and a hard place.
Even thought they cost big $$$$$ back then, a new one of this size is a lot cheeper now and can be HDTV to boot.
It is hard to take them to the TV repair shop. The cost of a house call is more big $$$$, may come close to the cost of a new set.
So call around in your area and get some estements for repair cost. Check out new TV's and then make your decision. John

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TV's Under $1,000 Should Just Be Viewed As Throw Aways....
Aug 8, 2005 2:38AM PDT

...If and when they break. Unless it's a simple fuse or such, the cost of either a long term warranty or a home visit from a repair man simply does not make economic sense. I have never bought an extended warranty on anything until I bought my 42" plasma. For a purchase like this, I believe it's almost a "must." $3,500 is a lot to throw away if it requires repair and, at 125 lbs, there's no way you're getting it to a repair shop.

That's why I believe it's particularly important to stick with a reliable name brand manufacturer when you buy under $1,000. When it breaks or requires repair, out it goes to the trash.

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warranty
Aug 8, 2005 2:48AM PDT

I just bought a samsung dlp and declined on the extended warranty. Should I have gotten the warranty?

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Depends....
Aug 8, 2005 5:54AM PDT

...First off, if the TV is substantially over $1,000 and essentially not moveable then if you should ever have need for service out of warranty, be prepared to spend upwards of $500-1,000 for a competent serviceman to come to your home. What any required repair is after this is anyone's guess. As I said, I despise the whole idea of "extended warranties" but in this one case (expensive, exotic TV's) I would say it is well worth the $399 they usually charge for a three year extended warranty. For this, they will come to your home as often as necessary and most of these warranties have a "three strikes and you're out" clause, calling for you to get a complete refund of the purchase price of the TV if the problem has not been completely resolved after three service calls. Even Consumer Reports (which despises extended warranties about as much as I do) recommended that purchasers of these TV's buy them.
DLP doesn't have much of a track record yet in terms of reliability but all those tiny whirling mirrors literally scare the crap out of me with respect to long term reliability.
If you can still get an extended warranty on the TV, I'd strongly consider doing so.

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TV's Under $1,000 Should Just Be Viewed As Throw Aways.
Aug 8, 2005 8:10AM PDT

Yes, which is why I suggest getting a repair estimate and compairing it to the cost of a new one. Helps to ease the way to buy a new one. John