Anyone have any experience with how costco's warranty works?

I have a 47" lcd thats been perfect, great picture. I notice on my ps3 when there is an all black screen that there is a lot of light.... hard to explain but the side of the tv seems like it has increasingly letting in light and causing the black to lighten up.

It is not noticeable in any other situations to my eye, and I dont think anyone else knows about it. BUT, since I have about 9 months left before my warranty runs out, should I:

a - complain about it and see if they repair it
b - complain about it and see if I can exchange for the same or newer version
c - deal with it and hope that it doesnt get any worse (though it has recently, hence my post).

Anyone have a tv repaired under or replaced with costco?

2/5/2009 10:30:15 PM

it's called an LCD. lcd's have terrible contrast ratio, making "blacks" look grey

2/5/2009 10:42:02 PM

lol.

2/5/2009 10:54:13 PM

^^ actually, the blacks look pretty good. Imagine a black sheet of paper over your monitor and a LITTLE bit is peeled up on the left side of the screen... that light is showing up on my tv.

^ quinn, thanks for the help.

2/5/2009 11:18:18 PM

lol.

2/5/2009 11:39:35 PM

ive seen varying amounts of what you are describing on different LCDs - not sure if it is a manufacturing defect or just how that specific LCD performs

2/6/2009 12:48:45 AM

This is happening because you bought a Vizio. It's a piece of shit brand (i should know, i bought one too years ago) and their quality control is garbage.

Take it back to Costco, get it repaired and sell it before something else goes wrong (and it will)

2/6/2009 2:46:47 AM

but ladanian tomlinson likes them!

it must be good!

2/6/2009 7:11:28 AM

^

If he watches hdtv like he playswatches football games he sits so far back on the bench he wouldn't notice the back light bleed through.

2/6/2009 8:08:24 AM

Black level looks fine to me, guys

2/6/2009 8:56:04 AM

Quote :

"actually, the blacks look pretty good. Imagine a black sheet of paper over your monitor and a LITTLE bit is peeled up on the left side of the screen... that light is showing up on my tv."

what version of the ps3 do you have? i have the very first version (20gb, no wifi), got it new when it first came out. i also have a brand brand spanking new panasonic plasma tv and i have the same problem in the same place on the screen...

but

the issue is with the ps3. or at least with mine it is. regardless of what tv i hook it up to, it does that (as long as it's an hdtv and i'm using the hdmi cable). i've tried different hdmi cables, bought a stupidly expensive gold plated oxygen free (?) shielded blahblahetcetc one and it still does it. it did it on my old panasonic plasma before it shit the bed.

so yeah, it's the ps3, not the tv

oh, and i haven't had the problem with any other video source that i've tried: satellite box (component video & hdmi), regular dvd player, RCA cable for the ps3, wii (RCA and component), etc.

[Edited on February 6, 2009 at 9:07 AM. Reason : ]

2/6/2009 9:04:34 AM

^ good enough for me. I'll chalk it up as the PS3 as I've wondered that. I do not notice the "problem" when calibrating the set.

Some of you sound like idiots on here (says the person posing questions). The picture my Vizio puts out is REALLY good. My father and friends who have 50+ plasmas are often jealous of the detail in my set. The picture quality is fantastic, and the only time I saw an issue was with the PS3, which sounds like it could be to blame.

2/6/2009 9:12:03 AM

what version ps3 do you have? i'll feel better about mine if yours isn't a first gen one

2/6/2009 9:16:29 AM

40 gig

2/6/2009 9:41:08 AM

I'd probably still take it back and try to exchange it.

If it is your display, this is known as mura. This can happen in plasma panels as well, but iirc the there is only 1 cause (uneven MgO layer). LCD's on the other hand have many different factors that can cause it.


http://www.behardware.com/articles/589-1/panels-a-carte-mura-components-dead-pixels.html

I think you can crank up the backlight setting on a blank input screen to check for it, like this:


[Edited on February 6, 2009 at 11:05 AM. Reason : ]

2/6/2009 10:59:46 AM

bargain LCD tvs have imperfections? no way

even so I have a vizio that's just fine, but perfect black is a pipe dream for pretty much any lcd unless you're willing to pay a lot

2/6/2009 11:09:07 AM

^^ hey, an insightful post.. wow.

Mura type 3, that is perfect for describing what I see.

2/6/2009 1:34:04 PM

I've never seen an LCD that didn't do the above when a black screen shows up. that is why I would never buy one for anything other than use as a computer monitor.

porn and emails don't have many fade to black scenes. movies and tv do it constantly.

2/7/2009 8:29:24 AM

yeah but if you're in a well lit room you kinda have to, because the glare from a plasma is about the worst possible thing imaginable

2/7/2009 10:11:38 AM

The glare on plasmas isn't bad unless you have a point of light focused right on it.

Good luck watching anything in those conditions.

2/7/2009 11:56:23 AM

^^

I would argue that is the worst. You can easily place blinds and curtains. You're kidding yourself if you think an LCD doesn't look crappy with direct sunlight. Sure you don't see whats behind you like a mirror but its still enough of an annoyance to get up and close a blind.

2/7/2009 5:04:39 PM

i don't see how anyone can make an argument for lcd over plasma based on visibility or picture, it seems like no contest. i mean i went with lcd, but did so because of other reasons

2/7/2009 5:28:39 PM

yeah i meant glare as in mirror reflection. obviously neither is optimal

2/8/2009 12:18:04 AM

Is Philips considered to be a discount LCD TV brand?

2/8/2009 11:32:43 PM

according to this thread, everything except Plasma is considered to be 'discount'

2/9/2009 12:09:38 AM

for the general consumer the LCD has all the Pro's

A) low end models are cheap
B) less power
C) less glare
E) brighter
F) no burn in

as far as a video quality it has all the negatives but it isn't that far off with the $$$ models.

2/9/2009 8:37:34 AM

pro's what?

lcd may be cheaper, have less glare, etc but if the picture quality isn't as good then it's not worth it imo. my dad has a couple of "high end" lcd tvs and none of them come close to the vividness of the colors and overall much better picture quality of my plasma. the motion is shit on lcds too, even with 120hz and motion enhancement crap. i'd rather have a 720p plasma than a 1080p lcd any day.

oh and none of this has anything to do with his ps3 problem i think

[Edited on February 9, 2009 at 8:45 AM. Reason : ]

2/9/2009 8:44:48 AM

Quote :

"according to this thread, everything except Plasma is considered to be 'discount'"

If you read the stuff on avsforum you'd think you were buying shitty displays (lcd or plasma) unless you spend $100 per diagonal inch. Even then, somebody could write a paper on the flaws of the display you picked.

2/9/2009 10:40:33 AM