In January 2014, we bought an Element 46" LCD TV from Target. We purchased the three year protection plan for $50. Last Sunday, I turned on the TV, but got nothing but a black screen. I couldn't adjust the volume, pull up menus, or switch inputs. My wife called the 800 number, and they scheduled a tech to come to our house on Wednesday.

Wednesday, the guy shows up, shines a light at the screen, and says the back panel lights are out, and he will rebuild it at their shop.

Friday, my wife gets an email from Target telling us that the TV is fixable, which we already knew. 26 minutes later, she gets another email, stating that the TV cannot be fixed, and we can pick a replacement. We clicked on that link to the replacement TVs, but it was a dead link. She makes another call to the 800 number, and they tell her that they are giving us a Target gift card for $499, even though we only paid $449 for the TV.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

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Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Please update us when you have that gift card in hand. Impressive if true.

A few years back we purchased an expensive sectional sofa from a local furniture retailer. It was supposed to take eight weeks to get made and delivered. The salesmen said I only needed to put a small amount down and then pay the balance once the sofa was shipped. I didn't want to have to worry about making another payment, so I just paid for the whole thing upfront. Instead of using my debit card, I decided to get the credit on my GM card. Smart choice. Two weeks after I bought the couch, I get a letter in the mail saying I am now a creditor of the furniture store because it filed bankruptcy. I called up MasterCard, and they credited the entire balance to my credit card. I couldn't believe how simple it was.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

They just write it off.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

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Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Write it off what?

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Would you be interested in a refund?

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

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Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Yeah, you better give me the insurance because I am gonna beat the hell out of this thing...

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$50 isn't worth dealing with the hassle of a TV going out and getting the free replacement and setting it up.

Stay away from the half assed no name brands and stick with Samsung or Vizio.

What hassle? If I didn't get the protection plan, I would be on the hook for a new TV.



I hear you. We have a 50" LG plasma that is five years old. The picture is awesome, and we have had no problems with it. The new one will be a 50" Vizio smart TV.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

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Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Other drivers? Your whole business is based on other drivers. It's a rented car. That's who's driving it, other drivers.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

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Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

I have that tv. Oddest little problems would pop up out of the blue every few months (once it wouldn't power up, another time no picture, sticking volume button) but right when I'd get pissed thinking about the hassle of going to get a new tv (2 mins later), the ghosts would leave the machine. Otherwise, a great tv.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

I was with you until you said Vizio. What?

LG
Sharp
Samsung
Sony

Those are the four brands you stick with.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Shut the fuck up, douche.

If you know as much about TVs as you do about cars everyone in this thread would do well to ignore your dumbass self.

Now run along, your mommy is calling you for dinner, don't forget to wash up first and to make sure your big B- spelling test is up on the fridge!

I have a 60 inch Sony Bravia that is nearly 10 years old. Still going strong. You would have to do a lot of talking to get me to not buy another Sony.

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Elections have consequences.

Dude, don't be ashamed of having a tight entertainment budget.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

your forgot panasonic, which i would probably buy over the 4 you listed. I too want no part of vizio.

Once I got my vizio set up right it's been amazing.
Outstanding picture.
And the sound bar gives great sound too. I could have spent a other 400 on another brand. Glad I did not.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

My Toshiba has been great for the last 7 years.

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I was skeptical of Vizio, but they seem to be getting decent user reviews. We bought a 4k HD one, and it has been great. I will say it is a bit tricky getting the color settings the way you want them.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Yeah it is. The Xbox one calibration tool works wonders.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

the power supply was bad... specifically the backlight inverter. but since those 'repair' guys are just board swappers and cannot diagnose to a component level, they were going to just replace the power supply. problem was they cant find a replacement since element isn't a 1st tier brand, meaning their models are simply made from leftover components from production runs of other brands... and there isn't any extra components to be sourced.

when you buy flagship models, its usually very easy to source parts because the manufacturers make extra components just so they can service the units when they need repair. that is a big reason why the flagship models cost more.

it was actually smart to buy the protection plan when buying a crappy model tv. with a flagship model, not so much.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

vizio is designed in the US. made overseas to US specs. they make solid tv's, especially the M series.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

I have a 10 year old and a 4 year old Westinghouse....no issues with either and great pictures on both.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

I figured you to be a Zenith or Quasar guy.

Great points, Ike. Off- label brands (or whatever you want to call them) are glorified Black Friday models. If you need a cheap TV they are there for the taking but it can be a roll of the dice.

But, even with those top echelon brands you can sometimes (depending on price/model level) still get stuck playing the Panel Lottery.

I have an Emerson 46 inch. Bought it six years ago. Thought it had the best picture compared to all the rest. I was leaning LG or Visio but this had a better picture. Had doubts about the brand because I had cheap Emerson products in my youth and they were pure shit. I had an old girlfriend I called Emerson (Emersome big titties.) This has been a great television. Never an issue and picture is still fantastic.

You can do real good, picture wise, with bottom level stuff...a lot of it depends on where the panels etc are sourced from.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

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Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

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I have been real pleased with it. Would buy another but you are correct all depends on what goes inside the unit and those sources change on a daily basis on low end units. I have looked at other Emerson HDTVs but they do not have the picture quality as my old one does.