Plasma TV
 

Is there anyone who can tell me if it would be worth it? I have a friend who recently dropped his plasma and said he would sell it to me "as is", it has a broken screen.....

Are the screens very expensive to replace?

-Eli

it's more about the pixels becoming corrupt. under the warranties you need to have a ceratin % of pixels corrupt before they can do anything.

Eli, the screen replacement may well be higher than the retail price of the unit. Manly because the screen is 90% of the manufactured cost, and replacement parts mark-up is higher than retail mark-up.

WE just bought a direct view HDTV (Sony). Although the plasma units were lighter, "experts" told me to wait. The Sony weighs a hefty 165 pounds so if it ever tanks, I will need a derrick to get it out of the house!!!

Maybe next time plasma. Still an emerging technology.

Be patient. I am sure you know technology changes so rapidly. What is good today will be gone tomorrow. When plasmas hit the main stream then it would be a good time to buy. The most common thing now is HDTVs or flat-screens. I bought a flat-screen when the first came out. Today the price is 1/4 of what it was back 3 years ago. As far as the screen is concerned it would most likely to be cheaper to buy a brand new one.

I'm waiting for the LCOS products to come out and catch on. Stuff will be 1/2 the price of today's sets with that technology. Sometime in '05, I hear.

LCD panels were unusually expensive in 2003 and early 2004 as there was a considerable shortage of components and finished panels. The LCD panel industry is now headed to an overcapacity situation. The panel makers are opening new fabs as fast as they can, the component suppliers have increased production, and the main remaining bottleneck, glass supply, will be resolved in 2005 as Corning and Asahi Glass increase yields and open new lines. Prices of LCD panels and associated products (LCD-TVs, LCD-monitors, even notebooks) should drop significantly as a result. As confirmation, check out the stock price of AUO (a leading panel maker) and other LCD-related companies. I'd wait.

Selling price is under $500.00.... Not sure if I want to mess around with it or not....

-Eli

If the expensive screen broke then other parts/components such as the multi-layer Printed Circuit Board(s) could be shot as well. Most of the components on these boards are surface mounted and sub-minature...near impossible to repair anything other than very minmal damage and a bear to troubleshoot.
Ask to inspect it first (cover off) and then price the replacement parts. You'll probably find that it's a risk not worth taking.

Thank you all for your feedback......

As an example: The full story about our Sony includes honorable mention of a similar Panasonic. Bought the Panasonic on June 15. This past Friday, we had Sears pick it up and replace it with a Sony HDTV. Six weeks should be a record for a 32" HDTV tanking. What will they do with it? The tech said, unless it is something simple, it will be junked. TV sets nowadays do not have many descrete components; they call the entire chassis a "module" which is replaced as a unit. Expensive as He!!.

It's been a couple of years since I worked in the CE industry, but the rule of thumb back then was that a broken display (CRT, LCD, etc.) was usually more expensive to replace than buying a new one... we would just scrap 'em, especially on the high-end units.

Your friend is not alone: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11073&item=5712504 360&rd=1