Sony HDTVs found most reliable in PC World study

by Darren Murph posted Dec 4th 2008 at 7:49AM

Yep, it's already that time of year again folks. That time when you begin to "see" your breath, the air has that "certain chill," shoppers go berserk and PC World readers toss in their votes for the most reliable HDTVs. The latest annual Reliability and Service survey received inputs not from independent researchers, but from 16,000 actual owners who can speak best for the quality of the wares they own. The happy winner was Sony, which notched above-average ratings in seven of nine measures, though LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp and Vizio didn't fare too bad, either. The biggest loser was Mitsubishi, which showed four below-average scores and a "higher-than-average incidence of severe problems." The four-page writeup can be viewed in full by clicking the read link, but our main question is this: are you in agreement with the findings?

Filed under: Industry, Displays, Mitsubishi, Others, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp, Sony

Tags: data, LG, Panasonic, pc world, PcWorld, reliability, reliable, research, Samsung, Sharp, sony, survey, Vizio

Subscribe to these comments

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

DrXym @ Dec 4th 2008 8:14AM

Ouch at Mitsubishi and JVC. I thought JVC especially produced quality kit.

Highest Ranked

tlarkin79 @ Dec 4th 2008 8:35AM

This is still based on user responses, and marketing can have an impact on how consumers view brands. It's not surprising seeing Sony on top.

Neutral

squiggleslash @ Dec 4th 2008 9:37AM

You may well be right, though what's with Vizio being near the top?

Highly Ranked

Nick D @ Dec 4th 2008 8:53AM

They must not have included Sony's 1st-gen SXRD in that survey...

Highest Ranked

Kyle @ Dec 4th 2008 8:55AM

I would suspect that Mits in at the bottom due to being one of the largest producers of rear projection sets. No matter how many times a sales person tells you that the bulb will have to be replaced after X number of hours, customers are still upset when that time comes! I'm surprised that Vizio ranked so high, but I believe it may be a result of same phenomenon as I mentioned above about the Mits. I think that when a sales person sells a customer a Vizio they set their expectations low, and therefor when a problem happens the customer is not all that surprised, after all, you get what you pay for!

Neutral

Matthew Brundage @ Dec 4th 2008 9:10AM

If we take these numbers at face value, then perhaps the infamous "Sony markup" is justified. No?

Highly Ranked

Prey521 @ Dec 4th 2008 11:25AM

Nope

Lowest Ranked

The Fuzz 53 @ Dec 4th 2008 9:23AM

I wouldn't be surprised if Sony rigged this and "owners" that were surveyed were actually Sony employees. Nothing that that company does surprises me anymore.

Neutral

Achilles @ Dec 4th 2008 9:30AM

I don't know about Sony rigging this one but I'm not buying it. Sony TV's (and any Sony product for that matter) is not my pick.

Neutral

Roberta @ Dec 4th 2008 9:55AM

I've never owned a Sony product that didn't fail prematurely, including 2 TVs. So as someone else said, I bet more people responded favourably to Sony as a result of their marketing acumen and not because of supposed quality products.

R

Neutral

Nick B. @ Dec 4th 2008 10:16AM

I bought a Sony 57" HD RPTV back in October of 2001 and have had NO problems with it EVER (nor has it required a new bulb or any service). Back in 1997 I bought Sony's first generation DirecTV receiver and had NO problems with that either. I've also had multiple Sony car radios, Walkmans and Discmans thru the years with no problems. So, I can believe that Sony would rank high in a consumer survey - even without their employees being surveyed! Not that Sony ever called me...had they I would have complained that my PS3's fan puked out after 10 months! lol

Highly Ranked

Matt C @ Dec 4th 2008 9:15PM

Ummm that would be because in 2001 they weren't making DLP, LcOS, LCD projo, etc. that would require a bulb replacement. You have a picture tube big screen, if that had gone out by now then I would rate that a very very poor quality TV.

Neutral

JM @ Dec 4th 2008 10:15AM

I guess no one knows about the Sony Sparkle problem or Sony's famous clouding or Fan noise problem....

I wonder if the survey included people who knew what to look for.
This would include clouding, banding, mura, green push, stutter problem, etc...
Some of these things can be over looked but makes for less than perfect set.

Neutral

Greg T @ Dec 4th 2008 10:40AM

That's funny, I bought a westinghouse 32" for my daughter from best buy and then looked up the reviews for said TV's online. Lot's of problems with these sets. Then I started noticing the number of refurbished Westinghouse TV's at places like buy.com and ecost.com. I took it back and got a 32" Toshiba for slightly less from HHGregg. The reviews on this particular Toshiba set was very high and it seems like Toshiba problems are fairly low if you look on the web. Westinghouse seems to have more problems than most. So, not sure about the accuracy of this poll.

I was going to link to the best buy review, but the westinghouse has since been removed from their site.

I've got 4 flat panels in my house and they've all been trouble free
Pioneer Elite 60" for about a year
LG 20" LCD kitchen about a year
toshiba 42" Plasma bedroom about 2 years
LG 23" LCD guess bedroom about 3 years

Highest Ranked

David Varney @ Dec 4th 2008 11:13AM

I have bought 4 Sony TVs and all are still in use, I have a 14" in my home office, 30 yrs old, works great, gotta love that Trinitron picture....My latest is a 46XBR3, big bucks 2 yrs ago and worth every penny....so I like their TVs but not impressed with their other products....there, my 2 cents

Highly Ranked

daaper @ Dec 4th 2008 2:17PM

I'd also like to add my support for Sony products. I know they catch a lot of flak for their business practices, but I personally love their stuff. I have NEVER had a Sony product fail on me. Even my CD boombox and cd walkman that I got about 20 years ago still work. My Sony headphones that I have are the only set I've ever had for more than a few years (they're going on 10 years). Every other set I've had, the left ear goes out...coincidence?

Anyways, the point is that I don't think there's a single company out there who doesn't have at least some faulty products in their lineup. Some people never get these duds, while some others may always seem to be the unlucky ones. The real test is what the company does about it when you do get the dud...

Neutral

JM @ Dec 4th 2008 2:39PM

Look I personally think Sony and Samsung are the best when comes to LCDs.
So don't take this the wrong way.

@David: Chances are your XBR3 has some serious clouding issues. Some have more than others. Granted most people don't even realize it so it's often over looked. Anyone who is anal about how the image looks can notice it in dark black scenes. If you don't believe me search youtube for Sony Clouding and you'll see what I'm talking about.

@daaper: It's not that all companys have duds or % of faulty units. It's that the problems that EVERY set has are not noticed by consumers. You know how many peoples houses I've been to and said wow your TV has serious mura problem and they have no idea what I'm talking about. I show them what I'm talking about and they freak out. BUT then again most people think having their sets in Dynamic or Vivid is the best setting.

Neutral

daaper @ Dec 4th 2008 5:10PM

I know my set probably isn't perfect (Sony KDS-60A3000), but the colors are very accurate and the black levels look great. If I don't see any problems with it and everyone I know doesn't see anything wrong with it, then are there any problems?

If a tree falls and there's no one to hear it, does it make a sound?

Highest Ranked

Jimmy @ Dec 4th 2008 11:18AM

Just for comparison, here is Consumer Reports list of brand reliability on LCDs. The number to the right is the percentage of that brand reported needing repairs. Listed here in the same order they are listed on their website.

Sanyo - 1%
Sony - 2%
Sylvania - 2%
Panasonic - 2%
JVC - 2%
Sharp - 2%
Toshiba - 3%
Vizio - 3%
Samsung - 3%
Philips Magnavox - 3%
Olevia - 4%
LG - 4%
Hitachi - 4%
Westinghouse - 5%
Polaroid - 6%
Mitsubishi - 7%

You have to have a subscription but here is a direct link for those of you with an account.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/tvs-services/tvs/lcd-tv-ratings/brand-reliability.htm

Neutral

JM @ Dec 4th 2008 2:44PM

I put a post together on my site that talks about some of the major problems that plague LCDs.

http://www.john-michaeldelvalle.com/2008/09/08/lcds-problems-you-should-know-about/

Neutral

JDS @ Dec 4th 2008 3:03PM

fan noise from a TV?

Neutral

JM @ Dec 4th 2008 4:07PM

Read comment from Zappafan:
http://reviews.pricegrabber.com/plasma-lcd-televisions/m/44721447/

Some of the XBR 3 & 4 have had an issue with loud fan noises...
Yes it's possible.

Neutral

Dave @ Dec 4th 2008 3:53PM

They always make quality products imo.

Neutral

TheAnimationBlog @ Dec 4th 2008 6:17PM

Mitsubishi's rank is right on. I am currently on hold with Circuit City's warranty department for my THIRD service call on my Mitsubishi DLP TV... I've owned it about 2.5 years. The first call was a bad bulb that died, second was some little "piece" that had to be replaced, now this third call I'm pretty sure is the bulb again as the bulb light is on and I get no picture, only sound.

I regret buying this TV.

Neutral

JM @ Dec 4th 2008 10:14PM

If they need to order another part you get a new set.
I know that a bulb replacement does not count.
Wonder if a bad bulb would count as one though.

Usually the optical blocks is what goes wrong with projections.
LCD/Plasmas it's usually a faulty panel.

Neutral

B @ Dec 6th 2008 9:15AM

I own a 3 year old Mitsubishi TV and I wish I never bought it. I have had nothing but problems with it. Total piece of junk.

Neutral

Ernesto @ Dec 5th 2008 12:30AM

A lot of people would love to own Sony. They are quality but of course more expensive. They may not be as prestigious as Pioneer Elite but hey, compared to that their prices are downright reasonable.

I've owned many a TV and the Sony's have all been great. No issues whatsoever. If you had issues with your set or it wasn't up to your expectations, sorry to hear that. But I'm sure some of the issues I've read about online hardly bother the average consumer. It goes without saying, the problems/issues of any product discussed on the internet can be greatly overblown. Just remember the "problems" you might have are not as widespread or bothersome to most. You may find others who feel the same but you are a VERY small minority. Enthusiasts we are but its a hobby and you need to enjoy it ! If a product doesn't meet your expectations, move on to something else and be done with it.

Anyway, I will say one thing I do enjoy about the Sony's that many people may not think about is the user interface and remote control. I do enjoy them very much. Having owned/tried out other brands, they are not as pleasing, easy to use, intuitive, nicely laid out or have a good amount of options. Its a small thing that isn't ever discussed but I guess if I had to nitpick, that'd be one. Its enough for me to justify paying extra simply for that considering that I love tweaking things. If you're like me, you have to live with going through the menus often, especially during the first few weeks of ownership. If the interface is bad it can be very aggravating.

Neutral

Rick @ Dec 6th 2008 10:25AM

I have to agree... My Sony 52" KDL worked out of the box and is still working like new almost 1 year later. I'm very pleased with it.

Neutral

John @ Dec 7th 2008 4:54PM

OMG, did Sony pay the most to get on the top of that list? Every Sony TV and monitor my family has ever owned have had multiple failures, while having no problems with other brands. This list can't be right.

Select GameStops in NY, OH and PA selling Modern Warfare 2 already Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is preparing to enter the fray Left 4 Dead 2 pre-loading now available through Steam	OpenOfficeMouse boosts productivity with 18 buttons. Yes, 18. And a joystick. RPGs like Fallout and Oblivion coming to your iPhone? Windows 7 already bigger than Snow Leopard and Linux combined
First look: Viewfinder supercharges Flickr search Yes, the Apple Store is ~~down~~ up Worm rickrolls unsecured jailbroken iPhones via SSH	Trade #6: Vodafone (VOD) The week in preview: Earnings from Walmart, Macy's, and other retailers Francis gone free: Time served, probation and restitution for soft porn mogul
Reminder: Watch the first episode of Halo Legends today [update: It's gone] Homemade Fallout 3 Shishkebab, make 'em now before the apocalypse Gears of War 2 celebrates first anniversary with triple XP	VIDEO: "My Name is Ram" TV commercial ran 190 times on debut night Audi drops more photos and info on "Shelley", the autonomous TT-S REPORT: Lutz to step in as interim Opel chairman
Rumor: A adventure game based on Minesweeper? Steam offers pre-order savings on upcoming games Assassin's Creed novel announced	NFL Week 9 Live Tweet FanHouse Preview: Cowboys at Eagles Survivor: FanHouse Island, Week 9