Disposable / throwaway TV / HDTV
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Anonymously Submitted
- HDTV Magazine
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Disposable / throwaway TV / HDTV
People describe various brands as disposable or throwaways. What do they mean? What brands are they talking about? thank you
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eliwhitney
- Major Contributor
- Posts: 484
- Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2006 5:14 am
- Location: Oklahoma
THROWAWAY - DISPOSABLE HDTVs ...
Hello - 30 Sept -
There are at least two 'groups' of these ...
One may be thought of as all those old, very popular Brand Names from the golden days of our past .. including .. Polaroid, Westinghouse, RCA, Sylvania, Zenith, Magnavox, Emerson, etc.. These Names have been sold off / licensed, etc., many to the least, bottom Tier Makers in Asia , presumably to 'convey' a false sense of familiarity & confidence. Nothing could be further from the facts ... these usually have No national, local contractors set up or prepared with spare components, schematics & contracts to handle any necessary servicing, either during the initial warranty or after. In-Home servicing is not the norm, as IS the case with the Top Tier Brands.
In Example, Polaroid literally has NO plan whatever for any components / servicing at all the day after that base period expires!
The second grouping might be considered as the "No-Name" or Private Label class of HDTVs. These may have a base warranty wherein only that specific selling outlet would handle any servicing or - in many cases - after a very brief (90) days warranty - i.e. -labor , the customer Must - at his/her own expense - prepay the freight plus provide for the insured cost of shipping in the original carton + it's inner packing details to a distant, central servicing location. Here, it may be simply scrapped, with a different model or a "Refurb" sent back in it's place.
Time durations for all this Are horrific!
In the worst case scenario, that set is simply "trash" - an individual can not obtain nearly the same lower freight rates on a single piece, one time shipment that the makers will have been awarded in the form of a major trucking contract for a full trailer loading. Therefore, the total costs will come very close to or equal the entire cost of a new set outright. OR, there IS no "central servicing location" at all ! Again, e scrap.
A p.s. ... to additionally complicate matters, neither our U.S.P.S. nor U.P.S. / FedX Ground ...etc., will deal with Cartons exceeding 70# total or certain dimension limitations or "fragile" contents !
HDTVs are never going to be an inexpensive undertaking ! Just the cost of the mandatory HD service will quickly approach $100 /monthly. Even an appropriate outside antenna system for the few 5-6 HD national networks & PBS is formidable ! These lesser varieties will often provide inferior Picture Quality, very poor sound, totally unknown longevity before initial failure ....
To purchase any of these will only serve to make the ultimate cost of a HDTV even more than it already IS !
There are at least two 'groups' of these ...
One may be thought of as all those old, very popular Brand Names from the golden days of our past .. including .. Polaroid, Westinghouse, RCA, Sylvania, Zenith, Magnavox, Emerson, etc.. These Names have been sold off / licensed, etc., many to the least, bottom Tier Makers in Asia , presumably to 'convey' a false sense of familiarity & confidence. Nothing could be further from the facts ... these usually have No national, local contractors set up or prepared with spare components, schematics & contracts to handle any necessary servicing, either during the initial warranty or after. In-Home servicing is not the norm, as IS the case with the Top Tier Brands.
In Example, Polaroid literally has NO plan whatever for any components / servicing at all the day after that base period expires!
The second grouping might be considered as the "No-Name" or Private Label class of HDTVs. These may have a base warranty wherein only that specific selling outlet would handle any servicing or - in many cases - after a very brief (90) days warranty - i.e. -labor , the customer Must - at his/her own expense - prepay the freight plus provide for the insured cost of shipping in the original carton + it's inner packing details to a distant, central servicing location. Here, it may be simply scrapped, with a different model or a "Refurb" sent back in it's place.
Time durations for all this Are horrific!
In the worst case scenario, that set is simply "trash" - an individual can not obtain nearly the same lower freight rates on a single piece, one time shipment that the makers will have been awarded in the form of a major trucking contract for a full trailer loading. Therefore, the total costs will come very close to or equal the entire cost of a new set outright. OR, there IS no "central servicing location" at all ! Again, e scrap.
A p.s. ... to additionally complicate matters, neither our U.S.P.S. nor U.P.S. / FedX Ground ...etc., will deal with Cartons exceeding 70# total or certain dimension limitations or "fragile" contents !
HDTVs are never going to be an inexpensive undertaking ! Just the cost of the mandatory HD service will quickly approach $100 /monthly. Even an appropriate outside antenna system for the few 5-6 HD national networks & PBS is formidable ! These lesser varieties will often provide inferior Picture Quality, very poor sound, totally unknown longevity before initial failure ....
To purchase any of these will only serve to make the ultimate cost of a HDTV even more than it already IS !