Extended Warranty

[schmutzie]

I've been shopping for a new TV for ages now and one of my main issues is that when I find a good deal, the shop usually does not offer an extension to the standard warranty (1 year).

Exceptions to this are:

PowerBuy (3+ plans at 6% of price)

Carrefour - as above

Panasonic - 3 year standard warranty on new 2010 range

I'm reluctant to drop 50K on a telly that could easily develop issues, eg. backlight probs with LED LCDs, after one year. I'm also concerned about resell value.

Anyone know anymore outlets that offer solid extended warranties or alternative options (insurance company) for adding extended warranties to your electronics, eg. TV?

[filingaccount]

Consumer electronics should not be considered "investments" as they will lose most of their value immediately. If resale value is important, consider not buying it.

If you are reluctant to to spend 50,000 baht, why not consider an older version at a much lower price? A decent 32" 720p LCD would set you back only about 13,000 baht now. Then you wouldn't have to worry too much about warranty beyond the standard 1 year, nor resell value as it has low value to begin with nor issues with <technology>.

If you want a larger screen, they are not much more expensive as a 42" 720p LCD might go for around 21,000 baht.

Spending money on a 1080p LCD in Thailand is unnecessary as there are no 1080p broadcasts, and the few bluray movies you might watch isn't going to justify the higher price. Besides the selection of movies is very meager in Thailand.

If you download movies to be viewed on your LCD TV through a computer or compatible device, you will quickly realize that 720p encoded movies generally look very very similar to 1080p encoded movies, plus the 720p downloads are half size so download times are less and take up half the space on your storage device.

Most major brands offer a lower end version of their LCDs and you essentially just have to settle for your favorite brand.

If you want more info please PM me and I'll be happy to help.

[naidraw66]

Consumer electronics should not be considered "investments" as they will lose most of their value immediately. If resale value is important, consider not buying it.

If you are reluctant to to spend 50,000 baht, why not consider an older version at a much lower price? A decent 32" 720p LCD would set you back only about 13,000 baht now. Then you wouldn't have to worry too much about warranty beyond the standard 1 year, nor resell value as it has low value to begin with nor issues with <technology>.

If you want a larger screen, they are not much more expensive as a 42" 720p LCD might go for around 21,000 baht.

Spending money on a 1080p LCD in Thailand is unnecessary as there are no 1080p broadcasts, and the few bluray movies you might watch isn't going to justify the higher price. Besides the selection of movies is very meager in Thailand.

If you download movies to be viewed on your LCD TV through a computer or compatible device, you will quickly realize that 720p encoded movies generally look very very similar to 1080p encoded movies, plus the 720p downloads are half size so download times are less and take up half the space on your storage device.

Most major brands offer a lower end version of their LCDs and you essentially just have to settle for your favorite brand.

If you want more info please PM me and I'll be happy to help.

Unless you were referring solely to Thai TV You are incorrect when you say there are no HD broadcasts in Thailand. True now have 2 HD channels transmitting in 1080i. Astro another service available in Thailand have 5 HD channels.

[astral]

Second hand values can be as little as 30% after one year,

with the way prices are dropping and specs are improving.

[filingaccount]

...

Spending money on a 1080p LCD in Thailand is unnecessary as there are no 1080p broadcasts

...

Unless you were referring solely to Thai TV You are incorrect when you say there are no HD broadcasts in Thailand. True now have 2 HD channels transmitting in 1080i. Astro another service available in Thailand have 5 HD channels.

I don't want to be impolite as you might not know the difference between the different formats, but know there is significant differences between them.

Any 720p LCD TV should be able to display a 1080i signal.

1080p is unnecessary for TV and nearly useless for bluray movies (due to lack of variety).

In closing, I never even once mentioned "HDTV", simply 1080p.

[naidraw66]

...

Spending money on a 1080p LCD in Thailand is unnecessary as there are no 1080p broadcasts

...

Unless you were referring solely to Thai TV You are incorrect when you say there are no HD broadcasts in Thailand. True now have 2 HD channels transmitting in 1080i. Astro another service available in Thailand have 5 HD channels.

I don't want to be impolite as you might not know the difference between the different formats, but know there is significant differences between them.

Any 720p LCD TV should be able to display a 1080i signal.

1080p is unnecessary for TV and nearly useless for bluray movies (due to lack of variety).

In closing, I never even once mentioned "HDTV", simply 1080p.

Its my understanding that a 720p TV set can receive 1080i/1080p but the signal will be downscaled to 720p. Currently 1080p is not available for TV broadcasts anywhere! Personally I find the choice of Blu Ray movies at least here in Bangkok to be as good as any country in the West, however saying that they are a lot more expensive. Hence I download all the Blue ray/HD movies that I watch, a very cost effective method. This offsets the higher costs of buying a 1080p TV, and will pay for its self reasonably quickly! I suppose it all depends what you want from your TV, and how often you watch it, and what material you watch . . . . ?

I'm sorry this is going slightly off the topic of "extended warranty". I think you should be able to cover your TV in your home insurance policy for complete peace of mind.

IW

[schmutzie]

I agree that there are plenty of good deals going and that "a good enough TV" can be had for 20K. Actually, I would be better of just getting a cheapo 4:3 telly.

BUT...As per usual common sense goes out the window when boys start to look at toys and the 720p plasmas I was looking at just don't seem to cut it on BR material for me (which admittedly I won't be viewing a whole lot of but as already stated...the seductive powers of technology).

Specifically I was getting good deals on 2009 Philips sets, but they are still pricey. That's why I was looking for extended warranty.

Although reselling might seem OTT, that was more something that came into play in order to justify paying the higher price. I know, don't buy it then...I know.

But it's something I'm factoring in with all my purchases: Should my Thai stay end in a years time, I would still be able to recoup 50% I hope: By finding the best deals and buying quality stuff.

Like I said, Carrefour and PowerBuy already give these and I just paid 600THB to have 3 years of warranty on a small bedroom Sony. I think that's worth it.

I was simply wondering if there was some bank or insurance company that would do similar deals (I'm trying to remember who's doing it for Carrefour but can't ATM)

I appreciate the common sense advice above though.

[naidraw66]

I agree that there are plenty of good deals going and that "a good enough TV" can be had for 20K. Actually, I would be better of just getting a cheapo 4:3 telly.

BUT...As per usual common sense goes out the window when boys start to look at toys and the 720p plasmas I was looking at just don't seem to cut it on BR material for me (which admittedly I won't be viewing a whole lot of but as already stated...the seductive powers of technology).

Specifically I was getting good deals on 2009 Philips sets, but they are still pricey. That's why I was looking for extended warranty.

Although reselling might seem OTT, that was more something that came into play in order to justify paying the higher price. I know, don't buy it then...I know.

But it's something I'm factoring in with all my purchases: Should my Thai stay end in a years time, I would still be able to recoup 50% I hope: By finding the best deals and buying quality stuff.

Like I said, Carrefour and PowerBuy already give these and I just paid 600THB to have 3 years of warranty on a small bedroom Sony. I think that's worth it.

I was simply wondering if there was some bank or insurance company that would do similar deals (I'm trying to remember who's doing it for Carrefour but can't ATM)

I appreciate the common sense advice above though.

I think it all comes down to what you want your TV to do, and of course the materials that you choose to watch. If you don't subscribe to HD TV, don't own a Blu ray player & don't download HD content from the internet then there is no point in paying the extra premium for a 1080p TV. A 720P version will serve you very well, and there are some great deals out there at the moment on 720p (HD ready) TV's. By the way the second hand valves on any TV are not good here in Thailand.

I know that Tesco Lotus have insurance services, but I'm not the person to comment on what services that they provide. I don't know your situation but don't you have contents insurance at the property where you stay. It would be easy enough to include the TV in the policy!

IW