Buying Factory Refurbished TVs? (1 Viewer)

[george king]

Anybody have any experience buying refurbished units. I ran across this web site
http://www.uecweb.com/about/index.htm
The company seems to be a division of Hitachi that sells factory refurb units. The reason I ask is that they have the 36" HDTV monitor for $950 + $165 shipping, which is less than a new 32" unit.
Thanks for the help.

 

[Ron Shaw]

I read an article once that gave a very convincing argument about how factory refurbished equipment is more reliable than new equipment, and the argument made sense. Basically, new equipment failures happen very early, usually due to a faulty or off tolerance part. If the equipment doesnt fail early, the chances of failure go down to extremely small numbers. For the equipment that did have an early failure, the factory then repairs them, and the likelyhood of another failure on the same piece of equipment goes down to very low numbers. Statistics support this, as well. All the other parts on the failed piece were 'burnt in', meaning they were 'tested' in real world conditions, very much like military or space grade components. Take a component manufacturer (for example, a maker of integrated circuits). The manufacturer has the same chips available in consumer grade and mil spec grade (at higher cost, of course). The difference? The mil spec parts were run at rated limits for a given period of time, like 48 hours. After this burn in, the chance of a failure goes down to very, very small percentages, as the marginal parts failed and were weeded out during this burn in period. This method works for refurbished equipment too, as the first buyer 'burned in' the device, instead of the manufacturer. The failed component is replaced, leaving the rest of the unit tested and ready for action.

 

[Richard Kim]

I bought a 43" HDTV from UECWeb, and after about a month, I can't complain. For DVDs, the picture is incredible, though I do plan to get it ISFed in the future. They do offer a warranty, but it's only for 30 days. They do offer extended service plans, but they can be a bit pricey.

 

[Matt Stryker]

Not too far from my house, and probably really close to Patrick Suns house. Does anyone know if they carry anything non-video that is not on their website? I only ask because Denon is a division of Hitachi, and it would be sweet to have a local B-stock Denon outlet.

 

[Mark_HD]

... i've bought plenty of 'manufacturer refurbished' electronics (HK receiver / HP Pavilions(2) / Sony S-VHS / Hi8mm Sony / Sony XBR / etc.)

i agree w/ Ron Shaw's points and can confirm that i've had very good success with them. i've saved a ton of money.

my only guideline is that it be 'manufacturer refurbished' and manufacturer warrantied ... good luck.

 

[george king]

Thanks for all the help. I may do this, as I can get a bigger set for less money.

 

[Allan Jayne]

For refurbished TV sets you still have to be careful about the CRT(s). The factory technicians may have a different opinion of what constitutes burned phosphors and what constitutes the need to replace the CRT(s).
You should do both of (a) view all the solid color screens of Video Essentials or AVIA looking for shadows of station logos, letterbox boundaries, or video game graphics, and (b) for projection TV examine the tube faces with the power turned off to check for visible burn marks.
Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Ron Shaw]

I dont think CRT problems will be very common in refurbished TVs. Refurbished units are basically new units that failed very early, and were valid candidates for refurbishment. If the reason the TV was returned was because of a CRT problem, then the CRT will have been replaced.

 

[Joey Jenkins]

I went to the sears outlet in deleware, and saw some great deals on sets that had minor scuffs, but the warranty's are not as good as buying it new from sears.

For instance, the 57hw40 at the outlet was $1999!

 

[Ted Ross]

Anybody know what the difference is bewteen the Hitachi 36UDX10S & the 36SDX01SR 36 inch sets at that site are?

 

[Bill Will]

You can download both of the owners manuals from Hitachi's website if that will help you. With just a quick look what I got out of it was that the 36SDX01SR has a VGA input to plug in a computer. I also think that it's last year's model & the 36UDX10S is this years model without a computer input. If I'm not mistaken Hitachi also makes RCA's HDTV sets & it's the same thing with them. The old sets had a computer input & the new sets don't. But don't hold me to this.
When you get on Hatachi's website www.hatachi.com click RESOURCES & SUPPORT
then click where it says CLICK HERE (it will not be highlighted but just click it)
click owners manuals & then enter the model numbers
Hope this helps you out!