Floor Model Direct TV-Would you buy? (1 Viewer)

[Ted Ross]

I just recently bought a Samsung TSL3295HF 32 inch HD reay TV & am currently happy with it. However, today I went to a local store to buy a svideo cable & saw they had a Toshiba 36HFX71 36 inch HD ready floor model with remote & manual for $1499. I thought this was a great deal since the go for $2200 locally. My question is that this TV has been on all day for god knows how many months & I am concerned about tube damage from high contrast levels. I know my Samsung has the contrast cranked in the standard pic setting-just curious what the standard setting on Toshibas is or any other adive from you guys & gals on this matter.

 

[Roy H]

Tedd I would shy away from a floor model deal in most cases. I do not know if you tried to talk them down on the price a bit more or not, but it is worth a try. You would be getting the TV for $700 less then it is going for in your area and that is a plus. If you do decide to buy it, from that $700 savings I would get a nice extended warranty. Being a floor model you can bet it has been on all day, every day, while it was displayed and more than likely the contrast and brightness are pumped way up. You should ask the manager of the store how long has it been on display. After he gives you the answer ask him to have the set turned around so you can see the date of manufacture.
The stores in general will put a new TV on display as soon as they come in for the best presentation (Picture). As far as the standard pic settings go, my Tosh RPTV came out of the box in melt down mode, (every thing @ almost 100%). In standard mode they (Toshiba) have my settings as follows.
Contrast 80%
Brightness 50%
Color 50%
Tint 0%
Sharpness 50%
Needless to say I do (NOT) use Toshibas standard settings!
Hope this helps.
Roy.

 

[Ted Ross]

I webt back to check today & the contrast level was set to 100%. Figuring that the set was on 12+ hours a day-what kind of tube damage could have happened?

 

[Ted Ross]

Oh yeah forgot to add that it seems Fox News was the station of choice that played on that TV of all the days I was there

 

[Jenna]

Ted,

I'd be interested to know if you purchase this set. I'm in the same situation, only with a Mits WS-65819. I asked the salesman how long it'd been on display (answer "a few weeks") but now I'll have to go back and ask the contrast level and date of manufacture. I'd definitely get the extended warranty as well.

 

[Roy H]

Ted, I had a feeling the contrast would be set that high. The stores as I said will keep the contrast and brightness way up due to the bright lighting conditions in the store. As far as damage goes, that all depends on how many hours they had the TV on every day, and how long it has been on display. I doubt the TV was only on display for a few weeks because they would not just sell it for no reason. Maybe it is a discontinued model. The other point you bring up about Fox News being the program of choice is not a good sign. Fox News and others like CNN and MSNBC are some of the main culprits for a (burn in) condition that can cause screen burn on the TV due to bright logos, headlines, and scrolling tickers. With the contrast at 100% and the heavy hours of use it may have a burn in condition. If you could get them to put up a white screen in the store somehow, or even a all blue screen like from a second video source (VCR) you should be able to see if the screen has a burn in issue.

I do not want to talk you out of what could be a very good deal. But I do think you should be very cautious when buying a floor model (display) TV. Also, I am sure the Manager and all the other employees at the store watch TV at home, and in most cases a truely great deal never goes to a costumer before one of the employees snatch it up!!!!!!!!!!

All the best,

Roy.

 

[Ted Ross]

I ended up buying it. It was a return that was sitting there for a few days. It comes with the full warranty & now I am glad it does because I think I know why they returned it-the internal subwoofer isnt working(not that big of a deal because I use my HT for sound, but I will still get it fixed under warranty)-A 5 year extended warranty was $200-I couldnt afford that. Pic looks great-I calibrated it with VE-I really like this set! If it was a RPTV I wouldnt have bought it, but since it was a direct view I took the plunge & I am very happy- Heck, even if I wasnt happy I could still return it(though its 215lbs would probably discourage me). I ended up paying $1350 + tax-Hell of a deal. The place I returned the Samsung to has the same set & could not match the other store's price. Thanks for the info!

 

[Roy H]

Thanks for the update. You did get a very good deal on it, and being a return instead of a floor model that was on display for who knows how long sounds better to me. The full warranty is also peace of mind and thats another plus.

The bottom line is, you are satisfied with the price you paid, and you seem to really like the TV. At the end of the day that is all that really matters!

Congrats Ted.

Roy.