Refurbished Philips 30PW8420 DOA

[jchildr]

I purchased one of the cheapie Philips 30PW8420 TVs from Philips outlet and it arrived today. Cosmetically, the TV looked fine but after plugging it in, I cannot get the TV to power on. There is a green light that blinks and when I try to power it on, the light goes solid for about 3 seconds then the set shuts off again and the light starts blinking. Needless to say, I was fairly upset. I called Philips and the only thing they did for me was to give me phone numbers for local TV repair shops. I called one of the repair shops and they told me they wouldn't be able to fix it for another week. I haven't had much experience with this sort of thing but I expected more. I expected Philips would have someone here first thing in the morning to repair the TV. Is that too much to ask? I would appreciate any comments about previous similar experiences. Is there more that I can do to speed things along? I've already waited over a week for the TV to be delivered and I'm tired of waiting. I want my HDTV!

[Q of BanditZ]

You can't just get rid of it somehow? If you just bought it, can't you take it back from where you got it? Was this Phillips outlet a physical store or Internet?

[jchildr]

[QUOTE=Q of BanditZ]You can't just get rid of it somehow? If you just bought it, can't you take it back from where you got it? Was this Phillips outlet a physical store or Internet?[/QUOTE]

Philips Outlet is an internet store so I can't just return it.

[harpeth]

[QUOTE=jchildr]Philips Outlet is an internet store so I can't just return it.[/QUOTE]

I bought a 30PW8420 too a little over a month ago from Philips Outlet. Sorry, though, I can't identify with your problem, as mine works perfectly. I did have a problem with slow shipping on the TV and ended up talking with Philips CS several times. My impression was that they would work conscientiously with a customer. Since I haven't had warranty issues, however, I don't have any experience with that side of CS.

FWIW, I've been extremely pleased with my set, so I'd suggest two approaches: 1) Call Philips, tell them the TV doesn't work, and request a pickup for return. You may have to work your way up the CS ladder to get a response. I've read that they'll send you a replacement upon receipt of the first one. I know the turnaround time is frustrating, but that may be what you have to put up with in exchange for the great price. 2) Even though it's annoying to put up with a repair issue at this stage, get in queue for the repair shop, and watch SD in the meantime.

[jchildr]

Well I had someone come out to look at the TV on Thursday morning and apparently the major circuit board is dead so he is ordering the part and he said he would return to install it when he got it. I ordered the TV on February 8 and I'm still without a TV. It's very frustrating. Hopefully the TV will be worth the wait when all is said and done.

[csamos]

I decided to order one of these as well to get cheap HD in my bedroom. I have a 65" Pioneer Elite (PRO-730HD) in my living room, which is just awesome, and an Electrohome Marquee 8500 in my theater, which is also just awesome.

For under $400 it seems like this is a great deal, even if it requires some major tweaking that I've heard about.

Well, mine arrived DOA as well, with the exact same problem you described. I was also a bit frustrated and was given a list of local repair shops. I called one, and the guy came over the next day. He said he would need to bring the TV back to his shop to diagnose it. It turned out to just be a loose connection somewhere inside, as he had the TV working the following morning and returned it to me after doing some more testing.

I'm just now getting my DirecTV HD Tivo receiver set up tonight, and so far the set looks very good, albeit with some visible geometry issues that I'll need to work out.

Since this isn't my primary TV, I'm happy with my decision to get this set. If I were getting a 30" for my main TV, I would probably go with the Sony KD- 30XS955.

[harpeth]

[QUOTE=jchildr]Well I had someone come out to look at the TV on Thursday morning and apparently the major circuit board is dead so he is ordering the part and he said he would return to install it when he got it. I ordered the TV on February 8 and I'm still without a TV. It's very frustrating. Hopefully the TV will be worth the wait when all is said and done.[/QUOTE]

That sounds like good news. For all the bashing that Philips gets on this board, I guess I'm in the minority, but my 30PW8420 is super. I notice on the epinions rating board that most of the posters have had a good experience with this set. That's one reason I bought it. I used Avia to finetune the picture last week, and now it's even better. Maybe if I put a Sony 30XS beside it, I could see the difference, but at more than double the price I can't see the value.