Question about 34xs955 Refurb

[phantomilk]

Hey everyone, first post here on AVS Forum.

I have a chance to pick up one of two KD34xs955 refurbs from a fairly nearby Sears Outlet. One is running for $764 and the other is at around $1000.

My problem is I haven't had the chance to see the TVs in person yet since the Outlet is about an hour away. I plan to go up on Monday (Labor Day) and take a look at both of them.

Now, I consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable about TVs, however one thing I don't know is what to look for when trying to analyze if a Refurb is in good condition or not. What kinds of things should I look for/ask about in order to see if the TV has been properly taken care of? I realize this won't be too easy seeing that the TVs have been owned before and it's hard to tell why they were returned.

I plan on picking the brains of the people that have been working there, but I have a feeling that they will end up not being too much of a help. I do know from chatting on the phone with a salesman that the $764 TV has been on their floor for about 8 months (which is why it is cheaper than the other one, which I assume has been on the floor for a shorter period of time).

Any help you guys can offer would be great though. I know that it may be a bad sign if I go there and the TV's picture and brightness settings are cranked all the way up. But aside from the obvious, are there any tell-tale signs that should steer me away from picking up one of these TVs?

Thanks a lot!

[MotorCityJoe]

Well i'll play 'master of the obvious' and say, inspect the cabinet/screen for any signs of dings, dents, scratches etc. Umm, i'd also check the back of the tv and see what the build date is. The newer the better i assume. Maybe you could record the serial number, call sony customer service and have them check to see if there are any repair tickets associated with those particular sets. Also power them on and ff a few times and check as many inputs as possible, checking for excessive geometry, overscan, and convergene problems. Thats my 2 cents, good luck!

[justsc]

[QUOTE=MotorCityJoe]Well i'll play 'master of the obvious' and say, inspect the cabinet/screen for any signs of dings, dents, scratches etc. Umm, i'd also check the back of the tv and see what the build date is. The newer the better i assume. Maybe you could record the serial number, call sony customer service and have them check to see if there are any repair tickets associated with those particular sets. Also power them on and ff a few times and check as many inputs as possible, checking for excessive geometry, overscan, and convergene problems. Thats my 2 cents, good luck![/QUOTE]
Those are outstanding recommendations!

I would also take my dvd player with me and one or two of my favorite movies and ask them if I could hook 'em up and see what I think. If possible, the dvd player should have progressive scan - if so, hook it up with component cables (if you don't have such a player or the cables, ask them to provide one). You'll get a good feel for picture quality. If you have time, go into the user menu and set the picture mode to Pro or Standard, Contrast (called Picture) around 35-40, Brightness around 45-50, Color and Hue around the midpoint, Sharpness somewhat low, ClearEdge OFF and Color Temp at Neutral (normal).

Please let us know how it goes.

[phantomilk]

thanks guys, I will definitely take those things into consideration. I especially like the idea of taking down the serial number and seeing if I can get Sony to verify if any repairs have been done to the set.

I'll let you know what I find out, come Monday.

[masbama]

The Sears store in Mobile has two brand new in the box ones for around $1000. Work a shipping deal. I bought mine last year and love it!

[Oliver Deplace]

If you take your DVD player, take a calibration disc too. Put up a cross-hatch pattern.
If you can get into the service menu, you could pull up the TV's internal cross-hatch pattern.
Look for straight horizontal lines, as they are the most difficult to correct.