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NJPlasmaOwner · 09-11-2009, 12:00 PM

Hi All,

First post here but I felt compelled to sign up to express my own personal experience and FRUSTRATION.

I had been in the market for a new TV for some time and spent a considerable amount of time researching LCD vs Plasma, Price, Company & Company Quality Control, Features/Functions, and lastly (but definately not least) TV models and consumer experience.

After all said and done I purchased the Panasonic 46 inch G10 (p46g10) model (although I wanted a 50 inch - my girlfriend won that battle!

) from tigerdirect (an authorized retailer). I couldn't have been more pleased for the the first week - the set was gorgeous and the picture was perfect - truely a great tv. However, by weeks end my girlfriend and I had been watching a blu ray and in the middle of an intense action scene a large sound came from the back of the tv that sounded like someone was bending a thick plastic board and it finally broker in half with a large snap. The TV shut off and refused to go back on meanwhile the power indicated flashed on 5 blink intervals. The TV broke within a week of use! No if, ands, or buts about it we boxed it up and returned it back to tigerdirect and I must say they were pretty easy about it and the shipping service used (YRC) was very accomodating and pleasant.

At this point I was able to convince my girlfriend that we should go with a 50 inch this time!

. It turned out that the 50 inch G15 model (almost identical to the G10 - just a slight "upgrade") was currently on sale and cheaper then the G10. The best price from an authorized retailer was 6ave so we picked it up from them. Received it this last Sunday and finally had the opportunity to hook it up on Tuesday. Low and behold while connecting my inputs I noticed a malfunctioning pixel which seemed to be stuck (now it looks more black but occasionally appears at magenta). Its very irritating to me, I always find myself looking for it and 5-3 feet away I can definately notice it if I look for it. It is approx horizontally center of the screen vertically 25% to the left of the center of the screen.

2 tvs, 2 issues - so much for quality control!

I reviewed 6ave return/replacement policy and it is 30 days with the exception of tvs above 37inches. I am stuck dealing with the manufacturer on this one. This was my fault, I should have more thoroughly read their return policy - in hindsight I should have purchased the TV for $100 more from best buy.

I contact Panasonic Viera Concierge and they are having someone contact me to arrange a day and time to "examine" the issues. The person I spoke with was unable to provide me with their dead pixel policy since I can't seem to find one and there seems to be several quoted policies on the internet and from discussions with 6ave.

I will provide an update as the situation progresses to see how it turns out. This I will say - I am a strong believer that when purchasing an item it should be flawless out of the box. If there is an implied "understanding" that you might recieve a tv with pixel flaws, then I believe this should be stated by the sales man in the store prior to purchase, or a warning displayed before before online checkout (if they are not willing to take the tv back once purchased), additionally a warning should be displayed on the box to avoid confusion with the manufacturers policy.

After reviewing the Panasonic Manual I noticed the following:

The FAQ claims dead stuck pixels are normal:

"The Plasma panel is made up of a few million pixels and is produced with advanced technology through an intricate process. Sometimes a few pixels may be bright or dark. These pixels do not indicate a defective panel and will have no impact on the performance of the TV."

With that said, this is FAQ not a warranty or warranty disclaimer and should not hold any weight.

The Limited warranty states the following:

"The limited warranty ONLY COVERS failures due to defects in materials or workmanship, and DOES NOT COVER normal wear and tear or cosmetic damage, nor does it cover markings or retained images on the glass panel resulting from viewing fixed images (including, among other things, non-expanded standard 4:3 picture on wide screen TV's, or onscreen data in in a stationary and fixed location)..."

The is continues but does not state anything about pixels. From my opinion - a dead/stuck pixel out of the box is a malfunctioning/failing pixel and should fall under "defects in materials".

Apologies for the long post - Does anybody have similar experience? Did anybody with those experiences get a tv replaced?

All in all - I love this tv, it has gorgeous picture - however I find the dead pixel to be bothersome to me and depending on how Panasonic handles my case will be an indication of their quality control and concerns/pride in their own products.

If they chose not to amend the issue - I will most likely keep the tv and deal with the bothersome issue - but they would have lost a lifetime customer as I will not purchase anymore of their products due to concerns of quality control and their desire to support, nor will I purchase their offered extended warranty and I will purchase that eslewhere.

09-11-2009, 12:00 PM	#5
NJPlasmaOwner What is HD? Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 1	Personal (Current) experience Hi All, First post here but I felt compelled to sign up to express my own personal experience and FRUSTRATION. I had been in the market for a new TV for some time and spent a considerable amount of time researching LCD vs Plasma, Price, Company & Company Quality Control, Features/Functions, and lastly (but definately not least) TV models and consumer experience. After all said and done I purchased the Panasonic 46 inch G10 (p46g10) model (although I wanted a 50 inch - my girlfriend won that battle!) from tigerdirect (an authorized retailer). I couldn't have been more pleased for the the first week - the set was gorgeous and the picture was perfect - truely a great tv. However, by weeks end my girlfriend and I had been watching a blu ray and in the middle of an intense action scene a large sound came from the back of the tv that sounded like someone was bending a thick plastic board and it finally broker in half with a large snap. The TV shut off and refused to go back on meanwhile the power indicated flashed on 5 blink intervals. The TV broke within a week of use! No if, ands, or buts about it we boxed it up and returned it back to tigerdirect and I must say they were pretty easy about it and the shipping service used (YRC) was very accomodating and pleasant. At this point I was able to convince my girlfriend that we should go with a 50 inch this time!. It turned out that the 50 inch G15 model (almost identical to the G10 - just a slight "upgrade") was currently on sale and cheaper then the G10. The best price from an authorized retailer was 6ave so we picked it up from them. Received it this last Sunday and finally had the opportunity to hook it up on Tuesday. Low and behold while connecting my inputs I noticed a malfunctioning pixel which seemed to be stuck (now it looks more black but occasionally appears at magenta). Its very irritating to me, I always find myself looking for it and 5-3 feet away I can definately notice it if I look for it. It is approx horizontally center of the screen vertically 25% to the left of the center of the screen. 2 tvs, 2 issues - so much for quality control! I reviewed 6ave return/replacement policy and it is 30 days with the exception of tvs above 37inches. I am stuck dealing with the manufacturer on this one. This was my fault, I should have more thoroughly read their return policy - in hindsight I should have purchased the TV for $100 more from best buy. I contact Panasonic Viera Concierge and they are having someone contact me to arrange a day and time to "examine" the issues. The person I spoke with was unable to provide me with their dead pixel policy since I can't seem to find one and there seems to be several quoted policies on the internet and from discussions with 6ave. I will provide an update as the situation progresses to see how it turns out. This I will say - I am a strong believer that when purchasing an item it should be flawless out of the box. If there is an implied "understanding" that you might recieve a tv with pixel flaws, then I believe this should be stated by the sales man in the store prior to purchase, or a warning displayed before before online checkout (if they are not willing to take the tv back once purchased), additionally a warning should be displayed on the box to avoid confusion with the manufacturers policy. After reviewing the Panasonic Manual I noticed the following: The FAQ claims dead stuck pixels are normal: "The Plasma panel is made up of a few million pixels and is produced with advanced technology through an intricate process. Sometimes a few pixels may be bright or dark. These pixels do not indicate a defective panel and will have no impact on the performance of the TV." With that said, this is FAQ not a warranty or warranty disclaimer and should not hold any weight. The Limited warranty states the following: "The limited warranty ONLY COVERS failures due to defects in materials or workmanship, and DOES NOT COVER normal wear and tear or cosmetic damage, nor does it cover markings or retained images on the glass panel resulting from viewing fixed images (including, among other things, non-expanded standard 4:3 picture on wide screen TV's, or onscreen data in in a stationary and fixed location)..." The is continues but does not state anything about pixels. From my opinion - a dead/stuck pixel out of the box is a malfunctioning/failing pixel and should fall under "defects in materials". Apologies for the long post - Does anybody have similar experience? Did anybody with those experiences get a tv replaced? All in all - I love this tv, it has gorgeous picture - however I find the dead pixel to be bothersome to me and depending on how Panasonic handles my case will be an indication of their quality control and concerns/pride in their own products. If they chose not to amend the issue - I will most likely keep the tv and deal with the bothersome issue - but they would have lost a lifetime customer as I will not purchase anymore of their products due to concerns of quality control and their desire to support, nor will I purchase their offered extended warranty and I will purchase that eslewhere.