Off brand hdtv sets.....


Are brands like Dynex, INsignia,etc high risk or do they compete with brand names like samsung,toshiba,etc? Im looking at spending 1k or less on a set...leaning towards panasonic...but there are some tempting deals on off brands...
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the worse thing about my Visio 50" plasma is the worry that if it breaks I have to send it to CA to get it fixed (or replaced) performance wise it is amazing.

I know it is bettered by other sets out there but it is so good I do not care - more money for hi fi...
For 30 years I only bought Sony. Now, I will likely never buy another one. Nothing wrong with them, it's just that they are expensive and I am not a videophile so paying for the excellent Sony picture is not worth it to me (I want save that money for my audiophile obsession). In the last three years I purchased a Vizio 50" Plaza and a 52" Magnavox/Phillips LCD. Both working great with long hours of daily use (knock on wood) and were extremely good deals purchased around Thanksgiving.

Many people buy from off-brand sets from the big box warehouses due to their buyer protection plans. I think the plans are not as generous as they used to be (due to customer abuse), but still quite good. You can also buy an extended warranty, but then your back to the top-brand price (although w/o an extended warranty).

Do your homework and know what you want and what you are getting (ie not the best picture/sound/menu/etc), buy from a warehouse, buy and extended warranty if it helps you sleep at night or cross your fingers and take the risk. Yes, you can get a great deal buying off-brand.
there are only a handful of manufactures that make large LCD panels. many of those off brands have the same panels as the more expensive one, main differences are in scaler and processor which do make a difference in PQ. take Sony and Samsung for example, Sony buys panels from Samsung and Sony does look better under near identical setting.

reliability should not be a huge concern, IC rarely fails. discrete components have a much higher chance of failure though.

so comes down to how much do you care about PQ. you want nicer PQ, spend more for the name brands which tend to have better scaler and processor. something you use to watch news in bedroom, save the bucks and go for something that are priced right.
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I'm with Tvad on this one. What it really comes down to for me is what do I want. For me in this case, after doing exhaustive research I bought a Sony. The primary reason being that I had the last one for twenty years, and the extra expense factored over that period was more than worth it.