From the Consumer Reports website:
LCD and Plasma TVs continue to build an impressive record for reliability; only 4 percent, on average, were repaired during the first three years of use. Of 18 LCD brands, Mitsubishi, Polaroid, and Westinghouse were the most repair prone. No plasma brand stood out as less reliable than the others. That's what we found when readers told us about 198,049 LCD and 29,794 plasma TVs they purchased between 2007 and the first half of 2010. Our data suggest that flat-panel TVs break early, if at all: 68 percent of TVs that were ever repaired had a repair during the first 12 months. In addition, 76 percent of consumers who had a TV repaired paid nothing, probably because almost all new TVs come with a 12- month warranty. Those findings support our stand that an extended warranty seems like a poor investment for most consumers.
On the chart they posted for LCD TVs, only 4% of Phillips customers had a serious problem or needed repairs on their flat screen TVs. The very best rated manufacturers, Panasonic, Sanyo and Sylvania were rated at 2% of customers having serious problems or needing repairs. Sony, JVC, Vizio, Sharp, Emerson, LG, were rated at 3%. Toshiba, Insignia, Magnavox, Phillips, Viewsonic, Samsung, were rated at 4%.
The best buys - for new TVs, not the repair rates above, on the site were all for larger sizes of TVs so this model was not included.
Based on the above data, it would appear that there are an unusual number of dissatisfied Phillips customers responding here and most of those who have not had trouble did not visit the Woot community or comment here. Also, the CR data above would not take into account that this is a refurb.
I agree that anyone can have a terrible experience with any manufacturer, but may not represent the field as a whole.
All that having been said, I'm sitting on the fence on this one. I don't need a new flat screen for the bedroom until December.
