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We are looking to upgrade from our 9 year old Sony 27" Trinitron CRT TV to an nice 46"-50" LCD TV, and are wondering what is the most reliable brand out there.
I bought two Samsung LCD flat-screens, a 46" and a 52", last year. Consumer Reports rated them very highly. Within six months both of them had problems powering on -- and soon neither one would go on. When I googled the problem, I found a lot of reports of capacitors burning out. Contacting Samsung and making an appointment for a technician to come out was a hassle but I eventually was able to do so. Sure enough, the capacitors on both TV's had burned out.
The technician told me that, had the capacitors burned out three months later (after the warranty expired), it would have cost me @ $600 for each TV. Now I'm wondering how long the replacement capacitors will last.
I really love the color and clarity of the Samsungs. But I'd never buy another one without assurance that the capacitor problem has been corrected.
It is NOT a Samsung based on our problems that happened with our 52" LN52A650 which went caput two weeks after we had had it one year! We had to have the entire mother board replaced. This only took three weeks for a tech to get out here!!! We had purchased the warranty about a month before the TV went out. 3 weeks without TV! Gorgeous picture.
Gorgeous picture is right! I have the Samsung Models LN48A750 and LN52A750. When googling "Samsung TV will not power up", I did read a lot of complaints about motherboards going out. Since my TV was making a clicking noise, I figured it was the capacitors (based on what others had posted). There were many more complaints about capacitors than mother boards, although there's absolutely no reason why either should fail only a year or so after purchase.
I did read, on the net, how to replace the capacitors and the mother board yourself. A 60-year-old grandmother (who said she was not a DIYer) even took photos of her step-by-step replacement of the capacitors. Looks simple if you have a welder.
I've always been drawn to Panasonic electronics so I have two Panasonic LCDs. One is a 32 inch 720 the other a 37 inch 1080. Recently found a 40" Panasonic LCD that I've got my eye on. It took quite an effort to find Pansonic LCDs greater than 32 inches. Most larger Panasonics are plasma.
Thanks for the Samsung advice. Before when I thought Panasonic didn't offer a larger LCD screen size than 32, I was considering a Samsung.
I'd never heard of Vizio but, after reading both posts about it, I googled the reviews. Fairly impressive for such an inexpensive TV. That may well be what I get for my computer room. Thanks so much!
I totally agree with westhou. My Vizio 37" is going great after a year and I just love it! Picture, color are great! My Mitusubishi gave up the ghost after only 4 years. So far my opinion is I will stick with Vizio.
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We had to have the entire mother board replaced. This only took three weeks for a tech to get out here!!! 
