[PatienceWins]

I checked the Service menu. The Time value (second last value in the last column) is showing 37 hours though I have used the tv for only 4 hours after getting it today evening. Have I got a used piece?

The box mentions that it is a Dec 2010 model. The warranty card mentions only 1 year, something fishy here as I was told that it comes with 3 year warranty.

I intend to talk to Griha Vaibhava tomorrow. They had assured me that it is not a used piece.

Edit: Did some research on the values on Service menu. Yes, it is a used piece.
Time value is the number of hours it was used in HH:MM format.
Count value is the number of times it was switched on. The value shown is 28.

[MX6]

@Patience wins. How did you get to see the service menu and get the time and count values? I don't see them in my 32" Panny LCD.

[PatienceWins]

I found the procedure in the panasonic 42x20 thread in hifivision. It varies depending on the model.

Procedure:
When tv is on (means not on standy). press the 'Vol -(down arrow)' button on tv(not on remote) and keeping it pressed, press the 'Recall' button on remote 3 times. service menu will appear. on the last column check the 2nd and 3rd last values. Press 'Exit' on remote.

Warning: DO NOT PRESS ANY OTHER BUTTON while in SERVICE MENU. if you change a value it does not ask to save and it will get changes even if you switch off the tv while in service menu. its not like computer bios setting.

If any one has the contact details of regional manager of Panasonic, please share it with me.

[reignofchaos]

37 hours is perfectly okay. If its more than 100 hours, you should be concerned.

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

37 hours is perfectly okay. If its more than 100 hours, you should be concerned.

What is worrying me more is the Count of 28. It seems to be a demo piece, which would have been used roughly by sales men on high settings. Based on my research, break in of plasma tv is very important and I wanted to properly do it with a break in DVD. I was ready with all the research and the DVD.

Also, it may be a very old stock as the warranty card mentions 1 year. As far as I remember, 3 year warranty of panasonic has been going on for sometime.

I am going to take it up with Panasonic. I have already sent a mail to panasonic helpline. I have learnt that it is a common practice in the consumer durables market. Even if I do not get a new piece, I do not want to leave it just like that.

[reignofchaos]

All TVs are tested in factory for 25-30 hours. As a result 37 is perfectly acceptable. Also in most TVs, an hour is basically a switch on and a switch off. They do not count actual hours as it has no clock.

As far as the warranty is concerned, the card will mention 1 year. You are supposed to get another card confirming an additional 2 year warranty from panasonic later. Ask the dealer for the same.

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

All TVs are tested in factory for 25-30 hours. As a result 37 is perfectly acceptable. Also in most TVs, an hour is basically a switch on and a switch off. They do not count actual hours as it has no clock.

As far as the warranty is concerned, the card will mention 1 year. You are supposed to get another card confirming an additional 2 year warranty from panasonic later. Ask the dealer for the same.

I hope it is as you are saying. I have read that dealers say the same when they are confronted with the Service value. Let me check with the dealer tomorrow and also see what reply panasonic gives to my mail.

If all TVs are tested in factory, ideally the value should be populated for all the TVs. It is mentioned in other forums that unused pieces will not have service value and it is very important to check it. Some guys even check it before transporting the set from the showroom. I also wanted to do it, but they said that it cannot be done as the set is in godown.

What you say regarding the warranty card makes sense. I feel better as the set seems to be a new one.

Thanks

[jassi]

I have heard conflicting views - some people say a value of 0 would mean it was reset by dealer and there should be some hours on the panel. However it seems most vendors do a pre-burn in and other testing without the motherboard, so the hours are never clocked on the motherboard and out of the box a tv should show zero hours and should have been turned on zero times. I tend to agree with this 0 value as it has been reported in multiple AV forums.

Atleast my samsung 50c550 came with a value of 0 hrs and went straight to the first time config question of showroom or house, etc.. This was also the case with my panasonic plasma in bangy (dealer had sent used piece but later after some escalations with panasonic regional manager, I got a brand new piece with 0 hours on it).
It seems to reset the hours on most of these TVs, you need to get in through the console via serial port and there is no software option to do it via service menu - so this is difficult for a dealer to reset, unless a vendor is also involved in helping them throw out used pieces at full price.

Edit - under no circumstance tell them you went into service menu - they could use this as a grounds to void your warranty. Tell them you feel this is a used piece due to reasons like it did not goto factory default questions (time set, showroom vs house setup, etc)

[PatienceWins]

Thanks Jassi.

Originally Posted by jassi

Edit - under no circumstance tell them you went into service menu - they could use this as a grounds to void your warranty. Tell them you feel this is a used piece due to reasons like it did not goto factory default questions (time set, showroom vs house setup, etc)

I already mentioned it in the mail that I sent to Panasonic.

[PatienceWins]

Panasonic customer care has replied to my mail. They have offered to send an engineer to inspect the set. I am not sure how they will ascertain that the set was used prior to delivery. I think they are just going to certify that it does not have any issue.

I spoke to the dealer. He said that he cannot deliver a new set as stock will come only in Feb. When I asked for refund, he said he will check with Panasonic and get back to me.

[gopalnayak]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

I got Rs.500 for the old CRT with picture tube conked off, which I bought 5 years back for Rs.38500.

Was this Philips 29PT9421 (100Hz, Pixel Plus) by any chance? Great TV with fantastic audio and video, ofcourse if the Picture tube survives! The last batch of these sets are known to fail in around 4-5 years. Did you try asking Philips to offer you a replacement set at a hefty discount?

Could you please compare the Philips TV with the new Panasonic Plasma? I am specifically interested in:
- contrast ratio, especially in dark scenes
- audio quality
- scenes with fast moving objects

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by gopalnayak

Was this Philips 29PT9421 (100Hz, Pixel Plus) by any chance? Great TV with fantastic audio and video, ofcourse if the Picture tube survives! The last batch of these sets are known to fail in around 4-5 years. Did you try asking Philips to offer you a replacement set at a hefty discount?

Could you please compare the Philips TV with the new Panasonic Plasma? I am specifically interested in:
- contrast ratio, especially in dark scenes
- audio quality
- scenes with fast moving objects

Yes, it is the same model. It is a great tv with excellent audio and good video. I was very happy with the tv and did not want to replace it, but the picture tube gave away and the only option was to get a new one. As per the philips technician, a new picture tube costs 15k - 20k and it was not available. There would not be any warranty on the new tube and I did not want to invest so much on a 5 year old tv.

Yes, the last batch of these sets are known to fail in 4-5 years. Mine lasted for exactly 5 years.

The philips tv is like a LCD tv. It has got very good picture quality, but does not look natural. My Sony CRT looks more natural compared to philips. Picture looks very natural in the plasma. I do not like the artificial picture of LCD, so it depends on individual taste.

Contrast Ratio: panasonic plasma wins by a huge margin. The amount of onscreen detail with black and dark colours is very good. It is awesome in 42v20, was really tempted to get it.

Audio Quality: Philips tv wins by a huge margin. It has got a big subwoofer and 3 speakers. It is very good and can be compared to an entry level sound system. Panasonic audio clarity is ok at low/medium volumes, but looses out in detail at higher volumes. I need to connect my sound system as soon as possible.

Scenes with fast moving objects: I do not see any issue with either of them. I think plasma and CRT are good in this regard.

Hope this helps.

[drmohitg]

Hey guys any of you used a VU LED tv? I just saw it at croma and the sales guy claimed it is made in USA. I am looking at the 55' LED model and the price difference is a cool 60k between VU and SONY. Any reviews/feedbacks on this will be greatly appreciated guys.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Hey guys any of you used a VU LED tv? I just saw it at croma and the sales guy claimed it is made in USA. I am looking at the 55' LED model and the price difference is a cool 60k between VU and SONY. Any reviews/feedbacks on this will be greatly appreciated guys.

VU is a brand owned by Zenith Computers. I thought their brand adv said, designed in US. I might be wrong.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by dadu

VU is a brand owned by Zenith Computers. I thought their brand adv said, designed in US. I might be wrong.

The Salesman at Croma said that its a Californian company and the Tv is made in US. The marketing and After Sales is handled by Zenith Computers in India.