Laptops For Less Blog

Should you buy an extended warranty for a DLP TV?

DLP [Digital Light Processing] technology is highly sophisticated, and there are a number of potential complications associated with it. DMD [Digital Micromirror Device] mirrors are especially vulnerable to complications. They have tiny hinges which tilt towards or away from the light source incredibly quickly to determine the color depth of the pixel. But if they become too hot, they can “stick”. When this happens, white dots appear on the projected image. There have also been reports of problems with the color wheels, which convert the projector lamp’s white light into primary red, green and blue colors. If the color wheel malfunctions it can result in irregular colors on the screen. It’s also possible for problems to develop with the video boards inside DLP televisions – symptoms of this include horizontal or vertical lines appearing on the screen. Replacing the video board is a fairly common repair procedure for DLP TVs. Finally, the projector lamps generate a huge amount of heat and can fail over time – in any case they have a finite life and will have to be replaced at some point. They are rarely manufactured by the DLP TV manufacturer, and can be fairly inconsistent in performance.

If you’re considering shelling out thousands of your hard-earned dollars for a high-end DLP projection TV, you may be asking yourself if it makes sense to pay the extra for an extended warranty. The answer is yes – it absolutely does.

Bruce Caldwell, a representative of the Bankers Warranty Group, stated that the defect rate in DLP TVs is higher than average. Their insurance actuaries were forced to raise the warranty rates slightly to compensate for the high number of issues with newer DLP projection TVs. It certainly seems to be the case that DLP televisions, although they offer great value for the money they cost, and produce truly amazing video quality, are more prone to faults than their LCD [Liquid Crystal Diode] and plasma cousins. However – when a DLP television goes wrong, the fault is usually easy to fix. The most common repairs associated with DLP TVs are power supply replacement, chip replacement, video board replacement, and lamp replacement. One advantage of DLP projection TVs is that, unlike LCD or plasma, they have no screen which can malfunction.

However, if you are out of warranty, DLP repair costs can be extremely high. This is due to the high cost of replacement parts, and monopolies by local service centers, who often charge exorbitant rates. So, if you can find a good deal on an extended warranty for your DLP TV, it makes absolute sense to snap it up, especially if it includes lamp replacement.

An extended warranty is essentially a service contract. It can protect you against exorbitant repair and labor costs – some service centers charge more than $250 an hour for labor – and expensive replacement part costs. This could be extremely pricey in the event, say, that the DLP display’s optical engine needed replacing.

But, before you buy your extended warranty, there are a few things to bear in mind.

Make sure the company offering the warranty has a solid reputation and has been around for some time.

Realize that extended warranties only come into effect after the manufacturer’s original warranty has ended, but their period of validity is counted from the purchase date. You can generally buy warranties valid for two, three or five years. If you buy a five year warranty, when the manufacturer’s warranty expires after a year, the extended warranty will only be valid for four further years.

Finally, it’s not recommended to buy a refurbished DLP television, because the original manufacturer’s warranty will likely be only valid for 90 days, and you will not be able to buy an extended warranty. With the many things that can go
wrong with DLP technology, this could work out expensive in the long run, even if you save some money on the price of the TV up front.

If your lamp fails [they all do at some point] and you find yourself out of warranty, or your warranty doesn’t cover lamp replacement, you can save a lot of money by buying your replacement DLP TV lamp from LaptopsForLess.com. They stock a huge range of lamps and bulbs [and power supplies and other parts] which are compatible with all models by all the major DLP television manufacturers. These lamps work equally as well as the original lamps, but cost 30% to 70% less than the manufacturer’s own brand replacement bulbs.