What I've learned, plasma display repair division

So. As regular readers of this blog know, as of the middle of July my 50-inch plasma display went on the fritz, and it took almost four goddamn months to get it fixed. And right after I got it fixed, it seemed to go on the fritz again. This was not permanent, although it was worrying, and now whenever I turn the television on I'm worried that instead of getting a picture I'm going to see the symptoms that first tipped me off to the fact that there was something wrong. Yes, no picture being one of them. I thought, though, now that I'm in a relatively not-as-insecure about being-able-to-watch-stuff space, I'd share some of my experience so that you, dear reader, may be able to avoid the hassle and expense I went through.

1) Get The Fullest Warranty Available. I did not do this. If I had had, say, a three-year warranty, this shit would have been covered. Instead, I paid through the nose. Not that such warranties are cheap, or look cheap; that's why people don't necessarily opt for them. My advice therefore would be that when you're contemplating the purchase of such an item, leave room in your budget itself for an extended warranty—a couple of hundred bucks or so. You'll thank me, specifically, for it later.

2) A Good Surge Protector Is Not Enough. I have one, it wasn't cheap. Now, this relates to what precisely the problem was with my set to begin with, so let me backtrack a little. One afternoon in July, as I settled in to watch Atom Egoyan's Chloe, because I love Art Cinema so much, I was zipping through the Sony trailers and all of a sudden the picture went out, and the blue power light at the front of the set started blinking. In short order I discovered that this problem was isolated to the first HDMI input of three on the display. So I shunted my HDMI inputs around—putting the one from my amp/receiver into HDMI 2, and the one from the cable box into HDMI FRONT—and calmly started looking into my paperwork on the set, where to call for service, etc. In short order the same thing happened with HDMI 2—no picture or sound, flashing blue power light—and HDMI FRONT. I didn't even bother with the component video ins because what's the frigging point anyway (in due time I found they were not responding either). Anyway, I called Hitachi and they gave me the numbers of two authorized repair centers. The first guy I spoke to confirmed what I had suspected, based on my online research—my power supply board had somehow burned out. "I know that set well," the fellow said. "You have to understand, these big screen displays, essentially they're like big computers. Their circuitry is pretty much the same." However. The gentleman asked me if I had a surge protector. Yes, I did. "I don't mean a power strip," he said. Yes, I knew that. Okay. And did I have my cable box plugged in to the same surge protector as the plasma display. I did. Well. Apparently, this was a bad thing. A cable box—particularly a cable box coming from my very own cable supplier, apparently—behaves in electric and electronic ways that can wreak havoc on the aformentioned computer-like circuitry of a plasma display. Who knew? I sure as fuck didn't, or else I never would have plugged the two units into the same surge protector, right?

3) Know Your Rights. I didn't, and still don't, but you do hear all sorts of things. Such as, that it's federal law for a company to maintain a readily available stock of parts for these items in the event that they need fixing, rather than keeping them in fucking Japan from whence they are apparently never sent and where even were they sent they'd be likely to be held up in customs any goddamn way. Had I confirmed this, you can bet your bottom dollar, or whatever other cliché obscure anachronistic item you care to cite, that I woulda been yelling and screaming at the Better Business Bureau for some time. As it was, I certainly gave an earful to the poor folks at Hitachi customer service, every now and then telling them that I really didn't want to write an article for publication in a major magazine entitled "My Hitachi Plasma Repair Nightmare." They really didn't know quite what to make of that. In any event, the end result of my bitching is that I didn't have to pay for the eventually rebuilt part and I wouldn't have had to pay for the new power board had it ever shown up. Not that the labor wasn't expensive. 

It's also important for you to pay attention during the process. If your problem gets assigned a case number by the company or by the service center, write it down and keep it at hand; it'll make your calls for updates go that much more smoothly. Try to take detailed notes of each call so you'll know where you left off and what was promised or implied. Get the name of the representative who you spoke to. If one of them had been particularly helpful or sympathetic, ask for them the next time you call. And so on.

4) Check Everything. When the new power board had been put in, the repair guy and I looked at it for over ten minutes—and yes, the Blu-ray disc WAS Mars Attacks—and we were all like, "Okay." And he left. And a day or so later the picture went out and the blue light started flashing as I began watching the new Blu-ray of The Exorcist. And I almost had a stroke. And I went to the back of the set to power it down. And I saw that the TV repairman HAD PLUGGED THE DISPLAY INTO THE POWER STRIP THAT I HAD PUT THE PLUG FOR THE CABLE BOX INTO, AND NOT THE SURGE PROTECTOR THAT NOW NO LONGER HAD THE CABLE BOX PLUGGED INTO IT. And I almost had a stroke again. I plugged the plasma into the surge protector, did the HDMI input step-up again, and watched the set through the weekend, waiting fir the remaining two inputs to fail. (I was somehow reminded of the first time HAL sends Dave outside the space ship to fix something in 2001: A Space Odyssey.) And they didn't. I had scheduled a return visit from the TV repair place, and this time they were gonna lug the set back to their facility to figure out just what the fuck the deal was, but since the other inputs hadn't failed the whole weekend through, on the morning of the appointment I thought I'd retry HDMI 1 and see what would happen. And watched the entirety of Forbidden Planet without incident. AND it looked great. So. That's where we stand now. A new Blu-ray Consumer Guide is in the works. 

Comments

[Philmiv]

At least God protected you from having to watch Chloe.

Glad you're back. Great pic, by the way.

[Matthias Galvin]

Looking GOOD, Glenn.

And thanks for the TV info.
Though, I must say: I've always wanted to have a projector and an opaque screen, rather than a big-screen TV. But, such is passe.

Glad to know your TV is working again!

[Kiss Me, Son of God]

Svelte as fuck. Wanna be my personal trainer? I can pay you only in hugs and the Sisyphean frustration of watching me fail to lose weight.

[the_barefoot_contessa]

WOW, Glenn, never mind your TV, tell us how you managed to "fix" yourself! What a great "before & after" shot. Very cool.

[Ian W. Hill]

Thanks -- I just got my first HDTV last week (also a 50" plasma) and am a little unnerved and unsure about all the info/opinions I read on how best to take care of these things. Nice to hear practical advice from someone who uses the gear but doesn't vanish into tech-spec overload.

And the blu-ray of Forbidden Planet, which I just saw last night, is indeed QUITE something. Though I think my jaw has dropped most at the Powell/Pressburger disks . . . whoa.

[Stephen Bowie]

So, with your HDMI inputs, you were like a commercial airliner pilot, watching Engine #1 flame out, and switching to Engine #2. Then Engine #2 flames out and you switch to Engine #3. Then Engine #3 ... There's a Jason Statham movie in this somewhere!

Anyhow, glad things are back up and running again. Coincidentally, I finally watched THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE (meh) on my now 19-month old (ulp) plasma screen this weekend. How'd that junket in Dubai work out?

[bosque]

You also have to remember most of these TV repairmen are making this shit up in order to prise more cash out of your wallet - a surge-protecter sounds like major BS.

[Glenn Kenny]

@ Bosque: The thing about the cable box came from a guy who wasn't actually able to service me, or my set, rather; long story, which I didn't include in the above account for reasons of cogency/coherence. In any event, if it WAS BS, it was BS he had zero financial interest in feeding me; maybe he just liked a colorful story.

@ Stephen: When My Lovely Wife saw "GFE" at Tribeca, she was kind of aghast (in a good way) at the whole "Dubai junket" riff; "Where do you come up with this nonsense?" was her question, I believe. I was actually able to tell her; those sailors we met in Cannes in '08 had actually rhapsodized that the most beautiful women they'd seen in their travels were the Russian hookers who haunted the upscale bars of that region. So there you have it... I understand things aren't quite so "hopping" over there as they had been just a couple of short years ago...

[Michael Adams]

I started to say I'm sorry you're out of the running for the lead in The Victor Buono Story until I remembered CGI makes anything possible.

[Glenn Kenny]

@ Michael Adams: CGI notwithstanding, I'm already too old to play Buono, who unfortunately passed away well before hitting fifty. One of my motivations for getting fit, as it happens. Laird Cregar's experience was a motivation for doing so in a sane, steadily-paced way.

That being the case, I should nonetheless point out that I remain ENTIRELY available to cinematically portray pricks and creepy guys and whatnot. They'll just be thinner ones than The Erotic Connoisseur was.

[Graig]

Thanks for sharing the tips, Glenn. And looking very svelte indeed. Does this mean we can expect more middle of the day hang outs with Jeff Wells? (I kid, I kid...Seriously, lookin' good.)

[MarkVH]

Hang on, I'm still stuck on this "shouldn't plug my plasma into the same surge protector as my cable box" thing. I've got a Panasonic plasma set and FIOS HD box plugged into the same (very good) surge protector for a little over a year now with no problems. Why do they need to be separated? And which should be plugged into what? Getting a little nervous over here.

[Owain Wilson]

I'm going through this whole sorry debacle as I type. Luckily, Panasonic have agreed to fix my completely buggered plasma TV for free, even though it's out of warranty. Nice!

Oh, Glenn, you handsome so and so!

[ATK]

wow, you do look great!!!

[David J]

The best thing anyone can do for their electronics - stereos, TVs, etc. is to plug them into a UPS. With a UPS, you're running power from the battery which provides stable, even power. There is no fluctuation of voltage, which can cause issues with your equipment even if there is no surge or brown out. Beyond that, if there is a brief power outage, you can continue to watch your Blu-Ray/DVD without interruption. When the freaky wind storm/tornado blew through Carroll Gardens a few weeks ago, my lights flickered, but my picture continued playback.

They are an investment, but well worth it.

And congratulations on the weight loss!