Advice needed! Samsung 7000 or 8000 LED tv??? Update- tv bought. Do i get warranty?

[Flabbibulin]

So, Im buying a new tv this week and have things narrowed down to the Samsung 55d7000 and the 55d8000. From what Ive been told, the only real difference between the two is the 7 series has a clear motion rate of 720, while the 8 series is 960. Other than that, both are 55" 240hz LEd 3Ds.

So, keeping in mind that Ive got sports foremost on my mind, is the difference in the CMR worth $400? Both are fantasic tvs, but its difficult to get a straight answer from commission salesmen. Google hasn't really helped me either.

I know there is the 7900 model as well, which is an option too.

Thanks

[Flabbibulin]

Couldnt wait for the advice- just got the 8 series... Woo hoo!!! Cant wait for puck drop tomorrow.

Now i need to know if I should get extended warranty? Have 30 days to decide. Anyone have feedback on Samsung extended warranty? Basically $100 for each additional year- any good/bad experiences? Already comes with 1 year manufacturing warranty.

[KTrain]

Series 8 is an awesome TV. Not sure if you'll see the difference between it and a 7 for sports but blu ray will look great.

I hummed and hawed about the warranty when I bought my Series 6. The sales guy knocked the warranty down to $99 for 3 years so I took it. I've never had to use a warranty before but I've heard of guys who have and swear by them.

[Esoteric]

I'd personally never get a warranty for a TV. TVs are generally built for tens of thousands of hours of use, and they will almost always outlive any warranty.

[Old Yeller]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_curve

The Bathtub curve originally described infant mortality but can be applied to electronics in today's day and age.

When the product is brand new there's a higher probability of failure, once it's out of the "new" phase the chance of your TV blowing up goes down drastically, then as it nears the end of its life the probability of a failure goes up again.

So most big box stores offer a year warranty for no extra cost, if you buy it on a major credit card that's usually extended another year. The 2 year warranty for a TV is all you need, never buy an extended warranty for a TV.

By the time it finally dies on you and you don't have a warranty to fall back on, it'll be an antique (in electronic years).

Ps. I LOOOOOVE my Sammy TV

[Flabbibulin]

Thanks for the advice. That makes sense about any potential problems likely showing up while the TV new is still fairly new. I normally wouldn't have problems paying a little extra for warranty, but the initial warranty quote he was giving me was $579 for 4 years! Then they realized that was the warranty price on the full retail price of the TV and later adjusted it to $479 because the TV went down in price yesterday- when I declined it, they took it down to $379. The 3 year warranty wasn't much cheaper, so I said no. Have 30 days to change my mind, but dunno at this point.

Correct me if Im wrong, but doesn't the salesman take a pretty good commish on warranty?

Awesome TV though- can't wait for the Masters! Good time of the year to buy a TV- new stock is coming out fairly soon, so older stock is cheaper- I think they are continuing with this line of 8 series though.

[Old Yeller]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Correct me if Im wrong, but doesn't the salesman take a pretty good commish on warranty?

Ding ding ding ding!

That and monster cables are a sales persons wet dream.

[simmonjam1]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

Ding ding ding ding!

That and monster cables are a sales persons wet dream.

This reminds me of when I was shopping for a mounting bracket and HDMI cables. The sales guy was pushing the Monster cables pretty hard. I thought the price was not justifiable.

I ask the sales guy "A HDMI cable carries a digital signal?"
Sales guy, "Yes, that's correct."
Me, "So it's just 1s and 0s, it works or doesn't work. I'll take your cheapest HDMI cable."

[daredevil]

Where did you purchase from, and did you get a decent price?

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by simmonjam1

This reminds me of when I was shopping for a mounting bracket and HDMI cables. The sales guy was pushing the Monster cables pretty hard. I thought the price was not justifiable.

I ask the sales guy "A HDMI cable carries a digital signal?"
Sales guy, "Yes, that's correct."
Me, "So it's just 1s and 0s, it works or doesn't work. I'll take your cheapest HDMI cable."

Smart, you didn't fall for the biggest legal scam out there.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-...-are-the-same/

Also, like Yeller said, with the curve, and your Credit Card's extra 1 year warranty. You should be fine.

[Esoteric]

Originally Posted by simmonjam1

This reminds me of when I was shopping for a mounting bracket and HDMI cables. The sales guy was pushing the Monster cables pretty hard. I thought the price was not justifiable.

I ask the sales guy "A HDMI cable carries a digital signal?"
Sales guy, "Yes, that's correct."
Me, "So it's just 1s and 0s, it works or doesn't work. I'll take your cheapest HDMI cable."

I got my GF a Bluray player for xmas, and needed a HDMI cable. I asked sales guy at Futureshop what the cheapest HDMI cable they had was, and he said $30 for a 6 foot cable. I laughed - he was not impressed.

Went over to Wal-Mart and got a 6 ft and a 12 ft cable for $8.

[ken0042]

Treat the extended warranty like an insurance policy. Would you pay $400 per year for collision coverage on a $2000 car? Some might- I wouldn't. Also keep in mind that your TV will likely cost a lot less by the end of the warranty period; so even if you do have to replace it in a few years it won't be the same cost as now.

Yes, extended warranties are huge cash grabs; and often a salesperson will make almost as much commission selling you the warranty as the item. When I sold electronics we made about 4% on TV sales, and 15% on warranties. So on a $2000 TV with a $400 warranty, you would make $80 selling the TV, and $60 on the warranty.

[TorqueDog]

Is this the Samsung with the bezel that is so small you barely see it?

If so, I'm jealous. Very nice set.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

[url]
So most big box stores offer a year warranty for no extra cost, if you buy it on a major credit card that's usually extended another year. The 2 year warranty for a TV is all you need, never buy an extended warranty for a TV.

Yup that's my rational with all my electronics purchases. Two year warranty is all you really need. As your said with the bathtub curve example, typically things go wrong in the first 90 days, after that it's smooth sailing.

The one exception is the batteries for 2006 macbook pros. Had 3 batteries all die at 13-14 month stage.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

Smart, you didn't fall for the biggest legal scam out there.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-...-are-the-same/

Also, like Yeller said, with the curve, and your Credit Card's extra 1 year warranty. You should be fine.

That article should be required reading for anyone buying AV cabling. Furthermore, it should be posted at the entrance of every electronics store.

[Rhettzky]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Couldnt wait for the advice- just got the 8 series... Woo hoo!!! Cant wait for puck drop tomorrow.

Now i need to know if I should get extended warranty? Have 30 days to decide. Anyone have feedback on Samsung extended warranty? Basically $100 for each additional year- any good/bad experiences? Already comes with 1 year manufacturing warranty.

Congrats on your new purchase, I just picked up the 6900 and love it! I ended up getting the warranty as part of a package deal instead of the stand they were offering with it. I usually never get them but reading the AVS forum for this brand (and other LED's) it seemed like a good idea. Some had issues with dead pixels, banding, flashlighting, etc. So I figured it would better be safe then sorry (Plus it only worked out to $140 for 4 years).

Another piece of advice for you is to check out the AVS forum and 'borrow' some of their configuration settings. Some guys there post their settings after they get their TV's professionally calibrated. They usually have some great tips for getting the picture the way you want it.

You could also check www.televisioninfo.com for your specific model and check out their settings too.

[J Diddy]

Those Sammy 6000-8000 series TVs are beautiful! I like that you can adjust the Hz to what you like...for example you can set it at 80Hz and reduce the soap opera effect but still get good frame rates. Very few TVs have this feature. For those that are trying to decide between a 120 and 240Hz TV...if you can save some money with the 120Hz then that's the one to go with...240Hz is a just a marketing gimmick.

[Nufy]

I usually get my HDMI cables at Princess auto...or monoprice.com if I have time...

[Flabbibulin]

Ive had it hooked up for a couple days now and everything seems great- fortunately, I had all the accessories/sound system from last purchase, so all I had to buy was the TV. Watched first 3D movie last night through PS3 store. Btw, I didn't realize the blu ray 3d movie selection was so limited.

As far as the calibration, there are a hundred settings in the TV that are a mystery. I'm sure I don't have the optimal settings yet, but will have to read up in a few web forums I found.

Think I probably will go back in and get a 3 year extended warranty- if I don't use it, I apparently get store credit for the same amount when it expires.

[Russic]

I'm generally a fan of the budget HDTV's. I wish I'd never been introduced to KTrain's Series 6. It's ridiculously awesome and has forced me to re-evaluate my opinions.