Last July, the wife and I were discussing the possibility of getting one of those shinny new flat screen televisions and then fate intervened to push us along. Our discussions were centered around replacing the main living room television. We had many questions; “What size?”, “LCD or Plasma?”, “Brand Quality?” were just a few. Money was also a big concern because I did not want to spend a small fortune because the more that you spend, the more likely that you are to have “buyers remorse.” So why this debate went continued, our bedroom television flatlined. This turned our attention to a slightly, to a less substantial purchase. This was also a bit comforting that we could make this decision on a smaller scale before deciding on a living room purchase.

Enlisting the help of the Internet, I started to research so that the broken television could be replaced without delay. Professional and amateur/antidotal reviews were scoured looking for the best answer for the situation. This would be an easy task if money was not an issue but this fact kept our decision in check. In the end, the decision was to purchase a Westinghouse model SK-32H240S. The screen was great and it contained many of the necessary features, including price. This was the end of our adventure, so we thought.

Fast forward about six months and we started having some power issues. The unit would sometimes not turn on, unless it was unplugged and then plugged back in to the wall. I called Westinghouse customer service and they were very friendly and helped me trouble shoot the issue. It was beyond a phone call, and would require a service call. They proceeded to inform me that the warranty service was facilitated through BestBuy. This was where the purchase was made so it provided some comfort that yet another party was not go get involved.

Scheduling the service appointment was another task that took awhile.  I went back and forth in an attempt to get a service time but it just was not working out for my schedule right then.  Along comes May and the need to burn some vacation days provides opportunity to schedule that needed service appointment.  On May 26, the Best Buy service rep (John) arrived and proceeded to address the issues at hand.  He was very nice and reassured me that the situation would be corrected but he needed some parts which he ordered.  The parts were to arrive in about a week but an automated phone call ten days later informed me that the parts were back ordered.  I waited five weeks before calling to check up on the status, this was the one year mark.  After some digging I was told that the parts were to arrive on August 3.

A phone call from John the service changed that waiting stance. He apologized for the delay and expressed concern that the parts would arrive as scheduled.  He then provided a return code to exchange the broken TV for a new fully functioning model.  This prompted a swift trip to BestBuy to finally clear up this mess that had sat on the burner for far to long.  The old Westinghouse was exchanged for the current model (SK-32H540S), which I assumed would be at least as good as the one being returned.  Up back on unboxing to new device some shortcomings were detected.  First it would produce static sound even with the volume completely down or muted.  Then there was the blue light, a piercing blue light that indicated power, because the screen was insufficient.  The first television had this light as well but it cold be shut off, no such luck this time.  One other item that made the unit different was the menus that appeared to be drawn with crayons. This comment may seem to be trivial but user interface is an important feature in my book.  This ones going back to the store. The response from the store was positive I just needed to decide on a new model. 

The BestBuy manager suggested a few models to replace the unwanted television but some research needed to be done.  It was almost back to square one a year later.  After searching I found a Sony model (KDL-32L4000) that seem to fit the bill.  I was further amused to read virtually the same story as mine in a personal review of the Sony model on a forum.  I have spent a week with this so far and have very few minor criticisms. But what most impresses myself is that the purchased stated a year ago seems now to be completed.