How good of a deal is $450 for a 36" Sony XBR 400?

[Entity]

My uncle is ditching his for a HD Plasma screen, and assuming I can find a way to get this out of his basement (which will warrant another thread, I'm sure), he'll sell his old TV to me (2 yrs old; immaculate condition) for $450. Is that a pretty good deal?

Rob

 

[codeyf]

If it's a Wega, I'd say yeah. Non-Wega, s'ok.

 

[Entity]

The TV.

Apparently the TV is HDTV ready and is a Wega.

Now to figure out if my TV stand (Ikea Magiker) will handle it. Rated for 220lb.

Rob

 

[crt1530]

That is an excellent deal, but you will need some serious muscle to get it out of a basement.

 

[lizardboy]

XBR's are damn good TV's. This is a good deal for $450.

 

[Imported]

Good deal. I believe my parents paid close to $1500 for the 32" XBR400 when it first was out. Have fun trying to get that thing out though.. took me, my brother, and my dad to get it onto the TV stand.

 

[Anubis]

if its as heavy as our new 32in Tau is then your gonna need some serious help getting that out of a basement. it took 2 people and a dolly to get ours up our 3 front steps.

BTW how did it get down there?

 

[anxi80]

dont listen to these other people. its a terrible deal. but to take it off your uncle's hands, i guess ill pay him $325 for that heap. guess ill be a nice guy and spring for shipping also.



yeah, good deal. id definetly jump on this. but yeah, the others are right. its gonna be HEAVY.

 

[Entity]

Originally posted by: Anubis
if its as heavy as our new 32in Tau is then your gonna need some serious help getting that out of a basement. it took 2 people and a dolly to get ours up our 3 front steps.

BTW how did it get down there?

When he bought it, the company delivered it & moved it in.

Rob

 

[crt1530]

Originally posted by: Imported
Good deal. I believe my parents paid close to $1500 for the 32" XBR400 when it first was out. Have fun trying to get that thing out though.. took me, my brother, and my dad to get it onto the TV stand.

And that was for a 32". I think your best bet would be to pay movers around $100 to move it from house to house. $550 for that TV with no possibility of damage to the TV or your body is still a great deal.

 

[LivinLaVivaPollo]

Aren't those things some ridiculous weight? Like 500 pounds or something? I remember my dad's friend buying one, and telling me how much it weighed, though I can't remember now.

 

[DBL]

That's a fantastic deal. Probably less than half (or even 1/3) of what it's worth.

 

[Rufio]

great deal.

get your big friends and get smoe pizza and beer.

problem solved.

 

[anxi80]

^^ better yet, charge your friends. re-coup that $450 and make it a free* TV!

*may cause loss of friends, but friends come and go, so who cares?

 

[Entity]

Originally posted by: LivinLaVivaPollo
Aren't those things some ridiculous weight? Like 500 pounds or something? I remember my dad's friend buying one, and telling me how much it weighed, though I can't remember now.

The Sony KV-36XBR400 WEGA XBR TV is HDTV-ready, but it features 4:3 aspect ratio. It looks huge and weighs impressive 235 lbs.

Got that from a review; if it's accurate, then I think my TV stand can handle it.

Rob

 

[Doggiedog]

I had that one. The 36XBR400.

That's the one I keep bitching about.

Bought it for $2700 2 years ago. It was their top of the line CRT TV.

There are horrible problems with it though. After 1-2 years, due to Sony's decision to use cheap parts, it is likely to break on you. There is something called a d-board that burns out in alot of these tvs. It controls the power supply. To replace it will cost you $500 just for the part. Labor is likely to be $395.

The symptoms of a malfunctioning TV are it not turning on, turning off suddenly or popping sounds (like short circuits) and then 6 blinking power lights.

Many people have had this problem which probably explains why Sony mysteriously came out with the 36XBR450 a month after they introed the 400. Their explanation was an improved DRC engine.

After mine broke, CS was totally uncooperative. They said they have had no problems with the XBR400. When I told them there are lots of documented cases on the web, they told me not to believe everything I see on the web. Basically, after being a Sony only household for 20+ years they shafted me and told me I was SOL despite the fact that they made a sub-standard product with a known tendency to fail. Afterwards, I wrote off my TV and purchased a new Panasonic LCD RPTV without even bothering to check out the new Sonys.

I will never buy Sony again after the way they treated me. Screw you Sony! I'm glad you are losing money!


My old POS.

Another pic.

In HDTV mode.

My new baby.

Another pic.

From the side.

 

[Aves]

Originally posted by: Anubis
if its as heavy as our new 32in Tau is then your gonna need some serious help getting that out of a basement. it took 2 people and a dolly to get ours up our 3 front steps.

The 36XBR400 comes in at 235lbs

I'm pretty sure that 32" Taus are only like 175lbs.


That's going to be bitch to move but I'd do it!

 

[DBL]

Originally posted by: LivinLaVivaPollo
Aren't those things some ridiculous weight? Like 500 pounds or something? I remember my dad's friend buying one, and telling me how much it weighed, though I can't remember now.

Over 250lbs, I believe and extremely front-heavy (the glass is very thick). I have a non-XBR version, which I have moved 3 times with the help of at least two others and its no easy chore. In fact, it came pretty close to crushing one of my friends on a particularly hard to navigate narrow staircase.

 

[Entity]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
I had that one. The 36XBR400.

That's the one I keep bitching about.

Bought it for $2700 2 years ago. It was their top of the line CRT TV.

There are horrible problems with it though. After 1-2 years, due to Sony's decision to use cheap parts, it is likely to break on you. There is something called a d-board that burns out in alot of these tvs. It controls the power supply. To replace it will cost you $500 just for the part. Labor is likely to be $395.

The symptoms of a malfunctioning TV are it not turning on, turning off suddenly or popping sounds (like short circuits) and then 6 blinking power lights.

<snip>

Damn, that sucks to hear. I'm going to look into it as my uncle's has been treated like a baby, and overall the XBR400 seems to have nothing but positive reviews. I've seen one or two cases like yours out there, but they are next to 40-50 5-star reviews.

Just called the g/f, and she said "we'll talk about it."

Rob

 

[EvilYoda]

That's an amazing deal...I'm so jealous. :|

 

[Doggiedog]

Damn, that sucks to hear. I'm going to look into it as my uncle's has been treated like a baby, and overall the XBR400 seems to have nothing but positive reviews. I've seen one or two cases like yours out there, but they are next to 40-50 5-star reviews.

Take a look at all those reviews though. They are all old. Most of them are "wow! I've had this TV a week and the picture is unbelievable!"

It's like those JD Power satisfaction surveys. Sure people are happy with their new big ticket purchase but down the road, how does the product hold up?

Look at these more recent reviews.

When you have problems with the TV, and I know you will, send me an IM. I know how to work the TV to get it to turn on but it usually takes about 30 minutes.

For $450 I would have sold my TV to any of you guys. I was thinking of putting it up on ebay but didn't though because I really had a guilty conscience about it. I ended up giving it to my neighbor who wanted it.

 

[dabuddha]

Perhaps I'd consider it if it was still under an extended warranty. Unfortunately, I've read quite a bit about Sony's lack of QC during my TV research.

 

[Entity]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog

Damn, that sucks to hear. I'm going to look into it as my uncle's has been treated like a baby, and overall the XBR400 seems to have nothing but positive reviews. I've seen one or two cases like yours out there, but they are next to 40-50 5-star reviews.

Take a look at all those reviews though. They are all old. Most of them are "wow! I've had this TV a week and the picture is unbelievable!"

It's like those JD Power satisfaction surveys. Sure people are happy with their new big ticket purchase but down the road, how does the product hold up?

Look at these more recent reviews.

When you have problems with the TV, and I know you will, send me an IM. I know how to work the TV to get it to turn on but it usually takes about 30 minutes.

For $450 I would have sold my TV to any of you guys. I was thinking of putting it up on ebay but didn't though because I really had a guilty conscience about it. I ended up giving it to my neighbor who wanted it.

I just emailed to ask about the warranty, so we'll see. I think you may have steered me away; I can't risk $450 on a TV that might break down in 6mo.

Too bad, because it's a great unit.

Rob

 

[DBL]

Well, FWIW, I've had mine for almost 5 years w/o any problems.

 

[Doggiedog]

Sorry about your let down but if I can steer anyone away from the nightmare of Sony products, I will.

My TV wasn't heavily used either. After about a year it started exhibiting strange behavior like popping sounds but kept working. Then one day, boom! Couldn't turn it on. I've got 2 kids that wanted to watch their kids shows and it was hard explaining to them the TV broke.

One of my best friends has an even younger 65"XBR projection screen and he suffered a power supply failure too. In his case, he just pushed the flash focus button and the tv basically exploded. The tech came in and knew exactly what the problem was and even suggested Sony should take out that button. It took my friend 2 months to get the part. I guess it must be a pretty common problem. The tech said he was very busy too.