Are unbranded cheap televisions are a false economy?
Purchasing a TV or any consumer electronic item is similar to purchasing a car. You have to think about not only the purchase cost but in addition the ongoing repair costs and its life expectancy.
Main brand TVs from manufacturers such as Pioneer, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Hitachi, LG, Sharp ,JVC and Hitachi always retail for more than inferior brands of televisions with unfamiliar brand badges on them. The unbranded cheap TVs from unknown manufacturers give the impression of being good value for money when compared to the known brands of televisions. The styling and features may make justifying the difference difficult.
Why are the known brands of TVs more expensive?
It is easy to think that you are paying a premium for the badge on the branded models of TVs, whilst this is to a certain extent true there are other differences that justify the additional cost of the branded TVs.
One clear reason for the known brands being more pricey is that they have UK offices, warehouses and staff unlike the cheaper brand televisions that are imported directly into the UK by importers from in China and Eastern Europe and are delivered straight to the retailer.
The manufacturers of Cheap TVs dont need to invest in their brand reliability, as known brands do. This is for the reason that you dont know which factory manufactured the Television so you wont be able to avoid it in the future if you purchase another unbranded TV. So they dont have the same incentive to protect their brand from poor performing unreliable products.
The probability of unbranded Cheap TVs becoming faulty during the first year or after is greater than for branded TVs since they dont boast the same stringent quality control systems.
The circuit design and internal components on unknown cheap TV brands are not of the same quality as the main brands of televisions, again increasing the probability of the TV going faulty. Reliability surveys carried out by the consumer magazine Which have again and again found that Television brands such as Sony and Panasonic consistently out perform the cheaper unknown cheap TV brands.
It is more difficult to repair cheap televisions from unknown brands
Replacement parts are not as readily available on cheap Television brands as they are for the main Television brands. This is often for the reason that there arent any parts kept in the UK by the manufacturer for the unbranded cheap televisions unlike the main brand televisions so it takes longer to get hold of the parts.
What's more it is more difficult to repair unknown cheaper brand TVs since they havent got the technical support in the UK that the major brands do. As a result if an repair engineer struggles to carry out the repair he cant ask the manufacturer for assistance as a result it will be more likely that the TV cant be repaired. During the first year this isnt a problem because the retailer that sold you the cheap TV will have to repair it or replace it. Although after this period it means that it is more likely that you will have toreplace the cheaper unknown brand TV earlier than a main brand TV.
It is not unknown when a branded Television has had very poor repair history, for the manufacturer to replace, repair or subsidise the cost of the repair outside of beyond the 1 year guarantee as a good will gesture. It is improbable that this would happen for a cheap Televisions from an unheard of brand, which means that you would have to purchase a replacement one earlier than if you had purchased a recognized brand of Television.
How does the performance of cheaper unknown TV brands compare to known TV Brands?
Another reason for the higher selling prices for major brand TVs is that the producers invest in research and development to find ways of improving the current technology to enhance the performance of the Television. This doesnt take place with cheap unbranded TVs which have inferior features and performance. If you read specialist magazines like What Video or What Hifi you will see that main brand TVs get much better reviews than the unknown cheap TV brands.
Conclusion
Cheaper brands of televisions experience poorer reliability and dont possess the features and performance of the more costly main brand Television manufacturers. Taking into account that you often buy a TV to last for 5 years or more, when you divide the cost differential by the number of years that you intend to keep the television for, it is worth paying the extra amount for a branded Television. More often than not the cheaper unbranded Television will prove to be more expensive due to poor reliability and the probability that it will have to be replaced earlier. This is forgetting about the superior performance of the major brand TVs. So the unbranded cheap TVs stand for poor value compared to TVs from Sony, Philips, Pioneer, Panasonic, JVC, LG, Toshiba etc. - 29967
Purchasing a TV or any consumer electronic item is similar to purchasing a car. You have to think about not only the purchase cost but in addition the ongoing repair costs and its life expectancy.
Main brand TVs from manufacturers such as Pioneer, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Hitachi, LG, Sharp ,JVC and Hitachi always retail for more than inferior brands of televisions with unfamiliar brand badges on them. The unbranded cheap TVs from unknown manufacturers give the impression of being good value for money when compared to the known brands of televisions. The styling and features may make justifying the difference difficult.
Why are the known brands of TVs more expensive?
It is easy to think that you are paying a premium for the badge on the branded models of TVs, whilst this is to a certain extent true there are other differences that justify the additional cost of the branded TVs.
One clear reason for the known brands being more pricey is that they have UK offices, warehouses and staff unlike the cheaper brand televisions that are imported directly into the UK by importers from in China and Eastern Europe and are delivered straight to the retailer.
The manufacturers of Cheap TVs dont need to invest in their brand reliability, as known brands do. This is for the reason that you dont know which factory manufactured the Television so you wont be able to avoid it in the future if you purchase another unbranded TV. So they dont have the same incentive to protect their brand from poor performing unreliable products.
The probability of unbranded Cheap TVs becoming faulty during the first year or after is greater than for branded TVs since they dont boast the same stringent quality control systems.
The circuit design and internal components on unknown cheap TV brands are not of the same quality as the main brands of televisions, again increasing the probability of the TV going faulty. Reliability surveys carried out by the consumer magazine Which have again and again found that Television brands such as Sony and Panasonic consistently out perform the cheaper unknown cheap TV brands.
It is more difficult to repair cheap televisions from unknown brands
Replacement parts are not as readily available on cheap Television brands as they are for the main Television brands. This is often for the reason that there arent any parts kept in the UK by the manufacturer for the unbranded cheap televisions unlike the main brand televisions so it takes longer to get hold of the parts.
What's more it is more difficult to repair unknown cheaper brand TVs since they havent got the technical support in the UK that the major brands do. As a result if an repair engineer struggles to carry out the repair he cant ask the manufacturer for assistance as a result it will be more likely that the TV cant be repaired. During the first year this isnt a problem because the retailer that sold you the cheap TV will have to repair it or replace it. Although after this period it means that it is more likely that you will have toreplace the cheaper unknown brand TV earlier than a main brand TV.
It is not unknown when a branded Television has had very poor repair history, for the manufacturer to replace, repair or subsidise the cost of the repair outside of beyond the 1 year guarantee as a good will gesture. It is improbable that this would happen for a cheap Televisions from an unheard of brand, which means that you would have to purchase a replacement one earlier than if you had purchased a recognized brand of Television.
How does the performance of cheaper unknown TV brands compare to known TV Brands?
Another reason for the higher selling prices for major brand TVs is that the producers invest in research and development to find ways of improving the current technology to enhance the performance of the Television. This doesnt take place with cheap unbranded TVs which have inferior features and performance. If you read specialist magazines like What Video or What Hifi you will see that main brand TVs get much better reviews than the unknown cheap TV brands.
Conclusion
Cheaper brands of televisions experience poorer reliability and dont possess the features and performance of the more costly main brand Television manufacturers. Taking into account that you often buy a TV to last for 5 years or more, when you divide the cost differential by the number of years that you intend to keep the television for, it is worth paying the extra amount for a branded Television. More often than not the cheaper unbranded Television will prove to be more expensive due to poor reliability and the probability that it will have to be replaced earlier. This is forgetting about the superior performance of the major brand TVs. So the unbranded cheap TVs stand for poor value compared to TVs from Sony, Philips, Pioneer, Panasonic, JVC, LG, Toshiba etc. - 29967
About the Author:
Armadeus Cornelius is an AV enthusiast and expert with nearly 2 decades experience in consumer electronics.His website at www.digitaldirect.co.uk offers Cheap LCD and Plasma TVs and a large selection of AV products at rock bottom prices. For your convenience you may also find these links useful cheap tvs and cheap lcd hdtv
