[Bristol Pete]

Sat down to watch a film last night.

When I booted up my PJ, it made what I can only describe as a loud pop/crack noise which actually made me jump!

Anyhow, I was surprised as it still booted up ok and we watched Reloaded on it.

However, today, as I finished work early thought I would have a blast on the X-box only to find that the little blighter is not powering up

Checked all connections, sockets and fuses. No power. Therefore, going back to the dealer on Saturday and I suspect back to Panasonic for some sort of surgery.

Bummer I suppose. But at least no one has died and I have gone past the point of caring now

Maybe I should upgrade to a nice Sim Domino? Anyone got £4K to spare?

Cap

[gothmog]

Sorry to hear that

How many hourse did you have before it went?

If mines gonna blow I want it to happen in the next three months

-- Jon

[Goof]

I had a Panny 200 which lasted 15 minutes. I'm getting a replacement instead of refund which I hope I don't live to regret

[calibos]

Sorry to hear it captain.

You know I really think its the power on off cycles that are doing it. In the service menu between the 2 hours figures is a number which represents the amount of on/off cycles. I'm on 1330 hours and my cycles are 191. I think the ratio of hours to cycles was the same on my old AE100. If memory serves, I think I recall seeing a couple of jpgs of peoples' Service menu where the figures have been like 400hrs and 200 cycles and then have heard subsequently that their PJ's have gone pop. I wonder does this have anything to do with it. Course there can be a downside of running a PJ longer between on/off cycles. ie Melted optics like my old AE100!!

[Bristol Pete]

Well, this is interesting as as prior to the thing going POP, I had logged 299 hours in appox. 5 months.
Not exaxtly a great deal, but a fair few movies never the less.

Seems to have hit 300 and given up the ghost

It feels odd not having the PJ option there though. Expecting it to be away for 2 or 3 weeks, which is a bummer after spending so long getting a dedicated cinema room up and running. Still, I class myself as a fairly assertive person so I am staying on top of the annoyance of it all.

Anyway, can anyone advise me as to wether it is unrealistic of me to request a replacement PJ on saturday. I mean, would we tolerate a car, or a new Tv 'breaking' after just 5 months use?

Its just that my wife insists on coming to the dealer on saturday and asking for a replacement rather than a repair

Thanks,

Cap

[Messiah]

Take a look here

In essence it states

"What Are guarantees?
A guarantee is what it sounds like. It is an assurance from the manufacturer or vendor of a product as to its quality and suitability. Under the terms of a guarantee, if the object which you bought breaks down or stops working within the lifetime of the guarantee, they will repair it for you, or replace it free of charge. Most guarantees are for a year or two.

But Don't I Have Those Rights Anyway?
Yes. Under the Sale Of Goods Act, you have statutory rights which state that any goods which are sold to you must be fit for the purpose they were intend for. If you have a watch, and after a year it stops working, it was obviously faulty and not fit for it's purpose. You can, therefore, take it back to the shop you bought it from, even if you don't have a guarantee. Even better, under your statutory rights, you can demand a refund, while a guarantee only entitles you to a repair or replacement.

What Are guarantees For, Then?
Vendors and manufacturers often use guarantees to confuse customers, and cause them to overlook their statutory rights. In many cases, a guarantee can also add value to a product, and make it seem more attractive. A large number of products now come with guarantee certificates, which must be signed by the person selling you the product, and in most cases, the salesman will not do this without being prompted to. This means that the guarantee is invalid, and if your product breaks a few days later, you may be told that you don't have a valid guarantee, and so nothing can be done about it. In cases like this, many people forget about their statutory rights.

On the other hand, some guarantees are useful, as they may be longer term, and therefore add to your statutory rights. This is because after a few years, or 'reasonable use' your statutory rights will expire, and the law may take the view that any damage to the product has been caused by 'fair wear and tear'."

Go get your replacement or refund

[Bristol Pete]

I will print that document and take it with me and see what my dealer states. I do not intend on making a scene, just want to ensure that I do not make mistakes that I have made in the past.

Dunno why - but I keep telling myself that its only a £2k machine, but then I remember how much money that is to us

I will keep you posted.

Cap

[cyberheater]

Good luck Captain.

[Bristol Pete]

Spoke to my dealer earlier today. They have informed that they are no longer a Panasonic dealer as they state that they simply do not sell enough Panasonic gear. I suspect that this is true as they are more of a specialist home cinema shop seeling denon, Pioneer, Onkyo and so on. In fact they are here -

www.radfords.co.uk

Therefore, Mr. Radford advised me to contact Panasonic direct which I have done. The machine is being collected on Monday 20/10/2003 and taken to Panasonic for repair.

I have asked Pansonic if they would like to compensate our 'distress' with a new bulb which they have refused, although they said that the unit will be fully serviced - thus elongating its lifespan.

I also mentioned to the guy on the phone at Panasonic that our PJ is 'dead pixel' free and I have some concern using City Link, their courier, due to previous experiences. (refer to my Z1 nightmare ! ) Anyhow, he told me that this was solely for Panasonic to worry about and stated that if the machine arrived back to me in anything less than the condition it left me in, all be it working, they would look to resolve this.

So, all in all, reasonable customer service and at the moment just waiting to get the bugger fixed.

I shall keep updating this thread as and when.

Signing off for now,

Cap

[Messiah]

Good news. I used Radfords many years ago when they were in cardiff and they seemed pretty good. The thing that really gets me though is how the retailer has passed the responsibility back on to you to get resolved. Whether they still sell Panasonic kit or not they made their profir from the original sale and should, at the very least, have offered to deal with it on your behalf.

Hope it all goes well though. What has the wife said about no refund

[Bristol Pete]

as she is due in any minute.

To be honest, if they can resolve the problem quickly and efficiently then great.

I am happy with the AE300 overall and I suppose my decision to think about a refund was based on my 'roving eye', which a few of us here have

I mean - I dont look at other women - but when it comes to projectors I just cant help myself

To paraprhase Qui Gon Gin - "there is always a bigger fish!".

Thats the problem with this PJ lark, whats good today is old hat tomorrow.

Anyway, I am hoping the purchase the new Pioneer DVD deck seen here

http://www.avland.co.uk/pioneer/dv868avi/index.htm

before I even think about swapping up the PJ as I think this will take my image to the next level. Curently using an decent but old Sony 735 - 8 bit DVD player so this should have massive visual reward.

Oh, and we have just bought a new VW beetle which was the condition of me having a cinema room. I promised Sue, my good lady that she could have a Beetle, which happens to be a lovely motor.

Must do more overtime (in a Homer simpson voice).

Cap

[Messiah]

Nice one. Don't forget as well if you want to see a Z10k you only have to ask.

TTFN and good luck

[sirp]

the 300 is a great machine..i recently had my tosh 32" go tits up..and had to resort to 83" of a300 beauty in the meantime

all though a 6ft pat butcher is a bit scary!!!!

hope mine lasts the course..but like captain says..more to life than home cinema, and I for one dont bat an eyelid anymore when something goes wrong...thats the way it should be as long as all is well after

100 hours so far on my lamp

[calibos]

Did the cinema room cost as much as her beetle?? Cause if not you are well within your rights to trade up to a nice HD2 mustang DLP with 3000:1 contrast ratio or whatever takes your fancy in the 4000-8000 £ range etc

[theritz]

Did the cinema room cost as much as her beetle?? Cause if not you are well within your rights to trade up to a nice HD2 mustang DLP with 3000:1 contrast ratio or whatever takes your fancy in the 4000-8000 £ range etc

Aaahh........ the wisdom of a bachelor......... very good, Keith, we'll be interested to hear how your theories on the material negotiation of the married state pan out when you're conducting them yourself....................

I've observed that, in general, there's a warp in the space-time continuum between the value of "his" and "her" toys........ and I regularly give thanks for the support of Mrs. Ritz, who thinks this HC lark is super, and who picks new "toys" for it herself !!


Sean G.

[calibos]

Sean, You are truely blessed my friend!

I remember reading a post from another bachelor over at avs a while back. He was posting in a W.A.F. thread and stated that he wasn't getting into any further relationships until his Home-Cinema was completed to his satisfaction (he'll be a bachelor for life so, they're never fully completed to your satisfaction! ) That way, he reckoned his future missus would know what to expect from the outset and would have to accept his 'little' hobby.

[Bristol Pete]

The Beetle cost a cool £10,000 which we were lucky enough to buy cash as we had been saving for it for 2 odd years. Had about 3 ISA's on the go....how I love an ISA

Looking back, the cinema room has cost about £6.5k and thats with staggered purchases.

So, using calibos's theory, that means that my wife is £3.5 up on me, which equates to the rather lovely Sim Domino. it could also equate to a slap around the chops however, so I think I will leave it there

To be honest, dont want to let this thread degenerate into a mildly sexist one but my wife is also well into the cinema thing and usually brings home the latest DVDs, with reloaded being the most recent.

All I need to do now is convince her that six foot wide dutch hardcore-porn could actually help us communicate better

Captain B signing off

PS, not showing off about the beetle, just being honest. I dont like a show off myself