May 2007
Electronics
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| Camcorders | |
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Reliable:
Panasonic and Sony (see table below for formats) Most repair-prone:
Canon, JVC, and Samsung MiniDV models
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 The Sony DCR-TRV280 camcorder is a CR Best Buy.
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| Digital cameras | |
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Reliable:
None stood out. (In general, digital cameras have been among the most reliable products in our surveys, regardless of brand.) Among the more repair-prone:
Vivitar for point-and-shoots Most repair-prone:
Olympus for SLRs |
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| Picture-tube TVs | |
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Picture-tube TVs have generally been reliable. Our repair data for two of the larger sizes appear in a table below.
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| Big-screen TVs | |
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It’s too early to know which brands are likely to be more reliable for these newer types of TV sets. But based on data for
sets bought new in 2005 and 2006, here is what we’re seeing:
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| LCD TVs | |
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Promising reliability:
JVC, Magnavox, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba More repairs than average:
Dell
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 The Sharp Aquos LC-46D62U was a top performer in our tests of LCD TVs.
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| Plasma sets | |
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Promising reliability:
Fujitsu, Hitachi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Sony, and Toshiba More repairs than average:
Philips and Vizio
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| Microdisplay projection | |
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Promising reliability:
Panasonic (LCD), Sony (LCD?and LCoS) More repairs than average:
RCA(DLP), JVC (LCoS/D-ILA)
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Selected product details
Camcorders
| % ever repaired | |
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| Sony (DVD-RW/-R) | 3 |
| Panasonic (MiniDV) | 4 |
| Sony (D8) | 4 |
| Sony (MiniDV) | 4 |
| JVC (MiniDV) | 9 |
| Samsung (MiniDV) | 10 |
| Canon (MiniDV) | 10 |
| Years covered: 2003 to 2006. Differences of less than 5 points not meaningful. | |
TVs (30 to 36 inches)
| % ever repaired | |
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| 30- to 32-INCH | |
| JVC | 3 |
| Sharp | 3 |
| Sanyo | 3 |
| Toshiba | 3 |
| Sony | 4 |
| Philips | 6 |
| Samsung | 7 |
| RCA | 8 |
| 34- to 36-INCH | |
| Toshiba | 4 |
| Sony | 5 |
| Years covered: 2001 to 2006. Differences of less than 3 points not meaningful. | |
