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Every year, we buy and test hundreds of different electronics products, so there's a good chance you'll find exactly what you want in our Ratings. But what if you're considering a model that hasn't gone through our labs? Don't worry—we can still help.
By analyzing a few years' worth of our test and survey data, we've compiled a report card on the performance and reliability of major brands of TVs, computers, and a few other products. That lets us give you some guidance on models that we haven't tested. Of course, brand advice isn't as specific as Ratings of a particular model, but it can minimize your chance of buying a clunker and improve the likelihood that you'll take home a top-notch product.
Keep in mind that our survey and test data are historical and can't predict future reliability or performance. Also, changes in manufacturing can affect both. Still, picking a brand with a good track record can reduce the chance you'll run into problems.
Buyers have encouraging news on the reliability of their flat-panel TVs. According to their feedback on almost 162,000 TVs, most major brands have been reliable, with an overall repair rate of just 4 percent for LCD and plasma TVs during the first four years of use. (Our LCD category includes models with LED backlights, which are sometimes called LED sets.) Westinghouse was the most repair-prone of the 16 brands of LCD TVs covered in the survey.
Any problems that did crop up most often occurred early—58 percent of reported repairs took place during the first year of ownership, a period usually covered by the standard manufacturer warranty. That reinforces our advice that extended warranties aren't a good investment for most consumers. The most common problems reported were an inability to power on a TV and a loss of the picture.
We found more variation in TV performance. A number of brands stand out as solid choices based on our tests during the past few years, but we'd urge caution with half a dozen brands that have had hits and misses in our Ratings.
Here are our recommendations based on our reliability data and Rating history for these brands in the last few years.
LCD and plasma TVs from Panasonic, LG, and Samsung, and Sony LCD sets have consistently been among the top performers in our Ratings in the past few years. Given that top-notch track record, we think that other TVs from those brands are likely to do just as well. (And the TV buyers we surveyed reported a low rate of repairs to TVs from those brands.)
Vizio and Sharp LCDs have delivered generally strong performance that should satisfy all but the most demanding viewers. Their track record suggests that other models will follow suit. (All of those brands have had a low rate of repairs.)
Find the best model for your needs and budget with our TV buying guide and Ratings.
Shutterbugs, you can breathe easy—digital cameras have a solid track record for reliability, according to survey data on more than 91,000 camera purchases. Overall, only 4 percent were repaired or had a serious problem during the first few years of use. Among point-and-shoot users who reported repairs, the power-up function was the problem 17 percent of the time; on SLRs and SLR-likes, the lens and autofocus were the trouble spots nearly 20 percent of the time.
Because of changes to our testing, we don't have enough current data to report on brand performance history, but we're working on it.
Check out digital camera buying guide and Ratings for tips and reviews.
For the first time this year, we asked consumers about the reliability of tablets and e-book readers, and the news on both was good. Most major brands of tablets have been fairly reliable, according to more than 42,600 readers who reported on more than 53,000 tablets. The median repair rate for the eight brands covered in the survey was 5 percent. (All tablets had a 7-inch or larger screen.) Most of the repairs that were reported took place during the first 12 months of ownership.
Similarly, e-book readers weren't especially troublesome. We received responses from almost 30,000 readers about more than 36,500 e-book reader purchases. (All models had a 5- to 7-inch screen size.) We had enough data to report on four e-book reader brands, which had an overall failure rate of 5 percent. Kobo was the most repair-prone brand.
See which tablet or e-book reader is right for you with our buying guide and Ratings.
It's hard to generalize about computer brands for several reasons, including the fact that the configuration, or the components of a specific model, determines a computer's speed and performance. Both of those factors are heavily weighted when we figure a model's score.
Even so, one brand stands out as the top all-around choice: Apple. Year after year, its laptops and desktops have done very well in our tests, which has led us to recommend those models almost invariably. Apple also excels in tech support. Its laptops have been among the more reliable brands, and its desktops have had lower repair rates than the Windows-based PCs covered in our surveys.
Apple has had consistently high scores, but we've found more variation in performance among Windows-based PCs. A given PC brand might have some top-scoring models and others that scored lower. We're continuing to analyze our Ratings to look for patterns.
Depending on your needs, other factors might trump performance. For example, if you travel frequently, size and weight may be more important than having a full-sized keyboard. Or if your budget is tight and your computing needs fairly basic, a low-priced model with a less-powerful processor might make the most sense for you.
Generally, we recommend that you stick with one of the brands we regularly test. Then narrow your choice based on reliability and tech support, and choose a configuration that suits your needs and budget.
Overall, computers have had a higher rate of repairs than TVs or cameras. Apple has been among the more reliable brands of laptops and the most reliable desktop brand.
The eight Windows-based laptop brands in our graph had fairly comparable reliability, with an overall repair rate of 10 percent during the first three years of ownership. Among desktops, the overall repair rate has been 9 percent.
For laptops and desktops, about 45 percent of all respondents who had a repair paid nothing because they were covered by a free warranty or service contract. For those who did have to pay, the median out-of-pocket cost was $136 for laptops and $145 for desktops.
In general, this is among the lowest-rated services in all of the surveys conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. But that doesn't apply to Apple, which walloped all the makers of Windows-based PCs covered in our most recent survey of 6,313 subscribers.
Apple solved user problems 82 percent of the time during 2012, compared with 61 percent for its nearest Windows-based competitor, Dell. Apple was also the only computer brand to receive top marks for both phone and online support. Apple continues to offer unlimited free support at Apple Stores after its 90-day free phone support runs out. Many makers of Windows-based PCs provide free technical support for a year.
Check our latest Ratings for computer-manufacturer tech support.
Get all the laptop and desktop info with our computer buying guide and Ratings.
This article appeared in the December 2013 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
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