Korean Job Discussion Forums

[FistFace]

I have learned some very hard lessons as of late regarding LCD and PDP technology, and I'd like to pass them along to you.

I was the owner of an L.G. XCanvas LCD-TV. I purchased it in a local L.G. electronics store. One of those you see down the street that are usually overpriced. I happened to see it was at an equal price (on sale) as all of the other stores (Hi-Mart, etc.). I thought that by purchasing it from L.G.'s own store directly, I might enjoy better service if there were any problems. I have learned that this is no different, however. L.G. service responds in the same manner.

I learned that, instead of better service, I would have less recourse when seeking a refund or an exchange. I also learned that (on the service end) I would be happily told there was no problem with their products whenever I felt something was wrong. I also learned that there would be no way I could get a refund. They have, after much arguing and distress, switched my defective products for new products (which have proven thusfar to be equally defective).

Here is my story:

After owning the TV for a short time, I began to realize that it had a cloudy-white glow in the shape of an 8-inch "V" coming from the left corner. The more I looked at it, the more it bothered me. I could see it during dark portions of the movies, and I reasoned that if I paid in excess of $2,700 for my TV, I shouldn't have to live with that.

L.G. service was called, and they were ready to meet me within hours. Wow, that was incredible. So fast! Up rolls this guy in a little L.G. car. He was extremely friendly, looked at my TV, and happily pronounced "no problems."

I was a little irritated, "Can't you see the problem?"
He said, "No. Within specification."

A co-worker helped me talk to the service center on the phone. We had to argue loudly before they would agree to exchange my TV for another one. I was quite perturbed, because they would admit no fault, and only agreed that they would give me a new TV because "they wanted to make me happy." So out came the 2nd TV a few days later... exact same new model out of the box.

I was so happy, until after an hour of warming, up, the same clouding issues appeared, only much worse, and in two locations. There were also 4 stuck pixels.

Here is a photo, which actually doesn't show how bad the 2nd TV truly looked (the white spots had a green tinge to them, and were often worse than this). Check out the lower corners. This is considered to be "within specification" by L.G.. Maybe I am too picky. You be the judge:



L.G.was called again, and again the guy came out in his little car. He walked in again, was so friendly, and again announced, "No problems!" The glowing white areas were very visable, but he refused to admit that there was any problem with the TV. He only said, "within specification" and that "all LCDs do this." He suggested that PDP TVs don't do this. He also stated that there weren't enough stuck pixels to be a problem.

We got into a conversation about how I'd wished I had got a PDP set then, and he said he'd talk to service again for me, but that he didn't have the power to get me a 3rd TV set. I was hoping they would just give me my money back and be rid of me. No chance.

I had to wait until the next day, but I was unhappy about it being called "within specification." My Korean friend helped me call L.G.'s main service branch. He argued on the phone with them in the polite Korean manner for a total of 2 hours. They said they couldn't promise anything.

After doing some online study about this clouding phenomena, I learned that this has been a problem with many LCDs manufactured by many companies, including Sony, Samsung, etc., and there were extensive discussions about the issue online. Some TV tech guys on one forum (guys who fix TVs) said that the clouding is a manufacturing defect due to tightening the screws too tightly on the inside when mounting some part of the LCD or another. If the clouds don't show up immediately, they often do after the set warms up (heat causes expansion and pressure on the LCD).

I was so angry about my situation, and that this was the 2nd TV with even worse issues than the first, I entered another L.G. store and talked to a very kind salesman who insisted he help me call the service area. I showed him the photo above, and he agreed that there was a problem. He called the main L.G. service branch that my Korean friend had argued with, and managed to get them to call me in English a few minutes later.

While on the phone, the L.G. service department basically told me they could do nothing for me, because their repair guy said there was no problem with my TV. That's when I blew my top right there in the L.G. store. I was embarrased I did that, but I screamed into that phone something fierce, and explained that I would be giving this L.G. model a very honest (and bad) review on every English and Korean website that I could. This caused them to threaten me by saying, "We must let you know that we are recording this conversation...."

So I guess giving a bad review of a TV constitutes libel in Korea?

After talking for a while longer, and them insisting that I could not get a refund (which is what I desperately wanted by this point, so that I could buy another brand elsewhere) I suggested that they should let me try a PDP set instead. After some more time, they called back and agreed to let me do this.

Oh, I was so happy.

Out they came with a PDP TV a few days later (now my 3rd L.G. TV) and it looked just fine. I still preferred the look of LCD over PDP, but I wasn't about to endure more white clouds on my screen. PDP's are a different technology, and don't suffer from this issue.

The TV looked great, and they left. Within a short time later, I noticed this faint buzzing sound, which grew progressively worse. It became so loud that I could hear it over the TV from 10 feet away when the volume was at 50%. It drove me nuts. It became even worse during bright scenes. I was sooooo angry I almost cried. My girlfriend could hear it too, and she helped me to call LG service again.

So, for like the 5th time in 9 days, the service guy came out to my house (an hour and a half late).

It was at this moment, that I realized one thing: the L.G. service guys carry no tools. How can service people come with no tools? There didn't appear to be any in his car, either. In fact, one time, he had to borrow my tools to set up a new TV because he didn't have any.

What kind of service guy carries no tools? It became obvious over time that the job of these men is to appear, look at your problem, and tell you that there is no problem with your L.G. product.

So the service man listened to my TV. As expected, he announced, "No problem! Within specification!" I blew my top again. HOW COULD HE CALL THIS NOISE NORMAL??? While he was listening to me, he happened to grab the corner of my TV, and the sound lessened considerably. We both noticed this. So this very kind "service man" , who did have one tool (a small screwdriver keychain ornament) proceeded to tighten all of the screws on the back of my set. I was happy, but skeptical. He left his card, and told me to call him if the sound came back.

After some more internet searching, I found that this buzzing problem is an issue suffered by other PDP manufacturers as well. There is even extensive information about what defective parts cause such an issue (including photos). I didn't know this about PDPs -- they BUZZ a lot. In the USA, people just return the sets for an exchange or a refund... but I can't do that, because I purchased from an L.G. store in Korea. It's entirely up to them whether or not I get a refund or an exchange.

You guessed it... the sound is back. Slightly better, but still annoying. I also hear a bad vibrating/rattling sound coming from the internal speaker when certain pitches are hit by voices. I now own a $2,500+ TV that I hate watching.

I'll be calling them again this week.

I just wanted you to know the lengths to which L.G. service has gone to come to my house and announce that their TVs have "no problems."

Despite L.G. Korea going to such great lengths to please me by telling me there is "no problem" with the TVs they sold me, I will never purchase another L.G. product again, and certainly not one from an L.G. store -- even if they, after more pushing, will allow me to fix or exchange this current problematic L.G. TV.

PS: The same Korean friend of mine had a problem with an L.G. washing machine, which was making a very loud (scary) noise at times while washing. The L.G. service guy came out very promptly, and happily announced, "NO PROBLEM! Within specification!"

Those were his exact words, in Korean.

She won't be purchasing from L.G. anymore, but that's just her opinion.

Some of you might appreciate this outstandingly immediate service attention from L.G., and think differently, however. It's your choice.

[pkang0202]

Next time go Samsung or get a plasma TV.

Sorry to hear about all your trouble OP. I remember back in the US my cable modem was insanely slow. Maybe getting about 1mbps instead of the advertised 5mbps. I called Comcast and they came out and said nothing was wrong. I told them about the speed and they told me that the actual speeds don't have to match the advertised speeds. They wouldn't discount my bill.

I could've switched to another provider but there wasn't any. Verizon didn't have DSL in my area and Satellite was out of the question. No other cable companies in my area.

Being in Korea and reading these forums, I've noticed that people will choose the Samsung LCD panels over LG's,

[unplugged_boy]

hmm.. im planning to get a lcd tv monitor soon too. any recommendations? my friends plasma makes the same buzzing noise u refer to. i think its quite common.

[Demophobe]

Sorry for your woes, OP.

A friend of mine bought an LG flatron CRT years ago and it had purple corners...one much worse than the other, but certainly purple and very, very noticable. He called service, they came and looked and they too said it was normal and that after the picture tube warmed up ithe fringing would subside.

However, it was only when it was warm the problem was visible. On the second trip out, my buddy took the monitor downstairs to wait for the service guy. He arrived, I opened the back door of his car and my friend put the monitor in. We told him to please bring a new one back ASAP, said goodbye and dashed inside.

He had no choice. Got a new one and indeed, the problem is still there to this day, though decidedly better than the first.

Samsung have never given me problems with their monitors.

[FistFace]

Update:

LG came out again, and actually opened my TV this time. They fixed about 70% of the PDP buzz by installing some pads of some sort behind the circuit boards to cut down on vibration.

They are coming out next week to replace a board which is causing interference problems with 1080i input over HDMI. Things coming in at 720p via HDMI are fine, but at 1080i, I have problems. My TV is 1080i max.

The TV tech guy (who is the head of the area) didn't even know if my TV was supposed to support 1080i! He had to go back to the office and check.

[pkang0202]

Glad to hear that some progress is being made to fix your problem.

[esetters21]

Wow, what a crazy long post. I tried to read it to get some info on the situation and maybe offer some help, but I lost interest. Good to hear you are having some solutions, maybe.

[FistFace]

Update:

Changing the internal circuit boards did nothing to fix my 1080i problem. Learned, by purchasing the component cables for my PS3, that LG's HDMI implimentation sucks. The component works really well. Much better than HDMI. I don't have the banding/false contouring problems any more, or the funky picture and text-jumping/pulsing issues. I am going to avoid HDMI whenever I can (except during standard DVD up-conversion, which the PS3 only does through HDMI). I can live with that.

I've taught the poor LG service tech manager more than he learned at LG school, I think.

The PS3 worked fine on my lady's 1080i Samsung using HDMI.