Sean haven't you ever brought a cold scope inside from a service vehicle & then tried immediately to use it? That cold glass tube has condensate all over it; when the high voltage is applied it will find an alternate path through the moisture to ground. If you're lucky the instrument just shuts down via safety trip; if not then it can get expensive pretty quickly.
I think they're pretty smart to not connect your equipment initially. They just know that you're gonna fire it up asap, so even if joe average consumer does get everything connected it will take several hours & by then it's a safe bet to apply power anyway. As a low overhead outfit, they're also smart to not connect the ancilliaries for you. This "simple task" can turn a brief housecall into an overnighter - I know... |
No scam involved. They delivered the TV first thing Tuesday morning. 8 AM to be exact. I guess that they "assume" that if they hook it up for someone, that person will PROBABLY turn it on the moment that they leave. Since that could increase warranty claims that they have to deal with, they probably make it as hard as possible for us to screw things up : )
This is not to mention that they are not liable should a component not work correctly upon re-installation and power up. I have had that happen to me on the bench and believe me, it's not fun fixing things for free when you had NOTHING to do with them breaking. Sean
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Bringing the HDTV to thermal equilibrium makes sense.
However, what does not make sense is buying something
as expensive as an HDTV without any support for
installation and set up. What's up with the vendor? |
The 24 hour waiting period is a good idea. The CRTs in the TV are liquid cooled. It would not be a good idea to fire up the CRTs if the cooling liquid was not at room temperature. This could cause condensation on the CRT face or worse (but fairly unlikely) the pressure differential could hurt the CRT in several ways (breaking the seal, cracking the lens, etc.).
As far as the lack of setup, as mentioned previously, it could just be the retailer's policy. Who know whats going through the head of most chain store retailers...
Hope this was of help. |
Also the manual for my Proac Studio 150'S speakers said to leave them for a few hours to come to room temprature before letting rip.
That was a long wait I can assure you... |
I remember that some high quality S-VHS and Laserdisc players used to have warnings stating to not use the unit until it had warmed up when coming in from a cold environment. (Some actually has safety disconnects so that the units wouldn't work if there was condensation present.) As for not hooking it up, betcha this unit was purchased from a big electronics chain store. As Kthomas implied...CONSIDER YOURSRLF LUCKY! Happy Tunes! |
Definitely a scam dude. YOU GOT RIPPED OFF!!! Try to deal with it :~)
Hope this helps |
Thanks for the input folks. I'm going to find out more info today, but at least you have somewhat re-assured me on this one. I am not a "videophile" by any means even though i do have a large HT system. Sean
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Some cd players won't play if there's too much moisture/condensation on the lens, a product of being brought from one temperature extreme to another (cold to hot). And as much as the tv cost, it certainly wouldn't hurt to wait a day. |
I can believe it. I broke a laptop computer once by firing it up frozen. Fortunitely, it was my work computer and the firm had a service contract with the dealer. |
Had the same thing happen to me with the delivery of my HDTV from a reputable dealer, the difference was they hooked it up...
The funny thing is: this is my 2nd TV in 30 days.... The first one came, the guys hooked it up, fired it up. adjusted convergence and left. 15 days later the set was up in smoke. I was smelling warm electronics, etc in the break-in... Exercised my 30 day exchange rights.. When the new one came, I waited 24 Hrs like the new delivery people recommended, and this one works beautifully.. no smell, better picture.
Coincidence?? maybe... As others posted, best to let your electronics come to room temperature so you don't put them through a highly accelerated life test. |
I agree - probably not a scam, just a box-pushing retailer. Given the bad advice you often get at this type of retailer, the parents should be glad the retailer isn't going to set them up. It can't hurt to wait 24 hours to turn it on, but that sounds like overkill. -Kirk |
Same as with cold computers, especially notebook computers, or other portables that may be left outside in the cold. It's always advisable to let anything with mechanical parts (hard disks, vacuum tubes, CRTs, etc) warm up to ambient temp before subjecting them to the stress/strain for the initial SURGE during power up. |
I'd agree with Lev, I always wait 24 hours before firing up something I buy in the winter. As for the "drop it and run" delivery service, it's possible they bought the TV from a discount store that do not include any set up services due to low margins? I know of some "superstores" that sell appliances and such that operate that way. |
Firstly I would like to say that there is no Tv that should be hard to hook up. And second Yes you should wait a couple of hours when you first get the tv only if its cold outside which it is. The reason is that they store these tvs in wharehouses that are most likely not heated so its good for the tv to be room tempature before firing it up for the first time. |
