As well you should be! Projection TV's, no matter what the salesman or manufacturer says is not a standard TV with a big picture. Instead of a single picture tube (CRT) with 3 electron guns (for Red, Green and Blue), a projection TV has 3 CRT's - one for each color. The circuitry to control 3 CRT's, as well as audio, etc. is exceptionally complex. When you add digital and high definition (HDTV) capabilities the increase in complexity is at least a factor of 4.

Most service companies charge an hourly rate for service calls (or trip charges) in addition to the actual labor to diagnose and repair the circuit. Under warranty, manufacturers will only pay a flat-rate that is usually about 1/2 the charge for a servicer to make a profit (Pioneer and Hitachi are exceptions). 

Keep that in mind for the following:

• With rare exception, boards are not available for replacement (Pioneer and Samsung are notable exceptions). Samsung requires 48 Hour Service and pays for it! With the number of brands and models there is no way a servicer can bring with him the parts needed to service your projo in one visit.
  
• Every additional trip to order parts and install them will cost you more. In many cases, you have to change one part to find out if that is all that is wrong.
  
• If the manufacturer requires component level repair under warranty, and only pays a flat rate, after 2 trips the servicer is losing money. They will may refer you to that manufacturers consumer relations department and hope they exchange the unit. Any company that is losing money will prefer not to continue the repair.
  
• With the complexity of projo's - the cost of test equipment, training and the need for experienced technician's - many service companies only service a couple of brands. Make sure there is someone in your local area that is authorized to perform warranty service.

The average out-of-warranty repair takes 2 trips and with parts and labor is in the $250-$400 range. Add about another $200 for parts and labor if the circuit involved is the HD circuitry. If you purchased a $1,500 projo or a $3,000 one, the repair charges are about the same. Why so high, one HD test generator cost us $2,000.

The CRT's have about a 7 to 10 year life expectancy. Replacing all 3 CRT's (you can't change just one) will cost an average of about $1,200.

At minimum, the manufacturer should offer board replacements. The boards will increase your parts costs, but since the technician does not have to go to component level, the labor charges will be much less. Pioneer offers this option.

The next best solution is that the projo should utilize the "light box" feature (Such as RCA/ProScan). An example of an RCA light box is at left. Notice the handles for carrying. This feature allows the technician to take the major assemblies and CRT's and remove them to the shop for repairs. This will minimize the number of trips as well as speed repairs as the full array of test equipment will be at hand. However, RCA's HD and Digital product requires "component" level. The worst case scenario.

The best and least expensive service solution would be a manufacturer that offers both board replacement and a light box. To our knowledge, no manufacturer offers this in a non-commercial unit.