My hindsight is still 20/20

It never fails manufacturers build something good then build something not as good or bad.

The problem is that, when you find something which is good, learn to trust it for its performance, reliability and value, then a year later discover that the new version of the product (which is often less expensive) is now not reliable as the product once was. This is especially true in products which are the most competitive products out there. Perhaps it is most true with TV and Soundbar products. It is easy to follow a manufacturer’s product through the years. Generally it will fall into one prefix like E or DN or a series like 500, 600, etc. Manufacturers are in a continuous crunch between technology and price. You see us consumers want it all… for less money year after year. There comes a point were something has to give. That something is either build quality, performance, or removing features. Consumers incorrectly get caught up in specs, or in other words- what a manufacturer claims to be relevant truth about their product. Clearly the good manufacturers speak with mostly truth about what they build, and the bad manufacturers (who actually build nothing) will write anything on paper or their websites to confuse the consumer. The crunch gets even more robust as a never ending cycle of branding (brand names) comes and goes. You see if you build something which you know will break prematurely, sell it in stores with a limited standard warranty, it breaks after 1 year and you have no recourse- only to buy yet another replacement unit. They win. And into the trash these units go, by the millions every week.

What you can do to help:

Buy trusted brand names

Buy and pay for units with credit cards which extend the warranty

Buy from Costco which automatically extends the warranty to 2 years

Do not buy refurbished anything (this means they had a problem initially)

Read Consumer Reports for help in understanding what is good. (Do not use as a bible however)

Pass up on deals which seem “Too good to be true”

Do not buy anything which touts to have all the features and has a less than average price.