I'm thinking of getting a relatively cheap 720p 30 inch LCD TV for possible use with a PS3 or 360 (or general TV / Mac Mini video watching) - not too dear or brand-y, as I know 1080p will come down to a reasonable price in the next couple of years. So I'm not particularly concerned about the long-term longeivity of the screen (especially beyond 3 years).

What's the feeling around town on the extended warranties for LCD / Plasma TVs?

I gather that many manufacturers offer 1-3 year initial warranties, and that manufacturers and retail stores offer extended warranties of an additional 2-3 years for $200-odd extra.

I've heard some nightmare stories from the US and Canada, with the Best Buy extended warranty coming under a lot of fire. Any war stories or successful experiences here?

May i ask what unit you are looking at? I'm in the same market atm and i'm looking at the samsung 32 Inch LA32S71BX. Samsung offer a 3 year warranty so the extended warranty isn't really an issue. I personally don't worry about extended warranty on stuff less than $1500, if it is higher i think about it.

To be honest, I'm looking at no-name brands from JB Hi-Fi, or at best, an ACER AT3220B.

I'd love the Samsung (or even the Panasonic 32 inch Viera that JB Hi-Fi is selling at $1288 at the moment), but I figure that the brand name premium is best put away for when 1080p screens become more affordable.

Like I said, the extended warranty is not a huge deal - but I'd still like to know if it's a total waste of money, or something worth considering.

having worked at JB and know the quality of their no-name brands i'd definitely get an extended warranty (doubly so if that no-name is soniq). Soniq portable dvd players had batteries which exploded http://www.ministers.sa.gov.au/news.php?id=561. Anyway, going off topic a bit

I would get an extended warranty on any of JB's non-name brands. Secondly, use the extended warranty as a bartering tool, sales people looooove to sell them, hell commission and manangers love it. You can get some crazy prices if you get an extended warranty

Essentially you're buying insurance for your TV, so all the same considerations come into to play. Can you afford to replace it if it does fail out of manufacturer's warranty? What is the impact of failure? etc. . . Like all insurance the odds are in their favour, so you're gambling that the item you buy has more problems or a shorter lifetime than the average. However unlike health insurance, you know exactly what the worst case is (the item fails the day after the warranty expires) and the cost of this (the replacement cost).

Personally I never pay for the extended warranties on items. The store can make more money from the warranty than from the item itself - which is why all the salesmen are so keen to sell them too you. I guess that tells you something about the odds. However I can afford to replace my TV if it dies, if you can't then maybe it's worth it.

Thanks Razer - I guess what I'm asking is (and you especially might know the answer to this) regardless of whether I'm going to need the extended warranty or not (which as I said, I'm not really concerned about), do the extended warranties deliver what they say they will?

If the screen is defective will they replace or repair it promptly, or will I become mired in an expensive and protracted battle with JB and the manufacturer over the extent of the defect, whether or not they can fix it, how long any repairs will take, and whether they offer me a replacement straight out or even in the meantime while the TV is off for repair?

In other words - am I getting value for money for giving them extra cash at the point of sale, or am I simply giving the sales person an extremely generous tip?

(And to reiterate, of course I'd like to insure my TV if possible, but I'm asking if the extended warranties are effective as insurance or not).

Always, always buy the extended warranty. ALWAYS. Having spent half my life working for the the biggest computer retailer as a salesman, consultant and franchisee I can assure you it is money well spent despite any "horror" stories you might hear. Extended warranty rescues countless people every day of the week and is pretty cheap to buy. If you don't want to do this then buy a screen with 3 years warranty. If you do in a back light you will pay way more than the cost of the warranty and all because you were a tight-ass. Negotiate the warranty or get them to throw it in. They probably will to close the sale. I bought it when I Flexirented my Powerbook and when the power supply shat itself I got a brand new genuine pretty smartly.

DTV forums have plenty of info on these topics. A lot of the ones I read some months more or less never really delivered on what they claim, or you would make you jump through hoops.
I would suggest doing a bit of research yourself on those forums.

My personal opinion is go a better quality option: By the time you have paid the extended warranty, the extra cost for the better quality will be worth it.

When i worked at JB we sold narta (National Associated Retail Traders of Australia) warranties. The first trick is that if you got a 3 year extended warranty it does not make it 4 years total (1 year manufacturer). It added 2 years to your existing warranty. Secondly the narta warranties replicate the manufacturer warranty, so whatever 'brand x' cover narta will do the same. Thirdly, they do actually have a lemon policy which means if they try to fix the problem 4 times they just replace the unit. You can also buy the warranty up to thirty days after purchase, to give you time to think.

I'm still to work out if extended warranties are worth the extra money, i can't answer that question to myself even! However, if i was to buy a no-name brand television i would buy the warranty. I never had any complaints from customers regarding the narta system with dealing with them although i can't comment on their service. It's just like Apple i suppose, sometimes excellent, sometimes terrible. The question about value is also hard to answer, if you use the warranty it's great value, if you don't then it's not good value. Although how much is piece of mind worth to you?

By the way, the entire system may of changed at JB regarding warranty, get a brochure from a sales guy and have a read

I've tried to answer your question the best I can, however i still don't know about these warranties. It is almost a type of gambling

Cool, thanks for your feedback Razer.

I'm probably going to forego it - I'll make sure I get one with at least 3 years, and if anything happens beyond that, I'd rather put the money towards a cheaper, better replacement screen then.