Insignia has produced TV’s for years now and their HDTV’s are among some of the lowest priced options available. Their plasma HDTV line is featured at Best Buy and is attracting many shoppers because of the low, low prices and sharp looking TV’s. Continue reading to see our Insignia reviews to learn more about the brand as a whole but also see reviews for individual Insignia TV’s.
Insignia TV Brand Review
If you’ve shopped at Best Buy, you’ve definitely come across the Insignia TV brand. Insignia is a Best Buy Exclusive Brand which means if you go to BestBuy.com or to a Best Buy store, they’ll likely be pushing Insignia HDTV’s. It is fairly common for these store brand type of TV’s to actually be manufactured by another company, however it isn’t quite clear who may be manufacturing Insignia HDTV’s at this point.
The first thing you’ll probably notice is the low prices. Insignia is consistently one of the cheapest LCD, LED, or Plasma TV’s you can buy in their respective size ranges. However, cheap prices shouldn’t be the only factor you consider in your HDTV purchase. Insignia also sells other home audio and video products like home theater systems, Blu-ray players and other products.
Insignia Product Quality
Insignia positions itself as a value-brand HDTV. In non-marketing language, it means that it is low-priced and directed at consumers that don’t have a ton of cash to spend. The design and picture quality of an Insignia TV won’t impress your friends and family but not everyone is looking to buy the best of breed HDTV anyway.
Insignia TV’s appear to have a somewhat higher failure rate, specifically with the remote controls. Several users have noticed the Insignia remote controls lag when trying to change channels or perform other functions on the HDTV. If you end up using a remote from your cable/satellite provider or use a universal remote, this may not be an issue.
Many reports show that the picture quality tends to fade and get worse over time. You may start to see lines or other picture defects over time. These are all things to consider and weight against your budget and how you expect to use the Insignia TV.
Insignia Pricing & Value
As mentioned above, Insignia’s are one of the most competitively priced HDTV’s out there. But nobody wants to knowingly buy a dud if they think it is going to break in a year. If you’re shopping for a secondary TV, a kids room TV or if you’re just not a heavy TV-watcher and don’t need all the latest and greatest features, Insignia may be worth considering based on the price.
However, if you are an average TV viewer and this will be used as your primary television, the value isn’t as great and you may want to consider stepping up to a more reputable and reliable brand.
Insignia Customer Service
Our reviewers have never personally had to deal with Insignia’s customer service team. Being a Best Buy store brand, you may be able to get some assistance through Best Buy employees or the “Geek Squad” that is available from Best Buy for a fee. If you are worried about getting support after your puchase, we recommend calling in to their support line and seeing what kind of response you get. Make sure to note the wait times, the competency of the service rep you talk to and any other items that are important to you.
Insignia Overall Quality
Overall, it’s not secret that Insignia isn’t the #1 brand in the world when it comes to HDTV’s. However, there are wide ranges of people looking for HDTV’s. If you’re looking for top tier TV’s, keep looking at other brands like Sony, Panasonic and others. However, if you’re looking for more of an entry-level HDTV that you can watch a few movies on and just lightly use, Insignia has some options that will meet your needs. However, it may be worth finding an extended warranty to ensure that if the Insignia TV fails within 5 years or so, you can get a replacement.
