www.which.co.uk 16 | July 2010

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Buying a camera, TV or DVD recorder is about more than getting the biggest bang for your buck.

You also want to know you’ve chosen a brand that won’t let you down.

Get this right, and you’re likely to pick up a product that will keep going for years, giving you more for your money and avoiding the hassle of a breakdown. It can, however, be tricky to know how well a brand will last – and that’s where the Which? reliability survey steps in.

Which? asked 11,022 members to share their experiences of some of the biggest and best-known technology brands. We also identified the common problems that different types of technology products face, as well as

Which? has just completed the UK’s largest audio-visual reliability survey to identify the brands you can trust

some easy fixes you can try to save forking out on expensive repair bills.

Our researchWe give scores for reliability based on the number of devices with reported problems, the severity of those problems and the likelihood of the product requiring repair.

Our survey covers products that are up to six years old, and we adjust scores to take account of the age of the products.

As well as determining the most reliable manufacturers in each product area, our survey collects owners’ views on satisfaction and on the brands that they’d happily recommend. We combine this information to form a customer score for each brand.

Winning BrandThis year, Panasonic is the highest-rated technology brand with our survey respondents, coming top for customer score in nearly every category in which it operates.

This, together with its impressive haul of Best Buy products over the last year, meant that Panasonic was the clear winner of the 2010 Which? Award for best audio-visual manufacturer (see June, p13).

YOur rights and OptiOnsIf your camera or TV has developed a fault, make sure you know your legal rights when trying to return it. Even if you’re outside the warranty period, you may be able get a repair or replacement – check www.which.co.uk/returninggoods for our advice on how to go about it.

If you own a product that has broken down, you can find a reliable repair service at www.which-local.co.uk by searching through the recommendations made by Which? members.

the BestTechnology brands 2010

July 2010 | 17www.which.co.uk

product reliability

can’t find your brand? We’ve listed the top brands from our survey but, if you head to

www.which.co.uk/reviews you’ll find even more reliability and Which? customer scores in

each product area.

Most reliable brand SonyWe’ve been able to compare reliability data only on LCD TVs this year

because there were only two brands, including Panasonic, with plasma

sets, and there weren’t enough correspondents to publish data on LED

TVs. We no longer publish data on traditional big-box TVs. Sony edges

ahead of Panasonic and LG in our LCD reliability survey, with 97%, but

Panasonic achieved the highest customer score for its LCD TVs.

tElEvISIoNS

Common problemsn on/off failure 4%

n reMote Control 3%

n sound 2%

Problems solvedIf your remote control is faulty,

contact the TV manufacturer and

you should be able to find a

replacement. Or buy a universal

remote that can be programmed

to work with the TV.

best buyThe Sony Bravia KDL-40EX503,

pictured above, is a top-quality

Best Buy 40-inch LCD TV which

is priced around £750.

It comes with a built-in

Freeview HD Tuner and can

connect to wi-fi by using an

additional dongle.

Visit www.which.co.uk/tvs

to find further information and

for more Best Buys.

Reliability

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tvS

1 Sony 25 14 0 65 88 (1716) 97 (1692) HHHHH

2 PanaSonic 21 10 0 65 92 (2907) 96 (2872) HHHH

3 lg 27 4 0 55 78 (225) 96 (223) HHHH

4 ShaRP 7 0 0 49 70 (74) 95 (74) HHHH

5 SamSung 32 6 0 54 78 (464) 95 (452) HHHH

6 toShiba 11 0 0 50 75 (264) 94 (262) HHHH

7 PhiliPS 17 1 0 55 72 (158) 93 (154) HHHH

GREATVALUE

DON’TBUY

EXCEPTIONAL

VALUE

Most reliable brands Humax, PHiliPSPanasonic was the highest-scoring set-top box manufacturer

in our survey. However, it has stopped making set-top boxes,

so top spot now goes to Humax. Both of the Humax set-top boxes

that we have tested have been rated Best Buys. Philips, Samsung

and TVonics also scored well for the reliability of their products in

our survey.

SEt-top boxES

Common problemsn box freezing 27%

n PiCture 20%

n reMote Control 10%

Problems solvedIf you find your set-top box

regularly freezes or becomes

unresponsive, try updating the

software. The instruction manual

should advise how to do this,

or consult the manufacturer’s

website. Software updates are

sent over the air periodically.

best buyThe £180 Humax HD-FOX T2

(pictured above) offers access to

Freeview HD services, letting

you view high-definition content,

with no monthly subscription

costs. Visit www.which.co.uk/

settopbox for further information

and our latest Best Buys.

Reliability

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Set-toP boxeS

1 humax 2 2 0 76 74 (230) 88 (220) HHHH

2 PhiliPS 1 0 0 45 53 (124) 88 (120) HHHH

3 tvonicS 3 1 0 69 69 (64) 84 (61) HHHH

4 SamSung 0 0 0 n/a 56 (60) 84 (59) HHHH

5 Sky 0 0 0 n/a 63 (408) 80 (392) HHHH

6 viRgin 0 0 0 n/a 53 (168) 76 (164) HHH

GREATVALUE

DON’TBUY

EXCEPTIONAL

VALUE

Sample size Listed in brackets after the score. Which? customer score Based on customer satisfaction and recommendation data for each brand. Reliability rating Based on reliability score.Our tables show how Which? members rate their experience of technology brands

www.which.co.uk 18 | July 2010 July 2010 | 19www.which.co.uk

Most reliable brand PanaSonicPanasonic tops our reliability survey with its Lumix range, but the rest

of the pack isn’t far behind. All the big manufacturers get a positive

reliability score, though Canon, Panasonic and Nikon achieve higher

customer scores than the rest.

Most reliable brands Sony, PHiliPSSony and Philips tie for top place in our reliability survey for MP3 and

MP4 players, with a 98% score, though market leader Apple isn’t far

behind on 96%. With a customer score of 84%, Apple doesn’t look set

to lose its popularity any time soon.

DIgItal camEraS mp3/mp4 muSIc plaYErS

Common problemsn battery fault 2%

n PiCture 2%

n lens not retraCting 1%

Problems solvedRechargeable batteries tend to

perform less well over time, but

even if your camera has a

custom-sized rechargeable

you can find a replacement. Be

sure the replacement is compatible

with your camera.

best buyPanasonic has innovated in the

last year with its micro-four-thirds

system. Its £549 Lumix DMC-GF1,

pictured above, is a great compact

alternative to a DSLR.

Common problemsn sCreen 10%

n fault with suPPlied earPhones 2%

n on/off failure 2%

Problems solvedA broken or faulty screen on an

MP3 player can be mended, but

it’s worth considering the cost

beforehand. If you find that it’s

better value to buy a new

device, remember to recycle

your old MP3 player – facilities

to do this may be available at

electrical shops and local

recycling points.

best buyThe 16GB Sony NWZ-X1050,

pictured above, which costs

around £200, is excellent as a

music and video player. It’s easy

to use, has a clear, bright

touchscreen, wi-fi connectivity

for web browsing and enough

storage for around 250 albums.

See www.which.co.uk/

mp3players for more details

and to find which models are

our latest Best Buys. You can

visit www.which.co.uk/

mp3advice to get help with

choosing the right player for

your needs.

product reliability product reliability

Reliability

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Digital cameRaS

1 PanaSonic 30 16 0 68 86 (1194) 98 (1147) HHHHH

2 canon 58 36 0 70 87 (2297) 97 (2185) HHHHH

3 Pentax 17 1 0 65 71 (188) 97 (175) HHHHH

4 nikon 32 5 0 65 82 (597) 97 (570) HHHHH

5 olymPuS 40 4 0 62 74 (567) 97 (542) HHHHH

6 SamSung 26 3 0 63 70 (331) 97 (311) HHHHH

7 FujiFilm 30 5 0 62 74 (826) 96 (790) HHHHH

8 Sony 39 7 0 65 78 (720) 96 (691) HHHH

9 caSio 15 5 0 66 71 (153) 94 (141) HHHH

10 koDak 16 3 0 60 64 (293) 94 (280) HHHH

11 Ricoh 8 2 0 67 74 (54) 92 (50) HHHH

Reliability

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mP3/mP4 PlayeRS

1 Sony 9 2 0 64 75 (296) 98 (288) HHHHH

2 PhiliPS 15 1 0 62 68 (144) 98 (141) HHHHH

3 SamSung 11 5 0 67 59 (112) 96 (109) HHHHH

4 aPPle 10 9 0 68 84 (1787) 96 (1779) HHHHH

5 cReative Zen 11 4 0 60 74 (171) 94 (171) HHHH

GREATVALUE

DON’TBUY

EXCEPTIONAL

VALUEMost reliable brand PanaSonic, JVcPanasonic and JVC came joint top for reliability, but while Panasonic

achieved a customer score of 78%, JVC managed a customer score

of just 65%. Sony, Canon and Samsung all score highly for reliability

in our survey.

DIgItal camcorDErS

Common problemsn PiCture 4%

n taPe/dVd jaMMing 2%

n reCording failure 1%

Problems solvedSometimes video quality can

be disappointing because the

camcorder hasn’t captured

colours accurately. This can be

an issue particularly with video

taken under artificial lighting.

Check whether your camcorder

allows you to adjust the white

balance settings – this can help

you achieve more accurate

colours in different lights.

best buyThe JVC GZ-X900, pictured

above, is one of the lightest

HD camcorders we’ve tested.

It shoots good HD video with

accurate colours and well-

contrasted shadows. It can be

found for about £700 on the

high street, and cheaper online.

Visit www.which.co.uk/

camcorders to find information

about all our latest Best Buys.

We have also tested high-

definition camcorders at www.

which.co.uk/hdcamcorders and

pocket models, see www.which.

co.uk/pocket-camcorders.

Reliability

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Digital camcoRDeRS

1 PanaSonic 24 9 0 58 78 (435) 97 (427) HHHHH

2 jvc 17 1 0 55 65 (172) 97 (166) HHHHH

3 Sony 29 4 0 57 74 (626) 96 (604) HHHHH

4 canon 20 8 0 65 70 (237) 95 (232) HHHH

5 SamSung 8 2 0 51 63 (70) 92 (65) HHHH

GREATVALUE

DON’TBUY

EXCEPTIONAL

VALUE

GREATVALUE

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EXCEPTIONAL

VALUE

Most reliable brand BT ViSionOur survey revealed PVRs to be the least reliable of the different

product groups we looked into. BT Vision came top, but with a score

of just 76%. TVonics also scored well, though we didn’t get enough

correspondents to include it in our results.

pvrs

Common problemsn box freezing 41%

n PiCture 23%

n reMote Control 12%

Problems solvedAs with set-top boxes (see p17),

PVRs (personal video recorders)

can freeze, causing you to lose

a recording you’ve made.

To try to counter this problem,

manufacturers tend to release

software updates which can be

installed by aerial transmission.

Check the manufacturer’s

website or the instructions that

come with your machine to find

out how to do this.

best buyThe Humax Foxsat-HDR (£230),

above, is the first PVR designed

to work with the new Freesat

satellite TV service. It has a large

hard disk (320GB), which means

it can record up to 143 hours of

standard-definition television.

If you use it to record some of

the new high-definition channels

on Freesat, it will be able to

record up to 35 hours before

the disk is full.

Reliability

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PvRS

1 bt/bt viSion 1 0 0 65 58 (56) 76 (56) HHH

2 viRgin 1 0 0 55 63 (221) 75 (218) HHH

3 humax 4 4 0 80 71 (543) 74 (530) HHH

4 Sky 2 2 0 72 66 (830) 71 (817) HHH

5 amStRaD 0 0 0 0 52 (52) 53 (51) HH

6 thomSon 0 0 0 0 33 (65) 42 (67) H

GREATVALUE

DON’TBUY

EXCEPTIONAL

VALUE

www.which.co.uk 20 | July 2010 July 2010 | 21www.which.co.uk

Most reliable brand PanaSonic, SonyPanasonic and Sony share top spot in our reliability survey for DVD

players and Blu-ray players, though Panasonic nudges ahead on its

customer satisfaction score of 84%. This is a high-scoring product area

for reliability, with even cheaper brands such as Alba and Bush scoring

an impressive 95%. See www.which.co.uk/dvdplayers for more.

Most reliable brand PanaSonicPanasonic tops this category for reliability. Six of the nine Panasonic

DVD recorders we’ve tested were Best Buys, and Panasonic came top

for its customer score in our survey. Sony gets a strong result with a

reliability score of 91%, followed closely by Toshiba with a score of

90%. See www.which.co.uk/dvdrecorders for more.

DvD aND blu-raY plaYErS DvD rEcorDErS

Common problemsn PlaybaCk failure 7%

n disC drawer 4%

n PiCture 3%

Problems solvedPlayback failures can often be

due to dirt or scratches on the

discs themselves, or they can

be caused by dust collecting

within your DVD player. To tackle

this, you can pick up a specialist

cleaning cloth cheaply from

most electrical retailers.

best buyIf you want a Blu-ray player

without breaking the bank, the

Samsung BD-P1580 XEU, above,

is a terrific option. This Best Buy

can be found for less than £80,

has superb picture quality and

films in HD or standard definition

look great.

Common problemsn PlaybaCk failure 10%

n reCording 9%

n takes a long tiMe to read disCs 6%

Problems solvedThere are a bewildering number

of DVD recording formats,

including DVD-R, DVD+R,

DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD

Ram. Check the blank discs you

are using are compatible with

your own DVD recorder, or it

could fail to record successfully.

best buyThe £250 Panasonic DMR-

EX769EBK, pictured above,

is a Best Buy Freeview DVD

recorder with a Freeview PVR

built in, so you can record to the

hard drive or to a blank disc. It

offers top-quality picture and

sound. It has a 160GB hard disk

drive, which gives you 70 hours

of recording time. For people

with a visual impairment, it also

has audio description – an extra

narrative track explaining what’s

happening on the picture.

product reliability product reliability

Reliability

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DvD anD blu-Ray PlayeRS

1 PanaSonic 6 1 0 68 84 (812) 98 (784) HHHHH

2 Sony 11 4 0 69 79 (861) 98 (833) HHHHH

3 lg 4 2 0 75 68 (83) 97 (81) HHHHH

4 toShiba 8 1 0 65 70 (248) 97 (242) HHHHH

5 PhiliPS 6 3 0 71 68 (401) 97 (384) HHHHH

6 PioneeR 3 0 0 66 81 (65) 96 (62) HHHHH

7 SamSung 8 2 0 68 71 (216) 96 (212) HHHHH

8 alba/buSh 0 0 0 0 58 (193) 95 (186) HHHHH

Reliability

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DvD RecoRDeRS

1 PanaSonic 9 6 0 71 79 (1470) 92 (1386) HHHH

2 Sony 6 2 0 68 72 (567) 91 (538) HHHH

3 toShiba 7 0 0 62 64 (166) 90 (160) HHHH

4 PhiliPS 3 0 0 62 56 (142) 86 (134) HHH

5 SamSung 9 0 0 59 53 (147) 86 (143) HHH

6 lg 4 0 0 62 52 (68) 85 (66) HHH

GREATVALUE

DON’TBUY

EXCEPTIONAL

VALUEGREATVALUE

DON’TBUY

EXCEPTIONAL

VALUE

Most reliable brand SamSungSamsung comes out on top with the highest reliability score in our

survey, pushing ahead of established mobile phone giants like Nokia

and Sony Ericsson. Apple scores well with a respectable reliability

rating of 91%, and iPhone owners gave Apple the highest customer

score of any of the brands. For more, see www.which.co.uk/mobiles.

mobIlE phoNES

Common problemsn sCreen 9%

n keyPad fault 3%

n battery fault 3%

Problems solvedIt’s possible to find replacement

batteries for your phone, usually

quite cheaply. You may want to

consider paying a mobile phone

shop to replace a broken screen,

but depending on the phone this

can be expensive – particularly if

you have a touchscreen device.

best buyIf you want a touchscreen phone

without paying the high cost of

an iPhone, the Samsung Genio

Touch, pictured above, is a good

option. This handset can be

found for £50 on a pay-as-you-go

deal. It comes loaded with

Facebook and YouTube apps.

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mobile PhoneS

1 SamSung 40 12 0 71 64 (1008) 95 (964) HHHHH

2 motoRola 10 0 0 68 62 (315) 94 (300) HHHHH

3 nokia 57 16 0 71 68 (2891) 94 (2777) HHHHH

4 aPPle 2 2 0 77 89 (415) 91 (402) HHHH

5 lg 25 12 0 73 52 (230) 91 (224) HHHH

6 Sony eRicSSon 41 10 0 70 64 (786) 91 (765) HHHH

7 blackbeRRy 4 3 0 75 67 (292) 86 (286) HHH

8 htc 6 0 0 69 52 (105) 78 (97) HH

GREATVALUE

DON’TBUY

EXCEPTIONAL

VALUE

Most reliable brand BoSe, PanaSonicBose and Panasonic take joint top place in our reliability ratings for

DAB radios. However, Panasonic are no longer making portable DAB

radios and Bose’s DAB unit is an add-on to an existing Bose system.

Sony, Roberts and Pure have wider ranges available. See www.

which.co.uk/radios for more.

DIgItal raDIoS

Common problemsn deterioration of sound quality 5%

n auto-tuning faulty 3%

n disPlay 3%

Problems solvedFor the second year in a row,

poor signal reception was one of

the most commonly reported

issues in our survey of DAB radio

reliability. Typically, this isn’t a

product fault, but more often an

issue of weak signal in a certain

area. New digital transmitters are

being set up, so the coverage

area for digital radio is increasing.

best buyThe Pure Avanti Flow, pictured

above, is a superb DAB and

internet radio and iPod dock. Its

sound quality is great, and it can

be found for around £270.

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Digital RaDioS

1 boSe 0 0 0 0 86 (96) 99 (82) HHHHH

2 PanaSonic 0 0 0 0 71 (99) 99 (86) HHHHH

3 Sony 6 0 2 43 66 (274) 97 (241) HHHHH

4 RobeRtS 29 5 2 55 69 (957) 97 (882) HHHHH

5 PuRe 19 6 2 56 74 (1785) 97 (1654) HHHHH

6 buSh 2 0 0 85 57 (98) 96 (89) HHHH

7 technika 1 0 0 61 54 (80) 96 (71) HHHH

8 gooDmanS 0 0 0 0 51 (102) 95 (88) HHHH

GREATVALUE

DON’TBUY

EXCEPTIONAL

VALUE