Hit a few of the big electronic companies with this one…with some success.
To: To various VHS player Manufacturers (Subject: New VHS Player)
To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Martina Mary O’Connor and I am a proud owner of one of your fine VHS players. Hither to now I’ve had no problem what so ever with your product.
Why am I writing to you then you may ask? Well in the last 5 years since I’ve had the VHS player I’ve bee plagued by my parents EVERY night to plug out the player as they fear it will explode during the night! I keep telling them that this is ridiculous and unnecessary but they don’t listen. They keep hassling me and hassling me until I have to promise them that I’ll plug it out.
As you can imaging I’m pretty miffed at this stage. The only thing I can think of that would ease their fears is if I got a letter of assurance from you stating that there is no fear that the player will explode during the night. If you could do this for me I would be hugely grateful.
While I’m on the subject, are there many cases of VHS players (yours or otherwise) exploding during the night? It’s just sometimes I start to think that maybe my parents might be right. Maybe I need my mind to be put at ease just as much as my parents do.
Yours truly,
Martina Mary O’Connor
Reply: 1 From: Daewoo Electronics
Dear Martina Mary O’Connor,
Thank you for your letter below.
I can confirm that all our products such as TV’s/VCR’s/DVD’s are designed to be left in the standby mode at all times, and they have passed all the industry standard safety certification in this respect. Therefore, it is not necessary to unplug the units from the mains overnight.
I hope this information will put your parents (and yours) mind at ease.
Yours sincerely,
For and on behalf of
Daewoo Electronics Sales UK Ltd
Reply: 2 From: SONY
Dear Ms Martina Mary O’Connor
Thank you for your recent e-mail.
I can confirm that Sony United Kingdom Limited manufactures products that conform to industry safety standards, and in the case of this VCR there is a power save mode that can be turned on, which will reduce the power consumption of the VCR to 1.2w when in standby mode. We would therefore not anticipate any problems when leaving this unit in standby overnight
In order to change this please access the ‘Options’ section from the Menu, go down to ‘Power Save’ and then change this to ‘ECO2’.
I hope that this information is of assistance to you.
With Regards
Barry Pollock
For and on Behalf of
Sony United Kingdom Limited
Reply: 3 From: Philips
Dear Ms. O’Connor,
Thank you for your recent e-mail.
With regards to your query we can advise that there is no immediate danger which can come from leaving your VCR plugged in overnight.
You should however in order to make an informed decision be aware that appliances left in standby mode continue to use electricity thus making it more energy efficient to turn off an appliance when it is
not in use.The main factor regarding safety of leaving a VCR on constantly is that the plug, cable, and plug socket are maintained to a high level. As with any electrical appliance increased risk of fire occurs with frayed cable and unsafe plugs.
We trust that the information provided will be of assistance.
Should you require any further information please contact our Customer Care Centre (details below) quoting customer reference number
50-79976737.Kind regards,
Philips Customer Care
Reply: 4 From: Panasonic
ISSUE RESOLUTION: Dear Mrs OConnor,
Thank you for your email enquiry.
In order to provide you with a full response, I have taken the opportunity to consult with our resident technical support advisors. They have explained that we would normally recommend that video cassette recorders be left in standby overnight, as they have been designed to perform timed recordings at any time in a 24 hour period and therefore do not need to be switched off from the mains. Also, the units have internal protection circuitry if a fault or problem should develop with the unit.
I trust that this information has been of assistance to you. However, of course, if you should have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us by either emailing us at customer.care@panaso nic.co.uk, by fax on 01344 853213, or by telephoning our Customer Care Centre on 08705 357357.
Regards,
Customer Support
