Why you should NOT buy Target’s TruTech brand
May 31, 2007 by Steve Borsch · 86 Comments
Here’s a rant/report on an experience I had with Target Stores that might prove helpful as you think about your interactions with customers, how you support them and what it does for a brand — and a huge caution if you ever considering buying Target’s consumer electronics brand, TruTech.
Before I get started some disclosure is necessary: my wife was once the audio buyer for Target and I was a manufacturer’s representative calling on her with Pioneer Electronics (no…I didn’t ask her out while she was a buyer but waited until she was promoted out of the area into a non-conflict of interest position…but I digress). So we both know this game well and I can only imagine what Joe SixPack thinks since alot of “Joe’s” seem to be having similar experiences.
In November of 2006, I purchased a Target brand TV/DVD combo for my first year college daughter (this Target “TruTech” model). It was cheap but more than sufficient for her needs. When plugging the batteries into the remote I remarked on how cheap it was and — having broken and lost many remotes in my day — was not terribly concerned since universal remotes are so easy to find and cheap to buy…
…unless you’re a major mass merchandiser that buys from multiple vendors that do not offer or publish their remote control codes and have one place to buy a replacement for nearly 17% of the retail price of the unit itself!
(Please note the updates at the bottom of the next page)
I couldn’t find the original manual (who of us with *any* geek street cred would keep a manual for a TV/DVD combo for God’s sake!) so didn’t have the customer service number. Turns out there are no codes available *and* Target has used multiple OEM vendors to make the TruTech branded consumer electronics. Therefore, no universal remotes work. I bought one figuring I’d solve the problem, and after a couple of hours of screwing around (and reading this and all of these on Google, for example), I ended up at Alco Electronics support (just one of the Target TruTech OEM vendors) who indicated that “LG or Goldstar codes might work”.
They didn’t nor could the universal remote find a compatible code in “seek” mode.
I finally reached out to Target customer support. The first guy was helpful and indicated Starlite Consumer Electronics had supplied these particular models (which I think is Funai Electronics in Hong Kong) though calling back later a second woman hung up on me which was disconcerting. The Starlite 800# call was next and I talked to a very curt woman who sternly proclaimed, “NO…we do NOT publish the codes and we’ve TOLD THEM IN HONG KONG what a problem this is but they haven’t done anything yet.”
She indicated that — even though I could purchase one of a dozen or so universal remotes on a Target endcap for under the amount — she’d help me get a replacement remote for $30 and it would ship “sometime in the next couple of days and you will probably get it next week.”
$30 for a cheesy and cheap plastic remote (which is why it broke in the first place) for a TV/DVD combo set that retails for $179? It might ship in a couple of days and I might get it next week? WTF is THAT all about? In a day of great customer service, conversational marketing and precision in shipping information, this is baffling for a retailer the size of Target.
My wife calmly explained to me over lunch that writing a letter addressed to Target Corp and “video buyer” would probably be the best way to reach someone and indicate change was required. I thought I’d do this post first and reference it in the letter.
Here’s the deal: this is completely unacceptable and my time is too precious than to spend more than 10 minutes on this matter (which has been about the amount of time I’ve spent in the past replacing remotes for an untold number of devices). If it wasn’t for my little girl asking, “So Dad…have you been able to get me a remote yet?” I would’ve given up and bought another set (and for what I charge for consulting I could’ve bought 3 or 4 of the damn things and been done with it…but it’s the principle of the thing that gets me).
Furthermore, not either stocking replacement remotes or using the power, might and buying influence of Target Stores to DEMAND that the OEM manufacturer bend-over-backwards to support this TruTech brand by publishing codes or buying infrared (IR) chips from a mainstream vendor so universal remotes are supported is mystifying.
My faith was in the Target brand and the ethics expressed by my bride when she was buying audio (as well as other buyers I’ve known over the years). I expect nothing less of *anything* Target carries but I’ll *never* buy TruTech again and suggest you don’t either until such time that Target gets their act together.
UPDATE 10/25/08: Two
pieces of interesting news today: One is that I just checked, and there have been 37,086 pageviews of this post since it went live in May of 2007. The other is the most distressing as my daughter just informed me that the TV is making such a loud audio crackling noise (she hits it to make it stop) that she wants to make it go away (and we’ll buy her a new one for Christmas, no doubt, and there isn’t a snowballs-chance-in-Hell it’ll be a Trutech!).
So this means that THIS TV LASTED FOR ONE YEAR AND FIVE MONTHS since there’s no way it would be cost-effective to have it repaired.
UPDATE 12/25/07: I’ve been amazed at the hundreds of pageviews of this post every day between the day after Thanksgiving and today, Christmas day (over 16,000 total so far). I’ve received emails from people, you can read the comments, and see for yourself that there is a tremendous amount of dissatisfaction with the Trutech products. Please note that I cannot do anything myself but have, in fact, reached out via email to Kimberly Youngstrom (kyoungstrom@kaplowpr.com) who is the person sanctioned as responsible for public relations for the Target Owned Brands. Ms. Youngstrom is with Target’s public relations agency in New York, Kaplow PR. I’ve emailed twice, the last time on November 26th but there has been no response.
UPDATE 9/3/07: This post has been amazing in the HUGE number of people that have read it (especially during this back-to-school season) and, most troubling, how many have commented AND have sent me emails asking for help. Target has used at least two vendors to make electronics for the TruTech brand. I’ve tried to locate the electronics buyer for Target Stores responsible for this brand, but after four hours of trying I’ve given up. I’d recommend calling Target Customer Service (1.800.440.0680) and let them know of your displeasure and what you could and should do.
About Steve Borsch
I have a Trutech TV/DVD under the cabinet model. I gave up on the remote about a day after I purchased it & now just use the cable box remote and turn the unit on/off by hand. The tv is only about 8 months old and the picture is almost completely black and white. There is no way to even attempt to fix the color…pressing menu setup just lets you choose between “cable” and “air”…what a piece of junk.
You can find manuals, for TruTech products at http://www.1800customersupport.com
I purchased a Memorex dvd player/recorder from Target last year. It lasted two days more than the Target “”warranty” and then expired (dvd drawer would not stay in. Neither Target or Memorex (Weston, Florida) were any help at all! I lost $130 pm on this little fiasco (donated it to Goodwill).
Foolishly, I next purchased a Target brand (Trutech) dvd player/recorder – sucked in by the relatively low price ($99). This time I bought the extended warranty – $15 additional.
This unit now causes the dvds to freeze up at various points in the programs. In an effort to remedy this problem I purchased a dvd cleaning kit from Target ($10 additional) hoping it was just my discs. No luck – the problem continued. I contacted the extended warranty company and in all fairness they sent me a credit voucher which must be used at Target for $99 with no questions asked. I have a hunch they too are familiar with the shoddy Target electronics that they have agreed to guarantee much to their regret…..
I have now purchased two pieces of Target dvd electronic junk and have nothing to show for it. I called a local Target here in Laverne, California and the person I spoke with suggested a Panasonic dvd recorder/player they had personal experience with as being reliable. It sells for $177 plus tax at Target.
I am so angry I really don’t want to purchase anything from Target ever again! However, because of the $99 Target credit voucher I will probably buy the Panasonic from them as my experience to date has been good with this brand.
Target basically sells overpriced Asian junk! They used to be an honest, reliable company but have now gone the way of all today’s retailing greed merchants. I would NOT purchase any Chinese/Asian made junk anywhere without getting an extended warranty too! Sad commentary on America’s lost retailing/electronics capability.
Thanks for the opportunity to rant…
Regards, \
Jim (Jpepoon@aol.com)
Did you ever find a code that worked? My trutech is a T2000-D and I think that I will end up sending it to the Goodwill (although it might create some ill will instead), the color keeps getting darker and it is only good for dvd’s now. I have had mine 18 months before the remote went and I have tried all of the remotes Target sells – returning them if they didn’t work.
Today I talked to a target employee and he hung his head and suggested I call trutech to get a code. The Starlite Consumer Electronics (USA) inc number 800-321-5976 now sends text messages to your cell phone inviting you to join a “fun” club.
I am now looking for a new tv that I can afford.
Please do not donate your cheap asian junk to Goodwill or any other company that caters to low income people. Some unsuspecting person will pay money that they can ill afford only to learn that they too have purchased cheap asian junk. It is much beter to put it in a flat rate US Postal box and mail it to the manager of your local Target Store as a gift.
Leland Blanchard
I bought a Tru-Tech under cabinet CD/radio in May 2008. Recently I tried a CD and noticed the tray wouldn’t open. I took it back to Target on July 7, 2008 (less than 2 months)and was told that I couldn’t return it because I didn’t save the box. I had the receipt, manual and remote. No can do. They needed the box to get the codes. I could have exchanged it for a new one but “unfortunately” they didn’t have any. The Target manager showed me the back of the receipt to show their policy. Of course this policy doesn’t mention broken items. I will continue to call them everyday to check if they have any. Of course I don’t want another True Tech but I’ll play their game for a while. I’ve never had a problem returning at Target’s before. I will be sending it to the manager at Target as suggested if I don’t get any better results.
Our TruTech Portable DVD Player (model # PVS12701) has worked great for several years and still does, but the Li-ION battery won’t hold a charge and needs to be replaced. Can’t seem to find one anywhere.
Btw, prior to this player, we went through 2 Polaroid brand portable DVD players, which were more expensive and barley lasted a year. The cheap TruTech has outlasted both of them put together… now if I could just find a battery…
My Trutech T2000-D 20″ works just fine. I have had it for probably over two years.
My HDTV is finally back but I gotta be careful with it cuz the last time when I woke up, the Tv wasn’t working at all.
Same here, I bought a VCR/DVD combo and I have been looking for a remote for over two years. My remote stopped working about a year ago and I have tried every Universal remote that I find and I can’t find anything that works.
I have 2 trutech tv’s for my children’s room and I have absolutely no problems with the remote. We’ve owned the tv’s for almost 2 years and I’ve had no problems outside of my son getting mad and hitting the tv with a ping pong paddle and breaking his sister’s tv…
JUNK, JUNK, JUNK! I was sucked by the low price on the Dual Screen Trutech. RIght out of the box the second screen did not work!! Of course it tooks us 5 months to use if for the first time and Target refuses to return. This will be the absolute last time I ever buy anything Trutech in life.
I bought a trutech 19″ tv on 04-28-09 at Target. Last week it started making a crackling noise one day and was completely fried the next day…do the math! It’s just over the 3 month return policy for the store. Called customer service at Target and was told to look it up on the internet and deal with the manufacturer…Fat Chance!
What a piece of garbage!!! What crappy customer service! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I bought a tru-tech MP3 player a while ago. It’s the sturdiest piece of electronic equipment I’ve ever owned. It’s been down the stairs, submerged in water, dropped several times, and even dropped out the window of my car at 50 mph. Thing still works like new. Recently a heavy mug hit it square on. Cracked the plastic screen shield but other than that no serious damage. Display still works, and so does everything else. I don’t know about their other products but, the mp3 I bought is a persistent little thing.
Hey I live with my girlfriend and we have the trutech tv/dvd player that her cheap but very wealthy father bought us and its a POS! every time i switch the AV/TV/YUV output to each other the TV output makes an annoying crackling sound that can sometimes last for hours its a piece of crap and another reason why id rather spend an extra one or two hundred on a more reliable brand than target or any other cheap generic brands but until i get paid again which isnt for another week or so can someone tell me how to fix the audio until then?
Hello eveybody out there in tv land. Well, unless you own a truetech that is, because more than likely if the tv is more than a month old, it no longer works. I too was looking for a remote. Man this crap sucks. PEACE
i have a trutech dvd/tv combo. the dvd part has always been somewhat unreliable, but it was what i expected for such a cheap price. the problem, however, is that comcast (my cable provider) has just informed all it’s customers that we would have to install their cable box or lose channels that are going to all-digital. after lots of time spent looking for the remote code, nothing … so i have to have my daughter use two separate remotes. she’s 4.
you get what you pay for, but it’s a more than a little annoying that i can’t program a universal remote to this f*^%ing tv.
I also own a Trutech TV/DV player and YES it is JUNK
Mine worked for a year, and now it is garbage, what a waste of money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would have thought Target would sell a better quality TV
i bought a trutech about a year and a half ago. My remote seems to be sturdy. its light. but i cant break it. but the other day i feel asleep with the tv on. woke up and no video. i will never own another trutech
I was looking for tech support for this same TV. There isn’t any is there?
I had received a TruTech DVD player as gift. Lost the remote (imagine that) and am disgusted that they don’t demand/support codes for universal remotes. The only good thing is I can press play and watch the movie. I’ll have to miss out on extras and rewinding till I can some up some more cash.
Thanks for the great site.
My mother bought me a Trutech TV about 2 yrs ago for Christmas & to complete me for my new apartment….I’ve never had a problem with it. It’s also a TV/DVD combo and I love it…the remote is light but I don’t think cheap…Ive dropped it plenty of times and not even the battery cover has broken…unlike the sony tv I had which had the remote battery cover taped on so it would stop falling off…BOTTOM LINE with any electronic device (phone, TV, computer) it’s always best to get a warrenty and even with the first slight sign that it’s acting up just take it back in. Nothing’s perfect even a newly bought XBOX 360 could become dead within a month of purchase, you never know whats happening with a product as it’s arriving to the store…
sorry so long…a lot of these negative comments really got to me
try the daewoo codes for your trutech tv universal remote programing needs!! they work!!
i was getting a little discourage after reading this about not being able to find the code i needed to program our cable remote to our tv seeing how we don’t have the remote for the tv.. but i did a little more searching and i found the answer on yahoo answers… here’s the link. i’m not very techno savvy so your going to have to copy and paste…
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090209152739AARg8Xz
it said to use the daewoo codes and it worked!! no more having to get my butt of the couch to turn the volume up or down!!
I have this LCD/DVD combo also. It makes a craclking sound and then all of a sudden the volume blairs as loud as it can. When listening to DVD you have to turn volume all the way up or you can’t hear at all. Now all of a sudden I can’t get my local stations as I am not hooked up to cable. I tried for hours yesterday to re-scan and it still won’t pick up the local channels so now I can’t watch at all, it won’t let you add a channel at all so any ideas on how to fix.
All I can say is that I HAD this crappy TV. My boyfriend bought it for me for my birthday in February of 2007. I was thrilled, it had a DVD player and it was a flat screen (my first one). The DVD player stopped working roughly 9 months later. The TV picture started going out about 4-5 months after that, and audio + picture were totally shot by Christmas 2008. So the thing didn’t even last 2 years! And the DVD player was a joke even when it did work! This was cheapest waste of money peice of electronic equipment I have ever owned.
I bought a 42″ Magnavox soon after and bought an extended warranty
The moral of the story for me is that when it comes to electronics….you get what you pay for.
just my 2 cents…..NEVER BUY THE TRUTECH BRAND!!!!!
Bought this for my kitchen. It would be two years this Christmas. Remote works only sporadically at best. Now it only turns on after repeated unplugging and plugging back in, if you are lucky. Takes a long time for the picture to come on. I feel like I am watching my grandfather’s old B&W set from the 70s. It probably still works. I wanted a bargain, not junk!!
I found this website as I was trying to find information to help my mother who has a small TruTech flatscreen TV in her kitchen. She told me that all she want’s for Christmas is to get her favorite local channel on this awful and obscure brand name television. I’ve tried telling my mother for years that it isn’t a good idea to by an electronic appliance with a brand name you have never, ever heard of until you find out more about the product. It is best to stick with a brand name that everyone has heard of like Sony, Magnavox, Philips, or Panasonic. That way, if something goes wrong, you don’t end up having to throw away the electronic appliance that doesn’t work properly. My mother doesn’t want to listen to me as she bought not one, but two TruTech TV/DVD players for my sister, both of which DON’T WORK! Today, I’m thinking about going to Wal-Mart this morning and buying a well known brand name flatscreen TV for her kitchen for her Christmas gift, but she has to promise me that she will never, ever buy another TruTech appliance or any other appliance with an unknown brand name ever again!
Try the Daewoo codes. 10451 worked for me on a Trutech TV. If that doesn’t work try the other Daewoo codes in your manual.
Try one of these remote codes for Trutech 1029 worked for me on my older Trutech TV 1029, 1145, 1121
I bought a TRUTECH 10″ LCD/DVD combo (installs under kitchen cabinet) about 18 months ago..never had a problem with it, other than you cannot change channel, or volume without remote…no problem, remote always worked fine. Came home about 3 weeks ago pushed the power button and the whole unit turned off..no power whatsoever. cannot find my warranty info, I know its here somewhere, but I asked at Target if they had any similar inquiries only to find out they no longer carry TRUTECH.! I am so glad that I only paid $90 (clearance) for this $250 piece of CRAP!
I have a TruTech TV. I have had it for about three years now and I have never had a problem with it. I don’t understand what in the world you’re talking about when you say that no universal remotes work for it. I just bought one the other day and I had no problem programming it to my TruTech TV =P.
This bashing of “Asian junk” is just another example of frivolous jealousy of the Asian economic miracle — first in Japan, the four tigers and now China. Without these goods from Asia, you guys wouldn’t even have been able to afford buying anything for your kids.
I can say much worse things about American electronic gears such as RCA’s 8335 VHS-DVD recorder/player, which lasts less than three months, and after two exchanges.
Jim and Steve Borsch: grow up! Basically you two strike me as immature adults who never realize how silly you sound.
Remotes cost one dollar each in the dollar stores such as 99c. Get one!
The fact that you get your 99 dollars back from your TV means the Target Store had confidence in the majority of TruTech products that they are willing to fully back their warranties.
I have had my two TruTechs for five years now, and not one glitch has occurred since I first bought them.
In contrast, I have had to return a Panasonic projection TV and a Sony VCR within the first nine months, and yet this has not destroyed my faith in these two companies.
So gimme a break, and name one American electronic product that’s reliable these days.
You will find none!
Al (or “tiger9inch”): I didn’t say anything about “Asian junk” or the “Asian economic miracle”, nor did I disingenuously suggest so. I’ve worked for three Japanese companies in past jobs, represented Taiwanese produced goods at two more, and have nothing but respect for AsiaPac countries and organizations.
None of that is the point of the post OR the bulk of the comments.
Re-read the post, now 2.5 years old, and you’ll discover that Target’s TruTech house brand (a brand, I might add, they no longer sell) was manufactured by several Asian contract companies and was a low-end price point product line. Yes, compared to Panasonic, Sony or others it was cheap crap, but had Target simply demanded that the DOZENS of universal remotes they stocked would function with the electronics they retailed, this post would never have been written. As it stands now if you search Google for “TruTech” it’s the #2 hit on Google and I’ve had dozens of emails in addition to the comments on this post.
“Jim and Steve Borsch: grow up! Basically you two strike me as immature adults who never realize how silly you sound.”
I thought Jim’s comment was indicative of how most consumers view inexpensive consumer electronics from off-brands. At least companies such as Best Buy, who sources from multiple vendors for its Insignia house brand, ensures the quality is high, support for things like remote control codes are available, and fully stand behind the product. Target not taking back their house brand without receipts as many here have discovered, is beyond bizarre since Target is THE ONLY ONE RETAILING TRUTECH. If any of that is immature as a viewpoint, I’ll happily wear that label.
BTW, the only “tiger9inch” found within Google searches indicates it’s likely you’re Asian or Asian-American. Perhaps you work for an Asian consumer electronics vendor? I suspect so since this post, and Jim’s “Asian junk” comment, seems to have really hit your hot button.
I just looked up Target’s website and they still list a blue color Trutech brand DVD player.
After reading this post there is no way I’ll ever buy the brand.My thanks to the author.
As for “tiger 9inch”…well let’s just say I’ve hear the opposite from women about Asian men.
Finally got my charter communications remote to work with Trutech dvd/vcr with the code 21278.
We aquired a TruTech TV from a friend. We gave them out Samsung 27 inch television when their main set went out and they gave us the TruTech for our bedroom. The remote for the TruTech is horrible. If we are watching a DVD and try to use the tv remote to turn up the volume, the dvd starts to skip chapters. I was hoping my GE Universal Remote would solve the problem…after two hours of trying to find codes I stumbled across this page and learned that I have been wasting my time. NEVER buy a TruTech.