[Rich H]

Folks,

I admit to a perverse fascination with the contradictions I find in most AV stores, which can be summed up simply: They are in the business of selling televisions, yet seem to do everything in their power to make their product look terrible.

In shopping for a CRT recently for my Pop, I once again encountered this paradox, and actually attempted to confront it.

STORE 1: Mid-level AV store, mixing some low-priced gear with many high-end displays - plasmas, latest RPTVs and best CRTs - but with "so will you be purchasing this today?" attitude.

They have a DVD feed of "Dumb And Dumber" running on all the displays in their "high-end" section (plasmas, RPTVs).
It is, of course, obviously the 4:3 version, being stretched to fill all these widescreen 16:9 displays, resulting in a crappy distorted image. Here's the first exchange, verbatim:

Me: "I have to ask you this: I'm curious why you've chosen to play a DVD with a 4:3 aspect ratio on these displays."

Salesman: Dull, uncomprehending stare. "huh?"

Me: I mean, you've chosen a 4:3 DVD - a square image - to play on these widescreen TVs, and you have the displays stretching the image to fill the screen. Which is why the people on the displays look all stretched, distorted, and fuzzier than they should be.

Salesman: Dull, uncomprehending stare. "Oh, that's just a DVD that we put on the screens..."

Me: (Slightly disoriented by that non-sequitor) "But if you want to fill the widescreen TVs, why don't you just choose any widescreen 16:9 - sized DVD transfer - which will fill the screen with an undistorted image. I mean, you want to sell these things, right? I wouldn't buy a display that looked like this.

Salesman: Dull, uncomprehending stare. "He-he...what would you like to purchase today, sir?"

Another salesman took over and, while I was demoing a Sony CRT told me how wonderful the image was when combined with the progressive scan player he was using. I pointed out he was using the S-Video connection. He said: "Yes, that way you don't need the three cables..."


STORE 2.

It has pretentions to "serious home theater," with many dedicated rooms. Most of the HD displays are displaying HD. Of course, those widescreen displays not showing HD are playing DVDs, virtually every display on the "wrong" aspect ratio.
I encounter a Panasonic 50" plasma and ask if it's all right to spin a DVD I've brought. "No problem, sir."
Of course, the plasma is set in "ZOOM" mode, unnecessarily blowing up the image and smearing it. I ask for the remote.
No one knows where it is. While the guy is looking for it I approach the manager and some other salesman. "You have a very expensive plasma display there and it is stuck in ZOOM mode, which is seriously degrading the image. Do you have the remote?"

The manager shrugs, so do the salesman. "Sorry, no remote."

Me: "Don't you think it's in your best interest to find it?
If you want to sell such an expensive display, don't you want the best image it can put out? I certainly wouldn't buy based on it's current image, with the distortion."

Manager: Shrugs shoulders, total, complete, utter disinterest in pursuing this idea. "Sorry." Turns away to salesmen.

STORE 3. Salesman in high end store showing me displays, the conversation turns to plasmas (I own a Panasonic plasma). He says: "They're all nice, but personally I'd say the best value are the Sony plasmas we have, the ones set in the nice clear plastic (XBR)." Anyone who knows something about plasma knows Sony are the WORST value, dollar for dollar, of any plasma....the XBR models are much more expensive as you are paying for the "Jetson's" look, while taking a display that is outperformed by many plasmas half the price.

RESULT: Not a single store had a display set optimally, and in fact did their best to undermine the potential of all their displays. And if I had no knowledge of AV gear, I'd have been seriously led astray by each and every salesman I encountered.

Un-friggin'-believable. Thank goodness for forums like these where we can learn and exchange information, and not rely on the "experience" of salesmen.

The end.

[John-Miles]

Amen Rich, I cant agree with you more, too many people are tryign to make a buck and they dont have a clue what they are doing.

I suspect somewhere in one of those get rich quick packages you see on informercials that there is a "open your own home theater store, people really like them" scheme

[Max Leung]

Yep, I see the same thing here. The only exception was when I demoed a Sharp DT-200 projector. Although it was keystoned to hell, it had a nice Firehawk screen and a high-end Arcam DVD player. Probably the best projection I've seen in an HT store. Or, in other words, they didn't f*** it up too much.

[John-Miles]

Perhaps I should add that I am lucky enough to have a local store that knows what they are doing

I think we've all come across this at some point (more often then not I'm afraid) I can't count the number of times I've fixed the aspect ratio's on DVD players that were set to 4:3 even though they're connected to a widescreen TV. I've had very similar discussion about stretching a 4:3 image on widescreen TV's as well and like you no one seems to care I basically use sales guys as someone to run and get the model I want from the store room rather then a source of information.

[Jesse Skeen]

That's why I will NEVER buy a TV at Best Buy, since they run a 16x9 feed to all their sets, showing it squeezed on all the 4x3's. I can only imagine the ignorant statements made by anyone there who's been asked about that.

[Steve Schaffer]

With a few very laudable exceptions, some of whom frequent this forum, the salespeople in most AV stores are pretty overwhelmed with trying to remember all the quirks and features of all the different models they sell, and a few are almost proud of their ignorance.

For the most part they have no control over how the sets are connected to sources, and don't know how to get aspect ratios right on every model in the store.

The scenario I despise is the "lost remote" or, worse, the sales crew that won't let you play with the set to make it look correct. I had one salesperson at a Fry's in Sacramento almost call the cops on me for taking a Sony out of Vivid mode.

Best Buy always comes in for a lot of criticism on this forum. Their sales force is not the most knowledgeable, admittedly, but they almost always have the remote tethered to the set display and will let you play with it uninterrupted for about as long as you please. This is pretty helpful to folks like us who pretty much know how to "ballpark" adjust sets and select aspect ratios.

[Rich H]

Sorry, I can't cut these guys any slack at all. I often do my AV shopping in low traffic times during the week days.
Most of the time I walk in these places...places that actually claim to offer knowledgeable service...the salesman are bored, leaning on the counters chatting. Meanwhile virtually every display around them is badly in need of picture adjustment. We're talking about taking 30 seconds to a minute to adjust a display from looking like total sh*t to looking like something that's worth buying.
The apathy literally astounds me.

I'm a nice guy...but I tell ya these guys would be out on their butts if they worked in "my" AV store. (And I'm sure management is just as much to blame as the salesmen).

Rich H.

[JohnnyG]

Quote:

...the salespeople in most AV stores are pretty overwhelmed with trying to remember all the quirks and features of all the different models they sell

BUT IT'S THEIR JOB! It's probably the only thing in their life that they get paid to do! It's like a plumber not knowing how to solder!

[BobJ]

Quote:

Sorry, I can't cut these guys any slack at all. I often do my AV shopping in low traffic times during the week days. Most of the time I walk in these places...places that actually claim to offer knowledgeable service...the salesman are bored, leaning on the counters chatting. Meanwhile virtually every display around them is badly in need of picture adjustment. We're talking about taking 30 seconds to a minute to adjust a display from looking like total sh*t to looking like somethingthat's worth buying.

The apathy literally astounds me.

Amen. I often shop during the same times and it just amazes me what the salemen are doing, especially in the "high-end" stores.

[Jan Strnad]

They have a DVD feed of "Dumb And Dumber" running on all the displays in their "high-end" section (plasmas, RPTVs).

Seems appropriate to me.

Jan

[Jesse Blacklow]

On the other end of the spectrum, there are the stores with the know-it-alls who try to blow you away with technical gobbledy-gook. Look, I know how a crossover works and what watts are and so on. Please don't throw terms at me. If I was an average customer, I'd get flustered. This happens a lot at the "boutique" stores. Just let me demo music and movies so I can make up my own mind.

Another problem I have with these guys is the snob factor. Yes, I own a Harman-Kardon. God forbid it's a brand name receiver. Did I mention those Lexicons and Crowns you are gaga over are made by the same damn company? When I say I'm looking for a reasonably priced speaker, it means "lower," not "mid-to-higher." And finally, I find it amazing that these same stores who deign only to carry the most "distinguished" names in AV equipment only carry Monster Cable or some no-name brand that looks like it would be outdone by RatShack Gold Series. And they wonder why more people are buying online.