New Consumer Reports Ratings: Some Real Surprises! (1 Viewer)

[Myram]

That would be me.............LOL.

I used to have a full blown $10000 home theater system, and we had not used it in about 2 years for different reasons. So my intent was to sell that home theater system off and just get a nice Plasma display, save a ton of space, and be able to use the Plasma TV's speakers. Well that just didn't happen........the speakers in the TV would break up badly at any volume level over 20 (on the TV). So for me all I needed was a cheap fix...........and the Panasonic HTIB system was the answer. Now I've very happy........and glad I did buy the system since I have DD 5.1 again with a very small package.

Steve

 

[Seth=L]

I am not sure why, but I have always favored the JVC LCD's in their price bracket. I find them to be much better than the Sharp Aquos, those things are overated. My dad was once looking to buy an LCD and had his heart set on the Sharp Aquos. I kept saying the picture on the JVC was better, but he wouldn't even look at it. Oh well, if he wants to spend more on the Sharp that is his problem.

 

[TonyD]

chris i was thinkking the same thing,

i keep forgetting that not all here have a souround sound system attached to the tv

i'm waiting for next month for the dlp and lcos report

 

[jjmaher]

Hey Art, any word on the 37" reviews? I'm trying to decide on value....tight budget!!

 

[DaveF]

I'm honestly surprised to hear that. I've trust the good people at CR for paint, lawn mowers, and washing machines. But I've heard evidence they are clueless in certain aspects of image science. I would have assumed it carried over to TV evaluations. Good to hear they're really solid in that field.

 

[Nick:G]

Fujitsu sources panels for their 50" consumer sets from Panasonic, so there's no real surprise there. Video processing circuitry is most of what makes a Fujitsu so bloody expensive (well, that and the snob appeal, of course). Sound quality shouldn't be a deciding factor on a TV of that price; anyone willing to blow almost $6k on a 50-incher will probably have a very competent sound system and will just detach the speakers anyway. Historically, CR has been pretty clueless in terms of this field, but perhaps I should grab their monthly and see how they're actually testing. ISF color calibration is only a small piece of the entire puzzle...

 

[Brian Whitish]

I did a lot of research and looking before I bought and I was totally sold on the Toshiba 42hp66. To me it looked great. And set up at home and calibrated with the THX test in the Increadibles it looked even better. And it finished dead last! I dont get it. I compared it with dvd, hd and sd pictures. And the hd and sd were feeds from comcast which is my cable provider. It was right next to the Panasonic. Not some loop of something. I now question my ability to judge a good picture if I am that far off. Anybody have any ideas why?

 

[brentl]

I always wonder when a company doesn't also include 2 of the best manufacturers of TVs, Pioneer and Hitachi?

B

 

[Rolando]

Thanks a lot Arthur S.

Actually here in Montreal, Canada the price difference between these units is pretty big.

The JVC 32 X887 can be had on average for $1500. I have bargained down to $1200 once.

However Sony's cheapset 32" LCD is almost $2000. the KLV32S200A is around $1899 can't find it under $1600. FORGET XBR2!!!

I also heard entry level Sony is not as good as the XBR1 or XBR2, like nowhere near. That even the JVC might even be better than their entry level model.

Don't want to pay an extra $400 to $800 just for the name.

 

[Billy Fogerty]

A friend had a 50" Samsung plasma,and he had big problems.[not sure of the model]
His set had alot of dead pixels,so he returned it. He got the same set replaced, and had the same problem. This was inside of a months time. He has now upgraded to a Panasonic 58", and he loves it. I wonder if dead pixels is a Samsung problem? I am leaning toward a DLP display, which I think look better than plasma.

 

[EasyE]

New to the site and i'm looking for a 32" LCD. I'm kind of new to everything but i'm picking things up fairly quickly.

Everyone here is talking up the sonys, pannys, and JVCs, but no one has really mentioned the Toshiba 32HL66. In the Consumer Report it made the top 5, is the cheapest among those 5, and had the best black levels and HD picture according to the magazine. Is Toshiba an inferior brand to the others when it comes to LCDs, are they not reliable, or have they just not been proven yet? I haven't gotten a chance to go out and see to many in person, i'm just going off this magazine and this forum.

One more question concerning contrast ratio. Does it really matter or do companies just false advertise? I've seen sets from 800:1 all the way up to 3000:1 for one of the Samsungs they tested, and yet the samsung isn't even near the top 5.

A lot in one post, I know, but the more help i could get the better.
Thanks.

 

[ChrisCAB]

Consumer Reports is rubbish. They are notorious for rating models which are obviated at the time of publication and caving into the litigation-happy tactics of Bose.

I've seen the Samsung LCD numerous times and it is a fine unit. I've seen the JVC numerous times and it always looks washed out.

The fact that sound quality plays such a significant role in the rankings demonstrates Consumer Reports' usual out-of-touch-with-consumers MO

 

[JeremyErwin]

Truly, notoriety is a mixed blessing.

 

[Marty M]

When it comes to home appliances and automobiles, I am very interested in CR's opinions and ratings. I have not relied too much on their A/V equipment. They are OK for the "average" consumer of A/V equipment.

 

[ChrisCAB]

The Bose lawsuit pretty much ended any subjective opinions by Consumer Reports, the audio reviews of which now go strictly by measurements without understanding how those measurements relate to musicality. As we know musicality and measurements don't correlate.

 

[ChrisCAB]

I should say musicality and measurements don't ALWAYS correlate. Whatever.

 

[Rolando]

wow, had not followed this thread anymore...

What is that lawsuit about and how did it end? followed the link but quickly turned to gibberish to me.

What I really wanted to ask was if Arthur still minded answering a question or two.

DId the article by any chance mention a Toshiba 32HL86 LCD?

I see the 32HL66 made the top 6 (5 I think) but I cannot find that model here in Canada (nor on the Tosh.ca site) however we do have a 32HL86.

Anyone know the differences?

I had tested a 26HL56 but returned since one of the component inputs was shared with a composite input.

Why do the advertise 2 component inputs and 2 composite RCA inputs when in reality you can only have a combination of 3. I actually need all 4 as well as the HDMI.

Thanks!

 

[JeremyErwin]

bose released the Bose 901 speakers (you know, the strange design with lots of drivers on the rear of the speaker). A lot of stereo magazines gave the 901's good reviews. Consumer reports, however, did not.

(May 1970).

Bose sued the magazine's owner, Consumers Union, for libel, and asked that they be awarded damages covering estimated lost sales.

They noted, for instance, that CR was the lone magazine to cast doubt on their products. Long time supporters of the Consumers Union would probably retort that the other journals were influenced by ad revenue (the six moons of the day?), whereas CR was subscriber supported.

Anyway, the case was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, and in the end, the court ruled that the review was false, but not maliciously so. I'm not sure why it was a false review, it seemed to hinge on the reviewers use of the phrase "around the room". Maybe the 901s deliver a rock steady image that's nonetheless wrong.

However, you won't find very many reviews of speakers in in recent volumes of Consumer Reports.

 

[Rolando]

Are you kidding me? well obviously not but that is still un-believable. Getting sued for a review?

So from now on all products are great? Oh that can't be right!

 

[LanceJ]

I don't normally rag like this on gear I don't own & only play with at my local retailer but now that someone brought this up.......

Over the past couple of years of checking out various displays, to me Samsung is the one manufacturer that consistanly looks the worst. No matter what I do i.e. turning off video noise reduction systems, adjusting color/contrast/etc with THX Optimizers and by eye, whatever - 99% of the time they don't look as good as other brands sitting right next to them like Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Sony or Pioneer.

Sure they're a little cheaper, but..............:frowning:

Arthur S. said
No kidding!! And LG also seems to get pushed like crazy.

My theory on all this........well, here's a hint: go see the latest Superman movie and look for the labels on the TVs used in the movie - almost all of them are spelled S-A-..........................