I just got back from Chicago where I ended up calibrating 7 sets including one plasma.
The story on why Im returning:
1. One client had a Pioneer plasma that he wants me to do. (After I did his 73" Mits)
2. I arrived at a home to do an Elite 720 TV, which is arguably the best RPTV made. The owner had recently purchased it along with $12000 worth of HT gear. The customer was not an educated HT consumer, just a guy wanting a "nice HT" setup with a minimal time commitment towards researching. He made the mistake of allowing the sales person to assist him (which isnt always a bad thing).
In the $12000 of gear, there was a high end HT in a box, with a DVD player that didnt even have component outputs (nor progressive scan). He was sold 2 $60 digital cables but NO video cables. The DVD player was connected to the TV via a COMPOSITE cable (a VERY CHEAP composite cable). The speakers were not even hooked up correctly. The $12000 included a $740 install fee.
Anyway, we didnt do the calibration that night. What we did do was eat pizza and drink some diet coke. We discussed that they were really looking for in a HT and then even did some web surfing to make some preminary gear reselections. About 4 hours later I was on my way. Over the next 3 days I made about 6-8 phone calls on the owner's behalf, which included a phone call to the regional install manager who asked "who the F am I to tell their customer...?). The next call was to the district manager who was extremely polite and ensured that the owner would be able to change out gear and be made satisfied.
So the short story to the above, I have to go back to Chicago to do his calibration. Anybody else in the Chicago area need a calibration??
On a side note, I got to meet up with Charles Dober (long time HTF member). He hung out for an afternoon, eat Mexican, and caught a flick.
Gregg
The story on why Im returning:
1. One client had a Pioneer plasma that he wants me to do. (After I did his 73" Mits)
2. I arrived at a home to do an Elite 720 TV, which is arguably the best RPTV made. The owner had recently purchased it along with $12000 worth of HT gear. The customer was not an educated HT consumer, just a guy wanting a "nice HT" setup with a minimal time commitment towards researching. He made the mistake of allowing the sales person to assist him (which isnt always a bad thing).
In the $12000 of gear, there was a high end HT in a box, with a DVD player that didnt even have component outputs (nor progressive scan). He was sold 2 $60 digital cables but NO video cables. The DVD player was connected to the TV via a COMPOSITE cable (a VERY CHEAP composite cable). The speakers were not even hooked up correctly. The $12000 included a $740 install fee.
Anyway, we didnt do the calibration that night. What we did do was eat pizza and drink some diet coke. We discussed that they were really looking for in a HT and then even did some web surfing to make some preminary gear reselections. About 4 hours later I was on my way. Over the next 3 days I made about 6-8 phone calls on the owner's behalf, which included a phone call to the regional install manager who asked "who the F am I to tell their customer...?). The next call was to the district manager who was extremely polite and ensured that the owner would be able to change out gear and be made satisfied.
So the short story to the above, I have to go back to Chicago to do his calibration. Anybody else in the Chicago area need a calibration??
On a side note, I got to meet up with Charles Dober (long time HTF member). He hung out for an afternoon, eat Mexican, and caught a flick.
Gregg
