Value Electronics 2020 TV Shootout Updates (1 Viewer)

[Robert_Zohn]

In respect for the COVID-19 Pandemic, CE Week and our 2020 TV Shootout have been cancelled. The Jacob Javits will used as a hospital to support New Yorkers in their time of need.

We are converting our a/v showroom into the 2020 TV Shootout for side-by-side evaluation of the premium new TVs and as the 2020 flagship TVs arrive we'll be mounting them on our store's TV Shootout wall.

We'll be monitoring the situation and make an announcement of 2020 TV Shootout dates at a later time. Stay safe and be sure to follow all precautionary measures to protect yourself, our families our communities.

Photo from our 2018 TV Shootout Evaluation event held at our Scarsdale NY a/v showroom.

 

[Sam Posten]

Sorry to hear Robert, but seems like definitely the right move.

 

[Robert_Zohn]

Good article in HD Guru about analysts predictions of TV sales likely to decline due to COBID-19.

The author also comments on CE Week's June 10-11, 2020 being canceled and some quotes from me about Value Electronics and our 2020 TV Shootout.

 

[Robert_Zohn]

Just scheduled an educational seminar with Jason Dustal of AVPro. The podcast is scheduled for Thursday, June 11, 2020.

Sign up here if you want listen and participate in the Q&A.

 

[Robert_Zohn]

For our 2020 TV Shootout Evaluation event we're considering just having the professional judges and presenters so we can practice proper distancing and for everyone to wear PPE. So instead of a crowd of 70 to 100 people we'll have about 15 in a large dedicated room. Here's a pic of of most of the judges and staff from our 2019 TV Shootout.

 

[TheFOMO]

Please invite Scott Wilkinson as he best represents the "average Joe" with the way he reports the shootout!

 

[Robert_Zohn]

We agree and Scott is a valued friend!

 

[Sam Posten]

I believe more nearsighted and multiple color blind reviewers should be invited =)

 

[Dave Moritz]

Stay safe

 

[Robert_Zohn]

Interested in hearing about the Value Electronics TV Shootout evaluation event? Register now to join the AVPro Webinar Thurs, 6/11 at 11 AM EST with Robert Zohn of Value Electronics and our in-house ISF calibrator John Reformato to see what goes into putting on this highly anticipated event to determine the “King of TV” each year!

Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/5440070579863880720

 

[Robert_Zohn]

Just put up a moment ago!

 

[Robert_Zohn]

We’re so proud @valueelectronics to receive one of the five Dealerscope Retail Excellence Awards for 2020!

Read the digital Sept 2020 copy of Dealerscope Magazine.

Engineering Emotion
Robert Zohn, President, Value Electronics

By Nancy Klosek

“I love what I’m doing. I’m the ‘education guy.’”

Comments like that, and more, are peppered throughout conversations about A/V with Robert Zohn, president of the Scarsdale, N.Y.-based specialty retailing operation Value Electronics. You might be surprised that someone as overtly passionate as Zohn about technology and making it the best it can be for consumers’ enjoyment would also have the credentials of an engineer – but they are prominent in his résumé, accumulated during a career he pursued for 30 years before starting up his store in Westchester, a short commuter train ride from New York City.

“My whole life, since I’ve been 12 years old, I have had a passion for storytelling, photography and cinema. And I always liked the technical aspects of those – as well as the emotions that go into that.” Encouraged in this by nurturing parents who went as far as setting up their photographer hobbyist son with a dark room, Zohn continued to pursue these interests while at the same time cultivating skills that led to work in engineering. This all eventually culminated in the opening of Value Electronics in 1998. Before that, he elaborates, “I was in television broadcasting and worked in the inner circle of the new TV standards when we started the move from analog to digital TV – and I was involved with the development and worked behind the scenes. When I saw the picture quality advancements, I wanted to open up as a retail custom integrator on the high end to [leverage] all the value and benefits of this new technology.”

He notes with verve the new tech transitions currently under way relating to ATSC 3.0, and 4K and 8K HDR, and how he is eager to explain and showcase them: “All these advancements, again, and I’m like a kid in a candy store…. I’m maximizing and enhancing every element to give the very best picture – and now we have 22 channels of audio, with overhead height speakers… I love installing Dolby Atmos for our clients. When it rains in the picture, you’d swear it was raining in your living room – you cover your head! I love giving customers that immersive entertainment experience.”

His enthusiasm couldn’t dovetail with a better time, during a pandemic where “people are home now, and they want to enhance their TVs and speakers and surround sound. We serve premium customers here in Scarsdale who want our services, and I like providing that.” What has especially surged in this timeframe is demand for “world-class movie theaters in people’s homes, along with the latest 4K and 8K HDR TVs with surround sound audio. They are our biggest source of growth now,” Zohn says.

The Value of Value’s TV Shootout

Besides Zohn’s reputation as an A/V expert, what has also helped to grow his brand’s stature over the years and served to distinguish it among specialty retailers is the Value Electronics TV Shootout. The program sets same-class TVs from prominent vendors side by side while their various technical attributes are judged by an expert panel. Points of judgement are broken down into categories, and then, buyers can use the results to determine what constitutes the right TV for their needs. Using this method of evaluation, Zohn says, “is one of the best attributes” of the program. “Really,” he adds, “the greatest accomplishment is the attention manufacturers have given it. Their desire to win, and the effort they put into developing a competitive, top-end TV to win the Shootout is great. They come with their engineers and their development people, and listen very intently, and watch the results. We run it like a science lab, with professional broadcast equipment… It’s about the ultimate picture quality, and it’s done fair and square.” This year, with the pandemic still a presence, he is in discussions about the possibility of holding a closed-door event at some point that would be webcast, conducted with the same voting parameters and open to judges; if it does come to pass, it may entail both 4K and 8K TVs, he tells Dealerscope.

Loyalty to a Premium Niche

Meanwhile, Zohn is all about cultivating the consumer niche he has built his business upon – that is, service to the A/V enthusiast – “the person who researches everything before they buy,” as he puts it. “We’re not good at $500 TVs,” he says. “For me, it’s continuing on the path of getting the educational message out so that we attract people who are like-minded. We’re known for premium products, and I just want everybody to get the most that their A/V system and TV can deliver. I want them to be connected up and set up right. And my customers match my interest.

 

[John Dirk]

Congratulations Robert and thanks for sharing this!