You must read what Best Buy talks people into paying for 4k HDMI Cable..... (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

My best friend called me to say he just bought a new 4k display from Best Buy.

I asked him what he paid for it. He told me the display was $2k, but by the time he was done, he was up to $2,800 with all the extras including 5-year warranty, mounting bracket and Geek Squad installation.

But here is something that caught my ear....

Best Buy talked my friend into paying $179 for 4k HDMI cable.

I nearly dropped my phone on the floor.


I yelled, "You paid $179? for f--ng HDMI cable?"

"Yeah," my friend replied, "they said that my ordinary HDMI cable was not fast enough."


First, there is no such thing as 4k HDMI cable.

I told my friend I could get him 10' HDMI cable on Amazon for $12.

What rip-off artists Best Buy are! They should be ashamed of themselves!

 

[Robert Crawford]

That's not surprising, the Blueshirts have been doing this for several years. For those of us that are knowledgeable about such things, I use to educate the novices during my visits to Best Buy stores. However, that was back in the day when I frequented them for video products. Those days are long gone for me in today's video product market.

 

[Robert Crawford]

By the way, do you know what display he purchased?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

He wanted the new LG OLED. However, that listed at $3,000

So he went $1,000 less and went with the Sony XBR65X930D

It has 3D, which they really didn't necessarily want.

They have 3 days to return it. They are still deciding. I would have steered them for a Samsung.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

On second thought....

From all I have been reading since posting that message, that Sony model is considered one of the best displays outside of OLED for the price.

 

[Bryan^H]

The Sony is a great TV but the 3D is so broken it is basically a non feature. After I got it, I wish I would have picked the LG OLED. It sucks to pay that much for a TV, and have one of the main features on it being unacceptable.

 

[DavidJ]

The Sony is a great TV but the 3D is so broken it is basically a non feature. After I got it, I wish I would have picked the LG OLED. It sucks to pay that much for a TV, and have one of the main features on it being unacceptable.

Not to distract the thread, but what is the issue with this sets 3D?

 

[Bryan^H]

Severe crosstalk. I tried three different 3D films that went from bad to worse. Unwatchable.
It may be a bad panel issue as most of the bad reviews I read were more about the power supply than the 3D. But many negative reviews stated that the 3D was poor also.
I also read that the 3D features from previous sets were eliminated for the latest high end sets. Gone are the 2D to 3D conversion, and the 3D depth adjustment(I have not checked into it as I won't use any more 3D on this set).
The 2D picture is pretty amazing though, and I have been very happy with all the UHD movies, and upconversion.

I use my projector for viewing 3D films anyway, so missing it on the Sony doesn't bother me.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Back when DLP tvs were a thing, the blue shirts conned my parents out of $100 for a 3' Monster HDMI cable.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Severe crosstalk. I tried three different 3D films that went from bad to worse. Unwatchable.
It may be a bad panel issue as most of the bad reviews I read were more about the power supply than the 3D. But many negative reviews stated that the 3D was poor also.
I also read that the 3D features from previous sets were eliminated for the latest high end sets. Gone are the 2D to 3D conversion, and the 3D depth adjustment(I have not checked into it as I won't use any more 3D on this set).
The 2D picture is pretty amazing though, and I have been very happy with all the UHD movies, and upconversion.

I use my projector for viewing 3D films anyway, so missing it on the Sony doesn't bother me.

So are you saying that all Sony UHD displays with 3-D capability including their top-of-line displays have this 3-D issue?

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

Funny, I bought a new OLED set today, as my Panny plasma exploded and died last night during Game of Thrones. (Now there's a twist I never saw coming!) In the Magnolia department, the guy asked several times if I needed 4K HDMI cables. He addressed the wall of cables and added, "They have silver in them, which makes them even better."

Fortunately, I actually have an inkling of how atoms and electrons work... which is great, because I saved him from having to explain the difference between electrons bound in a valence and those found in an ion, and how this might affect my viewing pleasure of, say, Yogi Bear.

Oh, to have lured him into a one-sided story about how CERN actually discovered the existence of 4K electrons, and how it would revolutionize next year's TV sets that use Quantum Dots!

Instead, I must be a really nice guy, because I simply said "no" without erupting into gales of laughter and falling backward into "Avatar" playing torch-mode in 2-D behind me. (James Cameron must be rolling in his submarine.)

I didn't even offer the following poser: "So if you add silver to a sphincter, do you know what you get? That's right: a silver sphincter! Arguably better than a regular sphincter, on some level of foolish avarice I suppose, but a sphincter nonetheless."

 

[Mike2001]

My favorite blue shirt comment had to do with a power conditioner. He stated that it delivered clean power - it removed all the dust the power picked up from the cords running behind the wall.

 

[Bryan^H]

So are you saying that all Sony UHD displays with 3-D capability including their top-of-line displays have this 3-D issue?

I have no way of knowing. I just know that the 3D on my set is unwatchable. And I have read many reviews that state the same negative comments about the high end Sony models XBR65X930D, and XBR55X930D.
Those are the sets I was referring to.

Sony's response isn't very reassuring to those affected
https://community.sony.com/t5/4K-Ultra-HD-TV/XBR-65X930D-faulty-3D/td-p/565811

 

[Matt Hough]

My understanding is that the new Sony Z9 does not have the problem with 3D that the other Sony models had. But, you're right; Sony takes NO responsibility for the wretched 3D on those earlier models. Complaints to them always lay the blame on the 3D disc authoring rather than on their equipment.

 

[Michael_K_Sr]

Not at all surprised that BB was charging that much for an HDMI cable as one of my co-workers got soaked by them a few years ago by paying $150 for one. When I got my OLED from them two weeks ago and set up the install, I was prepared..."Do you have HDMI cables rated for in wall use?" I answered in the affirmative, although I really just ordered them from Amazon when I got home...four 10-footers for $30. They also tried getting me to drop a couple hundred bucks on a surge protector, but I was content with the one I have and I also had my electrician install a whole house protector for me the week before.

 

[Dave Upton]

I have actually brought Blue Jeans and Monoprice cables into Best Buy before when looking for a wall plate and right angle adapter. I actually ended up doing an A/B demo for some poor customers who were being sold on Audioquest snake oil when the blue shirt stepped away. I managed to save them a few hundred dollars, but I was also asked to leave the Best Buy by the manager

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

I was also asked to leave the Best Buy by the manager

"An educated consumer is our worst enemy."

 

[DaveF]

My best friend called me to say he just bought a new 4k display from Best Buy.

At this point, I don't understand why your best friend doesn't have you on speed dial. Or why he doesn't have you on FaceTime for live-assist during his BestBuy shopping.

Or have you failed to mention to him that you have some passing interest in home theater?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Best Buy has been pulling this crap for years. The profit margin on those cables is astronomical, which is why the corporate office forces their poorly-paid employees to push the extremely overpriced cables, as well as extended service plans (another huge profit margin). I rarely go into Best Buy anymore, but when I would walk through those sections there were numerous times I had to bite my tongue when overhearing the "salesperson" pushing Monster Cables (or whatever the overpriced cable d;jour was at the time) to some poor unsuspecting soul.

It's too bad company greed takes precedence over doing what's right for the customer.

 

[bronty]

My son left home a few weeks back and wanted a DVD/BR player, Currys had a cheap one for £39 which would do him fine.So i said i would buy it for him.I took the player to the till with cheap essential hdmi cable at £6.99.The sales assistant shook his head and said”That one won’t work you need this lead at £89”
It was more than twice the price of the bleeding dvd player, i let him give me his full sale pitch then walked out empty handed