High Definition FAQ Pamphlet. Help Please!

[Kayne314]

Hi guys.
I'm making a pamphlet for the electronics department where I work. It is meant to educate our customers on what they will need to go with their new HDTV.

I'm heavily recommending Blu-ray to get the most out of their system. I also talk about aspect ratios, and HDTV signals.

Please let me know if I am being too complicated with this, or if I have missed something really obvious.

If this is accepted by my employers, it could mean a pay raise for me.

Please help me perfect it. Keep in mind it is supposed to be a sales tool, and is directed at people that know little to nothing about HDTV, but bought one anyway.

I have covered up the name of my company, to protect the innocent.

EDIT: These are the latest changes based on your suggestions. and insights.























Please note:
If you quote my post, please remove the image files, to keep things clean,
and easy to view for everyone else.

Thanks for your help.

[Kayne314]

Some of the information I give in the pamphlet may only apply to Canadians (where I live and work). For example: You can't get HDTV signal without a cable box up here in the frozen north. Or you have to be within 15 Kilometers of a broadcast station that offers HD free to air. There are like 5 in the whole country.
Yeah, it sucks to be us.

[aygie]

Wow really good, only one thing, i think its 1920x1080 not the other way around (i think!)

[Kayne314]

See, I knew I was gonna miss obvious stuff like that.

This is why I need input.

[aygie]

Originally Posted by Kayne314

See, I knew I was gonna miss obvious stuff like that.

This is why I need input.

haha dont worry everything else looks great.

[Spider1981]

How large would this publications be? (like as in paper size?)
I noticed some of the images at this preview rez have some pixelization/fuzziness (The TV on the front for example). A lot of times you can contact a company and get high quality press photos of their products for your projects. A lot of companies have a section of their website devoted to press photo's as well.

How wide of a distribution would this be?
The only reason I ask that is if there is copyrighted material (The Matrix and the Goofy graphic), there may be some legal issues there if the wrong eyes see the print job. One suggestion for the Matrix aspect part would be a self-taken or purchased stock photo of a nice shot of scenery or a nice landscape.

Hope these suggestions can be of some help. I work in marketing/graphic design so I have to deal with this kind of stuff on the daily

[slee915]

secondary issues:

1. perhaps a discussion of 720p & 1080i in the faq section, peope are always confused about that

2. that goofy graphics is a big no no, Disney is pretty anal about their copyright materials

[Grif32]

Did you get alot of this info from the Goofy promo that runs before they start the movie at the theaters?

Alot of this sounds exactly like what Goofy was saying and you even have a picture of him from the promo.

I would be very carefuly using alot of it, if thats the case.

But it really does sound like you took alot from it.

It sounds like you added your own stuff as well.

Chris

[Slec]

Might be good to clarify that you need HDMI for upconverting DVD players. Component video out won't upconvert on most players.

Audio up to 7.1 (says 5 channels)
Up to you, but if its for a retail chain, may want to consider adding surge protectors or power conditioners as a "protect your investment" section. Would be a good place to put extended warranty info if your company offers it.

All in all it looks really good. Best of luck!

[TheTenth]

you should make clear that "upscaling" is not HD, it's just optimising the DVD signal so that the image looks better

[Kayne314]

The distribution will just be our store, and probably printed on 8 1/2" by 5" paper.

As to the copyright protected material, that is just placeholders for now. If I can get this approved, the artwork will change.

I have never seen the Goofy Promo people are talking about, I found the image of Goofy online, and thought it was funny, and suited the concept for now.

Please keep these terrific ideas coming. Anywhere I can tweak it is awesome.

[Clark Kent]

You might want to look at the pamphlet produced and given away inside the set of three BDs given away free with any 1080P tv at Best Buy and Circuit City. It was a very good breakdown of HD overall and a concise introduction to BD. It is a little outdated now(it includes Warner as a neutral studio and Paramount and Universal Hd Dvd exclusive among others). I'm not sure where else you could get a copy but I really thought it was well-done. I even gave it to a friend who didn't know much about HD.

[Crème Blu-ray]

It's spelled "receiver".

I'd mention 7.1 somewhere in the Audio Element section; it almost seems like a throw-away comment in the HDMI explanation. Unfortunately, adding more info may confuse the first-time buyer. Maybe another paragraph at the end of the section like:

Note: Some of the latest Blu-ray releases feature 7.1 surround sound, so if you want to enjoy an even richer audio experience, you will need a 7.1-capable audio receiver and 8 speakers. You can also choose to purchase a 7.1 audio receiver with 6 speakers now and give yourself the option of upgrading to 8 speakers in the future.

(BTW, do all TrueHD and DTS-MA receivers do 7.1? If so, you may want to change the wording accordingly.)

Good luck! If you do end up getting a raise, we'll be sending you our PayPal information so you can forward us our commission.

[Kayne314]

Now I'm normally a good speller. Why the aitch Eee double hockey sticks did I spell it "reciever" half the time?

I know the rule," I before E except after C." but half the time I missed it.

Thanks for the catch Crème.

I'll be updating my images shortly with the corrected versions. I'm still looking for an image to replace Goofy though.

Anyone have something that would work better?

[Kayne314]

Okay, here are the latest pages, updated at the top of the page.

I still can't find anything to replace Goofy. Anything you can suggest would be great.

Thanks again!

[Spider1981]

Originally Posted by Kayne314

I'll be updating my images shortly with the corrected versions. I'm still looking for an image to replace Goofy though.

Anyone have something that would work better?

I use istockphoto.com quite a bit for my work. You subscribe (for free) purchase credits, and then depending on what size/resolution of images you download uses your credits. It's hella cheap compared to other royalty free image sites.

Anyways,
Heres some 'wire' ones that may be useful:

One
Two
Three

Hope this helps

[Slec]

To replace goofy, maybe its just best to show the back of an extremely high end receiver... Lots of RCA's, inputs, outputs, etc... Would definitely intimidate someone new to HD.

If you go this route you can blur or remove the manufacturer name. Should probably do this on all the other pics as well (Motorola cable box, and anything else)

[Spider1981]

One other useful tip might be to make the headers of each section a different color than the body. This will help to divide up the sections and easily identify where each section begins.

[Spider1981]

Okay, a few more ideas.

Here are some istockphoto images of people watching HDTV/ just HDTV's.

One suggestion might be to use one as the front page of the pamphlet, and maybe even pose the question or put the company logo on the TV screen.

One
Two
Three


And the Question mark guy, he looks a little familiar. I think he was originally from some MS clip art. You may want to replace him with someone else.

One
Two

And maybe the roadsign with components on actual roadsigns, like these

One
Two

[Kayne314]

Thanks Spider!

I will probably use some of those shots in the final version of the pamphlet.

Good site recommendation.