Making In Store Comparisons - Blu-ray Forum

yyyiiikes · 06-14-2008, 02:52 AM

When you go into a store to compare displays, how do you ensure the comparison is fair? I mean suppose someone has jacked up the settings on one TV and you were comparing it to the other. Would a good approach be to hit factory resets on both TVs for a baseline?

Also, is it fair to compare one manufacturer in a 46" to another in a 40"? Obviously one would like all things to be equal but sometimes that is the way the TVs are placed at the local stores.

Thanks.

WriteSimply · 06-14-2008, 02:56 AM

If you're really serious about buying the HDTV, bring your player/PS3 and a copy of Ratatouille/Video Essentials and calibrate the TVs under the same (horrible) lighting conditions. Then make your decision. That's the best option you have in making an informed comparison.

Of course, make sure that the sales people know what you're doing.

fuad

Bobby Henderson · 06-14-2008, 05:47 AM

+1 on that.

Really, if you're serious about buying a good quality TV you can stress the point to the sales people that you will not buy until you take the TV in interest for an adequate "test drive." I don't think a customer should be put out to the point he has to bring his own player to the store. If I was running an electronics store I'd have a spare PS3 or other standalone BD player at the ready to hook up to any TV in question for demo purposes.

I helped a good friend of mine decide on buying a 52" Samsung Series 7 750 LCD-TV. He originally wanted a 52" Sony Bravia XBR4 TV -because he liked the one I own. But the prices on that TV have jumped. So the Samsung Series 7 turned out to be a great alternative. The store had an ordinary DVD player hooked up to the one demo unit they had as part of a DTS Digital Surround music demonstration. I'm a huge DTS fan, but even I thought that choice was odd. That TV deserves to show true 1080p material from Blu-ray all the time.

The sales guys finally got the point we weren't going to buy unless we could hook up a Blu-ray player to that TV and put it through some paces. Check out different color modes. Examine the black levels. Look at viewing angles. We were pleased with what we saw and left the store with one of those HDTV sets and a Denon AVR-988 receiver as well.

yyyiiikes · 06-14-2008, 03:32 PM

I understand the point with Blu-Ray feed.

My question is geared more towards picture settings from one manufacturer to the other. One could configure a "better" to display to look worse than an inferior model. So, is it a good guideline to reset both to factory settings before judging?

Also, I was checking out 2 high end models yesterday and there was a striking difference betwen the 2 displays. So much so that something must have been set wrong. One big difference is that the poorer display (from Manufacturer A) was a 46" and the better display (from Manufacturer B) was a 40".

So I was trying to rationalize how much factor the size difference played, was Manfufacturer-A mis-configured, did it have a bad feed, or simply defective.

06-14-2008, 02:52 AM	#1
yyyiiikes Member Member since:Dec 2007 Location:Austin, TX	Making In Store Comparisons When you go into a store to compare displays, how do you ensure the comparison is fair? I mean suppose someone has jacked up the settings on one TV and you were comparing it to the other. Would a good approach be to hit factory resets on both TVs for a baseline? Also, is it fair to compare one manufacturer in a 46" to another in a 40"? Obviously one would like all things to be equal but sometimes that is the way the TVs are placed at the local stores. Thanks. Last edited by yyyiiikes; 06-14-2008 at 01:32 PM. Reason: typos

06-14-2008, 05:47 AM	#3
Bobby Henderson Power Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Oklahoma Blu-ray collection:96 Blu-ray reviews: 12	+1 on that. Really, if you're serious about buying a good quality TV you can stress the point to the sales people that you will not buy until you take the TV in interest for an adequate "test drive." I don't think a customer should be put out to the point he has to bring his own player to the store. If I was running an electronics store I'd have a spare PS3 or other standalone BD player at the ready to hook up to any TV in question for demo purposes. I helped a good friend of mine decide on buying a 52" Samsung Series 7 750 LCD-TV. He originally wanted a 52" Sony Bravia XBR4 TV -because he liked the one I own. But the prices on that TV have jumped. So the Samsung Series 7 turned out to be a great alternative. The store had an ordinary DVD player hooked up to the one demo unit they had as part of a DTS Digital Surround music demonstration. I'm a huge DTS fan, but even I thought that choice was odd. That TV deserves to show true 1080p material from Blu-ray all the time. The sales guys finally got the point we weren't going to buy unless we could hook up a Blu-ray player to that TV and put it through some paces. Check out different color modes. Examine the black levels. Look at viewing angles. We were pleased with what we saw and left the store with one of those HDTV sets and a Denon AVR-988 receiver as well. Last edited by Bobby Henderson; 06-14-2008 at 05:49 AM.

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06-14-2008, 02:56 AM	#2
WriteSimply Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Sep 2006 Location:Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	If you're really serious about buying the HDTV, bring your player/PS3 and a copy of Ratatouille/Video Essentials and calibrate the TVs under the same (horrible) lighting conditions. Then make your decision. That's the best option you have in making an informed comparison. Of course, make sure that the sales people know what you're doing. fuad

06-14-2008, 03:32 PM	#4
yyyiiikes Member Member since:Dec 2007 Location:Austin, TX	I understand the point with Blu-Ray feed. My question is geared more towards picture settings from one manufacturer to the other. One could configure a "better" to display to look worse than an inferior model. So, is it a good guideline to reset both to factory settings before judging? Also, I was checking out 2 high end models yesterday and there was a striking difference betwen the 2 displays. So much so that something must have been set wrong. One big difference is that the poorer display (from Manufacturer A) was a 46" and the better display (from Manufacturer B) was a 40". So I was trying to rationalize how much factor the size difference played, was Manfufacturer-A mis-configured, did it have a bad feed, or simply defective.

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