Retailers misleading people about HDTVs!

[wingnut0021]

A freind of mine recently bought a 30'' LCD tv, hes so dead set convinced that it was HD. So i looked at the TV, plugged in hes 360 and set it to 720p over VGA. it accepted the signal of that resolution fine. i then looked closely at the TV and noticed that the 'gap' between each pixel was quite large. I started to doubt that it was infact HD, it actually had it printed on the TV 'HD ready'. It also boughted that it had a HD tuner. I then looked up the TV and found the actual resolution of the TV was like 640 x 480! not only was it not HD it wasnt even 16:9! what crap! The guy is interested in blu ray and how is he gonna even like it when he wont notice the difference over a normal DVD!

I really think alot of retailers are bending the truth with these lower spec TVs, i think alot of people think that just because its and LCD its automatically HD. Come to think of it, my mate said the guy he sold it to was only about 16ish.

[johnno1986]

G'day,

In Australia we have this "HD Certified Digital TV" tick on the TVs. Only the TVs that meet the standard receive them so you can't go wrong. There's more info on this at www.hdtick.com.au if anyone is interested. Does America not have a system like this? Does any other country have something similar?

[Durentis]

I wouldn't say it's always a case of being mislead but often a case of salesperson ignorance. Any A+ certified person I've ever talked to or overheard in Future Shop couldn't do any better than read the labels. Ask a question with an answer not found on a label and they stuttered and changed the subject. I doubt this problem is limited to the computer department or Future Shop.

If you buy stuff in a large chain retailer you have to expect ignorant salespeople. Hell, I found an ignorant salesperson in a dedicated a/v store when I was hunting for speakers a few months ago and went elsewhere. Informed salespeople are hard to come by (and most refreshing when you finally find one).

[NARMAK]

I think the best thing your friend can do is to give it back to the shop & get a refund, if they won't, research the spec of the TV & find out HOW the the TV is said to display it's HD resolution as it may be by a shoddy manufacturers what only accepts it from one connection & thats why they labelled it HD READY

If it was not HD ready at ALL, go back to store & tell them now that they have sold you a item that doesn't do what it says, here in the UK it would be against trading standards & retail shops will rarely make the mistake

[shatta]

yep i know how it is,,,when i was about to buy my HDTV at best buy...i asked where is the 32" 1080p sharp Aquios (sp) that is "game" ready,...i saw the tv online,,,it was nice and small,,u kno what they told me? "only TV's about 40" gave u 1080p"..........so i gave them the "you gonna loose my $1500 look" and walk out

[milou6]

They don't invest much in sales staff at big box stores (at least here in the U.S. - go capitalism!) -- they hire cheap labor and don't spend much time or money on training.

I had a guy at Best Buy 6 months ago tell my wife that 4:3 and 16:9 were the same thing, that if you divide them they come to the same number, and that it just "seems" like 16:9 is wider...!!

[finalfantasy]

Originally Posted by wingnut0021

A freind of mine recently bought a 30'' LCD tv, hes so dead set convinced that it was HD. So i looked at the TV, plugged in hes 360 and set it to 720p over VGA. it accepted the signal of that resolution fine. i then looked closely at the TV and noticed that the 'gap' between each pixel was quite large. I started to doubt that it was infact HD, it actually had it printed on the TV 'HD ready'. It also boughted that it had a HD tuner. I then looked up the TV and found the actual resolution of the TV was like 640 x 480! not only was it not HD it wasnt even 16:9! what crap! The guy is interested in blu ray and how is he gonna even like it when he wont notice the difference over a normal DVD!

I really think alot of retailers are bending the truth with these lower spec TVs, i think alot of people think that just because its and LCD its automatically HD. Come to think of it, my mate said the guy he sold it to was only about 16ish.

If you know a little more than the salesperson about HDTV, perhaps you should have gone with your friend...

Also, it sounds like your friend perhaps paid $300 for the TV...that tells me he doesn't want to spend too much...I am not sure if he wants to spend the money for 720p TV...

If he does, then he can research online first then go buy what he needs...bottom line, you only need to know the basics to buy a decent HDTV...

40" 1080p with decent contrast ratios are very affordable...if he wants to enjoy BRay, then he needs to do it right...

Here is what I suggest...sell 360 for what's its worth, then invest what little he got towards at least a 720/1080i HDTV...then go and buy PS3...he'll be so happy then...

I mean, one can go to BJs and be able to tell which ones are HDTV and which ones are just, well, flat screen.

[WHITETRASH]

Originally Posted by milou6

They don't invest much in sales staff at big box stores (at least here in the U.S. - go capitalism!) -- they hire cheap labor and don't spend much time or money on training.

I had a guy at Best Buy 6 months ago tell my wife that 4:3 and 16:9 were the same thing, that if you divide them they come to the same number, and that it just "seems" like 16:9 is wider...!!

Go capitalism is right! I would prefer to do my own research on the products I purchase than pay some outrageous premium to have eledged "expert" sales people. Because of capitalism I am almost guaranteed a price point on all my needs and most of my wants that I can deal with.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by wingnut0021

A freind of mine recently bought a 30'' LCD tv, hes so dead set convinced that it was HD. So i looked at the TV, plugged in hes 360 and set it to 720p over VGA. it accepted the signal of that resolution fine. i then looked closely at the TV and noticed that the 'gap' between each pixel was quite large. I started to doubt that it was infact HD, it actually had it printed on the TV 'HD ready'. It also boughted that it had a HD tuner. I then looked up the TV and found the actual resolution of the TV was like 640 x 480! not only was it not HD it wasnt even 16:9! what crap! The guy is interested in blu ray and how is he gonna even like it when he wont notice the difference over a normal DVD!

I really think alot of retailers are bending the truth with these lower spec TVs, i think alot of people think that just because its and LCD its automatically HD. Come to think of it, my mate said the guy he sold it to was only about 16ish.

A standard definition TV has a resolution of 720 X 480 I/P which is the same quality as a standard 480I DVD. Your friends TV is below the quality of a typical 480I display. In the US in general most of the time 480I displays are labeled SDTV instead of HD ready or HDTV. Also in the US all sets that are labeled 1080P are required to have over 2 million pixels with 1920 X 1080 resolution. Some other countries have different standards for labeling. Did he purchase the display in the USA?

[haushausman]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

A standard definition TV has a resolution of 720 X 480 I/P which is the same quality as a standard 480I DVD. Your friends TV is below the quality of a typical 480I display. In the US in general most of the time 480I displays are labeled SDTV instead of HD ready or HDTV. Also in the US all sets that are labeled 1080P are required to have over 2 million pixels with 1920 X 1080 resolution. Some other countries have different standards for labeling. Did he purchase the display in the USA?

Did he look at the TV when it was on?! I can spot an HDTV from its' PQ from across a large room.

[gandley]

in the UK we have TVs that are classed as HDTV ready (ie there not hdtvs but can accept and incoming signal, or are lower res HDTV ie 720p)

then we have FULLHD tvs which are then 1080p.

no wonder consumers are confused.

[Kayne314]

I'm a salesman, and It bothers me that stupid salespeople are saying this crap. It makes my job much harder. I always try to educate my customers before they buy. It makes them buy with confidence, and saves me taking a return later on.

The flip side of this is talking to customers that have been "educated" by dumb as brick know-it-all salespeople that tell them things like 480i is just like High Def. And Blu-Ray is no better than an up-scaled DVD. They start arguing with me, and I know I've either lost the sale, or if they do buy something, it will be the wrong thing, and then they'll just return it, and blame me.

There should be some sort of minimum IQ test before people should be allowed to sell high end electronics. Training is only effective if you understand what you are reading.