| In-store setups
I have read with interest several comments about where best to go to compare the widest selection of LCD or plasma screens in action. Often mentioned are two large chains, well know for their out-of-town electrical stores. Their names escape me but I'm sure one has something to do with spicy asian food, the other with those lumps of rock and ice flying around in space first spotted by a girl named Hayley.
Sorry. I'm rambling. Just two points.
Visit any of their stores and their displays will be showing a rolling, bespoke feed featuring movie trailers, product ads, plugs for the store, big logos etc.
I can see the merit of the original idea, if all the screens feature the same image and all the speakers pump out the same audio it is easier to make a comparison between two or more displays. But... (here we go) this rolling feature looks ghastly on ALL monitors on display. From a fifteen incher for your bog through to the latest lcd/plasma superstars, it looks a cheap and poorly produced affair. Its low res mpegs piped in from an Asda DVD player in a broom cupboard somewhere. In the next town.
Do these guys actually expect me to part with my hard-earned after such an experience? Not to mention Mrs Button, who, not one to suffer fools, or fall for the emperor's new clothes, made the frank, yet accurate, observation that they're rubbish. "Why would we buy one of these when our old telly (Phillips 24" CRT) has a better picture?" She promptly walked off to look at the microwaves and probably got a better picture, too.
If you're lucky, you may get a few screens showing a DVD from a player sitting next to it on the shelf. What film will be playing? The Incredibles. Another store, Finding Nemo. Another branch, The Incredibles again. Nice big bold animated vector graphics and sumptuous primary colours and vignettes. Yummy pixel candy. Easy for the nastiest of screens to display and look as if Leicester Square has just flumped into the corner of your front room.
So. What's my point. By all means buy from these places if you're happy to live without the 'yes sir' and 'no madam' you'll get at Moharrods or JL but do not buy on impulse, plan your visit, do not go on Saturday afternoon, give yourself plenty of time to check out the TV tuners - assuming someone has taken the time to plonk an ariel on the roof, and take a few of your own DVDs, something very visually (and sonically) challenging. Insist that the fella starts pulling wires in and out. Take your playstation, plug that in, too. Well why not? If you're about coff-up three grand for a plasma insist on some service.
In fact, insist on all of the above wherever you choose to shop. Ironically, I'll probably still end up going to Johnny L's for my new telly and paying the premium :-)
Second point. A lot of posts ask "What's the best, LCD-a or LCD-b? I've been reading this board for weeks and still cannot decide". Please see above. Get out there and compare for yourself, don't be so hung up on on whether you'll be the laughing stock of the AV forum for buying LCD-c. Be happy with it. Enjoy your telly. It's great!
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