In case you hadn't already learned your lesson and started
checking behind the displays while HDTV shopping, the
HD Guru points out another element of the in-store experience that throws off buyers (and likely contributes to the
LCD vs. plasma choices we find so infuriating): lighting. In case you don't recall from your last trek to a big box superstore, the lighting is quite often stuck on blinding making it nearly impossible to discern any difference in picture quality between televisions, specifically in terms of contrast and black levels (the pictures above are of the same value priced display, at left, under normal home lighting, at right, how it looks under some store lighting setups.) Tested with an illuminance meter, all the stores (except Best Buy's Magnolia showrooms) averaged well above home ambient lighting levels, with Wal-Mart and Costco measuring the highest at 411.66 and 742.77 lux. Still, there's tips on how to get a good idea of a TV's black levels even under those circumstances, plus some choice words left over for the incredible (and useless) dynamic contrast ratio numbers every manufacturer trots out these days, so go ahead and get educated.
posted August 10th 2009 5:01PM
As someone who works behind the scenes, this article is off-base.
The lights are bright to make the store appealing and inviting, especially to woman (who hate dim places like Magnolia, or dim stores in general). It has nothing to do with the conspiracy that retailers hate plasmas and good black levels, and want to a new world order of LCD displays.
Sorry, while the end result is true, the cause (reason FOR the bright lighting) has nothing to do with what is discussed here.
I agree with you. They probably aren't not intentionally making the store brighter to sell a crappier TV, but I think the important lesson to learn from this is:
The lighting in the store is way different from the lighting in your house, so keep that in mind when you are shopping at a store.
Also, I cant believe that this story has gotten so much attention. This has been common knowledge. Anybody could deduce this without the use of a Konica Minolta T-10 illuminance meter. Seriously, who has 300 florescent bulbs hanging around in their house?
Michael Fremer gave a very plausible explanation for his theory. Remember, that he also mentions that sales floors were dimmer when CRTs ruled. Anyone old enough can attest to that. BTW, Women hate Magnolia not due to darkened rooms, but due to Magnolia's sales people, who dress like commissioned based salesmen.
Although, we all know that consumers choose the brightest HTDVs, and that the bright lights make plasmas look dim. Most don't know that the bright lights make HDTV with poor black levels look as if they have great black levels. Just look at the photo at the top of the article. Even if a consumer understands not to compare HDTVs based on light output, they still will have a hard time comparing the black levels of HDTVs in the showroom.
When I'm in a bright store like Costco, I have to admit that the LCD TVs do look better than the plasmas. Obviously one big reason is that the LCDs are brighter, so they are not as drowned out by the ambient lighting. But the blacks on the LCDs also look darker. The good LCDs look black, while all the plasmas look greyish. This part is confusing to me, can anyone explain? Here's my theory: The Plasmas emit less light in black areas, but they reflect more light. Thus in a bright environment, the plasmas appear greyish due to reflected light? I don't know if that's true or not, but in any case when I walk down the isle at a brightly lit store, it's easy to understand why average joe would choose LCD over plasma.
Your theory is partly correct. It's the coating on the plasma screen. Typically, Panasonic plasma (most common in Costco) TVs have less effective coating to combat against bright light.
It's SO SO sad that general public think that LCDs have better picture quality than plasma.
People have this wrong idea that plasmas are prone to permenant burn-in which is totally false.
As long as you don't freeze the picture for days, it is no problem what so ever.
Plasmas have:
1. Better picture quality than LCDs overall.
2. Cheaper than LCDs.
These are facts folks. I have read endless professional articles. My Pioneer Kuro is an absolute dream.
But now Samsung & Panasonic continue to manufacture quality plasmas at an affordable prices.
Oh yea, some folks say plasmas eat more electricity. Yes that's true. Do your math. It's like extra dollar
or two a month. I think it's worth it.
If you really care that much about the performance of your HDTV, you aren't going to be buying it from Walmart or Costco, or I should really say, you should be evaluating its performance there.
Besides, the HDTVs that sell really well in Walmart/Costco are the smaller TVs that have worse performance anyway, no matter how you slice it.
I just bought a 1080p Toshiba Regza LCD (latest generation). It looks awesome, even in dim lighting (with dynamic contrast turned off, of course!). It does not resemble in the LEAST bit the washed-out A/B "LCD is horrible" sample picture shown as part of your article. This applies to a variety of home lighting conditions, ranging from tootally dark room to too uch sunlight. I'm calling "smoke and mirrors", folks.
I chose "anything but plasma", yet again, to avoid the burn-in and dimming issues that are inherent in the technology, and which are not recognized as "manufacturer's defects", and therefore, are not covered under warranty.
Yes, yes, I know! The Plasma Fanboyz on this list will scream about how burn-is and dimming is a myth, and if it *were* true , it only happens when "abusing" the set. My experience is different, with permanent burn-in being visible in less than a year of normal use, just due to watching a mix of 4:3, 16:9, and anamorphic content in its proper aspect ratio, not zoomed.
Buy what you want. There are still lots of consumers who want plasma. That's why they're still selling. I'm really happy with my Regza LCD.
So are you gonna swear off LCDs when you get Burn in on your Toshiba? How about dead pixels? How about poor light uniformity?
I don't care about LCD vs Plasma. I also picked up a (previous generation) Toshiba Regza. After quickly learning to hate dynamic contrast and turning off, I love the TV. I haven't been able to find anything (LCD or Plasma) in it's price range that looks as good.
When/if I finish the basement, I'll be looking for another HDTV. It might be LCD. It might be Plasma. I'm still indifferent. I just don't get the LCD hatred here.
Did you even read the article? The A/B comparison as you call it in this article is an A/A comparison of the same set calibrated the same way. One in the store and one in a typical home environment.
Don't know why are spouting 'fanboy' rhetoric when the article is about lighting conditions not the type of display.
To quote the blog "the pictures above are of the same value priced display, at left, under normal home lighting, at right, how it looks under some store lighting setups"
Unless this is a new set that has a LCD/Plasma switch ;)
In my Fry's all of the over 32" TV's are in a back section that has no lighting other than ambient lighting from outside the section and the lighting of the TV displays themselves. The ceiling is also lower in this area to keep some ambient lighting out. Good place to view a TV (albeit most in torch mode -- when can be adjusted) before deciding which set and where to buy.
This post feels kinda pointless. The people who are buying the "brightest" TV in Best Buy without rigorously price checking online and reading expert reviews are NOT going to be looking at this blog! I got my TV (Sony KDS60A3000) only after reading Cnet and many other reviews. And I got it online for $500 less than it was going for at Best Buy at the time.
Bought the exact same TV for the exact same reasons and couldn't be happier after 2 years. I researched the hell out of my possible TV choices and noticed trips to stores like BB didn't really help the decision unless they had it in the darker "theater" section that some of them have. I also found it online for about $550 less (shipped) than BB with a free Harmony 550!
I agree, why would anyone go to the store to buy a TV without first doing research online first? I mean it's much easier to research online then go into a store and try to decide. Those that don't do that, pretty much get what they deserve.
Honestly, who are these idiots who go into a store knowing nothing about TVs, base their decision solely by what they see and what salesman tell them, and then walk out with an expensive piece of equipment that may or may not be a piece of crap?
I spend weeks researching every electronics device I'm going to buy no matter how big or small. I sift through reviews and tech sites. Then I look for the best price (which usually doesn't include B&M stores at all). I can't remember the last time I bought any electronics at a store.
Of course buying a really good TV is easier than ever these days. It begins and ends with Panasonic VIERA.