US District Court Rules Class Action Against Best Buy To Proceed

(3/21/09)  The US District Court, Southern District granted a motion on 3/19/09 for Class Action Certification to allow Plaintiff Thomas Jermyn and any similarly situated NY State residents to sue Best Buy for violating its “Price Match” policy.

According to the ruling, the plaintiff alleges, “Best Buy uses false and deceptive trade practices in advertising and applying the company’s well-known “price match guarantee” policy.  Best Buy tells the consuming public it will match a competitor’s lower price on any item purchased in the store.”  Plaintiff alleges that Best Buy uses its “price match guarantee policy as a ploy, to lure unsuspecting consumers into its stores and to induce them to purchase its merchandise, while allegedly having an undisclosed “Anti-Price Matching Policy,” pursuant to which employees aggressively deny customers’ legitimate price match requests.”

Among the major revelations listed from evidence within the decision based on internal BB documents, depositions of current BB employees and declarations by two former BB employees are the following allegations:

·    Best Buy had an undisclosed Anti-Price Matching Policy

·    Corporate headquarters disseminated the anti-price matching policy to regional managers, store managers, assistant managers, and necessary store personnel

·    Best Buy taught its employees how to deny price match requests in its training facilities in New York

·    Best Buy provided financial bonuses based, in part, on denying proper price match requests

·    Best Buy denied more than 100 proper price match requests per store per week.

The court decision lists parts of an internal Best Buy document dated 10/19/2006, written by Phil Britton, a member of Best Buy’s Competitive Strategies Group. Its entitled “Competition Insider Templates”, here’s an excerpt:

“Price Matches

It looms on the wall, on a 9 foot sign.  Our Price Match policy.  There it is plain as day in English (Y en espanol para los de usted que puede leerio.)  However, just because it is our policy, do we abide by it?  Does it really help the customer?

What is the first thing we do when a customer comes in to our humble box brandishing a competitor’s ad asking for a price match?  We attempt to build a case against the price match.  (Trust me, I’ve done it too).  Let’s walk through the “Refused Price Match Greatest Hits:”

Not same model?  Not in stock at the competitor?  Do we have free widget with purchase?  Is it from a warehouse club (they have membership fees, you know)?  Limited Quantities?  That competitor is across town?  We’ve got financing!  Is it an internet price?  It’s below cost!…..”

Contrary to the above quoted document, Best Buy’s posted Price Match policy does not list any price match restrictions based on: competitor’s distance from store (it states “local retailer”), warehouse club-based prices, or whether the competitor’s price is above or below cost.

Best Buy continues to promote its Price Match policy.  Tomorrow’s (March 22, 2009) Best Buy weekly circular, page 3 states “We’ll meet or beat their lowest price.  If you see a lower advertised price, we’ll match it on the spot.”

Last week the HD Guru wrote about the Best Buy’s refusal to provide a policy compliant price match at three of its stores.  Best Buy’s corporate office responded via email with the following statement.

“We apologize for the confusion over this price matching incident, and appreciate that there’s room for mis-interpretation of what we’ll match and when.  The price match in question was over $700 difference from our pricing at the store; while our pricing may vary from our competition, such huge fluctuations in price are rare and
rightfully set off red flags to our employees.

Our full price match policy for in store can be found here (Link).

We encourage customers to become familiar with our price-matching policy and use it to their advantage, especially in these tough economic times.  The key elements of this policy are:

If a customer elects to make a purchase and discovers a lower advertised price offered by a local retail competitor on the same available brand and model, we will fulfill a price match request once proof of price is verified via the competitor’s ad.  The Price Guarantee does not apply to limited-quantity items.

If customers believe they’ve met the applicable criteria and are unable to price match at their local Best Buy store, we urge them to contact our Customer Care Center at 888-Best Buy (888-237-8289) for further assistance.”

The HD Guru contacted Michael Braunstein, the attorney representing the plaintiff in the class action lawsuit.  Mr. Braunstein invites readers who believe they have been “murfed” (refused the price match in compliance with BBs written policy) or have inquiries regarding the class action, to contact him by email or phone.  The class action lawsuit applies to NY State residents only.  However, Mr. Braunstein stated in the phone interview that he would like to hear from anyone who has been rejected for a price match by Best Buy, regardless of the state in which they reside.  His contact information is
Michael L. Braunstein, Kantowitz, Goldhamer and Graifman, P.C. (845) 356-2570; email mbraunstein@kgglaw.com

A copy of the US District Court ruling can be found here decision-and-order-granting-class-certification.pdf

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Copyright ©2009 HD Guru Inc.  All rights reserved.  HDGURU is a registered trademark.  The content and photos within may not be distributed electronically or copied mechanically without specific written permission.  The content within is based upon information provided to the editor, which is believed to be reliable.  Data within is subject to change.  HD GURU is not responsible for errors or omissions.

These are tough economic times.  Facing lower sales volume and declining revenue, some “big box” electronics retailers are apparently fighting back by not honoring their own pricing policies.

After reading a recent report by laptopmag.com that cited Office Depot stores for ordering its sales clerks to tell customers that “sale” laptop computers were out of stock—unless the customers first agree to purchase software as well as extra cost, extended warranties and in-store set-ups (see link here)—the HD Guru went undercover to investigate sales and price matching policy performance at local Best Buy outlets.

The HD Guru visited three Best Buy stores in the New York market area and asked to purchase a Panasonic HDTV priced in a competing regional multi-store electronics retailer’s advertisement at more than $700 less than Best Buy’s price.

When asked to match the price, salesmen at all three stores said “no,” giving the same excuse: “The advertised Panasonic was on sale for three days and Best Buy’s price match policy exempts limited time sales”.  However, there is no “limited time exemption” in Best Buy’s price match policy. Store personnel simply made up a phony excuse, or were instructed to do so by higher-ups.

Denying a customer a price match price is nothing new. It’s been going on for decades. It even has a name: “murfing”— a code word often used by managers to instruct sales people to disregard the price match policy so the customer either leaves the store or pays the tagged price!  The origin of the word (as legend goes) began with NY City Canal Street consumer electronic stores.

Though the HD Guru didn’t hear the word spoken at any of the Best Buys visited, he was definitely “murfed”. Determined not to be “murfed” at the last Best Buy store after hearing the same denial, the HD Guru claimed that there is no limited time sale exemption in Best Buy’s price match policy and asked for proof.  In accordance with NY State law, Best Buy posts its sales policies both at the customer service area and at the Best Buy website (Link).

The salesman (we’ll refer to him as Chuck) read the Best Buy’s website store policy page and confirmed a limited quantity policy did not exist.  At this point, Chuck and I walked over to the manager to get some guidance.  Shortly thereafter, the manager turned around and requested me to leave so he could speak privately to Chuck.

I moseyed over to the other end of the department figuring Chuck was telling his boss to match the price because I might be trouble, which would have been a very perceptive observation! Chuck returned a couple of minutes later and said the manager had decided he would make an exception to the (non-existent) store policy and match the price.

Asking Chuck to write up the sale and include the Best Buy free delivery as advertised (for any HDTV $999 and up, this HDTV was over $1000),  Chuck replied, “delivery and hook-up would cost $100 additional,” claiming the chain’s price match policy exempts free delivery.  Once again, Chuck falsely cited a non-existent policy!  Murfed again, I made my exit. Later, a call to Best Buy’s corporate customer service representative confirmed free delivery should have been provided in accordance with Best Buy’s policy.

Why is Best Buy doing this?  According to a Best Buy source, its salesmen have been instructed by management to not honor its price match policies in order to increase the store’s profit margin.  Salesmen, (according to the source) are encouraged to provide  bogus policies including:

The sale is for a limited time, i.e. a one-day sale, a five-day sale etc.

The competing store is a single outlet, as opposed to a multi-store chain like Best Buy.

The competing store does not have in-store stock for X  (i.e. TVs over 32”) and that they must be delivered from the warehouse so therefore the price match policy won’t be honored.

Best Buy’s media relations dept. has not responded to a request for comment.

How do you avoid getting “murfed”?  The HD Guru believes if you want to do business with a company that doesn’t want to honor its price match policies, consider these ‘do’s” and “don’t’s”, however if you use these “techniques” you will be stooping to the level of the dishonorable retailers:

Don’t have a competitor’s ad in your hand when entering the store.  Produce it after you establish the store has the item in stock.

Don’t say you have been shopping around and know exactly what you want to purchase (the sales person may get suspicious of a price match and simply tell you the TV is out of stock).  Do give the salesman a general idea of what type of HDTV you desire ( i.e. 46” LCD) and let salesperson suggest the HDTV you want to price match.

Don’t make a scene if you get murfed.  It won’t accomplish anything.  Simply leave and, if you desire, call the store’s corporate customer relations department.  It may contact the store and tell it to honor the price match policy (because you complained).

Do ask the salesman if they offer extended warranties (even if you don’t want one) and inquire as to how many years coverage you can buy, because you want the longest protection you can buy (the salesman’s belief that you will be purchasing an extended warranty will motivate his manager to match the price.)  You may purchase the warranty and cancel it at the checkout or the next day without penalty.

Indicate you will need cables and accessories and tell the salesman you want the best—more motivation for the salesman to get his manager to honor the price match.

Do bring your business to a reputable store that honors its policies.  They are out there.

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Copyright ©2009 HD Guru Inc.  All rights reserved.  HDGURU is a registered trademark.  The content and photos within may not be distributed electronically or copied mechanically without specific written permission.  The content within is based upon information provided to the editor, which is believed to be reliable.  Data within is subject to change.  HD GURU is not responsible for errors

With Christmas rapidly approaching, the HD Guru has picked some of his favorite gadgets and accessories for holiday gifting.

By Cha Merson

VUDU

With VUDU you wouldn’t need to go to a video store or wait for a disc in the mail from Netflix, you can download the latest DVD releases and see the movie in seconds. VUDU is a hard drive recorder +internet downloading service, which provides access to thousands of movies and a number of TV series. The beauty of VUDU is its outstanding picture quality. There are three levels of picture quality, SD, HD and HDx. Subjectively (A/B comparisons with discs will appear in a future review) the standard definition images are comparable to DVDs.  Using the HD mode, (with over 1300 movies currently available) images appear similar to 720p HD quality. The highest definition mode, called HDx is 1080i resolution quality, without many of the MPEG2 compression noise and artifacts associated with broadcast HDTV. An Internet connection is required for the downloading of content. Using a high-speed Internet connection (Verizon FIOS) SD content immediately begins to play, HD within 30 seconds. The quick startup is due to each movie’s opening being stored on the hard drive.

The slow pokes are films in the highest HDx resolution. They typically take around 2 hours to download.  There are two size hard drive models available, the standard VUDU (regularly $299) has a 250GB drive and the VUDU XL has a one-terabyte hard drive. Recent movies are $2.99 for SD and $5.99 for the HD or HDx versions with 24-hour viewing window. You may also purchase a movie and keep it stored on the hard drive indefinitely for (usually) $19.99.

The user interface and remote are so intuitive, (once connected and set-up) even granny should be able to learn how to operate it in minutes (note: granny was not available to confirm this at the time of this was written)

VUDU is currently running a terrific on-line Christmas special at (VUDU). You may now purchase the standard VUDU for only $99, if you buy $50 worth of downloads at the time of ordering, saving you $200. The offer is only available on-line and not at VUDU retailers, according to a customer service representative.

TiVo HD

The TiVo HD (160 GB $299) and TiVo HD XL (1 TB $599) are far and away the best digital video recorders (DVR) you can own. The HD Guru has sampled the competition from Cisco (formally Scientific Atlanta), Motorola and DirecTV and its no contest. The graphics, ease of use and reliability of knowing the shows you wanted to record were recorded, beats all other DVRs sampled.  These TiVo models are for persons with cable systems and require up to two CableCARDs for its twin tuners (some systems can supply a single multi use “M” CableCARD to operate both cable tuners), allowing the recording of up to two programs at the same time. There is a monthly fee from cable operator for the CableCARD(s), typically $2-$3 a month each, plus a monthly fee from TiVo ($12.95) or discounted prepaid yearly plans or a prepaid lifetime account for $399.

You can save $100 off the lifetime subscription ($299) if you have a will friend with a current TiVo subscription place the order for you. Details are at (TiVo).

Gefen Splitters & Switchers

If you need to send an HDMI signal from your Blu-ray player, Cable box or any other HDMI source to multiple displays (such as a front projector and a flat panel), Gefen has the solution. They make a line of HDMI splitters that flawlessly distribute any HDMI signal (including 1.3) without any loss or degradation. Superbly engineered and ruggedly built in the USA, Gefen’s full line of HDTV solutions include CAT5 to HDMI converters, HDMI extenders and HDMI switchers. The HD Guru lab uses its 1:4 HDMI splitter ($499) for accurate comparisons of up to four HDTVs and recommends it to all readers with multiple displays sharing an HDMI source. Learn more at (Gefen)

Sony MDR-NC500D Noise Canceling Headphones

HD Guru has sampled and purchased a number of noise canceling headphones with varying results (including the Bose models). Some produce moderate noise canceling with good fidelity others provide better ambient noise reduction with mediocre sound. The Sony MDR-NC500D provides phenomenal ambient noise reduction, with good sound as well! These rechargeable headphones pack enough charge to last an entire 18 hour plus flight. They are around the ear designs that digitally analyze ambient sound and feeds an inverse noise into the headphones to cancel out (according to Sony) up to 99% of the cabin noise. The result, when listening to a movie soundtrack, these marvelous headphones managed to eliminate the sound of a crying baby two rows behind my seat location. Another plus, they are the only around the air headphone found that don’t make ones ears too hot when wearing them. Expensive at $399, however, but they are truly the Ferrari of noise canceller headphones. A sturdy carrying case, accessories and battery back-up power supply are included.

Sling Box

The Sling Box allows one to view your local SD or HD cable or satellite programming, over an Internet connection anywhere in the world on a laptop. If you have a traveler that would enjoy seeing American programs anytime, anywhere the Sling Box makes a great gift. There are two models, the Sling Box standard definition unit called the SLINGBOX SOLO ($179.95 retail) and the HD model, SLINGBOX PRO-HD($299.99 retail).  Both have no fee and once set-up on your  laqptop computer, your can control your source box from anywhere. Mine is connected to an HD TIVO. One small caveat, you’ll need an inbound connection (when traveling) of at least about 100Mbps, a problem in hotels that have very slow internet service.

Tributaries Surge Protector

The HD Guru has been recommending a surge protector for your HDTV and related electronics. Tributaries makes really good, moderately priced ones that are much more useful than many competitors, due to their clever designs.

The first thing you will notice, a number of the outlets rotate 90 or 180 degrees depending on the model. This allows the use of external power supplies often called “wall warts”, those little black boxes that supply power to most low voltage device like Slingbox, switchers, VUDU etc. The rotation design allows you to place the wall warts next to each other on the surge protector. Without rotation, wall warts tend to block the adjacent power jacks, often turning a 8 outlet strip into a 3 outlet strip.

The other great feature on the Tributaries surge protectors is an auto test lamp. Many consumers don’t realize, after a surge protector takes a strong surge, it may not absorb the next one and will simply pass the excess voltage to your HDTV and connected devices, negating its purpose and possibly causing damage to your equipment. There is simply no way to know if it is doing its job with out a test. The Tributaries T series have a self-check light to assure it continues to function properly. Tributaries makes surge protectors with 8, 10 and 12 outlets, starting at just $50 retail. That’s cheap insurance.

Happy Holidays to All Our Readers
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Copyright ©2008, 2009 Gary Merson/HD Guru™. All rights reserved. The content and photos within may not be distributed electronically or copied mechanically without specific written permission.

Addendum
Circuit City’s posted “current” price in a “closeout” store is not the same as Circuit City really charges (at its own website) for the same product. It is tagged significantly higher with five out of five TVs surveyed!

The HD Guru priced five HDTVs at its closeout store in Massapequa, NY. Comparing the original and 10% off closeout prices with prices listed at Circuitcity.com revealed the “current” pre-closeout price written on the price tags was actually $200 to $400 higher than the “real” current selling price of all five HDTVs at CircuitCity.com . After the 10% off closeout price is taken into account, 3 out of 5 HDTVs remained $60-$100 more than the same item at Circuit City’s website!

A Circuit City spokesman was contacted by email. At press time we are waiting for a  response (the site will be updated when a response is received). The HDTVs priced are as follows

Model/Store Price/10% Off Price/ “True” Current CCWeb Price

Samsung/PN50A550 $1999.99  $1799.99  $1699.99
Samsung/LN46A550 $1699.99  $1529.99  $1449.99
Samsung/LN52A750 $2999.99  $2699.99  $2699.99
Sony/KDL40V4100  $1399.99  $1259.99  $1199.99
Sony/KDL52XBR6    $3499.99  $3149.99  $3299.99
This week Circuit City (CC) announced the closing of 155 of its stores. The doors of these stores were reopened yesterday (Nov. 5, 2008) for a closeout sale. Hilco Trading is conducting the sale under their sale policies. Visiting a local reopened CC store revealed a “No Return” rule that is markedly different from Circuit City’s previous store policies. Use the information below to help you decide which items you may want to consider purchasing on closeout.

All of the merchandise in the 155 closeout stores is marked down.  Currently, sealed HDTVs are 10% off the Circuit City’s tag price. Video game consoles are at 5% off, DVDs and Blu-ray discs are tagged at 20% off, video/audio cables were at 15% off, DVD/Blu-ray players 10% off and TV stands were at 15% off (the percent discount may increase in the near future, depending on how fast the remaining merchandise moves). A warning: all sales in the closing stores are “FINAL” and all merchandise is sold “As Is”. If you take an item home and encounter a defect, you are only covered by the manufacturer’s warranty; there are no returns, refunds or exchanges. For this reason, the HD GURU highly recommends you confirm a sealed HDTV is undamaged before purchase. If you do not check it first and there is concealed damage, the product probably will not be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. Also, beware that under Hilco’s rules, you cannot “power-on” a new HDTV to confirm it is functional before purchase.  This means: if the set is dead when you get it home, you will have to get it repaired under warranty before you can use it. Depending on the maker, parts and service availability, this could take days or weeks.

Open Box and Display Merchandise

All display products are being treated as “open box” currently with the same 10% discount, however, according to the salesperson at CC and confirmed by a Hilco representative, you can try to negotiate with a manager to obtain a lower price. HD Guru suggests you choose the of the make and model you want to purchase before attempting to bargain the price. Also, check out the lowest on-line price for the same model. You can use the HD GURU/Pricegrabber link on the lower left side of this web page.  Different types of HDTVs have different issues concerning demo products. Here are tips for all HDTVs and specifics for plasma, rear projectors and LCD flat panels.

On the back of every HDTV is the date of manufacture. Learn the date. You should assume the TV went up on display shortly thereafter, as the big box retailers tend to get the new merchandise upon release and put it on the floor quickly. Based on Circuit City store hours of operation, you should estimate 400 hours a month use.  Keep in mind all displays are in the brightest “showroom” mode, which minimizes the life of the light source, phosphors in plasmas, fluorescent lights in LCD flat panels, and lamps in rear projectors. According to the CC salesperson, none of the display products have the original boxes or packing materials (more on this later). Verify the demo model has the following parts, if missing, you will have to purchase a replacement at your own expense and you should use this as a bargaining tool. The Owner’s Manual (replacement up to around $50 for the original, though you may be able to download and print off the manufacturers website), Table Stand for flat panels (replacement cost around $300), Power Cord and included cables and accessories (around $10-$50).  Original Box and packing material if you need to ship the TV back to the manufacturer for repair (up to $300 if ordered from the manufacturer). The original factory remote control is required to assure you have access to all functions including service codes (should the set require service adjustments in the future). Check the owner’s manual to assure the remote provided is the same model remote control supplied with the TV (replacement is about $50-$100). Set makers often pack unique remotes for certain models.

Here are the specific caveats for the three types of displays.

LCD

Set makers generally rate the lifespan (to half brightness) of LCD flat panels at 60,000 hours, however these claims are unsubstantiated and one company’s internal test data puts the life at around 15,000-20,000 hours. Therefore, if the demo model is 10 months old, it has already used up about 10%-25% of its lifespan (10 equals about 4,000 hours use). You should bargain the price down accordingly. Make sure you c\Check the surface of the screen for scratches or permanent marring. LCD screens have special surface filters. Screen surfaces are not repairable and require a panel replacement, which costs about the same as replacing the TV.

Plasma

Set makers generally rate plasma lifespan at 60,000-100,000 hours, though this in the lower wearing “home” mode not brighter shorter life “store demo” mode. I guesstimate the lifespan in store demo mode is about one-half the hours (30,000- 50,000). Calculate usage and bargain accordingly based on its remaining life. Also, check for screen scratches and reject the plasma if you see one.

Rear Projectors (DLP)

Check for screen defects (scratches, cracks or marring) and reject the TV if present. Replacing a screen is impractical (estimates cost  $400-$700) and probably isn’t covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. Projection lamps generally have a lifespan of about 2000 to 3000 hours and cost $100-$400 for a bulb replacement module. Manufacturer’s lamp warranties (if any) generally cover bulbs for a short periods after purchase (typically around 1-3 months)

Getting Your Flat Panel Back Home Without Damage

You should never lay down a Plasma and LCD flat on its back or face. If placed this way the glass in the screen can easily crack making the TV useless.  Flat panels should always be upright (even if in the factory carton) supported on the bottom on a flat surface (such as the back seat cushion). If the display is uncrated, it’s best secured mounted on its factory supplied table stand. Have someone hold it so it does not tip and break while transporting it. An alternative transport method, lean the front face of the TV’s bezel against the seat back, cushioning it across the back panel and edges with blankets to protect it. Once properly cushioned and protected, you may use seatbelts or bungee cords to secure in the TV in place. NEVER have anything apply pressure to the screen and never support the TV on the screen. A cracked flat panel is not repairable, as the panel must be replaced. The cost of the new panel and labor will equal or exceed the price of the HDTV.

DVD and Blu-ray Players

Disc players are mechanical devices and wear out based on usage. HD Guru recommends you stay away from a demo model, however, if you must consider one, make sure all functions work properly such as drawer opening and closing, properly, access doors are not broken and all rear jacks are intact. Confirm the inclusion of the owner’s manual and remote control. Remember, name brand Blu-ray players will be available on sale in a few weeks for $149 or less. Good luck.

Copyright ©2008 Gary Merson/HD Guru®  All rights reserved. HD GURU is a registered trademark. The content and photos within may not be distributed electronically or copied mechanically without specific written permission.

The 2008 CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) Expo recently concluded.  The show provided a first look at late 2008 HDTV products including new plasma panels, LCD flat panels, Blu-ray players, front projectors and a new TiVo.  Here is a breakdown and some on-the-fly evaluations, based on demos and manufacturer announcements.  Part One covers LCD flat panels, TiVo, and Blu-ray players.  Part Two will cover Front Projectors and other products.

LCD

Sharp, Sony and Toshiba introduced new LCD flat panels.  The trend towards thin LCD monitors continues with Sony and Sharp joining Hitachi offing LCD panels without a built-in digital or analog tuner.  Instead, Sharp will include a separate tuner box with its thin displays, as well as an external speaker bar (as seen in the photo above).

Toshiba

Toshiba led the introductions with 12 new standard depth LCD flat panel HDTV models.  The line is topped out by the 1080p Cinema series called the XV545 models.  Available in 42”, 46” and 52” sizes, the models include a new bezel they call “Double Skin”, 120 Hz refresh rate (to reduce motion blur) and new scaler called SRT. Toshiba claims  its new scaler chip greatly improves the image quality of standard definition signals.  This new chip is designed and manufactured by Toshiba.  The Cinema models also have 14-bit color processing for 16,384 gradations (to avoid dithering artifacts) as well as a wide-color gamut CCFL backlight.

Moving down the product line is the REGZA RV535 series, available in 42”, 46” and 42” sizes, which retain the SRT scaling chip, 1080p panels and the 14-bit video processing, however, they refresh at 60Hz instead of 120Hz.

The RV525 series eliminates the SRT scaler and the 14-bit processing and are available in the 40” and 46” screen sizes using 1080p/60Hz panels.

Rounding out the line is the 720p AV502 series in 26”, 31.5” and 37” screen sizes with a thinner width bezel than its predecessors and two HDMI inputs.

The XV545 models the HD GURU® observed produced fine looking demo images, they were quite bright and vivid. A review is planned for the near future.  The model numbers, pricing and availability are:

REGZA Cinema Series XV545
42XV545U ($1799, September)
46XV545U ($2299, September)
52XV545U ($2799, September)

REGZA Series RV535
42RV535U ($1399, September)
46RV535U ($1799, September)
52RV535U ($2299, September)

RV525 Series
40RV525U ($1099, September)
46RV525U $1599, September)

AV502 Series
26AV502U ($649, Now)
32AV502U ($749, Now)
37AV502U ($899, Now)

Sharp

Sharp announced two new thin LCD monitor panels with a minimum depth of 1” (at press time Sharp did not provide maximum depth, I guesstimated it at around 2.25”).    They are the 65” LC-65XS1U-S ($TBA, October) and the 52” LC-52XS1U-S ($TBA, October).  Both use 10-bit panels with 120 Hz refresh and Red, Blue and Green light emitting diodes (LEDs) as backlights in lieu conventional CCFL lamps as found in the thin 850 series Samsung LCDs.  The dynamic contrast is rated at 1,000,000:1, though no real world (relevant) contrast ratio number was provided at press time.  Called a “limited edition” the XS1 models will be sold through select Sharp dealers.  The separate tuner box includes 5 HDMI inputs, two component video inputs as well as a PC input. It is interesting to note the included tuner is shaped to reside on a shelf or table and can’t be mounted flat on a wall. Sharp also announced another set of optional extra cost boxes (transmitter and receiver) for wireless connection between the tuner box and the display (price and availability to be announced).

Sharp also announced new 1080p/60 Hz models LCD HDTVs with standard depth.  The line includes the 52” LC-52D65U ($2399, October); 46” LC-46D65U ($1899, October) and the 42” LC-42D65U ($1599, Now).  These models have a new “Power Saving Mode” which” enables active contrast and an active backlight to reduce power consumption” according to Sharp’s press release.  This “65” series model replaces the current “64” series.  If Sharp follows last year’s marketing strategy, you can expect low closeout pricing on the “64” series soon.  This post will be updated with new prices if and when they are announced.

In addition Sharp, added a new 1080p/120 Hz series with the 52” LC-52D85U ($2599, October) 46” LC-46D85U ($2199, October) and the 42” LC-42D85U ($1899, November).  According to a Sharp spokesperson, the 1080p/120 Hz D94SE series, sold by regional dealers, will continue to be offered.

Sony

Sony revealed two new LCD panels.  The 52” KDL-52XBR7 is the industry’s first 240 Hz LCD HDTV.  The demo at CEDIA consisted of looped video footage showing sideways motion; similar to sitting on a moving train looking out the window and watching the scenery go by.  There was a 60 Hz and 120Hz Sony display next to the 52XBR7, to demonstrate reduced “motion blur” with the 240 Hz display.  What a revelation! Just a couple of years ago LCD set makers never mentioned resolution loss due to motion blur.  Now Sony has a comparison in its booth showing bad, better and best, clear demonstrating how badly 60 Hz LCD panels handle motion.  The big question: What, if any image degrading artifacts will 240 Hz add to video and film-based images?  Will the display repeat each film frame 10 times or create interpolated frames.  If it does interpolate frames, the TV will need to create 9 synthesized frames for every single  frame of film, a tough assignment to perform without adding image degrading artifacts.  The HD Guru has requested a sample from Sony, when it becomes available this December ($TBA).

The KLV-40ZX1M is a 40” 1080p/120Hz monitor that measures 9.9 mm at its thinnest part, (HD GURU guesstimates around 2.2 inches at its thickest part, Sony has not released full specifications).  The display weighs just 26 lbs.  There is no tuner available from Sony; however, they will offer as an extra cost option, its Bravia wireless transmitter/receiver to connect from a source (cable, satellite, Blu-ray etc.) to the monitor via wireless HDMI.  The KLV-40ZL1M uses white LEDs with local dimming as a backlight.  The KDL-40Z1M will be available in December 2008 with a price to be announced.

Who Wants Thin?

There are five LCD makers (Sony, Hitachi, Sharp, Samsung and LG) that will be offering thin LCD displays this year.  Currently, Samsung, LG and Hitachi have product offerings and depending on screen size, the price premium over standard thickness (about 3”-4.5”) LCDs is around $200-$400.  There is no performance advantage in “thinner”; and it is more difficult to engineer very svelte displays, due to considerations for miniaturizing key components such as power supplies, along with effective cooling are critical to maintain long-term reliability.  The HD GURU® questions whether many potential buyers will want to pay a price premium for a flatter panel, and suspects the market is quite limited.  Time will tell if a lower price and high performance will win consumers dollars over a higher priced displays with a thinner form factor.

TiVo

Personal Video Recorder (PVR) maker TiVo added a new CableCARD model, the TiVo HD XL ($599, Now).  It is the successor to the discontinued TiVo Series 3.  As with the Series 3 and TiVo HD, the box has two CableCARD slots for decoding subscribed scrambled cable channels.  The big improvement is in its hard drive capacity.  It has a 1terabyte hard drive for around 150 hours of HD content, or 1350 hours of SD programs.  The current HD TiVo has a 160 GB hard drive rated at about 20 hours of HD storage.

Like the HD TiVo, you may add one SATA external hard drive (it needs to be designed specifically to work with a TiVo like Western Digital’s My DVR) to the XL to increase capacity.  External hard drives are currently 500 GB.  1 TB models are expected shortly.

A caveat to prospective buyers, a number of cable systems have begun using “Switched Digital Video” to increase capacity.  The HD TiVo and the HD XL require a “tuning adapter” to receive channels that are “switched”.  Promised by the end of June 2008 by Cablelabs (a testing, design consortium owned by a group of cable providers), it is still not available.  Please check with your cable provider to find out which, (if any) of its HD channels are “switched digital” and when the “tuning adapter” will be available.

For more information on the “switched digital” fiasco, read the HD Guru article at http://hdguru.com/how-the-cable-industry-plans-to-cheat-10-million-hdtv-owners/233/

Blu-ray

A number of new Blu-ray players were debuted at CEDIA with models from Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and Denon

Panasonic

Panasonic announced the successors to its current Blu-ray models with DMP-BD35 (replacing the DMP-BD30) and the DMP-BD55 (replacing the DMP-BD50).  These new players will be available in October, with prices to be announced shortly.

The latest Panasonics both boast Profile 2.0 with BD Live capability out of the box, as well utilizing Panasonic’s latest PHL Reference Chroma processor chip and its new P4HD scaler chip.

Yesterday, Panasonic staged a press demonstration in New York where they compared the 35 and 55 along side a Samsung BD-P1500 and the discontinued (yet still widely available) Sony BD-P300.  Using a Panasonic 1080i Blu-ray test disc, the Panasonic engineer compared the four players’ scaler and color detail performance using a Blu-ray test disc.  First, the engineer confirmed the Panasonics’ ability to properly deinterlace 1080i signals (used on many Blu-ray concert discs and some TV series).  The Samsung and Sony failed the test (as does the current Sony BD-P350 as seen in the recent HD Guru review).

Next, jaggies were evaluated using a “three moving bar” test signal.  The BMP-BD55 Panasonic did an excellent job, displaying almost completely smooth edges on the three bars.  The two competitors players’ yielded poor results displaying saw tooth jaggy edges on all three bars.

The new Panasonics also upsamples the color information on the Blu-ray disc from native 4:2:0 to 4:4:4.  The result is a better color detail when compared to the other players using the Panasonic color “zone plate” test signal. The demonstration clearly showed the increased detail with a larger area of the zone plate being visible on the display connected to the new Panasonic Blu-ray player.

In addition to improved color detail, proper 1080i deinterlacing and reduction of jaggies, the new Panasonic Blu-ray players include:  7.1 lossless decoding of DTS MA and Dolby TRUEHD (via HDMI), Deep Color/ x.v. color capability, 192kHz/24 bit Audio D/A converter and Movie AVCHD/JPEG viewing via the SD memory card slot.  The DMP-BD55 adds analog 7.1 lossless format output and DivX playback

Denon

Denon’s added the DVD-1800BD ($749, October) to its existing line of Blu-ray players.  It’s a Profile 1.1 player that features HDMI 1.3a with Deep Color and Bonus View support (BD Profile 1.1).  It does not have an Internet connection and as a profile 1.1 player, it will not support BD Live (interactive content via the internet).

Sony

Sony latest Blu-ray player is part of its ES line, the models BDP-S5000ES ($2,000, November) features Profile 2.0 with BD Live capability, fast boot up, isolated audio circuitry and 14-bit video.  According to the press release, it also has a new “Precision Drive” “which helps to detect and correct wobbling discs from three directions, stabilizing playback of bent or scratched Blu-ray Discs or DVD”.  Wow! Until now I didn’t never heard that Blu-ray discs can warp.

Samsung

Samsung introduced its latest Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player, the BD-P2500 ($499, October). It features an Ethernet connection for BD Live, 1 GB internal memory, Silicon Optix HQV video signal processing, 7.1 analog audio outputs with Dolby TRUEHD compatibility and a USB port for memory expansion.

Pioneer

Pioneer unveiled its latest flagship Blu-ray player, the Elite BDP-09FD ($2199, around November). It incorporates Pioneer’s best audio and video circuitry including 16-bit video processor, a Mavell QDEO scaler and a video decoder jointly developed by Renesas and Pioneer.  The player is Profile 2.0 compliant and comes with 4GB built-in flash memory. The audio circuitry has its own dedicated power supply and uses eight Wolfson WM8740 Audio DACs.

Blu-ray Outlook

The number of players available is rapidly expanding, perhaps faster than the market can currently absorb. While it is difficult to gauge the demand for profile 2.0 players with BD Live, I believe this differentiation will help accelerate price erosion in the Blu-ray category. I expect to see Profile 1.1 players to drop to the magic $199 “on sale” price by sometime in November and the entry level Profile 2.0 players will soon be priced at $299 (or possibly less!).

Copyright ©2008 Gary Merson/HD Guru®  All rights reserved. HD GURU is a registered trademark.  The content and photos within may not be distributed electronically or copied mechanically without specific written permission.

Email The HD GURU at hdguru@hdguru.com

The external device was given the name CableCARD. The TV makers quickly responded by building over 10.1 million HDTVs with CableCARD slots through 2007 and has plans to add another 4.87 M+ HDTVs in 2008 (Consumer Electronics Association forecast). For the first time, consumers (with a CableCARD ready set) could hang a flat panel on the wall and watch all subscribed to standard and premium cable content without the extra wires and a shelf required for a cablebox. Now the cable industry has begun to roll out its plan to disable at least part of the content accessible to the CableCARD in CableCARD equipped HDTVs!

Time-Warner and Cablevision have announced they are adding a new technology to their systems that will keep CableCARD ready HDTVs from receiving a number of HD channels. Furthermore, a cable industry source told the HD Guru that all of the major cable providers will be incorporating this new system called “Switched Digital Video” (SDV) into their respective areas over the next few years. The result will be that the extra money consumers spent for the convenience of CableCARD ready HDTVs will have been wasted!

How did this occur? After Congress passed the telecommunications law, the FCC was put in charge of getting the cable and consumer electronics industry to incorporate it. The FCC granted the cable providers several delays, and when they ran out, the FCC allowed the cable industry to approve a limited function CableCARD that is unidirectional, preventing consumers to access video-on-demand (VOD) or impulse pay per view programming. The cable industry was also required to add CableCARD slots to their own cable boxes, but miraculously, its own boxes, (with over 90%) supplied by either Cisco (formally known as Scientific Atlanta) or Motorola, maintain the bi-directional functionality needed for impulse pay per view and VOD (and coincidentally SDV). The Cable industry got to maintain a two class system, one level of functionality for consumers that wanted cable tuning built into an HDTV and a higher level for consumers that chose to rent (at higher cost) a cable box from the provider, effectively bypassing Congress’ intent to open up a competitive market.

This one-way/two-way issue, is the reason you will lose HD programming if you continue to use a CableCARD in your television. The cable industry’s current systems lack the bandwidth to allow them to keep adding new HDTV channels. With satellite providers Dish Network and DirecTV promising over 100 HD channels by year’s end, the cable industry says they need to increase its capacity and “Switched Digital Video” allows them to add more channels without expanding their systems. However, once your cable provider enables SDV, any channel that is “switched” will be blacked out to consumers using a CableCARD in their HDTVs.

What’s The cable industry’s response? They claimed in November 2007 that through its testing, standards, and research arm called “Cablelabs” it has developed a “Tuning Adapter” that will allow CableCARD devices such as HDTVs and HD TiVos to continue to receive all subscribed HDTV channels. Here is an excerpt for the press release “The adapter will work on any (CableCARD) Unidirectional Digital Cable Ready Product (UDCP) that has a USB connector and necessary firmware. The cable industry is working with TiVo to ensure that installation of CableCARDs and the adapter will be easy and seamless for the consumer.” The press release goes on to say it will be available in the 2nd quarter of 2008.

Now for the reality. The HD Guru™ has surveyed several makers of CableCARD ready sets, and all said their sets were never designed to add such a device and even if their respective sets have USB ports, they will not be able to accept such an adapter.

So this leaves only the owners of high definition TiVo DVRs. The adapter device should work with HD TiVos, however, according to a Cisco spokesperson, its version is now undergoing testing at Cablelabs and is not expected to be released until sometime this summer. A Motorola source would not provide any status or a release date, likely missing the promised availability in the second quarter 2008.

So you now own a CableCARD HDTV, what will happen to you and what can you do about it? I contacted Cablevision, a NY metro cable provider for answers.

Cablevision will begin its rollout of SDV beginning April 15, 2008. CableCARD users will immediately lose all of Cablevision’s 15 HD Voom channels which represent one-third of all its high definition channels. (Are more HD channels going away? I could not get a response) Cablevision has offered current CableCARD subscribers a Cisco HD cablebox for one year without charge to maintain receiving all of its HD channels. After the year you must pay $6.95/month for the box. (Its CableCARD rental fee is less than $2 a month). If you want to hold on to your CableCARD, you will pay the same subscription fee as you did last month, no discount for the lost channels, one heck of a deal.

If you own a CableCARD HDTV and are not happy with this, the HD Guru™ suggests you file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, they have complaint forms at their website http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html . You should also write a complaint to your Representive (find him/her at https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml) and your state’s US Senators. They are the ones that passed the Telecommunications Act.

Copyright ©2008 Gary Merson/HD Guru™. All rights reserved. The content and photos within may not be distributed electronically or copied mechanically without specific written permission.

Ultimate accessory for your HDTV
Easiest way to search, record and watch shows in HD
Record 20 hours in HD (or up to 180 hours in SD)
Replaces your cable box and works with over-the-air antenna*
Download thousands of movies directly to your TiVo box**
TiVo Service features
Schedule your favorite shows online
Control cable TV with record, pause, rewind and fast-forward in HD
Automatically record every episode of your favorite show.
Play mp3’s and view digital photos on your TV**
What-you-need
Phone line or broadband connection
Program source:
Digital cable service (requires up to 2 CableCARD™¹ decoders from your cable provider )
Digital antenna
Video output modes include: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i
Note: Not compatible with satellite. Also supports basic cable (non-HD) and analog antenna (non-HD)

*Cable service required to receive cable channels. TiVo does not provide cable service.

**Broadband Internet connection required

¹CableCard is a trademark of CableTelevision Laboratories, Inc.

Not all TiVo Service networking features are currently available on the TiVo HD DVR.

Note: Early termination fee applies, along with terms and conditions of TiVo® Service Agreement and TiVo® Service Payment Plans at www.tivo.com/policies.
Questions?Get answers here

Monthly Plans Offer Details
$16.95 per month
1-year monthly plan
$14.95 per month
2-year monthly plan
$12.95 per month
3-year monthly plan

Prepaid plans Offer Details
$179.00
1-year prepaid plan
$299.00
2-year prepaid plan
$299.00
3-year prepaid plan. Special offer – 1 year free!
Service plan: $16.95
Box fee: $299.99
Subtotal: $316.94

Copyright 2007 HD Guru™ All Rights Reserved