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Look, I'll admit it. I like to find a bargain as much as the next guy. When I walk into "DVDs 'R US", I always slide by the "previously viewed" bin first. When I travel, Budget Inn is high on my list. But experience has taught me that there are times when spending MORE is the smart thing to do in the name of economy. Recently, in the quest to find material to be contrary about (that's my mission here - had you guessed?), I found a significant number of posts on various websites focused on where to find the absolute rock bottom price for this or that piece of A/V gear. It's not unusual to find a subsequent post a week or two later looking for help on how to "fix" that same item. Here's the thing. I appreciate that everyone has a budget, but there is some price point, below which, you would be better off to save your money until you can get something that has a reasonable "performance" return on your investment. I walk into potential clients homes all the time who are "disappointed" with that Home Theater-in-a-box that Sparky sold them down at Circuit Barn. Sadly, nothing can be saved from that pile. It either goes to Aunt Martha or ends up on E-Bay for 25 cents on the dollar. When I spec a system for a client, I always get a sense for what the total budget is. Then, after backing out installation and calibration fees, I try to keep all the individual components at about the same quality level. In other words, on a scale of 1 to 10, I wouldn't pair a "4" DVD player with a "9" video display. Neither should you, but I've seen $8,000+ displays reviewed with sub-$100 DVD players. One couldn't possibly tell a thing about the video quality of the display, as any artifacts seen are likely generated by the player. Consequently, I'm advocating you keep relative quality levels in mind as you build your systems. Yes, there will always be a "weak link", and that's the piece you will probably target as your next up-grade from time to time, but don't let things get too far out of balance or you will never get the value returned on your most expensive component, as in the 4/9 scenario described above. It is an extremely competitive world out there in our favorite sector and every manufacturer wants an unfair share of your discretionary income. This is good news in that it generally means we get what we pay for. No one should be surprised then, that we currently have to deal with a rash of problems with the sub-$300 High Definition DVD players that have just flooded the market in an attempt to gain share. This readership is undoubtedly more knowledgeable about A/V value vs. performance than the hundreds of thousands who will be out shopping as the 02/09 transition draws near. They need your help. Remember, friends don't let friends buy anything that says "lifestyle" on the box.
Posted by Terry Paullin, February 12, 2008 9:16 AM
Reader Commentary So, Terry. You are hyping alleged quality issues with Toshiba HD-A3's for $150 while ignoring problems with expensive $500+ Samsung Blu-Ray players? All the high def optical players have typical earlier adopter issues There's nothing wrong with cheaper mass market stuff. Those cheap $50 Chinese-made and branded DVD players have fewer issues with homemade and self-authored DVD's than many of the $300+ mainstream DVD players. Not every one needs the fancy noise reduction and scaling capabilities of Sony and Sharp. They are happy saving $1k or more with a Vizio. Yes, the $5k Lexicon DVD player has a buffer where you don't get a 1 second pause during a layer change with movies. Most people that paid $30 for their DVD players are willing to live with this. Now, for the expensive components and expensive displays? I had a friend that wanted to buy a Pioneer! plasma and asked the sales guy how good the TV speakers were on the display. Even I took issue with that. Spending mo... Dollars paid does not always equate to quality and performance received. High end mfgr name does not always guarantee high end quality. Discussion groups and reviews on the Internet prove this out time and time again. The best retailer / installer understands this, uses this to their advantage to create a balanced installation that meets and exceeds the customer expectations within their budget. The exception are the videophiles where money is not an issue and the name plate on the case is more important than the performance. Steve 73 de N2UBP... So, Terry. You are hyping alleged quality issues with Toshiba HD-A3's for $150 while ignoring problems with expensive $500+ Samsung Blu-Ray players? All the high def optical players have typical earlier adopter issues.... Asking people to go whole hog on the display and the components isn't just elitist, it's unrealistic. First of all, I never advocated going "whole hog". Going whole hog would be "hyping" a Denon BD player at $2,000 or their top-of-the-line NTSC player at $3,800. There are no "alledged" problems with these players. ALL current and past generation players on both sides (BD and HD-DVD) have had serious s/w problems. They are LEGEND with any installer you talk to. Even NetFlix is alerting their customers to the need for s/w updates. I promise you, there is PLENTY wrong with "cheap, mass-marketed" players. Forget the poor build quality and cheesy user interface, I'm talking about (lack of) fundemental video process... You make a good point. What I find is that people, generally, do not do any research before buying. I do way too much. It will take me 8 months to decide on spending $3,000 on an HDTV. Maybe 3 months on a $500 Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player. That's why I ended up at AVSForum. I simply need to know why I'm paying those monies for this-or-that product. The hard part, however, is figuring out where that line is drawn between value vs quality. In my experience, most of my associates, family, and friends simply go out and buy what's on sale. Or what seemed like a good idea at the time. I wish I could be satisfied with such decisions for myself. But I have talked to very few who actually say they've gone out and bought junk from Circuit Barn. The bigger danger? Those guys in the van that stop you in the parking lot to tell you they just delivered a bunch of equipment to a local warehouse, and -- guess what? -- they have three sets of really fine speakers and receivers for only $50 because th... Guy, thanks for your input. You are definitely erring on the right side - that is, doing too much homework. The only thing wrong with that is you are missing out on the benefits of whatever it is you are doing homework on. On the other hand, the item is likely coming down in price while you are doing your research! It may well be possible to reduce your research time by narrowing the "voices" you listen to. The "chat rooms" can be dangerous places to glean info (yes, I realize this IS one) and I intend to do a column on that topic as soon as I increase my life insurance. Just be sure the "facts" you are gathering are from reliable, trusted sources. B-T-W, most people who buy "junk", don't realize they have bought junk, because they never have experienced the real deal in comparison. Ignorance is bliss. The guys in the van are on their way to jail. Let's just hope they don't meet any of your friends along the way.... I really do wish you would do that article on the Forums. I think I learn a lot in most of them. It's frustrating because you really can't tell who knows their stuff. I hope you point out one glaring fact about those Forums: People always recommend what "they" bought as an example of what is "best". It is rare for an individual to admit that their decision may not have been the best choice. I have been posting several Topics, lately, on the dangers of running out of things to replace, the frustration of no one ever being satisfied with their purchases, and what I call the Carcass-Pickers who do nothing but work hard to find every little problem they can with a new HDTV set or AVR. The thing I hate about the Forums is that people are so offensive to each other, at times. The only ones who do not post there are the ones who are oblivious to these issues and are -- surprise! -- enjoying their equipment! My advice? Make a decision, but don't go back there because you'll only get increas... There's nothing wrong with cheaper mass market stuff. Those cheap $50 Chinese-made and branded DVD players have fewer issues with homemade and self-authored DVD's than many of the $300+ mainstream DVD players. Not every one needs the fancy noise reduction and scaling capabilities of Sony and Sharp. They are happy saving $1k or more with a Vizio. Yes, the $5k Lexicon DVD player has a buffer where you don't get a 1 second pause during a layer change with movies. Most people that paid $30 for their DVD players are willing to live with this. If you believe it , then will leave you to that thought :roll:... I agree with you to a point. I have seen the "great deal" which never quite adds up. A computer with too little harddrive, memory, or a slow CPU. A TV which doesn't have enough inputs is one of my favorite examples. A friend of mine (didn't talk to me first) purchased a 42" widescreen television at closeout for $900, but the TV is not HDTV. Buying a sleek looking flatscreen TV is not a value as we are moving to HDTV in a year so that is $900 spent on old technology that will never give my friend access to HDTV and means he needs to spend more money to move to HDTV. DVD's in the bargain bin are no bargain for HDTV owners. Most bargain DVD's are the "Normal" format. Anyone with a widescreen HDTV needs a "Widescreen" usually "Special Edition" and more expensive version of the disk. You don't find many widescreen editions sitting in the bargain bin. As for HD players I can only speak for my experience. I purchased the Toshiba HD-A2 for $99. It is by far the cheapest component in m... On talk radio first time callers say “long time listener, 1st time caller” Ill say “long time reader, 1st time poster” Im a lurker but as an avad reader of this place I have a bone to pick with you. Recently, in the quest to find material on this site to be contrary about (that's my mission here - had you guessed?), I found a significant number of posts focused on where to find the absolute rock bottom price for this or that piece of A/V gear. It's not unusual to find a subsequent post a week or two later looking for help on how to "fix" that same item. I have a problem with that because I have been following the forums for some time and don’t recall any threads like that here. Do you have a link? Do you have multiple links? Another problem I have is you mention a plasma review here. Do you have the link for that? It would be nice to know what that dvd player was. It must have been the ht guys because Richard hasnt reviewed any plasma tv... Thanks for the tip. I'll have to check it out. I like these fast articles, too. Terry Paullin writes some great, insightful articles for the magazines I read, and I think it's just fantastic that an author will take the time to respond. I can't tell you how many times articles like these (elsewhere) simply ignore any comments posted later. I've always had a problem with how to evaluate cost vs value. Case in point is off the subject a bit, but I just ordered two bulk rolls of digital media from a vendor that charged me over $200 per roll more than the two bids I received this morning. When I asked why, the answer was "Because of the value we add to the sale." Say what? What value? They've never trained us on anything. They can't add any insight that a guy with 28 years experience in my business doesn't already have. In fact, they're simply a reseller to us -- which won't be getting repeat business. $50 differences -- I can take. $200 differences are a bit much. That's a 50% premium... More in Category: Marketplace
About Terry PaullinAfter 25+ years as a Silicon Valley Executive, most recently as President and C.O.O. of Crosscheck, Mr. Paullin decided to follow his passion to the emerging Home Theatre industry. In 1994 he formed Front Row Cinema to design, build and calibrate Home Theatres for private residences. Nearly 600 theatres later, he remains engaged in the Industry in the following ways.Builds dedicated (single purpose) Home Theatres and “Theatre Environments” (rooms used for other purposes as well). Teaches Imaging Science and other courses for the Imaging Science Foundation. Mr. Paullin has taught CEDIA accredited classes to the installation community at both AVAD and ADI. Consults to Industry on the topic of Imaging Science (Pioneer, Optima, In-Focus and several others under non-disclosure). Mr. Paullin has served on the Board of two companies and the Advisory committee of two others. Has written articles/product reviews for major industry publications, including Widescreen Review, The Perfect Vision, The Ultimate Guide to A/V, WIRED magazine and CEPro and has maintained a monthly column (One Installer’s Opinion) in Widescreen Review for the past eight years. Mr. Paullin has a B.S.E.E. degree from Long Beach State University Performs ISF monitor calibrations for private individuals. Mr. Paullin also maintains 3 theatres in his home for testing, comparison, performance verification, and reference viewing. |
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