The 3D glasses, which were not tethered, were hard to find on my own (high on an unused speaker shelf). Lighting was appropriate and more like what you might find in a living room. The “Monsters vs. Aliens” disc was in the player, but was showing the menu. Like the glasses, the remote was high and out of sight, making it difficult to get the movie going for demo.

I was not approached by a Fry’s sales associate at all. After about 15 minutes, I left the demo room in search of an associate. I found one nearby with the other mass-displayed TVs and asked for some help in the 3D room. As we walked back to the demo room, I asked some of the same questions I quizzed the Best Buy employee with and received more informed answers.

But the answers were provided with a tone of inconvenience, as if he had a better place to be or thought I wasn’t really interested in making a purchase.  This attitude continued when we got back to the demo room to find another couple testing out the system, at which point he promptly walked away after just a moments silence. 

While the Fry’s dedicated demo space has the potential for a more enjoyable test experience, the look of being an abandoned speaker test room, inconvenient placement of glasses and controls, and inattentive sales associates left a great deal to be desired. 

Magnolia Home Theater
Magnolia was demoing the sold-out Panasonic 50-inch VT20 display, 3D Blu-ray player and glasses combo. The store-within-a-store model offers more seclusion than the Samsung demo in the main part of Best Buy, but the Panasonic system was on display right in the entrance, negating the smaller space Magnolia had to offer.

There was actually more noise and distraction since the Magnolia section sits right at the front of the store, directly to the right of the main entrance and cash registers. Seating was a single leather couch and glasses were again tethered with their USB charging cables, though the wiring was shorter and the only comfortable viewing position was at the extreme right or left of the couch.

The Panasonic demo was running “Monsters vs. Aliens,” though it’s not included in the package as with the Samsung combo. As soon as I sat down, I was approached by a Magnolia sales associate. He was approachable and had correct answers to all of my test questions. I never felt like I was inconveniencing him. He even sat on the couch and put on 3D glasses. He also acknowledged the noise and said the staff was requesting the 3D demo be moved to the closed listening environment where speakers and AVRs are demoed. 

And The Winner is ...
Magnolia turned out to have the most distractions, but also the most knowledgeable and approachable sales staff. If you’re going on a 3D demo hunt, I’d recommend visiting a Best Buy with a Magnolia Home Theater and experience both the Samsung and Panasonic demos. Unless you’re more confident than I am in your local Fry’s, or it’s your only choice, I would skip it for now.

You may notice a lack of custom installers in my 3D demo tour. The reason? Not a single one in my area (Atlanta, Ga.) is running a 3D demo. Only one had plans to add a 3D demo any time soon, and that was of the uber-expensive DPI Titan 3D projector and Dimension 3D server.

Since 3D is getting its foot in the door with mid-priced gear and big-box-friendly LCDs and plasmas, I’d expect this to remain the norm for some time. Custom installers won’t jump on the 3D wagon until front projectors in the $5-$15k price range add 3D capabilities, or consumer demand spikes.

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Stephen Hopkins

Stephen Hopkins is chief technology editor for EH Publishing. He writes product reviews, features, and focuses heavily on 3D TV, iPhone and iPad apps, and digital content.