Community/SoapBox

I hate it when you spend thousands of dollars on some electronic equipment, and it doesn’t even come with any cables. They should to at least pack a cheap cable. It’s like buying a USB printer that doesn’t come with a USB cable… like buying a wireless remote that doesn’t come with batteries… I hate the dreaded, batteries not included…

There are a bunch of tricks the CE vendors use to fool us… and as far as the large screen TV in a sports bar goes, I hear you. They are almost never set up properly and there is never anyone in the place who knows how to do more than change the channel or adjust the volume. They really only care about selling food and drinks, the big screen is a gimmick, like a free appetizer coupon or seniors eating 1/2 price on Tuesday.

One of my pet peeves is the “overtweak” of some A/V receivers.  I see people buy 7.1 surround sound A/V receivers with all sorts of electronic gimmickry to duplicate a concert hall, movie theater, nightclub, lounge...And these same people buy two mediocre loudspeakers, and complain that the system “doesn’t sound the same way it did in the demo room.” It would be better for the CE industry if salesmen shared the truth:  Your system is only as good as the speakers you purchase, and how they fit within the space you’ve chosen to use.  If you have a room with lots of reflective surfaces, don’t expect the same experience as you had in a demo room with carpeted walls and floors, and an absorbent ceiling.

I have to admit to having never really thought much about most of the Items John commented on… However:
Now that you mention it..
I too have grown up with the diagonal measured tv for the last 30+ years, and it actual makes it hard to tell how big a wide screen is when they say 32, 37, 42,47, ect wide screens. If you want to take their measurements to figure out exactly how big the screen is supsped to be its impossible, unless they put actual demisions in the text, but that usually include speakers and stand, but at least you have some idea how big it’ll be.