From: EDGLOWE@ECUVM.CIS.ECU.EDU ("Gregg F. Lowe")
Newsgroups: rec.video
Subject: BEWARE: Fictitious s-video TVs/monitors
Date: 29 Dec 92 21:58:09 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: The Internet


I just went through a fiasco that I thought deserved to be posted here as
a warning to anyone looking at purchasing an s-video monitor/TV.  This is
not intended as an indictment of SEARS or any of their "knowledgeable"
sales associates.

Shortly before Christmas, my father gave me a call and informed me he had
decided to buy a new TV.  He asked me about features to look for and what
brand names I would recommend.  One of the things I suggested, was that
TV have an S-video input jack.  (For the sake of brevity, I'll leave out
the explanations.)

Well, Christmas day came and I went over to their house.  Dad asked me to
connect their new TV.  To my immediate dismay, I discovered that he had
purchased a Sears "LXI" TV. (Oh well, there's no law that says that parents
have to listen to advice.)  It had the standard inputs; RF (cable),
composite video, and two audio channels.  I asked him why he didn't get
one that had S-video capability.  He told me that the Sears sales rep
had told him that this one did.  I assured him that it did not (I actually
had to get an s-video cable and show him that it was different than
the composite video).  Well, not being one to accept being suckered, he
decided to take it back; this time, I went with him.

At the Sears electronics dept, we couldn't find the rep who sold it to
him but did speak to the individual who was in charge of the section.
This lady stated that it was an S-video TV.  She even pulled out a little
booklet they have that gives specs and details about the models.  Sure
enough, the book said that it was an S-video TV.  At this point I had
heard enough gibberish, explained that I made video for a living, worked
constantly with s-video and knew she was incorrect.  I finally had to go
through their showroom and find some models that had s-video jacks (Sony,
Panasonic) and explain the difference.  They were willing to make good
on their mistake but in the process of looking for s-video TVs there, I
found some amazing mistakes in how their TVs were labeled.

There were several "LXI" models and a couple of RCA models that had shelf
labels that claimed they had S-video connections.  A couple of the LXI's
even had "S-video" stencilled on the rear of the case, but no S-video
jack(s)!  I pointed this out to her and asked how they could make the claim
of S-video when they obviously were not.  All she could tell me was that
that's the way the labels came into the store and so that's what they
displayed.

Anyway, the whole point of this posting is BEWARE: just because the label
says "s-video" doesn't mean that it is!  I suspect most individuals who
read this group will have enough sense to check these things out but you
might want to pass the warning on to others, etc.

DISCLAIMER: This represents is my personal experience/opinions.  Others
            may vary.


 Gregg F. Lowe

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