Audio Video News

What would an average consumer find if he or she went to the local mega-chain store for a 3D demo? Our colleague Pete Putman made just such an expedition with disappointing results.

He found one demo with a Samsung TV and Blu-ray player. Unfortunately four other shoppers were already competing for the single pair of glasses, which was perhaps inevitably tethered to the exhibit. Elsewhere in the store was a demo with a Panasonic TV and BD player--though the advertised special in question referred to a Samsung player. Two pairs of Panasonic glasses were in a locked plexiglass box. Yet another supposed 3D demo was running 2D content. And--well, he can tell the rest of the story.

Should we be surprised? In the store's defense, those active-shutter glasses cost a bundle and would be all too easy to steal. But how many times have we walked into a store and seen standard-def cable feeding HDTVs? Or 16:9 sets showing obviously stretched 4:3 material?

3D is just the latest victim of chain-store cluelessness. Knowledgable consumers who hit the retail floor knowing what they want will be more amused than misled, but we worry about folks who visit stores in search of actual information or an easily accessible working demo that shows what 3D is all about. Perhaps manufacturers should be concerned too.

To see the name of the chain, check out Pete's story at HDTVexpert.com.