CRT TVs Masquerading As HDTVs Plague Another Walmart
It's officially a trend now. Old-timey CRT TVs are not only mislabeled as HDTVs at a Connecticut Walmart, but also, according to reader Chris, at a Kentucky location.
He shot the accompanying photo and writes:
I read the story about the CRT trying to be passed off as a fancy LCD HDTV. I was at Walmart last night and snagged a pic of what would appear to be an identical tag as the one in CT. I've heard reports from family members in nearby cities that have the same item described in the same fashion.
This can only mean one thing: CRTs are more powerful than we ever imagined, and have most likely risen from the grave to instigate a zombie plague, biting innocent HDTVs and transforming them into CRTs. If you see one of these mislabeled horrors at your Walmart, shoot a picture of it and send it to the tipline. And then run, lest it bites you and turns you too into a mislabeled CRT.
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Comments:
I'm totally hitting the electronics section of my nearest Walmart when I go next to see if they do it here too.
Kind of like Best Buy. Every time I'm there (which is very slight), I try to catch their "HDTV to Non" tv comparisons in the act.
Aside from the playful ribbing about the mis-labeled sets, has anyone reached out to Wal-Mart to let them know?
Or is this just a contest to see how long the string of fuzzy cameraphone shots of can go before the Bob's "fix the glitch"?
@jtheletter: And to add to that, there *ARE* CRT sets that can accept HDTV signals (ie: digital, not analog) without a seperate tuner. That is another way that these 480i TVs can be "HDTV compatible."
It seems like Consumerist is just all about yelling, and not solid reporting anymore. =/
@JamesBenjamin: But its fun to yell. Right?
The real story would be if the store(s) had been notified of the discrepancy and did nothing to correct the problem despite growing public awareness of the problem. Otherwise, who is in the market for a CRT right now? Who does this honestly impact?
On the flip side, I'm all for calling out the "Christmas Creeps". It's still October, we haven't had Halloween let alone Thanksgiving.
@jtheletter, @JamesBenjamin: A.) You are correct, CRT TVs CAN be HDTVs as well.
B.) This CRT TV isn't HD. It's 480i, by the description. It's not even ED. It's plain ol' SD.
C.) Digital doesn't mean HD. While a TV may be able to receive Digital signal, it doesn't have anything to do with the TV being "HD" or not.
D.) A CRT TV isn't (and cannot be) an LCD TV. And a 480i TV cannot be an HD TV. I think this is more of the point - this TV claims to be both, yet is neither.
Yup. This is the second story in a row where Consumerist misunderstood what HD means. Last article they said HD sets automatically make all TV widescreen or something like that.
While a CRT definitely can't be an LCD TV (two different types of display), it actually could be HD. I would like to see some actual info on the specific model and whether or not it is actually HD.
Just an FYI from a WM insider - those labels are generated at the Home Office level. You scan a product into the proprietary WM database and those tags are generated.
However, to echo Jtheletter, just because a tv is a CRT does not mean that it is incapable of displaying pictures at a resolution of 720.
Wow, shoe in mouth. The resolution on that set is 480i, which is NOT an HD Resolution. Ignore my above post.
Dude, lrn2read. The photo of the actual tag says "480i Resolution", meaning 640 x 480, meaning no HD.
@tmlfan81: This just goes to show you that the employees at WalMart know absolutely nothing about the products they are selling. You would think that the person putting up that price tag would have noticed the error and did something about it...
@thereij: I think the underlying problem is the way digital television was introduced to the public. Advertising routinely conflated HDTV and digital TV, even though there are standard-definition digital sets.
@TheUncleBob: Thanks for the information. This is the crux of why the signage is important and needs to be modified. Most people don't know the things you're talking about, and it's important that the signage is correct.
This really has nothing to do with it saying it is a LCD HDTV, when it's not.
What it is really is that Walmart most likely get that info from a database and it comes out saying that, and the people that prints the label doesn't tell anyone, and when other people see it, they don't tell the manager or anyone.
So how would Walmart know to fix it or not, it just gets posted on here to male Walmart look like asses, when they don't even know there's a problem cause no one is telling about it.
Walmart sells a Sansui 26" LCD HDTV on their website - but it says it's not available in stores:
There probably isn't much that they can do about it on a store level, and if they could they would probably run the risk of getting cited for unauth'd signage changes.
@TheUncleBob: Over the air digital signals are sent as HD signals. Digital doesn't mean HD, but digital over the air standards are HD now. So, a SD TV can be capable of receiving HDTV signals and then downgrading the signal to 480i for display. I could see using "digital HD tuner" as a marketing gimmick, but it would be really dishonest unless they also pointed out that the TV is displaying in SD.
However, the rest of your points stand and I know the problem in this case is a CRT being labeled as LCD.
@Orv: But the digital signal coming over the air in America is HD now. So, TVs capable of showing the over the air HD signal without an external tuner can receive HD, downgrade the signal, and display it as HD. And we wonder why people have been confused by this mess...
Please fix the headline. Simply "SDTVs masquerading as HDTVs" would be fine. It's not like there aren't a dozen comments above me pointing this obvious error out to you.
@torgeaux: Are these not CRTVs? Are they masquerading as HDTVs? Then the headline is correct - regardless of whether CRTs can be HDTVs - these ones aren't.
Interesting that it's the exact same one, and a good thousand miles apart from the last report of one. I suspect (but have no burning desire to go to Walmart in order to confirm) that this is nationwide. Although not on the website - although that might make sense if this is a heavier CRT tv as seems to be indicated by these reports
YERGH! Not again!
These TVs have HDTV receivers (As required by US law). They also specifically state on the card that they are only a 480i display. This means your 1080i ATSC signal is downconverted to 480i.
If you purchase a Dolby Digital receiver that includes just two speakers (and it was advertised as such), where you ripped off? NO. Your receiver can still receive Dolby Digital, it is downconverting it to just 2 speakers, however.
Would you rather this TV not receive HDTV signals and downconvert them? I imagine the consumers of it
wouldn't like that very much.
About the only thing fishy here is that they didn't write "HDTV tuner". Whether that was intentional, or it's because Walmart doesn't require a B.Sc. to work there, I don't know--but I am fairly certain it's the latter.
@thereij:
I think, and I could be wrong, but the majority of HD-CRT TVs displayed at a native resolution of 1080i and upscaled 720p content... At least mine did.
@shepd: It should really just state it has a Digital ATSC receiver. No need to say it's HD, because the TV isn't capable of HD output.
@DaBull: Its not that they dont know anything about the products, its that they are just programed to look for the make model and tag it, they dont give a crap about the description.
I worked at CompUSA, and while the sales guys werent experts in the items they sold, they certainly knew more than the average customer, but they also didnt give a crap if a tag was wrong, since it would mean having to take the tag, go reprint another one, then hang that (all of 10-20 minutes of extra work)
Just what define's high definition?
My brother's TV has 1366x768 resolution. 1920x1080 gets DOWN converted for it.
I guess they are counting it as "HDTV" if it can at least view HDTV broadcasts. At least it does say "480i resolution". The more honest term would be "multi-resolution compatible".
BTW, they have made true HDTVs with full resolution, and widescreen format, in CRT technology. It would be sellable for $188, though.
Correct. The title of this article should be "SDTVs Masquerading as HDTVs Plague Another Walmart." Or it could be "CRT TVs Masquerading as LCD TVs Plague Another Walmart." The way it's written shows a lack of understanding of the subject matter.
Yes, that's the most accurate definition. Unfortunately, most people shopping for a TV (especially those shopping for a TV at a chain store) probably don't have a clue what ATSC means. But they get that they need something that can do "HDTV" otherwise they can't watch TV anymore... :)
I was actually the submitter of the first photo from Connecticut (yay)
Why is there so much anti-Consumerist talk here?
1. The tag claims it is HDTV...it isn't. It cannot display high definition. It can display a digital signal. This is different. That's like saying your Tozai 2-speaker system is surround sound.
2. It sure as hell isn't LCD.
3. CRT HDTV sets do exist...this is NOT one of them.
4. If you sell the set next to 2 HD sets (as they did in Connecticut)...that's deceptive. What will end up happening is a tech-uneducated, perhaps older person/couple will walk in and buy it because it LOOKS like the TV they are accustomed to, and it SAYS it's HD.
When I brought it up to the manager, she was like "wow, that's not HD, or LCD. Weird. You must work in electronics". I told her that no, I don't, I'm just a nerd. She then asked my advice on what computer to buy to use photoshop.
So...perhaps you lay off Consumerist. CRT TV's are 99/100 times a 4:3 old beast such as this one...nothing wrong with their reporting.
It is not an HDTV receiver...it's a digital broadcast receiver. There is a difference. Digital is not the D in HD. High Definition is a set with 720 or 1080 lines of resolution.
In the same way, "Dolby Digital" is perfectly accurate, but if you call it surround sound and it is only 2 speakers, that is inaccurate.
It has a DIGITAL tuner, not an HD tuner. HD representative of the resolution of the broadcast, whereas digital means they moved from an analog broadcast to one of 1's and 0's.
Is it me, or are there alot of CRT sympathizers here? Geez.
Obviously, you need to buy the optional Monster cable in order to actually turn the CRT into an LCD.
It's probably just the inexperienced staff guessing incorrectly. I had one Walmart associate assure me on the phone that they didn't sell X brand at all. This is two days after looking at X brand in the store, and while actively viewing a web page stating they even had this exact brand and model in stock at this exact store.
She even continued assuring me that they had never carried X brand at all while I tried to read her the actual SKU number of the unit I was inquiring about.
I mean, you'd be better off taking advice from a Best Buy salesman, and we all know that's not a good idea.
The lesson learned? Do NOT expect correct technical specs from any store sign or employee. Do your research and know what you're after well before you arrive at a place of purchase.
@coren:
Wow, that entirely misses the point. The objectionable thing about this ad is NOT that they are CRTs, but that they are not HDTVs. Further, given the unenviable history of Consumerist on this same issue, it would be nice to see them fix something misleading they've provided to, you know, consumers.
@torgeaux: No, your correction is unnecessary, and that's the point. Just because CRTs can be HDTVs doesn't mean these particular ones are. The headline isn't misleading - these are CRTs masquerading as HDTVs. Now if you wanted an article correction, rather than headline, I'd agree. But the headline is 100 percent correct.
@coren:
And, highly misleading. How many times has consumerist come down on technically correct, but misleading ads? That, combined with the really egregious mistakes inside the article, and yes, it's worth correcting the headline as well. CRT "masquerading" as HDTV has one obvious meaning, that the CRT is contra the HDTV.
@jtheletter: I have one of those CRT HDTVs in my basement. Got it cheap(ish) when retailers were trying to unload them during the crossover to flat panel. Its a 37" 720p and and it has to weigh close to 300lbs. Its almost 4 feet deep!
I emailed a picture of this same tv to consumerist 2 months ago!
The TV at my WallyWorld had an accompanying sticker on the TV stating that the HD wouldn't work unless I purchased HD Cable from Comcast.
@torgeaux: It isn't misleading whatsoever, it's an entirely accurate statement of the facts. It's describing a type of TV, which Walmart is describing as having features that this particular model doesn't. It makes no claims as to the disposition of all CRTs or HDTVs.
In fact I think this is a better headline than the one comparing SDTV to HDTV - of course a standard definition isn't a high definition. That's like a headline of "water is wet".
Consumerist, please get your terms straight. CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) is a hardware technology but it does not imply that the set cannot be HD. There do exist CRT HDTVs, my brother owns one and it is 720i and a beast of a set.
In this case, yes, the product is mislabeled, however both articles relating to this incorrectly imply that being CRT negates being HD and this is wrong.
So yes, CRTs are more powerful than you have ever imagined.