I never read them. Today I came across an issue and flipped through it while I was....... never mind. The ads are hilarious and the reviews are even funnier. I know a lot of you are in this business, so sorry- nothing personal.
The issue is from Nov. 2003. It starts out with a feature on 5 components (real specific category isn't it?).
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LMAO. WTF does that mean? Let's see, overuse of the word digital... check. Fancy acronyms that mean absolutely nothing to anyone without any explaination... check. Find an excuse to say "maximize digital sound quality"... check.
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WOW! That is a mouthfull, isn't it. I think it's much easier to say, "for $50, using Radio Shack's SPL (Sound Pressure Level) technology, you can acomplish the same thing".
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No seriously, it really does say that.
Number 5. is MSN TV. I'm not even going to get into that.
Turn the page and I see an ad for Ultralink cables which, among other things, advertises "Light-Lock(R) Toslink interconnects." You've gotta be kidding me. It's bad enough that people claim differences between digital coax cables, but if this company can claim an optical cable is better I truely live in the land of fraud.
Next page is an artical called "A November to Remember". Wait, isn't that the name of a car ad campaign I heard a million times?? Oh yeah, it was Lexus and it was December. Who pays these people again? Anyways, the article is about car audio systems!?! This is a HT magazine. But whatever, I like checking out custom hi-fi rides. I was into that stuff in college. Alpine, MB Quarts, etc. Unfortunately this is an article about STOCK AUDIO SYTEMS!!! Wait. I'm only on page 24. It gets better.
Flipping past the Runco ad, there's a Bose ad on the next page. No comment.
The Philips ad tells us about "Pixel Plus technology". Actually it tells me nothing about it, other than to visit the website to learn more. I'll pass. I don't need to remember every company's made up name for the work "scaler".
This is the best part. On page 36 I come to an new article entitled:
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Neither words, nor silly net-acronyms like "ROTFL" do justice to how I felt reading this. Needless to say, it covers every digital projector under that price including the HT1000. Not ONE mentions the native resolution and the contrast ratio is only mentioned in the DLP models. I can't believe people are actually expected to pay $3.99($5.99CAN) for this contracted advertising?
The next page is a JVC amp/receiver ad with a picture of Bonnie Raitt explaining how thanks to this unit she doesn't need to go to the studio anymore to hear her music in surround sound or some garbage like that.
There's an article showing off a family's San Diego house. They actually have a Runco CRT which looks like a Barco 808 (and I'm sure it is). It's nice to see a CRT, but of course it's ceiling mounted and there's no hushbox. I'm sure the picture is quite nice, but I'll take my XG w/ hushbox over it anyday. Aside from saving myself the cost of a new car, I experience HOME Theater, not AIRLINE Theater.
That's about it. A couple more features on HT owners (one DLP FP and the other plasma). The back cover has a slick ad for "Goldmund". It looks like a jewelry ad but I think they're some kind of audio component- not sure. They're pretty looking though. It just says they're Swiss made. I personally like the way my components look better- hidden and out of sight.
The ads are ridiculous but at least they pay for you to read them, not the other way around. When the magazine itself is nothing more than a PR machine, it drives me through the roof.
The issue is from Nov. 2003. It starts out with a feature on 5 components (real specific category isn't it?).
Quote:
"1. Yamaha's newest babies... utilizes Yamaha's Digital Top-ART (Total Purity Audio Reproduction Technology) design concept to maximize digital sound quality" |
Quote:
"... With a retail price of $999, the RX-V2400 features the new YPAO (Yamaha Automatric Paremetric Room Acoustic Optomizer) function, which automatically analyzes room acoustics, and then sets parameters for optimum sound quality at the listening position." |
Quote:
"2. Purely Pioneer; PDP-5040HD; Fifty inches and over a BILLION colors...enough said." |
Number 5. is MSN TV. I'm not even going to get into that.
Turn the page and I see an ad for Ultralink cables which, among other things, advertises "Light-Lock(R) Toslink interconnects." You've gotta be kidding me. It's bad enough that people claim differences between digital coax cables, but if this company can claim an optical cable is better I truely live in the land of fraud.
Next page is an artical called "A November to Remember". Wait, isn't that the name of a car ad campaign I heard a million times?? Oh yeah, it was Lexus and it was December. Who pays these people again? Anyways, the article is about car audio systems!?! This is a HT magazine. But whatever, I like checking out custom hi-fi rides. I was into that stuff in college. Alpine, MB Quarts, etc. Unfortunately this is an article about STOCK AUDIO SYTEMS!!! Wait. I'm only on page 24. It gets better.
Flipping past the Runco ad, there's a Bose ad on the next page. No comment.
The Philips ad tells us about "Pixel Plus technology". Actually it tells me nothing about it, other than to visit the website to learn more. I'll pass. I don't need to remember every company's made up name for the work "scaler".
This is the best part. On page 36 I come to an new article entitled:
Quote:
"High-resolution Home Theater Projectors Under 5,000 bucks... It's About Time!" |
The next page is a JVC amp/receiver ad with a picture of Bonnie Raitt explaining how thanks to this unit she doesn't need to go to the studio anymore to hear her music in surround sound or some garbage like that.
There's an article showing off a family's San Diego house. They actually have a Runco CRT which looks like a Barco 808 (and I'm sure it is). It's nice to see a CRT, but of course it's ceiling mounted and there's no hushbox. I'm sure the picture is quite nice, but I'll take my XG w/ hushbox over it anyday. Aside from saving myself the cost of a new car, I experience HOME Theater, not AIRLINE Theater.
That's about it. A couple more features on HT owners (one DLP FP and the other plasma). The back cover has a slick ad for "Goldmund". It looks like a jewelry ad but I think they're some kind of audio component- not sure. They're pretty looking though. It just says they're Swiss made. I personally like the way my components look better- hidden and out of sight.
The ads are ridiculous but at least they pay for you to read them, not the other way around. When the magazine itself is nothing more than a PR machine, it drives me through the roof.