Guys, thank you for all your kind words.
Did any one consider that SGHT hasn't covered the NEC DLP unit because it is not marketed to the residential marketplace? It is hard enough covering our market; and even tougher getting demo samples from manufacturers afraid of getting a bad review.
Charlies, your problems are deep-seeded and difficult to address. Until you walk in my shoes, do not criticize the life I lead.
I never even mentioned the chroma bug in the Seleco DM review. The horizontal lines I witnessed were in the Snell & Wilcox moving zone plate and gray fields in Video Essentials. As soon as anyone can explain to me how a chroma issue can affect the black and white portion of an image, I will write the correction in print. And I will have learned something.
Cai, your comments were unique and insightful as well. Simply because Yamaha's PR firm aggressively sent out demo units, we are having cost-cutting pressures? Give me a break. Did you even notice that the Seleco projectors were two different models?
As for our relationship with Home Theater magazine; even though we share office space in Los Angeles, I hardly see anyone from there...let alone discuss our work. Other than the twelfth floor, and the photography studio storage room, we don't share anything...except perhaps for their Photo Research color analyzer. I do talk with them socially, they are good people working hard to do the best job they can. But I'm not about to let them know what pieces I'm working on, or any particular story angles.
We are concerned when they get products the same time as us. By editorial choice, our product analysis takes longer than theirs; we live with the unit in our reference system for usually over a month before a review is penned. If I had written a quick analysis of the DM projector; before I discovered that aggressive sharpness control or that de-focus tweak; it would have been incomplete and inaccurate. I would have provided no service to our readers and a disservice to Seleco. And yes, I do see it as a service.
As for advertising affecting editorial...in a year and four months, I can count on both hands the number of times I've even noticed who advertises in our magazine. Each issue is out of our hands before the ads are even placed, and when I'm reading a finished issue...I'm too busy checking our editing, so I can make sure I learn how to do that better.
I am called upon by our advertising salespeople to visit booths during trade shows, but that is PR work. I like to meet the people behind these interesting products; they are doing an unbelievable job in the midst of pressures unheard of; with the increased speed of technology and information, they operate under extreme duress to research, develope, package, market, and deliver products in ever decreasing time spans. I am amazed at them.
The internet is an interesting arena for ideas and experiences, but there is no check or balance for incorrect facts. E-words here on the forum are easy to post, and easy to correct—if an inaccuracy doesn’t just devolve into some pissing match. Words committed to print have an entirely different life span altogether. We do the best we can to be accurate and accountable to both readers and manufacturers alike.
There are many folks who know me on this forum; and will attest to my character, and my desire to help increase the quality of this entire home entertainment electronics industry...so we all get better at it and enjoy it more. I am always available via this e-mail address, or through letters to the magazine. You are all welcome to submit thoughtful questions, real complaints, and hopefully even an encouragement when we get something right.
Plus, a wise man once said something about casting stones...you might want to look it up.
Sincerely,
John Gannon