Rubbish reviews.
Posted by Big John on January 11, 2013
How much do you trust on-line product reviews ? You know, the sort of thing that you find, with star ratings, on ‘Amazon’ and on so called independant comparison websites.
My ’stone age’ DVD player ‘gave up the ghost’ recently, spluttering and flickering it’s final images, before spitting out it’s last half viewed disc, so I decided to buy a new one and, not being too technically minded when it comes to modern day gizmos, I sought guidance from the ‘experts’ and those users who had recently purchased the type of equipment that I needed.
Now we all know that there is no such thing as a ‘simple’ electronic device anymore, so I spent bloody ages studying specifications and trying to decide if I needed .. multi-region .. upscaling to 720p, 1080i and 1080p resolution .. HDMI connection .. MP3 and JPEG support .. REGZA link .. SCART cable .. and a dozen other features which might just as well have been written in Chinese for all they meant to me !
After much deliberation I decided on a model which ‘suited my pocket’ and then I read the reviews which ranged from … “Excellent, great sound and picture” … “Fantastic value for money” .. to .. “Piece of crap ! Do not buy”, but the one that caught my eye and really ‘sold me’ on this item was .. “Easy to install. After unpacking it was up and running in two minutes”.
My very smart looking DVD player arrived today, and I’ve just spent two hours pissing about behind my TV, pushing buttons on the remote, reading on-screen menus, trying to understand the stupid diagrams in the installation manual, and using a lot of …
… very naughty words !
MerCyn said
I rely on on-line product reviews, but add a few grains of salt and skepticism. Hope your new DVD works out great for you.
Betty said
I rely on on-line product reviews, too. Then, when I receive the item, I turn it over to my son and put in my ear plugs.
Big John said
Welcome MerCyn … and thanks, it’s working just fine.
rummuser said
I have a resident geek who takes care of such little matters for me!
Ginnie said
You sound about as electronically in the know as I am !! My days of batting my eyes and getting some guy to hook up the gizmo has long passed … so I just wait til my son-in-law comes to visit and keep my fingers crossed once it’s up and running.
Dick Klade said
I’m not big on conspiracy theories of any stripe, but there is a lurking suspicion that those who “just love it” may be sponsored by the manufacturers, while those who think “it’s a pile of horse apples” may be on the take from rival makers. However, I read all the comments, reach a decision, and then yell loudly for help when the latest amazing gadget arrives.
Grannymar said
I am ‘Told’ from afar (daughter in Dublin) what I am allowed to purchase from the world of technology. That gives me licence to pester her when I have problems.