How big is your new HD TV? The chances are that it is smaller than what you think. In the US two of the biggest consumer technology retailers Best Buy and Circuit City are so concerned over misleading consumers that they have changed the way that they market a HD TV in an effort to be more transparent.
In a lesson for retailers like Harvey Norman or JB Hi Fi US retailers are now saying that the bulk of HD TV sold could be up to half an inch smaller than what is being advertised.
Among the brands identified as selling screens smaller than what they claim are Sharp, Sony Toshiba and LG. For example a 32″ Bravia TV in reality is only 31.5″ TV
According to the New York Times US retailer Best Buy said that six months ago it changed its to point out that TV screens are measured diagonally, and:
“We also started using the word “Class” to describe the size of the television if the screen size was not, in fact, exactly the size at which that television is classified,” a company spokesman, Brian Lucas wrote in an e-mail message. Mr. Lucas said the company wanted to be transparent with customers.
“If a 32? television is actually 31.5? we think a customer might want to know that even though it might not seem like a big deal to some people,” he wrote.
Sony admitted to the New York Times that there were three sizes of TVs in particular, including the 32-inch, that are generally a few fractions of an inch smaller than the class they belong to. However they refused to say why they market a 31.5″ TV as 32″.
Both Sharp and Samsung have refused to comment on the issue.
