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Arne Solheim Kaldahl did not want to calibrate the television. – They try to deceive customers, think.
In spring 2019, Arne Solheim Kaldahl received an SMS that the TV he had ordered from his local Power store in Ski was ready. It was prepared in a way that he did not know or ask for.
Immediately after receiving the text message, Power called:
– Seller asks: “Do you expect the TV to be calibrated when you pick it up?” I replied that we are talking about it in the store, says Solheim Kaldahl.
Many inquiries
The online newspaper has received a series of inquiries from customers of the electronics chains that have been upset by the offers of calibration and / or optimization of televisions, which aim to improve the image of the television in a way that the customers themselves do not. they can do.
Like many others, Arne Solheim Kaldahl believes that the process is completely unnecessary.
According to Solheim, the television was fully calibrated, without being asked about it.
“It only costs 2,000 crowns and we have a calibrated foot for you!” The seller is said to have said.
Solheim Kaldahl, who is a professor of computer electronics, replied that he could configure the television himself.
Also read: Ex-employees at Elkjøp and Power: – This is a cynical industry that never wants the best for the customer
But all the televisions of this model were fully calibrated, they told Solheim. He says they later told him if he had to wait another week to get an uncalibrated TV. Solheim insisted that it shouldn’t be his problem that the TV was calibrated.
– I took a ‘calibrated’ TV home, without paying 2000 kroner for this, says Kaldahl.
Also read: Old goods were priced at Power: – It’s a bad price
– This is an attempted fraud
In Power stores, just before Christmas, “calibration and preparation” is offered. The price has been reduced from 2298 to 1299 crowns. Kaldahl believes that this form of extra work on television is pure deception.
His daughter had exactly the same experience as him a few weeks later. These offers are attempts to fool 2000 kronor from gullible customers, Kaldahl believes.
– I hadn’t asked for calibration. That is completely absurd. Calibration is for colors to be correct, but these are the default settings on a television. If an 80 year old needs help with this, I hope they get it for free.
Also read: Races against the widespread price trap at Elkjøp and Power: – Worthless and misleading
– Up to the customer
Power has offered calibration with its technical partner (Calma) for three years, says Siri Røhr-Staff, Power’s communications manager. The service now costs 1299, – for the standard calibration and 1999, – for the Premium HDR calibration, for the more expensive and slightly more advanced televisions.
– In addition, we have a supplement of NOK 200 if the TV is over 65 inches, because then two people are needed to physically handle the TV.
She reacts strongly to allegations that Power is misleading customers by selling the service:
– These accusations are directly wrong. We offer a good product, the customer is completely free to choose whether to buy or not. Here even the customer received a service worth 2000 crowns for free. How can this be anything other than good customer service?
The cheapest televisions, for less than 2,500 crowns, do not need to be calibrated, he believes, and it means large investments in equipment and training to offer a professional service.
– Each individual television is calibrated based on the type of television it is, and the customer receives a report of all the adjustments made.
Also read: Elkjøp ads had fictitious previous prices
– The best on the market
That TVs can be sold fully calibrated, without knowing where or how to use them, explains the following:
– Of course, it is beneficial to calibrate by location, but not necessary. But we also offer to do this at home for those who want it.
According to Røhr-Staff, no television comes the same or completely adjusted from the factory. It claims that Power offers the best calibration product on the market:
– Calman Color Calibration Solutions are industry standard tools used by color specialists around the world to ensure color accuracy on monitors. In other words, we do a real calibration, and not just a color adjustment like other competitors do.
– Almost no one needs this
– Calibration is not a must have. Then the vendors added it to the equipment list. This is something that chains in particular have championed to create upsells. It may seem sneaky to sell this as a necessity for repeat customers, says Tor Helge Hushovd.
He is a department manager at Service Kompaniet, a leading coffee service shop, which repairs and services televisions. All TVs are factory calibrated, he says.
– Fine calibration should also be done in the atmosphere where the TV should be, where it has the white balance of the room light. It is not possible with the calibration methods used to simulate the light that is in the customer’s home.
According to Husehovd, fine calibration is reserved for professionals, such as when TV monitors need to be set up for a broadcast:
– It is to know that, for example, the TV monitors of TV 2 output a correct TV image. And then maybe there are some movie fans who can get something out of it, but otherwise this is completely unnecessary.
It states that televisions are generally set to look optimal in the store, but most televisions have a standard home setting that can be turned on. Beyond that, you can set the light and contrast yourself:
– And that has always been the case, says Husehovd.
– It can be necessary
Lasse Svendsen, editor of the trade magazine Lyd & Bilde, has a slightly different opinion:
– Calibration requires special tools and a service menu, and not all televisions can be calibrated. The simplest televisions do not have a calibration menu. But calibration is not the same as adjustments that you can make yourself with a remote control.
Nor is it possible for a customer to find out if a TV can be calibrated, says Svendsen. But what can give a better image to calibrate is undoubtedly, says the editor, who especially emphasizes that the more expensive models give a more optimal image with this expert procedure.
– So this is a service worth paying for, and I’m sure Power and Elkjøp have good people to do it.
However, one thing is clear. If calibration is going to have anything to do with it, usage and location knowledge is required, the expert says:
– The room in which the TV will be placed has a lot to say, and you need to know it in order to calibrate properly. So there are two prerequisites for a successful calibration: that the TV can be calibrated, and not just adjusted, and that you use the right tools. Also, work should be done based on whether the TV should be standing.
Dark and light have a lot to say, but also what you prefer to look at, says Svendsen. TV series can fare better with calibration than sports broadcasts, and vice versa.
Wrong price or wrong TV
However, Arne Solheim Kaldahl is skeptical. He thinks the experience of color is too subjective for this to make sense, and especially if the TV is fully calibrated:
– Is it more expensive to calibrate the TV when on the production line than for a Power employee to unpack the TV, calibrate a TV and unpack it?
It is also critical to the customer’s situation in the store:
– When I go to Power, there is a wall with televisions. So there are two possibilities: If the TVs are not calibrated, I choose based on what I see, not how they appear with calibration. And it can be completely different and not to my subjective taste. Or they are calibrated. So the price is wrong, when calibration is an additional service with pressure.
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