how are you allowed to review products, do manufacturers have to give their approval to you covering a review or can you go to a shop and buy a product and do your review. obviously you are not slating the company just the product but I wonder what freedom you have when you review and if companies give feedback to WHF with good or bad reviews. Interesting to know ?
how are you allowed to rate or slate items
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chebby
Well-known member
brettweir:...how are you allowed to review products,
The 1946 "Criticism of electronics act" allowed for this when it repealed the notorious "unlawful hifi review" section...
"...gathering of persons for the purpose of committing a home entertainment equipment review involving a critical or a non-critical act in a manner likely to terrify the public..."
brettweir:...do manufacturers have to give their approval to you covering a review or can you go to a shop and buy a product and do your review...
I hope it never comes to the sorry state where manufacturers have to approve reviews.
Although there is one manufacturer who has written in these forums telling the WHF staff exactly how his product should have been reviewed, and with what ancillary equipment, and how disappointed with the review he was. (It got 5 stars!)
brettweir:...obviously you are not slating the company just the product but I wonder what freedom you have when you review ..
Freedom of speech, freedom of the press & freedom of expression?
Hopefully the same freedoms you and I have to write reviews of our own hifi here.
The 1946 "Criticism of electronics act" allowed for this when it repealed the notorious "unlawful hifi review" section...
"...gathering of persons for the purpose of committing a home entertainment equipment review involving a critical or a non-critical act in a manner likely to terrify the public..."
brettweir:...do manufacturers have to give their approval to you covering a review or can you go to a shop and buy a product and do your review...
I hope it never comes to the sorry state where manufacturers have to approve reviews.
Although there is one manufacturer who has written in these forums telling the WHF staff exactly how his product should have been reviewed, and with what ancillary equipment, and how disappointed with the review he was. (It got 5 stars!)
brettweir:...obviously you are not slating the company just the product but I wonder what freedom you have when you review ..
Freedom of speech, freedom of the press & freedom of expression?
Hopefully the same freedoms you and I have to write reviews of our own hifi here.
Usually we borrow equipment for review from manufacturers/distributors, but in case where they are unable or unwilling to supply we have been known to go out and buy products we feel justify such a course of action in the interests of the readership.
In an ideal world we would go out and buy every product we review, but a) this would have a huge impact on the cover price of the magazine, and b) it would preclude us from reviewing products as they appear in the shops, given the lead-time to which print magazines work.
Manufacturers have no knowledge of the outcome of reviews before the magazine is published - as EB Ricky showed the other day, subscribers usually see the magazine before the manufacturers -, but yes, we do get feedback(!) from companies when a review appears.
In an ideal world we would go out and buy every product we review, but a) this would have a huge impact on the cover price of the magazine, and b) it would preclude us from reviewing products as they appear in the shops, given the lead-time to which print magazines work.
Manufacturers have no knowledge of the outcome of reviews before the magazine is published - as EB Ricky showed the other day, subscribers usually see the magazine before the manufacturers -, but yes, we do get feedback(!) from companies when a review appears.
Like that excalamation mark....I suppose a sample, edited letter's not going to appear in these hallowed halls as an example anytime soon then...?!
chebby
Well-known member
I remember Clare telling us how manufacturer 'feedback' got physical at a hifi show one year.
(No names of giver of feedback or recipient of course.)
(No names of giver of feedback or recipient of course.)
Indeed - without naming names, we have experienced everything from verbal abuse to actual physical violence (Award night, actually). We've been accused of costing jobs, killing products and worse. Sometimes a manufacturers will pull all its advertising - a futile act, as it doesn't change our reviewing strategy; editorial is totally independent.
Claire,
How do you use the negative non violent feedback.
Also why do JVC, Toshiba and Sharp still send you review product but don't get much more than 4 star reviews and often after first test drop a star in group tests.
I wonder if they slate WHSV or ask for further explanation?
How do you use the negative non violent feedback.
Also why do JVC, Toshiba and Sharp still send you review product but don't get much more than 4 star reviews and often after first test drop a star in group tests.
I wonder if they slate WHSV or ask for further explanation?
We will always listen to feedback, positive or negative, from manufacturers, but you'd have to ask those companies why they decide to supply, or not supply, products, and what they feel about the reviews. Maybe they're grown-up enough to read the reviews and take criticisms on board, rather than just knee-jerk reacting to star-ratings?
That is true, star ratings and comments within most WHSV reviews don't actually slate a product. Recent reviews I am referring to do say that performance in certain areas are not as good as expected/in comparison rahter than saying they are poor.
Plus getting a review is as good as a free advert, we can all go demo the kit for ourselves on the back of a review and make an informed decision after.
btw is there any new plasma reviews coming up?
Plus getting a review is as good as a free advert, we can all go demo the kit for ourselves on the back of a review and make an informed decision after.
btw is there any new plasma reviews coming up?
theo12:btw is there any new plasma reviews coming up?
Well, we have a Panasonic 50vt20 in the test-rooms at the moment...
Well, we have a Panasonic 50vt20 in the test-rooms at the moment...
Cool,
Look forward to reading how good 3D is on that after the recent cross-talk discussions elsewhere on non plasma's.
I think that one is around the £2k mark, will there be reviews of ones under a grand in the next month or so?
Look forward to reading how good 3D is on that after the recent cross-talk discussions elsewhere on non plasma's.
I think that one is around the £2k mark, will there be reviews of ones under a grand in the next month or so?
Not sure if there are any plans for a group test of budget plasmas, but I'll put it to the review crew...
timwileman
Well-known member
Clare Newsome:
Indeed - without naming names, we have experienced everything from verbal abuse to actual physical violence (Award night, actually). We've been accused of costing jobs, killing products and worse. Sometimes a manufacturers will pull all its advertising - a futile act, as it doesn't change our reviewing strategy; editorial is totally independent.
sounds like a fun night on the town, can i come to the next one...promise to behave
Indeed - without naming names, we have experienced everything from verbal abuse to actual physical violence (Award night, actually). We've been accused of costing jobs, killing products and worse. Sometimes a manufacturers will pull all its advertising - a futile act, as it doesn't change our reviewing strategy; editorial is totally independent.
sounds like a fun night on the town, can i come to the next one...promise to behave
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