Girlfriend Approved TV Setup! - Sony HT-Z9F Showcase

[corrado33]

5 minutes ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

When there are LMG employees on the site you need to very careful in what you say or include within the post, I'm actually surprised Nick didn't get your ass back into line because that's what I would have done. 

Pretty sure the LMG employees aren't censoring people's opinions. I am not openly attacking anybody or being hostile (the same could not be said for you, however). 

[nicklmg]

2 minutes ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

When there are LMG employees on the site you need to very careful in what you say or include within the post, I'm actually surprised Nick didn't get your ass back into line because that's what I would have done. 

Nothing that he said went against any rules. People are allowed to have an opinion that differs from ours.

 

I don't agree with his opinion - I don't think we're selling out by doing this type of content, and we're certainly not misleading anyone as the relationships that we have with brands are clearly and conspicuously called out verbally and through text (we're not trying to "disguise" it as anything - it's a sponsored video and we clearly say so). But he's allowed to express his opinion.

 

To be absolutely clear - you don't have to be "careful" about saying ANYTHING around us here. If you say something that goes against forum rules the mods will take care of it, as they always do. But you're more than welcome to express opinions about us and our business. If we think that you're wrong, we can respond to you and we're always happy to provide our side of the story when we feel like it would be beneficial to do so. But we don't silence people for saying something negative about us on this forum.

[syfer]

Can some tell me what is the make of the model of tv and small left and right speaker what is the model number also? I wish you post all parts in the video description as I don't see it there. 

[3 Lions]

18 minutes ago, nicklmg said:

Nothing that he said went against any rules. People are allowed to have an opinion that differs from ours.

 

I don't agree with his opinion - I don't think we're selling out by doing this type of content, and we're certainly not misleading anyone as the relationships that we have with brands are clearly and conspicuously called out verbally and through text (we're not trying to "disguise" it as anything - it's a sponsored video and we clearly say so). But he's allowed to express his opinion.

 

To be absolutely clear - you don't have to be "careful" about saying ANYTHING around us here. If you say something that goes against forum rules the mods will take care of it, as they always do. But you're more than welcome to express opinions about us and our business. If we think that you're wrong, we can respond to you and we're always happy to provide our side of the story when we feel like it would be beneficial to do so. But we don't silence people for saying something negative about us on this forum.

I think what angered me the most is the way he wrote it, just rubs me the wrong way. To lie in such a derogative way is just disgusting and I personally wouldn't except anyone talking to me in that way. I do understand that it's an option but personally think that the post went too far and attacked the company over a petty issue. 

[nicklmg]

1 minute ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

I think what angered me the most is the way he wrote it, just rubs me the wrong way. To lie in such a derogative way is just disgusting and I personally wouldn't except anyone talking to me in that way. I do understand that it's an option but personally think that the post went too far and attacked the company over a petty issue. 

Not trying to be dismissive, but it's just the internet man  people say a lot of stuff here, gotta let it roll off your back. Certainly not the worst thing that's ever been said about us, whether it's accurate or not.

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

1 hour ago, nicklmg said:

Nothing is disguised here. It says in the description and right at the beginning of the video that it's sponsored by Sony. Linus also calls it out verbally.

while i absolutely despise this type of content i will have to agree it's at least publicly displayed that it's sponsored content. 

[Enderman]

*2020*

18 videos per week

12 of them are paid ads from large companies

"it's just extra content, we're still uploading the regular 6 videos per week"

"its disclosed at the beginning and in the title"

"just dont watch"

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

1 hour ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

For a member that posted 1,615 posts on this forum, this is absolutely disgraceful. 

not saying that i agree with corrado33 but what does the amount of posts here have to do with anything? yes this site is run by LMG, but the community here is so big and diverse you can be on here and have no intrest in/don't watch any LMG content. 

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

2 minutes ago, Enderman said:

*2020*

18 videos per week

12 of them are paid ads from large companies

"it's just extra content, we're still uploading the regular 6 videos per week"

"its disclosed at the beginning and in the title"

"just dont watch"

i would be ok with that if it said *AD* right at the start of the video title, so that i'd know to avoid it. 

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

53 minutes ago, nicklmg said:

I don't think we're selling out by doing this type of content, and we're certainly not misleading anyone as the relationships that we have with brands are clearly and conspicuously called out verbally and through text (we're not trying to "disguise" it as anything - it's a sponsored video and we clearly say so).

i do think the particular things the brand that's sponsoring the video does can be more clearly communicated. 

 

i mean as in:

do they review the content before it is posted?

do they pay to review the product?

are all the opinions displayed LTT's opinions or did the brand have a say in them?

[nicklmg]

1 minute ago, firelighter487 said:

i do think the particular things the brand that's sponsoring the video does can be more clearly communicated. 

 

i mean as in:

do they review the content before it is posted?

do they pay to review the product?

are all the opinions displayed LTT's opinions or did the brand have a say in them?

A brand typically gets an opportunity to view something before it goes live - this is true of sponsored content across any channel (even off-YouTube - Instagram etc.). With that said, they are providing feedback not instructions - we then take that feedback and determine what can/cannot be changed, give them reasons why we refuse to remove or change certain portions of a video, etc. It's far from a simple process, which many people seem to miss - it's not like we just get a script from a brand and read it. We are always trying to make the most legitimate piece of content we can, within the constraints of whatever relationship we have with the brand in question.

 

Anything that says "sponsored by" is a paid piece. The purpose of that disclosure is to ensure that it's clear to the audience that money has changed hands in the creation of that content. It's also important to remember that sponsored videos on our channel are specifically NOT reviews. They're projects or overviews.

 

A brand buys airtime on the channel, not opinions. That's a very sacred designation to us - we do not sign any contracts that would force any member of our team to say something they don't personally believe or agree with.

 

If we say something is good/cool/etc. in a sponsored piece, it's because we actually think it's good/cool. And we'll always do our best to include any criticism we might have within the piece, even if it's sponsored.

 

 

If anyone takes something away from the piece, I hope it's this - brands buy airtime on our channel(s), not opinions.

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

@nicklmg if you put that in the description of all showcase video's or on screen at the beginning or something that would make it a lot more clear what a showcase video is and it would have definetely stopped me from complaining about them. 

[Enderman]

21 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

i would be ok with that if it said *AD* right at the start of the video title, so that i'd know to avoid it. 

Yeah, instead they write "showcase" at the end where half the time the title is so long it's not visible until you click on the video.

[aezakmi]

3 hours ago, shmoochie said:

this is why smaller channels are better

name a small channel that's better than LTT, I'll wait

[Spotty]

3 hours ago, Enderman said:

I think that firelighter's point is that there's a lot of them lately.

@firelighter487 It's just the time of the year. Going in to holidays such as Black Friday and Christmas, as well as Summer school break for Americans, is the time where companies spend a huge portion of their advertising revenue, and are pretty much throwing cash at whoever they can to spruik their product. This means that LTT are simply getting a lot more, and a lot better, offers for sponsored content this time of the year. It will slow a bit after Christmas and after summer. This has been the case for the last few years at least with LTT videos, and most youtubers in general. It's not a shift in the direction the channel is going, rather just a seasonal pattern they follow.

 

2 hours ago, corrado33 said:

Why? It's simply logical. LTT wants to make money. These things make them money. I'm just sad that it'll likely eventually lead to less original content. 

It's not about being greedy. The extra revenue they earn in this 'busy' period is what helps them not only sustain their channel and 25+ employees, but also fund ways to grow their channel further, such as buying new camera gear, new editing stations, hiring extra staff, or whatever it may be. If anything, sponsored content will give LTT the ability to create more original content.

In my opinion most of the sponsored videos are still enjoyable to watch just because of the quality presentation values the hosts have as well as often being ads for products that would appeal to tech enthusiasts. From what I've heard in the past, it seems as if they get quite a large number of offers for sponsored content, most of which they turn down. This means they have the ability to cherry pick the products that they either believe in and are happy to endorse, or products they believe the audience will find interesting... Though some have missed the mark by a long shot *cough* Dyson *cough*.

 

Sponsored videos are pretty obviously marked as sponsored content. If you don't like watching the sponsored videos, just hit the back button on the browser and watch something else instead. As Nick has mentioned, they're often done as content in addition to the regular video scheduling so you're not losing a LTT video by having the sponsored spots.

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

6 minutes ago, Spotty said:

@firelighter487 It's just the time of the year. Going in to holidays such as Black Friday and Christmas, as well as Summer school break for Americans, is the time where companies spend a huge portion of their advertising revenue, and are pretty much throwing cash at whoever they can to spruik their product. This means that LTT are simply getting a lot more, and a lot better, offers for sponsored content this time of the year. It will slow a bit after Christmas and after summer. This has been the case for the last few years at least with LTT videos, and most youtubers in general. It's not a shift in the direction the channel is going, rather just a seasonal pattern they follow.

sure, but that still doesn't mean i have to like it. i get why they do it though, because most people use adblock. 

 

but, as someone who turns off adblock on youtube, if i watch an LTT video i get a youtube ad (most of the time one where i have to wait 5 secs), a baked in sponsor spot, and another one if i don't pause the video fast enough at the end. if the whole video is an ad on top of that that's 4 ads. it's too many. i understand people who use adblock are annoying for LMG but this isn't the solution to me. in an ideal world sponsors wouldn't have to be a thing right?

 

but as i said, i had a lot of questions about this type of video in the back of my mind that @nicklmg clarified for me. i will just look at the title and if it says showcase i will take those things into consideration when watching them. 

[shmoochie]

25 minutes ago, aezakmi said:

name a small channel that's better than LTT, I'll wait

Chigz Tech Reviews

Zi Reviews Tech

 

[Spotty]

1 minute ago, firelighter487 said:

but, as someone who turns off adblock on youtube, if i watch an LTT video i get a youtube ad (most of the time one where i have to wait 5 secs), a baked in sponsor spot, and another one if i don't pause the video fast enough at the end. if the whole video is an ad on top of that that's 4 ads. it's too many. i understand people who use adblock are annoying for LMG but this isn't the solution to me. in an ideal world sponsors wouldn't have to be a thing right?

The sponsored content videos don't have the "This video is brought to you by PrivateSquareHoneyInternetFreshSpaceBooksAccess" spots at the start and end of a video. They only have the "This video was sponsored by LGOnePlusDyson" and no other advertisement. So if you look at it that way, you're actually getting less ads with sponsored content

At least LTT isn't one of those horrible people who put in midroll youtube ads that cut the video halfway through to show you an ad for KFC. If LTT ever did that they would feel the full wrath of my downvotes.

[aezakmi]

1 hour ago, shmoochie said:

Chigz

 

[shmoochie]

13 minutes ago, aezakmi said:

 

oh, your just a kid. I wont bother replying to you anymore. I thought you would be constructive or something. blocked list incoming.

[gonvres]

Thats two videos in a row that are effectively advertisements.

 

I don't mind the sponsor spots, but I don't think there should be weekly 'showcase' sponsored videos.

 

Of course, I have no idea of the financials required to run what is now a fairly large organisation. 

[ahuckphin]

did the F150 replace the XL7?

[PineyCreek]

Nice looking TV and soundbar.

 

I'm still rocking my old Toshiba 46" LCD (CCFL) and an Omnos Soundbar from Kickstarter.  It does the job.

 

The two CRTs take care of the rest of the house (NES!).

[Evelyn Harthbrooke]

10 hours ago, nicklmg said:

Thanks Sony for sponsoring this video! Check out their HT-Z9F sound bar at http://bit.ly/HTZ9F_LTT

 

 

Damn, I would die to have a setup like that. It's just so clean and minimalistic. Definitely a massive upgrade to Alex's setup. I bet he'll be enjoying the heck out of that TV and sound setup for a while (until he/LTT upgrades the setup again ). 

[Egg-Roll]

All I'm going to say is this: I never knew the speakers where called monitors, that's something new to me, tho how janky some of these guys sets have been in the past it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he actually had a computer monitor as a TV