A grievance (edited)

[wasab]

1 hour ago, MrNehva said:

I don't get these threads, everyone knows they are shills, that's why we all love them

 

The business of adverstisment is precisely shilling oneself out. Do you see Samsung commercial giving us a deatiled unbiased review of Samsung vs that of their competitors? Lol

 

As long as it is an advertisement, looks like an adverstisment then it’s all well and good cuz viewers know. BUT if video is disguising ads as reviews then that’s foul. Reviews are oneself expressing his own opinion about the merits of a product/service. it is not a promo video even if many businesses sponsor them for promotional purposes and visibility.

[MrNehva]

2 minutes ago, wasab said:

The business of adverstisment is precisely shilling oneself out. Do you see Samsung commercial giving us a deatiled unbiased review of Samsung vs that of their competitors? Lol

 

As long as it is an advertisement, looks like an adverstisment then it’s all well and good cuz viewers know. BUT if video is disgusting ads as reviews then that’s foul. Reviews are oneself expressing his own opinion about the merits of a product/service. it is not a promo video even if many businesses sponsor them for promotional purposes and visibility.

I don't want to end up appearing condescending, but you clearly didn't get my sarcasm, I was joking, LTT and LMG in general, are the most transparent bunch of individuals you can find on the internet. IMHO they do their ads and reviews by the book and the segways to their sponsors are smoother then two Brazilians sliding in oil. 

[GilmourD]

1 hour ago, MrNehva said:

I don't want to end up appearing condescending, but you clearly didn't get my sarcasm, I was joking, LTT and LMG in general, are the most transparent bunch of individuals you can find on the internet. IMHO they do their ads and reviews by the book and the segways to their sponsors are smoother then two Brazilians sliding in oil. 

I love when they drop a giant deuce on a product and then people are like "OMG! SELLOUTS!" about that video. Did you watch the video? LOL

[mr moose]

2 hours ago, GilmourD said:

I love when they drop a giant deuce on a product and then people are like "OMG! SELLOUTS!" about that video. Did you watch the video? LOL

Maybe I missed something but it appears they are only sellouts when it's about an Intel or Nvidia product.  

 

Maybe someone can point me to a thread where someone claimed they are biased or paid off when favoring AMD in a review?

[MegaTechPC]

I just don't really care whether they are sellouts or not, to be honest.  As I said, I am not watching LTT videos to do serious research about product buying decisions.  I watch LTT videos for entertainment, because I really like the personalities of the LMG presenters (Linus, Luke, Colton, Dennis, Alex, Max, Jon, Taran, Berkel rip, etc), I like the wacky video premises (like water cooling a HDD), and I also find certain videos (especially Techquickie thanks to Jon) to be of a certain educational value.  So even if Linus is clearly making money from all kinds of sources (as well as truck loads of free hardware and products) it doesn't really affect my viewing habits or my affection for the channels in the least.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Ever since they moved away from unboxings and everything, I've put myself in the mindset of relating LTT to (the old) Top Gear and what is now The Grand Tour. Sure our favourite trio Jeremy, Richard, and James are pretty knowledgeable when it comes to cars, but you would never rely on them to provide 100% accurate in depth analysis on the cars they test. It's a mixture of entertainment and some true facts. There are many other channels where you can watch meticulous in depth analysis on things as you fall asleep. I'll just stick to my entertainment. If I really wanted to learn about something, I would research about it on my own time rather than waiting like a little schoolboy to see what our lord Linus is going to teach us today in class. 

[GilmourD]

8 hours ago, mr moose said:

Maybe I missed something but it appears they are only sellouts when it's about an Intel or Nvidia product.  

 

Maybe someone can point me to a thread where someone claimed they are biased or paid off when favoring AMD in a review?

I'm sure somebody said it in the Ryzen APU video comments. LOL

[MegaTechPC]

The comparison between LTT and Top Gear is a good one!  Personally I absolutely adore both (for the same reasons) but neither are my go-to's for factual researching of different products (cars or PC's).

[Egg-Roll]

On 2/13/2018 at 12:27 AM, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

but you would never rely on them to provide 100% accurate in depth analysis on the cars they test. It's a mixture of entertainment and some true facts.

My personal issue with some of Linus's videos are the stretching of truth or completely wrong ones. Most recent is the iPhone video claiming only non-removable batteries can be slim and sleek, while implying removable ones are the flinstones version of phones.

 

I understand renting a facility in Canada and having employees are not cheap, but that doesn't mean you should cut corners. Most videos are good, but the ones like Bixby Amazon Go and the recent Slow Down video are examples of where finances have superseded claimed standards, this includes lack of investigating written claims in the script to ensure they hold up to some degree.

 

I still plan on buying a year of Floatplane when the new payment system comes into place, because I still want to support LMG, but if their content keeps going downhill I might have to go against those words of promise.

[TH3M4DR4TT3R]

On 09/02/2018 at 5:40 AM, minervx said:

I would be okay with the advertising if it were more honest.

 

What I do have a problem with is when he makes a build video for a PC that young people with lower income and less knowledge of computers are watching and he equips all of his builds with 64 GB RAM of Corsair DominatorSuperPlus RAM as if it was a practical decision rather than a way to advertise to 17 year olds who want to feel like a sports car racer.

So what about Scrapyard wars then, those videos showed how people with a limited budget can build a PC, are we going to ban videos with young people in fast cars next or maybe videos of young people buying expensive items, like $8000 or $20000 mystery boxes from Ebay.

My daughter wants a new laptop, she has a second hand £250 one, but looking at LMG's laptop reviews for top of the range laptops gives her something to aspire to, as would seeing top end RAM going in a build for anyone building their own PC.

If you don't like what LMG does on youtube watch someone else but why bash a fella that's done well for himself, Linus isn't completely altruistic, just look at the situation with Dennis and his visa back in 2016...

Enough ranting!!!!!

[mr moose]

3 hours ago, Egg-Roll said:

My personal issue with some of Linus's videos are the stretching of truth or completely wrong ones. Most recent is the iPhone video claiming only non-removable batteries can be slim and sleek, while implying removable ones are the flinstones version of phones.

 

I understand renting a facility in Canada and having employees are not cheap, but that doesn't mean you should cut corners. Most videos are good, but the ones like Bixby Amazon Go and the recent Slow Down video are examples of where finances have superseded claimed standards, this includes lack of investigating written claims in the script to ensure they hold up to some degree.

 

I still plan on buying a year of Floatplane when the new payment system comes into place, because I still want to support LMG, but if their content keeps going downhill I might have to go against those words of promise.

I have yet to encounter a youtuber, mainstream documentary channel, news outlet or paper that has not made mistakes with the facts.  They all do it, it's not always intentional or even lack of care when researching (although I am sure that's not uncommon).  The hardest bit is trying to decide whether you can live with that or if it bugs you too much.

[Egg-Roll]

8 hours ago, mr moose said:

I have yet to encounter a youtuber, mainstream documentary channel, news outlet or paper that has not made mistakes with the facts.  They all do it, it's not always intentional or even lack of care when researching (although I am sure that's not uncommon).  The hardest bit is trying to decide whether you can live with that or if it bugs you too much.

I started watching LMG content because it was logical to at least some degree(somewhere in 2016 I became a daily viewer, i think), the Bixby ad was annoying, but I get it it pays bills, but that type of video prob shouldn't happen again, regardless of the number of 0's paid. I treat LMG like I would treat a documentary of a quality around Life after people, plenty of entertainment with some facts and predictions etc, errors happen I get that. AGo and Bixby I can swallow. But the recent Apple video is very much like a news station or paper who creates a headline or claim to mislead their followers. For LMG it's the claim with removable batteries, the video it self is over all decent and a follow up from the recent news about apples actions, but absolutely no care was clearly given to that one line and that's what destroyed the video for me.

 

Maybe they got some extra 0's to say that one line who knows, and frankly who cares. If Linus wants to become inconsistent in words which he should know are obviously wrong, it quickly comes down to how frequent it becomes in not just out of x number of videos but the number in each video.

 

I'm a very tolerant person when it comes to inconsistencies, errors, and other issues. It's when said people never learn does it start to get under my skin, and for a tech channel to come out and claim removable batteries cause bulk, well yea, that should have never been said.

 

If Linus wants to become a newspaper or TV news style youtube channel, thats fine, but I'll stop watching their videos, it's that simple. If it happens before FP's new payment system I'll be saving money whereas they'll be losing money.

[MegaTechPC]

On 2/16/2018 at 1:24 AM, Egg-Roll said:

I started watching LMG content because it was logical to at least some degree(somewhere in 2016 I became a daily viewer, i think), the Bixby ad was annoying, but I get it it pays bills, but that type of video prob shouldn't happen again, regardless of the number of 0's paid. I treat LMG like I would treat a documentary of a quality around Life after people, plenty of entertainment with some facts and predictions etc, errors happen I get that. AGo and Bixby I can swallow. But the recent Apple video is very much like a news station or paper who creates a headline or claim to mislead their followers. For LMG it's the claim with removable batteries, the video it self is over all decent and a follow up from the recent news about apples actions, but absolutely no care was clearly given to that one line and that's what destroyed the video for me.

 

Maybe they got some extra 0's to say that one line who knows, and frankly who cares. If Linus wants to become inconsistent in words which he should know are obviously wrong, it quickly comes down to how frequent it becomes in not just out of x number of videos but the number in each video.

 

I'm a very tolerant person when it comes to inconsistencies, errors, and other issues. It's when said people never learn does it start to get under my skin, and for a tech channel to come out and claim removable batteries cause bulk, well yea, that should have never been said.

 

If Linus wants to become a newspaper or TV news style youtube channel, thats fine, but I'll stop watching their videos, it's that simple. If it happens before FP's new payment system I'll be saving money whereas they'll be losing money.

You're just mad because they didn't go on and on about how great removable batteries are and lobby all the phone makers to stop making sealed phones.  We get it, you are one of those removable battery diehards and any video that doesn't promote how great they are is instantly going to trigger you.  Personally, I HATE removable batteries and am so happy they aren't in most high-end phones.  I don't need to be swapping batteries in the first place, and phones with removable batteries always look and feel cheap.  The sealed glass and metal designs of the iPX or Note 8 are fantastic to look at and hold, and by the time the batteries become a problem I will be onto the next new phone anyway.

[Egg-Roll]

36 minutes ago, MegaTechPC said:

You're just mad because they didn't go on and on about how great removable batteries are and lobby all the phone makers to stop making sealed phones.  We get it, you are one of those removable battery diehards and any video that doesn't promote how great they are is instantly going to trigger you.  Personally, I HATE removable batteries and am so happy they aren't in most high-end phones.  I don't need to be swapping batteries in the first place, and phones with removable batteries always look and feel cheap.  The sealed glass and metal designs of the iPX or Note 8 are fantastic to look at and hold, and by the time the batteries become a problem I will be onto the next new phone anyway.

Actually you're wrong, my concern is what and how they said it. I personally won't support internal batteries till I don't have a choice, and it's for safety reasons, Sammy proved that nicely with the Note 7... Linus claimed removable batteries caused bulk, which was incorrect. He didn't go on about quality of the back vs removable or non. If he said "unless we all go back to removable batteries and lose our glossy glass backings..." That is far better and more consistent with the video, but that's not what he said now is it?

 

You hate them, I like them, that's what makes us different, I would love a glossy sexy backing on my phone, but at the end of the day I'm throwing a rubber on it either way so should I really care? I don't swap out my batteries but at least if something happens and the battery suddenly doesn't keep its charge, it won't cost me $25+, plus battery, plus loss of a phone for at least 1 hour, it'll only cost me the battery and no downtime.

 

What many people who gloat and say non-renovables are awesome fail to realize is they suck for one major reason, they are not usually covered under warranty, they are classified as consumables this means after your 30 or 90 day return policy with your provider if something happens and your battery dies, you're screwed, and even if it's covered under warranty, you're w/o your phone for at least a few hours. Me, I just plug it into whatever will supply the required power (2 10,000mah banks), order a new battery from amazon, get it next day (or same day if lucky), stress free living 

[dalekphalm]

On 2/8/2018 at 7:36 AM, sh0ck1ng said:

You do not need to be Einstein to work that out, create a tv advert which may hit 2% of your demographic from 300,00 million tv viewers for $2 Million or spend $50,000 to target 5 million people who are clearly your demographic, as evidenced by LTT subscribers.

So, I assume that "300,00 million tv viewers" was supposed to read "300 million" - correct?

 

If so, just so we're clear, 2% of 300 million is 6 million. Which is higher than LTT's subscriber count (5 million). It's also, furthermore, higher than LTT's actual average viewership, which is closer to 1-2 million for one of their very popular videos.

 

Actual LTT viewership sits closer to the 500K to 600K mark.

 

So while it does seem that YouTube views are more cost effective, it's not nearly the difference you're implying.

 

$2m over 6m views = $0.33 advertiser dollar per view

$50k over 500k views = $0.10 advertiser dollar per view

 

Much closer than one would expect.

[mr moose]

40 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

So, I assume that "300,00 million tv viewers" was supposed to read "300 million" - correct?

 

If so, just so we're clear, 2% of 300 million is 6 million. Which is higher than LTT's subscriber count (5 million). It's also, furthermore, higher than LTT's actual average viewership, which is closer to 1-2 million for one of their very popular videos.

 

Actual LTT viewership sits closer to the 500K to 600K mark.

 

So while it does seem that YouTube views are more cost effective, it's not nearly the difference you're implying.

 

$2m over 6m views = $0.33 advertiser dollar per view

$50k over 500k views = $0.10 advertiser dollar per view

 

Much closer than one would expect.

And half those viewers already have a chip on their shoulder about advertising interfering with their academic superiority.  So factor in a lost audience.

[dalekphalm]

12 hours ago, mr moose said:

And half those viewers already have a chip on their shoulder about advertising interfering with their academic superiority.  So factor in a lost audience.

Indeed - how many LTT users use adblock? I bet it's a lot. I bet it's also higher than your average YouTube viewer, because LTT users are likely on average more technically savvy.

 

Plus with the fact that LTT often places in-video ad placements at the end of the video (on purpose), how many users stop watching once the ad placement starts?

[Vantage9]

On 2/5/2018 at 1:51 PM, sh0ck1ng said:

I feel I needed to join up to the forum to air a 'personal' grievance,
Firstly let me say I have been a fan of Linus for many, many years, he is a lovable character who possesses a wealth of knowledge and imparts this knowledge with impartially.

At least that was how I perceived him, recently LTT's has become another YT corporate, happy to push any product for the pay cheque.
The latest Intel laptop video is a fine example, anyone with a modicum of computer savvy will no doubt be aware of Intel and their backdoor and no amount of software patches are going to close that thing.

LTT's are openly pushing Intel laptops to get paid, completely omitting the fact Intel 6th, 7th & 8th Gen CPU's are not only a security liability but over-priced slabs of silicon. (I should know, I own a 6700 i7)

Linus from 4 years ago would have torn Intel a 'new one' but now he is happy to facilitate them to get a pay cheque whilst not informing the viewers of the security issues.

I once had huge respect for Linus, the Linus Media Group has become yet another YT advetiser, no longer concerned with consumers and enthusiasts, but more concerned with getting paid (as evidenced by the latest video).

It's rather sad to see Linus go down this path, although I guess it's inevitable, when you have this many subscribers, views and a huge audience.

Thanks for some great videos Linus, but I will not be watching any more. I have unsubscribed and you'll no longer be getting a thumbs-up from me on every video.

Get back to what you once did best, impartial reviews and informative videos.
Blatant misleading infomercials will ultimately be LTT's demise.
It's a dark road to go down if you deviate from what gained you this status.
But hey, I'm but one viewer, and you'll still be getting paid, so ignore me and my opinion I guess.

 

Wow, somebody didn't take their meds today...  This is some Breitbart-level conspiracy theory, if you're jumping to these kinds of troll-worthy conclusions.  

 

Just no.  You might actually believe all of this crap, or maybe not, but the majority of people who take the time to watch tech videos and post on tech forums like this one know better.  There's no room for fanboy stances here.  Linus runs a business, and Intel is at the core of the computer industry.  Shit happens, learn to roll with it.  There's nothing shill-like for reviewing a laptop that has a processor you don't like.

[MegaTechPC]

On 2/18/2018 at 10:54 PM, Egg-Roll said:

Actually you're wrong, my concern is what and how they said it. I personally won't support internal batteries till I don't have a choice, and it's for safety reasons, Sammy proved that nicely with the Note 7... Linus claimed removable batteries caused bulk, which was incorrect. He didn't go on about quality of the back vs removable or non. If he said "unless we all go back to removable batteries and lose our glossy glass backings..." That is far better and more consistent with the video, but that's not what he said now is it?

 

You hate them, I like them, that's what makes us different, I would love a glossy sexy backing on my phone, but at the end of the day I'm throwing a rubber on it either way so should I really care? I don't swap out my batteries but at least if something happens and the battery suddenly doesn't keep its charge, it won't cost me $25+, plus battery, plus loss of a phone for at least 1 hour, it'll only cost me the battery and no downtime.

 

What many people who gloat and say non-renovables are awesome fail to realize is they suck for one major reason, they are not usually covered under warranty, they are classified as consumables this means after your 30 or 90 day return policy with your provider if something happens and your battery dies, you're screwed, and even if it's covered under warranty, you're w/o your phone for at least a few hours. Me, I just plug it into whatever will supply the required power (2 10,000mah banks), order a new battery from amazon, get it next day (or same day if lucky), stress free living 

The Note 7 debacle was such a massively overblown issue, stoked by the typical Chicken Little media its not even funny.  I still have my original Note 7 and it still functions perfectly fine.  No fires, no explosions, nada.  Samsung went the safe route with the recall and discontinuation and I can't really blame them for that, but the sealed battery was never the real issue anyway.  The issue was that they were too aggressive in the design of the phone to make it as thin and as light as possible, and didn't design enough room for normal expansion of the battery.  Obviously they completely rectified that mistake with the S8 and Note 8, and those phones are exponentially better and more appealing to me as designed than if they had featured removable batteries.  To each his own however.

[Egg-Roll]

On 2/19/2018 at 1:01 AM, dalekphalm said:

$50k over 500k views = $0.10 advertiser dollar per view

 

I could argue it would be even lower. It would be more cost effective to spam google ads promoting their service on tech sites and searches than paying $0.10 per view. It's more than likely they pay a flat fee of about $5,000 per video even less for the WAN show(with the exception of Sammy, that had to of been a nice day to be linus ), mostly because while having 5 million subscribers are good there are times where videos can "flop".

 

Oh they also forgot the cost of productucing the commercial as well for tv which could be as much as a million or more dollars or as little as $50,000.

 

On 2/19/2018 at 2:04 PM, dalekphalm said:

how many users stop watching once the ad placement starts?

I let them roll thru, simply because I hate a incomplete red bar 

 

7 hours ago, MegaTechPC said:

The Note 7 debacle was such a massively overblown issue, stoked by the typical Chicken Little media its not even funny.  I still have my original Note 7 and it still functions perfectly fine.  No fires, no explosions, nada.  Samsung went the safe route with the recall and discontinuation and I can't really blame them for that, but the sealed battery was never the real issue anyway.  The issue was that they were too aggressive in the design of the phone to make it as thin and as light as possible, and didn't design enough room for normal expansion of the battery.  Obviously they completely rectified that mistake with the S8 and Note 8, and those phones are exponentially better and more appealing to me as designed than if they had featured removable batteries.  To each his own however.

Can only say yours operates perfectly fine if you can still use it on telecommunication services and never updated the unit. However that still doesn't change the fact you can't take it on the plane with you... Why? non-removable battery. Tho they still might have banned it, but not likely. So because of the plane ban your Note 7 can't operate like any other device, now can it?

 

Design errors happen, but they still proved how they are still unsafe. That is until these batteries take over...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcochiappetta/2017/01/31/researchers-create-new-high-capacity-battery-technology-without-lithium-ions-explosive-risks/#5097ff6d1a6b

[asus killer]

i don't agree with the OP's post on almost nothing. Just came here to say i preferred old linus videos, the house, the kitchen set, the lesser production values (because sometimes more is less), etc... still, happy for his success and i guess things change, get over it.

 

 

[MegaTechPC]

Obviously I don't use my Note 7 anymore as my main phone since Verizon doesn't allow that, but the phone still gets used on wifi quite a lot, I charge it all the time, and it works exactly the same as it always has.  Out of the several million Note 7's that were initially shipped, only a handful of phones ever were proven to have combusted at all, and none were actual "explosions" like has been constantly claimed.  I feel quite safe to use my Note 7 as I have been doing and expect that the chances of it EVER combusting are minute at best.

 

Anyway, all I was saying is that the fact that it has a sealed battery was NOT the cause of the supposed issue; it was a design flaw.  Had there been a removable battery then I guess maybe it wouldn't have been as problematic for Samsung or Note 7 owners, but I wouldn't have bought one so I don't really care.  I just wish I had been able to get a Note 8 to replace the 7 instead of the S7 Edge I used for a year after the recall but of course it was the only phone available at the time.