Video: How Consumer Reports reviews gadgets

Consumer Reports is renowned for the rigor and comprehensiveness of its tests, as well as its independence from advertising money. Last week, it hosted a lab tour covering the work that it does, from the everyday testing of cameras gadgets to the unintuitive complexities that affect the display quality of a TV signal.

Without further ado, here's video from the event, each covering one variety of blinkenthing that the mag looked at while putting together its forthcoming electronics issue.

Camcorders: "I'm going to do a little show and tell ... with the image shaker."

Digital Cameras: "We look at over 120 a year."

Loudspeakers: "Being in a soundproof room is what this is about."

Laptops: "We had to build a printer lab."

Lawnmowers: "... Our quest to look at the various aspects of lawnmowing"

Televisions: "What happens when you get a crappy signal?"

[#1 posted by guy_jin , November 3, 2008 7:53 PM]

I'm cuddling my copy of consumer reports' latest electronics issue as I write this. (have you ever tried to type mid-cuddle? kinda complicated.)

Best use of dead trees ever. Why don't you subscribe?

[#2 posted by hypatia , November 3, 2008 8:15 PM]

This is so full of win... I'm sending this to my CR-reading dad toot sweet :)

[#3 posted by AirPillo , November 4, 2008 6:10 PM]

What's with the peculiar horizontal lines of distortion?

I've never seen that kind of effect outside of a funhouse mirror =P