Thread: false advertising?

Do you consider it to be false advertising for any manufacturer of down viewing sonar equipment, to put such incredible images on their sales info, when the reality is virtually no one can achieve anything close to that under any circumstances.
I do.

For advertising, they are going to put their best stuff up there. I'm sure everyone here with SI or DI equipment has screen shots as poor as poor can be, and some excellent ones. Lots of variables to get the best pictures. False advertising, I'd have to say no, but don't expect many of your screen shots to equal the best quality of images they show in their advertisements.

I agree Ron. If I had seen crappy pictures in the ads, I would never have bought 1 (many). Pictures are intended to be a stimulus. Worked on me anyway.

In defense of the Lowrance Elite 5 DSI .... I have the original box, and MY screenshot images are better than those on the box (most of which are taken from the unit's simulator program). However, I cannot speak to the images that may have been "online" in any ads, since I bought the unit from a C.c member as a upgrade to a Lowrance Strata 2d unit. Having used 2d units since the 1970's ... it was a bit of a learning curve, going to the DI/color/GPS system. But after having it, using it, and with the help of other owners on the thread I started in this forum ... it has proven to be a worthwhile purchase, to me.

As to the comments on E5DSI vs the HDS units ... the E5DSI units came out BEFORE the HDS series. So, yeah ... the HDS series is a serious step up from the E5DSI unit. The Elite 5 DSI came out in 2010 & was the ICast 2010 Best Electronics winner. The HDS series is already into Generation 2 mode, and is a module system ... whereas the Elite 5DSI is a standalone unit ... so there's no way to compare the two.

As to the "false advertising" idea ... ALWAYS take advertising of ANY new product, with a grain of salt & the understanding that the mfg will always put its best foot forward. Also, bare in mind that something better will be available shortly afterwards (especially with electronics).

.. cp

Originally Posted by crappiepappy

As to the comments on E5DSI vs the HDS units ... the E5DSI units came out BEFORE the HDS series. So, yeah ... the HDS series is a serious step up from the E5DSI unit. The Elite 5 DSI came out in 2010 & was the ICast 2010 Best Electronics winner. The HDS series is already into Generation 2 mode, and is a module system ... whereas the Elite 5DSI is a standalone unit ... so there's no way to compare the two.



.. cp

The HDS came out before the Elite 5, it (HDS) was introduced in the fall of 2008 and was available in early 2009.

Originally Posted by justinp61

The HDS came out before the Elite 5, it (HDS) was introduced in the fall of 2008 and was available in early 2009.

I did not know that, but weren't "those" (Gen 1 ??) units nothing more than color sonar (2d) and chartplotters (GPS mapping) ... and no Down Image capabilities ??

... cp

That's like standing in a Burger King and looking at a poster of this big burger with all the fresh lettuce and stuff. Picture perfect. Then you get this smashed down, shrivel up looking thing. Is this false advertising??

Originally Posted by crappiepappy

I did not know that, but weren't "those" (Gen 1 ??) units nothing more than color sonar (2d) and chartplotters (GPS mapping) ... and no Down Image capabilities ??

... cp

CP, the Gen 1 Hds units were the first down and side imaging capable units from Lowrance, the LSS-1 came out at the same time. The HDS Gen 2 units have a faster processor and a couple bells and whistles that the Gen 1 units didn't have, other than that they are the same. The Gen 1s are great units.

Originally Posted by justinp61

CP, the Gen 1 Hds units were the first down and side imaging capable units from Lowrance, the LSS-1 came out at the same time. The HDS Gen 2 units have a faster processor and a couple bells and whistles that the Gen 1 units didn't have, other than that they are the same. The Gen 1s are great units.

I'll take your word for it, Justin ... but, the 2008 ads for the HDS units, that I saw, only show a color 2d sonar screen & chart capabilities. No mention of DI or SI involved. There's even a Youtube video from Nov 2008, about the HDS series ( Lowrance HDS High Definition System (Americas) - YouTube ) and it does not show any DI or SI capabilities. If they were possible/available with that year's models, they would have been the focal point of the ads ... would they not ?? I was trying to compare standalone unit to standalone unit ... minus the LSS add-on & modular systems of the HDS series.

I tried to find a timeline for the development of Lowrance units, in order of their presentation into the market, but failed. All this HDS, HDI, DSI, SI, DI, LSS-1, XYZ stuff is confusing to my old worn out brain

I stand corrected on the statement I made, about E5DSI coming out before "HDS", and thank you for clearing that up. But, in my defense, I was not aware of the 2008 HDS series ... only the more recent HDS systems.

And with that said ... I still contend that the images I see on my unit, and those of the screenshots that I've taken (& posted) are better than the pictures/images shown on the box that the unit came in. They're also better than the images shown on the screens of the units in the pictures shown on online ads that I've seen. And, while I may have purchased my unit before even seeing any of those ads or image representations ... I would still contend that "those" images were not "false advertisement", as they do not show the unit's absolute best image capability.

... cp

To each his own, I'm glad you like it .