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Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes vs Tektronix Oscilloscopes comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes
Ranking in Oscilloscopes
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Tektronix Oscilloscopes
Ranking in Oscilloscopes
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Oscilloscopes category, the mindshare of Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes is 6.6%, down from 8.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tektronix Oscilloscopes is 16.2%, down from 19.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Oscilloscopes
 

Featured Reviews

AM
Feb 4, 2019
The ability to have both the time domain and frequency domain, where the frequency domain is a very broad spectral plot, is extremely valuable
There is certainly a learning curve. Finally, watching YouTube videos on using the instrument got me over the hump, as well as a sit down session with one of the oscilloscope experts. The Rohde & Schwarz user interface is very oriented towards drop and drag functions on the screen. Some of those are just not obvious how to use. You have to have somebody get you over the hump. My understanding is they have a newer user interface, but I haven't gotten around to upgrading the firmware on my scope in some time, so I'm not familiar with it yet. In comparison, I love the LeCroy interface. Recently, I've learned that there are ways to adapt these instruments to become a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA), which is of interest to me. If I can use probes that are not in the 50 ohm domain, which is what you would have with a normal Vector Network Analyzer, then doing power applications for me, this would be a lot safer. Using a traditional communications type Vector Network Analyzer in the 50 ohm domain and having these high DC potentials (adding the DC blocks is adding air to the test method), then having an oscilloscope type front-end which is lot more tolerant of overload, it is a lot safer. The vector network analysis that I need to do is well under a gigahertz, and the other instruments that I have sort of stop at 40 megahertz. Trying to get past 40 megahertz into the mid-hundreds of megahertz and have high impedance probes that will tolerate DC, that is really of interest to me.
CJ
Feb 26, 2019
High sampling rate enables it to clearly render the envelope
I wish we could turn off the automatic measurement feature of the oscilloscope, for teaching purposes. This probably sounds weird, but I think it important that students get familiar with the waveforms and actually count divisions. This gives a feel for how many digits are really significant, that noise can be part of signals, that it helps to increase the sensitivity to fill as much of the screen as possible and maybe notice artifacts. e.g. Students might be asked to measure frequency response of a circuit with a uA 741 op amp. If the signal level chosen is too high and students don't actually watch the waveform they may not realize the numbers come from the slew-rate limit and not the frequency response. I actually recognized the problem of the seductiveness of digital displays in another lab where students used a lock-in amplifier with both a digital display and a d'Arsonval meter. The voltage went through large changes in value, and students were happily writing down the numbers when the instrument was on a totally inappropriate range. So for the first electrical-engineering lab I think forcing the students to rely on measuring the waveform themselves and not relying on the scope to do it for them gets them started well.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The characterization of RF channels was helpful... The user interface was very simple to operate and there were a lot of tutorials."
"The user interface is pretty good. Right now, it is more than what we expected. It's easy and fast to use."
"It is a more efficient, easier way to do measurements."
"The noise sensitivity: It has a low noise floor."
"The most valuable features are its wide bandwidth and 8 ports."
"It is easy to connect with, accurate, reliable, and hardly fails."
"The product is quite reliable and straightforward to use. Typically, there are no households that we have to set up."
"I have been able to do quality measurements that I have been unable to achieve with the equipment from some other vendors."
"It has digital scopes with a high bandwidth and digitized signal. It can do whatever you want with the signal. Since its user-friendly software allows you to work with the signal, which is pretty cool."
"The Tektronix user interface is like an Apple iPhone, but for oscilloscopes. It is simple to use."
"It has a good user interface. It's easy to use, easy to read. It's intuitive."
"The sensitivity of the trigger and the reliability are the most valuable features."
"The Ipath and measurements are fantastic and simple to implement."
"B-scan is its most valuable feature."
"It provides you the best way to view information without opening multiple applications, like a single solution."
"The most valuable features are its ease of use, user interface, and PAM-4. The user interface is good and easy to use."
 

Cons

"We would like to have autotracking and auto error tracking for regression testing. We would like to know what error happened, when it happened, and during what scenario (such as setup), because right now we have to manually look at when it happened."
"Sometimes, it's difficult to find menus on the user interface."
"There was a learning curve. Their use interface and the way that their products work are not intuitive to somebody who switches from other vendors."
"They could use an RDA interface."
"The Rohde & Schwarz user interface is very oriented towards drop and drag functions on the screen. Some of those are just not obvious how to use. You have to have somebody get you over the hump."
"The user interface could be improved, e.g., the documentation on the menus. I have to open a separate document to figure out the functionality sometimes."
"I'm against the Windows-based tools. Now everybody is running scopes, VNAs, and all their tools based on Windows. I don't want to see that in the future."
"The depth the the user GUI could be improved. It is a bit deep for new users. During the first two weeks we spent a lot of time finding the tabs."
"I would like if they could have more customer support engagement."
"I would like to see more integration into machine learning because that's what we try to apply it to."
"I know you can get the Bit Masks but it's generally really expensive to get the eye diagrams and Bit Masks with it. I wish they were included or cheaper."
"I would like to see an app from this company for test fixtures."
"They need to add more memory to this machine."
"I want the system to have a wider bandwidth because high-speed continues to move faster, so there is more bandwidth to cover."
"I am not utilizing the full bandwidth of this product."
"We would like more features for the CAN bus decoding, such as importing DDC files, which allows us to take the raw data and convert it into engineering units."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is expensive, but very fair when you look at the technology that you are getting. These are higher-end pieces which have a ton of engineering in them that is not evident on the package. However, you could imagine the amount of time that the vendor has spent on the firmware, optimizing the internal layout, developing custom ICs, etc. They're releasing a mass produced product, but these things are built to last."
"The pricing is too high."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"One of the things I liked less, not only me but also my company, was that Rohde & Schwarz are very expensive... There are solutions that are almost the same that sell at better prices."
"When we chose this, the price was really reasonable, and it is a high-end product. It had a high price, but we understood that because it has 8 port, the same noise floor (as the competition) with double the measurement capabilities and a cheaper price."
"If we are looking to purchase a product, we ask for a loaner for a month or so to test it out. Then, we will make a decision."
"Buying Rohde & Schwarz gear is like buying a Mercedes. It raises eyebrows when you're asking for that level of performance."
"The pricing is way too expensive."
"It is a great price for a great product."
"In the 100 gigabit Ethernet and 400 gigabit Ethernet category, everything is in the multi-hundred thousand dollar range, so it was fair pricing because everything is expensive."
"The pricing is okay. It was within our budget."
"They're all pretty expensive. If everything costs that much, I suppose the pricing is fair."
"The pricing is very expensive."
"Tecktronix pricing tends to be pretty fair and reasonable with current market trends. They don't usually bump up the price too much."
"We demoed the product before purchasing it."
"It's available on the low-end scopes for free, but on the higher-end scopes, it is expensive. Therefore, it's a bit more difficult to make stuff work."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
21%
University
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
18%
University
12%
Educational Organization
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Also Known As

RT Series
TBS Series, TDS Series, MDO Series, MSO Series
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscopes vs. Tektronix Oscilloscopes and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.