So, with the release of the Blockbuster Megahit, "Avatar" this week, my mother-in-law made the comment that my wife and I should upgrade our television (a 37-inch Olevia) to something larger (she mentioned something in the 52-inch range). Just to preface, we currently own three flat screen LCD TVs (the other two being 32-inchers). Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am always willing to spend a buck here and there, especially if it is for some sort of electronics upgrade. However, I was perfectly happy with the entertainment set-up that we currently find ourselves with. My wife, on the other hand, can be rather Jewish at times with money, but saw this as an oppurtunity get new furniture and redecorate the living room a bit, since a TV of any greater size would not fit in the entertainment center we have right now. Oh, and by the way, she absolutely loves selling stuff on Craigslist. So right away, she starts the process rolling, putting the current entertainment center, and the television from our bedroom up for sale (the plan was to move the Olevia up to the bedroom after the new TV is purchased), and she began hunting online for good TV deals.
Now, I'm sure that the majority of you out there have gone HDTV shopping before, but let me tell you, for people who aren't very experienced at it, it can get pretty hectic. Do I want to get LCD or Plasma? Am I good with 720p or do I need to get 1080p? And what the hell is the 'p' for anyway? What's the difference between 60hz, 120 hz, and 240hz? How many HDMI ports do I need? What does the contrast ratio need to be? Did you know that TVs these days come with the ability to show over one billion colors? One Billion! That's nine zeros! I didn't even know there were that many colors. I try to think of every color in the spectrum and the 64 crayon box that I used to have in third grade pops into mind. Do I really need Picture-in-Picture? I mean, seriously, when is there ever a time where I want to watch two shows at the same time so bad that I need to have them on the same screen...and of course, having one broadcast in silence? Is one brand really that much better than another? How long of a warranty do I need on one of these things? I'm under the disctinct impression that if I'm going to drop a cool grand on something that has the sole purpose of displaying images for my viewing pleasure, that it should be able to handle that task for some time...basically until I die or I replace it with something better.
Well, to make a long story short, we ended up finding a deal on a 47-inch LCD that came packaged with a DVD player and surround sound for a little over 900 bucks, which I thought sounded like a good. We debated for several hours between this, a 55-incher for $1400, and driving over an hour away to buy a 52-inch TV for about $1150. I thought that I was doing the noble, unselfish thing by going with the slightly smaller TV for a good deal. I was, however, chastised for this choice, being told that this size still isn't going to be big enough (I won't mention by whom, but this person doesn't even live with us). I mean, how big of a difference can five inches of screen make? Is it worth paying and extra $200 for? I personally don't think so, but I guess we'll find out when it gets here. I suppose we can always take it back if it just doesn't cut it and get something bigger.
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