OT Consumptive Bob
- From: Bob Giddings <bobg@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:30:42 -0600
Thursday
I probably spent 20 bucks on gas trying to save a dollar on a new
TV yesterday. I was not alone. The week after New Year's brings
out all the tightwads, Silas Marner wannabes, and other
disreputable bargain hunters.
Since I sold all my oversized electronic rigmarole some years
ago, when I thought I was going to be a permanent gypsy, I was
down to one 17 inch HDTV in the trailer, and one 17 inch CRT TV
in the house, and the latter was not long for this world. I
mainly had it there to occupy my brain while exercising.
So I spent all day alternatively questioning my sanity and avidly
culling through a raft of humongous TVs. I finally settled on a
KDL 46Z4100 Sony. The way my living room is arranged, anything
bigger would have looked more like a pagan shrine than a form of
casual entertainment, so I backed away from the most elephantine
samples.
Besides, one thing I learned by shopping all day is that there IS
such a thing as TOO BIG a TV. One clue is when you have to look
around to see the edges of the picture. Another is when you
discover Charlie Gibson has hairy ears.
I was disappointed at first in the picture from my old DVD
player, until I realized it was set for a different picture ratio
than I now had. I set it to 16:9, and things sharpened up
considerably. Still and all, I guess I'm going to have to pony
up for a Blue Ray to get the effects I was seeing in the stores.
Several people in the stores told me the best DVD player was a
Sony Playstation 3.
Broadcast HDTV brought in by my rabbit ears looks plenty good,
though. It's a little intimidating, though. All the talking
heads are larger than life, and much better looking than I am.
Even the old ones.
I went to Best Buy first thing in the morning, and as luck would
have it they were the cheapest I found until late in the day.
Fry's, Walmart, Target, Sam's, Costco, etc, were all more
expensive. Then, driving around Austin, I remembered my brother
telling me about a little place called A&B TV. TVs are all they
do, and they had a raft of them. They turned out to be cheaper
than anybody else, as well. The salesman looked me straight in
the eye and told me I was getting this at their usual cost. Their
profit was coming from a special dealer rebate left over from
before Christmas. Riiiight.
It's difficult for me to call anything cheap that costs $1400.
Now if only there was something on TV worth the price of the
ticket.
Yeah. Well, as it turns out, there is. On the side of this Sony
is a USB port. If you load MP3s or pictures onto a flashdrive
and stick it in there, the TV will play your music or show a
slide show of your favorite memories.
Now that's worth having.
My last big TV purchase was a $650 27 inch Sony, around 1980. It
lasted 23 years, performing faithfully without incident, and was
still working when I gave it away.
I should be so lucky again.
Bob
.
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