Olde tymer needs a new TV - advice

[TheStatutoryApe]

I went looking for a tv thinking that since there are all these new fangled flatscreens that I should easily be able to find a cheap old fashioned boobtube for about a hundred dollars. I found instead that very few places carry anything other than flatscreens now and that the few regular sets are all about one hundred and fifty or so for a small/medium size. Craziness. You'd think some company out there could make quite a bit of money selling the regular sets for really cheap when all of the other tvs are at least three hundred and fifty to four hundred for a little one. I sure as hell don't want to be spending four or five hundred for a tv. My roomie thinks we should save up to buy a six hundred dollar flatscreen. I told him he's crazy to want such an expensive and conspicuous piece of electronics in our little ghetto apartment.

Any way. As far as extended warrenties go my tech guru friend was all about the extended warrenty, especially from Fry's Electronics. Not sure if you have those there or not. Some of the better extended warrenties will cover any sort of damage including if you accidentally drop it or some such. As Moonie mentioned damage is an issue when moving too though you don't sound like you are likely to be considering that any time soon. It's good to cover your bases just incase. The full warrenty for my laptop that I bought at bestbuy was only about 10-15% of the cost and covered everything including software issues. So what if they are likely to just make a profit off of it.

 

[Cyrus]

I went looking for a tv thinking that since there are all these new fangled flatscreens that I should easily be able to find a cheap old fashioned boobtube for about a hundred dollars. I found instead that very few places carry anything other than flatscreens now and that the few regular sets are all about one hundred and fifty or so for a small/medium size. Craziness. You'd think some company out there could make quite a bit of money selling the regular sets for really cheap when all of the other tvs are at least three hundred and fifty to four hundred for a little one. I sure as hell don't want to be spending four or five hundred for a tv. My roomie thinks we should save up to buy a six hundred dollar flatscreen. I told him he's crazy to want such an expensive and conspicuous piece of electronics in our little ghetto apartment.

Any way. As far as extended warrenties go my tech guru friend was all about the extended warrenty, especially from Fry's Electronics. Not sure if you have those there or not. Some of the better extended warrenties will cover any sort of damage including if you accidentally drop it or some such. As Moonie mentioned damage is an issue when moving too though you don't sound like you are likely to be considering that any time soon. It's good to cover your bases just incase. The full warrenty for my laptop that I bought at bestbuy was only about 10-15% of the cost and covered everything including software issues. So what if they are likely to just make a profit off of it.

Its worth the price. The resolution is orders of magnitude better than any CRT. You'd be nuts to waste your money on a CRT. It would be like trying to find a VHS or casette tape deck player.

 

[moose]

OK. Thanks for the advice.

I bought http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926HDS0010099580&catid=24558#" .

Samsung 40" LCD
$999.

Nice! I almost want to buy that for my apartment (3 person apartment, so 333 a person...not too bad). 10,000:1 contrast ratio? Go watch some battlestar galactica and marvel over how dark space is on your new tv.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Its worth the price. The resolution is orders of magnitude better than any CRT. You'd be nuts to waste your money on a CRT. It would be like trying to find a VHS or casette tape deck player.

I don't care about having a picture quality that looks cooler. Having grown up on vhs and regular broadcast tv I am happy so long as I can watch it with a clear picture. I'm more interested in story and acting quality than a somewhat more realistic or pretty looking picture. I seriously don't see why people are so nuts over HD. I mean I know that there are people who really are into that sort of thing and a whole lot of people that fall for advertising about how much more enjoyable it makes it... but really... it seems like everyone now absolutely MUST have the absolutely best HiDef, HiRez, giant screen, flatscreen, money hole.
Besides I rarely watch tv anyway. My roomie has an xbox and ps2 and I thought it would give us something to do together instead of sitting separately with our respective books or laptops. Other than that I likely would not have even bothered with a TV.

 

[Cyrus]

I don't care about having a picture quality that looks cooler. Having grown up on vhs and regular broadcast tv I am happy so long as I can watch it with a clear picture. I'm more interested in story and acting quality than a somewhat more realistic or pretty looking picture. I seriously don't see why people are so nuts over HD. I mean I know that there are people who really are into that sort of thing and a whole lot of people that fall for advertising about how much more enjoyable it makes it... but really... it seems like everyone now absolutely MUST have the absolutely best HiDef, HiRez, giant screen, flatscreen, money hole.
Besides I rarely watch tv anyway. My roomie has an xbox and ps2 and I thought it would give us something to do together instead of sitting separately with our respective books or laptops. Other than that I likely would not have even bothered with a TV.

Hey, I still HAVE a CRT and VHS. The point is, your picture is really not all that 'clear' when you see what a true HD picture looks like. Your assesment of it is way, way off because yes it IS THAT good. It IS more enjoyable because its better than watching it at a movie theater.

When I first watched a movie in HD I was blown away. 1080p is amazing stuff. Its so clear I could see stains on the windows of the buildings when they shot the scenes. I was like holy crap! You can see everything, and I mean everything.

 

[jtbell]

At places like Wal-Mart you can still find standard-definition CRT TVs in sizes from about 12 to 20 inches, starting at around $90 or $100.

What I'm looking for now is a cheap digital TV to replace the analog 5" set that my wife uses in the kitchen for the morning news. It doesn't have any external inputs at all, just a single "rabbit ear" antenna. We're in a rural area so it picks up only a couple of channels, which is OK with her... she leaves it tuned to the station that we can get the best signal on. That set cost her about $20.

So far the smallest LCDs that I've seen are about 15" and cost about $250 at Wal-Mart. Even $90 for a CRT is a bit much for this application. But my wife says not to worry... she mainly listens, not watches, so if nothing cheap turns up by next February when the analog set becomes useless, she'll just use a radio instead.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

At places like Wal-Mart you can still find standard-definition CRT TVs in sizes from about 12 to 20 inches, starting at around $90 or $100.

That was the first place I looked. They had only two 20" models both for about $150.

 

[Borek]

Its worth the price. The resolution is orders of magnitude better than any CRT. You'd be nuts to waste your money on a CRT. It would be like trying to find a VHS or casette tape deck player.

Tell that to my Mom. It just happened yesterday. Her old TV (well, not that old, I bought it several years ago) started to show strange colors, regulation doesn't help. Looks like she may need a new TV, and I will have to pay for it at least three times more that I paid for the one that starts to fail. She has poor eyesight and she will never be able to see the resolution difference between old CRT and new LCD. Money down the drain.

 

[Kurdt]

Just wait until http://www.sony.co.uk/article/id/1198162906092" babies are rolled out world wide. Then you can have a cheap LCD.

 

[Borek]

Just wait until http://www.sony.co.uk/article/id/1198162906092" babies are rolled out world wide. Then you can have a cheap LCD.

My Mom won't wait that long

 

[Garth]

You'd be nuts to waste your money on a CRT. It would be like trying to find a VHS or casette tape deck player.

Or for us oldies, a Wire Recorder!

Garth

 

[Gokul43201]

OK. Our TV died rather abruptly.

You didn't do this to your TV now, did you?

 

[Borek]

You didn't do this to your TV now, did you?

Honestly, if he will be convicted, that'll be stupid. You can kill trespassing burglars (see Joe Horn case) but you can't kill your own lawn mower?

 

[DaveC426913]

Honestly, if he will be convicted, that'll be stupid. You can kill trespassing burglars (see Joe Horn case) but you can't kill your own lawn mower?

I suppose if he can prove he was defending his family and home from imminent physical danger of harm from the lawnmower he can make a case for firing off a weapon that could have killed himself, his mama or a bypasser.

Either way, I'm glad I don't live in a country with people who have your attitude towards guns.

 

[Borek]

Either way, I'm glad I don't live in a country with people who have your attitude towards guns.

I think you have read more than I wrote

 

[DaveC426913]

I think you have read more than I wrote

Perhaps.

I assumed your comment meant that you think the man had the right to be shooitng off guns while drunk on his own property. Did I assume incorrectly?