uhmm...is this HD obsession thing rampant?

[Independent Gal]

I don''t own a tv and neither does FF, but if we got one (which we''re considering) we''d want flat screen just because we have so little space! I think that''s a good place to make use of craigslist. I bet the obsession means that lots of people sell ''last year''s model'' for a reasonable price second hand. But maybe we''ll just wait till we have more space!

 

[sumbride]

Can''t wait to hear how he reacts! And yeah, it may be good to let him take over setting up all the extras because he''ll be exicted and you won''t have to do it! The Bravia is a great tv, so just relax now! And enjoy!

For us, a flat screen was a needed investment... we got 4 feet of our living room back by getting rid of the furniture the tv went on. And when your living room is just 14 feet wide, that''s a HUGE amount of space! Love my wall-mounted flat screen! Now we''re working on plans to put shelves into the wall to hold the components.

 

[Gypsy]

GREAT Ally! I''m so THRILLED you are trusting yourself and just letting the cost of thing go... and just riding that wave. Please let us know how he reacts! GREAT JOB!!

 

[jenna_g]

We just got an HD tv a couple of weeks ago, and I have to say I love it! My DH had been contemplating it for a few months and was absolutely driving me nuts with his hesitation. (He is very shy about making large purchases for himself...But I don''t have that problem.

)

Before we bought it, my opinion was "a tv is a tv". However, I had grown tired of hearing him go back and forth. So I finally said "just buy the damn thing!"

One thing I have noticed, and I know you all will appreciate this, is the detail with which I can admire tv bling!

On a normal tv, you can see that a person is wearing a ring or a pendant, but on an hdtv, you can actually see the detail and it''s really awesome!

 

[zdrastvootya]

I guess the part I don''t get, is watching regular tv on the widescreen. The resolution isn''t very good on regular tv signal, and then we blow it up big so the picture looks blurry. Then we stretch it out on the wide screen so that everyone looks 4 feet high and three feet wide. And this is better, how?

When I mention the stretching/screen proportion thing, people say "huh? what?". I find it really weird. Mrs. Z., who can spot picture quality differences that I can''t detect, doesn''t register proportion at all. To me, if you can''t tell when the picture is being stretched, why are you spending so much on a tv? I guess no one wants to have "black bars" on the screen to keep things in proportion.

If you have a high-def signal, ok maybe I can understand, but watching regular channels - I don''t get it. Ok, rant over.

Z.

 

[zdrastvootya]

Date: 6/13/2007 12:55:57 PM
Author: zdrastvootya
I guess the part I don''t get, is watching regular tv on the widescreen. The resolution isn''t very good on regular tv signal, and then we blow it up big so the picture looks blurry. Then we stretch it out on the wide screen so that everyone looks 4 feet high and three feet wide. And this is better, how?

When I mention the stretching/screen proportion thing, people say ''huh? what?''. I find it really weird. Mrs. Z., who can spot picture quality differences that I can''t detect, doesn''t register proportion at all. To me, if you can''t tell when the picture is being stretched, why are you spending so much on a tv? I guess no one wants to have ''black bars'' on the screen to keep things in proportion.

If you have a high-def signal, ok maybe I can understand, but watching regular channels - I don''t get it. Ok, rant over.

Z.

Regardless of my rant, it''s a very nice gift I''m sure he''ll love it.

Z.

 

[cutes814]

ally, it''s so sweet of you to do that for your FI!

sam and i will be looking for one in a few months, right after we move into our new house, so your thread is helping me prepare! thanks!

 

[codex57]

Date: 6/12/2007 8:50:03 PM
Author: allycat0303

Codex: Sooo...here''s another angle....do you think the price on this TV is going to drop in a year? I''m also a little concerned because when he first wanted the TV he wanted plasma, but now that was an absolute NO. So I''m kind of worried that next year this thing is going to be worthless (if you could take a look for me it would be REALLY nice) I understand zilch about TV''s.

TVs are like cars. A new model comes out every year, which makes last year''s model drop in value. Nothing you can do about it. Just get the best deal you can and don''t worry about how much it''s worth.

720p, 1080i, and 1080p are all considered true HD. Various networks broadcast in either 720p or 1080i. Hi def dvds and the new video game systems send out signals at 1080p. Honestly, it''s hard to see the difference btw any of them. All are WAY clearer than regular TV. Just make sure the HDTV can show 720p as well as 1080i. It doesn''t sound like you guys should worry about 1080p.

However, the bad thing with hi def tvs are that regular channels look worse. They magnify the crappy signal. Also, to get high def, you need to hook EVERYTHING up right and have all the necessary components. That means a HD source (HD cable package, HD satellite package, HD over the air antenna; digital doesn''t necessarily mean HD). It means cables capable of transmitting that HD signal to your tv (component or HDMI cables). Finally, the HDTV to show that HD channel.

You need all that or that expensive HD tv isn''t going to look that special to you.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Allly, perfect TV selection!

But watch out. My husband and I bought a 50" Samsung plasma to hang over our fireplace when we built our new house, and then 3 months later, he complained about his monitor for his XBOX being too small, and since I didn''t want to lose our main TV to the game console, I bought him a 32: Samsung LCD for his office, with the itention of moving it to our bedroom soon.

Now, he wants to buy a 42" for our bedroom, and is pricing HD projectors for our media room. We already have 4 TVs! Enough is enough, but he''s just fallen down that slippery slope.

Oh well, at least you bought an amazingly beautiful TV.

 

[Sparkster]

Date: 6/13/2007 12:10:44 PM
Author: jenna_g
We just got an HD tv a couple of weeks ago, and I have to say I love it! My DH had been contemplating it for a few months and was absolutely driving me nuts with his hesitation. (He is very shy about making large purchases for himself...But I don''t have that problem.

)

Before we bought it, my opinion was ''a tv is a tv''. However, I had grown tired of hearing him go back and forth. So I finally said ''just buy the damn thing!''

One thing I have noticed, and I know you all will appreciate this, is the detail with which I can admire tv bling!

On a normal tv, you can see that a person is wearing a ring or a pendant, but on an hdtv, you can actually see the detail and it''s really awesome!

I know what you mean - there was an episode of Grey''s Anatomy recently screened in Australia where Cristina is holdiing a 3 carat ring from Burke and is ''pondering'' while Meredith is doing a voice over and OMG - that ring was gorgeous. The detail on a 50 inch plasma was amazing!! I had actually taped that episode with a dvd recorder and, yes, I paused the picture and drooled

 

[allycat0303]

It's arriving today!!!!! I'm really excited to see his reaction. One of his friends is coming over to build the stand and set some of it up (just for the presentation). And I bought a BIG RED BOW! Ok, a little corny I know, but I would personally love to come home from work and see a TV with a big bow on it.

Sumbride, Gypsy, genna G, Thanks for all the fabulous advice ladies! I'm getting pretty excited about this whole deal now. I paid the balance wednesday morning, so sticker shock has worn off and now I'm comfortable with the decision. You ladies rock!

zdrastvootya, I don't get HD either, I think a lot of it is because it's a bit in a transition phase right now where they have both HD and digital so the digital on a HD doesn't look that hot. Most of the shows I watch are on normal TV so I may be very disappointed. But we still have the digital TV and reciever so I can always watch and that TV and banish him to his playpen in the basement

. I have to admit though, maybe having 2 TV will be more fun for me. I won't have to watch Hockey every single day, of every single week in winter.

Milly, Well it's been a while since I've heard from you! Hopw everything is going fabulous with you family!

codex57, So much useful information! Thanks! After you said the stuff about the 1080 p, I went back to double check. Honestly, I don't understand why what you say is important is important, but I trust you enough to check! I'm sure the sales guy think he is dealing with a total moron.

LaurenThePartier, Funny enough, but I actually wouldn't mind a LCD screen in the bedroom, just because it's so much smaller then our normal TV, I wouldn't mind having more space! I definitely like the asthetics of it, but I would spend a lot less for that one. I think he's going to be good for a long time after this gift

. And if he isn't he's going to be in BIG trouble.

 

[sumbride]

I love the big red bow idea!!!

Lauren... I had to laugh! About a minute after we put our 50" plasma on the wall, M said "ok, now we need to put one in the den!" and I said "but I want a small one, with a built in dvd for our bedroom" and then he said "oh, and maybe one for the guest room/office too!" Flat screen is definitely the way to go in smaller homes, but still... I''m with you! FOUR tvs??? The only reason we actually have 4 tvs is that we moved in together, each bringing what we had... but now he wants to replace some of them with more expensive models, rather than just getting rid of them as they die.

 

[NYCsparkle]

hey ally!! we just bought that same tv. dh scoped it out for about a year before i caved and told him to buy it. i''m setting him up for next years sparklies list---a bellerina or diamond stud upgrades!!

. but i love the tv too. i''m glad we bought it. i love the big bow!!

 

[Gypsy]

Thank you alley!


I can''t WAIT to hear about his reaction!!! Definitely post details hon!!

YAY! I''m so glad you got your confidence back!

 

[WTNLVR]

So how''d it go? I bet he loved it!