Back sometime in November we had our 27″ Sony Trinitron, bought for $50 some six years prior, die a quick but relatively painless death. The screen snapped up to a thin wavering line near the top and after a consult with my father involving lengthy details about the physics and mechanics about CRT operation, all of which swept out far above my head during delivery, it was determined that it had gone to broadcasting heaven.
Since then we have been using our sturdy 19″ Toshiba in the living room which had worked out fine particularly given that it has been a long while since I or Management have actually watched anything on the TV (movies are on the laptop through headphones so as to not wake Gabi). This past weekend, during The Great Chuck (pictures to come), she threw her back out and I began the inglorious task of hefting the TV to and from the bedroom so she could watch movies while blissfully floating on muscle relaxers and Gabi could get caught up on Shushybye Baby before bedtime. Needless to say it was not fun.
After one too many relays I darted out this past Sunday to shop around. I settled on a 32″ Westinghouse SK-32H240S that Best Buy had on sale for $579. I added the 4 year extended warranty largely because I’m a sucker and a masochist.
My reasons for selecting this model was simply the convergence of size, cost, and connectivity. At 32″ it is pretty much the equivalent picture size as our old Sony and surprisingly, to us at least, the picture is brighter and crisper. The price sans a $20 gift card and the 4 year warranty put it in league with the starting price of other sets in the same field. Added to that it was the only set I could find with both HDMI and VGA connectors. The latter is important to me as it makes it so much easier now to set up a media pc as the it will just be one giant monitor.
Now to find the time to actually watch the thing…
Did Chas give you buying advice?
Yes, extended warranties are for suckas. That being said, I did get suckered when I bought my last laptop…
If I took Chas’ advice I would have trawled Craigslist and likely ended up with a male escort in assless chaps with an STD…but I would have gotten an excellent deal.
am i still banished???
wonder why my posts don’t pop up her in popupland…
Akismet thinks you are a spammer in your part-time.
It’s funny. Looking at the connectors on the sides of that TV, some feral, male part of my mind went “I WANT A 32″ MONITOR.”
p.s. That craigslist remark cracked me up.
p.p.s. Has never bought an extended warranty.
Hey, the extended warranty lesson really sticks if you learn it the hard way! However, I will vouch that the Best Buy extended warranty actually saved me quite a bit of money when the component connections on my TV died. As for the extended warranty on my iPod . . . well, that’s a different story.
That’s heartening to hear they took care of your TV. I’ve read so many Best Buy is teh suxx0r stories that I have become sort of wary about the company and their practices…maybe I should ease back of reading Digg instead.
hmmm. for you craigslist crackers i’ll have you know i picked up a brand new boston center channel speaker that retails for $250 (street price $189) for $90. i only needed the center – the guy who bought a complete 7.1 already had a center so it just made sense for him to sell and me to buy. balance.
also, i upgraded my yamaha receiver to an RX-V2200 off ebay for $175. ok its not 7.1 and with hdmi connects – that would be $600 at best buy for the 2nd grade of yamaha products…but it does have component connects and is 6.1 – pretty damn perfect for my needs…and is the decent grade of yamaha product.
let’s face it, you sidestep sony product, do a little research and you can get what you want and more. craigslist is a buyer’s market and ebay tends to support prices.
of course i was a little put out when the guy in the assless chaps tried to sell me a 4year warranty on the speaker.
; p
JELWOOD!!! do not buy those absurd hdmi cables for $60 at best buy. that is the biggest rip on the planet. go to overstock and get the 6 footers for $20. but do get a surge protector on that tv!!! that’s the warranty, dude. monster has a good one that screws right into an existing outlet.
that tv looks sweet and that price is mind boggling (and you had a $20gift card!!!) – but as jjj will attest, it’s only the tip of the iceberg – you’ll be buying speakers for surround sound, upgrading your receiver and taking down the singing bass so you can wall mount that puppy…(hire a service, don’t do it yourself). hi def + surround sound is a whole ‘nuther world.
68
That TV sure does look sweet!