Requiem for Reality

So on this day of super commercials, and super games, and super drunks, and super TVs....I am super broke!

I'll be getting a good deal back for my tax returns, but I just spent $1200 or so on electronics. It all started with my 37" LCD Scpetre TV. The picture is sweet still, but there is a giant graying bar on the left side of the screen that runs vertically, right around where you have the 4:3 black bars. Add to that there is only 1 HDMI port, and the contrast ratio is only 1000:1, I decided it was time to get a new TV.

Now I was hesitant because I only bought that TV a year and a half ago. I bought it for 789 or so from NEWEGG.COM. It really was a decent TV. But I don't really have money to be forking over for a new TV. Honestly I really had to talk myself into wanting that last TV. I really had to convince myself that I needed this thing. I knew the prices for TVs now. I also knew that Circuit City was going out of business. In fact I went in there the other day and picked up a new HP wireless all-in-one printer, for 103. I also got a 4 gig memory card for my PSP, and a set of ear buds, out the door $160. Pretty good deal I say. The wife got a 4 gig chip for 4 bucks for her phone.

Knowing that, I figured that the store closing would produce some really good sales. Boy was I wrong. Circuit City is like Best Buy's little brother. Just as expensive, sometimes cheaper, but pretty much the same overall. I'm tihnking a 42" TV would be a good look for the living room. As I'm looking around in the store, I'm starting to feel like someone is getting had in this deal.

All around me I see people taking the TV displays off the wall. There is no haggling of prices. These TVs are being sold as is, most of the time, and without a box...some without a remote even. The best deal that they had was a 42" LG 15,000:1 contrast ratio, unkown response time, 1080p,3 HDMI's for $959.

WTH! I can do better than that online honestly. I mean newegg was selling Sony's that day for like $899 with 3 HDMI and 20:000 contrast with a 5 ms response time. Of course you'd aexpect to get a better deal online, but honestly I know people were getting ripped off, here's why.

Those TVs, as my wife pointed, are on all day for 12 hours a day probably somewhere around 7 days a week. They've been gathering dust and burning bulbs and ALLL SALES ARE FINAL? No bargins? Sure 30% off is fantastic, but when you're still dropping a grand on a TV that's probably going to be burnt out in a month, it's really not worth it.

So we jetted down to Wal-Mart, and found this ...for $798. The only bad news is that as the technology increases so do your needs for technology. What I mean is this TV doesn't have analog outputs. No traditional Red and Whites, only digital. SPDIF, and HDMI. And that sucks because I just purchased a new surround sound system about 3 months ago, maybe more, maybe not when my old one just crashed. Of course this one didn't have digital inputs, so I wasn't able to use it with my new TV. FANTASTIC! I knw that all Iw ould needf was a new receiver. I knew it was going to be expensive, but hopefully I would be able to get a good didigtical singal and actually enjoy 5.1 Dolby Digital surround. I didn't need more because I only have 5.1 speakers.

So we get this Yamaha receiover, and I'll admit, it's pretty sweet. Get it home, hook it up, plug in the opticals for the PS3, and the HD Cable. As I go to plug in the Subwoofer I realize something very important...The port for the Subwoofer is coaxial. Which would be fine if my subwoofer from my previous system was too. But it's not.

I tried to think back to my wiring block in EP from the AF. But in the end I ended up with nothing.

Ugh....after $1200 I still have to come up with an idea on how to get a subwoofer. Thank goodness for savings.