We finally jumped on the High Definition bandwagon. I’ve been wanting a HDTV for like 4 years but with building the new home and/or living in smaller spaces there always seemed like a different priority or reason not to do it. So since I just turned 38, I decided a little birthday combination Christmas gift to myself was a nice TV.
We’ve had a 33 inch tube TV for the last 4 years. When the cable guy came to the new home to drop the cable line he actually made fun of my TV. Something along the lines of, “you have like 4 computers and this home network and then you have this old tv!”
After some diligent research I decided to go for a Plasma TV. From the reviews I read on CNET and the avforums website, plasma is still the way to go for movies and sports. Something about the overall image quality is better – technically it’s the 1080p/24Hz output that allows the TV to play at 96Hz so that blu-rays are in their original format and eliminates flicker mode. Modern plasma’s also have lower power consumption, much like their LCD brethren, as well as low chance of burn-in or image retention.
Panasonic plasma HDTV’s in particular are now seen as the leader excellent plasma HDTV’s. Especially their V10 series (not the G10) which come in 50, 54, 58 and 65 inch models. It seemed to me that the price really jumped when you went from 58 to 65 so I decided to go for 58. The reviews on Amazon and CNET were really key factors in making me feel comfortable with the purchase.
Price was comparable so I actually purchased the TV from Best Buy (and their Magnolia Home Theater) though because I wanted someone local to be able to contact if something went wrong with the TV. I also paid the extra cash (almost $400) for the insurance for 4 years. If anything goes wrong with the TV, they will come out and service it, if they can’t fix it, they replace your TV with the same model and if they no longer carry that model you get a newer TV as an upgrade. Seemed like a smart thing for a $2700 investment in a TV (though we did get a 10% discount just by asking at the register and bringing it to $2,429.98). One additional nice thing about living in Oregon is lack of sales tax, very nice for large purchases like this.
Here’s some shots of it – try not to laugh at the silly TV stand that’s way too small and has the TV hanging 30 inches over each edge – that’s yet another project in the new house.
Next to the fireplace to give you some idea where we put it and size.
Heidi watching Rudolf in standard def (guess they didn’t think about high def in 1964)
Another shot from upstairs while the snow monster appears.
Later on during the week we watching some football in 1080i (I guess that is the best signal you can get from the Comcast HD DVR).
When you live in a house with a girl born in Eugene you are forced to watch the ‘Civil War’ football games between the two state colleges. It’s serious business and was the leading story on the news for the day.
After 1 week of use so far I’m quite please with the TV. I’ve learned alot, like you can’t use the coax from the Comcast HD DVR because that only sends 480p output – you have to use a HDMI cable. I do like the HDMI cables that combine both video and audio because it makes for alot less cables. I did purchase a couple HDMI cables ($10 ea) off Amazon as well and I think I saved quite abit compared to purchasing them in Best Buy.
I did also purchase the LG BD 390 Network Blu-Ray player but I’ve yet to watch anything on it. I did consider a PS3 but since I’m not a console gamer, I decided on the LG for it’s ability to network, play Netflix, and high quality.
Next project is to finish up the wiring so that I can connect the TV and Blu-Ray to the network.
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