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π / R2D2
The TV actually weighed 225 pounds and required three people
to get it up the steps. I spent the next few years trying to upgrade the
resolution. At first I bought an upscanning DVD player, then HDMI cables. To my
chagrin there was no HDMI input on this set. I had soon realized that the PC
Richard salesman's claim that the set was almost
HD probably meant it was not HD and can never be HD. He also probably said to
himself, "If you want HD shell out a few hundred bucks more you frugal
(cheap) person (bastard)".
When I came to the conclusion that I would never get HD
quality on this set I spent several hundred dollars on a surround sound pro
logic receiver and three more speakers. If I can't have HD at least I will have
surround sound. After a few more years I stopped using surround sound because
the simulated surround sound built into the Sony with the built in 20 watt
speakers sounded pretty good on their own. The set may not have been HD but
Sony's speakers were decent.
After the seventh year I really wanted a new HD TV. I bought
a 32 inch for the guest room upstairs and a 19 inch for the kitchen which was a
quick fix whenever I had the need to watch something in HD but I pulled a
response from the Ralph Kramden[i]
book of logic and reasoning (lame excuses) and kept telling everyone in the
household that I will not buy a new TV for the living room until they perfect
3D and the price is reasonable. Lo and behold reasonable 3D televisions came to
the market. My next excuse was that the glasses were too expensive. Sure enough
they came out with 3D TVs with passive glasses and TVs with active glasses
under $20.
It looked like I finally had no excuses not to spend the
money on a new TV. But wait... logic dictates that as long as the TV is working I cannot
justify spending money on a new TV. But the kids want a new TV. I really want a
new flat screen, HD, 3D TV. I had a brainstorm one day. My friend, Mark, came
over and his son wanted to play with our Wii.
As many of you know the Wii gaming system has been known to
be responsible for breaking many a TV set when the player lost grip of the
control and the control is propelled through the TV screen. I thought to myself
that this was the perfect opportunity. Not only can I get the TV broken, but maybe Mark will give me a few
dollars towards the new TV by feeling guilty! No. I never would have taken
money from Mark. The excuse to buy a new TV is all I really wanted.
I whispered to Mark's son to get close to the screen and
swing as hard as you can. Mark kept
telling him to stand back and use the wrist guard. He did not break the TV that
night and I had to continue to endure a non HD TV.
Two more years went by.
About two weeks ago we stopped off at Best Buy after eating out at
Famous Dave's for Fathers Day. My son pointed out a 50 inch plasma that was going for under $700 and said,
"Dad, look what you can get for under $1000. Treat yourself for Father's
day". I told him It wasn't 3D and until the Sony dies I can't justify
buying new set. My daughter added, "If you want I will break it for
you". I can always count on Alyssa for a logical solution.
Two days later I get a text message from her stating, "BTW
the TV is broken". Even though Alyssa lives with us we communicate better
through text messages. Our oral conversations are generally limited to one or
two sentences but we can text or IM to each other for hours. The problem with
her timing (she claims that she didn't break the TV) was that I was home from
work due to bronchitis and fever, trying to sleep when she sent the text. We
were in the midst of a 100 degree heat wave which made watching TV upstairs
uncomfortable as the AC does not work as well upstairs as it does the rest of
the house. Needless to say I was bored being home from work, had no company and
I was too sick to leave the house.
The TV was not actually broken. The colors just weren't where they were
supposed to be. It was like watching bad
old fashioned 3D TV without the special paper glasses. I watched the TV anyway even though the
colors were scattered all across the screen. I pretended that I was on an LSD
trip which made the viewing more palatable. On Saturday I saw a 46"
Samsung LED with complimentary smart blu-Ray player for $900 online at Sears
and sprung for the new TV and picked it up at the local branch. 1080p, 240 Hz
refresh rate, great black contrast, the 3D is great even though I have limited
accessibility to 3D programming. We watched Despicable Me and Kung Fu
Panda 2.
As I will be turning 60 in a year and a half my kids were
let down that I didn't go for a 60 inch TV. I had to remind my son of a
conversation that we had when he turned 13 and was very upset due to a size issue. "Brant", I said, "size
is not everything". I think we were talking about bicycles, but being as
old as dirt (I am reminded of this by my kids) I am not sure of what actually led to
that conversation.
I will stand by may purchase, the price was right and the
picture is great. I think Ralph Kramden would not have an excuse not to buy a new
TV today.
[i] Ralph
Kramden was a character played by Jackie Gleason on TV in the 1950's on The Honeymooners. This was based on
William Bendix's radio show Life of
Reilly. The animated TV show The
Flintsones was also based on the prior series. Ralph and his wife, Alice,
lived in a two room apartment in Bensonhurst even though the street they lived
on is actually located in Bushwick. Ralph stated he would not buy a TV until
they perfect 3D.
