The HDTV rollercoaster

So let me tell you my story of buying an HDTV. It all started just after Thanksgiving…

I wanted an HDTV for Christmas. Teresa had given me the green light, and while she didn’t give me a set price limit, I sort of knew the constraints: Try not to spend over $1500 for the TV. I’ve been HDTV shopping with Teresa’s dad when he bought a 50-inch Vizio Plasma (720p), so I kind of knew what to do: narrow your TV list online, read some reviews (user and expert) to gauge the performance, and then go to the store and determine if what you see corresponds to your research. That was my plan, and my hope was to be able to get a TV during my week off after Christmas. I started my researching early, in the hopes of finding the perfect TV.

Perfect TV 1:
Optoma HD70 ceiling-mounted projector (projector, 100-inch, 720p, 4000:1, $800)

When I saw the Optoma, I was transfixed. I wanted it. Here was a nice little device that could project up to a 250-inch HD image on a screen/wall. Teresa kept saying, “I see projectors in bars and they never look good. Why is this one any better.” And I responded with Heffernan technophile boy-logic – “Because it will.” Also, the price tag for this little baby was only $800, and after the rebates I could potentially get it for $650. This TV was going to make my basement a cinema; all I’d need would be the stadium seating (which I had experience with thanks to my sophomore year dorm setup).

Why it failed:
Heffernan technophile boy-logic couldn’t defeat Heffernan my-husband-is-an-idiot girl logic. Also, I realized that since my couch sat 13 feet away from an image that was going to be 7-feet across, I’d be turning my head to see the right and left portions of the display. Lastly, the bulb life was, at best, 4000 hours, but more likely to be 3000 hours. With replacement bulbs being $250-300, it was an expensive HDTV in the long run. So the Optoma was removed from consideration.

Perfect TV 2:

Panasonic PT-56LCZ7-B (LIFI rear-projection, 56-inch, 1080p, 3000:1, $1291)

So I patiently waited until after Christmas for the post-Christmas/New Year’s sales. I kept looking online, and not knowing what I wanted, browsed lots of different sites. I was leaning away from DLP and LCD rear-projection, because you have to buy new bulbs every 3000-7000 hours, which roughly computes to every 2-4 years depending on your TV watching (bulbs costing around $250). But I liked the size and cost of the rear-projections HDTVs. So I finally saw the Panasonic LiFi (Light Fidelity); it was big, great picture, and in my price range. However, it was also a brand new technology, with few reviews from experts or users, and I’d also have to buy a Sam’s Club membership to get it, since Sam’s was the only place that had it. I was convinced this was the perfect TV for something like 63.78 hours. I never actually got in to Sam’s to see it because I didn’t want to buy a membership and waste the money if I didn’t want the TV.

Why it failed:
I wasn’t about to buy a TV without seeing it first, and the fact that I still had to replace bulbs was a turn-off. In the end, the new technology and minimal reviews doomed this TV for me.

Perfect TV 3:

Toshiba Regza 42HL167 (42-inch, LCD, 1080p, $1399)

Teresa’s constant suggestions about one day moving the HDTV upstairs finally broke me after the Panasonic. Our family room is not big enough for a huge HDTV, so I started to scale my thoughts down to the 42-47-inch range. Another thing, at that size I could seriously look into LCD HDTVs, which are usually rated as the best HDTV type for picture and quality. But there are a LOT of 42-47-inch LCD TVs out there, and narrowing this field was not easy. At first I wanted the biggest (47-inch), but I’d have to sacrifice on the picture, and in the end, the desire to play Halo 3 in true 1080p won out, and I firmly entrenched myself in the 42-inch LCDs. So now I had only about 10 brands with 5 models each in the 42-inch LCD category. I went out to Best Buy and stood in front of their “HD Wall” and watched TV for about an hour, comparing, contrasting, and evaluating. Luckily Teresa wasn’t there, because I just tuned the world out and submitted to the bliss of HDTV. I had a checklist with me, and I crossed off those TVs that I saw that didn’t look good. (NOTE: I made sure to ask no fewer than 3 salesmen if the TV were on the same HD feed, as that can greatly affect the picture.) The Samsungs looked great, but you paid for it. The LGs, Westinghouses, Insignia’s, and Sonys did not look as good. The Toshibas, Sharps and Samsungs were my favorites. It came down between the Sharp Aquos and the Toshiba Regza. Both were 42-inch LCD at 1080p. Whether it was the Sharp or the Toshiba didn’t matter, because I felt they were co-equal. The next step was to find the best price online, and go buy the TV.

I saw the Toshiba that day (Saturday), online at CircuitCity.com, for $1299. As I don’t have a car big enough to transport the TV, and I didn’t want to buy it without talking to someone at CC, I called and asked if they would honor the online price if I bought it in to the store. They told me to bring the order in and they would match it. I could not make it in that day, but I went the following day (Sunday). When I presented the printout I had, they came back to me and said (and I quote because I was so pissed off hearing him say it), “We can’t give you that price. That was yesterday’s price.” The sales guy then tried to tell me about other models he suggested. I didn’t even respond, I just turned and walked out. The only thing I could think about was Mr. Furious from Mystery Men - “Anger… RISING!”

So my hopes were dashed, but I kept looking, because somewhere always has the TV cheaper, right? Well, I soon found that $1299 for the Toshiba (or the Sharp, for that matter), was a damn good price. I could only find it at $1299 from OneCall.com, and I wasn’t about to go through a sketchy online site. Than a buddy of mine from work, a self-styled HDTV expert, suggested I look at Crutchfield.com. I already had and told him the TV was $1399 at Crutchfield. However, my buddy pointed out that he didn’t think Crutchfield charged tax on their online sales. I promptly called and found that not only was it tax-free, but delivery was also free and guaranteed within 5-7 days. So I bought the Toshiba Regza TV then and there.

I’m now patiently awaiting delivery of my new HDTV and Home Theater system. Oh yeah, since I had a budget to buy the TV, and I saved by getting the smaller size, Teresa said I could also get a Home Theater system. After as much debate as the TV, I settled on the Onkyo HT-SR700 (black). It does not have the built in DVD, but since I’ll upgrade to Blu-ray later, and I already have an Xbox 360, I figured I didn’t really need it anyway. Man, am I an awesome shopper or what?!

Onkyo HT-SR700 (black, 5.1, 680 watts)