Our four or five-year-old analog 27"-screen Toshiba television is dying, so we're thinking of buying a new HD-ready tv. One of the ones we're looking hard at is this one. The dimensions are about right (it sits in a corner with a hanging fish tank above it, so height as well as depth and width are issues), and it seems to have all the features we want. Apparently the set-top box required for HD reception comes from the cable company (for another $7/month). Has anyone bought an HD set, and if so, what was the search like? Is paying for installation worth the cost? Circuit City wants an extra $20 to do it, which seems reasonable, especially since they'll take the old machine away. I'm just wondering how difficult it is. After you unplug the old machine, plug in the new one and recable the other stuff to the A/V plugs, what else is there?
Side note: we bought an Olympic television similar to this in the mid-1950s and kept it until 1968 when we moved to Guam, where there was no tv station. Why do the things break so fast now?
Posted by Linkmeister at March 14, 2005 12:01 AMActually, your cable company will set it up for you. All they do is trade out your old box for an HD one and connect everything up through a composite video cable.
We love our HD set.
Posted by: Scott at March 14, 2005 05:48 AMI couldn't find a photo of the hanging fish tank... But man, that sounds interesting.
My poor fish died right before the holidays. I only have a 2 gallon fishbowl (with a pump & filter) now... But I've been planning on getting another fish very soon.
Indeed, I might set the thing back up today so it's ready for me to go on my hunt for a new betta.
Anyway, I really want to see a photo of this set up!
Posted by: Chloe at March 14, 2005 05:49 AMAha. The potter has updated his website since I initially wrote that entry I linked to. His aquarium sales gallery shots are now here.
Posted by: Linkmeister at March 14, 2005 07:58 AMHowdy,
I just bought the same TV, except mine has the built in digital (HDTV) tuner built-in, so I can receive HD signal right of the bat, with no additional box. It was $1250. Worth the difference I think.
That is all.
Hmmm, maybe my TVs came to me before things went downhill ... I have a 27-inch and a 20-inch, both from the mid-80s, which have never given me a lick of trouble.
In a way, I almost wish the 27-inch would break down. It has jacks such that I can run the audio through my (early-90s) surround-sound system, but it doesn't have jacks for decent DVD connections. So I haven't replaced my dead CD changer with a DVD player, nor have I upgraded my (late-80s) receiver with an up-to-date one. Mainly because I can't justify throwing away a perfectly good television.
Posted by: N in Seattle at March 18, 2005 11:28 AMSlate did a review of HD-TVs about six months ago.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2110469
Posted by: Auros at March 19, 2005 11:59 AM