Big TV!

[Beirut]

Finally!

After years (and years) of snivelling, whining, and moaning about not having a big TV - I finally got a big TV.

Picked up this bad baby last Saturday at Future Shop.

42" Sony Grand Wega


Granted, it's not the new tech, but it is the affordable tech. I got the TV, funky glass and steel stand, and five-year warranty for the price of just the TV itself. The guy wanted it out of the store to make way for the new stuff coming in. Bought the cheapest Yamaha surround sound amp they had and a nice pair of Bose speakers and ended up with a great looking and great sounding setup. The salesman even knocked 1/3 off the price of the sound system. Sweet deal. Mind you, the salesman had seen me roaming the aisles looking at TVs at that Future shop for the past few years, I think he felt sorry for me. I could have got a 55" Sony for the price of my whole package, but our house is a bit small for a TV that size and I really wanted the sound system.

My woman says to me on the way home from the store (we've got all the stuff in the back of the mini-van), "If you're going to put on 2001: A Space Odyssey as soon as you set everything up, wait until I'm gone.

Yeah... right.

As soon as I had it hooked up I put on 2001 on the part where the monkey throws the bone in the air and it "becomes" a spaceship to the tune of the Blue Danube. Looked and sounded great! After that, it was right the to the Floyd Pulse DVD. I swear I bought the TV just to watch that one concert big and loud. I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. Had the kids watching Comfortably Numb live last night. They loved the light show.

That's it. Thank you for listening. I think I'll go... watch some TV now. (Maybe the Battle of Britain.)

[Fragony]

No 'new tech' tv beats a good old beovision imho, better for the xbox but normal movies look so distorted and jaggy. This http://www.kooijmanhifi.nl/images/afbboavant28.jpg is still the ultimate TV, incredible sound and great image, not as hot as it used to be with next gen consoles but I still have to see a better screen then my baby has.

[Whacker]

Ship that bad daddy on down here so I can give it a trial run for ya... for a few years.

Thanks in advance mate (and congrats!)

[Vuk]

As soon as I had it hooked up I put on 2001 on the part where the monkey throws the bone in the air and it "becomes" a spaceship to the tune of the Blue Danube.

Hate that movie. :P Don't know why everyone made such a fuss about it. Congrats on the Tv. ;)

[Gregoshi]

Congrats Beirut!

I took a half step in your direction 3 weeks ago with a 32" Panasonic LCD and like you I love it. Fortunately, Comcast broadcasts the local HD broadcasts as part of their normal cable package. The picture and sound is amazing, especially (American) football. I picked up a self-configured home theater system back in June and the marriage between picture and sound is blissful.

Hehehe, I too broke out Floyd's Pulse DVD when I got the HT and then the TV... My only regret that it isn't wide screen. It is an amazing DVD as it is, but put in on a great A/V system and WOW!

Enjoy your new toys - like I really need to say that.

[Beirut]

Congrats Beirut!

We are thanking you with great hospitalability.

I took a half step in your direction 3 weeks ago with a 32" Panasonic LCD and like you I love it. Fortunately, Comcast broadcasts the local HD broadcasts as part of their normal cable package. The picture and sound is amazing, especially (American) football. I picked up a self-configured home theater system back in June and the marriage between picture and sound is blissful.

You've got HD on yours? Nice. I won't have that for quite a while. Just the cables cost about $150. Not to mention the HD cable decoder box and the cost of the HD signal itself. Glad you're enjoying your football. I know how important that is to some of you folks.

Hehehe, I too broke out Floyd's Pulse DVD when I got the HT and then the TV... My only regret that it isn't wide screen. It is an amazing DVD as it is, but put in on a great A/V system and WOW!

Yeah, I noticed that as well. No widescreen on the Pulse. Oh well, at least there's a zoom function and it does pretty well in filling up the screen without messing up the picture.

By the by, have you seen that BBC series Planet Earth. We have the first DVD and it's awesome! on the big screen. The picture is just unbelievable. Me and She and the kids were transfixed. I think I'm going to get the whole series.

[Gregoshi]

I saw about 15 minutes of Planet Earth on my old TV. I was stunned by the amazing pictures. Unfortunately it was on at a bad time for me so I missed all but the afore mentioned 15 minutes. However, I'm drooling at the thoughts of it on the new set and it will be on my Christmas list.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

(Maybe the Battle of Britain.)

Somebody else likes that movie! YES!

[CountArach]

Congrats Beirut! My Dad bought a big ass TV not that long ago, which can be seen here:
http://panasonic.com.au/products/pho...ctImageIDs=0~0

Pretty much the same as yours by the looks of things. Verrrry nice!

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Congrats Beirut!

There's not much to see on the TV unless you pay or hook a satellite antenna but if I get a decent DVD player (which will play my stuff ), then I might consider dreaming a big TV.
.

[Lemur]

When my old TV died, LCD screens had come down to what I considered a reasonable price. If you hook up an upscaling DVD player to a nice HDTV, the picture is amazing.

Don't forget that upscaling DVD players with Divx compatibility are cheap and good.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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That Phillips is really cheap. Do you have any personal experience? Does it play Divx/Xvid stuff OK?

We had a Premiere (pseudo-brand, AFAIK) which opened some and totally ignored most. Shame because the great majority of my movie collection is, ahem, not in Video DVD format.

Btw,
.

[Lemur]

That Phillips is really cheap. Do you have any personal experience? Does it play Divx/Xvid stuff OK?

I bought mine a while ago, so it's an LG that they don't make anymore. My brother, however, uses a Philips, and he reports great compatibility. Your home movies will play fine.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Thanks Lemur! Oh, and congrats for the robe.
.

[Geoffrey S]

Whenever my dad buys something new for the home cinema, such as new speakers or a new screen or whatever, first thing that he plays is Armaggeddon, that bit where they slingshot around the moon and fly through an asteroid field. The visuals and sound are perfect for testing a new system.

[scotchedpommes]

42" Sony Grand Wega

Must have... for... football... aaaah.

[Papewaio]

By the by, have you seen that BBC series Planet Earth.

David Attenborough is such an excellent storyteller. I still have a hard cover book of Life on Earth that I choose for my 7th birthday, read it from cover to cover... sometimes I watch his series and wonder why I didn't become a biologist.

[Beirut]

When my old TV died, LCD screens had come down to what I considered a reasonable price. If you hook up an upscaling DVD player to a nice HDTV, the picture is amazing.

Don't forget that upscaling DVD players with Divx compatibility are cheap and good.

Any more info you can share on this "upscaling DVD" thing-a-ma-boober? Does it really make a difference? Also, what if your TV is HD but not 1080?

[pevergreen]

its times like this i get mixed feelings.

Very happy for you Beirut, but my fixation on large TV's was lost when Dad bought one that was longer than I am tall (around 170cm)...

[Lemur]

Any more info you can share on this "upscaling DVD" thing-a-ma-boober? Does it really make a difference? Also, what if your TV is HD but not 1080?

First of all, don't even worry about 1080. Most HD broadcasts are in 720p, most "upscaling" players really go to 720p, etc. 720 is the current sweet spot. Note that most of the games/DVD players/broadcasts that talk about 1080 are talking about 1080i, which is actually a lower rez than 720p. It gets confusing, sorry.

Yes, I can really see the difference. When my DVD player does its juju magic to my discs, they look like they were born to play on a big, widescreen TV. Can't wait until the little lemurs are old enough to watch Aliens with me. I set it to upscale to 720p, and away I go.

[naut]

Sounds/looks awesome, especially since the price was knocked down.

[Gregoshi]

First of all, don't even worry about 1080...

From what I've read during my research, the extra resolution provided by 1080 is only noticable on screens about 46" and larger, otherwise 720 sufficient.

[Spino]

When my old TV died, LCD screens had come down to what I considered a reasonable price. If you hook up an upscaling DVD player to a nice HDTV, the picture is amazing.

Don't forget that upscaling DVD players with Divx compatibility are cheap and good.

FYI, the 5960 is great but the 5980 is newer... and more better...

1080p goodness...

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-DVP598...509760-9033767

[naut]

After that, it was right the to the Floyd Pulse DVD.

You know what also sounds awesome on surround sound, the Saucerful of Secrets on the Live At Pompeii DVD.

[Samurai Waki]

hmmm... thats not something I've even considered yet, now that I have the space to buy a big TV. *scratches chin inquisitively*. Maybe I'll have a drive to Missoula tomorrow so I can have a look around at Best Buy. Errr, I mean I still have a lot of unpacking and space to fill, but I need to get out of the house for a bit, thanks for the idea Beirut!

[Mikeus Caesar]

We've always wanted a Big TV, but unfortunately circumstance has always prevented us doing so. Maybe once we move to Australia and are settled in with our own house and stuff, maybe then we can fulfil the dream of every man.