The TV Is Dead, Long Live The TV

My TV just died. It had been acting peculiarly for the past 4 months and I suspected it was failing, but today, within minutes of turning it on, it simply died. I bought it in November '98, so it was just shy of nine years old. Should it have lasted longer??? Hmmmm. With the constant use I put it through, I can honestly say, "Not really".

I watch a lot of TV. I justify this extreme usage by qualifying it as "movie watching" as opposed to watching television. There's something noble in being a film buff, not so with simply spacing out in front of the "boob" tube. Truth be told, however, I do a fair share of boob viewing, what with Heroes, The 4400, Kyle XY, Bones, NCIS, Two and a Half Men, all the variations of CIS and Law and Order. And there's always the syndicated episodes of Friends, Seinfeld, Frasier, E'body Love Raymond, and Still Standing that I still enjoy ...as much as when they were first aired. I can't not mention the adult-targeted animation: South Park, The Simpsons, and Family Guy. So yeah, I watch way too much television. And yet, I still complain that I don't have time to "read" as much as I want to.

It's like when there's a power failure, and I find myself in that state of panic ...wondering how am I gonna get my electron fix. So, when the TV died today. I immediately went online and ordered a new one ...for delivery tomorrow. Pathetic, huh? With my birthday coming up in just a few days, I can consider this my "present" to myself.

Usually when buying this type of item, I would insist on going into the store and seeing it ...comparing it in price and quality with other available models. Fortunately, I'd already done a little research on the new TVs ...knowing that the purchase was an inevitability. I was, and am even now still, a bit bemused by all the new technology ...plasma versus LCD flat panel, all the claims each makes about picture/sound quality ...which format is best, etc. I didn't go with either. I selected a Sony 37" Rear-projection LCD. It's high-def, just not a flat panel.

Truth of the matter is, I'm not the least bit interested in setting up a "home theater". All I want is a monitor that is at least as good as the one I'm replacing ...at a reasonable price. I've always had Sony TVs (as well as computer monitors) and have been thoroughly please with them. This new model offers exactly what I want. The fact that it's an HDTV, is incidental. Of course, I'll avail myself of the new technology, the improved picture and sound quality, but I wasn't displeased with the picture and sound quality of the 32" Sony CRT I'm replacing. All I'm really doing is beating the 2009 deadline for buying a digital TV, since that's when the broadcasting of analog signals will cease. That is actually a moot point; I have cable so I wouldn't be accessing the broadcast signals anyway.

In the end, now that the purchase has been made, I'm anxiously awaiting the delivery so I can begin my new adventures in TV ...like I need encouragement to watch still more TV.