We got a new tv!

tawillers

It's awesome.  We're HD virgins, so we didn't know what we were missing.  Technically we still don't, since I'm waiting on the Dish guy to get here to install our HD DVR.So we moved our old tv that was in the living room into the basement, where we had a 28 year old (no exaggeration) set that actually still worked.  But now we have a good tv to play our video games on in the family room in the basement.

mrsconn23

Awesome!  Have fun with the new TV! 

DG1

Nice!Can I ask what you got?  We're getting built-ins around the fireplace today, and the not-so-long-term plan is to *finally* get a flat panel to go above the fireplace.  I haven't shopped around much, but I'm thinking a big one will set us back in the neighborhood of $2k - not an appealing prospect as I stare down 12w of unpaid maternity leave.Did you do a lot of research into what was/wasn't an important feature, etc?  Help a girl shop.

tawillers

We got a 42 inch LCD Insignia from Best Buy.  It was on sale for $498.H did a lot of research on it, checking on resolution, HDMI, and other things.  I didn't research hardly anything.  Here's one of the links he saved in our favorites:  http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/276/how-to-shop-for-an-hdtv/There was a Sharp on sale at Walmart for the same price, same size.  We went with the Insignia because we liked the picture better.The tv we had in the living room was a 32 inch, so the 42 seems sooo much bigger to us.  Someday, we'll upgrade again to a bigger one, but the price was too good to pass up right now.

zsazsa-stl

Wow!  I didn't realize that prices had dropped that much.  DH might get a TV for Christmas after all even though I'm still not in favor of it.  A new TV for the family room would mean that our little 27 inch will move to the bedroom and we've never had a TV in the bedroom.

alikatt17

We're looking at 1080p Vizios at Sam's Club with the excellent & cheap Sam's Club warranty.  Not that we're buying a TV in the near future, but it's what we want. 

tawillers

This is what we got. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Insignia%26%23174%3B+-+42%22+Class+/+1080p+/+60Hz+/+LCD+HDTV/9155479.p?id=1218038552349&skuId=9155479

DG1

was it this one, taw?Insignia® - 42" Class / 1080p / 60Hz / LCD HDTV - NS-L42Q-10A

tawillers

Yep, that's the one.

PMeg819

As someone who recently just got HDTV for the first time, be prepared to watch a ton of TV. We have our old TV in the bedroom and I'll watch it before I go to bed. It's so tiny and crappy compared to the new big TV.

DG1

well, I sure as hell hope it goes back on sale for $500 again!  I will email it to DH.  $500 is definitely a lot more palatable than $2k.

DG1

(Sadly, $500 is over our "must consult the spouse" spending threshold, so I can't just go buy the thing.)

VarunaTT

I will repeat this until I die, I'm sure, but really, unless you're playing video games and/or have a BluRay player (which will generally upgrade for you anyway to a 1080 on a 720), there is no need to spend the $ to go for the 1080 instead of the 720.  B/c you won't have peripherals that will be taking advantage of the difference and that difference is a buttload of $ usually.

tawillers

And that's what H found out in his research, V.  That the normal tv watcher won't know the difference.  We kept that in mind while we looked, but the 1080 was the one on sale, not the 720.  So that's why we got it.

DG1

V, I promise I will take that into consideration. :)But really, if I can get a 1080 for not much more, I'll probably go for it.

VarunaTT

Hell, if it's on sale, I would too.  We ended up being able to get my dad a 1080 46" for $700, which was cheaper than the low end 720.  But that's not always the case.  And the cost difference between the 720 and the 1080 can be REALLY high (like 500-1K).