prog | TV Plans

Will buy a an inexpensive standard TV now, and then plan on getting the perfect HDTV later on, whenever it happens to cross my path. The thought of spending more than a little money on a heavy piece of mid-20th century technology doesn't impress me, but I also don't want to spend a lot of money on any modern set before giving it a significant amount of research.

Took T after work to the evil Best Buy, so I could meditate among the screens for awhile. I saw, among other tasty examples, a 20" flat-screen Daiwoo (

jadelennox's pick among politically friendly brands, apparently) for $150, so that or something like it will probably go home with me tomorrow.

I almost leapt at a return-merch HDTV going for $900; way more than I intended to spend but a surprise at "only" three digits. Its was obviously missing pieces of its faceplate, though, and possibly a remote, and who knows what else, so. At least it helped me come to my decision. (And now I kind of see what my friends have meant when they mumble about the blue-shirted BB floorbots. There were at least 7 or 8 BB guys wandering around the TV corner, and half ran up, one at a time, to ask if I needed help with anything. The ones I spoke with struck me as friendly, eager, and not very confidence-inspiring. ("I dunno, man, I just got transferred here!" said one fellow, when he couldn't figure out whether or not the returned TV had a remote. I told him it was OK.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

2 guys there actively lied to me, actually, swearing up and down that every DVD player they carried could be run through a VCR with no extra equipment. Okay, maybe they didn't lie, maybe they were just ignorant, but they didn't exhibit any doubt at all, so I had no way of knowing to be suspicious; I thought asking 2 people separately was enough checks and balances.

My point is, of course, if you have any questions about the equipment, be very wary about any answers you get.