Slight Upgrade

[Grant Lamontagne]

My wife works for the phone company, who is also our TV and internet provider, so she gets a discount on most of the services.  Because of that, we also usually get the latest and greatest services, and this week my wife ordered the HD channels and upgraded our 'net service.  I posted the results of the 'net service in the speed thread, but I figured I'd show the details of the TV service in it's own thread.

This was my setup when the HD service was installed- note the new, bigass modem standing up on the right.



The TV is a 32" Samsung that I purchased last year to replace (get this!) a 14" TV I had in my living room.  The 32" is a nice TV, and I really like it, but it is only 720p.  To take advantage of the new channels, I need a 1080p TV, so, with the wife in tow, we went out shopping today.  This is the result:



This new Samsung is 46" and 1080p, and the 32" one has moved to the bedroom.  The neat thing is that the remotes on both TV's use the same code, so I didn't even have to reprogram the universal remote!

Kim and I are both pretty happy to have this new TV, and even more so since the store we bought it from is owned by the company she works for, and she gets a good discount there. 

Next up?  Possibly a Blue Ray player and/or surround sound system.

Oh, and that's my little Daisy in the first pic, in case anyone doesn't know who she is by now!

Def

[edap617]

Nice upgrade, Def.

[Pacu]

nice tv

is it 60 120 or 240 hertz?

if it's 120 or 240 get a high speed hdmi cable to really give it some polish for your future blu-ray.

[prime77]

Nice upgrade boss.

[Grant Lamontagne]

nice tv

is it 60 120 or 240 hertz?

if it's 120 or 240 get a high speed hdmi cable to really give it some polish for your future blu-ray.

120 with MotionPlus, whatever that is.

http://www.thesource.ca/estore/product.aspx?language=en-CA&catalog=Online&category=LCDTelevisions&product=1610307

I was actually shooting for something in the 50-55" range, but this was the biggest they had in-store, and the wife wanted a TV now so we took the biggest they had.  There was also a 3DTV, but there was no way I was paying for a dimension I wasn't going to use.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Oh yeah, and the stand says it's only rated for up to a 42" TV, weighing less than 100 pounds.  This is over 42" but I figure I'm ok since it's under the maximum weight.  Of course, I'll know for sure in a few days if the TV is face down on the floor!   

Def

[Smitty44]

I hate to tell you,but that big TV scared Daisy completely out of the picture!
 &

PS: Nice upgrade!!!

[sawman]

Nice upgrade and I can vouch the BlueRay is well worth the money.  Just make sure to get one compatible with your old DVDs (some are not).

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yes, it will have to play DVD's- that's a must.  I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 DVD movies, and I'd hate to have to write them off.  My DVD player has been on the fritz for some time, and I need a new one.  Mine is pretty ancient- I got it while Blockbuster was still renting VHS tapes, so it's certainly done it's time.

Lately to watch DVD's I've had to plug my laptop into the TV and watch them that way!

Def

[Gareth]

Nice set up Grant.  I'll second the vote for a Blu-Ray, I was in exactly the same boat as you at the start of the year, with a knackered old DVD that barely worked.  Went shopping and realised that Blu-Ray players were only fractionally more to buy than a DVD player. 

A Blu-Ray player will also up the quality of the playback on your DVD's, some films benefit from it far more than others, but it's still a nice feature.

The only downside is that the Blu-Ray discs are notably more to buy than DVD's.  

[Whoey]

Nice TV... we looked yesterday out of curiosity, local Media Markt had a 37inch Sony for 444eur, and a 42inch LG for 499eur, but, as much as I'd love to have an HD TV at last, there are other things higher up the priority list.

[sawman]

It's true that certain new releases cost significantly more on BluRay than DVD, but many titles are close to comparable in price.  For instance I bought "28 Days Later" on BluRay for $10 not so long ago.

[Neil]

I'm a little jealous but only because you can plug a PC into it   I wonder how cheap these big flat screens will be by the time my bulky old Sony tube TV packs up  

[ryan1835]

ive got my eyes on a samsung 32" led hd tv dunno if id be able to plug my mac into it though :S?

[Whoey]

It's rarely an if, but rather how question... for example, the PC I have plugged into the old CRT TV now has S-VHS out for video, and I'm using a mini stereo jack to RCA cable for the audio, both cables plugged into a s-vhs/rca SCART adapter on the back of the TV. Works just fine.

Many moons ago, I had a TV out box for connecting to my TV... I'm sure Grant will remember that... it allowed me to use the 2nd VGA out of my video card (MATROX cloned desktop FTW!)... and the audio was similar except it was in Canada, so no scart, and the audio was plugged direct into the surround sound stereo... that plus the 4 player Gravis multiport meant some mean 2vs2 NHL games on a big screen with big sound... and a few cases of beer to motivate both mistakes and successes...

These days with all the modern tech you have it quite easy I think... if your PC/MAC/laptop/gaming device has HDMI port, and so does your TV, you only need the one cable for audio and video... unless I'm wrong about this?

[Chako]

Very nice Def. I think I have the same TV or something very close to it. I bought it 2 years ago...a Series 7 Samsung 46" TV that fits my small living room. You definitely need a blue ray, Once you see a movie in HD, there is no going back. I would get the player before investing in a surround sound set up. I have a Samsung player and can highly recommend it...but I think they don't make a bad player these days. When it is time to get surround sound, I can highly recommend a Harman/Kardon AVR 3600 and the speakers of your choice.

Oh and look into the Logitech harmony remote controls. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

ive got my eyes on a samsung 32" led hd tv dunno if id be able to plug my mac into it though :S?

As Micah said, it's too easy to plug computers into TV's these days.  The simplest way is to use a VGA cable, and that's what I usually do.  Most TV's nowadays have a VGA in, and most laptops have it as well, although I really don't know anything about Macs.  Basically if it has a VGA out to support an external monitor, it will work.  Setup is easy- plug it in and the computer automatically recognizes that it's attached to an external monitor and duplicates the desktop.  It's so easy in fact, that my netbook (older model) and my wife's netbook (newer model) both plug in and work within seconds.  It's a far cry from the days Micah mentioned where you had to buy specialized equipment and screw around with settings for an hour or so until you found something that worked!

I have an Altech Lansing speaker set (2.1) that I plug into my laptop's headphone port when using the laptop to watch movies on the TV, since my laptop's speakers are pretty weak when trying to use them to fill a room.

I've looked at the Logitech Harmony remotes, and realized they are nice, but out of my price range by far- at least for a remote.

What I had seriously thought about doing for a Blue Ray player and sound setup etc, was to get a small media PC similar to this one:

http://www.zotacusa.com/zotac-zboxhd-id11-u-intel-atom-d510-1-66-ghz-dual-core-all-in-one-mini-pc.html

This way I can watch streaming videos, downloaded videos (still legal in Canada), pretty well anything I like.

Def

[RFOneWatt]

If you're looking for a Blu-Ray player consider spending the extra few bucks and getting a Playstation 3, even if you aren't a gamer.

The multi-media features alone make the PS3 worth every penny.  (Not to mention all the free content from Sony!)  It doesn't have to be new, either.  I've seen 80GB PS3's going for $200 USD and under on E-Bay.

(Just saw the post above)

For streaming media, get the PS3, connect using HDMI cable. 

Download PlayOn:  http://www.playon.tv/playon/

You'll be up and running in five minutes.

Then when you want to play, Google "Play on plugins" and have a blast!

You won't look back!  

Check out this thread when you have some time:

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,24092.0.html

-T

[RFOneWatt]

Oh and look into the Logitech harmony remote controls. 

+10 for the Harmony Remotes.  ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM!!!

-T

[Grant Lamontagne]

I have read that thread, and I have no plans or desire to purchase a PS3.  I'm currently Sony free, and I'd like to stay that way.  I have had more problems with Sony devices and the subsequent "service" than I care to remember, and their desire to make things proprietary to the point where your entire world has to be Sony really bothers me as well.  Simply not going to happen- between my full cable package, streaming videos, downloaded TV shows and movies, Netflix and PPV movies and the DVD's I already own, I have more available to me for my amusement than I could ever want.  Plus I have a PVR, so whatever I could possibly want to watch is also available to me whenever I want to watch it.

Plus I'm not one to buy complex electronics like a PS3 from an ebay seller.  Some things I don't mind taking a chance on, but not something like that.

Def

[RFOneWatt]

Unfortunately I do have to agree with you, 100%. (Except for the EBAY part, I've had great luck!)

Yeah...UGH on the "memory sticks" and all the rest of the proprietary Sony BS. (Anybody remember mini-discs?)

The PS3 was the device that changed my mind though. (Kinda)

I still HATE Sony but the PS3 is a winner.  (And the build quality is outstanding, esp. compared to some of Sony's other garbage - I'd put it up there with Sony's ES line of A/V eqipment.)

Good luck with whatever you end up with though. Keep us posted.

-T

I have read that thread, and I have no plans or desire to purchase a PS3.  I'm currently Sony free, and I'd like to stay that way.  I have had more problems with Sony devices and the subsequent "service" than I care to remember, and their desire to make things proprietary to the point where your entire world has to be Sony really bothers me as well.  Simply not going to happen- between my full cable package, streaming videos, downloaded TV shows and movies, Netflix and PPV movies and the DVD's I already own, I have more available to me for my amusement than I could ever want.  Plus I have a PVR, so whatever I could possibly want to watch is also available to me whenever I want to watch it.

Plus I'm not one to buy complex electronics like a PS3 from an ebay seller.  Some things I don't mind taking a chance on, but not something like that.

Def

[Whoey]

We still use a Sony mini-disc recorder to do interviews for radio... that is until we bother upgrading to some new fancy digital recorder... plus the discs are easy to archive! I think sometimes we might have too much Sony stuff... but most of it seems to never die on us... I do agree on the hate for memory sticks...

I'm keen to replace my PVR with a Boxee Box, something after I upgrade my TV of course...

[Grant Lamontagne]

I may be more inclined to try buying higher end electronics from eBay sellers if there wasn't a geographical concern- it would cost too much to ship here.  US based sellers have recently been forced by USPS to jack shipping rates up several times over.  I have tried to purchase small items on eBay, like SAKs and multitools, and the seller is charging $25 shipping for an item that costs less then $5.  Larger items with higher values go exponentially, meaning it just isn't worth it.  In fact, while I have never been a huge eBay shopper, I have almost completely stopped buying things on eBay, at least from the US.  When I do need something from a US seller (eBay or otherwise) I often have it shipped to someone like Felinevet Tim so it will be shipped up here at a more realistic rate.

Sony makes a good quality product- I really can't fault them on that, it's their service and company policies I hate.  The proprietary disks and memory cards are just an additional PITA that just adds to the dislike I already have.

My parents bought one of the first internal DVD burners back when they were still $500.  It didn't work, they sent it in for service, it traveled from Sony depot to Sony depot all over North America to be "fixed" until it finally ended up in a warehouse in California that was decimated by some of the infamous California fires.  Sony wouldn't provide my parents with a direct exchange, and it had to be sent in, and it traveled for months.  Once burnt, it took several more months to have Sony's insurance replace the drive to Sony, which was eventually sent to my parents.  By the time my parents got their drive back, they'd bought an LG for half what they paid for the Sony.  Frankly, I think Sony should have just given them an over the counter exchange as the unit was defective when they bought it, but no, they had my parent's money and went out of their way to be as difficult as possible.

Can't do Sony.... I don't care of they send me a new PS3, hand delivered by a gold painted supermodel, it ain't gonna happen.

Def

[Sazabi]

...
Can't do Sony.... I don't care of they send me a new PS3, hand delivered by a gold painted supermodel, it ain't gonna happen.

Def

While I do think their "hot potato" treatment of the drive and your parents was in poor taste, what if it was an Orion slavegirl instead?

[/nerd for the night XD]

[Reinier]

Nice tv

Mine is a 46" Samsung as well and I love it. It replaced an old 23" LCD.
I was overwhelmed by its size, but you get used to that very fast... now I am wondering if I should have gone for a bigger one

[RFOneWatt]

Nice tv

Mine is a 46" Samsung as well and I love it. It replaced an old 23" LCD.
I was overwhelmed by its size, but you get used to that very fast... now I am wondering if I should have gone for a bigger one

I think I would hold out for a while and get a 3D L.E.D. TV.. Just think, the longer you wait, the bigger the screen you can afford.

Although I haven't done much research on the new 3D/L.E.D. sets.

-T

[Turnstone]

Nice setup, I hope you have lots of fun with it! 

HD tv is still really expensive over here, so we stick with our old (nearly 20 years old!) TV as long as it works, and watch sat-tv. We don't watch much, so that's OK for us 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Nice tv

Mine is a 46" Samsung as well and I love it. It replaced an old 23" LCD.
I was overwhelmed by its size, but you get used to that very fast... now I am wondering if I should have gone for a bigger one

I expected that, which is why I wanted to go bigger initially, but the wife wants what the wife wants!  She wanted a TV immediately so that's what we got.

I doubt I'll give 3DTV any serious thought until some way to watch without glasses is developed.  Until then, they can stay on the very expensive shelves at the store.

Def