In the Market for a New TV?

I am. As of this weekend I have not one, but two televisions that need to be replaced. It's a little embarrassing to admit this, especially given the industry I work in, but I am not always on the cutting-edge of electronics technology. I might be what you call a "late adopter." I still have one of those big…no, huge, boxy televisions. The 48" kind that actually hogs about 15 square feet of valuable real estate in my living room. I hate it, but it works like a champ and we've been trying to stall the complete redecoration of our living room as long as possible. Well, we just got an Apple TV (remember what I said about being a "late adopter?") and it won't even work with this beast because it's so old. Finally! A catalyst for change! We might even get rid of the VCR at the same time. And then this weekend, the television in our bedroom croaked. It's not as old as the other one, but it's definitely not a top-of-the-line piece of equipment and we were kind of surprised it hung on as long as it did.

So now I'm in the market for two new televisions. Perhaps not the best time to be shopping for TV's. I've been hearing that TV's are a "commodity" so the prices are cheap, cheap, cheap. And then just today I see this article from USA Today "TV's get bigger, fancier, pricier…"  Yikes. Pricier? This is the time when I'm really glad to have a dealer I can call!

They know exactly what questions to ask to help me get the biggest, fanciest, least priciest for my budget and my lifestyle. Do you want 3D? (no, gives me a headache) How big is the space? (I want a BIG screen, like the biggest I can hang on the wall, but maybe not that 10 thousand dollar one) Is the room bright or not? (dark., borderline gloomy) How much do you care about picture quality? (not much…whether I'm wearing my glasses determines picture clarity more than the TV I think.) Do you want LCD, LED, blah blah? (no clue. What do you think I want?) How much do you want to spend? (as little as possible, obviously) All good questions.

So we're taking their professional recommendations to heart, happy that they know us and how we use our entertainment system. And, of course, we're now thinking about all the other things we get to update on our Control4  system when the dealer comes to install the new TV's. Getting that Apple TV working is just the beginning! And, of course, I'm balancing all the fun tech stuff with a new couch and entertainment center and maybe some new paint that makes the room a little less gloomy. Hey! Like most regular people, I have a budget to keep my dreams in check. Sorry, $10K TV. Maybe next time!

Let me know what TV you think I should get in the comments section!