The Opiate of the Masses
I want to buy a nice new television. For years I’ve peered into vast, majestic Telespace through a rather small (something like 12″ or 13″) screen on a Magnavox made TV set. A few years ago, I was bumped up to First Class with a nice 27″ model (an Xmas gift from my parents), but gave that up after a nasty breakup: I thought it was ‘mine’ (my parents gave it to me), she insisted it was ‘ours’, and I decided to walk away from the both of them (for troubles far deeper than that, to be sure). She also got to keep the satellite dish which was her gift that year, but really, who’s keeping score?
About a month ago and after years of dilligent service, my low-budget, non-HI-FI VCR (received with said tiny TV, also made by Magnavox) finally stopped playing tapes. It had been making gasps and grunts for a while, but the heads must have given up their ghost, as all image tracking left completely. So, I bought a fancy, Titanium-looking DVD/VCR combo to replace it. My vintage Philips DVD player and drab, now kaput VCR were usurped by a Samsung Progressive-Scan DVD-V4600 with composite outputs and 4-Head, HI-FI VCR.
Now, I’m itching to drop some dough on a Flat-Screen (not Flat-Panel) TV. Probably with a 20″ screen, probably by Samsung (Hey, I want them to match, alright?). From my research, I know that the image from the progressive-scan won’t look as good unless I get a digital set (for the non-interlaced image), but the sizes and prices of EDTV and HDTV sets are way out of my reach. And, I don’t want it to take up a lot of room in my apartment. Also, I don’t want watching TV to become a more prominent activity in my life. But, I really like watching movies, and I really like things to match.
I want to buy a nice new television. For years I’ve peered into vast, majestic Telespace through a rather small (something like 12″ or 13″) screen on a Magnavox made TV set. A few years ago, I was bumped up to First Class with a nice 27″ model (an Xmas gift from my parents), but gave that up after a nasty breakup: I thought it was ‘mine’ (my parents gave it to me), she insisted it was ‘ours’, and I decided to walk away from the both of them (for troubles far deeper than that, to be sure). She also got to keep the satellite dish which was her gift that year, but really, who’s keeping score?
About a month ago and after years of dilligent service, my low-budget, non-HI-FI VCR (received with said tiny TV, also made by Magnavox) finally stopped playing tapes. It had been making gasps and grunts for a while, but the heads must have given up their ghost, as all image tracking left completely. So, I bought a fancy, Titanium-looking DVD/VCR combo to replace it. My vintage Philips DVD player and drab, now kaput VCR were usurped by a Samsung Progressive-Scan DVD-V4600 with composite outputs and 4-Head, HI-FI VCR.
Now, I’m itching to drop some dough on a Flat-Screen (not Flat-Panel) TV. Probably with a 20″ screen, probably by Samsung (Hey, I want them to match, alright?). From my research, I know that the image from the progressive-scan won’t look as good unless I get a digital set (for the non-interlaced image), but the sizes and prices of EDTV and HDTV sets are way out of my reach. And, I don’t want it to take up a lot of room in my apartment. Also, I don’t want watching TV to become a more prominent activity in my life. But, I really like watching movies, and I really like things to match.