Over the years i have needlessly wasted money (or misspent it) on things i would come to regret, this is not one of those purchases.
Back in the year 2007 (yes, it was a year i hear) i decided that the time had come for me to look into purchasing an HDTV. The switch to digital/HDTV was on the horizon. So, with that in mind i set out on the arduous process of finding out what i really wanted. Initially i thought that it would be cool to have an DLP. However, several issues (such as cost) changed my mind.
Then came the time to look for the HDTV that was right for me. i looked up charts online to find out the approximate size i was looking for. i was in a smaller room at the time, so 3-5 feet (or 1-2 meters) seemed appropriate. That corresponds to roughly a 26" or 32" inch. That pretty much put me in the LCD TV Type. Alas, i could only afford a 19" or a 26" at the most at the time. Then came the matter of looking at brands. My first preference was RCA who i had had success with (my 1999 DVD player still works well today). Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that the RCA brand was a shell of its former self. So i had to find a new company. Basically i started off looking at Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic and Toshiba.
To find out which TV i liked i went around to stores and looked. At the time Target had a relatively pathetic selection - Westinghouse, Vizio, Magnavox, etc. None of the TVs they had felt right - and some of them looked pretty bad. Fred Meyer had a better selection and Samsung looked like the clear favorite, well except the price was a little high. Then i went to Best Buy to check out the TVs on display (and try to avoid interaction with their workers). After looking at some, i found out that Samsung still looked really good to me, but Toshiba also looked good and was cheaper. i tend to like the smaller, less established brand that can't charge a premium for its name.
What came next was more research and checking out the stock on Amazon. What i found were a lot of interesing and expensive TVs. That was until the one day (Memorial Day i think) i found a 26 inch HDTV for a decent price and jumped on the offer. The marketplace seller shipped me the 19" model at the price i had paid. i quickly discovered this and thus started an email volley. i inquired as to why the Amazon offer that i purchased said 26", but they sent me a 19". Well, after several rounds of email they offered to let me keep the 19" they sent me at cost. i refused and instead opted to try and hold them to the Amazon deal. i thought they were just going to refund my purchase (as the error was something like $200). i had to refuse the initial shipment and wait until they got back the 19" TV until they would ship out the model i purchased. i will give the company J&R Music and Computer World a lot of credit for dealing with me and following through - when it would have been so much easier to take an outclause.
It took a while and a lot of annoying wrangling over email, but in late June 2007 (about June 27th) i finally got the HDTV i wanted. What i got was the Toshiba 26HL67 or REGZA as i call it. Now for the longing part... i got the TV either the same day or the day before i went on a camping trip. So, i had been waiting for over a month to finally get to enjoy my HDTV and i had to go camping, with my alleged brother and sister, when i finally got it. The horror! The horror! When i came back from camping (the Mt. Tahoma, i think), we stopped off at Hollywood Video (it used to exist) and rented the first Overlord game for my Xbox 360. A reflective black bezel may seem like a good idea at the time, but i find it annoying now. The rest is, as they, say history. i'm hoping for many good years together ahead.
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