TBT: THE NUMBER OF PIXELS

There are two types of shopping I abhor.  The first is car shopping and the second, shopping for electronics. It's easy to avoid the first since my decision to drive the all wheel Highlander (over 170 K miles on the speedometer at present) until it dies and the second, the electronics, this week can't be avoided. The almost 11 year old once state of the art 42"plasma flat screen HDTV Toshiba decided not to turn on Monday. Dang. 

About two years ago we thought the tv was on its way out as a red line appeared at one top corner of the screen.  It might have been my imagination but that red line seemed to grow in length for a couple of days. After fretting about its screen life and assuming the worst that it would have to be replaced, one day after playing around with the screen size, the red pixel issue disappeared. Whew, the TV had received a reprieve and spared us having to go in search of a new one until this week when it wouldn't turn on. Seriously, the little red 'on' light just kept blinking and blinking with no picture nor sound. It had to unplugged to be turned off. So sad. :(

Usually I am the one in the household that researches purchases but since I was working on another project, I asked Natureman if he could take over the computer search. He lasted an hour and stated he was done. OK, this man scanned the internet years for a tractor.

So many features to compare but the restricting width of our cabinet did not make the process easy.  This living room TV  had a cabinet custom made by the Amish no less, a people that don't watch TV. The door hinge placement is such that there is not much wiggle room with the accordion like arm wall mount.


Supposedly there are a few models which will work. I made a couple of calls to see if those models were in stock besides checking on delivery/set up charges. Waited a day for more energy to attack the inevitable.

Yesterday was the day and the guy who claims not to be a TV person transforms as he enters Best Buy and can't even wait for me as he takes off  for the TV section. Oh my Lord. Natureman heads straight for the new HUDTVs 4K's with curved screens. All the research became inconsequential as did the price tag. 

OK, Natureman the non-TV person settled down during the HOUR plus search, thank goodness the width thing helped. We also discovered the once highly touted TOSHIBA is now in the 3rd tier of performing TV's. Actually the company is selling and won't be making TV's any more. Top TV quality seller one day, replaced. The big new star is LG followed by Samsung.

 Here's an excerpt from Amazon should you be in the market regarding pixels...

1080P VS. 4K: So far, HDTVs have come in three varieties: 720p, 1080p, and 4K. Each of these terms refers to the TV's resolution, or the number of pixels that make up a single frame in the video you're watching. The more pixels you have, the crisper and more lifelike the image. 

Today, 1080p is the standard, while 4K UHD—with resolution four times greater than 1080p—is generally seen as the wave of the future. For the most part, TVs that max out at 720p are a thing of the past. The only exceptions are very small sets intended for use in bedrooms, kitchens, and garages.

OK, the shopping excursion was unsuccessful. We didn't return home with a TV. We remeasured. The TV purchase will have to be postponed another couple of days. Couldn't it just be over already?