my ridiculous self-indulgence...bought an HDTV...

[disarm]

i stumbled across a local store having a big TV sale last week (15% off + 0% interest/0 payments until 2008) and couldn't resist picking up a new tv any longer.  my shiny new Sony  50" Grand WEGA SXRD was delivered yesterday and i may never leave home again.  i've spent more time getting everything set up and playing around with settings than actually watching tv or playing games so far, but what i have done is just amazing.  i loved my 360 before, but playing it in HD on a big screen is a totally different experience.  i also think i could sit and just watch the pictures on DiscoveryHD all day.  in any case, here's the new setup...


needless to say, the tv is amazing and i'd recommend it to anyone.  in addition to the tv, i also picked up a Sony 5-disc upconverting DVD player and Harmony universal remote.  watching regular DVDs at 1080i looks great, but i haven't messed with getting the Harmony remote working yet.  that's next on my list (along with a more attractive case for my HTPC now that it's out in the open) 8-)

and a few more pictures...


[attachment deleted by admin]

[Autistic Angel]

I've never been a big proponent of rear projection televisions, but if your photography does the screen any justice at all, it really looks great!

-Autistic Angel

[disarm]

I've never been a big proponent of rear projection televisions, but if your photography does the screen any justice at all, it really looks great!

-Autistic Angel

i found out it's kinda tough to take pictures of a tv screen.  you can either take a nice bright picture of the screen that's a little blurry due to longer exposures, or you get a nice shot of everything else and the screen looks dark due to using a flash.  in any case, the picture on this particular tv is just incredible...those photos actually don't do the real thing justice, but the bright screen pics are pretty close to how it really looks.

[TheMissingLink]

It would be hard to resist the urge to drill a hole in the middle of that thing and bang the living hell out of it.  Sexy mofo.

Do enjoy - think of it as a prize for winning that GG UT2k4 tourney so long ago

[Knightshade Dragon]

Nice purchase!  Get ready to experience console gaming in a whole new light!

[Doopri]

you probably already know this, but i find i need to always remind people due to a couple of clueless girlfriends - no interest until 2008 means once 2008 rolls around you will most likely be assessed interest on the remainder of the balance BEGINNING THE DAY YOU PURCHASED THE TV.  again, after having to explain this to incredibly surprised people in the past, i now do it as a courtesy to all people who rely on similar things

[disarm]

you probably already know this, but i find i need to always remind people due to a couple of clueless girlfriends - no interest until 2008 means once 2008 rolls around you will most likely be assessed interest on the remainder of the balance BEGINNING THE DAY YOU PURCHASED THE TV.  again, after having to explain this to incredibly surprised people in the past, i now do it as a courtesy to all people who rely on similar things

i am well aware of that and have no intention of having any balance left by the time january 2008 rolls around.  i've been saving up for a while and was planning to pay the full price for the tv up front a few months from now.  this financing deal just let me get the tv a little earlier, but it will still be completely paid for in the relatively near future...well before they charge me any interest.  the big advantage of the deal is that i have the ability to pay it off however i please over the next year and don't lose anything

[Doopri]

AND 15% off!  like i said, i do it as a public service announcement ALL THE TIME - because it blew my mind when a couple people i knew acted  surprised - so i made it my mission in life to make sure no one else i know is screwed by the same thing

[Nth Power]

Looks sweet!  You'll wonder how you got by without HD all this time. 

[depward]

That set-up is hot.  Congrats!

[CeeKay]

Nice rack!  where'd you get it? My new set (only 46 inches, but I'm worried I may have miscalculated on my current viewing distance for my current setup) is supposed to be delivered Tuesday (may have to ask them to wait until Wednesday due to work conflicts) and I'm looking for a new stand to put it on.

[Doopri]

ck dont ask why i know this, but theres one very similar (if not the same one) at pier 1

[disarm]

Nice rack!  where'd you get it? My new set (only 46 inches, but I'm worried I may have miscalculated on my current viewing distance for my current setup) is supposed to be delivered Tuesday (may have to ask them to wait until Wednesday due to work conflicts) and I'm looking for a new stand to put it on.

the stand came from Circuit City...you can check out the details here.  it was a little more than i wanted to spend and i had concerns about the size (55" wide and 24" deep), but it does look great and turned out being pretty much a perfect fit in the end.  the fact that it's currently on sale if you order it online was a nice plus as well (i ordered online and did in-store pickup).  my only complaint about it is that the thing weighs a ton...black chrome/steel frame with glass shelves comes out to about 160 pounds, so it's not the easiest thing to move.  i'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a nice stand though...looks sweet, plenty of room, and it's built like a rock

[Kobra]

I got a slightly different model of this stand; (Walmart Online sells it)



The one I have they don't make anymore but I only purchased it last year, but it is totally fantastic. The only major difference from the one above is mine has solid cherry wood instead of the black steel, and instead of chrome mine has brushed pewter... Sexy...

[CeeKay]

Thanks for the info disarm and Kobra, looks like Z-Line makes some nice stands.  I'm looking at another Z-Line stand from Circuit City.  It looks nice, and my upcoming set will only hang over about 1 inch on each side.

[disarm]

Thanks for the info disarm and Kobra, looks like Z-Line makes some nice stands.  I'm looking at another Z-Line stand from Circuit City.  It looks nice, and my upcoming set will only hang over about 1 inch on each side.

i remember seeing that one in the store...it's pretty nice, but i wanted something black and it wasn't big enough for my needs.  in general, pretty much everything i saw from Z-Line looked pretty slick.  if you do go with one from CC soon, just make sure that you order it online and do in-store pickup to get the "web only" deal.  they won't give you the low price and let you get it from your local store unless you do it that way...no talking them into matching the online price at the B&M store.

[dmd]

How is that center speaker mounted to the tv? Or is that an illusion?

[Jancelot]

That's a speaker shelf tray.  It has adjustable stands on the back to fit most televisions.  It fit my high sloping rear-projection DLP perfectly.  I just picked up that same one from Best Buy for $20 (it was on sale at the time, looks to be $29 now) to mount my center speaker the same way.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7035736&st=speaker+shelf&type=product&id=1099395889869

Oh, and congrats on the TV!  Very nice!

[deadzone]

Awesome set!  Congrats on the new purchase.   

[disarm]

How is that center speaker mounted to the tv? Or is that an illusion?

jancelot has it exactly right...$30 OmniMount center channel shelf from BestBuy.  it has two little legs that hook over the front edge and adjustable legs in the back that adjust to match the slope of your tv.  it's actually adjustable enough to fit just about any tv and i think it's rated to hold up to 20 or 30 pounds.  i went with the 'platinum' colored one, but they also have one available in black.  works great

[pingwrx]

Nice set welcome to HD gaming.