I have a TV!

[ksmith]

I took elmunadi's warning about Best Buy sales pressure to heart and avoided them--they offer free pickup and disposal of your old TV if you buy a new TV worth $1000 or more, so I knew the game would be on.

Instead, I did my usual toss-a-coin thing and went to a nearby big box. There, I found a Sylvania 32-inch LCD/HDTV with built in DVD player on sale. Went for it. Brought it home, hooked it up, and ran through the channel scan step. It was working within minutes. Checked online, and found that the set had received good reviews, though mostly as a second/bedroom set. But the picture is nice and sharp, and if the power goes off--as it did when Kris unplugged set and cable box in order to organize cords--the set reconnects with the box without a hitch. And, the price I paid undercut everything I could find online by at least $100, so I'm happy.

I waited until I had the thing working before I moved out the old set and cleaned out the corner, so the vacuum cleaner and the special hardwood floor cleaner came out. As luck would have it, a few weeks ago I bought home a cheap wheeled TV table that I had been using at the day job to hold a scanner. I would like a better table eventually, but I would like a corner table with a couple of shelves and the only ones I could find cost $250 on up. So we will wait for a sale or a really lucky find or something.

Dinner is cooking in the crock pot. I found this recipe for ground turkey and white bean chili and...changed things a bit. Instead of the turkey, I sliced up a package of smoked chicken and apple sausages and browned them with onion and garlic. Then I added the mess to the 4.5 qt crockpot along with the chicken stock, 3 15-oz cans pinto beans, a can of mild green chiles, a can of RoTel tomatoes w/ green chiles, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Lime juice. Found a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste in the fridge, and added that. It's more like bean and sausage soup than chili, but I am looking forward to having some with warm bread and butter.

Now I just have to wrestle the old TV into the garage. It has wheels, which is a blessing because it must weigh 200 pounds. Got it down one step. Just need to get it down one more...

Comments

[michaeldthomas.livejournal.com]

I wish I could help you move that old TV.

You are going to be amazed at how brilliant Blackhawks games look in HD. It blew my mind after we got our new TV.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I wish I could help you move that old TV.

Your help would have been most appreciated. Although if I can get it down that last step, it'll be simple from there on.

You are going to be amazed at how brilliant Blackhawks games look in HD. It blew my mind after we got our new TV.

I hope they start playing more brilliantly.

HD--is it automatic with an HD set? Do I need to get a different box from Comcast? I am completely in the deep end of the pool on this.

[michaeldthomas.livejournal.com]

The local channels are automatic. The HD feeds should come in as 2.1, 5.1, 7.1, 9.1, 11.1, and 32.1. All of the cable channels cost extra.

[galeni.livejournal.com]

Thank you for both the recipe and the tv info. We still have that same RCA (although only used for Wii now) but someday will get a new HD tv and knowing that if the DVD is included it's simpler to hook up is marvelous.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. My version of that recipe came out well. The chicken sausage tasted like kielbasa, so it went really well with the beans, and the mild chiles gave it just enough kick. One meal today, and about six meals leftover. I froze most of it. I do so like pulling homemade dinners out of the freezer.

As for the TV, it's very nice to just pop in the disc and not have to fuss with additional cables and whatnot. The maiden voyage involved Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which looked great on the larger screen.

I was surprised at how readily the new set and the cable box integrated. After years of trouble with the old set every time the power went out...

My only issue is the fact that the remote that came with the set only controls the TV, not the DVD player--according to the manual, I was supposed to get the deluxe version, but the clerk hunted for it and couldn't find it. Given the good deal I got, I didn't quibble. I was able to find one online. Until then, I can use the buttons on the side of the set.

And I ordered the HD connection from the cable company. I wanted to schedule the work for a Saturday, so it won't be installed for a few weeks yet. But, I can wait.