So for the past couple years, I've been helping one of my family friends with various computer/technology things, such as computers, TV's, music systems, etc. They recently decided it was time for a new TV, since their current one is ~15 years old.
I convinced them to get a Panasonic 58" plasma, which is coming out this month, for around $5K. They wanted to see how big it is in person, though, so today we drove over to Best Buy to take a look. We came across a 63" Fujitsu plasma, which was an open-box deal for $8K. The cheapest price online of this thing is $10K (plus shipping), and it looked great. They were convinced this was the TV they wanted, so they went ahead and purchased it. I know, Best Buy is the devil, but for the price, it couldn't be beat.
We then proceeded to buy a Samsung upconverting DVD player ($100), a Panamax 5300 power conditioner ($550), a component video switcher (since we will be running cables through the wall, it's easiest just to run one cable) ($120), the TV itself ($8000), a wall mount ($260), TV wall mount installation ($400), 4-year TV replacement plan ($1,000), and various cables.
Yes, I know, it was ridiculously stupid to buy video cables from Best Buy. Let me explain. We're getting the cabling done in the walls by a private contractor, whos a friend of ours. He could only come on Monday, so I didn't have time to order them online. The Magnolia guy tried to convince me that we needed to get a "in-wall certified" component cable for liability reasons, which was $150 for 15 feet. Crazy, but my family friend just said whatever. I tried to convince them that it wasn't necessary, but its okay. We also spent $40 on a 15' DVI cable, which is expensive, but nowhere near what they normally sell for. It was on sale from $150, and even though I can get it for $10 online, it was cheaper in the long run to get it today and use our private contractor over Best Buy's installation services.
On top of that, they pretty much offered me a job, since they found that I knew what I was talking about. Being 16, and bored during the summer, I couldn't have been more happier. I just finished my application online, and they gave me a referral from the manager, who I met, and we hit it off well, so I'm hoping for the best.
Speaking of which, when would be a good time to call to followup? A week later?
So, the total of the purchase was $11,181.90. I remembered to grab a Rewards Zone card to get money back, and it should come out to around $335 of rewards, which is pretty sweet. Hopefully, my family friends will just give it to me for my help, but if not, it'll be a good start to an HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player in a year, depending on who wins.
The TV is coming two weeks from today, on the 22nd, and you know I'll be posting pictures once it's setup. We demoed the TV in store with the Samsung Blu-Ray player, and it looked great. I'll have to calibrate it using Avia (any other reccomendations), but even uncalibrated in store, it looked amazing, and was worth the 8K completely, IMO.
Now I have to convince my stubborn family friends that Bose sucks, as they're convinced in using their current Bose setup in the TV room for the new TV
.
Update #1: The wiring is done. We've got one DVI cable run through the walls to where the TV will be, and another component cable. We also installed a power outlet right behind the TV to avoid any power cables showing. The DVI cable will connect to the DVI player via HDMI (yes, I have adapters), and the component cable will connect to a component switcher, until they upgrade their sound system and get a full-blown receiver.
The TV is arriving TODAY, so I'm going to their house in a couple hours to get everything ready. I'll be bringing my camera, of course.
They've finally been convinced to upgrade their Bose audio setup. Thank god. After they spent so much on this TV, they decided to wait a little while until they do it, but it's good to know that it's on the horizon.
I've got my final interview with Best Buy on Monday. We'll see how that goes.
Update #2: Just got home from setting up this monster, and unless you own one in your own home, or have seen one in someone elses home, you have NO idea just how big it is. This thing looks MUCH bigger at the house then in the store, obviously, and is really the perfect size, IMO. Quality is out of this world...HDTV looks incredible, and upconverted Finding Nemo was by far the best quality I've EVER seen out of an HDTV.
HDTV quality is not AS good as my 50" Sammy DLP, but considering it's a plasma and it's so much bigger, it's easily forgiven. Quality is better then most TV's I've seen, and required very little calibration (though it did require some).
This is by far the most impressive TV setup I've personally witnessed, and that includes multiple home movie theatres. I'll be going there later tonight with my 360 for some gaming with a couple of friends. The people that own the house are nice enough to have given me a key to let me come in whenever I want to watch. We're really close friends.
Without further ado, here are the pics:
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01223.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01224.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01225.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01226.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01227.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01229.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01231.JPG
I convinced them to get a Panasonic 58" plasma, which is coming out this month, for around $5K. They wanted to see how big it is in person, though, so today we drove over to Best Buy to take a look. We came across a 63" Fujitsu plasma, which was an open-box deal for $8K. The cheapest price online of this thing is $10K (plus shipping), and it looked great. They were convinced this was the TV they wanted, so they went ahead and purchased it. I know, Best Buy is the devil, but for the price, it couldn't be beat.
We then proceeded to buy a Samsung upconverting DVD player ($100), a Panamax 5300 power conditioner ($550), a component video switcher (since we will be running cables through the wall, it's easiest just to run one cable) ($120), the TV itself ($8000), a wall mount ($260), TV wall mount installation ($400), 4-year TV replacement plan ($1,000), and various cables.
Yes, I know, it was ridiculously stupid to buy video cables from Best Buy. Let me explain. We're getting the cabling done in the walls by a private contractor, whos a friend of ours. He could only come on Monday, so I didn't have time to order them online. The Magnolia guy tried to convince me that we needed to get a "in-wall certified" component cable for liability reasons, which was $150 for 15 feet. Crazy, but my family friend just said whatever. I tried to convince them that it wasn't necessary, but its okay. We also spent $40 on a 15' DVI cable, which is expensive, but nowhere near what they normally sell for. It was on sale from $150, and even though I can get it for $10 online, it was cheaper in the long run to get it today and use our private contractor over Best Buy's installation services.
On top of that, they pretty much offered me a job, since they found that I knew what I was talking about. Being 16, and bored during the summer, I couldn't have been more happier. I just finished my application online, and they gave me a referral from the manager, who I met, and we hit it off well, so I'm hoping for the best.
Speaking of which, when would be a good time to call to followup? A week later?
So, the total of the purchase was $11,181.90. I remembered to grab a Rewards Zone card to get money back, and it should come out to around $335 of rewards, which is pretty sweet. Hopefully, my family friends will just give it to me for my help, but if not, it'll be a good start to an HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player in a year, depending on who wins.
The TV is coming two weeks from today, on the 22nd, and you know I'll be posting pictures once it's setup. We demoed the TV in store with the Samsung Blu-Ray player, and it looked great. I'll have to calibrate it using Avia (any other reccomendations), but even uncalibrated in store, it looked amazing, and was worth the 8K completely, IMO.
Now I have to convince my stubborn family friends that Bose sucks, as they're convinced in using their current Bose setup in the TV room for the new TV
. Update #1: The wiring is done. We've got one DVI cable run through the walls to where the TV will be, and another component cable. We also installed a power outlet right behind the TV to avoid any power cables showing. The DVI cable will connect to the DVI player via HDMI (yes, I have adapters), and the component cable will connect to a component switcher, until they upgrade their sound system and get a full-blown receiver.
The TV is arriving TODAY, so I'm going to their house in a couple hours to get everything ready. I'll be bringing my camera, of course.
They've finally been convinced to upgrade their Bose audio setup. Thank god. After they spent so much on this TV, they decided to wait a little while until they do it, but it's good to know that it's on the horizon.
I've got my final interview with Best Buy on Monday. We'll see how that goes.
Update #2: Just got home from setting up this monster, and unless you own one in your own home, or have seen one in someone elses home, you have NO idea just how big it is. This thing looks MUCH bigger at the house then in the store, obviously, and is really the perfect size, IMO. Quality is out of this world...HDTV looks incredible, and upconverted Finding Nemo was by far the best quality I've EVER seen out of an HDTV.
HDTV quality is not AS good as my 50" Sammy DLP, but considering it's a plasma and it's so much bigger, it's easily forgiven. Quality is better then most TV's I've seen, and required very little calibration (though it did require some).
This is by far the most impressive TV setup I've personally witnessed, and that includes multiple home movie theatres. I'll be going there later tonight with my 360 for some gaming with a couple of friends. The people that own the house are nice enough to have given me a key to let me come in whenever I want to watch. We're really close friends
.Without further ado, here are the pics:
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01223.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01224.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01225.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01226.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01227.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01229.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/slcentral/DSC01231.JPG
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