Our aging TV has started to behave strangely. Yesterday, when powering it on, the screen stayed blank while the power-LED started blinking; emitting an SOS, sort of. I immediately powered it off and started searching for a replacement. It seems that a 42″ Samsung plasma can be had for SEK 13990 (+599 p&p) on the net (NetOnNet or SEK 14990 at the nearest OnOff shop. I was prepared to have the kids whine about not beeing able to view Bolibompa for a couple of days while the new set was delivered, but could it possibly be worth SEK 401 keep them quiet? (And to have a physical person to complain to if something was wrong)
After putting the little angels to bed, I decided to try the old TV again, and was quite disappointed when it powered on OK.
Now, I can almost hear people saying stuff like “Hey, that’s not a HDTV, only SD”. That’s right. Should you buy an SD-plasma or an HD? The only true (1366×768) 768p capable plasma set I’ve found is a Philips 50″ at SEK 34000 something. Couple the huge price-diff with the fact that there is almost no HDTV-material to view now, except for some stuff available via sattelite. SVT will start test-transmissions (to prove that 768p gives best cost/quality ratio) but no real stuff that is worth an extra 20k. Five years from now I’d expect movies and high-profile shows to be HD, and maybe another five years later “Rapport” and “PÃ¥ spÃ¥ret” will be too. But then bigger and better screens will be cheaper than today.
Update. The old Sony TV gives off a faint smell. From now on, I’ll pull the plug before going to bed or leaving home.