Oh no! My 32" Toshiba has gone and busted. It's been on the cards for a good 18 months, or so. Every so often the picture would go dull and the screen would flash pink-green. It helped to hit it, Fonzie-style, just below the screen's glass. But now, no amount of "Fonzie slaps" can get the damn thing to even turn on! You just get a black screen, a low fizzing sound and then it blinks off. Kaput.
It's a good excuse to upgrade to a HD TV, but a pain I have to shell out for a new telly. I was just getting used to having paid off my car a few months ago. Oh well, better it happened now than 6 months ago when cash was tighter.
Annoyingly, it means I have to enter the frustrating and overly-complicated world of market research. You know the drill: you read one review that sings a TV's praises, only for another to claim it's a heap of crap. Is it best to trust professional reviews, or user reviews? Pro reviews tend to be very in-depth and nitpicky, which can scare you away. User reviews tend to be either highly positive or negative (usually the former, as they've been so impressed they've even taken the time to write a review on a website.)
It's a mine field. At the moment I'm thinking of getting the Toshiba 37X3030. It's 1080P, can handle 24 fps, has 2 HDMIs, a PC-input, great picture, good sound. The only obvious flaw is greyness to the black levels (apparently), but for £660 it sounds like a good deal.
Consequently, I'm now relying on downloads to review things for this blog. It shouldn't impact things that much, but The Apprentice review will be delayed till Friday (after I catch it on iPlayer, having spent Thursday going "la-la-la-la-la!" whenever it's mentioned), and my Chuck review will be up tomorrow instead. Incidentally, sorry about the lack of Prisoner reviews just recently. They've taken a backseat because of an increase in workload, as they're not as essential to the blog -- being, y'know, 40 years old already. I'm sure people can wait!
If there's anyone who'd like to recommend a HD TV, or critique my front-running choice of the 37X3030, please let me know in the comments below. I'd appreciate balanced, reasoned arguments and advice.
It's a good excuse to upgrade to a HD TV, but a pain I have to shell out for a new telly. I was just getting used to having paid off my car a few months ago. Oh well, better it happened now than 6 months ago when cash was tighter.
Annoyingly, it means I have to enter the frustrating and overly-complicated world of market research. You know the drill: you read one review that sings a TV's praises, only for another to claim it's a heap of crap. Is it best to trust professional reviews, or user reviews? Pro reviews tend to be very in-depth and nitpicky, which can scare you away. User reviews tend to be either highly positive or negative (usually the former, as they've been so impressed they've even taken the time to write a review on a website.)
It's a mine field. At the moment I'm thinking of getting the Toshiba 37X3030. It's 1080P, can handle 24 fps, has 2 HDMIs, a PC-input, great picture, good sound. The only obvious flaw is greyness to the black levels (apparently), but for £660 it sounds like a good deal.
Consequently, I'm now relying on downloads to review things for this blog. It shouldn't impact things that much, but The Apprentice review will be delayed till Friday (after I catch it on iPlayer, having spent Thursday going "la-la-la-la-la!" whenever it's mentioned), and my Chuck review will be up tomorrow instead. Incidentally, sorry about the lack of Prisoner reviews just recently. They've taken a backseat because of an increase in workload, as they're not as essential to the blog -- being, y'know, 40 years old already. I'm sure people can wait!
If there's anyone who'd like to recommend a HD TV, or critique my front-running choice of the 37X3030, please let me know in the comments below. I'd appreciate balanced, reasoned arguments and advice.
