An Update For the A/V System..... Finally

Yes; the Frugal Propellerhead household is entering the world of 4K! Actually, we (I) didn't set out to upgrade the video end of our system. Again, like most other things in our lives these days, it came as an outgrowth of the move to the new house. I might have mentioned that, in this new house, is a rather large "game/media room". It's fully twice the size of our previous living room. Not only that, but there's a completely separate living area that we didn't have before. Since this second living space is connected to the kitchen in an "open-plan", it's a likely location where our family and visitors would gather. It will be an ideal refuge from the noise generated by our teenage (and soon to be teenage) children and their friends that we're assuming will congregate upstairs! Why does this all this mean 4K?

Remember when I pointed out the size of the "game room"? The size of it pretty much swallows the not-so-old 48" TV. It's simply not big enough for the space...... making that one perfect for the downstairs "den". So, what would you do with a room that's roughly 20 by 30? If money was no object, I'd get either a 70" monitor and/or a front projector with 100" screen! We can probably afford to go out and get a 70" monitor, but technology rears it's ugly head! As you might have heard; 4K TVs are becoming fairly commonplace. The price has dropped to the point where 55"-60" units are available in our $1000 target range. Actually, "the boss" would prefer for it to be sub-$1000.... so, what's a good husband/Propellerhead to do? Stay in the $1K budget and get a regular HD 65"-70" TV.... break the bank and get a 60"-65" 4K TV, or stay in budget and get a 55" 4K TV. 

I'm sure that most of my regular readers can figure out how this came out. I'm a little obsessed with "future-proofing" and I like to keep my wife happy...... so I found a 4K for under (significantly) the budget. Yup.... Neither one of us thought that it'd be a good idea to buy old technology just to get a bigger screen. We had actually decided to wait awhile and see how the price of 4K would shake out after Black Friday. Then, about a week ago, we found ourselves with some extra time on our hands after dinner with the in-laws. My wife decided to take the daughter and go to the cloth-store, so I chose Best Buy across the way. That way, I could look at the over-priced stuff and models that I can't afford. I dutifully examined all the new models and made my way over to the "open-box" and clearance section where I found some interesting stuff, including a nice 55" Sharp 4K for about $800. Then I saw a Sony XBR-55X800b, hanging on the wall but notated as "open-box" for $800. The description card showed it as having a scratch (which I could see) and "no accessories missing". To shorten the story; we decided to buy it after negotiating another $40 off. THEN, they couldn't find ANY of the accessories.....no remote.....no instructions.....no box (opened or otherwise)......and critically.....NO STAND!!! I made myself look frustrated and ready to bolt, whereupon, they took off $100 and included a $70 Logitech Harmony 650 remote. 

I was even able to act like I had to think it over before jumping at it! So; 55" Sony 4K TV, and Harmony remote for $700. On eBay, I found the original remote for $10, followed by the stand for $60. Now I can start putting the game/media room together!