TV/Electronics Shopping

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

Anyone have any suggestions for a 'local' electronics store where I can *purchase* a new tv?  As my economic stimulus $ was depositing into my bank account, my television died.  Conspiracy theory, perhaps?

Anyways, I have a car to get around if need be.  I'm curious what's out there besides the big chains.  Any info or personal experiences with these would be appreciated.

Thanks! 

*I clarified this to show that I'm hoping to purchase a TV, and curious what non-chain options are around

Comments

good point-

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

Thanks, but I'm looking for a new TV. The one I had was a used on that lasted awhile and well worth the $0 I got it for!

With all this news about the ending of analog, I'm leaning towards a new one.

Re: good point-

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

If you have the two-person refund (1200) you should be able to pick up a pretty good unit. Not too sure about Mom and Pop outfits but some alternatives to consider are Tweeter (the burlington one in particular is supposed to have a lot of very good equipment) and the Wrentham Outlets, particularly I've heard there are some real good deals on Sony's down there. (in my window shopping experience the Sony line is amazing).

Re: good point-

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

I may be in over my head. I only have a '1 person' refund. Thanks for the info. I'll look into my options at Tweeter.

Re: good point-

[lena-a-mermaid.livejournal.com]

There are some things that big chains are good for. If your budget is not limitless I suggest you check out the chain stores as well just to compare.

Re: good point-

[ron_newman]

Of which, the closest to Davis Square is the Radio Shack in Porter. But good luck getting anyone there to actually understand your questions.

Re: good point-

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

Thanks!
I'm probably going to google around for a bit, and end up at Circuit City or something similar. I just figured I'd ask to see if there was anything I had missed around here-but it seems as though I haven't!

Re: good point-

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

I will keep that in mind. I actually looked at websites for both of the places you gave me and neither mentioned televisions at all.

I suppose the Camera's Inc incomplete, now I know that because you told me. I don't have a TV, so I wasn't trying to spend a long time going door to door, just wanted to see if anything grabbed my attention on the here.

Thanks for the added info!

Re: good point-

[lena-a-mermaid.livejournal.com]

Radio Shack is not exactly the first place I'd run to to buy a tv. I was thinking more like Circuit City which is at Assembly Square next to Home Depot.

[mderidder.livejournal.com]

As much as I'm not a big fan of the chains, I got my TV at the Circuit City in Assembly Square because it ultimately came down to price and for the TV I wanted they were way cheaper than anywhere else.

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

This would be where I wish we still had Lechmere! Local-chain! I used to buy all my CD's there in highschool.

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

yay Lechmere! That's where one would always go to buy "stuff"

[ron_newman]

At this point, you should make sure that anything you buy can receive digital HDTV signals. Otherwise, you may have nothing but a big doorstop after next February.

maybe not?

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

I'm planning to do just that. BUT from my research, if you have a cable box you're fine even with an analog tv. Am I misunderstanding this. This is a bit of a tangent, but if you don't mind exploring this for a second, I think this DTV is getting hyped up a bit more than necessary.

Only people using just antenna's will be in trouble. I apologize for not knowing how to make a link in here but this website explained it well to me - http://www.dtvanswers.com/dtv_affected.html

What do you think? Is my comcast dig. cable box not already converting digital to analog (my old tv was only analog)?

Re: maybe not?

[ron_newman]

I don't know much about that, as I don't have a cable box.

Re: maybe not?

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

I don't think 'they' want us to know so we all go buy new equipment we may not need.
:-)
Either way. I'll be sure to get a non-obsolete tv this time around.

Re: maybe not?

[thebinturong.livejournal.com]

I bought a converter and an indoor HDTV antenna to check it out for fun. Granted I live on the first floor and not on a hill, but my conclusion is, you need a real antenna mounted on the roof and pointed the right way. Analog TV gets snow if you don't have a good signal, but broadcast HDTV just doesn't work. Of course most people in the city typical have cable TV to avoid this kind of thing. I'm kind of surprised that comcast and their ilk aren't trying to make more noise to get people to upgrade their service, but I think the majority of their channels will be standard definition for years to come.

Peersonally I think that standard def signals look pretty bad in hi def monitors. 5.1 surround sound is kind of fun though.

Re: maybe not?

[red-liner.livejournal.com]

I will say, though, that with a decent antenna, broadcast HDTV not only works, but works *extremely* well. Way better than digital cable, with no dropouts or jitter.

Re: maybe not?

[zmgmeister.livejournal.com]

The DTV transition has nothing to do with cable or satellite.

However, if you do use an antenna there's some extra channels you get ( PBS World, etc), reception is perfect, there's no "ghosts" from signal reflecting off buildings, and you might just forget about cable.

Its true you need a strong signal for DTV to work, and tuners vary in sensitivity. Personally I had no problems with an indoor antenna. Also the digital signals here are all UHF and that penetrates better in urban areas; I couldn't receive the lower channels with an analog TV.

Go to COSTCO

[toastygw.livejournal.com]

For a good price on a TV go to COSTCO. The one on route 16 east towards revere is not too far away.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Sieze this opportunity to ditch the tv! Reclaim your brain! Discover your community! Make new friends! Learn to play an instrument or take up kickboxing instead!

I gave up tv about 5 years ago, and am so glad I did. Now if there is something that is really interesting, I can usually download it on my computer, or rent a whole series on video.

Seriously. Life is so much better when there isn't a tv in the house.