Well, one of my coworkers talked to a friend of hers who is getting a new place and, to make a long story short, that friend wants the television for her new place. The relief of knowing that a near-perfect television is going to actually be used versus thrown away in the dump made me feel really good. So, at some point next week the friend will come over and grab the television to bring it to the new apartment and I’ll be relieved that the set is getting used and that it is no longer taking up additional space in my house.

There isn’t much of a story here other than that I’m pissed about this whole thing. I bought this television on November 26, 2005 (which happens to be the last Black Friday that I really went out and spent a bunch of money). The television is a 30 inch, 1080p high definition, widescreen Panasonic television with a CRT design (i.e. it has the heavy big back to it and is not a flat screen). About a year and a half ago, the television randomly stopped receiving remote control signals.

That’s my problem with the television and that’s why I’m getting rid of it.

The high definition works fine (it’s actually a wonderfully crisp picture) and there is nothing else wrong with the set. The only problem that I have with it is that it doesn’t receive signals from a remote control. That means that if I want to change a channel, adjust the volume, turn the set off, or do anything that you would normally do with a remote control – I can’t do it. Think of what televisions used to be like before remote controls – that’s what this thing is like.

You may have noticed above that I said the thing stopped working a year and a half ago. That was around December 2008 which was a matter of days after all of the warranties that I had on the set ran out, of course. I used the television as it was for a few months, but when I couldn’t take the drastic changes in volume between the television shows and the commercials and when I got tired of getting out of bed to turn the set off before going to sleep, I purchased a beautiful 48 inch Vizio flat screen, 1080p high definition set (with a three year warranty). Since I purchased the Vizio, the Panasonic has sat all but unused in the corner of my kitchen.

So…after watching it sit there for over a year with no use at all, I think that it’s time to cut the cord and get rid of the monster as a part of this year’s spring cleaning process. If you read this blog regularly, then you know I keep a very strict eye on my finances and that I hate waste. I really believe that bringing this television to the dump is a huge waste of money. I can understand that the television, which I purchased for $649.99 (and another $39.00 in sales tax), is no longer worth the original purchase price. The set is four and a half years old and has an old CRT design (though it does have all of the high definition and widescreen bells and whistles), so after taking into account the problem with the set being unable to receive remote signals I’d put its fair market value at about $250. The local television repair place charges $50 just to look at the set – that doesn’t include what it costs to get the set fixed. Unless the repair is $20 or $30, I can’t see myself spending the money to get it fixed. Further, I can’t see myself essentially giving away another $50 just to know whether or not the set could be fixed.

If anyone out there has a better option than bringing this thing to the dump, let me know. If not, then it’ll be at the dump by the end of this week.

Title: And… It… Begins…

Oh, I’ve been waiting for this to happen… Last night I was watching TV on the 47″ LCD 1080p HDTV that I bought last January and the video went out. The audio didn’t go out, just the video. Clearly, we have a problem.

After the video went out I played with the wiring, checking all of the fixtures to make sure they were both clean and secured tightly, which they were. To make an otherwise long story short, the video works with the S-Video and the component wires, but not with the HDMI connection. And what the hell is the point in having an HDTV if you can’t use an HDMI wire to get the best picture? Especially during football season…

Wonderful. Here is the most expensive purchase that I’ve made in the last few years and now it’s getting all fucked up. Frankly, with my luck I’m surprised that it took this long to hit the shits. I mean why should any big purchase that I make ever work out in my fucking favor, right? Bear in mind that this television was purchased because the HDTV that I purchased two years earlier all of a sudden stopped receiving remote control signals. That’s my luck. Now I am almost guaranteed aggravation and a slew of idiocy as I try to get this shit heap repaired…because that’s what I need in my life, damn it.

I have a headache right now that you wouldn’t believe…

As it turns out, I reset the cable box again and everything started working. So my frustration and anger at my television was misplaced (and I apologize to my wonderful, awesome TV). But what a pain in the ass, huh? Like anyone needs to have their cable box randomly crap out. Talk about an annoyance and an unnecessary complication!