And so, the decision has been made.
I have purchased a new TV. I surrendered to the siren song of modern technology, and the incessant ‘buy a new TV’ chant from my sons.
And I went all-in with a 65-inch screen. OK, technically that’s not ALL in; I could have gone much, much larger. But any larger and I would have had to buy a new house to accommodate my new TV.
What tipped the scales in favour of a new set was an email I received from my old friend Calvin, who, upon reading the last column, sent me an email to tell me that his 65” Sony Bravia TV “changed my life”. He said he was willing to call me and explain “cogently and persuasively” why I should buy a 65” TV, or even larger. Well, that was enough for me.
And so, after much contemplation, I was ready to buy a Hisense. This was a difficult decision; made somewhat easier by the fact I could buy a Hisense for less than other models. (OK, actually that was the only reason.)
I had arranged to buy it from a local warehouse outlet, but a snag developed. A 65” TV comes in a box quite a lot larger than 65”, too large for my car, and the company didn’t provide delivery. Since I am one of the few Albertans who does not have easy access to a Ford F150 truck – seriously, these things are like a plague of metal locusts in this province – this presented a problem. But a solution presented itself courtesy one of my sons, the most tech-savvy (and dollar-wise) of the three.
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He found a Samsung 65” UHD screen at Best Buy that was on an in-store special only, roughly $300 off the normal price, which was about $50 less than the Hisense I was ready to buy. … and free delivery!
So, I pulled the pin. Decision made. Samsung 65” it is.
But that was almost the easiest decision.
Here’s an interesting tidbit; a larger TV needs a larger place to nest. My old TV fit nicely on a TV stand which, unfortunately, could not accommodate the new behemoth. (The legs were wider than the stand.) So, do I buy a new TV stand, which would set me back a couple of hundred, or find a stand that would attach to the TV (a wall mount was not an option).
Amazon to the rescue. I found a universal TV stand made by a company called USX that would fit the TV. I got it from Amazon for less than $60, and within two days, one day before the TV arrived.
The big day arrived. The TV was here, and the stand was here. All that was left was opening the box, assembling the stand, building and attaching the stand to the TV, disconnecting the old TV and moving it downstairs, reconnecting the TV with the new 4K cable box (which, of course, did not work), making an internet connection to the TV, creating a universal remote, and learning how to adjust my picture.
Simple, right?
Next time … it’s not so simple.
Maurice Tougas claims he was his family’s “walking TV listing back in the three-channel universe.” He’s also a retired, award-winning journalist. I first encountered Maurice when he was editor of Alberta Prime Times. He asked me to contribute a TV column there; happy to continue our association here at brioux.tv.
