Yesterday we bought a new TV. Our old rear projection 55" Mitsubishi gave up the ghost and moving the old 32" Sanyo CRT from the exercise room would have not been fun (to get it out of the room I have to remove the door). We ended up buying a Panasonic TC-P46U1 (46" plasma).
Now to my question, why is "everyone" obsessed with HD and surround sound. I have watched HDTV at my son's, my sister's and my wife's brother's houses (with surround sound) and, while I can see/hear and enjoy the difference, I utterly stop noticing any difference at 5-10 minutes. You see, I'm watching a show/movie/game, not a TV screen. I don't spend my time watching something on the television and thinking, "Wow! I bet that woman has 100,000 hairs on her head and I can count every one of them." The sound issue is the similar; why do I need to hear the footsteps behind me of someone walking on to a screen in front of me.
Now, don't get me wrong. I can see certain uses for HDTV where I would enjoy the sharpness. Rewinding sporting events or shows to see something you missed does work very well in HD (especially an official's missed call). Concerts obviously would sound better with Surround Sound. I just can't justify the money.
Now don't get me started on Blu-ray.
Oh yeah, the TV rocks, even without an HD signal. The colors are fantastic and you can see the picture well from any angle.
