TV -- Why is it so important?
Apr. 16th, 2007 08:11 pmOur TV died today. The Big Screen that my parents gave me when they upgraded to a new HDTV Big screen.. It was a 55 inch Toshiba projection set that we'd had for around 15 years or so. Mom and Dad used to joke that I'd come home to visit and hug that TV. So when they upgraded, they gave me the TV, with both of us understanding that it was on it's last legs, borrowed time, and that it could last another 10 years, or it might last another couple of months. The big screen replaced our 27" Zenith that I bought used at Salvation Army for $40, and the 27" became my new Office/Video Game set.
However, moving the big screen I think may have been too rough on it. I suspect that if we could've left it at my parents' house, it may have lasted for years longer. Moving it, both in a truck and down the half-flight of stairs in my split-level home, may have been too much for it. Almost immediately after we got it here and set up, the color convergence was off slightly. I adjusted the best I could, knowing that it might be a problem.
We used it for a few months.. Today, I went downstairs, intending on making a day of watching TV series on DVD and nesting on the couch, when, during a TIVO'd episode of House, the tv *blinked*, and then the picture went wonky. All of a sudden the convergence was way off, and everything was curvy on the edges and fish-eye looking.
Uh-oh. This isn't the first something like this has happened. My folks had had the set serviced a couple of times by the a/v place that sold it to us, and it seems like this set had problems with the red going flaky. Something with a chip or a board component. Not something I can replace easily. Being that this is a 15 year old set, I don't think I can justify spending a couple of hundred dollars to (possibly) repair it. Especially as it's a 15 year old SDTV, and everything's going HD. And, with us looking at moving to an apartment, it's probably best if we don't have anything larger than a 27" or so. So back the Zenith goes to the living room, and I have to think about moving the big screen back up the stairs and out to the street.
It's sad, but that thing had been a part of my life for almost half of it. And I'm going to miss it. It's just another reminder of how things keep moving forward. I'm not a kid anymore, my parents have remodeled the house I grew up in, and are selling it soon, and I'm looking at selling my house to move into an apartment. I miss being a kid. Is this what the "mid-life 30's crisis" thing is like?
I found one on Ebay that looks like mine..

Ah well.. time marches on.
However, moving the big screen I think may have been too rough on it. I suspect that if we could've left it at my parents' house, it may have lasted for years longer. Moving it, both in a truck and down the half-flight of stairs in my split-level home, may have been too much for it. Almost immediately after we got it here and set up, the color convergence was off slightly. I adjusted the best I could, knowing that it might be a problem.
We used it for a few months.. Today, I went downstairs, intending on making a day of watching TV series on DVD and nesting on the couch, when, during a TIVO'd episode of House, the tv *blinked*, and then the picture went wonky. All of a sudden the convergence was way off, and everything was curvy on the edges and fish-eye looking.
Uh-oh. This isn't the first something like this has happened. My folks had had the set serviced a couple of times by the a/v place that sold it to us, and it seems like this set had problems with the red going flaky. Something with a chip or a board component. Not something I can replace easily. Being that this is a 15 year old set, I don't think I can justify spending a couple of hundred dollars to (possibly) repair it. Especially as it's a 15 year old SDTV, and everything's going HD. And, with us looking at moving to an apartment, it's probably best if we don't have anything larger than a 27" or so. So back the Zenith goes to the living room, and I have to think about moving the big screen back up the stairs and out to the street.
It's sad, but that thing had been a part of my life for almost half of it. And I'm going to miss it. It's just another reminder of how things keep moving forward. I'm not a kid anymore, my parents have remodeled the house I grew up in, and are selling it soon, and I'm looking at selling my house to move into an apartment. I miss being a kid. Is this what the "mid-life 30's crisis" thing is like?
I found one on Ebay that looks like mine..
Ah well.. time marches on.