A question for the Intarweb
by Alex
So I have a question for all you readers.
For years I was very proud of the fact that I didn’t own a television because I considered the vast majority of what came out of it to be pollution. However times have changed — TV has gotten better, and DVRs help filter and timeshift it. More and more these days, televisions have stopped being receivers of broadcast and screen to show content on with everything from tivo’d shows to downloaded movies, to streaming Netflix etc. We might even get a Wii.
So the scarily erudite beloved and I have been thinking about getting serious about digital content and investing in… something. That’s where you come in. What should we get? We are thinking either a big TV with a DVR or, perhaps, even just getting a bigger monitor and showing stuff off the computer. It seems like there are a number of options. What do you think the best way would be to get content onto a screen? Are all TVs hookupable to computers now? What is your setup, and how does it work for you?
Allow me to pull an old man line on you: Life is made up of Time. The proportion of Worthwhile Content per Time Consumed is at its very worst in television. (Where did you get the idea that television was getting better?) The only use television has is to play DVDs on.
I am happy wiith a player DVD deck and a player/recorder DVD/VHS deck I can get to keep a lot of stuff. I like that. Had I the bucks available, I’d buy a universal player, or whatever a player that plays all regions is called, too.
In general, though, I’d say your not having a television was a very good idea.
Most TVs are hook-upable now, assuming they are new. A large screen is a good idea if you are planning on watching primarily movies. If you are going to watch many streamed things like Netflix, then hooking up the computer to what basically becomes a large monitor is a fine plan, but if you will tend toward more DVDs or other higher definition options I would suggest also using a separate player that has HDMI as the connection. The result will be a little better. If you have a computer dedicated to the Entertainment center, then you can use it for the DVR and save some that way, particularly if you aren’t going to also get cable television or something like that. If you are, you may have to go with their DVR for compatibility. Once you start using a DVR you will never want to experience any other kind of TV. I think the new Tivo streams Netflix and is a DVR, so that’s nice.
The idea that the only use for a television is to play DVDs is deranged. It is true that there is much dreck on television, but there is also much worth seeing. I suggest Psych and Burn Notice and entertaining and well written, not to mention all of the cooking and home improvement shows.
The Wii is also quite fun. Take a look at XBMC to use as a media center alternative program.
Whatever you get, make sure you can change it to channel 10.
Geez do these TVs even come w/speakers anymore or do they assume that you will be dropping US$500 on those as well?
The thing about movies versus TV is that we don’t watch the usual 4-5 hours of TV a day that other people do so — snobbery alerts — we don’t want to waste time w/’better than average’ sitcoms or Plastic People Making Baked Alaska Again. Also… I’d much rather wait til a season of, say, Dr. Who is out on DVD and take it in in one big gulp instead of sitting around waiting next week for the next twist in the plot.
It sounds like the main thing to do is to look into getting a screen first. Are there any obvious things I should know about these other than the fact that they cost as much as a used car?
Anthropologists deserve better!
You may want to get a large-sixed LCD HD TV (Sharp Aquos is the best, not $ony Brivia). then I believe they will have differnt inputs that will allow you to play sth from you PCs, DVD players, Wiis. If you aslo plan to watch blue-ray movies, then spend another hundred buck to get one.
this is a good shopping season!
I would never suggest “better than average sitcoms or Plastic People,” ass, anything I suggest is pure gold. For cooking I like “Good Eats” on the Food Network to go with my other non-food suggestions.
Aside from that, yes you can get plenty of TVs with speakers. They produce less good sound, so you just have to decide what your priorities are. Since it seems like this will be a bit player in your life, and not something that you care to get the best of, I think you would probably be happy with something in the 32″ range and you could probably get it for around $500-$600 or so. Why spend more for something that you will only use sparingly?
Visio is a good brand that is among the cheapest out there. I have one and am very happy with it.
Less than $500
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5623472
or for higher contrast (you are in bright ass Hawaii, after all) go with the plasma:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8477433
Good for you! I always thought an anthropologist refusing to watch TV was like a butcher refusing to eat meat: “I think meat (mass culture) is fine for my customers (readers, consultants), but personally I can’t stand it…”
I have to admit that that last, “Good for you! I always thought…” is a valid point. However it does rather direct you to the dreck than to the pure gold (sic).
Otherwise, I think “deranged” has a certain panache and outranks the more plebeian “ass.”
A self-indulgent young male informant warns me that Wii has strongly addictive properties.
Regarding the Wii: Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed; the ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Channel 10.
Tommy, there’s nothing wrong with appreciating elite cultural products (“gold”). I appreciate many of them myself. But many of us have become anthropologists because we have greater appreciation for the “dreck”–those cultural products in which most people place very little value.
We went down to the Big Box Shop today and took a gander. There are some cheap ones but… don’t you think if we wait until after Xmas they will be even cheaper?
And thanks for the links to the models G!
Possibly.
Around the Superbowl there are also usually some sales.
Computer-to-TV is the way to go. Depending on your stance on bittorrents vs. iTunes (Netflix, pfft, iTunes or bittorent, that’s all anyone needs) in the battle to find your media, you can simply have a television as an extension of your computer… everything that is offered for “traditional television” is accessible on the internet now in more convenient, less expensive (or free) and most importantly, flexible formats. Buy a big TV, hook up your computer. Should be little different then connecting your laptop to a projector in a conference hall… in fact, consider a projector/screen as a superior option (if you have the room). I set up a system like this for my self-described “luddite” parents a few years ago, taught them how to find bittorents and let them go wild. Bittorent and streaming websites are only a few days behind original airings and iTunes sometimes has day-of airings. Getting sucked into an expensive DVR or somesuch plan. Comp + TV, all you need.
Oh and in answer to your question all modern TVs (since 2000 for sure) can connect to computers, but not all computers can connect to TVs. Check the back of your laptop/desktop for SV (the most basic format) or higher formats. If not, it is a rather simple and inexpensive matter to buy the appropriate slot to but into the back of your desktop.
LCDs are so cheap now, and work so well with PCs, I wouldn’t go any other way. I have a 42″ Samsung at home, connected to an HD DirecTV DVR. It works well enough to watch everything I record; spend most of my free time farming titanium nodes anyways.
And getting a Wii is like buying a Miata with no doors, get yourself a PS3 if you want something useful.