Seinfeld the way it was meant to be seen

Yesterday we got a 40-inch Sony Bravia. I agonized over the purchase of this thing, so afraid I would get the wrong one. Not about spending $1300 or so on a TV…but what if it broke or wasn’t as good as another one?

I was looking at a 32-inch Sharp Aquos at Stupid Prices for a very reasonable $469 (tax included). But when we got there Friday, it had a “Sold” sign on it. I’m glad, because when the TV was turned off, you could see a mark on the screen, which apparently didn’t show up when the TV was on. I can see myself buying it without noticing that…or getting far enough along in the buying process that I would be willing to accept such a defect rather than leave in defeat.

Later, my mother made a very good point. TV is a very important part of my life. It’s our primary form of entertainment. (Don’t judge. We also work out regularly in our garage and play with our dog, just not for as many consecutive hours as we watch TV.) Shopping around for a deal and winding up with a substandard machine could detract from our enjoyment of said activity. So I went for it.

By the way, that $40 used TiVo wound up being the best investment of my life. The previous owners had purchased lifetime service, which apparently stays with the machine even if the machine doesn’t stay with them. Translation: I have a TiVo for which I never have to pay a monthly service fee. Now in even less of a hurry to upgrade to an HDTV in the bedroom.

The new used TiVo looked quite unused, still wrapped in plastic and containing all the original packaging. It’s clearly been sitting around for a few years, since the “recently deleted” shows include events from the 2006 Olympics. Quite interestingly, the TiVo was activated along with its lifetime service on my 30th birthday.

It gets better. I was paying $6.95 on a 3-year contract on the broken machine. The nice lady at customer service canceled my other TiVo service, which was $12.95, but not on a contract, and switched the 3-year contract to that DVR. Where I once was paying $20 a month, I now pay $6.95 with a slight upgrade of one of my machines. So clearly I am saving enough money to merit the purchase of 40-inch TV.