Out with the old, in with the new

I had planned to write down my thoughts about the latest expansion pack to the popular “Dungeon Siege” CRPG over this past weekend and enter it as today’s entry. When the weekend rolled around, I found myself suddenly preoccupied with the idea of replacing my television set. To be truthful, suddenly is not a correct description since I’ve been planning to replace my TV and DVD player with a newer model for at least 3 years now. For most of that time I had my sights set on the Sony line of VEGA DRC TV and their DAV Home Theater sets but I recently conceded that they will not be dropping their price anytime soon and I was already tired of waiting for them to do so. So now that I’ve opened up my options to other brands, I spent most of the weekend doing research for my new home entertainment system.

The last time I had to go through this process was close to 8 years ago when I bought my current TV and DVD player. My old Phillips home entertainment system is actually quite sentimental to me since it was the first major purchase that I made using the very first paycheck that I ever got. It has served me faithfully all these years and I only had to replace a power control board once in those 8 years. I would miss my old system once I move it back to my parent’s house for my younger siblings.

In its place, after looking at more than a few brands and models, I’ve decided to get a Panasonic TX-29P180K Flat-screen TV coupled with a Panasonic SC-HT700 Home Theater System to replace my Phillips set. Coming into this decision, I’ve already made the decision of getting a flat screen TV to replace my current TV and the TX-29P180K fulfill my requirements to a tee with the added bonus of it having 100MHz flicker-free screen as well as progressive scan picture. I should be able to get a much clearer picture than my current TV especially when watching DVDs from the SC-HT700 system. I have to admit that the SC-HT700 was not my first choice because it had a 5-DVD changer instead of a single tray which I think was a bit redundant. Nevertheless the active subwoofer system and reasonable powerful satellite speakers that delivered above average sound playback performance for its price class quickly swayed me to the choice.

For the purchase this time around, I decided to get them on a 12 month installment at Courts Mammoth, a local household and electronics chain store. A few of my friends did warn me that their prices are a bit higher than other electronic stores and that the stocks that they carry are a few months behind in terms of model release. While I do acknowledge that their sale price is slightly more expansive and that they don’t normally carry the latest model, it is hard to beat the convenience of their monthly installment plan. They have reasonable rates for their installment plan and a multitude of payment methods that make them very attractive to the locals. I also wanted to test them out since I am seriously considering using them for most of my furniture purchases for when I move into my new apartment. Their prices beat Ikea’s hands down without a doubt and they actually carry several furniture designs that are not half bad.

I going to the store again next weekend to finalize the purchase and sign the installment payment papers. Hopefully the new set will arrive just in time for my birthday in February.