[Jeffhs]

I am in my mid-50s and also, like radiotvnut, grew up with CRT TVs. However, when I realized that new CRT sets would no longer be available after 2008 or so, I decided I would get a flat screen set -- as soon as the prices dropped below $500. That day came for me last August, when I found, in a Best Buy ad in my Sunday newspaper, an Insignia 19" flat panel for a very reasonable price, so I jumped on it. Two days later, it arrived at my door via UPS. I hooked it up in 15 minutes, turned it on, and was very impressed with the picture quality; much better than that of the CRT sets I'd had up to that point. Soon after that, I replaced my CRT computer monitor with a flat display slightly larger than the former (partially because the CRT monitor had developed a problem with raster bending), and again was not disappointed.

I like my flat screen Insignia TV for at least three other reasons as well: one, it has a perfectly rectangular display, and I've always wanted a TV with such a display but could not afford one till now. Two, the Insignia has MTS stereo sound, with inputs for an external stereo system, which no TV I've ever owned prior to it ever had (though a Zenith console I had when I was 13 in the late '60s came close, as ir had a darn good audio system; I patched an old FM tuner into it by way of the volume control and made myself a nice little mono audio system).

Three, the Insignia is digital -- capable of 720p full HD. Not home theater by any means, but then again, living in a small apartment I don't feel I need a 32"+ flat screen. If I were still living in the three-bedroom house in which I grew up (left there 12 years ago), I could probably use and enjoy a large flat panel in the living room (I know someone who has a very large FP in his living room -- I'm told that when you walk into his house, you get the feeling you just entered a movie theater), but my apartment being as small as it is, the 19" Insignia is all I need as far as TV goes. Once I get an HDMI cable for the BR player (I'm currently using the AV connections on the back of the TV), the picture should be even better than it is now, although again, with a 19" screen, I doubt if I will even notice the difference since I sit some ten feet away from the set.

Last, but certainly not least, I like new technology but, living on a fixed income, I can't always afford the latest and greatest as soon as it appears on the market -- I usually wait until whatever it is has been around awhile. By the time I'm able to afford it, the prices have dropped substantially (as is the case with all new tech; whenever anything first appears in stores, the price is always very high, but when it's been on the market awhile and becomes mainstream, the prices drop to much more reasonable levels). I did the same thing with Blu-ray disc. I had heard a lot about Blu-ray over the years but, again for a long time, could not afford a player -- yup, you guessed it, because of the high prices of the machines. I again found one for under $100 a few months ago in my local Best Buy ads in the paper, and again I jumped on it. Several days later, UPS showed up at my door with the new one, I immediately hooked it up, tried it out, and, well, all I can say is I'll never go back to standard DVD players, although all of my discs are standard (no Blu-rays yet). My BR player has connections for HDMI (I'll get a cable soon) and also for streaming video via the Internet; haven't tried the latter yet since I do not yet have a router. That's next on my list of technology upgrades; for now, I'm watching physical DVDs from Netflix and my own collection.