The HD Plunge

After years of wishing and months of perusing, I'm just days away from enjoying High Definition in my own home.

Since grade school a personal goal of mine has been to own a big-screen television. What red-blooded, American male hasn't wanted one? A larger than life window to another world is what the movie theater experience is to me, and to be able to bring that home is thrilling. When I began building my home video library, I chose to fill it with widescreen versions. Watching them on a small screen wasn't the best option, but it was the only one I had. I have a good imagination, so I could scale it to match. I also hate pan-and-scan viewing.

Years of waiting have brought me to a thrilling point, because the technology now available was unthinkable when I was younger. I can now buy a widescreen monitor to match the film, filling the entire screen with some selections. The age of HD is now upon us, giving a clearer picture than ever before. Don't forget the other half of the experience. Sound doesn't just fill the room, but now transforms it into an extension of the world on the other side of the screen.

Uncle Sam has been holding on to some money for me, and now I'm going to put it to good use. The beginning of the Olympic telecast, showing breathtaking shots of the beauty of the Italian countryside, looked amazing, even on our stadard definition set. Images so powerful that the Mrs. wondered how much better they would look in their proper resolution.

Ah-ha! I had an opening. A small chink in the armor that I have been able to work into a fissure, leading to this week and purchase approval. I'll update later, after the purchase has been made, but it looks to be a 42-inch Sony Grand Wega (Vay-guh). It should be just the right size for our living room, and just right for me.

It's too bad I'm on-call this week, and possibly covering the NCAA tourney next week, or it would be sitting in my living room right now.