The big tech news today, assuming we’re taking a slight break from speculating over the presumed release of the Apple tablet computer and its PCish cousins, is that Sony is making a 3D tv just in time for everyone to get all excited about the prospect of seeing Avatar in their living rooms in 3D blu ray.
I’m writing about this here for no particular reason. I don’t even have an HDTV in my house. I don’t have a TV that is less than 15 years old. I’d like to change that, but there’s nothing wrong with any of my TVs. They just keep working and working. I’ve held off on a new purchase because I don’t trust LCDs or plasmas or whatevers to work as long as my old tube-based TVs have. Somehow it seems like a waste to replace what works, which is ironic coming from me. In anything other than a car or a TV I’m pretty much all for wasting money just because.
My last car I replaced only because it needed a tire, and the auto repair teacher at my school told me that if I bought one for it the tire would be worth more than the car. He was really tired of fixing that Ford.
I don’t think I’ve ever replaced a TV, though I have added to my collection. Just not lately.
Not having HD doesn’t bother me. I don’t watch enough for it to matter. My desire for a new TV is all about the Wii. I don’t have a Wii either, and I want one. But when I look at them I think how sad it would be to play with a new Wii on an old TV. Now I hear Play Station III is going to be upgradable to 3D, and suddenly I want that too, which means I’ll have to want a 3D TV.
Ah, well. It’s the year of budget cuts, and TV seems to be something I don’t want to fork out for despite paying for cable with HBO every month. There’s logic in there somewhere.
What I do want is the Sony Bloggie camera also announced today. I already have a Sony Cybershot with HD capability plus a Flip Cam. Don’t need a bloggie even for the sake of the blog, but it’s only $169, and oh the cool stuff I could do…
This discrepancy between willingness to buy a duplicate on a camera but not an upgrade on a TV has me thinking about how much of myself I put into (a) things that relate to teaching; (b) things that require creativity.
I heard someone speak months ago. I don’t even remember who it was now, but he said that he was willing to pay extra for creative experiences. He wasn’t willing to pay extra just to have things.
I suppose that means a TV is just a thing to me then. Watching TV might expose me to all manner of creative ideas, but it is a passive experience. Playing with a camera is an active experience. It requires my own creativity. In the end, that is where I’d prefer to put my money.
That said, at this point I’m skipping plain HD entirely and holding out for affordable 3DHD. 🙂
