I take my gaming fairly seriously – and with good reason.
My home currently has two televisions, one in the front room which is connected to the Sky box (soon to be replaced with the Topfield PVR) and one in the back room which is totally dedicated to gaming. Both are 28″ CRT models using SCART for their input.
As my desire for next-gen consoles begins to grow serious I’ve realised that I’m going to sulk if I don’t play games in HD. I freely admit that it’s not just about the image quality. I know that if I were to be playing a X360 or PS3 on a regular TV I’d be sitting around thinking “I know this would look better if I had an HD TV” – subsequently, I’d be spoiling my own enjoyment by focusing on what I don’t have rather than what I do.
Now, of course, that’s all in my head – but that’s the way I am. I’m not sure if that makes me some sort of HD sucker or someone who’s fallen for PR. I just know that I want to get the best out of whatever box I connect to a TV.
So I’ve decided to hold off buying any new consoles (including the Wii) until I upgrade my TV. Speaking to my best friend at length and walking around a few retailers I’ve decided to plump for a 37″ LCD HD model. Specifically the Toshiba 37LW66. It fits to a budget of around £800 (if you shop around online) and also 37″ is about the biggest screen I think I can put into that room in any practical form. I’m still quite happy with 28″ of CRT so anything larger than that will be fine. In fact, having viewed the TV in-store it looked surprisingly big to me and my wife. And, as we all know, things always look bigger at home than they do in the store.
The model seems to have been well established and garnered positive reviews all round. My space concerns are more to do with width than anything else so the design of the TV is appealing. Speakers placed somewhere other than the sides of the screen mean the unit isn’t any wider than it needs to be.
Being the tight-fisted git that I am, I’m refusing to buy the beastie until I’ve got the cash in place for it. I really hate buying stuff on credit and try to be a cash-only guy. With the holiday season fast approaching and all the strain that puts on one’s finances I think it’ll be 2007 before I see it in my home. Not long into 2007 though!
The next step is to grab component cables and a component switcher for my consoles to that I can take immediate advantage of the screen quality with my existing machines.
So, if anyone wants to know what I want for Christmas, there’s your answer!
From my experience with the WLT66 32 incher, you can’t go wrong with the Toshiba. I was drawn between a slightly more expensive, duller looking bravia or the cheaper Toshiba (£738) that had 5star reviews floating around it. Its a strange sensation noticing the difference in small things like text and round edges. Hope you enjoy, you never know, maybe your special lady friend will surprse you for christmas.