Jumping into HD

So I'm buying a 50" HD television in January or February. I've actually never bought a TV before. The only one I've ever owned is a little 13" that my grandma bought me back in 1999. I'm doing this for a couple of reasons:

The first is that the tv we currently use, my girlfriend's 27" standard, is just begging to be replaced. Something happened a couple years ago and suddenly there is a huge green glob in the upper left corner of the frame. It looks like a magnet went across it somehow. The television is well over 10 years old and besides its age, it's just large and clunky. It's served us well, but its living room privileges have been revoked and it is destined to be put in an extra bedroom somewhere.

The second reason I'm doing this is, frankly, HD television is soon to become the standard. I have no problems with standard television and I have no intention of replacing my enormous DVD collection with HD versions of the films unless I find out for some stupid reason that I can't watch a regular DVD on an HD tv (haven't done much research yet, so I don't know all the nit picky rules). I've had big debates with buddies of mine about whether or not HD is just as good as a theatre to see a movie. I still firmly believe that the theatre is the superior viewing experience. That hasn't changed. And no Jeff, you can't change my mind :) Still, in a year or so, all of television is going to be in high-def (that's the government for you, I guess) and whether I like it or not, our normal tube TV isn't going to cut it. I'm sure I could buy some sort of digital box to plug into it or something, but I don't want to bother with all of that. Might as well just buy a new TV.

You might be wondering why I'm getting a 50"? Well, to be honest, if I'm going to splurge on a new TV, I might as well make it as impressive as I can. I've seen the 32" Hi-Def's but god do they seem tiny to me. Maybe it's the widescreen nature that doesn't seem to do it for me. A box shape looks much better in 32" than a rectangle to me. I don't know, there just seems to be something a little off with the smaller HD's. Maybe the bigger ones give the impression of the "real" theatre experience? Regardless, I just don't like the little ones. And since I'm getting three thousand bucks from my job as a "Thanks for being smart!" bonus in January, I might as well get the best I can get. Why buy a small hi-def when I can one that covers an entire wall? :)

I think gaming will be a lot more fun as well. In fact, I know it will. Playing Mario Party on Jeremy's big screen was great fun a couple years back and I'm looking forward to seeing a three foot tall Bowser on Smash Bros. Brawl :) Maybe I'll even check out God of War which Jeff says is great on HD. I can't imagine the coolness of playing it on a 50" TV.

One other thing, by actually having an HD tv and using it on a regular basis, I'll be able to really figure out whether or not home theatre systems are on par with regular movie theatres. Perhaps my position will change once I've had some in depth usage? We shall see in January/February I guess