Feeling a little Blu... part I

Hey everyone. Back with an update about getting a Blu-ray. So funny story...

A couple weekends ago, the SO and her friend were planning on going up to Chi-town to see the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. For some strange reason, I had to ask her if I were to go out and get a Blu-ray (BR), what would be her reaction? Would she kill me or kill me beyond recognition so not even the coroner's office would know it was my body (or what's left of it). She actually responded by saying she would be really mad but she wouldn't be completely disappointed. I was as happy as a little school girl...

It just happened that I was going to meet my 'rents for lunch for Father's Day so I would be able to hit up some electronic stores, like Fry's, and see what was available and what was in the budget (budget... hahaha!). Now I had been looking on cnet.com for what was the best BR player available and what sort of prices there were, but when I get in an electronic store without the SO, my brain goes out the door.

So I'm clearly interested in a BR that will give the best quality to my DVDs, while at the same time will be good for years to come with future purchases. So I'm looking at the Samsung BD P4600. Priced at 400 big ones. Again, the latest and the greatest. Of course there's no one around to help me figure out what is good and what isn't. After about 10 minutes of looking, an employee of Fry's finally comes over to ask if I need help. I put it simply to him: "What's the best BR for watching DVDs?" With my eye on the 4600, he of course said the 4600 or the 3600 (probably because they were the most expensive). He said the 4600 has built-in Wi-fi so I can easily update the BR when needed.

This is when he went in for the kill. He asked what kind of TV I had. I puffed up the chest, metaphorically, and said a Samsung 860 series plasma, 50 inch. He was impressed with my TV, and he knew he could get me with the line: "Well, if you have the top-of-the-line TV, for high quality you'll want a top-of-the-line BR." So I naively grabbed the box. Of course now I needed a top-of-the-line HDMI cable, which he gladly led me to the Monster HDMI cables, the 900 and the 1200. He said the 1200 is what I want...at 130 dollars! Being the idiot I was at the time, I went with the 1200, thinking I need the most expensive to have the best quality. He quickly rang me up so he could have the sale, and I went to the Cashier to make the purchase. In total, it was 567 dollars.

I felt the rush alright. So much that I forgot I'd probably need an A/V cable for hooking the BR up to the surround sound. So I dropped another $8.55 at Fry's. I felt so paranoid with it in the car all afternoon while having lunch with the 'rents and doing errands. I wanted to get home so it would be safe. During the car ride home, I thought, "I won't open anything so I can talk with the SO and decide if this is what we need."

Around 7:30 that evening, the SO called to say she was starting the trek back home from Chi-town. She asked if I bought a BR and I flatly said yes I did. She was surprised when she responded, but it didn't sound like an angry surprise. It was a "Oh, I'm so mad at you but I know that a BR is what we need so I will try to sound angry but I can't do it right now" response.

When she finally did get home, I showed her what I had purchased. She was still in shock and asked how much. That's when I felt my throat closing as I told her 567 bucks. She really gave me the death look. I quickly calmed the fire by saying I would take a look the next day at cnet.com and we can go to HH Gregg to see what they tell us about what we should have for BR. Little did I know that wouldn't be the end of this debacle...

Next post: The exciting conclusion to whether or not I would ever see the light of day again, or at least my half of the bed. Tune in to find out!

Later!