Feeling a little Blu... part II

Quick recap: bought a BR with the SO not in town. Spent $567. SO not happy.

So the next day after this ginormous purhcase, I went to lab to get stuff ready for the week. I planned out everything for that week so I could keep busy and get everything necessary done before my advisor left. That took an hour or so. At that point I thought I would check to see what cnet.com had to say about HDMI cables and what I needed. Little did I know that would start a chain of events I'd never be able to stop...

Come to find out that you should never pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable. I was livid. I could feel the blood just oozing out of my eyes. Yeah, my eyes, I was that mad. How could I be so stupid to spend 130 bucks on a cable, when I could get a quality cable for 10 bucks or less? I followed cnet's advice, went to Amazon, and bought a cable for 22 cents! I know, that's incredible! With shipping, it was a total of $3.20. That meant I was returning the cable, and I knew I could be back at Fry's next weekend because I would be traveling that way to take the SO to my BF's fiancee's bachelorette party.

With a much cheaper cable (like 100% cheaper), I went through cnet's review of the 4600, and it flat out said that the 3600 was just as good. The blood began to ooze out of my ears. It was as if I knew at that moment that I got hosed by the Fry guy and I wanted to zoom down there to return it because I felt so dirty by being in possession of this filth. With the blink of an eye, I left lab to go to HH Gregg's and talk to the people who sold us our TV. I told them how I wanted a BR for DVDs and he pointed out the Samsung BD P1600, and that it was the ability for Netflix streaming if I needed (through an ethernet cable, not wirelessly like the 3600 or 4600). Doubtful that I would ever use that service, I knew this was a better BR for the SO and me. The price there for the 1600 was $279.99. That sounded like such a reasonable price after dropping 400 bucks on something that looked like it could fly to Mars.

The whole idea sounded absurd after the fact, but I decided after getting out of HH Gregg's that I needed to go to Fry's to return the BR and HDMI cable. Of course I was delayed by the fact that I wanted to drive my car but forgot to grab the keys as I left lab! So with the SO's car freshly gassed up (and no cruise control), I zoomed down to Fry's to get my money back. I was able to get everything back on my debit card, but I thought I should see what kind of price Fry's had on the 1600 (I know, I never learn). $249.99! It's a shame I couldn't have bought this from HH Gregg's but this was a good deal. With the box in hand, the cashier rang it up and I swear I first thought I heard him say 300 dollars. I looked at the receipt and he priced it at 200 bucks! I couldn't believe it. A 300 dollar BR for 200!

In total, I went from spending 567 dollars to spending 317 dollars... a savings of $250! At this point, I needed to grease the wheels of my SO's heart, and the first thing I thought of was going to Border's to get her the knitting mag she had wanted. Of course they didn't have it, but I knew there was something I could get her: a large Dunkin Donuts iced coffee with coconut syrup, cream, and sugar. Bringing it to her, she knew that something was up. I told her the whole story about how I was really angry about getting ripped off and how I saved so much money and now we have a BR that will be perfect for us. Yeah I was doing everything not to permamently stay in the doghouse. And somehow... it worked.

Opening it up that week was like having Christmas in June. The smile couldn't get off my face. Only one problem... where could it go? With the cable box, Wii, and surround sound, there wasn't much room for the BR on the entertainment center. But I found room... I also found out I didn't need the A/V cable (which I returned before dropping the SO off at the bachelorette party).

And so, from this point on, I can give reviews for movies that will be in quality picture. And someday I might be able to purchase a BR disc (BRD), but what will be the first choice? My first DVD was The Matrix, but I'm not sure I want that as my first BRD. It'll come to me at some point what should be the first, and I know it'll be a good one. But until then, I have all these DVDs that need to be watched with the clarity and quality from a BR. Later!