Well, I've been wanting an HDTV for a while...

But when I was honest with myself, I knew I couldn't really afford one, as much as I wanted to talk myself into thinking I could. That was until I checked Woot! last night and saw this tasty deal. A Philips 23" 720p LCD HDTV. I know it's a little old, not 1080i/p, doesn't have HDMI, and doesn't have an HD tuner, but for $299, I don't need those things. My rationale after the jump.



Like I said, I really wanted an HDTV. I have an XBox 360 and now Halo 3, and was really tempted with the inexpensive HD-DVD drive add-on, but knew that HDTVs right now are way out of my price range. A decent 1080i/p TV is somewhere in the $600-$800 range, which I simply can't afford. So when this $299 TV popped up on Woot, it caught my eye.

Here are the specs: It's a 23" Philips widescreen HD-ready LCD TV, and it can support up to 720p resolution, which is the step below 1080, kind of. Now, my current TV is 24", so this will be about the same size, only 16x9 widescreen, and HD. The "HD-ready" means it doesn't have a built in HD tuner, but can still support HD content. For me that means I won't be able to get HD programming over the air, but I can get a set-top box from Comcast and plug it in, and get the HD programming that way, which I already do anyways because the coax on my current TV broke off 2 years ago. It's got an LCD screen, which means, for me, that the screen is less sensitive, thus less prone to flaws, than plasma, and I don't have to worry as much about burn in. Unfortunately, it doesn't have HDMI, but does have all the rest of the inputs I'll need, which means I will be getting HD content through component cables (the blue, green, and red inputs). But you know, that's fine for me. On this small of a screen, it's not going to make a huge difference.

When it comes down to it, I don't need all the bells and whistles yet. I am just fine with 720p resolution with the HD programming and gaming going through component cables. I am fine with a run-of-the-mill HDTV for now, because the way I figure it, when I get a solid job and start making good money, then I can get a nice one, but for the money I have now, and all the moving this TV will probably go through, this will be a good "in-the-meantime" TV, and I think the $300 price tag was well worth it.