Mission accomplished: I got a TV!

So after stressing about this purchase I finally jumped the gun and bought a brand new HDTV. Currently our house has the following tvs:

Me: 2 15 inch tvs (yes i know they're small)
Dude Roommate: 1 15 inch tv
Chick Roommate: 1 37 inch hdtv in her room
Living room: 30 inch standard def tv which is a little long in the tooth, but it still does its job well.

Now, with regular tv, I honestly don't give a damn about resolution and all that other crap. To be honest, I think some people should not be allowed on hi def tv due to magnified ugliness. However, in the realm of gaming and movies, I am one of high definition. I had purchased a ps3 over the summer for myself due to the fact that I love games and will continue to play them long after I am old. I opted for the ps3 due to the fact that I already had purchased several wiis in the past and sold them or gave them to my gf and that the 360 was still in crazy RROD mode at that point (I won't lie, I'm thinking about picking up a 360 soon. Gears of War and other coop games ftw!). Blue ray is also amazing. Watch Planet Earth and then talk to me if you don't think so.

However, being a frugal person that I am, my desire for the most powerful and greatest looking tv was met with shock at some of the prices. However, I think now is probably an awesome time to look for tvs. The market is slowly shrinking due to the economic conditions that we face all over the world. At the same time, these television companies are putting out tvs that need to be sold year after year.

So what's the best plan of attack? Research.

Websites Used: HDGuru.com- One of the most widely trusted websites out there on advice for getting a tv. The owner is very technical at researching his tvs and many geek websites like engadget and gizmodo link to his site. Very helpful if you want to know more about quality.

Amazon.com and Newegg.com - These two, including Tiger Direct, are the only places where I will order online with confidence. Their customer service and prices are second to none. I love NewEgg more due to more geek stuff and more technical reviews, but I tend to avoid rebates with them. Actually, I avoid rebates all together. But that's for another time.

Cnet.com and Consumer Reports blog - These two websites gave me good advice on buying tvs as well, and cnet offers reviews of many of the more popular tvs.

Requirements:

So I had a few things I wanted in a tv:
Screen Size: I was aiming for a 37-40 inch tv. My room is fairly small. I originally wanted to put it in the living room but since I was getting it for myself I figured if I really wanted to share it I could always take it downstairs. Maybe.
Output modes: 1080p, hands down, had to be the max resolution. I don't like regretting purchases later incase 1080p is supported. However, this can be arguable at smaller sizes (see below after these bullet points)
Model Overall Quality: I had to research models that did not wear out in the first few months, were well known and were not prone to bad pixels. God help me if I find a dead pixel *shakes fist*. This is where the reviews come in. Also, you more often than not can't trust the manufacturer with a lot of their data. All that contrast bullshit and refresh doesn't mean a damn until you see it in real life.
Price: I'm still a recent college grad, almost done paying off college loans (I opted to do that now that the market is in a condition I am not willing to throw more money into with my Roth IRA), but I am still paying that debt and thus I need to save money still. My target? Under $1000 definitely, preferrably $800 or below.

I don't care about inputs other than at least 1 HDMI port and my ears are so crap I don't care about audio as much as long as I have something that spits out noise.

The Approach:

-Using the Consumer Reports page, I did some research about tvs and things to spot. I've seen enough of them to know what I want and I am technical enough to know about the regular goofs people make so this was a pretty fast part.

For most people, I would advise that if you find a model you want, go into a store and look for that model of tv and see it in real life. I did not do this part partially because I feel that I've read enough reviews of my tv to be confident in that it won't be total crap and also even if I found a better looking tv in store, you couldn't beat the price I was looking at for it. Also, DO NOT be suckered into buying expensive cables. Do your research. Buying a $10 cable is just as good as buying a $50 one. I would advise doing this part online.

-I kept tabes on sites like amazon, newegg, and deal sites like buxr.com, dealhack.com for hot prices on tvs that were seeing huge price drops. I used those in tow with HDguru.com, specifically it's article on the HDTV Christmas Buyer's Guide, specifically the list of tvs at each screen size and price level. Naturally, since I was looking for a 40 incher, I focused on the Toshiba 40 inch model 40RV525U. THAT was originally the tv I was going to buy.

-I talked to my geek friends about what to get and prices and such. Props to my brother and steve for their advice. Steve was still an ass about it, but I digress. Going to friends gives you a personal second perspective and they might know things you don't.

Conclusion:




This is what I went with: Toshiba REGZA 42 inch 42RV535U And here is why:
Reviews: If you look at the reviews on both Newegg and Amazon, everyone is saying that the quality and output is stellar. 4.5 cumulative on amazon and mostly 5's on newegg. Ignore the idiot on the amazon review who says it doesn't output 1080p, as people have corrected the fool. I tried to google the tv, but I found way more positive reviews about this tv than I did negative. Always google your model number online to find out if anyone has had problems or to get more reviews than just amazon and newegg.
Size: 42 inches! Holy shit! Where am I supposed to put this damn thing?
Output: HDMI, S-Video, yadda yadda, I just want the damn HDMI.
Price: Here's the funny part. Remember how I said I wanted the 40RV525U? That was recommended by HDGuru as the budget TV to get at the 40-42 inch level. But this model is a step up in every way, and more importantly, at the SAME PRICE.

As of this article, NewEgg and Amazon both have the 40RV525U and the 42RV535U at $800, maybe a few bucks more or less for some reason.
NewEgg 40 inch
Amazon 4o inch
NewEgg 42 inch
Amazon 42 inch

However, I found a coupon today due to it being SuperBowl week for $50 bucks off (MMCHTV50) at NewEgg. Also, I picked up a $50 1 year onsite warranty in case something happens in the first year. HDTVs in general do not have high failure rates. Generally if it lasts the year it'll last a while. I wanted onsite because I travel a lot for work, and incase the thing breaks I may not be able to come home to mail the monster out. So for the same price at NewEgg and Amazon, I also got a 1 year warranty thrown in too. Hah!

(Note: I don't usually advise getting extended warranties for TVs. Consumer Reports blog advises against doing so as well due to low failure rates and the standard warranties cover most problems. However, if you look at what I'm paying vs. the cost of the warranty, a 6% cost of hedging the tv for a year ain't bad. If it was more like $100 bucks, I might not have done so. Also, that $50 coupon helped a bit)

Final thoughts and what you need to know if you buy:
I could have walked into a Best Buy and picked either of the TVs up there if I wanted as well. Hell, the 40 inch was also $800 there too! But then I would have had to pay $40 bucks in taxes. The 42 is $1000. And Best Buy isn't held high in my regard due to past experiences. Meanwhile Amazon and NewEgg are both awesome and their customer service is excellent. I'm a little scared of having this delivered due to possible poor handling but I'm hoping it comes through. In the event something breaks, well, that's what the warranty is for.

Things to do when looking for a TV:
-Look at websites for reviews on tvs and advice on what or how to buy.
-Price match on websites like amazon and newegg (use pricegrabber.com if you have to).
-See your tv in real life if you can to see for yourself.
-Ask friends for advice if you can.
-Be flexible and if you find deals on something you like, take advantage of it.

It's okay to wait on things like TVs. Electronic devices become cheaper all the time as they make more and new models come out. Hell, remember that 2 gb Sansa clip I got for $40 a while back? You can get it for $20 now. Beat that Apple.

My biggest issue about getting this tv was more personal than anything else. I haven't bought too many big ticket items before, so getting over that was pretty hard. And with this economy, this may be the only present I'll get myself this year. But oh, man, what a present. Of course, this could all backfire on me. But I think I was careful enough and I can't wait to see this baby.

My review on the tv and reflections on it once the thing comes in, probably next week.

Upcoming things I'm going to blog about:
-Portable Hard Drives because I keep telling Jean I would finish this and I suck. I know.
-Budget gaming because I realize i'm buying too many games. So I'm trading them. Online.

So in the mean time everyone, stay smart and stay cheap.

Quick Post: Obama Inauguration

Just quick post, the main one will be up mid week and it will have my pick of HDTV, plus a quick bit about external hard drives and how to buy one. I've decided to post on a weekly basis, so keep me in the loop if you have requests.

I've been running around DC this weekend, checking out the concert and other events and having a blast with some friends. I won't be attending the inauguration, however, because I don't have a ticket and the travel time will be ridiculous. People going are looking at traveling for at least 3 hours to the mall, then lord knows how long afterwards. Best bet is checking it out on TV.

If you don't have a tv, Lifehacker has a post on how you can watch the inauguration in the safety and warmth of your house/computer.
http://lifehacker.com/5132476/lifehackers-guide-to-catching-the-inauguration-from-anywhere

stay smart and cheap.

Requested: Wireless Headphones: Freedom for a Price

I had been trying to put this up for a while, but December-January was a bit of a break from work for me. I got a good amount of extra work done that I had been meaning to get around to, in addition to selling some old games and beating older ones (damn you FFVII). Anyway, I digress.

I promised someone I would do some research on wireless headphones, just to do a bit of webcrawling for fun. However, I realized some things:

-Wireless headphones are a mixed bag for me. I am a cheap person; wireless headphones are generally not as inexpensive as their corded counterparts due to the cost of adding the wireless component.
-However, I am also a lazy person: walking around my house and listening to my music on my computer (not mp3 player) without cables is nice, and also blaring it without bugging my roommates at 3am is great also.
-But in the end, quality wins: wireless headphones sound quality isn't as good as corded headphones due to signal interference.

I noticed my parents had two of them when I came home for the holidays: dad watches his action movies at night without waking my mom and mom can watch her chinese/korean/american dramas without waking my dad or forcing him to watch said drama.

They got these: Sony-MDR-RF960RK-Wireless-Headphones

They're not bad, but I still wasn't impressed and thought they could get better. I think they got these as a gift from my uncle tho, so I can't blame them. And the reviews look okay on Amazon too. But here are some things to look for if you're shopping around for these:

Brand. Any audiophile will tell you the brands that are the best and those same brands apply here: Sennheiser hands down offers the best quality, but Sony puts out many decent headphones as well. Buyer beware though with Sony: they have many models that range from suck to great so look up your specific model carefully.

Infrared, Radio Frequency, or Bluetooth? There are different ways to transmit audiot wirelessly:

-Radio Frequency uses radio waves to transmit to your headset, allowing you to wander up to 100 meters away from the base unit. The downside is that the signal is easily interfered with by cell phones, microwaves, tv signals, and wireless routers. Good headphones will scan different frequencies to find the best channel to transmit with as little interference as possible however.
-Infrared are good for movie viewing or laying in bed. These require a direct sight to the infrared transmitter in order for them to work, but they provide less interference compared to radio frequency headphones.
-Bluetooth seem to be the most varied and work with things from computers to cell phones and have a very high quality output, but you can't use them for a theatre set up, for example.

Use: Are you using it for a movie setup, bedtime, wandering the house, or wandering in general? Bluetooth can be used with any bluetooth enabled device, but you can't easily set it to work with your tv. RF headphones will let you walk around the house, and IR is good if you use them in one specific spot with one specific device and offer a clearer sound. Also, if you buy bluetooth, make sure that the thing you want to use it with is compatible with the headphones. Some headphone makers have headphones that will only work with certain ipods for example.

Price: Adding features such as audio-canceling will also jack up the price like mad. In addition, Infred is usually more expensive than RF.

The safest bet looks to be the Sennheiser RS120 for about $80, RS130 for about $120, or RS140 for about $190 based on your price range. Again, make sure you distinguish between RF and IR, I think these are all RF and I would vote for that only because I could walk around with them on, but be aware that RF gets hissing sounds in moments of silence due to interference.

Headphones are one of the things you can't skip on for good quality sound. You can pretty much buy the crappiest mp3 player out on the market and if you pick up a good set of headphones it'll sound amazing.

Which is why I'll stick to corded headphones, thank you very much. Stay smart, stay cheap.

Getting the best deals in the new year....

I've been stuck at home for the past few days now, the snow has kept us in. 3 foot snow drifts, Portland's lack of foresight and having the 2 plows for the entire city working only the main highways does that for you.

But what does that mean for the penny-pinching gadget person? It means sweet ass deals in the new year.

I haven't bought my monster tv yet. And I haven't done so for a few reasons:

-My first thoughts about size have changed a little. After a week with a 42 inch tv at my gf's place, then a 60 inch tv at my parents, I kinda realized sometimes big can be too big. So I might rethink that. 42 is the MAX for me.
-I haven't been in a single place for more than a week. Since I plan on buying my tv online where it's cheaper, I have to be present to inspect the tv and make sure there's nothing wrong with it and that it didn't get damaged during the shipping process.
-New deals in the new year. See below.

So because all these stores didn't get the foot traffic they need in this oh-so-sad economy, and companies will be reeling from losses in 2008, expect to see a TON of cheap stuff in January. You'll see cheap things coming up in that first full week of January, starting January 4th. Tvs will be cheap I think through Super Bowl Sunday, since historically most tvs are sold during the week before and companies will want to take advantage of that time. We'll see if I get crazy and get one beforehand.

The prices, though, are getting hard to resist.


Next article hopefully as soon as I finish finding prices: Wireless Headphones. Got a request? Send me an email.

Stay smart and stay cheap.

How to travel between NYC/DC on the cheap...

UPDATE 8/10/2010: I did a stand alone review of DC2NY: http://ppgeek.blogspot.com/2010/08/dc2ny-standard-of-traveling-from-dc-to.html


Sorry about the delay in posting. I’ve spent the past week with my ass planted on the couch at my girlfriend’s apt in Manhattan. My “office” looked like this:

Anyway, I am now at home, stuck in the foot of snow that has drifted into Portland. All this traveling between DC and NYC made me think that as cheap geeks, we also have to be frugal in other parts of our lives to save money for gadgets and/or food.
A little about me: I live in DC, my GF lives in NYC. Distance is a little tricky. I'm cheap, therefore, I can't afford to take the airplane or train that often (altho I do sometimes, if the traffic sucks aka Thanksgiving 2k8).

For most of us poor/college/young folk, we have the bus. We're not talking about your parent's Greyhound. Nowadays, there is a fairly large market for bus travel. Most of these buses will take you from DC to Philly, New York, or even Boston. Even other smaller companies focus on the niche locations like Richmond Virginia and various places in upstate New York. For me, I spent a good chunk of college taking the ones from Philly to NYC/DC, but nowadays it's just DC to NYC. Here's a breakdown of most of the available transportation systems that I’ve taken.

Airplane: Fast but not wallet friendly
I have a friend who works in DC and she travels to NYC to see her boyfriend and she frequently takes the plane to get to NYC. Jetblue has a flight that travels between DC and New York for $150 and there are other shuttles that travel between the two cities for roughly the same price. You gotta book it way ahead obviously. Flight takes roughly an hour and a half. You can’t even get to Philly by car that quickly!

Pros: Fastest way to get to NYC, convienient from DC (Reagan or Dulles) and JFK (Long Island Rail). No worry about traffic, and if you pack light, it makes travel a cinch. Wireless on some of the beta flights.

Cons: Compared to other traveling methods, this isn’t cheap. Also, for some people, air travel might suck due to fear of flying, small seats and such. For me, I sometimes don’t plan to head to NYC until the week of, which makes booking a flight not cheap at all. And, if you stay for a while, luggage costs start to bite into that price also. No plugs for laptops. And the wireless is limited to Amazon and email, and it’s slow as all hell. Security also very annoying.

Train: Crazy train, running on the track...

Amtrak trains are my personal fave when I want to spoil myself. From Union Station in DC to Penn Station in NYC, it puts me literally at the door of my gf’s apt and I live on the red line metro, so it’s no biggie to Union. Also, you can carry nearly as much crap as you want onto the train, as long as you’re willing to haul it. Very straight forward, and regardless of weather or traffic, the regular regional rail trains take just about 3.5 hours to get to NYC. Oh, and you can plug in your laptop, which is nice. The prices range from $67 for the off peak, late at night trains to the $200 or so for the Accela trains, which are terribly overpriced and stupid to save 15 minutes. Average price for an afternoon or so is roughly just over 100 bucks, and cheaper if you have a student advantage card.

Pros: Pretty fast, no traffic concerns. Price reasonable for the service you get. Comfortable seats, plug ins for your laptop or whatever gadget you got, space to stretch out, fairly smooth ride. If you don’t live near midtown, you’re smack at Penn Station, so you can use it to get anywhere else in NYC.

Cons: You can still do better than $100 if you’re scrapping by on cash. No wireless. Honestly, I like the trains, I just think the price is still a bit much. I guess, if you try to get DC late night, the metro doesn’t run after 12…oh, and don't ever get Accela.

The BUS SECTION
The buses are pretty much the way I travel. Cheapest way to go. There are several bus companies, but they all have their nuances, which I would like to discuss here. As a method of transportation, here are the Pros and Cons, with each bus service’s pros and cons listed in their sections. (Note: I have not taken Megabus before so therefore I did not review it this time around. I will update this again at a later date.)

Pros: Cheapest way to go. Depending on the company, you can get the same amenities found in other modes of transportation. 4.5 hours on a bus is just a full nap to some people like me. They take off all over DC and at almost any time of the day.

Cons: Slowest way to go. Depending on traffic and time of year, it could take anywhere from 4 hours for an off peak trip to even 8 hours on the day before Thanksgiving.

BOLTBUS- what Greyhound should be
Boltbus was started by Greyhound and Peter Pan Bus Lines (No Joke!) to try to get a piece of the DC- NYC route pie. The buses are very clean, and they have wireless on the buses with fairly decent speeds, depending on how many people are on. Also, they have power plugs, which is huge when you’re spending a couple hours of the road and need juice. Picks you up near Metro Center in DC and drops you off right near Penn Station. Also, if you get the seats early enough, you can have a seat for a buck (Good luck on that...it sometimes takes two months ahead to book a buck seat, and most buses only have two dollar seats...)! But usually, the price is about $25 bucks one way, though the prices go up from a buck until they fill up.

Pros: Solid Wireless, Powerplugs, fairly accessible pickup point for most people, clean, and decent price, with the chance of getting a really cheap seat. Get 8 one ways or 4 round trips and get a free one way!

Cons: Probably the first of the bus companies to sell out if you try to get a seat the same week. Those dollar seats go weeks ahead of time.

DC2NY – The Upscale Way to Travel
DC2NY is owned and run by a small group of guys. I don’t know specifics of the ownership, but I know if you want a solid bus, they offer what I think is the standard. Bus picks you up from DuPont Circle and drops you off at Penn Station NYC. They have wireless, play a movie during the trip (everyone gets to vote), prices are good and they offer a discount if you are a member, which only involves signing up with your email address. Every 6 one way trips you get a free one. The people are really nice and very helpful. Oh, you also get a free bottle of water.

Pros: I live two stops away from Dupont, so it’s a quick jump over. Wireless is decent, water bottle comes handy when you forget, I like the movies they show, and I’ve gotten to know the people pretty well. Vasily is a hoot. Member and frequent traveler program is a nice little plus.

Cons: Seats go pretty quick here also. Not the fastest bus, but not the slowest. These guys are my fave. (Update: Plugs now too!)

VAMOOSE- The Kosher way to go.
Vamoose is also very convienent, and for a while, was run by a group of Hasidic Jews (My Jewish friends refer to this as the Jewbus), but l think they may have been either bought out by someone else or management changed or just had more help. 25 one way, but every four trips you get a free trip with the coupons from the tickets. Picks you up in either Bethesda or Rosslyn and drops you off near Penn Station. The most barebones of all the buses, but works quite well.

Pros: Price-wise, this is probably the way to go. Very convienent if you live on the outskirts of DC and need a ride. If you take it from Bethesda, it puts you on the edge of DC, which makes the ride a bit quicker. With the coupons, makes traveling VERY cheap.

Cons: Bethesda and Rosslyn are a bit far if you actually live inside of the city, no wireless, no plugs, no movies even.

NEW CENTURY TRAVEL, and the other Chinatown Buses – ehhhh……

So here is the breakdown with the Chinatown buses. They pick you up in Chinatown DC, and they drop you off in the Chinatown in NYC. No wireless, no plugs, they pick you up, take your ticket, drop you off. The original DC/NYC/Philly bus companies and were the ones that started the price war between all the other bus companies. Fung Wa, Shung Fa, New Century, etc, etc. (Update: Warning to everyone: DO NOT USE THE WEBSITE TO BUY TICKETS. YOU WILL ENCOUNTER NO HELP IF THE TICKETS ARE BAD)

Pros: I guess if you are near Chinatown, it might be nice. I’m convinced you can go to Chinatown NYC/Philly/DC in the dead of night and there’s still a bus to DC at like 2am. The drivers are mad fast, which is both a good and bad I guess. I once got to NYC in under 4 hours using New Century…

Cons: The people are sometimes rude, the buses never really come on time, sometimes not even come at all. Occasionally you make a stop in Philly or a shady stop in Baltimore. No frills trip, this is the way to go if you decide to go on the same day all of a sudden, and everyone else is booked up.

Conclusion:

These different modes of transportation just show you the variety of available modes of transportation there are between these two cities. Always research and look into the locations for these places to find out what is best for you. Different people have different priorities, so look these places up if you want and plan appropriately. Even if you live in the boonies and want a cheap way of getting into the city, look some of these companies up and give em a shot. You might save a good deal of cash and time.

So there you have it. Pretty much all of the conventional means of getting to NYC. If I missed any other than Megabus, let me know and I will update. I may add the Philly ones later as well. As a college student for either of those places (or even Philly and Boston), you can see friends in those places with little effort. It helped me keep in touch with friends all over the East Coast during college, and keeps me sane with my girlfriend now. So remember, travel smart, travel cheap.

Uber fast conclusion: DO NOT USE NON BOLTBUS GREYHOUND.

Appendix:
Pricing Breakdown (for one way unless otherwise indicated):
Jetblue: $150
Amtrak: $67-200 depending on time of day
Boltbus: $1-25 depending on when you get it. Free trip after 8 one ways or one round trip.
DC2NY: $28 nonmember/ $25 member. There is also a break on round trips. Free trip after 6 one ways.
Vamoose: $25 one way. Free trip after 4 one ways.
New Century: $20 one way. I think $35 round trip. Been a while. Don't use unless you're stupid