Shard

I've changed my mind on big TV's, quite like them now. Haven't got a really big one yet, but may do one day.

Partially discharged

We had a 27" TV that was a wedding present I think and had it for about 17 years and went from that to a 52" HD TV which seemed to tower over the room. We're now quite used to it but I see 60" 65" and 70" tv sets at stores and they seem huge.

4K really improves the viewing experience but the number of shows/channels available is low and if you stream on 4K on Netflix et al make sure you have an unlimited internet package.

BristolUK

When we moved here 2005 I bought a 27" flat screen (but still a block) to go with a 27" older curved screen.

When mother in law joined us, she brought with her a 32" TV...flat but still a huge block thing. Really huge.

None had HDMI connectivity which was wanted for downloaded/streaming viewing.

I managed to get two bargain 32" HDTVs for $150 each from BestBuy last May.

The one in my room seems huge compared to the 27" one.

In the living room it doesn't seem quite so huge, partly because it's positioned to suit multiple viewers and partly because it's the same size as the one it replaced.

The thing is, the previous one was such a huge block of a thing that the screen itself looked smaller than the new one. So it still seems bigger. Pluses all round.

What I find so shocking now is a few days ago I was reading about a 32" TV and it said something about being perfect for smaller spaces and small rooms, as if it were a 12 inch portable that might have been in the kitchen many years ago or taken away for the caravan holiday.

I'm well happy with my 32" TV.

Shard

We have a 32" which I find more than adequate, but I too notice it being referred to as a compact TV these days. Bought a 43" 4K this summer and that's made me appreciate the larger units more.

dave_j

It's chicken and egg and the egg is money.

Q. How do you, as a business, keep people transferring their hard earned into your coffers?
A. You convince them that what they have now isn't good enough and that this shiny new thingie in your flier is just the thing that'll make them happy.

So that 32 inch sitting nicely in the living room and performing it's job really well suddenly looks like something the dog dropped when compared to the fashionably new 65 inch displayed in Walmart... but who's going to pay that for it, certainly not me? You return home and fondly pat the 32 inch on the head and give it a bone.

Enter Black Friday with it's promise of nirvana, all you have to do is hand over the readies and you'll have saved a bundle, or have you?

In fact you've been conned. The new TV looks too big, takes up more space on the wall, that photo of aunt Doris has to be stuck in the loft never to be see again you have to move the sofa back away from the TV so you can see it properly, you can't sit at the dining table any more and your internet speed isn't fast enough and your package not large enough to download the 4k experience that large screens need.

But hey, you've got the 65 inch TV of your dreams and you're as happy as a clam.. except.. you've just noticed that they've got a 90 inch on sale at Best Buy.. queue tears again.

caretaker

There's a tv in the trailer that covers a lot of the end wall, but I only think it's better for watching sports. A fellow from work gave me his mother's old 36" that weighs about 1/4 ton and that's as big as I need in the house.

Aviator

For us, cell phones and software are necessary for business, had to buy them anyway, paid less yesterday than I would next week. Paying in foreign currency, which we do for some things, buy currency when rate is good.

Non essentials, what is the point of earning and not spending. No point being the richest guy on the graveyard!

dave_j

Good for you if you can pick up essentials during Black Friday, but for many it's a case of hysteria winning over common sense. The feeling that if it's cheap then it must be a bargain even if I don't actually need it can make fools of us all.

Earning and not spending.. hmmm..a difficult concept but one that's known as saving. Some of us do this just in case we need the cash in the future.. like funeral expenses so that we can be the debt-free guy in the graveyard.

Aviator

Black Friday sales are often no better, sometimes not as good as other sales in the year. The key is not getting sucked into the hysteria.

From a concept of saving vs spending, budgeting and balance is the answer. Don't spend what you can't afford to be without.

dbd33

We don't have a (working) television and didn't buy anything on Friday we would not have bought any other Friday. Oh, how prudent we are!

Oink

I like these two pictures of two families watching tv and it's symbolism in social meaning.

dbd33

That's another thing that's odd about Canada. You hardly ever see flights of ducks on living room walls.

MarkG

There's no space between the deer, bear and wolf heads.

Shard

Admittedly, finding content to watch on these beasts is another story. For me, at least.

Shard

I don't see any symbolism in the TVs, although everything else snacks of it. However, there's now an (unwatchable) program in Britain called "Gogglebox" which brings these pictures to life.