2009
still listening to wax, i’m not using the cd
maura @ 10:00 pm
Last week we got a new TV. I know what you’re thinking: hey, anti-consumption hippie girl, what’s with the big purchases?! Of course there’s no real excuse. Our old TV works just fine. We almost decided to keep it, actually, even despite the HDTV change next month. We tend to watch most of our TV on the computers, so the real idiot box is typically used for video games and DVD watching.
BUT, our old TV is REALLY old, like 16 yrs old or so. It could get a driver’s license if it didn’t live in New York City! And it’s kind of broken — many of the buttons have been pushed in (though the remote still works). And a huge energy user. And of course it’s not HDTV-ready, either.
Once we agreed to get a new TV, the family technical specialist suggested that maybe this was a good time to jettison some of our other old, semi-functional audio/visual equipment. My ol’ reliable receiver, a college graduation gift from my dad, actually completely functional (if a giant power suck). The DVD player (a few broken buttons) and the 5-CD player (doesn’t play CD-R or MP3 files, sometimes acts wonky). My old turntable needs a new belt, and I got a USB turntable for Xmas anyway.
Okay, the speakers are perfectly fine. And I will miss them. But apparently we can run everything through the TV: new DVD player (plays CDs, CD-Rs and MP3s), old VCR, my USB turntable, and our 4 (ahem) video game consoles. Well, probably only the Wii and the PS2 will be hooked up full time; we don’t play the N64 and Dreamcast often. Lots of space (and power) saved, w00t!
It’s still kind of freaking me out to think of listening to music through the TV, but I suppose I’ll get over it. I haven’t even had the chance to hook the turntable up yet. One of my resolutions is to try and find more time for music, which I miss (subscription to the indiepop-list notwithstanding), and which seems to have slipped out of my life so gradually that I can’t even figure out exactly how it happened. Hopefully this new setup will be the kick in the pants I need.
3 comments on “still listening to wax, i’m not using the cd”
Max tried to ban TV from the house. Unfortunately for him, he’s one of 7 here so his crusade didn’t last long. But he did write “bad” (and, inexplicably, “Bob”) all over the dust on the TV screen.
Yeah, the over the air HDTV was a big surprise, esp. after suffering through very bad even with rabbit ears normal TV for years.
That cracks me up that Max tried to ban TV. Why? Gus doesn’t really get real TV, since we don’t really watch it. When we do he still sometimes asks to fast forward through commercials or repeat something. :)
It is weird to listen to music through the TV, but we’ve been doing it for awhile – though we’ve got tiny surround sound speakers so maybe that is cheating – but my point is that sound from the TV or CD come through the same place. Also we can stream mp3s from the computer through TiVo, which is sweet.
And even if you only watch TV rarely, you’ll enjoy the over the air HD, it’s kind of amazing. Plus you can get Austin City Limits, which can be a source for good music.