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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not buy a new TV

27 replies

LynetteScavo · 26/12/2012 17:37

Yesterday MIL pointed out (after I admired her maga huge Sony HD/3D TV) that our TV was rather...old. (About to to have it's 10th birthday).

Until now I thought it did it's job, it worked, I could watch the news and East Enders, and the kids could watch Deadly Sixty. We only have Freeview, as we don't see the need for Sky/Virgin/whatever.

So today, in PC world I looked at the TVs.

They are big. Much bigger than mine.

And where to start deciding which one to get???? Surely in two years, better TV's will be on the market, so I should wait until mine dies?

If I did buy I would need to rearrange my living room, which I don't want to do. DH suggested taking down the over mantel mirror and hanging it over the fire place Shock!

Much as I would like some mega TV (the Panasonic one which was very big and cost £1.5K was very nice), if I can't easily fit it into my house, I'd rather not bother, and will continue to wait for my antique, but beloved TV to die. Even if it means I am causing great embarrassment to my DC when tier friends come round.

OP posts:
noisytoys · 26/12/2012 17:38

YANBU my tv is as deep as it is wide, I don't replace anything before it has worn out I don't get the desire to always have the newest and latest of everything. Surely the newest and latest will soon be old too

lollilou · 26/12/2012 17:39

If you have a real fire/woodburner in the fireplace DO NOT put the tv there it will kill it within a year or two.

VestaCurry · 26/12/2012 17:40

I really really hate tv's attached to the wall above a fireplace.

Our last tv was 15 years old and we replaced it 18 months ago with something that isn't the size of a flipping spaceship.

Acandlelitshadow · 26/12/2012 17:45

Tell MIL if she's that bothered by your possessions it's better to give than to receive Grin

Another who doesn't replace stuff for the sake of and whose last TV came from a jumblie for a fiver

KindleMum · 26/12/2012 17:47

Great, you're using something for as long as it lasts and not mindlessly contributing to landfill!

EndoplasmicReticulum · 26/12/2012 18:01

Husband thinks we need a new one. I disagree - ours is only 5 years old and is moderately whopping sized. He wants a mahoosive one, I have told him only men with small willies need massive televisions.

forevergreek · 26/12/2012 18:06

You can get a new one that isn't huge if you want one. Ty come in many sizes.

Uppermid · 26/12/2012 18:10

We are having to replace ours as its old and knackered. It's been very unfashionable for a long time, but like you don't want to replace it for the sake of it.

We're looking at 42" max (friends and in laws have bigger - totally over powers the room IMHO), LED, not too fussed about 3d. And that's about it really.

Good for you for only getting one once yours has broken. If you want one sooner, you cold always offer yours on freecycle.

Sirzy · 26/12/2012 18:14

If it works it doesn't need replacing!

ThePlatypusAlwaysTriumphs · 26/12/2012 18:16

Our old "fat" TV died a few months ago, and we entered the world of flat screen/ smart TV. It's good, but tbh I don't watch that much tv and I just wanted it in the corner like the old one, so it doesn't really take up any less room! Have to admit, I do like the "smart" bit that lets you watch netflix etc.

Ours is 42"- there is a guideline somewhere on line about the size of TV you should buy for the size of your room/ how far you sit from it. We really didn't need a 50" giant!

BahSaidPaschaHumbug · 26/12/2012 18:29

Our telly is DH's which he got for his 16th birthday in 1994. Its 18 years old, as tall as it is wide as it is deep and still works perfectly well. I shall probably be quite upset when it dies.

SnoogyWoo · 26/12/2012 20:23

Best TV you can get and an awesome price....

www.electrocentreltd.com/viewproduct.asp?pid=7731

Has BBC iPlayer built in.

Your kids will love you for it :)

everlong · 26/12/2012 20:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Mandy2003 · 26/12/2012 22:58

I have a 3-4 year old 32" LCD TV sitting on a cabinet in the corner. I bought it when I had a 12 foot living room. Now I've doubled that and the 32" TV looks like a portable! I think I will give it to my Dad (who still rents a TV!) and get something more visible.

My friend's DP had a 50" and then upgraded to a 60" by swapping with someone who found that too big.

LuluMai · 27/12/2012 01:43

My old fat telly finally died this year and I got a 42" flat screen for about £350! I was almost tempted to get bigger but it is big enough! Just got DS a lovely little 19" flat screen DVD/telly combo for his room which was just over £100. They don't all cost four figure sums.

NaokHoHoHo · 27/12/2012 02:05

I got a new one although the old one still worked - the old one (not flatscreen) was an absolute beast, it took up half the living room and it had an irritating buzzing noise that once you noticed it you could never unhear. I didn't get one of those ridiculous 50" monsters though, and I didn't hang it over the fireplace either!

I don't watch that much TV but I like it very much :) YANBU not to buy another one if you don't want one though, it's only a tv, hardly one of life's necessities...

buildingmycorestrength · 27/12/2012 02:18

Wait til it dies. There is just no point keeping up with the Joneses. Waste of the old hard earned!

ComposHat · 27/12/2012 03:32

Stick with the old one if it works. I quite like the old style Cathode Ray Tube TVs with a substantial back to them, new TVs don't look right to me. I like a TV with a bit of a booty on it.

MammaTJ · 27/12/2012 05:55

We moved our fat TV upstairs to our bedroom and got multi room as our Christmas present to each other.

We got a 42'', which is plenty big enough for a normal size room.

We cannot get 3D, because DS has a problem with his eyesight, so just got HD.

MadameCastafiore · 27/12/2012 06:57

I think you have to seriously look at the dimensions of your room before you just go out and buy a mega telly as some people get a huge telly in a small room and just looks crap so buy a TV that you are comfortable with when your ones dies.

HollyBerryBush · 27/12/2012 07:49

My mate has a TV the size of a cinema screen in a room the size of a postage stamp - you have to shrink back into the sofa to see about a 1/3rd of the picture - the sofa would be better placed at the bottom of the garden.

Big TVs dominate a room.

technodad · 27/12/2012 08:01

A flat screen can be useful for getting back part of your lounge, if you stick with the screen size you need and are not tempted to go OTT.

Regarding fitting it above a fireplace. Not only will the heat and dust from a real fire kill it quickly, but it is also far too high for the viewer. You want the TV height to be set nominally at your eye height as you sit down, so putting it above the mantle place will give you massive neck ache (especially if you have a fairly small room).

Different strokes for different folks. If you want a new TV the get one, if you don't, then don't. Wink

greenbananas · 27/12/2012 08:09

YANBU - there's no point in replacing something that works fine. Our (quite small) television is seven years old and I still think of it as new and modern.

However, I do think it's a good idea to have a flat screen instead of the old fashioned big boxes. I don't like the idea of children sat in front of a cathode ray tube which is firing electrons at them.

Original poster
LynetteScavo · 27/12/2012 09:25

OK, if INBU, I'm not going to rush, I'm going to do some serious research and think about it for next Christmas.

Atm it's in that alcove bit between the chimney breast and the window. I don't want it to be in front of the fire place or window, I want it to sit neatly in the alcove. Confused

What is the next big thing in TV's that I should be looking out for?

OP posts:
sweetkitty · 27/12/2012 09:45

Ours died about 5 years ago and we got a wall mounted 42 inch plasma, I wasn't keen on the wall mounted thing but it's been fantastic with having toddlers, it's out of reach!

What I hate is humongous tvs in small living rooms, my brother has a 50 inch thing and the sofa is about 4 feet from it it makes you woozy, it dominates the whole room. Same in SILs house, I spend the whole time pulling toddlers from 2 inches from the screen where they are kissing Mickey Mouse.

If your happy with the TV then did everyone else.