For my annual gift to myself that I get with my tax refund (once I know I’m getting a refund and how much that refund will be), I purchased an HDTV.  It’s a Vizio, 42″ LCD from their “high-end” line of GV models.  1080p, too, which is very nice.

Since I got the TV Saturday, I’ve watched NASCAR, the Grammy Awards, and Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles (arguably one of the best action shows I’ve seen in a while) as well as played numerous games of Halo, Zelda, and Super Mario Galaxy and hooked my PC up to the TV to create a one-stop shop of digital goodness in my living room.  Once I’m confident that the PC will fit well in the living room, the CRT monitor in my room will go away and then it’s time to decide what to do with the desk it’s currently resting upon in jealous indignation of a flat 42″ screen 20 feet away.

For those who haven’t seen a television show in HD, the difference really is night and day.  Just switching between the normal and HD broadcast of Terminator showed a huge difference.  And if you watched the Grammy Awards in Standard Definition, you missed the fact that Jason Bateman and the Foo Fighters were surrounded with tiny gnats outside of the Staples Center.  Important?  No.  But you get an idea of how much detail is added in HD, too.

To sum up, I’m very pleased with my purchase.  Movie nights are forthcoming.