Recently I sold my home theater PC (HTPC) setup. For those who don’t know what it look it, here’s a photo of the old setup:
The system was made up of a Samsung 42″ plasma screen, Logitech Z-5500 speakers (Z-680 are shown) and a custom made home theater computer that handles TV, DVD, movies, etc. The system gave me over a year of enjoyment, which at the rate I upgrade things, is a very long time.
Now that the HTPC is gone it’s time to replace it with something bigger and better. The first thing I started shopping for was a new HDTV. I want at least 42†or bigger and I want one that can handle 1080p resolution. My search led me to the Sharp Aquos LC-45GD6U. This is a really nice 45†LCD. According to my TTZ Price Engine, the Aquos sells at most online vendors for $3,000.00 to $3,500.00, which is expensive, but not outrageous.
So it was off to Lansdowne Mall to check out the local Best Buy and Futureshop to see how much I can get one for. The truth is there is no price difference between Best Buy and Futureshop, and you can’t pit them against each other, because Best Buy owns Futureshop. Why they are both in the same mall is still a little confusing to me. At any rate, Best Buy didn’t have the unit on display but Futureshop did. Futureshop also had a price sticker on it; $6,499.99.
Now I realize I live in Canada and our dollar is not as strong as the US so I expected to pay more. However, I didn’t expect the price gap to be this much! Right now, $1.00US is worth $1.15CDN. Taking that exchange the Aquos should cost $3,450 to $4,025.
Oh well, I guess I’ll send an email to Sharp and ask if they will give me one on a “permanent loanâ€. If they say no I can always ask Samsung. They love me.