Holiday Shopping Tips / Giving Thanks
A lot of folks are looking forward to eating the annual turkey dinner tomorrow, but for others they are looking forward to waking up at 4am to do some shopping on Friday. The Friday after Thanksgiving is known as “Black Friday” and it’s when shoppers get up early to get special “door buster” specials.
This year is a strange year for holiday shopping, besides the weakened economy there is no big “hot” must have item this holiday season. You can now buy WII’s XBOX 360’s and Playstation 3’s almost anywhere.
One of last year’s big items was the HD-DVD player you could pick on up for under $100 on Black Friday, and what a difference a year makes since HD-DVD is now a dead format. A few stores are having specials on the HD Bluray players but I would personally stick away from those deals and would instead opt for a more expensive Bluray unit. Look for units that are network upgradable, this means you can download new firmware for your Bluray player and take advantage of upcoming technology. I would also look for a Bluray player that can support the new Bluray live interactive format. While you can watch Bluray movies fine on the cheap players on special, in the future you might regret your purchase as you might not be able to take advantage of all the features that Bluray might offer.
On the television side of things my pick once again for a great holiday gift is a LCD High Definition television. LCD TV’s offer amazing picture quality and use a lot less electricity then Plasma sets. When shopping for sets avoid buyer’s remorse and get a TV which supports 1080p HD. The costs of 1080p sets have dropped greatly and are almost the same range as sets that only support 720p or 1080i standards. Over the next year I see more 1080p offerings from both satellite providers.
If you are thinking of getting satellite service you might want to call and order now, as I hear install dates are already stretching a few weeks in the feature, a satellite system will give you what you need to show off your new television. Deciding on what satellite company is best is a personal choice, compare the program offerings from both providers and choose which one matches your families viewing habits. And if you do decide to sign up for satellite service, do yourself a favor and make sure you get at least one DVR!
Happy Shopping!
Giving Thanks
With it being Thanksgiving, I thought it would be appropriate to give thanks. In the satellite world I give thanks to both satellite providers. While 2008 was not a stellar year for either satellite providers I am giving thanks for all the great high definition we have received this year. This has been the year of HD for the satellite industry and while we HD fans want more we can’t be too upset if we compare our HD offerings from last year to this year.
I also give thanks to both companies for making great advances in their hardware and software. DirecTV has improved greatly over the past year. New feature have been added and watching television is a better experience for all because of the innovation shown by both companies.
I am also thankful not only the new contacts I have made at both satellite companies over the past year but the new friends I have made with these folks as well.
Finally I have thank you to you for making “The Satellite Dish” possible, without you reading this column I would not be able to do this. Today’s column marks the 200th edition of “The Satellite Dish” here at MultiChannel.COM!
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
