Dear Santa, Please Bring A Flatscreen

Dear Santa,

I would like a flat screen TV for Christmas.

That doesn't sound very green does it--but wait....it is...or at least I can justify it.

Beyond the fact that my TV is 12 years old and makes a low humming sound (most people wouldn't notice), it is outdated.  It just doesn't fit with the technology of today.

I have been resistant to HDTV for many reasons, and one of them is that the quality of the equipment doesn't seem to match the high price tag. If I spend hundreds of dollars on a piece of equipment I expect it to last for at least a decade, if not two--mechanically at least.  Plus, I didn't want it to be one of those Windows Vista scenarios.  I don't want to buy a TV to have it be obsolete in two years.

With my growing disgust with paid television like cable and satellite (remember when the reason you paid for the subscription service was to get away from advertising?  Now it is full of infomercials--and I'm paying for those infomercials), and the fact that I prefer movies anyway, I have been researching my options.

I'd like to get rid of my DirectTV (reduction of dependance on outside entities and financial outflow) and just go with local stations and streaming movie service that I don't have to buy an extra piece of equipment to receive.

From my research it doesn't appear that my analog TV is able to make the conversion--at least to the streaming movie service.  I already have Netflix, but want to get rid of them because of their minimal streaming choices.  Amazon and CinemaNow seem to be offering the best with Amazon in the lead--but I'd have to buy new equipment.

I also want to start replacing my Disney VHS movies with DVD's (for the grandchildren I will have some day) and blue ray looks like it is the way to go.

It is my dream to one day have an off grid home, but I don't plan on giving up fully on what technology has to offer in the way of entertainment and functionality.

So, Santa, I'd like a new flatscreen TV please, so I can begin my retreat from big corporations who take it from both ends--the advertiser and the consumer.