We do this about once a year or so since we get so many new members.

I am 50 years old, married- I think you can figure out my wifes name (hint- cheridave), two kids- one who just received her Bachelors Degree from Humboldt College and one in the Marines (just got back from Iraq). I am a Civil Servant for the Department of Defense- Procurement/Acquisition, which will include anything from a can of Soup to Major Weapons Systems for our Men and Women in the Armed Forces- God Bless Them and Keep them Safe.

I was bitten by the Plasma and Home Theater bug about Five years ago and I will never turn back. I've had the 42" & 50" Panasonic and the 50" Pioneer. I am currently researching the new model Plasmas and will be upgrading sometime this year.

I want to personally thank all of you for the many tips, advice and knowledge that I have had the pleasure of reading here on this forum.

Keep up the good work and "Happy Plasma-ing".

Dave

http://www.msnusers.com/cheridave@msn.com/Documents/Pictures%2Flicense%5F20050716144308%5F65917.jpg

Mostly lurking here.

I'm 43 and am an engineer for Boeing.

We recently got a Panasonic 42PX50U.

I'll be 31 at the end of this month. My joints ache. I feel old. I may have to drag myself from in front of my beautiful plasma TV and get some exercise soon... :)

I live in NYC with my girlfriend. I'm the head of software development for content management systems at a magazine here in the city. My girlfriend of 9 years is on her way to completing her masters in Occupational Therapy (1.5 yrs to go, I'm counting the days).

When I'm not sitting in front of a computer or slacking in front of a TV, I'm pursing my other 2 expensive hobbies, photography and cars.

42, Land Surveyor. Retired due to Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS). LG RU-42PX10C 3/05. Love it! Thanks everybody.

57, married

CEO of ISO Certified Engineering / Manufacturing firm

active in local government

avid bicyclist (Cannondales)

good idea for a post, i've been curious about this myself....

for some reason i've always assumed most everybody on the board is a white male in their late 30s, 40s, early 50s who lives in a suburban house in one of the red states ... dunno why...

32, a reporter, live in LA (don't move here, terrible place to live, which is probably why i watch a lot of tv now), do script doctoring (gigs are few and far between, but i keep plugging away). own a competent if unexciting 32" toshiba CRT. gearing up to buy a plasma this september (just found out that, b/c of my job, it's a tax write off, which seems sort of amazing).

59, twice divorced, 4 daughters, 3 grandchildren

40 years in IT

Living in Oldtown Alexandria, VA after returning from 20 years in New Zealand

Just bought a Hewlett Packard PL4245N 42" plasma

Hi all,

I'm 37, male. I was an electrical engineer with my masters in EE. I worked for Ford Motor Co, and Cutler Hammer for 10 years. I quit my job when my wife and I had our first child 3 years ago. She's an ER doc. I'm a stay-at-home dad/tech geek. My wife says since I don't engineer anything for a company, now I just spend her money to engineer this house...oh well, it keeps me happy. Oh yeah, I have a 55" Hitachi plasma.

Mark

Hi! 36 and currently VP and 50% owner of a DVD authoring and distribution company for independent films and music. Prior to that, 8 years in IT and other assorted careers/jobs.

42" Panasonic TH-PWD4UY

Hi,

I am 20 years old, a student at Northwestern University, currently from Orange County, CA. I'm studying Industrial Engineering/Economics w/ a minor in Transportation and Logistics. I am interning with Independence Air this summer in the DC area but intend on going into investment banking. I'm not a heavy reader of this forum (I probably stop by every week or so, this is my first time here for a month or so) but I frequent an Acura TL forum (can't post links here, eh?).
Looking to set up my apartment for my junior and senior years. Hopefully I can convince my father to get a 60" plasma so I can steal our current 42" Panasonic. I'm going to need some kind of decent TV to help fill a rather large family/entertainment room. If anyone wants to give away their ratty old 50" HD plasma, let me know!

Justin

We do this about once a year or so since we get so many new members.

I am 50 years old, married- I think you can figure out my wifes name (hint- cheridave), two kids- one who just received her Bachelors Degree from Humboldt College and one in the Marines (just got back from Iraq). I am a Civil Servant for the Department of Defense- Procurement/Acquisition, which will include anything from a can of Soup to Major Weapons Systems for our Men and Women in the Armed Forces- God Bless Them and Keep them Safe.

I was bitten by the Plasma and Home Theater bug about Five years ago and I will never turn back. I've had the 42" & 50" Panasonic and the 50" Pioneer. I am currently researching the new model Plasmas and will be upgrading sometime this year.

I want to personally thank all of you for the many tips, advice and knowledge that I have had the pleasure of reading here on this forum.

Keep up the good work and "Happy Plasma-ing".

Dave

http://www.msnusers.com/cheridave@msn.com/Documents/Pictures%2Flicense%5F20050716144308%5F65917.jpg

I appreciate your sons service to his country.

I'm 32.. Used to work for State Fund (Insurance company) Was laid off a few yrs ago.. (Silicon valley is brutal these days) Got a job at BB.. Pays not as good, but it's a good, & it keeps my close to my toys..:) I was bit by the A/V bug last June when I bought my 26inch HDTV Samsung.. Now I eat, breath, & sleep HDTV's.. I'm looking to upgrade in November (Just intime for The 360) Not sure what I'm going to buy. The Sceptre 1080p seems temping along with the other 'budget' 1080p panels (Benq, Westinghouse, & soon Syntax) The DLP 1080p' are too big for my small bedroom.. Thinking about the Panasonic 44inch & Sony 42inch RP LCD HDTV. Ofcourse, I might just go back to the old tube models..:) Hardc to beat Sony's XBR line of CRTS.. :D

44-yr old male. Work as a 911 dispatcher for a sheriff's office in Eastern Oregon (hence the Sagebrush name). I have never been married.

After a long day or night of stressful work, there is nothing like kicking back and watching a good movie on my Panasonic TH-42PX50U.

I like the outdoors too. Hiking and birding. Lots of places to explore around here.

45-yr old male. Live in Kansas City, smack dab in the middle.

I am the lead mac operator for a prepress company, been in graphic Arts for 17 years, I love the challenge.

Just bought 7/5 the Panasonic 42PD50U, based on many of the things written in this forum.
It is truly an amazing Plasma. Since I work in graphics one of the most critical aspects of color correction is Contrast and Black level. Panasonic got it right.

When I am not watching this baby, photography and fishing keep me busy...

I'm 21, and I help run a family business which consists of selling food to hungry people - this is mostly done on the weekends. During the week, I also work at BB, mostly to be around the HT things that I love, but also for the discount, and to possibly make it a career.

Currently looking at Philip's new 37" LCD, or the Westinghouse 1080p Model, not entirely sure yet. I'd buy a plasma, but all the PC use this monitor is going to get, I don't think the resolution on the size I want (37") is going to be sufficient enough.

I'm 58, male and started my involment in this hobby when I built a 14 watt monophonic Heathkit amplifier when I was 14. Progressed to kit receivers and a 27" Heathkit TV where you soldered every component to a circuit board. That meant every transistor, resistor, capacitor etc. Now I satisfy that passion building HTPC's to power my displays from a Sharp DLP on a 100" screen to various plasmas and LCD displays.
My son the Cavalry Scout is home on leave from Iraq. When you see the guy sticking out the roof of a Humvee with both hands on a machine gun, that could be him.
It is a real dichotomy that I can get a fabulous HD program almost anywhere I am he is lucky to have the generator running so his computer on the end of a long extension cord functions well enough to play games but forget about internet access.
I have owned a business for 30+ years that has nothing to do with technology but it has allowed me to afford this expensive hobby.

I'm 19 and I'm currently going to OWCC to become a network administrator. I am looking to save up funds to start a server company.

52 years young, married to a beautiful English lady for 17 years, and to round out the family we have a one helluva cute little Pomeranian name "Cajieboy":D. I'm a pet photographer, self-employed, and travel extensively throughout the Southeastern US.

I've lived in Cocoa Beach, FL since 1986, but am originally from Louisiana (GO LSU TIGERS!!) where I visit at least once a year...usually during Mardi Gras Season.

Purchased my Sony 40XBR800 (CRT) about 2.5 years ago, and joined AVS a few days later whereby I caught the HT Virus, which has strong symptoms of Plasma Fever. Thanks to this Forum, I've learned a great deal & continue to sponge off these knowledgeable sources. My next HT upgrade will most likely be in the 60"- 65" range, and looking forward to the future TV tech. It's been fun. Thanks everyone.

I live in NYC with my girlfriend. I'm the head of software development for content management systems at a magazine here in the city.

Hmm, ever heard of Bricolage or Krang?

Uh, I'm 32, married. Lived in NYC for about 6 years after graduating college (Go Gators!) and we moved to Salt Lake about 2 years ago. Love it. I work for an outdoor gear company.

Still enjoying a 25" GE CRT that I bought when I first moved to NYC. Looking to get a 42ish plasma this fall in time for College Football season, most likely a Panny ED, but I still haven't made up my mind.

Friend from NYC turned me onto the forum. Good stuff.

J-

I'm 43 years old, and an air traffic controller in

south Florida....

Have the Sony 37" in my computer room


Shelly

I'm 21, and I help run a family business which consists of selling food to hungry people - this is mostly done on the weekends. During the week, I also work at BB, mostly to be around the HT things that I love, but also for the discount, and to possibly make it a career.

Currently looking at Philip's new 37" LCD, or the Westinghouse 1080p Model, not entirely sure yet. I'd buy a plasma, but all the PC use this monitor is going to get, I don't think the resolution on the size I want (37") is going to be sufficient enough.

Yeah, gawking is good.. Do you have a Magnolia in your store? What department are you in?

47 years old with two (2) grown sons, and a grandson who turns 1 next month. Married for 27 years to my high school sweetheart. I got my degree from DeVry Institute in 1978. Boy have things changed since then! I am a Business Solutions Engineer for Network Corps here in California.

I finally gave in to the Plasma urge this summer. My wife actually kept bringing it up every time we walked through Costco. Wound up buying a Daewoo at Fry's. It is actually an NEC EDTV in a Daewoo wrapper.

Hmm, ever heard of Bricolage or Krang?
Yes and yes!

52, married male - clinical psychologist - Anchorage Alaska (red state).

Our Best Buys is currently building a Magnolia in it. I have the Costco Pio 4312 right now, but eyeing the new Pio Elites announced for Sept. :D

Now I understand the visual cortex label.

40, engineer for a semiconductor company in Silicon Valley. Live with my wife (who's 3 months pregnant ... with twins) and 3 cats.

Have a 32" HDTV compatible Toshiba 32" CRT, but looking to a Panny plasma soon.

Shoot, I got my first stereo in the mid 70's when my Dad turned me on to the 4th Zeppelin album and Machine Head by Deep Purple. Have slowly been adding on to my system ever since.

49 year old divorced environmental engineer and VP of a consulting firm in Austin that I've worked for since the day after graduating from The University of Texas 27 years ago. Man, time sure flies when you're having fun.

My babies are a Panny 50" HD, Panny 42" ED and Optoma H31 DLP FP ...and soon to add the (in?)famous 3G Technology 42" HD that's garnered much attention here.

55-year old male, married, 18 year-old son. Work as a computer programmer for a defense company in the West San Fernando Valley. Originally from West Virginia. I really enjoy living in California. I can hike in the Santa Monica mountains 5 minutes from my home - 20 minutes to the ocean.

I have been interested in audio, electronics and Hi-Fi since I was a teenager.
I got the plasma bug when I got an ad in the mail with a full-size foldout of a 42" plasma! After much research and help from this forum, I got a Panasonic 42pwd6uy. I am very happy with watching mostly DVDs with my Sony RDR-GX300 DVD recorder.

Most ambitious electronics project - built a Heathkit computer and printer.

I really appreciate this forum and want to thank everyone who participates.

Male, 35, work for a buyout firm. Don't yet have a flat screen. Waiting to see the new Pioneer. Also considering Panny and NEC.

Ken

31yo/ married/ software engineer

Married male, old enough, with degrees in Electronic Media and Communications, currently working as a Home Theater installer. Also considering taking the ISF certification plunge...

42 / married / system programmer / no kids, gotta kitty.

nC

I am 32 and single for about another month. I am a software engineer and a graduate from University of Michigan. As I suspect is the case with many people here, I've wanted a plasma since I saw the first one hanging on a wall in an electronics store some 10 or so years ago. When I found this forum I was originally thinking I'd buy a cheap ED set (heh, so was the fiancee!) for now and ended up with the ever more ubiquitous 50" panny 7UY. Loving it of course. Originally I had planned to just hang it on the wall, but now I have completely remodeled my living room around this display. Or I should say am in the process, its not quite complete yet. I plan to post pics when its done including some during the construction phase (which has, as with most projects, taken much longer than anticipated).

Besides dumping money into AV stuff and gadgets I also tend to spend way to much money on cars as well as maintaining an obnoxiously large collection of Lego (yes the toy).

S/W/M, looking for S/young/ F
couldn't resist

In my 40's, Las Vegas, professional stand-up comic and owner of a hair salon, divorced / single, no kids.
46" Deawoo Plasma, Sanyo Z3 projector, Bose LifeStyle.

Davyo

I'm 35, married, two kids (ages 4 and 6) and live in mid-town Toronto. Partner in a 30-odd person engineering consulting business in the Canadian nuclear power industry. Undergrad and graduate engineering degrees from the University of Toronto (nuclear and fluid dynamics, respectively), as does my wife (hers are both industrial engineering degrees).

My wife is the one who told me to get off my arse 18 months ago and bring home a plasma, and it better be one of those 50" models. I joined AVS around that time to make sure I understood what the heck I was supposed to get...

Ross

57 year old retired cpa - married with two grown kids. currently finishing construction of dedicated home theater. have reached the tweak stage.

life has been good! :)

47 M married 27 Years 2 kids, 2 grandaughters. My wife and I are both nurses. I actually work in front of a laptop all day doing chart reviews and helping people get into nursing homes at a local hospital.

I had 2 RPTVs that weren't very old, both Hitachi. Then Hurricane Charlie took them and nearly everything else in my house away. But due to laziness I had never sought out cheaper insurance so I was amazed that I had such good coverage that I was able to replace everything with new stuff.

I started out with the 42" Panny ED and unless I hear something better about the 8UK 50" I am going to order the 7UY 50" week after next.

I am 32, married, no kids.
I got my Bachelors' and Masters' from University of Michigan.

I am a material engineer for an automotive company.

I don't have a plasma yet but I plan to get one soon. (maybe this weekend). :)

52 year old chemical engineer selling industrial lubricants and in-plant services.

I am a big time lurker here and on the HTPC forum. I enjoy all of your insights. I been into computers and electronics since I was 16.

Currently I am enjoying my Winbook 32" LCD, but have the urge for something larger

I'm 54, a retired control systems engineer and big time science fiction fan. I've a new Panny 7UY, and I spend way too much time on the couch in front of it!

Wow, just finished reading all the posts, to find several fellow University of Michigan graduates! Go Blue! I've a BSEE, graduated in 1975. Can someone tell me what they put on the engineering class rings now that the engineering classes are all on North Campus? (Mine has the "old" engineering arch on it.)

39/male / single/ masters degree in sexology, minor in criminal psychology . Live in Montreal, Canada. Right now taking a break, and working has an adminstrator and manager of a Hotel in Montreal. Thinking of moving south..... :)

Got my Panny 7UY last october and never looked back.

36 years old and currently my chief job is playing peek-a-boo with my two year old behind the back side of my laptop. I am married with two girls, the eldest is four. My side gig is VP of Finance for a commercial construction firm.

Plasma lust hit me in the Ericbee days, now it is finally a reality.

Hi! 37/ Male breadman (how many of those are out there?). Been lurking for a while getting ready to pull the trigger on a 50" panasonic when I find the right deal. Meanwhile trying to soak up as much on this forum as I can!

<------- 50-something! I live in Pequannock NJ. Twice divorced, not married, don't intend to! I work for Sharp and have for the last 19 years. Other hobbies include old cars (68 GTO) and motorcycles (HD Road King, HD Low Rider, Custom chopper), fishing, sailing, flying. In fact if you name an expensive hobby, I have been in it. If I had all the money back that I had spent on boats, I could charter the Queen Mary II and take all my friends for a year!

I'm 48 going on 33, apparently a confirmed bachelor, never married (although i came close a few times :-), and i keep young by spending quality time with my 27 year old chicky-friend ;)

I'm in customer service/counter sales/purchasing for a large family-owned Electrical Wholesale distributor near LAX where i've happily been for the past 4 years, and before that i was at a small family-owned wholesale house in South Central L.A. for 25 years after graduating from Inglewood High School (no college). On the weekends i'm an avid SCCA autocrosser (2004 L.A. Champion!) as well as a driving instructor for the BMW Car Club of America where i teach people richer than me how to drive high-performance cars i can't afford.

I got bit by the Plasma bug about 3 years ago while shopping for a rear projection TV, lurked here for about a year before registering, reading and searching and learning about the different technologies which was instrumental in turning me away from RPTV and onto PDP. I almost bought a plasma a few years ago but just couldn't justify the high prices back then so i decided to wait, then a few months ago i couldn't resist any longer decided to take the plunge now that prices are about half of what they were back then and the technology is improved and bought my 42PX50U. I love it !

I'm 28 years old and my wife and I are both Electrical Engineers working for two different defense contractors in Orlando, Florida.

We currently have a 56" Samsung DLP, 32" Sony XBR Tube and Runco FP CRT with plans to add a plasma for the bedroom in the near future.

33 years old, married. Network Engineer working @ NYC for a large advertising company. Proud owner of a 42PWD6UY.

i'm 33 and practice dentistry in the san francisco bay area. married and expecting our first kid in january...oh and i presently have a weiner dog. just bought the pioneer pdp5050 but got the pro1120hd elite monitor by mistake. yay for me!!

37, married, 2 girls (3 & 1 yr old), living in Oakland. Wife used to do market research on the LCD market at Stanford Resources [before it got acquired by iSuppli]. I'm a Director of Proj Mgmt for a large health insurance company. I used to be highly technical but there's no $$ in it anymore. Now that i'm on the biz side I use my home automation & HTPC client/server network as my technical outlet.

I've had a 42PA20U for about 18 months, trying to figure out when to get the 6x". Wife's prior job makes it easy to justify - she just refuses to let me buy what she considers to be substandard brands.

41 years old. Married with two boys.

Been in the film business for about 20 years (done it all, shooting, film editing, bit of directing, have been in the sound effects end of things for the last dozen years). Am currently adding some A/V consulting into my repertoire (hey...if people are willing to pay me....)

Other interests: Was a musician, playing in several local bands for many years too. A/V high-end audio gear nut (did reviewing for a little while). Occasionally aspiring writer. I'm also into martial arts (love mixed martial arts, practice brazilian Ju Jitsu, boxing, Muay Thai etc.)

Have happily owned the Panny ED plasma for several years. Always wanted to upgrade size to 50" but now plunging plasma prices have convinced me to skip 50" and go directly to a 60"+ sized plasma (when I get the cash together).

Married male, 58, dog (http://home.comcast.net/~larryh791/photos/P1000453.jpg) no kids, president and programmer at a small scientific software company (http://www.wavemetrics.com/). Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry but have always been employed in electronics and software.

Have had HDTV (Pioneer 610 RPTV) since the early Truman administration but no plasma yet -- waiting for the 65" 1080P at < $6000.

73rd birthday next week.
Retired from telco equip mfg company after 35 yrs in HR field.
Same wife after 40+ years. Two sons (both dentists) and I dropped my dental insurance a few years ago. Four grandchildren which are my current pastimes.
Got interested in upgrading my tv a couple of years ago and considered DLP technology before joining the AVS family. After uncountable hours researching the different groups of the forum, decided on the Panasonic TH-50PX25 last year. Not considering upgrading----yet ;)

Soon to be 56. Self employed fisherman. Been catching and shipping live reef fish here and other areas since the late sixties. 15 year old daughter, ** year old wife, 2 1/2 year old chocolate Lab, 6 year old poi dog, and a 2 year old Pioneer 503CMX.

....
Have had HDTV (Pioneer 610 RPTV) since the early Truman administration.

Did not realize they had vaccume tube based HDTVs! (BWA HA HA!)

39 Married, no kids yet (plenty of cats though). My wife says, she is still trying to raise me. :D

Graduated from SMU in Dallas with a BS in Computer Enineering, and a BS in Spanish. (Spanish is my mother tongue. It kept my GPA up and was the place to meet girls, the only girls in the enineering school were bigger and hairier then I was.)

I flew for the airlines for several years, and ended up working for many airlines that do not exist any longer. I own a Flight School, Aircraft Maintainence, Computer Company and a Charter Airline.

My current hobby is I am building an aircraft. A Velocity Elite for any other pilots out there.

I have always loved electronics. I have the Direct TiVo HD and need a set to connect it to. I am using a 27" LCD to tide me over till I make my main purchase. I have been looking at the 50" Poi and Panny so far as my top choices. Still reading this fine forum and learning.

Richard

36yo pharmacist in SoCal area. Bad golfer. End up watching Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street 1/2 the time on my Pio plasma. And, 'yes', all those side effects they mention on drug company commercials DO happen to EVERYONE. :)

I'll be 50 yrs old next month. I want a 50" Plasma for my 50th. Is that too much to ask for?? ;)

Masters Degree in Photography, but currently unemployed. Most recently a videographer for corporate conferences. Have been a union electrician among my many experiences. (This is sounding like a resume)

Married with dog (9 yr old male Queensland Heeler - Cattledog). Wife is Landscape Gardener (Designer - Architect - whatever... Berkeley grad.) she keeps me fed and clothed. Very low WAF. :D

I've always been into A/V. Have always been into sound and recordings and video, so this is a natural extension - progression of that. Recently upgraded my system to include a Denon 3805 rcvr. and 5.1 of Ascends (340's and 170's) with an SVS PB10-ISD. Greate sound! Now on to the video portion of the upgrade!

I hate going to movie theaters... the rude people, the bad prints, bad sound, out of focus... Whereas at home, in the comfort of my own house, I want to create a great video environment for pure on-my-own-terms enjoyment.

I'm also a winemaker. That too keeps me moderately sane.

Cheers!

shane

33, Male, Never Married, No kids (that I know of)

Lived my whole life in CA (LA area, UCSB, sil valley). Now, down in SD doing sw engineering and living 10 min walk from beach. Sailing & Jiu-jitsu two latest hobbies. But, was big into snowboarding (instructor at squaw) and paintball (tournaments all over US) when I was in norcal.

Replaced my 1998 35" sony XBR with the much lighter 45" sharp LCD (w/ sep avc) last October. Finally got around to building a HTPC to drive the panel with a 1080p desktop. Wow! Still using same denon amp and def tech speakers for audio :)

Hi,

I'm a 50 y.o., married, electronics engineer. Work for an instrumentation company designing telecom test equipment (from POTS to broadband). Living in Southern California. Just recently bought a Panasonic 50" Onyx.

Almost 36 (Nov), Wife, 2 kids (15m/11f), Married almost 7 years (kids are from her previous marriage), MCSE, Independent Consultant and now a Career Center teacher (Microsoft IT Academy) after 15 years in the industry. I currently have a Mitsu RPTV 55" and Dell's 2405FPW. Waiting till next summer to get a big plasma or LCD.

I'm 45 and married w/2 girls, and work for a large energy company in North Houston. My background is in Unix system administration and networking, and now I manage global computing projects. I was introduced to this forum about 1.5 years ago while my Sony 32" XBR was in its final throes (and unlike the insurgency in Iraq, it did end a few months later). I knew about DLP technology from my exposure to high-end projection systems at work, but never was satisfied with RPTV implementation of the technology, and basically monitored the market for over a year waiting for them to improve (hence the 'cmonsammy' handle). I arrived at the Plasma forum a couple of months ago when I realized the prices for a 50" HD plasma had fallen to my original $4K price point for RPTV.

I've been patiently watching my 27" CRT waiting for the right TV at the right price, and the Panny 50PX500U could be the one in 1-2mths. I can't wait!

32, male, married, 2 sons (5 yr/9 months). I live in Montreal, Canada. B.Sc Computer Engineering + MCSE. I am the IT Manager for a large real estate management company in Montreal.

Just purchased my first plasma (42" Panny) but have not yet received it yet! The waiting is killing me..

27, Southeast Regional Director of Promotion for Roadrunner Records, currently living in Atlanta, GA. Univ. of Southern California graduate year 2000. FIGHT ON!

Pioneer 4340. Home Theater has been a hobby for the last 8 years.

Love the AVS Forum.

27 yr old male, single, school counselor at high school in north louisiana

trying to figure out when to pull the trigger on a new panasonic plasma

I'm 45 and married with 2 beautiful little girls (6 and 2). I'm an EE working in DC. I formerly worked for the FCC and now consult for wireless and broadcast clients before the Commission.

I just completed my third hd setup. I started off with a 36 inch RCA CRT 5 or 6 years ago. I then installed the Pioneer 433CMX in my bedroom. Finally, only weeks ago, I completed the install of a Pioneer 5050 in the basement. Can't wait to post pictures -- I finally got it right this time (even the wife agrees).

Howdy! :)

I'm 33 years old, I live in Boston and have been here for over 10 years. I married a beautiful woman who I met at my work (she was our intern, yay!!!). I work at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and have been there for over 7 years now.

I'm a city guy, love trying out new restaurants with my wife, checking out art shows at the MFA, going out with friends, offline and online gaming, snowboarding, dvd collecting, etc.

My wife and I knew nothing about plasma tv's until we moved into our first apartment together as a married couple and realized our 19" crt just wasn't going to hack it. I randomly decided to look online to see if I could get an idea of what sorts of tvs where out there and at what price point and magically stumbled across this forum. :D We're now happy owners of a 42PWD6UY. :)

-JR

27/male/married with two CATS. i am an M.D. - trying to figure out whether to get the 37 or 42 inch commercial panny.

27 - Software Engineer For Trading Systems
Long Island, NY

-Evangelo2

47, childless by choice, live with my wife and a cat in Victoria, BC, Canada. Just moved back after 3 years somewhere else, which convinced us unequivocally that THIS is our home. I'm a software developer for the U of Victoria, she starts a new job tomorrow doing lease and contract administration at the airport. Looking for a home now that we're both settling back into work, and our next sailboat, since we sold the last when we left the coast.

Once we've established the viewing distance (i.e. bought the living room) a plasma's a high priority, with Panny 42pwd8uk the likely front-runner. 'Bout time; I've been lurking and learning here a good 18 months already.

Love the forums; you guys rock!

33, Software Engineer for a dot com, recently married. Hobbies...private pilot in training, skied competitively for 10 yrs, now just a fitness freak.

Wife has no idea I'm shopping for a flat panel. Right now I have a panny LCD front projector sitting in a box in the basement because I haven't finished the theater down there! Not much free time recently. Come to think of it I haven't watched much TV at all the last few months, but the geek in me wants to get rid of that old 27" CRT in the living room.

39, male, married - engineer for a us govt., law
enforcement agency.

jhl

40 male. Business Management Health Care. 42 Panny 5 series industrial. More into audio but try to keep up with display technology as well. Drums for 30 years ( current band at tunapilot.com), racquetball, radio show producer/engineer for taping for the blind radio in Houston, international travel.

25 Male - grad student - behavioral neuroscience

Doug

Great thread! I'm 44 years old, married, no kids. Several graduate degrees. I work for NASA Ames Research Center. Home theater is my *cheap* hobby. I also own and fly a Mooney 201 (hence the "mooneydriver" name).

Age 41, with one little boy who is three. / Cargo Pilot for that certain brown outfit that is everywhere. I have a 40 inch Sammy LCD for my den, which is just awesome, and trying to figure out what I should buy for my large living room. This is an invaluable forum with very knowledgeable members. Thanks for sharing your passion.

I'm brand new to this forum, and currently in the process of trying to decide on what best fits my budget, and will deliver the best HT experience I can afford. I have to thank everyone who takes the time to post articulately and intelligently, you give me advice and direction without ever even knowing it. In my first official post...

29/M/NYC Police Officer

Yeah, gawking is good.. Do you have a Magnolia in your store? What department are you in?

No, we're a small 30k store. The closest Magnolia is Maple Grove and Mankato. They're the 2 most recently added Magnolia's in the line. I was offered a position as a full-time salesman there, but I decided to stick it out where I live. I'm the next Senior in the department, with clear aspirations to run a store in the future, so I'm focusing on that.

Between my normal business, paying very little for rent, and pulling 40 hours at BB, I'm making plenty for a 21 yr old. It works out very nicely - nicely enough I'll be finishing my home theater off with Mitsu's new WD-52527 on Tuesday. :)

21 year old student currently at roosevelt university in chicago, I am the very proud owner of a 42 inch samsung, as well as a 42 inch zenith. I just added to my collection a 60 inch lg, along with the samsung 841hi-def dvd player, the 850 dvd player, the new panasonic dmr-es10. thats my collection so far. oh yeah a sony rva-av 2500 remote, along with the mx-3000.



ALL PAID FOR WITHOUT MOMMY AND DADDYS MONEY.

32 year old male, single, Germany. System programmer (see http://madshi.net ).

Currently I've a 23" Philips 100Hz CRT. I'm going to convert to a 50"-61" plasma, as soon as I can get what I'm looking for (1080p native resolution, accepting 24p/25p/50p/60p 1080p input over HDMI, with good contrast and not too expensive). That will be jump from 23" to 50-61" ! :)

73rd birthday next week.
Retired from telco equip mfg company after 35 yrs in HR field.
Same wife after 40+ years. Two sons (both dentists) and I dropped my dental insurance a few years ago. Four grandchildren which are my current pastimes.
Got interested in upgrading my tv a couple of years ago and considered DLP technology before joining the AVS family. After uncountable hours researching the different groups of the forum, decided on the Panasonic TH-50PX25 last year. Not considering upgrading----yet ;)


Woohoo! I hope I am as "cool" as you when I am a grandfather 4 times over (God willing).

25 - Virignia Tech - living in Herndon VA - Corporate Finance @ Lafarge

2 Olevia Syntax 30 inchers - Dedicated HT room 120 inch screen and a soon to be upgraded BENQ6200.. about to be a new, proud and excited, owner of the 50 inch Vizio.

I am a geek and a nerd and loving it. Big into Outdoors & computers. Recent excusrion coming back from paintballing :)

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/shoda/Mud2_Audio.WMV

25 yr old male, married with one boy and one girl. Live in NJ work in NYC in Risk Management. 42" NEC, hoping to buy another for the bedroom when they finally realease the new generation NEC's. Let's hope they do it soon!!!!!!!

52\married 30 years to high school sweetheart\ 2 kids, son & daughter\deputy chief probation officer\ have had panasonic plasma for about 2 months and have enjoyed every minute. It was my wifes' idea to get a plasma for the new house.

33 yr-old investment banker on Wall Street. Married with two little girls and live in NJ. Haven't yet purchased my flat-panel(s) but and anxious to do so sometime this year. Thinking of maybe a 37" LCD for the bedroom and a 50-60" plasma for the den. I cover the industry from a professional persepctive - probably why I haven't yet pulled the trigger!

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the great advice that led me to purchase my Panny 42" ED earlier this year. Anyways, I'm a 25 year old guy from Manhattan and I'm currently working in the field of patent law. I guess I should say that my background is in EE -- just so I fit in better with this engineering crowd!

hello, I am 27 years old, married to a great wife, and I have 2 little girls. They are 3 and 6 years old. I am a Application Developer in Las Vegas, NV working for the water authority on their intranet system. I have always been interested in electronics and gadgets of any sort, so home theater equipment is right up my alley. I have been coming here since 2002, mostly lurk, but i do enjoy all the great advice everyone dishes out on a daily basis. I had the Gateway plasma, then sold that for a Sony CRT HD set, and most recently have purchased the panasonic TH-42PX500U (which is GREAT).

I'm a youngin' at 24. I'm currently an IT assistant to a company sysadmin and am also in charge of Inventory/MRP planning for our division. Not married yet, and I have yet to take the flatpanel plunge sadly. Buying a home comes first. :)

54, another Michigan alum (LS&A '73), married, two grown sons. I run a computer stress testing lab at Motorola. Pioneer PDP-4304.

haha i am the young guy i guess.

17/Student-Senior/ i am the guy who calls you and asks you surveys (for bank of america)

I am currently about to purchase a Syntax LT26HVE because it is on special at Fry's today or i am gonna get the LT32HVE when it is on special at Frys.

I have always been wanting to make an HTPC but just haven't done it yet because i spent alot of my money on the computer i just built and don't want to spend anymore. I guess when i make a new computer i will use my old computer as an HTPC since it is a very capable computer.

28 years old. Beautiful wife of 4 years just gave birth to our first daughter, Abigail Elizabeth on June 15th. I am the VP of Business Development for one of the world's largest Golf Tee manufacturing and distribution companies. I am also the inventor of the Zero Friction Golf Tee, the hottest performance golf tee on the PGA Tour.

I just purchased 2 Panny 42PX50U's Saturday.

wow congrats on the new addition to your family, Where did you purchase your 2 pannys 42px50u's from.

33 and I guess I would be called a programmer.

I got into the HT scene about 10 years ago, working part time doing custom installs for a high end store down south. Most of the installs were in the 20-60k range back then, so you get the idea.

I haven't been too active around here lately as the wife got laid off last year, was unemployed for a little over a year, then had to take about a 22k pay cut, so my pending Panny purchase had to go back burner for a while. If all goes well, we'll be getting a nice display somewhere around Christmas this year.

The luckiest part is that the wife is every bit as big of an HT/movie buff as I am (we met when she as my boss at Blockbuster), so there's no worrying about WAF for me. She wants the stuff as badly as I do.

haha i am the young guy i guess.

17/Student-Senior/ i am the guy who calls you and asks you surveys (for bank of america)

Damn, that was you on the phone the other night?! You must get all kinds of hell from rude customers. You deserve to buy yourself some nice toys to make up for it. BTW, I'm never home so please don't call. :)

haha i am the young guy i guess.

17/Student-Senior/ i am the guy who calls you and asks you surveys (for bank of america)
.

Hopefully I don't come up on your list. As a Fleet buyout customer, I have alot I'd love to tell some people over the past few weeks. :D

I just turned 39, have successfully maintained my single status for yet another year, and finally succumbed to the HD intrigues less than a month ago. I'm a contractor for the US Navy and am often referred to as an engineer.

My primary interest at this point is 2-channel audio, but my short time in the video world has been very enjoyable. My speakers, which have been king of my living room for close to 5 years, are not impressed with my new plasma's (42PX500U) size and snazzy colors, but they've got numbers and make a lot more noise. It should be interesting.

And before I forget, I wanted to thank the members of this forum for helping me navigate the thick forest of HD.

34 year old IT conultant in Washington DC. Two kids a boy aged 1 1/2 and a girl 3 1/2 years old. Those guys keep me pretty busy! My wife of 5 years thought I was crazy when I bought my 42PWD6UY but I can tell she's not regretted one day since. We love that thing and I can barely remember tv/sports/movies without it!

I recently updated my audio with an HK AVR635 and am very pleased. I finally feel like i've got a 'real' receiver that does the rest of my gear justice. Next upgrade will be my DVD player - I love my XP30 but am getting the SACD itch....Any suggestions on something that would give me that w/out sacrificing the great video of the XP 30.

Love the forum..If it weren't for this place I don't know what I would have ended up with!

40 Yr old Aerospace Engineer
Recently purchased Pio 424MV - so far, so good...
1st post - but been surfing for years

for some reason i've always assumed most everybody on the board is a white male in their late 30s, 40s, early 50s who lives in a suburban house in one of the red states ... dunno why... Yeah I'm one of those...my gallery has our house.
33, Drexel University in Philadelphia for Civil Engineering in a fraternity, best years of my life, then that was enough with living in the city. Married a sorority girl, now have 1year old girl and a 3 year old boy, and livin' the burbs, BBQs on the deck with friends/family, drink beers, wait for our Fantasy Football draft to watch Sunday Ticket HD on the plasma.!
"It's the most wonderful time.....of the year"
PS--Howard every morning for over 15 years, ready for satellite radio.

30, married, no kids....yet, corporate lawyer for a tech company. Closet AVS geek.

IF 4805 DLP front projector with a 106" Da-Lite High Power screen. Looking for a flat panel for the day time.......

After wading thru this, I guess I'm the second oldest guy here. ;)

Met my highschool sweetheart when she was 15. Married her five years later, never looked back. I'm a happy man!

Masters in Public Admin. Contracts Administrator for municipal government. Retired Army pilot (dual rated).

After much procrastination, decided on a 37" Pany ED from reading this forum. Wait, no, make that a 42" NEC ED. No, no, wait, make that a 50" HD. The new 8UK, or maybe a Pio 5050, or . . . .

Waiting and watching (my finances). :D

But I'll get there soon.

After wading thru this, I guess I'm the second oldest guy here. ;)

Met my highschool sweetheart when she was 15. Married her five years later, never looked back. I'm a happy man!

Masters in Public Admin. Contracts Administrator for municipal government. Retired Army pilot (dual rated).

After much procrastination, decided on a 37" Pany ED from reading this forum. Wait, no, make that a 42" NEC ED. No, no, wait, make that a 50" HD. The new 8UK, or maybe a Pio 5050, or . . . .

Waiting and watching (my finances). :D

But I'll get there soon.Fer chrissakes Bob, get off the dime! You're not getting any younger! ;)

I am 46, happily married for15 years, two boys 12 and 10, lawyer and lucky owner of two plasmas, a 42PWD4UY in the bedroom and a 50PHD7UY in the theater room. I even have a 34" broadcast Panny CRT in the family room and have been an avid HD watcher since 1999.

39 years old, married, one great son. I've been checking out everyone's join date and realize I'm one of the really old timers here! I found this place when searching for a front projection system and ended up buying an NEC CRT projector (DLPs were just starting to show up, and they were purely business models that sucked for video), a screen, and scaler from Alan here at AVS (the screen and scaler have since been upgraded, but the NEC is still cranking along). I also have a Samsung DLP RPTV in the family room as the "television" (as opposed to watching movies, which is what the big rig is for). I've been toying with getting a plasma for the bedroom but can't really justify it right now. Maybe in a couple of years. But I still like to read about them and keep up on what's new.

I worked in banking for 14 years and in February got laid off during a merger and now I write novels full time (first one hits the stands in April 2006).

23 yr old male attending the University of Kansas in Lawrence KS GO Jayhawks!! I am currently studying business admin w/emphasis in Information systems and a degree in Finance.
I have grown up with technology inparticular Stereo thanx to dad. I currently own a Syntax 30" LCD and a BenQ front projector. I have been into HDTVs for about a year and a half when I got my Benq and I haven't looked back.

Thanks to everyone on the forum here you have been a big help.

Greetings,

30 Year old male, married 7 years with a 3 year old boy. Live in Mission Viejo, CA, graduated from Univ of Cal Irvine in 96 and work as an Oracle database administrator.

Looking to buy a 50" at the same time as an upcoming bonus room addition/kitchen remodel.

Huge USC Trojans football fan. I thought I'd buy the Panny 42ED before football season, but I'm going to hold out for the 50" instead.

I am 18, ex Best Buy Computer Sales, ex Best Buy Geeksquad, Currently Besy Buy Magnolia AV Pro 1.

I'm 29, married without kids, am a physician, and will buy one of the new Panny 8UK's as soon as the sucker is released. My wife tolerates the hours I spend on this forum as payment for the Tivo. She just loves it! Two golden retrievers which are digging up my tiny yard... :(

age: 22
job: college student during the week /home theater rep at BB on the weekends

My hobby has turned from games/computers to hometheater since started working there almost a year ago. It's fun, now I just need to own some of this stuff, too bad my 32" Sony Tube made in 1989 won't die. Pay there isn't very good, but it's nice to see all those toys.

Hi, my name is JudgeSmails. I like the color blue, long walks on the beach and people who smile.

30 (almost 31...shiver). Married to a great wife. No kids (yet). Systems Project Manager in Atlanta, GA. Live in the pretty, historical city of Kennesaw, GA where every homeowner is required by law to have a gun (really). Wife and I are proud graduates of the Florida State University (GO NOLES)! Was bit by the electronics bug as a kid when I was one of the first on my block to have an Atari 2600. If it plugs in the wall, I want it or have it. These days satisfying my HT jones with a Samsung LNR328W (love it). Trying to budget myself some decent speakers to go with it (aiming for the Mythos...). Counting down the days until my beloved DirecTV comes out with a decent priced HDTivo Box that doesn't require me to sell plasma to afford.

JS

What a cool thread. We did these once in awhile over at the AMDMB Forum.

I am 45 with two kids. Believe it or not, I re-married the ex (we are doing much better than before). I have a 14 year old son and 12 year old daughter; both are straight A students. My daughter has been reading over 200 words per minute since she was nine!!! Bought a new house last August so I am officially house-broke.

I am a Sales Manager at a Bang & Olufsen retail store. I have been around consumer electronics my entire working life. I have two systems; one is a higher end two channel system with Rotel and B&W, the other is a theater with a Panasonic ED Plasma. My 42PD25 will move to the bedroom when 1080p plasma sets start to ship. When not working I mess with my electronics, I build computers, I coach my kids sports, I do yard work and I follow many forms of racing, especially F1.

23 year old med student in the lovely state of Iowa. Been a techie for years, planning to make my "most important" tech move in about 2 weeks by going on an insulin pump (diabetic for 15 years).

Just bought a 32" Syntax HD LCD... budget, but I love it!

Outside of school I love SCUBA diving, gardening, and competing in triathlons.

It's amazing how many students lurk here, and more amazing is the students who have a plasma/LCD.--I hope it was a gift, your money needs to goto better things.
And if you're spending your college years watching TV, YOU'RE AN IDIOT....you have your whol life to watch HDTV, after the kids goto bed.
GO party, do sports, chase sorority girls, do beer bongs, and oh yeah study I guess.

Way to go George, you had to ruin it with that last part...lol

30 something. Married once. Engaged for second go 'round. Entrepreneur. Geek. Community-oriented. Patriot. Born in the east.

I'm 55, an Independent Sales Contractor in the paperboard industry; daughter at the College of Charleston, in pre med. 2nd marriage, 2 step kids, three of my own.

Really enjoys the Forums

Just turned 31 yesterday...blech! I have been married for 6 years, have a 6 month old son, and have been tensing my trigger finger for an HD set for about 6 months now. Which means I am relatively new to this forum.
I have , however, made up for that with religious monitoring of this forum and Ecoutics in an effort to better understand HD, RPTV, Plasma, LCD, etc. Learned much so far....

I am currently a Business Development Manager for the largest Automotive supplier in the world (anyone in the auto business knows who we are). Went to UofM and received my BSE in Mechanical Engieering so I am automatically a geek. Went back to get my MBA so I could stop doing crappy engineering work :p Still a geek, though.

Unfortunately my wife quit her job when the son was born 6 months ago, so we are now less one Registered Nurses salary: no more disposable cash for us so I have to pay attention to what we spend.

I started out looking at the Samsung XX67 series DLP RP TV's, and after many BB and CC trips, I figured for an extra 1-2k I could get a TV that I could hang on the wall and not worry about the vertical sweet spot of viewing or color wheels or light bulbs, etc. I am now waiting patiently (NOT) for the Vizio 50" at Costco to hit the shelves. I figured I can snap that up, give it a whirl, and if it fits the bill then I just saved a thousand bucks. Worst case scenario is that I bring it back to Costco (no questions asked) and trade up for the Panny 50" which I have seen and liked in B&M's.

That's my story, seems like mostly my peers in life in this forum, geeks! HAH!

I am a soon to be married 35 year old systems analyst for the Department of State. I live in Arlington VA and am currently investigating upgrading my entire system. I have a tosh 65hx81, yamah 5.1 receiver and JBL/Yamaha speakers. Thinking about going to Samsung 1080p DLP, yamaha 6.1 or 7.1 and HBK speakers inside a custom HT room in my basement.

I have already told the soon to be wife I want to do this, she said yes...... maybe that is why we are getting married.

I just turned 70, a Harvard-educated journalist and editor for many, many years, who got into electronics through my older son's interests. Our first purchase was the early Sinclair computer, which had about 16K memory. I was one of the first journalists to have a modem, I think it was a 300 baud in stalled in the old Apple IIE. My wife and I live in the Bronx, in a section called Riverdale, and one son lives in Seattle with his wife and 18-month old twins, where he is in the video games business. My younger son and his wife live in NYC and is a DJ on the side. Recently, I bought the PIo 4350 and am having a great time playing with it.

29 yr. old male, married with no kids. Born and raised in LA, moved to Chicago for 3 years, just moved back to LA to settle down and start a family.
I am an IT Director for a magazine publishing company in El Segundo, CA. Been in IT for 7 years now. Happy owner of a Dell W4200HD plasma, which I will finally be wall mounting on a house I just bought here, looking forward to that.
As my nick would indicate, I am a big Formula 1 fan and am anxious for the day I can see the pinnacle of motorsports in all its HD glory!

Go BMW.WilliamsF1
Go Dodgers
Go Lakers
Go USC
Go whoever our next LA pro football team will be!

37. Married, 2 kiddos. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, living in Dallas.

I own a couple of technology websites and that review computer hardware. I also own a very small computer accessories company. I fill the offices of Editor-in-Chief and Technology Journalist....along with a few others.

Have a Pioneer 5050HD on the way....still. Hopefully it will get here this week.

It's amazing how many students lurk here, and more amazing is the students who have a plasma/LCD.--I hope it was a gift, your money needs to goto better things.
And if you're spending your college years watching TV, YOU'RE AN IDIOT....you have your whol life to watch HDTV, after the kids goto bed.
GO party, do sports, chase sorority girls, do beer bongs, and oh yeah study I guess.

True. While there are a lot of students, my parents (or anyone else I know) are not crazy enough to gift a flat panel TV. Although a student, I do research during the summer and roof houses at 25/hour. Not a glamorous job, but it does the duty to pay for a TV... And while there are many other things to do in the life of a med student, if you can come home at the end of a long day and enjoy 30 minutes of TV on a set you've worked hard for... well then, there you go.

33 yr old computer network technician at a public radio station. My current system was bought three years ago: ISFed Panasonic 34" CRT, Arcam receiver & DVD, PSB Stratus speakers, and MIT cables. I'm debating between a 50" plasma or an HS51/front projector as the next upgrade (will need HDMI at some point for HD-DVD).

Great googly moogly, there are a lot of old guys in this forum. :cool:

23, single, software engineer. I just sold my Sony RP-HDTV, and I'm here to case out something thinner (your daughters).

Great googly moogly, there are a lot of old guys in this forum. :cool:

23, single, software engineer. I just sold my Sony RP-HDTV, and I'm here to case out something thinner (your daughters).


My daughters are only 1 and 3 years old you freakin' perv...lol. Even if they were old enough, I'm sure they wouldn't date anything like the geeks that peruse this site (myself included).

47 years old with two (2) grown sons, and a grandson who turns 1 next month. Married for 27 years to my high school sweetheart. I got my degree from DeVry Institute in 1978. Boy have things changed since then! I am a Business Solutions Engineer for Network Corps here in California.

I finally gave in to the Plasma urge this summer. My wife actually kept bringing it up every time we walked through Costco. Wound up buying a Daewoo at Fry's. It is actually an NEC EDTV in a Daewoo wrapper.

That's cool!
I am 18 and single. I'm currently working full time for a 2-Way Radio Communications Company. I'm going to start DeVry University this Fall to get my Bachelor's Degree in Business Adminisration. :)

Hmmm, 47 years old, and including time off for scholarly behavior, am close to having 25 years at a large aerospace company where I conduct airplane systems R&D. Found a need four or so years ago to incorporate wide screen LCDs in test system displays and now have a reasonable variety in operation.

Regarding the important stuff, married 15 years and have four kids. Oldest is five, youngest is five, the other two are ... five. Hence the user ID. Have to say that even though I don't have anything close to HDTV at home I have already received every blessing in the world that I can ever imagine.

Matt, 29. Work as a postdoctoral scholar at UCSF working on breast cancer.

Oldest is five, youngest is five, the other two are ... five. Hence the user ID. Have to say that even though I don't have anything close to HDTV at home I have already received every blessing in the world that I can ever imagine.
Holy cow, quadad... you deserve more than just a plasma. Maybe a whole array, say 2x2... I believe they call that a quad! :D

53, married ,4 kids, finance manager, I am currently on plasma #5 looking ahead to #6...love to upgrade..

53, married ,4 kids, finance manager, I am currently on plasma #5 looking ahead to #6...love to upgrade..

Hope you don't mind me asking, but which ones have you owned, and how has your experience been so far....

Hmmm, 47 years old, and including time off for scholarly behavior, am close to having 25 years at a large aerospace company where I conduct airplane systems R&D. Found a need four or so years ago to incorporate wide screen LCDs in test system displays and now have a reasonable variety in operation.

Regarding the important stuff, married 15 years and have four kids. Oldest is five, youngest is five, the other two are ... five. Hence the user ID. Have to say that even though I don't have anything close to HDTV at home I have already received every blessing in the world that I can ever imagine.
You deserve a 50" and your wife a 65" plasma.

You deserve a 50" and your wife a 65" plasma.
HA ! That would be nice ! But if the prices of those plasmas keep coming down they will someday reach the value of the free baby formula we did receive.

I do have the itch though, so, someday we will get a nice plasma.

Somehow missed seeing this thread until today!

I'm 44, married 5 years, no kids. I married a gal I went to High School with after we became reaquanted at our 20 year reunion. I'm a Senior Design Engineer at a company (18 years and counting) located in the Silicon Valley that manufactures electronic components for the aerospace industry. We live in the beautiful "wine country" north of San Francisco where we were both born and raised. I currently telecommute >90% of the time. We enjoy traveling, backyard BBQs and drinking fine wines with friends. Life is good.

We've had our Panny 42" ED plasma for two and a half years and love it, but I'm seriously considering upgrading to the Panny 50" (wife's not quite convinced yet;)).

-Steve

Hope you don't mind me asking, but which ones have you owned, and how has your experience been so far....
The first one I bought was an Eizo 50",this was ok(didn't know any better then).That one got broken during shipping,replaced with a 42" NEC,upgraded to 50" NEC,Went to 60" LG,replaced with 50 Panny,now watching 61" Nec..looking hard at the new 65" Panny...(prices to drop soon)

I liked all the plasma's I had except for the 60" Lg,which is a horrible piece of crap,the newer LG's are better(still gunshy though)

Male/ Tax Consultant/ Will not take the Flat Panel plunge until prices for units with HD-integrated tuners decrease significantly.

Newly 37, married twice, presently with 27 year old live in GF. Daughter of 12 from first marriage. IS Project Manager/Sales for a Medical Labcoratory in North Carolina. Moved to North Carolina from Denver, CO last year to be closer to my daughter. Originally from Tampa, FL.
I've had the electronic bug as long as I can remember. I had a good collection of Laser Discs in the early 90's as well. I've got 3 D-VHS machines (two mits, one JVC 30K), JVC GRD-HD1 (HD Camcorder one of the few that love it) I've got the HD Tivo and three HD Tv's. 65" Mits in the living room (netcommand, HD Tivo), 30' Sony in the workout room ( OTA tuner and run of cable from downstairs HD Tivo, man this one gets alot of use, lol), 23" LG LCD TV in the bedroom (OTA tuner attached). I want to replace the bedroom 23" with a 42" Plasma unit. I think I'll make the move in about 6 months. I've been planning the wall hang and run of the HD tivo to the wall that I want it on.
Honestly, I love the picture on my 65' Mits (tweaked and calibrated) so much I can't see anything replacing it any time soon.

30 year old clinical laboratory scientist aka microbiologist. 3 HDTVs including one plasma, and they still ID me for beer.

Gig 'em

Brian

Greetings,
Hi, Have been a long time lurker around these parts, Visit AVS almost daily. Made my purchases solly on what the "experts" here recommended from manufacture to forum sponsors on where I purchased both units from, Including the mounts & wiring. Thank you all.
I'm 44, Male & owner of a jewelry manufacturing Co here in NYC. Married 19 years with 2 kids, G16 & B13. We live on Long Island not too far from where we grew up.
My first purchase was the Panny 42ED 6y for my daughters room. After a short time we purchased the 50HD 7UY for the living room. I am totally satisfied with both units. I self installed both units with chief mounts. I have since had the HD bug and purchased two Toshiba HFX series wide screen CRT's.
I have been a gadget person for as long as I can remember. As a kid my first purchase was a Panny 6000 series VCR. That thing was a tank by todays standards. A few of my hobbies are bike ridding, watching sports on TV, & computing.
Thanks to AVS for all the good info, Especially the Plasma/ LCD forum & TIVO forum
Be well Steven Stern

20 year old student at Virginia Tech (GO HOKIES!!!), intern at a government contractor during the summer as an assistant System Engineer. Going to graduate with a Business Information Techonology Degree with a minor in Computer Science.

About to take the plunge into a 32" lcd most likely the westy.

Been a huge computer/AV nerd since my dad gave me his old 386 computer when he upgraded to a 486

25, dentist (periodontist), live in dallas, play guitar alot, and golf even more. Pioneer 5050 with paradigm surround sound, marantz reciever. Love electronics, sports, vacations and cars. Am getting 42 ed plasma for bedroom soon.

I'm 56 and have been a prosecutor for over 30 years. Retirement is in sight, but not here yet. Married 35 years in September (no end in sight). Two boys, one in local law enforcement and the other has just become an Airborne Army MP (deployment is in sight).

I first wired my 10" color Sharp TV through my stereo receiver in 1969. I've been chasing better audio and video ever since. While it's no megaplex at home, I've got a nice 55" RPTV with a good sound system in the family room. I ended up in this forum researching LCDs. I bought a nice Aquos 32" at Costco (returning to Sharp after 36 years), and Best Buy was kind enough to sell me my second HD Tivo for 1/2 off recently.

23 year old Architectural Sheet Metal Worker. Also one step away from being the only construction worker in the US with an MCSE :D

Got a 26" HD sammy CRT jan. 04 and haven't looked back since.

26, automotive painter, livin in winnipeg, manitoba, canada
t.v. have a hitachi 51s500 and soon to be a aquos for the o'l pc!

Great Thread!
41, San Mateo, CA (Near SF), Data Center Facilities Engineer, married once, now divorced living with girlfriend. Got into HDTV 5 years ago.. dropped nearly $3k on a 36" Sony (HD Ready) with Hughes E86 and DirecTV. A few months ago I took the plunge, dropped another $3k and replaced it with a 37" Sharp D7U. Girlfriend is out of town for a month and I just replaced an old 27" Sony in the master bedroom with a Hitachi LCD, yes - another $3k. OMG, I'm dead.....

37, Navy Pilot, living in Greenville, SC
lookin to get the Panny 42PX50U...or maybe the 50PX50U within a month for our new home

34 year old psychiatrist, married to a 37 year old psychiatrist, no kids.

36" Panasonic tube (non-HD) in living room
20" Sharp Aquos LCD in exercise room soon to be moved to guest bedroom.
42" Panny ED in bedroom soon to be moved to exercise room.
50" Pioneer 5050 wall mounted in theater/media room
106" Da-Lite electric screen and Panasonic 500 LCD pj in theater/media room(electric screen rolls down in front of Pioneer 5050 for big movie viewing).

Upgrade plans:
Replace Panny 500 pj as soon as D5 models arrive.
Replace the Pioneer 5050 in the theater with a 60"+ Plasma when they reach <$8k.
Move the 5050 to the living room and dump the giant tube.
Buy a 43" Pioneer for the bedroom.

25, married, Sound Engineer at a audio post production studio in Hollywood, Ca.
Just received my 42" Panny 42px50u 2 weeks ago

Hi everyone. I'm 54. I was reasonably smart with my money and retired 2 years ago after 30 years in the trucking industry
I've been married 3 times. I've been with my current wife for 15 years and it looks like practice made perfect. She's younger than me, patient, understanding, has 2 masters degrees and better than I deserve. I'm still going to keep her.
I bought a 37" Sharp last summer and a 42" ED Panasonic last fall. I hope to get a 1080p lcd this fall for my office, and if my old Toshiba crt rptv in the living room can hold out another year, I'll replace that with something BIG (undecided as to what). It would be a good time for a 1080p, 65"-70" plasma to come out priced under $5000.

hi im english, 31 years old, not married but long term gf, but living in switzerland and working as a derivatives trader on the financial markets, trading options and futures.

have been hanging around in these forums for a few years, prior to and after getting my first projector, a panasonic ae300. i have posted quite a lot, but like doctor who, i have reincarnated from krlock to krlock2, just to keep things fresh. im certainly a gadget freak, but until recently have been unhappy with the plasma and lcd choices available to me...

still very happy with my panny pj, but if the next round that comes out this year offer something significant, it will be time to upgrade it. oh what the hell, i think its time to upgrade whatever. if they offer an extra button on the remote with no purpose, i will probably use that as an excuse to upgrade.

now though, with the advent of HDTV on the horizon, its also time to consider ridding myself of my sony CRT. For the last year I thought i would be going the plasma route, but now im thinking more to go with a HD ready LCD, such as the new sony range coming out soon.

apart from that, i have been living in switzerland for five happy years. lovely place, lots of lakes and mountains. AV products are EXPENSIVE here though. be happy that u live in america!!!

nice to see everyones posts.... good health to all AVS members!!!

57 year old male, thats why I call myself old Mike, as opposed to all the other Mike's on here.
Married 30 years, 3 kids all out of school now, which finally leaves a few extra bucks.
Lubricant chemist for Aluminum.
Got one of the last 42pd25u's around and love it.
Old Mike

26 male, currently a COBOL Programmer >shudder< for one of the large area insurance companies, desperately seeking something with more... potential. :)

Proud UCONN School of Business grad (GO HUSKIES); starting MBA in a month and a half at U or Hartford.

Been an avid reader on here for the last year, more sporadically before that.

Started getting into it as I researched my first TV/DVD player/receiver after graduating from college in '01... ended up with a 27" Panny/Pioneer DV-440/Kenwood HTIB. Let's just say that I'm very, very excited to be a lot more informed (due almost entirely to this forum) as I get ready to upgrade all of the above components...

Thanks,
Mike

27/Male/NY,NY, 2yr old daughter, live with girlfriend ( not married yet , hehe, yeah i know she wants to kill me ..lol), work for Fedex Express Corp. been with them 6 years, im the delivery boy :), I work part time ( by choice, life is so much easier, when u get home at 11am everyday hehehe).
i have the Panasonic 42PWDUY
see pics here

Family and HT pics (http://www.angelfire.com/film/j_acosta/PIcs/)

26/Male/ NY, NY
Full time Office Lackie/ part time student - going for doctorate in PT.
Looking to buy the Panny 42inch ED in the coming months when I move into my new apt in midtown.

Also a scooby fanatic. For those that know what I'm talking about... please chime in. :)

26/Male/ NY, NY
Full time Office Lackie/ part time student - going for doctorate in PT.
Looking to buy the Panny 42inch ED in the coming months when I move into my new apt in midtown.

Also a scooby fanatic. For those that know what I'm talking about... please chime in. :)

Would that be Subaru or Scooby Doo ?

Would that be Subaru or Scooby Doo ?we have a winner. :) I <3 my force fed boxer 4.

Great thread. It's cool to know a little about everyone posting around here.

Male, 27, single, graduate of the University of Wisconsin - GO BADGERS! - regional sales manager for an insurance company. Just moved out of mom and dad's basement and bought a new downtown loft condo. Have been searching for the perfect plasma for over a year and waited long enough to be able to step up to a 50". Hoping to get an 8UK before the snow hits...

Kane

Retired, 55. married, three grown daughters & 4 grandkids. Was senior executive in Medical, Printing & Publishing, & Safety consulting while all within one company. Now a student pilot on Tuesdays, Piano studies on Wednesdays, and a volunteer reader for the blind other days. I LOVE to be on the "bleeding edge" of technology, I just can't afford to be as brazen on a pension. I've had a Pio 50" plasma for several years. Now looking for for that bedroom edition....and that widescreen PDP for my computer, and that.....

32 year old male with 2 kids and the hardest working wife around. I am a Sr. Project Engineer for Design Central, a product development and design firm. We designed the Maytag Skybox personnal vending machine that you might have seen in Home Depot, Whirlpool Duet washing machines, retail credit card scanners, medical equipment and various other consumer products you'll find at Target, Sears, Walmart... I would love to design a plasma one of these days. I will purchasing a 50" Panny pretty soon to fill my living room wall.

Would that be Subaru or Scooby Doo ?

Hey I just bought a new forester, I love it. Anyway I am a 35 year old computer geek, who knows nothing about all this AV stuff, and am still confused after lurking here for a long time. I think I am going to buy the pio 5050, but ask me tomorrow and it might/will be something else.
I work at Caltech here in Pasadena, have a wife, one son who is 3 in two weeks and another child due in October. My wife has declared the plasma will be the last tech purchase of my life, or 10 years, which ever comes first. My other expensive hobby is raising poison dart frogs.

My other expensive hobby is raising poison dart frogs.


Serious?:eek: Is it legal? I know they come in lots of pretty colors, but aren't they protected South American critters?

-Steve

Serious?:eek: Is it legal? I know they come in lots of pretty colors, but aren't they protected South American critters?

-Steve

The frogs I have are captive bred by people here in the United States. Captive bred is the only way to assure good healthy animals and it is indeed hard to import frogs anymore. I have both the blue, Azureus, and the Pumilio Bastimentos, which look like these:

Frog (http://www.bleah.com/Farley/frog3.jpg)

Toadkiller,
That's cool. I used to have several salt water aquariums. It was also a very expensive (some of the fish cost several hundred dollars) and time consuming hobby.

Regards,
Steve

52, Male, divorced, retired - multiple health problems, single dad (4 wonderful kids), was in DP for 25 years, 3 cats, audio nut for 30 years, discovered HT after becoming ill, currently studying 'learn electronics at home' - yes, I am that bored :D.

Peace,

27, Single,not married,no kids. Customs/Immigration Enforcement Officer.Purchased my first home 3 years ago.Looking to purchase a 50 inch panny plasma in the next few months

I'm 53, divorced and still looking for a 50" plasma. Haven't decided on which one to buy yet. I live in beautiful northwest Arkansas and am a 25 year law enforcement veteran currently working as a state probation officer for our local drug court, which oddly enough, is televised.

46 yr. old, divorced, father of five involved in oil and gas exploration. Kids range from 27 to 8 yrs old and for some reason live with me. Might be because i'm the biggest kid they know. ;)

Always loved electronics and music and that fell over to HT later on.

Looking to build a new home and HT will be a BIG consideration

31 years of age - Married with an awesome 10 month-old baby boy.

I work in IT as a Security Analyst with Halliburton.
(no negative comments please) ;)

We currently reside in the extremely hot and humid city of Houston.

47 years old. Single. VP at a Contract Security Corp.

25 single, computer network tech for the Air Force, from Utah, living in Arizona, about to move to Turkey with my 42PWD7UY in one hand and skis in the other hand... Hope the Turks don't get any crazy ideas about me.

This is kinda' fun (most of our backgrounds are technical...why would that be?)

30, married, no kids (yet anyways)...I have a beautiful wife that says yes to any HT equipment I want to buy as long as it looks cool in the apartment...I move too much to have a house though (I've moved 5 times in the last 7 years due to work/school)...

Chemical Engineer and Masters in Management (originally from Venezuela). Currently (and happily) working as a lead engineer for an Oilfield Services Company in Colorado...

I love my HT system and my Zenith P42W46X. I've been attracted to electronics since I first realized they existed...when I'm not trying to convince my wife to upgrade, I mountain bike, hike, and take as much road trips as I can (I have 8000 miles in my 1.5 months old 2005 Silverado...)

63/male/CPA & church business administrator/Norman, Okla.

50" Sammy DLP HDTV & D* HD sub since June 2004.

26/Male/ NY, NY
Full time Office Lackie/ part time student - going for doctorate in PT.
Looking to buy the Panny 42inch ED in the coming months when I move into my new apt in midtown.

Also a scooby fanatic. For those that know what I'm talking about... please chime in. :)


'02 Rex Wagon here! Any Bimmer fans out there? My weekender's a '97 Z3 2.8

I'm 31, single, and work as an honors advisor and counselor for Penn State University. I picked up a Westinghouse LTV-32w1 about a month ago and hooked up HD signals, through Dish, about two weeks ago. All I can say is, why isn't everything in HD! The rest of my set-up includes a Samsung HD850 DVD player and a Yamaha HTR 5750 receiver feeding seven Yamaha NS-BP4500 home theater speakers.

Wow...

I'm 14 and I'm going to 9th grade in september. My parents are divorced. Here at my moms house where I primarily live I have a crappy CRT at my dad's theres a CRT rear projection, both are non-HD. Soon my mom and I will be gettting a nice LCD or rear projection, we've both been saving for a while, too bad theres no good plasmas for 2000 or less. I love to play xbox and practice my tuba. I also like lurking on various forums. I read alot here but don't post alot for some reason.

I'm from Long Beach and for anyone else who lives in Long Beach I'm going to Poly.

Arya202, don't worry life is good!

Good louck looking for your TV, but for around $2000 you may want to look into Zentih ED plasmas. Keep in mind the coupons that come out once in a while and you could get it for less. Without fear to err, I can say that most people in this forum consider the Zenith 42" ED plasma the next best thing after the Pannys...(I'm one of them!)

Although I haven't had any issues with my Zenith and my PS2, I'd go with LCD for game playing, especially if you spend long hours in front of the TV...

Any questions, we are here to help!

Wow...

I'm 14 and I'm going to 9th grade in september. My parents are divorced. Here at my moms house where I primarily live I have a crappy CRT at my dad's theres a CRT rear projection, both are non-HD. Soon my mom and I will be gettting a nice LCD or rear projection, we've both been saving for a while, too bad theres no good plasmas for 2000 or less. I love to play xbox and practice my tuba. I also like lurking on various forums. I read alot here but don't post alot for some reason.

I'm from Long Beach and for anyone else who lives in Long Beach I'm going to Poly.
I think you win the youngest responder contest. Good luck with your HDTV search. Anyone who knows anything about Calif HS football has heard of Poly. Produce great tuba players too. :D

I'm 34, a mathematician by education, a software engineer by trade. I work in the Research Triangle Park, NC, I recently bought my first HDTV, a beautiful Panasonic 50PX500.

I'm 37, computer consultant, work at the local telephone company in CO. I'm building my home and have quite a high tech set of things planned for it. I played in a band 20+ years ago and we recently starting playing again. I play guitar, bass, piano and sax. Looking forward to 42" panny ED. COnsider myself a pretty proficiennt computer geek, but certainly learn lots on avsforum every single day. married with 2 beautiful daughters ... they keep me young.

Hi, I'm 59 married and am the printer for a small retail drugstore chain.

Hi, I'm 34, married, two gorgeous daughters 9 and 7. I started in HT about 5 years ago with a 64" rear projection. I've moved to a new house where the big box doesn't fit and can now go after a flat panel. After much reading I'm about to pull the trigger on a Pioneer 6100HD.

I am, of course, a techie. EE by degree but doing software for the last 12 years or so.

I go through phases on AVS. Now that I'm hunting new equipment I'm on here multiple times a day. When work has me buried and/or I'm not hot in the middle of learning something new, I don't visit for weeks at a time.

My previous obsession was building my HTPC. I, again, used AVS as my knowledge base. I'm sure the 6100 will bring many hours of tweaking fun as well.

I'm 42, married, no kids. I'm a software engineer, I do USB stuff for Apple, lately working on iPods. I haven't been getting over here too much lately, I've had the display almost 3 years and I'm not due to get another one for 2 more years. (I said this one would last at least 5 years.)

Hi folks:
I just turned 60 years, I'm a professional musician (double bass player), recently moved to the country about 2 hours north of Toronto. I live with my Standard Poodle, Joey, on a small lake. I have enjoyed the miracle of cataract surgery on my eyes, have perfect vision, and decided to celebrate that fact with a new Pioneer PDP434CMX, which I ordered today. Life is perfect.

cheers,

Jack

I'm 57, married 32 years, no kids, a retired DoD computer specialist now working as a contractor. I have a Sammy 50" DLP for the living room and a Panasonic 42PX50U in my office in our new condo. I play bridge competitively and bowl (not so competitively), both activities that seem to have lost their popularity.

I love TV sports (Raiders, Pirates among others) and am an unabashed HD fanatic.

Rich N.

I'm mid-20's and a current employee at TV Authority. I have a cute 2 year old son and a gold fish named Nemo. My hobbies: Long distance running/swiming/bicycling, teaching salsa/swing dance leasons, Learning about new Products on the AVS/HT magazines, Snowboarding, moderating a forum based in FL for designers, working as crowd security at concerts (107.7 end fest, etc), Photography (member of my local PSPS=puget sound photography society), Studio arts, etc. :)
I have attended massage school, NAC school, and attended various business classes in college. I never really found an interest in human anatomy after watching what the RN's did and decided to go back to what I love best-sales. I have worked in a shoe store for 4 years, and now work at TV Authority to support my shoe & purse habbit ;) (ha ha...jk)
I'm soon to own either the LNR3228W or the LNR329 samsung LCD's along with a soon to stock-pile home theater gear to go with it. Drooling over plasma's for future purchasing.....

This is me,
Cambryn

I am 37 and work for Computer Associates (CA) as a Vice President in our Technology Services division. I have been tinkering with home theaters ever since seeing a dedicated theater in a friends house back in 1996. Until recently I've been limitted to a small shared room with a 51" Pioneer Elite RPTV and Marantz 5.1 setup. In January we closed on our house which has a dedicated home theater room with DLP front projector. My recent tinkering has been in and around improving room acoustics. Thanks for all the great info!

I'm 58 and will be 59 next month. I have a auto wholesale business and I enjoy everything to do with HT. Thanks to the folks on this forum I have saved money and time trouble shooting problems . This is the best forum around.........Enjoy HD the future looks so much better!

I'm a 33 year old male living at the N.J. shore in my first home purchased 5 years ago. I've been down a few different paths starting with serving in the Armed Forces as a Marine during Desert Storm. A few months before being stationed in Kuwait I was planning on becoming an artist and going to school at Parson's in NYC on a full scholarship I was offered while in high school (art in many mediums is still a relaxing pastime I enjoy). After serving my country as a Marine I went into law enforcement as a member of a S.W.A.T team working in northern N.J. It was during this time that I met my now fiance Danielle. I quit law enforcement (Danielle was an influence in that decision) and then floated around amongst being an electrician, computer repair, and training in Aikido (I started training at 6 years old and eventually began to assist training Law Enforcement Officers). I'm currently settled at being a BMW technician full-time while still teaching Aikido with my teacher at his school part-time. I own and build many computers (I remember taking apart a PCjr with my father back in the day) for myself and family when I have time. I love learning (my problem is remaining interested in anything after becoming familiar with it) about all things, especially tech. and own 2- 42" Toshiba plasmas, a Samsung 22" lcd, and various Pioneer and Denon receivers and other A/V gear. I enjoy reading the posts at this site and learning something new everyday.

I'm 34, married and no kids yet. I am North American Sales Director for a global entertainment software testing and eval company(yes, we play/test video games, and no we can't hire your kid :)

Orignally from Baltimore, MD, currently living in the SF Bay area.
I just got a Samsung 61" HLR today, and plan on picking up the Vizio 50" from Costco on Monday!!

I'm a 27 year old male, single with no kids. I recently moved to the city of Stanton in SoCal. I am a product/test engineer for a semiconductor chip maker currently working on LCD backlight inverters. I've been into custom car audio since high school and am now stepping into home theater. If the rumors of Panny dropping prices this Septmber are true, then I will soon be a proud owner of a 42PX50. Or maybe even a PD50 with a paint job, I'm not a fan of the all silver look.

Just turned 30 unfortunately. I'm a Federal Agent in Los Angeles...also am married to a Federal Agent.

I wanted a flat screen TV ever since I saw the stupid commercial with the TV on the ceiling. Interestingly enough, my first flat panel was my 15" Eizo which is still going strong. I am getting rid of it though as I recently purchased the Dell 2405. I also have a 910 in the main room and hope to move it to another room and replace it with a 50". I am also in the market for a 32" for the bedroom.

When I'm not putting people in jail, I on my X-Box which I play on my Pio.

I have really enjoyed reading all the responses and learning a little something about the fine folks here.

Thanks one and all and keep them coming.

Dave

42 yo male just relocated from Mi to Cinci Oh, Medical Device Sales for a very hot and fast growing start up company (foxhollow technolgies).

I love this site and currently wrapped up in the ongoing delemma of [B]which 50" plasma to buy!!

36 years old. Married Male with a 9 year old daughter and 4 year old son. For work I am a Professional TV / DVD watcher. Heh. No, unfortunately I can no longer work due to medical problems. On the plus side I do get to watch my plasma's a lot!

John

52 years old. Former award winning broadcast journalist/foreign correspondent and businessman. Divorced. Now, married to MLB Extra Innings and my golf clubs. Rotate homes: Summer in Colorado, Winter near McAllen, Tx and DFW in the Fall. LCD TVs are great for rolling stones.

34, Married for 8 years, first child (Boy) due in 2-3 weeks(!), I work in Microsoft's eHome division with big PC OEM partners on Media Center - Got into home theatre a few years back with a Toshiba 65' Cinema Series HD RPTV.... Now running a 50" Vizio plasma hooked up to HP DEC Z555 MCE via HDMI (and/or VGA) this machine also drives two Media Center Extenders - one in the kitchen (14" small CRT) and an older 27" CRT in the bedroom.

Divorced male , 43, Retired due to Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS). Previouly a Machinist and also managed an independet auto parts store.
Currently building custom gaming computers and also do a good bit of pc repair to keep myself busy.
My main hobby is building and flying 1/4 scale radio controlled model airplanes.

In the process of building my HTPC I came across this fourm and have found some excellent advice here.
The RG_Uwanna comes from my clan name in EVE Online which I hope to be playing on the HTPC and a 50" plasma :)

P.S. I know about the burn in , I'll be careful :)

Enterprise Architect for Fortune 100 company. Sideline as a book author (have written a total of seven to date)

35 (As of last Tues) Single Male (no kids, have a cat). I used to drive for the 2nd largest carrier in the country. Now I'm taking some time off to finish some projects.

Born in San Jose, CA

Been living in the general Los Angeles area since 1981

Oakland/Los Angeles Raider Apologist

Been a DJ since 1986

Avid FWD Drag Racer, Sometime Autocrosser

Weapon of choice is my Dodge Neon - (go ahead laugh, I'm used to seeing smiles turned upside down after the light turns green...)

After using hand-me-down CRT's for the last 10 or so years, I'm going to make the jump into LCD Land with either a Dell W2600 or Syntax LT26HVE or HX model in the next week or two, no more than 3 weeks from now.

Playing my Dreamcast and PS2 using the matix inputs from my Phillips D*TV box is NOT ideal.

Westside fo life and huge supporter of the Pac 10 Conference.

36, divorced, no kids. Make coatings for mirrors that reflect deep UV and x-rays for a gov't lab in the DC area.

Musing over a 42PX50U, Samsung HP-R4272 or Philips 42PF9630, one of which will be my first large format tv.

56 year old male, met my wife of 36 years on a blind date and we married 3 months later, we have 2 sons and 2 daughters, 3 grandaughters and 1 grandson.
I have been in the drywall construction business for 34 years, a contractor for 24 of them. I am in my 12th year of receiving a kidney/pancreas transplant and each year that goes by I count myself blessed and the time I've had with my wonderful family. We have 2 very large Newfoundlands, and I love my HT and the grandkids make a bee-line for the HT when they visit. I'm really enjoying life now considering my health 13 years ago. :) GO GEORGIA BULLDOGS

50 year old divorced male. Two daughters and one grandson and granddaughter. I am currently a retired tool and die maker from Maytag (30 and out). I decided to take a couple of years off before I start my second career. Last year I purchased the 42" ED consumer plasma and a 46" DLP but returned them both. I am currently drooling over the price drop rumors because football is about to start and would look great on that 50" plasma.

31 Year Old Male - Married with 2 Year Old and 7 Month Old Girls. I am a computer programmer and musician... so a geek and an artsie fartsie...

Can't remember what a movie theater looks like with all this baby making so the Plasma has been negotiated with the wife for when we move to our new house in October. Since we apparently are not done swimming upstream, a new and improved home theater is just a must when we move. Hello 65" Pannie... How long have I coveted thee... 8)

Cheers,
Wiley

PS. storminorm, your post was a touching one to see. Hope you get 13 more good ones. 8)

29 yr old male. (have there been any females?) Married 2 kids (Austin 2.5, Alyssa 9 mths). 7 year IT Manager at wholesale/retail distributor of hunting/shooting/outdoors supplies (www.natchezss.com). Learned a lot since i've been here (I hate MACs now!). I've always been a a/v head since installing stereo systems as a freshman in HighSchool. Got into pc/networking/programming as a tangent of the a/v path anyways. I'm a country boy with high tech hobbies (Hi Tech Redneck(unfortunately Redneck doesn't mean what it used to).
I coach High School girls volleyball and play VB myself competitively. Enjoy all sports and i'm working on my training program to get ready for a IronMan before age 35!! Love 4x4's and fast cars!

Eventually I'll probably get a 27" 16:9 LCD for the bedroom to replace the 15" 4:3 on my MCE 2005 machine. I also want a CRT from Curt Palme for the basement!! Purchasing a Avermedia 180 HD card today to get ready for Monday Nights (gotta love Hank Jr!)!! By the way message me if your looking for a 72 Intl Scout II rock crawler!

35 Years old. Married with two boys (4 1/2, 2 1/2). Been head of IT for a small business that specializes in Auto ID technology (RFID, Barcodes, etc) and tracking for the past 5 years. Was a software engineer for 9 years before that. I am still a geek and probably always will be...

I absolutely love this forum! I don't buy anything withour doing alot of research first and this place has been a godsend.

My main home theater viewing is done in my basement on an older Pioneer HD643. Ascend Acoustic for Mains, Center and Rears with a SVS Sub for the low. Everything runs through my Yamaha receiver.

TV in the family room died about 3 months ago and I was initally going to purchase a 32" CRT, but as I started shopping and noticing the plasma price drops I decided I was going to bite the bullet and pony up the extra funds. Initially bought the Akai 42" from Costco, but it is a POS and had horrible Posterization issues. Just purchased the 50" Vizio from Costco and could not be happier - at least not until I get it wall mounted.

Thanks to all of you members who participate - your comments are invaluable!

41 year-old married male, no kids. I work in IT as a Systems Analyst of a GIS (mapping) system for a large Utility in Chicago. Musician (keyboardist) as a hobby.

I own a Sammy R4232 for 3 months now. Pretty happy so far.

25 male, have a girlfriend thats going crazy about the job i'm about to start at PriceWaterHouseCoopers. Just out of school, cant wait to spend all of my money on home theater crap I know I dont need. Just purchased a 50 panny and cary audio pre amp and amp...soon I'm Splurging for the beautiful Dali Helicon 400's. Only if i can live with my parents for an additional 2 months before I move into the city.

I really appreciate all the advise that all of you are so willing to give here at this forum. It has really helped.

30 years young with 2 kids and a heluva wife. Employed by the largest (and most reliable) implantable cardiac device company as a sales rep. Became addicted to plasmas when I nearly killed myself moving the inlaws 200lb crt up 2 flights of stairs.

Male, just turned 50 - 4 sons and 2 daughters, ages 20-31. GM for a metal fab shop. Married for 14 years, divorced for 14 years, and getting married to the love of my life for the last 12 years in - yep, 2 years.

I bought (and still own) our first HDTV almost 7 years ago (first gen. Mits) and haven't looked back since. Currently researching the purchase of our second plasma.

My thanks to cheridave for starting this year's version of the thread, and thanks to all the members for your great posts. For the last month, this thread has been my last stop each evening. It's a wonderful exercise in stress relief!

Dave

Might as well add life to this thread again! I'm 22 (male), gonna be 23 soon...working at an Indy Rock label in NYC...Promised myself i'd get myself a plasma once i got my job...so last October i got me my Zenith P42W46X and never looked back...looking into the new Sony 32" LCD XBR--ahh...now if i get kicked out of my house i may have to sell the tv :-X.

hmm hadn't seen this before...

28, male, have been working in the gaming industry for a little over 9 years. Now I help regulate a native american casino in California. I just have an Olevia 30inch LCD which was fine at the apt I was at, but now that I have a a much larger space I'll be picking up a 50inch plasma next month.

Just turned 25, live in beautiful Seattle, WA (well the Eastside suburbs). I am a Business Systems Analyst working for a large wireless company at the corporate headquarters in Bellevue. Own a Panasonic 50PHD8UK 50 inch Plasma HDTV (the love of my life), an Onkyo 7.1 HT-S787C Home Theater system, a D-theater DVHS player to show off my system, and a Roku Photobridge HD media center to connect my PC (and photos) to my Plasma. Also just bought an 05 Mustang GT to drive really fast in :)

27 male, Married, one kid 18months (another on the way, but last one), and living in the Portland Oregon area. I work for a tech, metrology start up company based in Sunnyvale, CA. I used to be in the Navy. I do not own a plasma/flat screen (currently 55xs sony RPTV) but am looking forward to new flat panel technology.

I've been 47 for ten months now. Married 17+ years, with no kids. And I work as a sales rep for a very small printing and office supply firm. I must confess, I don't have a LCD/Plasma TV. Still watch TV on an old 35" CRT most of the time, although we have both LCD and CRT projectors here. My next TV will most likely be plasma, but I'm just not sure when.

31, married, no kids yet, may get a cat in a couple weeks

Grew up in western Wisconsin, got a degree in finance and business administration. Worked as an accountant (probably the worst year of my life) and then moved to California when I got married. Now, I've worked in the video games industry for 7 years and currently work in technology development and developer relations.

Currently I'm looking forward to the distant future when all the new consoles are out and things are more normal at work.

On the home entertainment side, I sold my 5-year old 46" Mits RPTV a month ago and have ordered and cancelled orders for several different sets. At the moment I have an order in for a TH-42PHD8UK. I also like messing with HTPCS and will probably spend the Christmas holiday building another one of some sort.

I've also just moved into a condo and should mount the new plasma on the wall, but I'm going to be a weeny and just use a stand. This is partially based on laziness, partially because there's not a good wall to mount it on, and partially because I'm likely to injure or break something trying to do it.

23, Not married (looking! :D ) in Central FL.

Currently do Tech Support for a major Bank call center here.

19, student at Mansfield University. Major in Computer Science. Hoping to break into the game development industry. I own a crappy CRT from wal-mart.

My name is Jason, people call me Jay. I just turned 34, am currently single and have two retired racing greyhounds, a.k.a. 40-mph couch potatoes, who are the pride of my life. I grew up in RI but moved to NY in '99 to further my career. I currently live in Westchester County and do network security for one of the NY power companies.

I bought my first condo two years ago and since then have been itching to get a flat screen TV. Well after doing research and I bought my first plasma, a Panny 42PD50U, a little over a month ago and I can't be happier.

Because I'm like a dad showing off his kids, if you'd like to see mine here are some links:

Cody (http://www.dogster.com/?1575)
Pretty (http://www.dogster.com/?159917)

28, single, a Realtor in Atlanta(just helping people move into our dear city!! we're now #5 or #4 depends on source, as the worst traffic city in the country). ;)

My 1st hdtv, 2002 a 34" Daewoo crt.
Now, a Vizio P50Hdm & have been very happy ever since............ :D

Male, 38, physician (bone crusher). Married with two girls (2 and 3 1/2). I got a Sony GWIII about 2 yrs ago. Have been sublimating with HDTV and long distance DTV reception (it's the only kind where I live) ever since. Recently purchased a 50PX50U. I'm up on the roof a good deal tinkering with my antennas and my wife is convinced I'll eventually fall off someday.

I'm up on the roof a good deal tinkering with my antennas and my wife is convinced I'll eventually fall off someday.Hence the name "Bone Crusher"! ;)

Hence the name "Bone Crusher"! ;)

Don't worry, honey, I'll be careful!!

Hi,

33 years old, born in Taiwan and grow up in Queens, NY. Now back in Asia and working as development program manager for an electronic H/W company design and manufacturing PC products.

On and Off on HT, my next HT purchase should be the new Pio or Panny 50"

James

40, Male married with 3 kids. Been serving everyone as a proud member of the United States Air Force for the past 22 years (space systems). My AV bug began 20 years ago while stationed in Germany I went to several trade shows. I was always the first with the new technology from super beta to stereo VHS LD VCD whatever i had it.

Just moved from Santa Barbara County Cali to Cocoa Florida. I currently have the panny 7 series ED model (bedroom) and Pioneer 53 inch RPTV in the family room which will be replaced soon by the 50 inch panny 8 series.

Next purchase after that will be either the sanyo Z3 or the Panny AE700 pj.

My wife allows my indulgence and I love her for it! :)

22 years old.

I'm an Information Systems manager for an insurance company, I currently have about 60 users in 3 offices.

Buying a 42" panasonic plasma commercial display next week. :)

I am 27 with a BSEE from CalPoly, San Luis Obispo. Currently I am a product engineer for TI here in Dallas. I own a Panny 42-PWD7UY and I'm about to pull the trigger on the 50PHD8UK. I love this forum and I love reading about how much people enjoy they're plasmas. IMHO, they're the best display technology out there, just don't tell the DLP group I said that.

57, Ph.D. and P.E., Civil Engineer, Professor at a western University.
Considering the new Sony 40 inch LCD

36 Years old/ Male/ Worcester, MA
Married - 1 Child - 3yr old son

Work for a major call center technology firm as Principal Product Manager

Was bitten by the bug a few years ago when I finished my basement and WON a 55inch Mitsubishi HDTV. SInce then I have added a room on to my house and have purchased a Panny 42 PD/25U EDTV.

Avid Cyclist....
Specialized EPIC and Cannondale (Love US made bikes)

I'm 55 years old, single :D and have one 7 year old Bengal cat.
I've worked as a machinist for 33 years. I work for a small company that makes custom designed computer controlled farm equipment. I do all the machine work.
I'm currently trying to sift through all the information in the forum and decide what type of HDTV I'm going to buy.

27 years old, married, 2 1/5 year old Son, 10 month old daughter. Not a lot of money for HT stuff right now; but wouldn't change a thing! I'm the IT Manager at a small (<100 employees) distibutor for hunting, shooting, camping, paintball, anything outdoors sporting store (www.natchezss.com and www.paintballhouse.com). I have a MCE 2005 machine, with Haupauge 150MCE tuner installed for now. I also have an old Gateway Destination in the basement that plays music, tunes tv, and plays DVD's off the MCE box while i'm working out or working on the Scout (for sale) or the Jeep while in the basement.

We run 7 Window 2000 servers here at work (mail, web, SQL, (2) terminal servers, file server), (2) iSeries'(as400's), (5) webpads running 5250 emulation and RDP, about 40 thin clients, and about 15 PC's. It's just me and i have 1 salesman who can help run cable and such in a pinch.

Love this site.

32, Married, and loving my 50" Vizio with Yamaha Receiver and Polks all around.

Purchasing for goverment agencies.......

Daytime is Blues Clues and Sesame Street for the 2 Year Old

Nightime is Yankees in HD with the Ms........

Hopefully the Knicks in HD soon.....

D*TV but desperately waiting for Verizon FIOS TV.

29 and an IT manager for an Ad agency for four locations (2300 people approx) - "where did andy's mojo go?"

26. I write web applications for hotel chains. Kind of an odd niche job, but it pays well enough for me to have a Panasonic TH-50PX50U in the living room.

48. Retired. Quit our jobs Sold home in Las Vegas.. Threw the alarm clock away. Built home on a lake near Myrtle Beach SC, invested the rest. Raised two girls. Work (play) part time as musicians and built a little recording studio in our home, Fish on our dock at night.

Still have old Toshi 50" PRCRT. Just ordered Optima MovieTime FP/DVD Player.

Waiting for 50" Plasma to price below $1500......or SED.

I'm 34, single, video game programmer. I upgraded to a HD CRT TV last year and I am already lurking here again to find an upgrade for my TV and my computer display!

I'm 38, married, daughter 7yrs, Son 3.5yrs. US stock market Fund Manager.

Bought a 42PX500U two months ago, returned it at 30 days to upgrade to 50PX500U. Still running it at lo settings for the break-in period, so still waiting to fully enjoy its full picture potential. Might get it grey-scale calibrated (ISF) in a few months.

39, married with two kids (4 yrs and 5 months). I work for a major utility company in a field that is very small. My task at work is to protect personnel from any chronic exposures/cumulative traumas that could result long term health effects.

I jumped into plasma revolution last March with a Panny PD50u. I did not tell my wife I was buying a plasma, but she fell in love with it immediately. Four weeks later she saw some prices at a B&M and she lost some enthusiasm. She had no idea what to expect with respect to price. I am currently trying to decide what my second plasma will be. I plan on pulling the trigger around the first of the year and I can't decide whether or not to stay with the pd50u or go with a HD model. Actually, I am enjoying the process of pondering. Sometimes I wonder if the anticipation and researching phase might not provide more overall pleasure than "pulling the trigger." :D

38, Married, Two kids, CEO of Software Development firm based in Stamford.

Have NEC 42MP4 and currently researching the new 50" model Plasmas and will be upgrading sometime this year.

24, single

B.S. in Bioengineering from UC San Diego. Currently working as a validation engineer in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry in the San Francisco/Bay Area.

Looking at the sony V series XBR in either 32" or 40" sizes....just moved so currently TV-less.

EDIT: Just got my Sharp 37" LC37GB5U! It's an excellent TV. Love it.

27, single

"some college", working as a IT Sys Admin for the last couple months. (finally done with Helpdesk work, woohoo!)

Want a cheap 32" LCD for a small apartment. Still investigating possibilities, will purchase by the end of the year.

63 years young. Former Marine SSgt. & Viet Nam Vet. Four children and 5 grandchildren.
Disability retired but trying to stay as active as possible.

Consultant to telephone companies in backbone fiber, ATM and dsl networks.

38 married w/ children - two girls (2 & 4) - and an aging cat. work in content management and marketing for a small info services firm.

getting ready to move to a new home and have to pack up my HT (110" ws w/ front pj) - there's not a good spot in the new house (yet!). Looking to add a plasma to the mix in the next couple months to fill the void... currently looking at the panny 42 & 50phd8uk's.

26yo male--i'll be 27 in weeks! I am a recently married DINK (Double Income No Kids) and plan to stay that way for some time. Living in central Vermont. Environmental Attorney working for a development firm on State and Local permitting (no litigation for me). Have a 3yo English Springer Spaniel Gus. Long time lurker, first poster. Eyeing a 42" or 50" HD Panny for the Holidays. Got the bug while working on my HTPC and now it never stops.
JUC

28 years old. Married, just had first child. Network admin from Lansing, MI. I now live in NE Wisconsin.

Still trying to decide between the 42" Dell and the 42" ED Panny....

44 years old. Male. Long time lurker. 2nd post! Hanging out in the great Northwest.
My job. Selling a lot of the stuff you guys buy. A/V specialist for the brick and morter side of Huppins/Onecall.

27 married, buying a house, and a new Plasma TV :)
Software Developer for Avaya Inc. (spin-off of Lucent).

23 year old delivery manager for the Ultimate Electronic stores in Oklahoma City. Got engaged a few months ago and should be married in early 2006. Got a 42pd25 and a 60xbr1 with 2 HD Tivo and Denon Kef set up. No more electronics for me for awhile (got to save up for the wedding) but the information I gather here is priceless.

30/Married/Graphic Designer but title currently is Software Engineer. I basically design the user experience for software (previously websites), amazing at how bad some software out there is and still makes a killing.

No kids yet, but nice to see another Grey owner. I have a 5yr old male dark brindle who is extremly spoiled!

Because I'm like a dad showing off his kids, if you'd like to see mine here are some links:

Cody (http://www.dogster.com/?1575)
Pretty (http://www.dogster.com/?159917)

Hi,

1st post :)
25, Male, Intern/Doctor, Adelaide, Australia. Getting Married next April.
Will participate here more when I get my 32" Bravia.

32, married, male, two children, beautiful girls 4 months and 2 and a half year old.
Working in VOIP sector as a network engineer for the past 7 years, born in Poland,
moved to NJ 13 years ago, just received panny 42" px50 few days ago and
couldn't be happier with it ! Now obsessed with upgrading the sound but can't
go for full 5/6/7.1, need something more of 2/3.1 setup...

39, eye doc (hence the name I see U not 'Intensive care Unit') the surgeon kind not the optical kind. grew up in New Orleans now in LA. Two beutiful kids married 8 yrs. Panny 42 WD6UY since last march. Bit by audio bug when I was old enough and found out my unlce owned major audio equipment company. (yes I get free stuff!)

wife won't let me buy any more gear! been looking at the Panny 50"!!!

Buy all your toys before marriange and kids!!!

T

I'm 21, about to graduate from Transylvania University with a Business Marketing degree. I work at BB, currently applying for Magnolia, which opens on the 28th in our store!

I'd really love to get into the high-performance field, whether in retail management, as a sales manager, or in advertising/promotions with one of the top of the line companies.

I have my priorities straight -
JVC 27" SD Tube TV
Paradigm Studio 20 v.3 Fronts
Paradigm Studio CC-270 Center
Paradigm PDR-12 Sub
Klipsch RB-3 Rears
Yamaha HTR-5760 Receiver