Rant Air – Welcome Aboard!

We’re taking out first foray into high-definition at our house.

I couldn’t pass up $800 off my television-of-choice with an additional 10% taken off that as a corporate discount through my airline. We’ve got a new Sony Bravia flat-panel on the way that should arrive some time next week.

Buying a TV isn’t as simple as it used to be. I had to get a new TV stand to hold the 85 pound television. And why buy a big new high-definition screen without a high-definition DVD player? I grabbed a Sony PS3 for it’s Blu-Ray disc playing capability (after reading MANY reviews saying it is probably the best BD player on the market for the money). I also had to pick up a new Onkyo A/V receiver that can properly handle HDMI inputs, which is the best way to get signals from high-definition sources to the television.

But here’s the kicker: Hooking all that stuff up requires lots of cables. Buying cables at big-box stores along with the equipment is a very expensive way to go about getting the rig set up. Most retailers make very very little on the sale of the equipment, relying instead on 3000% markups on the accessories needed by the consumer to get the sets up and running. Personally, I find it an affront to my intelligence to be asked to pay $100 for a 10′ HDMI cable…especially when I need four of them. Fortunately for me (and you, if you ever decided to go high-definition), there is monoprice.com. I ordered my four 15′ HDMI cables, a DVI to HDMI adapter (for the computer-to-TV connection), and a component video cable for the Nintendo Wii for a grand total of $35. All these cables are certified and guaranteed high-quality. Why spend $400 for supplies that should only cost you $35? I don’t know, but most people who buy at the big-box stores will fall into that trap.

Now you don’t have to!