direstraits posted:gbrk posted:I agree with you about Sam's Club as they do have a good variety. Other than that driving Over to Huntsville would present lots of choices including Best Buy. There are also online choices other than Amazon.com but most want to see what they are buying before they pay for it.
Fredericksons in Sheffield my have large screen TVs. Saw some there last time I bought tires.
Yes, they do and Frederickson's has great customer service as well. I had forgotten about them. There is also that place on Florence Blvd that used to be Hunt's TV & Appliance. I think they were bought out by a Huntsville dealer but I don't remember the new name but yet another source. Now a little reminiscing, if you will permit me.
Speaking of TV's and new technology one of the things that has disappeared over the years, for the most part, is the TV Repair Shop. To my knowledge, and there may be more, there is only ONE TV Repair shop in the Shoals area and that is "Polly's TV Repair" over in the 7-Points area of Florence. I don't know all the reasons for the disappearance of these shops but the newer sets are so much more dependable and just work longer and better.
I remember, back in the 1960's when you'd have TV Shops/stores where you would go in and there were all kinds of 19" portable models and then 25" floor models along with the real luxury models which had the 25" screen along with built-in console AM/FM Stereo and if you were really lucky an 8-Track player. Today 25" is frowned upon as all but laughable and more a computer monitor than an entertainment device.
Then there were the major brand names, of that day, RCA Victor, Curtis Mathis with the 4-year warranty that no one else could touch, Magnavox, Philips, GE, Westinghouse and Zenith along with some others I'm sure I'm missing such as the likes of Emerson etc. Man, you thought you were in "high cotton" when you got to go with the family to the TV Store and buy one of the console TVs. It was also considered a major piece of furniture as well what with the console part of the TV. And then I also remember that game system offered by Magnavox as a competitor to the more popular Atari systems. There was also, look ahead into the 1980's those of us that would actually buy a Commodore 64 and hook it up to the TV to use, have the computer along with the video games etc.
Today you have names like VIZIO, Insignia, Toshiba, Samsung, Hisense, LG, Sceptre and yes still RCA to some degree and I'm sure I'm still leaving out some. Then whereas you are the talk of the neighborhood or the school if you were able to bring your friends and plop down in front of the 25" screen, wow what an accomplishment, but today, as I said, 25" screen is disappointing and humbling. Where before you had 9 inches, 12/13 inch models, 19 inch and 25 inch screens today you don't have anything unless you have a 49 inch screen and more common are the 55 inch, 60 inch, 65 inch and on upwards to the more elaborate 80 inch screens which, to me, are more like a movie screen when you get them in your house and family room. Televisions are still quite heavy to lift but whereas in the past you picked out just that right spot on the floor, in front of the couch or in the corner today you have a wall mount and mount the TV above the fireplace or on the wall, close to the ceiling. Yes, you still have the heavyweight, actually more weight than you might have had in the past but you don't have the weight in the furniture consoles and the TV Tube. Today you have unbelievably thin TV Sets and the weight comes with the various components, the LED Screen, and the power supply but the newer components are much more dependable and break down far less hence the great disappearance of a lot of the TV Repair shops and TV Technician, a lost art or a job.