Aunty,

I don't think Parker's recommendations were for cheap stuff. Quality without going off the deep end. I'm not a TV or hifi geek. Just want a good picture and good sound. As for biggest, that ain't gonna' happen, retirement or not. I alloted a certain amount of wall space for TV, and around 40" or so is it. I paid $350 for the speakers I put in the ceiling; they had 2 that cost less and 1 that cost more, and they all sounded decent. I do buy things that last. My 1988 20" Sony JVC TV still works fine, except the remote won't turn it on and off anymore. My stereo is really old, and we've just been using a bookshelf system in the condo I got at Costco for $200 that I run the TV sound through. But since TV went digital, sometimes the picture doesn't keep up, and I hate that distraction. So we're pretty much forced to get a new hi def digital TV of some kind. And I think you need the blue ray doo dad to watch DVDs in digital or hi def or whatever.

I'm not interested in a fancy remote. That's just another gadget to misplace. The electrician said we could have a remote to operate the big center ceiling light and fan. What? Who cares? Where would I keep the damn thing? A regular switch on the wall works just fine, and I won't lose it or forget where it is. I want the new house to be operable when I get old and feeble minded and can just rely on habit and instinct.

I have a conduit running from the AV control center to the place on the wall where I want the TV. Presently it has two wires, one standard coax for cable and another for new fangled, maybe it's the HD digital. Anyway, we put in conduit so I can fish a new wire should the technology change and need it.

I doubt I'll have any more time for TV during retirement than I do now. I watch too much as it is at nearly 2 hr ave per day, counting weekends.

Sg