Vanilla

I love vanilla ice cream. It goes well with almost all deserts, it goes well with almost all toppings, and it even goes well by its self. It is the perfect staple for any sweet tooth concoction. I really don't understand why calling something "vanilla" is a derogatory term. Plain is exactly what we want about 90 percent of the time. So the question then becomes. What do we want for that other 10 percent?


This is the same question TV manufactures are trying to figure out. Not about ice cream, but about their televisions. What can make a particular TV stand out during that 10 percent of time? What can make a TV appeal to your desire for novelty? And they are flooding the market with this TV novelty idea.

Television has gone through a major shift in the past 5 or 6 years. Your options in the past were pretty much limited to how big do you want it and will that be cash or credit. Now you are being presented with your very own assortment of 31 different flavors. Would you like 720 or 1080p? 3D or 2D? Active or Passive? Connected or Not Connected? Wi-Fi or Ethernet? LCD? LED? DLP? Plasma? CRT? OLED? Projection? DILA? What refresh rate would you like? How much contrast? How thin? How Heavy? Not to mention, how you are going to connect it? It's no wonder why consumers are being overwhelmed with the decision of purchasing a new TV. It's like standing there at the ice cream parlor and not wanting to make the wrong choice.

Well, if you are in need of a direction, here is what I suggest. Focus on the vanilla. That is focus on the standard. The Television standard is a flat panel TV that is a Plasma, LCD or LED (LED being the latest) with a resolution of 1080p for anything over 40". You are not going to go wrong with anything that meets this standard; and everything else is just a novelty. If the new TV you are wanting comes with a bunch of bells and whistles that you don't really understand, but it meets the vanilla standard and you like it, then buy it. All of the bell and whistle features can be turned off and probably should be until you are in the mood for a novelty experience like watching a 3D movie or streaming the latest YouTube video of your neighbor. Bottom line, if you are wanting a new display for watching TV or movies the decision is a simple one. Pretty much anything out there will do that and do it well. So the only question remains, what do you want for the other 10 percent of your experience, or better said, what novelty feature do you think you might enjoy?