Got up, came downstairs and discovered the TV was dark but still had audio… Figured it was the cable, tried switching channels (usually works) and basically I’m standing there with the remote in my hand looking like a confused puppy going WHY NO PRETTY PICTURE?

Then my brother walks in and says, “I’m already on it!” – I figured it must be a cable problem if he knew it was going on, but no – he had come upstairs earlier, seen the audio/no picture problem, done all the googling and troubleshooting and the diagnosis was that the display was basically dead.* 8 1/2 years old and roughly 75,000 hours of viewing time – it had a good run. (I leave in on 24/7 – turn the volume down a bit at night – I like the white noise. A silent house is creepy AF.)

He’d already been on the Target website to see what they had and off we went. Ended up getting another Vizio, a little larger than the old one, and with 4K and some other bells and whistles. It was on sale, and then actually cheaper at checkout – and I shit you not, cost LESS THAN HALF of the one that I got 8 1/2 years ago. Moore’s law and all that I guess.

My last TV was the first HD TV I’d had (15 years after they came out) – this is the first 4K I’ve had (only 9 years after they came out, LOL.) The picture is nice and crisp and the short track mixed relay speed skating is looking good! It’s not as big a leap as going from my old very failing CRT display to the HD (holy shit that was a huge difference) – but it’s really nice.

And most importantly – it works.

*The LED’s gave out – they can technically be replaced, but it also requires a soldering iron which is where my brother noped out of that option – understandable.