Navigating Family Purchases: TV Edition

Compromise to rival any corporate conference room

A few weeks ago, our television started randomly switching sources. We’d be watching a streaming channel when the TV would blip, and then we’d be looking at broadcast TV or the DVD player. At first we thought the remote had an issue, but after several sets of new batteries and a sternly worded conversation with said remote, we knew the end had come. After just one short decade, our television needed to be replaced.

What emerged next was a three-way tug of war. My daughter, husband, and I had very different views on our next chapter of TV ownership, but it went beyond personal preference. If nobody has ever written psychological profiles based on the struggle to replace a television, they should consider it.

My husband, Walt, is a pragmatic technophile. He loves exploring new technology, but he’s not bankrupting the family to bathe in gadgetry. Still, the world of TV is one where technological advancement has been swift, especially in the decade or so since the last time we bought one. Smart features are seamlessly integrated, the pile of remotes has shrunk to one petite powerhouse, and HD is the norm. Most notably, the price of televisions has dropped tremendously, due to

• a proliferation of phones, tablets, and other…