I just got entangled in a spending spree that started off out of no genuine need. Sigh!

December 2008, I was wondering how I could put my flimsy end of year bonus to good use. I thought now would be a good time to start to overindulge myself. After a half hearted failed attempt to buy a second hand Playstation 2 from my friend Girish (He would rather gift it to his niece), I decided to hunt for a better alternative. After some hearsay and research (am good at this) I came to discover that the Playstation 3 (PS3) was really a gem in terms of ingenuity and processing power. The platform had a decent set of games by that time even though they were expensive. But I guess the thing that kind of set me off in the decision to buy a PS3 was the fact that Sony subsidised the price of the console to match competition from the Xbox 360. In my mind a superior platform being subsidised was a real deal, I was convinced.

I rushed to Sony World at the Phoenix Commercial Centre with the firm intention to get out of the shop with a PS3 in hand. I did come out broke but with a smile as I held the box along with 2 games which I still cherish, FIFA 09 and Uncharted Drake’s Fortune. That was the first piece to my ‘home entertainment system’.

Owning a PS3 is great but there was one important thing that I overlooked (Clumsy me), my television. I bought a versatile 19′ XORO LCD TV about a year before. Its a great TV, it had an integrated DVD  player, it could be used as a computer monitor, it could read USB keys and Flash Cards … but it could not render HD content. There I was in front of a suboptimal system, playing a blurry FIFA. In my mind, the next target was to be a decent television.

Early November 2009, there I was still wondering on the ideal television to match my PS3. In the mean time I had acquired a few games like Infamous, Call of Duty:World at War etc.. So now was the time to get at least an HD-Ready TV. I learnt from a good friend (Ziyaad) that HD-Ready TVs are a no go for PS3 owners so I focussed my attention on Full HD ones. The funny thing was that I visited quite a few shops and I dunno why I promised each and every one of them that I would buy their TV.

My choice set on a 40 inch Samsung Full HD LED TV which I saw at Galaxy, Trianon Shopping Park. It was sexy, slim and cute (My very opposite). It was also deemed to be very energy efficient.With the same uncontrollable urge as with the PS3 episode I bought it. Till now I never looked back even though I had a few chills down my spine when I heard the Minister of Finance reduce duty on LCDs a few days later for his 2nd 2009-2010 budget speech. The same TV now costs like Rs10,000 less. Nevertheless its a really nice TV with a great picture quality and but MBC only programmes could not do it justice. That brought me to subscribe to satellite TV.

The optimal platform is not only about picture quality but also about the sound. The TV had speakers but at the back of the display panel and the sound was hindered when I decided to hang the TV to the wall of my room. I needed a sound system. I considered the different home cinema systems on the market but I was not convinced with their output. I knew that the best sound would come from a 5.1 system but I also knew that it would be a hassle to wire and calibrate the lot.  This week I went to Bose in Trianon Shopping Park and had a demo of their systems.

My choice was set on a Bose Cinemate II, an entry level 2.1 system that was more than adequate for my room. It consists of two speakers and an Acousstimas Bass module. It was easy to install though I was required to buy two wall mounts to fix the speakers on each side of the TV screen. The sound is just plain great. I just happend to watch the Last of the Mohicans again to now really enjoy the epic sound track from John Williams. The system makes use of Bose’s TruSpace technology to deliver surround like performance with just two speakers.

What is left now? Before curbing down my buying urges for good (Its about time) I am thinking of integrating something like a media centre to the system. But that will have to wait.. since I am broke again. If only Mac Minis had HDMI. Sigh!