LCD flat screen TV envy or is it?

Submitted by Patrick Grote on Wed, 06/21/2006 - 2:40pm.

Envy is a funny thing. The actual definition of Envy sounds harsher than what it actually feels like: A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another. Ouch.

Is there a positive form of envy? I think so, and I am experiencing it when it comes to LCD flat screen TVs.

When they first hit the market a few years back I told my wife to shoot me if I bought one. At the time the LCD TVs were going for $10,000 or more, and we had just bought a nice 36 inch conventional television. No bells and whistles with the TV outside of picture in picture. We were very happy with it, as it represented the pinnacle of our TV purchasing experience.

That was 8 years ago. Nowadays you can buy a pretty nice LCD Flat Screen TV for the same money.

I'm still not ready to ditch a TV that cost us a nice amount of money and move to the new technology, but man, they sure do look nice in the store.

Alas, I have resisted the pressure, but it's becoming harder and harder. Two of the guys on my team at work have just bought new TVs and they look gorgeous. The first guy is redoing parts of his house, so new electronics came standard, right? His family went for the whole shebang ... new TV, HD DVR, etc. He ended up going with this model of LCD Flat Screen, and I gotta tell you, it looks wonderful.

The other guy is just as much a handyman as the first, and he just finished a new set of built in bookshelves for his family room. I wish I saved the picture of them; he did a tremendous job. The bookshelves reek of professionalism and perfection. He was lamenting the fact he has an open space in the middle, but he solved that by buying a 61" flat screen LCD.

I was happy for both of them, but something in me twinged. I thought it was envy, but after reading the definition I realized it wasn't. It was more excitement for them being able to get the TVs. I know they're going to enjoy them and have fun with them, so I was actually feeling good for them. No envy or jealousy, but excitement.

Of course, I do realize that this means my own excitement is growing for a TV like that. I've told the wife not to shoot me if I do buy one, just make me sleep in the family room instead of the bedroom for a couple of days. I hope she thinks that's a punishment.