Two quick questions from newb.

[AngryJim]

1. Anyone know of a place I can get either VGA or DVI splitters to run two monitors from a single source? If these do exist, do they hurt the image quality in any noticeable way?

2. I've been considering the 37" Westinghouse for awhile now, and I think I might finally get one through Best Buy in order to stretch the payments over 3 years without the interest. Would you recommend I get the warranty plan, or is it useless? The BB warranty has saved me several times for broken iPods, but is it really necessary for an LCD?

 

[AOM]

A quick google search will find more places but this was one of the cable places I have book marked so here's one place to pick up the cable.

DVI Cables


As far as the warranty/protection plans go from Bestbuy or any other place, it's typically you're own call. I used to sell Performance guarantees at Circuit City for over 2yrs and I bought them on a good bit of equipment and it saved me several times.

Personally, it depends on how much the plan cost compared to the price of the monitor/tv. If the monitor or tv is fairly expensive and the plan doesn't cost a lot ...say $200 or less, then I'd get the protection plan to go with it. The cost in trouble shooting or repairs would cover your cost of the plan, plus most plan's cover things like fire, lighting etc. as well.

This is especially good if you don't have homeowners insurance and also saves you from paying the deductable on the homeowners as well. The plans typically cover bulb replacement for rear projection sets which are expensive, the remote, and some cover picture quality issues as well.

A lot of people would disagree with me on some of my points and I'm sure I might get a flame or two or a pm but, I've seen the horror stories and I know the in's and out's. I always told people to weigh the cost in their mind and know they have the peace of mind that if something goes wrong, then their covered.

You may never have a problem with the monitor/tv, which I hope you would'nt but if you do it might save you in the long run. Just weigh out the cost like I said and make a decision on what you think is best for you and your investment.

Best of luck

 

[AngryJim]

Well I'm a college student if that makes a difference, so saving money is priority #1. I also don't have any kind of homeowners insurance since I'm in an apartment on campus.

Those DVI splitters are just what I was looking for, does anyone know if they degrade the image quality?

 

[AOM]

I don't think they degrade the quality of the image since it's digital, but then I could be wrong. I haven't used them so I can't speak from personal experiece but I'd say if it does at all, I don't think it would by much if at all noticeable.