jas722

I would like to upgrade from my existing 19" RCA. I'm looking at a couple of diffrent models of televisions to buy. I'm not an expert and i would appriciate some opinions. I thought i would check with you guys since most of you are well versed in the Home Theater arts

Tv will be used for

1. DVD movies
2. Tv watching
3. PS2 gaming

specs i'm looking for

27" (32" would be too big for my room)
s-vid or comp. inputs
good picture
reliable (would like it to last for many years to come)
price around $300 to $500


tv's i was looking at

Philips 27PS55S - around $300, picture looks good.

Philips 27RF50S - around $500, flat screen, even better looking picture

Sony WEGA 27" - around $600, flat screen, 16:9 mode

How are these choices ?

Where can i find reviews ?


Is the flat screen Philips worth the extra $ ?
Is the Sony Wega 16:9 mode worth the extra $

any other tv's that i should check out ?

What do you guys think ?

thanks for all the help.

jiggyblau

I am not too hip with all the crazy new TVs available, but I do have a 27" VVega, and let me tell you, I'm crazy about it. Especially the 16x9 mode. It does actually make a difference. Not huge, but very cool nonetheless. Plus, if it's something you really want, then the $100 difference between the better Philips and the Sony is definitely worth it.

You may want to check out the avs forum (www.avsforum.com) for some info. Although they're skewed mostly to the higher end stuff I believe.

Good luck with your new TV, whichever it may be!

jas722

jiggyblau, thanks for the info.

I'm kinda leaning towards the sony now. What kind of difference does the 16:9 mode make ? better resolution ?

I'm actually thinking of buying the tv in your sig. It looks pretty sweet and i can get another 10% off at Sears since i'm an employee.

Just have to save enough money

TenaciousD

I have a 27" Sony Wega in my bedroom. It is a little different from the one that jiggyblau has. Mine has speakers on the left and right of the screen and not on the bottom. I'm not really sure what the differences are between the two, but I highly recommend the Sony. I have a dvd player hooked up through the component and a PS2 hooked up through S-Video and both look fantastic. I use the 16:9 enhancement on DVD's and have noticed a better picture. From what I understand, dvd's that are 16:9 enhanced are supposed to display a clearer picture.

jiggyblau

From what I understand, the 16:9 mode takes wasted lines of resolution from the black bars and utilizes them in the actual picture, creating an even crisper picture. I could be wrong, but that's how I understand it. Anyway, as tenaciousD said, there are other models, the one he has with the better (side) speakers, and of course you could go for the 2 tuner PIP, which I declined. Also, my model is a year older or so...the model number ends in 12 instead of 13 like in my sig.

No matter what, you won't be disappointed with the VVega. Again, good luck with the decision, and if you have any other questions, just ask or email me.

dmvsvk

If you want to save some money , check out the Samsung Dynaflat series or the Akai clone (same tv , sold under the Akai brand name at Sams club for $349- $379 depending on the model.). It is a flat screen, has a fantastic picture and excellent sound quality, has component and s-video, and does the anamorphic squeeze from the remote. It is very highly regarded in this forum, and I can tell you from personal experience that it's a great tv. The only drawback it may have for you is that the component and s-video inputs share the same audio so if you are using both you would have to unplug one to play the sound thru the tv. If you are routing the audio thru a reciever, it won't be an issue.

ANDREMIKE

SONY

hypeiv

i got the Philips 27PS55S at costco for $250, best buys webpage says it has 650 lines of res. It has component video input and svideo. I know the Sony's are way better but i don't think this tv is half the tv the sony is.

good deal for the price

jas722

thanks for the opinions.

i was thinking about getting the 27" Wega with the side speakers. But the new model retails for around $750. Ouch.

I think i'll go with the bottom speakers and save $200. Since i have a 5.1 system i probably won't use the tv's speakers that much anyway.


also is the PIP option the only diffrence between these two Wega's ?

KV-27FS13 and the KV-27FS17

thanks guys

jamin3d

I have that Akai 27" (CFT2790), bought from Sam's for around $360, and all of my friends tell me its the best looking tube they've seen, and then jaws drop when I tell them how cheap it was.

It's a great TV! Killer DVD playback through component, and s-video looks good too.

Haven't tried the sound, as everything comes out of my receiver.

Only bad thing about it that I've found, which was fixable, was the default color settings, which were total crap. Some careful setup and it's as tuned as any of our production monitors at work. (and it keeps the settings even if its unplugged.)

BJacks

I also purchased Samsung's Akai (Samsung clone) after weeks of investigating, and I'm thrilled with it. It's comparable to sets over $150 more than it. I echo that the default color settings are horrid, but a simple reworking of the settings change that very quickly. I highly recommend it.

-Brian

Keyser Soze

1 more vote for the VVegas... I have a 27 inch, and a 32 inch... couldn't be happier.

-k
###

jas722

Thanks for helping me decide on my new tv. I haven't bought it yet but it will probably be one of the 27" VVega's.

Does anyone know where to find the cheapest price online ?
So i can price match at a retail store near me.

thanks again

007bugs

The Akai is now $299.56 at Sam's.

doctorjb

Could any of you who have bought the Akai 27" Flat Screen please post your Custom Color Settings? Just bought this set and am pleased with it but haven't got a copy of Video Essentials to hand to balance the colors properly.

Thanx

Joel

renaldow

The Sony KV27FS100 is now $499 @ Best Buy, and about $489 at Circuit City. The 200 which has PIP is about $34 more.

mmguen

WOW! I was all set to buy Sony's 27" Flat Screen- KV27FS100 for $475, but not any more!!!

How can the price have dropped $60 since jamin3d bought it? Isn't it the same tv?

mmguen

Just called my local Sam's Club- they're selling it for $360 in the store. Oh well.

wank

just a note, I called my local sam's club as well (in MD), just a few days ago, and they quoted me the 359 price. However when I got there and purchased it, the set rang up as 299, and this is after I spoke to several people over the phone and in the store who swore it was 3whatever.

SoRetarded

The problem people are running into with the Akai price differences is that they are not checking the model numbers. There are (at least?) two models of this 27" Akai both of which are selling at Sam's Club. The CFT2790 is available through the Sam's Club website and it is selling at $299.56. The CFT2791 is the model that most physical stores have in stock, and it is selling at ~$350 though some stores do still have the CFT2970 in limited stock. Essentially they are the same TV, but just different model years. The Samsung equivalents of this TV line are the TXL2790 (last year's model) and the TXL2791 which is the current model.

If you are interested in the Akai, expect to pay the $350 price. You can go to various physical Sam's Club stores and check for the CFT2790 but there is no guarantee that they will have it. You could try calling around, but that is relying on the person on the other end of the line to be helpfull. The TV is well worth the $350 price (as I can say from experience), though out of the box it does look pretty crappy. Mine had a lot of little minor geometry problems which made it look pretty terrible, but after going into the service menu and fixing it, it looks gorgeous. I would post my color settings, but I don't know how much it would help you Joel. The settings are going to be (at least slightly) different from box to box and based on personal preferences. If you have any THX certified DVD's (such as T2 Special Edition) there are test bands and calibration images you can use to set up your TV. Oh yeah, the Akai also has PIP if you are interested in that feature. It's just disabled by default, but you can turn it on via the service menu.

To enter the service menu on the Akai (and all Samsungs), use the following code from the remote:
1. Power off
2. Mute - 1 - 8 - 2
3. Power on
Remember, you can mess up your TV pretty bad by altering some of the settings in the service menu. Anything you do there is at your own risk, and you may want to write down your settings before you starting changing things. If you don't feel comfortable accepting the risks and consequences of permanently damaging your TV, then don't mess with the service menu.

mmguen

So- if my Sam's Club has the 2971, it should cost me $359 and if they have the 2970 it should ring up at $299?

wank- was yours a 2970?

wank

Mine was the 2970, good luck finding the 2971 though, I didn't run into it anywhere. Also note Sams club is going to stop carrying this item now (according to several sales reps I talked to). So once the stores in your area run out of their current stock, there will be no more. If you are interested check it out pretty soon, I had to try a few stores before I found one in my area with it in stock. Oh and to SoRetarded what service menu settings are worth altering? I've no clue what I'm doing and don't want to pounce around with the wrong stuff and break the set.

nekobus

On the Akai set at my local Sam's Club, the picture in the 16x9 mode is bowed in at both the top and the bottom.

Did anyone have this problem with their set out of the box and how did you fix it?

I also looked at the Samsung 27" flatscreen at my local BB and it had the same problem.

wank

really, bowed? Haven't seen that problem in my set at all so far, right out of the box or after minimal tweaking.

Flynn

nekobus and wank,

if you were to do tweaking - mine has this problem as well - how would you go about that?