mtucker

For years I have been using a Magnavox 27" TV set which has been OK, but I've been living with several problems (volume fluctuates by itself, it has stopped receiving remote control signals, discoloration in the corners at times). I always thought a new, nice TV would be out of reach, and besides the wife would never approve buying something like a TV. Well, we were in Circuit City the other day when I saw the Sony Wega KV-27FS12 for $599. Expensive, but not as expensive as most. I mentioned it to my wife, when she replied "Why don't you get it?" She actually sounded pretty excited by the idea.

So, it looks like that is the TV we will get. Finally I can watch DVD's using component inputs, and I can hook up the Dreamcast right to the TV instead of passing it through the VCR. Exciting stuff I tell ya. I just had to share.

Scott

Good choice and good luck! I sure do like my 27" VVega.

BubbaX

If you haven't bought one yet, you may want to check Sears for price. They seem to be the only retailer that I have seen put them on sale on a regular basis. I got mine from Good Guys with a Sears price match. It was on sale plus an extra 10% for Sears card holders. I Think it came out to about $530 before tax. Had to get a Good Guys card though.

Something I figured out about the 16:9 feature that I did not see in the manual. You need to set your DVD player video ouput for a 16:9 TV. If you do not do this, it can distort the picture. If you have it setup correctly, an Anamorphic DVD should fill the screen (no black strips top or bottom) before you enable the 16:9 feature.

One other thing, you can use the SAT/CABLE button on the remote to control your DVD player. At least for a Toshiba. I used the VTR/DVD for my VCR.

Cartload

Anamorphic DVD will not fill the entire screen if you set the player to 16:9 mode. What it will do is "squeeze" the picture into the correct aspect ratio so you get every line of resolution in the picture. It basically compacts the resolution of the TV into a smaller area, resulting in superior picture. On 4:3 TVs without the 16:9 mode, what will happen is the DVD is set to 4:3 and it removes lines from the picture in order to display the picture in the right aspect ratio on the screen.

So you will still get black bars on the tops and bottom no matter what. However, with the squeeze mode, the picture quality will be MUCH better because of the said reasons.

There is no way for a widescreen movie to fill the entire screen of a 4:3 TV without making everything appear waaay too tall and thin.

Thunderball

What he was saying is, the until you turn on the 16x9 mode the picture will fill up the screen, and he's right, I have a 32" Wega.

Good chocie!

mtucker

Thanks for the congrats guys. I haven't got the TV yet (I'm waiting to pay off the bills from computer parts buying spree), but next month it is mine. What else was cool is that I was looking through the 800.com catalog and saw the Kenwood HTB-204 (or something) for $299. When I told the wife that she was like, "Let's get it." Wow, I really have the best wife, isn't that right honey?

Josh H

I have had the same TV since August and I love it. DVD's look phenomenal in the 16 x 9 enhanced mode. Dreamcast games look great as well.

Venus

I'm still waiting to get mine too. I was looking into getting the KV36FV16 which was $1499 at Circuit City. I'm now thinking that if I save a little more money I can get the KV36XBR400, which is HD compatible.

I love the WEGA's, but if I'm going to be spending $1500-$1800 on the WEGA, should I look into a lower end model HDTV instead. I'm sooo confused!!!

Cartload

Okay, despite all the bad grammar and spelling errors, I got what you were saying. My bad to BubbaX.

Thunderball

Thanks for pointing out my early morning spelling mistakes

Anyway, I hope you will love your Wega as much as I love mine! Just a word of warning about that Kenwood HTB...DON'T BUY IT!!!! Save another $200 up and get the HTB-503. Its a much better deal!