I was planing on getting a new 27" TV.

Which one should I get.

Samsung 27" DynaFlat HDTV Monitor — TSL2793HF
http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=...cat=24&scat=27

or

Sony Sony KV-27FV17

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...fo&i=15827FV17

They both are about the same price.

How good is the Samsung? Is that a good brand?

There is no real comparison here-the Samsung is a HDTV monitor and the Sony is a regular interlaced set. Get the Samsung. They have a good reputation for quality (both build and picture) on the various HT forums.

That Samsung is the older model and has been replaced with a new one at the same price:

http://www.onecall.com/PID_15807.htm

I just got the Samsung last night and it looks incredible (especially with the HDTV adapter for my XBOX). You won't be disappointed!

save your money and get a 32 or 36inch wega. 27 inch seem big
enough until you watch a dvd on it. youll be glad you did get a bigger tv. sony makes a good tv.

The problem is that when you have enough to get a 32" wega (around $899) you also have enough to get a 32" 4:3 or a 30" 16:9 Samsung HD set .

Sony

where do you get a 32 inch wega for 899. if its online, shipping will cost at least 100 bucks. them things are 100 pounds at least.

Here's a 32" wega at Best Buy for $899. If you're talking about a 32" HD Sony set then they're a lot more - $1499 in BB/CC and a little cheaper online. For $899 or $999 you can get the Samsung HD sets, for around $1499 you can get a 42" or 47" rear projection HD set.

now the question is which of those two is the better set?

i got another question. is it worth it to go from a 27 inch wega to a 32 inch. or should i save the money and get a 36 inch.

That's the tough one.... I started out looking for a 4:3 set but eventually ended up going with 16:9. If I had stayed in that size (32/30") I would have gone with the 4:3. The 4:3 set gains a lot with 4:3 material and doesn't lose much (I think it's 4%) screen size with anamorphically squeezed DVDs. Other than the shape of the screen I'm pretty sure that they're the same basic TV.


I'd say go from the 27" Wega to the 32" Samsung HD ready, the size jump is not huge (although it's big enough) but the quality difference is incredible.

Even though I deperately want a 16x9 set, I agree that the small gain in picture size for dvd viewing is not worth the trade off in 4:3 size. Do you know how much bigger the 4:3 picture is on a 32" set versus the 30" widescreen? How does the size of a 4:3 on a 30" widescreen compare with that of a 27" 4:3 set? Also, how do you like the samsung?

Check this site for the differences in TV dimensions. The 4:3 set is 70.6% bigger for 4:3 material, the 16:9 in 4:3 mode is the equivalent to a 24.5 inch set. I actually don't have the Samsung anymore, it was a great TV but I ended up with a 47" Panasonic rptv instead. I honestly like the Samsungs better than the wega line - the picture seems better (after calibration with VE or Avia, out of the box it looks pretty bad), the sound (if you use it) is better, the warranty is better and they seem to have a lot less problems then the Sony.

Basically, the only reason I don't have the Samsung anymore is poor customer service at Sears. I had a geometry problem (that I could have probably fixed on my own but I figured I had the warranty so they should) and when I called to find out what could be done the sales guy I talked to was really, really rude. I ended up not wanting to give that particular store my business and decided to go elsewhere (which gave me time to convince my girlfriend that the rptv was the way to go ).

How about the 27" Sony WEGA KV-27FS100? Seems to have similar features to the above Sony (I believe the FV17 was replaced by the FV300). In my neck of the woods the FS100 is selling for around $450. The FV300 runs about $200 more...

Link to Sony KV-27FS100

Bestbuy is selling the Samsung 30" widescreen HDTV for $1100.

If you go to Bestbuy.com and put the 30" or 32" HDTVs in your cart they show up as $999 (or at least they do for me).

Question-If I get the Samsung HDTV, the 27" one, can I benefit from HD games on the Xbox without an HD decoder box? Also, will I get any use out of progressive scan?

For the Xbox you need to buy the HD kit ($20) and for progressive scan you need a progressive scan dvd player (or you can just watch DVDs with the internal line doubler, it looks good on DVD but not as good for the Xbox).

Have the HD kit, got it for $9 at Target. So, I was going to buy a PS dvd player anyway. I just need to hook it up with component and I am all set?

Yeah, just plug in the component cables, change the settings on the Xbox and DVD player and you're all set.

the problem with the Samsung set is AWFUL ghosting on the left and right side of the image- and the company will swear to it not being a defect (most apparent on black backgrounds/etc)

I returned it and got a Toshiba Theaterwide 34" and dont have that issue and am much happier...lots more options too, including picture by picture Believe me, it may be like $700 more but its worth saving for, and with the new model coming to the market soon you can probably catch a clearance deal at your local Best Buy!

I never saw that on the set that I had, maybe you just got a bad one (or two)?

Yep, I don't see that on my set either.

Mine looks fabulous and I haven't seen any problems like that. I wish I could have gotten a bigger set ("32 Wega) but I couldn't afford it plus I preferred to have the HD resolution over the size increase.