Able to buy a new 27” T.V. from Circuit City only, advice needed on purchase, details (1 Viewer)

[Matt_Smi]

Ok here is the deal, I recently had a problem with my 27” Sony WEGA (model KV27FV16) see this thread for details (http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=193387) Anyway since I had a 3 year service plan on it, Circuit City is giving me a full refund for the T.V. ($800) plus what I paid for the service plan ($90). So I basically will have $890 of store credit there. But that does not mean I want to spend that all on a T.V., I would rather spend around $500 for the T.V. and then have $400 left over to spend on whatever else there. The T.V. must also be a 27” as that is the biggest my T.V. stand can accommodate and is the perfect size for my room.

So recently I have been looking at all the 27” TVs that they sell. And I have narrowed it down the three that I feel are the best 27” sets that CC sells. The link to the comparison page for them is at the bottom. I also looked at the Panasonic TAU (model CT27SL14) but it only has one component input (need one for my PS2 and one for my DVD player) and it does not have a 16:9 enhanced mode. So I ruled that set out. I also looked at another Samsung (model TXN2745FP) which seems to be a mix between a HDTV and an analog T.V. But I figure if I am going to get that I might as well spend the extra $150 and go for the all out HDTV model. And I have heard that that model makes popping noises and sometimes smells of burnt plastic, no thanks.

Now out of the TV’s in the link I am partial to the Sony because if I go with another brand I know I will miss all of the little features that my current Sony has, not to mention I will need to reprogram all of my Marcos on my Sony touch screen remote. The Sony has the highest rated picture out of any other 27" T.V. on CC website at a 4.9 out of 5 (based on 69 ratings). And it is also rated the highest overall (4.7) out of all the 27" TVs. Also many of the reviews on CC.com state that the Sony has a better picture than the Samsung and Zenith when they are not running an HDTV program. And that’s the thing if I buy one of these two HDTV sets I will not be using it to watch HDTV programs (not buying a tuner or paying the monthly fee). And I also do not have a progressive scan DVD player, so I would not be able to take advantage of that. I also do not care about having a HDTV for the future because I planned on making my next TV purchase in 2007, and getting a nice widescreen HDTV. So if I bought either of these two HDTV’s it will end up being upgraded anyway.

So basically it comes down to which TV will look the best when watching non HD programs, playing video games and watching DVD’s. I am really not a fan of Zenith TVs either and have heard that that this model I am looking at makes an annoying humming noise. I am also not sure about Samsung's quality either. The Samsung also does not have a PIP and is a little more than I want to spend. And I have also heard that both sets come with lower quality cheaper power supplys. Do the Zenith and Samsung have a 16:9 enhanced mode? I am just looking to get some input on which TV would be my best bet. Right now I am thinking of just going with the Sony. It is actually $500 (not $520) at my local CC and I would rather get a high end analog TV rather than a lower end HDTV. The Sony will be pretty much like what I have now and am used to, but with a better picture and a lot more features. And then in 2007 I will still upgrade to a higher end widescreen HDTV. I also checked out the Sony recently at my local CC and after I switched the picture form “vivid” to “pro” it looked really good! Esp. from a few feet away. I am sure with some tweaking and custom settings I could get it to look much better. I will be checking out the other sets this weekend as well.

Sorry about the long post and thanks for anyone who takes the time to read all of this! But as you can tell it is a big decision for me and I need to make it by this Saturday. No matter which T.V. I end up with I will be happy though. Because I will be making $300-400 out of the deal, and ending up with a better T.V that what I have!


http://www.circuitcity.com/compare.j...D_ZIP_75557%3d

 

[nolesrule]

Paragraph breaks are your friend.

 

[Matt_Smi]

Good suggestion! Makes it much easier to read!

 

[Mort Corey]

Twere me, I'd buy the Sony. I've had mixed results with Samsung electronics/displays and Zenith really isn't the same company it was a few years ago. You like the Sony, you're familiar with it's nuances.....and get another extended warranty so when it dies you can get a 16:9 widescreen HDTV next time around

Mort

 

[Matt_Smi]

Yeah I will be getting another 3 year service plan on whichever T.V. I buy. And whichever one I buy I will look over it completely to make sure there are no major flaws. And if there is I will return it for a new one, until I get one that I feel is exceptable. I think I am just going to go with the Sony though, I am not really a fan of Samsung or Zenith.

 

[DorianBryant]

I know Sony has a nice picture but i just bought the Toshiba 36a43 for 600. This is not a flat screen or HD but hooked up to a dish it has a fantastic picture.

I think Toshiba is very close to Sony in terms of picture quality but at a more affordable price. Sears and Best Buy carry this line.

 

[Matt_Smi]

I went to Circuit City again today to check out the TV’s. Honestly the Samsung and Zenith HDTV’s did not look that much better than the Sony. The picture was much softer and you could not see any scan lines but it was not THAT great. I would say that the Samsung looks better than the Zenith, but the Zenith may have had the settings messed with. But I have pretty much ruled the Zenith out. The Samsung TXN2745FP also looked pretty good. It looked HDTV like and had a soft picture which reduced scan lines, but unless you where up close you could not really tell the difference between it and the Sony. If you stepped back they both looked pretty good and it was hard to tell which one was better, but I think I preferred the Sony’s picture slightly as it was sharper and more detailed. And I dont really care about scan lines because they disappear when you watch a DVD in 16:9 mode on the Sony and I think the Samsung's lack this feature. Also the Samsung had a red discoloration in the upper left corner. One thing that I did not like was that the Zenith and Samsung HDTV’s where plugged into an HD tuner (I guess, since you had to be on component input 2 in order to watch tv) and you could only get one channel on them. So it was hard to compare different channels on them to the Sony. I am not sure if there where playing a HD program but if they where (should have asked someone, and will tommrow) than I am getting the Sony! The Sony looked nearly as good as the Zenith and Samsung and if they where playing an HD program than that’s saying a lot. Well tomorrow’s the day I make my final decision and I will post it here, but any last minute comments are welcome. And to DorianBryant, I would not mind getting a Toshiba T.V. at all, but CC does not sell them.

 

[Matt_Smi]

Well I got my refund on my old T.V. Today, $840 dollars (includes tax) and they are mailing me a check for the price of my service plan ($100). I did not buy a new T.V. though for a few reasons. One, I still have two weeks left of college and this T.V. is my home one, so I wont even need a T.V. until I get home in a few weeks. And secondly I talked to an employee there and he said he is pretty sure than in a week Sony is discontinuing the KV27FV310 and coming out with a new 27” HD model, and possibly a newer analog model to replace the KV27FV310. And it does make sense because Panasonic recently came out with a 27” HDTV for $550 (saw it there today) and Samsung and Zenith already have there’s out. So it makes sense that Sony would follow with a 27” HD WEGA and then drop the price on their analog WEGA’s. So I am just going to see and wait what happens in the next two weeks. And if Sony does come out with a new model I will probably just buy that. I would hate to buy the KV27FV310 now and then have a newer HD model come out for like $100 more, and have the new analog model come out for like $100 less.

But for the record while I was there I got the Samsung and Zenith to display a not high def signal today, I put all the TV’s on standard picture mode (to be fare) and compared them to the Sony directly. And honestly the picture on all of them is very close, but I don’t know what it is (maybe I am just used to Sony’s picture) but the Sony seemed to look the best to me. The picture was sharper and the colors looked better and less washed out. You cannot see the scan lines as well when up close to the Samsung or Zenith as you can on the Sony. But on both the Samsung and Zenith the picture looked too soft and almost fuzzy esp. on the edges of objects. And you could see almost noise in the picture of each (maybe it was just the connection). But this was not the case on the Sony, so as of now I would go with the KV27FV310, But I am going to wait a few weeks and see if Sony does indeed come out with a new HD and or analog model and buy one of them if they do. But if not I am going with the KV27FV310.