Best $500 set?? (1 Viewer)

[Nick-G]

So I had some friends over for a Halloween movie viewing and realized that now that I don't live in a dorm I should probably get a larger TV. My 20" Sony Trinitron has served me well but I think I may like to upgrade to something around 27"-30". What are some decent sets that are around this size for about $500? I looked at the last thread about this and people got a little off topic discussing the pros and cons Sony, so I thought I should try and ask again!

I definately favor picture quality over size, and would like something that will last for a few years. I see that Best Buy has a 27" Sony Wega (27FS100) and a 27" Toshiba (27AF43) and Panasonic (27SL13) for around that price. I'd really like the Zenith C27V36 but its a little out of my range right now...anyone think there's a chance the price will come down in the next couple of months?

Thanks!
-Nick

 

[Nick-G]

What does anyone think about the Zenith C27V22??

 

[Mando-R]

Circuit City offers the CV27V22 for 500 bucks. I would go with that. HDTV will always pose better picture quality than analog and that set has 1080i, so you can use 480p and possibly other inputs. It doesn't have a DVI input but for 500 bucks you get a 27" tv with HDTV.

 

[Nick-G]

Any chance it will fall back to $450 any time soon?? I am really leaning towards this set....

 

[Mando-R]

I highly doubt it, unless it goes out of program and they try to get rid of it, but that won't be for a while. For me, an employee, the price is 499, so I highly doubt they'll sell it for less than what it costs them.

 

[Stephen_Ri]

I took a C27V22 home today, got it from circuitcity.com they've got it for $499 plus $50 off TV's $399+, so I got it for $450. Even free shipping if you live within 50 miles, I did not. I ordered on Saturday, this week the $50 off may be done, but you do get a $50 gift card, useful if you need to upgrade your cables or something. So far the image is good, not faded as it looks in the store. I'm leaving it on for a while before doing a calibration, but so far I'm happy with what I see; no obvious problems with this set as there were with the Samsungs. One thing I noticed is the 16:9 mode for anamorphic DVDs squishes the picture a bit too much; this is a minor concern and I'm sure can be adjusted in the service menu. No DVI, but really, who cares? When you think about it, the 27" sets don't really show HDTV at anywhere near it's fullest and DVI will give little or no increase in quality, since these area CRT displays anyway. Besides, the C27V22 has VGA, a great option for HTPC and Dreamcast users. Doesn't cost a fortune for a cable either. Right now I'm using a 480i DVD player via component and the picture line-doubled pretty well. DSS satelite looks OK through composite, better through s-video. I don't foresee the C27V36 dropping much in price any time soon, so at this point I highly recommend the C27V22. If you've got any questions at all about this set, post and I'll be happy to answer if I can. The only real online review I could find regards this set's big brother http://www.hometheatermag.com/direct...48/index4.html The actual C27V22 is in the printed issue, but this should give you an idea.

 

[Nick-G]

thanks for the great info!! my only real question now is if a $500 27" HDTV set (i.e. - low end) is the better than a $500 27" non-HDTV set (mid to high end for that size)...

 

[Nick-G]

Doh!! Circuit City won't deliver to me....I guess I just assumed it was nationwide delivery. Well, I guess I'll have to find another option....

 

[Stephen_Ri]

Yes,there is no competition for watching DVD's. On regualar TV, an analog TV might be preferrable to many. To me it really makes no difference. This set will bring out the artifacts on a cable or satellite signal, but it won't look bad if you had a good signal. Watching tv today, dishnetwork, I noticed the image was of course fuzzy, but compression noise, etc. wasn't bad. Overall I prefer tv on this set over an analog set. But for watching a good source like DVD or games, the Zenith beats a standard set, even a Wega, easily. I've had a couple flat screen analogs, and I think I can say this with surety. Sony makes a great set, the best analog flat, but it just can't compete with the extra resolution and progressive scan. I considered a Wega myself, since they can now be had for $400, but this is a great deal. I wouldn't say its really a low end set either;to my knowldge only Samsung, Zenith and Advent make 27" HD's, and I think Zenith is either better than Samsung or equal, while both are better than Advent. It's MSRP was $1200 and the lowest any of the online dealers have it for is $650. The model replaceing it in the same bracket has DVI and the Farjouda chip, not cheap features. I believe the only reason it's so affordable is the fact that it's over a year old. I know I sound like a salesman, but I really do think you'd be happy picking one of these up at CC while they last. If it's not too far a drive, that is. Besides, if you get one and decide you prefer analog, return the it and save yourself a few dollars. BTW, the way their online store works is you buy it online for that price and it'll list the local stores where you can pick it up.

 

[Nick-G]

OK you've convinced me to stick with a HDTV, but since there are no Circuit City stores in all of Iowa, I think I am going to wait to see if the price on the zenith C27V36 at best buy will come down in the next couple of months. pac-2000.com has it available for about $500 but 1) I've never heard anything about them, and 2) they don't have free shipping. If it ever gets near $500 at best buy I'm definately picking it up.

 

[Dan B]

Well FWIW, we bought a Toshiba 32AF43 at Best Buy a couple months ago for just over $500 & we are VERY pleased with the picture quality on all sources. DVD looks great with the 16x9 anamorphic mode & DirecTV looks the best I've ever seen it. Side by side with my Toshiba 42H83 (which cost $1200), the 42H83 looks slightly better with DVD, but satellite and Xbox games look better on the 32AF43.