Phillips 34PW862H vs Sony KV34HS420 (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Beckmen]

My local HT store has only these two models when it comes to 34" 16X9 CRT HDTVs. I am pretty sure I am going to get one. It will be used for mainly DVDs, analogue cable, occasional video gaming and maybe in the future HD. The price is the same. Which is better?

 

[Gregg Loewen]

Hands down, the Sony.

More user level adjustments, more service mode adjustments. Ability to correct color decoder, tighten up geometry, calibrate per scan rate and input, etc etc etc.

Happy viewing!!

Gregg

 

[John S]

yep, only the Philips if price is a major concern, and it is like 1/2 of the Sony.

That Sony is still considered a reference display, I mean you can't do much better than that period.

 

[Andrew Beckmen]

OK, I'll probasbly be getting it within 2 weeks...

Thanks.

 

[Andrew Beckmen]

A little update/rant on my TV...

Why can't these companies make newer TVs more like monitors, where you can adjust the screen size yourself? I have noticed what I would consider too much cropping on my Sony KV34HS420, though Avia only reads the overscan at around 5%. Still, when you use a DVD player that can zoom at 1/2 or whatever, you see more than a little bit of the image is in that 5% area. Is it too much to ask to see the whole picture when I pay 1500 bucks for my display?

I am also angry that my set wasn't calibrated properly, and I didn't want to go through the hassle of having a service center rob me of my brand-new tv for a week or more. So I have adjusted to blurry edges and bendy geography. Again, for 1500 bucks I think I deserve better!

Then I get this news that the model I bought has a tendacy to die quickly, so every time I turn on my TV I think "Is this it?".

I am using a Panasonic S-77 Upscaling player with HDMI for watching DVDs. It's pretty good, but what I think is called macroblocking can be annoying, and becuase of Sony's stupid Full-lock on HD sources I can onlwatch Widescreen Anamorphic DVDs.

I am still kicking myself for not getting the extra year parts/labor warrenty for 10 bucks. I simply forgot to go to the store and buy it (noticed it only AFTER I had bought the set, but found out I could still get it within 30 days of purchase).