Sony Bravia KDL-26S2000 26-Inch Flat Panel LCD HDTV
Great All Around Flat Panel TV
First, regarding the reviewer who is complaining that his TV was made in Mexico. Actually, this is false, they are just assembled in Mexico. The actual LCD is made in a factory jointly owned by Samsung and Sony. I believe the idea that Mexican labor is inferior is a position founded more in racial prejudice than anything else. This isn't Sony Mexico, its just a Sony factory using Mexican labor. Get used to it, Japan and the US arn't assembling electronics anymore---but the engineering is still top notch Sony---and its the engineering that you buy a Sony for.    Also, this TV functions properly as a widescreen LCD computer monitor. Before, when I had the el cheapo Polaroid TV, it didn't send the resolution information properly to my IBM ThinkPad. As a result, my computer refused to output a widescreen signal. With this TV, it works great.    This TV features a digital diagnostic screen that displays a ton of information about the station. It shows signal to noise ratio, frequency, and a bunch of other technical details you might need to adjust your antenna. Also, I picked up 21 digital stations with this TV, while the Polaroid found only 17. I also didn't have any problems with multipath.    This is one of the few HDTVs that includes both a broadcast ATSC tuner and a cable QAM tuner (without decryption from the Cable Card for HBO). The Samsung only has an ATSC tuner. Also, unlike the Samsung, it can recive complete program information and program guide information from digital stations.     In comparison to the Samsung, colors are far more natural. Faces and outdoor scenes look as they should. Samsung's DNe processor makes colors look like a cartoon in a side-by-side comparison. However, I realize the casual buyer is just interested in flashy, showy, exaggerated colors.  Also, if you like to tweak color options, the Sony has a lot more than the Samsung.  Black levels are very good. The light sensitive backlight option dims the backlight automatically in dim light. Itseems to work pretty well and keeps the black nice and black.    Sound quality is pretty good, but who is going to spend over a grand on a TV just to use the internal speakers?? I'm sure anybody buying this TV has a stereo or surround sound system. Actually, the simulated surround sound option sounds pretty awesome.    The remote is also very simple, but actually, I really like it that way. I find that menu navigation is a snap. The only thing lacking is an input switch button. Switching inputs is a bit of a pain.    Things I don't like about the Sony: Two HDMI inputs would be nice. There isn't any Picture-In-Picture, but in my experience, this is more of a gimmick. One exception, however, would be if you wanted to play a video game and watch a TV program in the corner. Finally, it only has one RF input, so if you want to have cable and broadcast hooked up at the same time, you need to buy an external RF switch, as is described in Sony's manual. That brings the price up $25.    Most importaintly, motion blur seems to be a problem with this screen. Amazon's description essentially implies there is none. However, motion blur is quite noticable with rapid motion in video games or even HDTV programs. In fact, it seems worse than I remember with my el cheapo Polaroid HDTV.    Summary: It isn't cheap, but is the best general purpose television I've seen. If you are mainly interested in games, the cheaper Samsung might be the way to go, however.    One last thing, when I received mine from Amazon, it had a stuck red pixel in the very center of the screen. Customer service was very friendly, however, and took care of the problem quickly.