Sony Bravia KDL-26S2000 26-Inch Flat Panel LCD HDTV
BRAVIA = BRAVO!!!
There's an intimidating amount of HTDVs out there, so hopefully this review will help you narrow your choice down. I'll list the pros first, then the cons, but first I want to comment that if you live in an apartment like I do, a 26\\" is really the way to go. It's probably an upgrade from what you currently have and it's not too big that you have to rearrange your living room to accomodate your new TV.  <br />Also, I'd like to note that as I don't have Cable TV, I was unable to critique that feature in regards to picture quality. <br /> <br />PROS:  <br /> <br />Great (not excellent) DVD picture quality.  <br />Every Polaroid TV I've seen has jaw-dropping picture quality. But although Polaroid is Brand-Name familiarity, I wouldn't associate them in any way with \\"quality TVs\\" (TVs that would last a long time and offer the features people want).  <br /> <br />For me, the BEST feature on the Sony Bravia is the fact that you can use it as a computer monitor!!! Can I get a \\"Hell Yeah!!!\\" Nothing is cooler than having a 26\\" desktop in the comfort of your living room.  <br />The picture quality is excellent even when I played several levels of Quake 4. There was no ghosting or other glitches, everything ran just as well as it would have on my old 20\\" monitor. <br />This TV comes with the cables you need to hook your desktop or laptop up to it--all you need to do is change a few settings in the Control Panel under Display. <br /> <br />The TV Remote comes with batteries (2 x AA), the buttons are big, easy to see and the overall layout of the remote is rather simple compared to other remotes I've seen. <br /> <br />The Menu screen is easy to access and it's quite easy to change settings. There are several different variations to the Full Screen and Widescreen formats, depending on how you want it. <br /> <br />Another huge advantage to this TV is the fact that you have TONS of inputs. There are 3 red/white/yellow inputs! That means you can hook up your DVD, PS2, and XBOX360 at the same time! There are a total of 7 video inputs and there is a nice feature on the menu where you can label which input goes to what. <br /> <br />And finally, as you can imagine from a flat-screen TV that's only as wide as your fist, it's really light (35 lbs ?) and the non-bulky box has handles to make carrying it easier. Easily a One-Man Lift, even if you have to go up a few flights of stairs. <br /> <br />CONS: <br /> <br />I was a bit disappointed when I turned my Playstation 2 on. I was expecting to see the same level of sharpness on the game as on my DVDs or when I used it as a PC Monitor. In the Full Screen mode (20\\" viewing window) the picture didn't look any better or worse than my old 20\\" Sony Trinitron TV. But as soon as I went to Wide Screen (26\\"), the image stretched which of course made the image less sharp. Still playable, definitely, but when you see blurry pixels around text you feel like you wish you could crank the Sharpness up even more. <br /> <br />The sound is okay. But as other reviewers online have stated: \\"If you have the money to buy a new HDTV, you probably already have a nice stereo system\\".  <br /> <br />Because there are 7 video inputs, you sometimes have to press the TV/Video button 7 or 8 times to get to the input you need. It would have been nice if the TV could automatically detect which input it has to switch to.  <br /> <br />OVERALL:  <br /> <br />In a nutshell, if you're looking for a Brand-Name High Quality HDTV that can double as a PC monitor, then this is clearly one of the contenders in your search.  <br />If you're looking for the sharpest, clearest picture for DVDs the Polaroid TVs look wonderful (but how reliable are they ???).  <br />If you're looking for a Game Console HDTV, every video game store I've been into has the Samsung models and the picture on those is extremely sharp and crisp (but again, how reliable is the whole TV ?).