Sony KD-36XS955 36-Inch FD Trinitron WEGA Hi-Scan TV with Integrated HDTV Tuner
Excelent performance at a reasonable price
Contrary to popular opinion, you don't have to buy an expensive plasma or LCD (liquid crystal display) TV to get a great high-definition picure. In fact, many experts (including Consumer Reports) assert that high-definition TVs using traditional cathode-ray tube technology -- as this high-definition Sony does -- currently offer a sharper picture than plasma and LCD TVs and also are lower priced and more reliable. This Sony HD TV has an excellent picture with standard broadcasts and a superb picture with HD broadcasts. <br /> <br />Yes, this model, despite being a high-definition TV, has the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio rather than a widescreen 16:9 ratio. But my cable system currently broadcasts 175 channels in the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio and only 12 widescreen channels. How many widescreen channels do you currently receive? Widescreen 16:9 TVs have smaller pictures with gray bars on the side when displaying traditional 4:3 channels, unless they distort the picture shape -- artificially widening everything including faces. Would you want to watch the many 4:3 broadcasts this way? I wouldn't. But you don't have to with this 4:3 TV. On the other hand, because the screen on this TV is so large, when widescreen pictures are played on this set, although there will be letter-boxing bars above and below the widescreen picture, the picture will be the same size as on a 34\\" 16:9 TV within a fraction of an inch. Thus, compared to a 34\\" 16:9 set, this TV will give you bigger undistorted pictures from conventional 4:3 channels and virtually the same size pictures when watching 16:9 channels or widescreen DVDs. <br /> <br />Widescreen high-definition broadcasts and widescreen high-definition TVs eventually will be the norm, at which time the prices of such sets will be significantly lower than they are now. But, with the current situation where most channels still display traditional 4:3 pictures and only a few are in widescreen and high definition, a large screen 4:3 HD TV, such as this 36\\" Sony, is a good economical choice for many people at this time.