Philips 27PT643R 27" Real Flat Stereo TV
4 stars for TV... 5 stars for price
Color, sound and picture on this television are very good. I am in the process of joining the 21st century so I made up my mind to buy a TV that looks like it was made after 1987 and a surround sound home theatre system. This Philips was the first purchase. I am very cost conscious when it comes to audio visual items and the price was very competitive. <br />I am very pleased with the three video inputs (in addition to regular cable coax input). They are easy to access and clearly labeled for very quick setup. In particular the presence of both S-video and component video (note both are on same video input) was a key feature. The component video coming in from a DVD player is quite good.<br />Picture is very clear. It can be dark for some of the preset modes but at least two &quot;sports&quot; and &quot;multimedia&quot; are amply bright and of course you can personalize the settings. I find the &quot;theatre&quot; setting in a dark room does give a movie theatre feel. Plenty large screen for a small room, particularly with the flat screen.<br />Remote control is easy to use but is limited as a &quot;universal remote&quot;. It works with my VCR and my DVD player (power on/off play,forward,reverse etc.) but can't access any of the advanced features (for example direct access of menus on the DVD) so you won't be using this remote to toss out any of your others. It does good channel management. Several quick pick buttons that can have several channels associated with each.<br />The TV has no clock. Not something I looked for but since I have now switched from the VCR to the TV as the primary tuner (I used my old TV only from VCR, DVD played through VCR as well) its something I miss.<br />The TV is bigger than it looks. The flat screen and side speakers make it very wide at the front and requires a little more room left to right than other 27&quot; televisions.<br />My favorite feature is the sound. As I said in the beginning I had planned to buy a surround sound systembut I am going to wait for a bit and enjoy the excellent stereo in this TV. Unlike other stereo TV's I've owned or listened to the left/right separation is clear. Bass response is very good. Sound too can be customized. <br />In summary you get an awful lot for the money. The Philips RealFlat  is priced at a level you still see other brands regular tube 27&quot; units.