Philips Magnavox TP2785C 27" TV
Good, but needs improvement (especially in quality)
OK, bought this model to replace a Zenith that recently died (ll years old)<br />The picture is AMAZING, but . . . the first one we got had a crooked picture.  That is, the picture was off the left side of the screen, and the right side of the picture was higher (by about an inch) than the left side.  Consequently, if you were watching something with text, some of the text would be cut off in certain areas of the picture.  We exchanged it and the second one had the same problem.  (right side of picture higher than left side of picture)  But this one wasn't as bad, and didn't cut off any text, so we decided we could live with it.<br />Other than that, it's by far the best picture I've seen on any TV.<br />One thing that's kind of annoying is that the universal remote doesn't seem to work with anything but this one particular TV.  It will not control either of our VCRs (one is 4 years old, the other is about six months old, both major brands).  Most troubling is that the Philips remote will not control a *current model Philips DVD player* (DVD 711), even though a specific code for controlling Phillips DVD players is listed in the owners manual for the TP2785C.  So I guess it's not surprising that it won't control JVC or Sony VCRs, if it can't even control equipment made by the same company!<br />Another nasty surpise is that it does not have variable audio outputs, even though the owner's manual clearly suggests that it does.  That is, according to the owner's manual, you can control the volume level of the audio output jacks with the TV remote control.  They even have a pretty picture demonstrating how to do this.  According to philips, it is a &quot;typo&quot;.  (some typo!)<br />A real contrast control would be a nice touch.  Their idea of contrast control is &quot;on or off&quot;, not variable.  So you either like the contrast that they choose for you, or you learn to live with it.  Luckily, they didn't do too bad in adjusting the contrast at the factory.<br />Before someone gets the wrong idea, I'm pretty happy with this TV.  The picture quality alone is worth every penny I paid for it.  Hook it up to a DVD player through the S-Video input.  Properly adjusted, the picture is simply awesome.<br />If you buy one though, check the picture CAREFULLY to make sure you didn't get a crooked one.  Apparently, quality control at Philips could use some improvement.