Sony KV-27HS420 27-Inch FD Trinitron WEGA HD-Ready CRT TV
Excellent in Nearly Every Way
After several months of investigation, I purchased the Sony KV-27HS420.  My options in high definition TV sets were extremely limited because of the size of my cabinet.  The final choice came down to this 27\\" Sony and a 32\\" wide screen Panasonic LCD TV.  The Panasonic offered a 4:3 (standard size) picture about the same size that the Sony produced, but the Panasonic LCD produced a much larger wide screen image.  Nevertheless, I opted for the Sony for several reasons: It was about one-third the cost of the LCD and employed a cathode ray tube, a mature technology that has been around since the advent of TV.  LCD, on the other hand, appears to be a technology that is still evolving.  From what I had observed, both have outstanding high definition video quality, but CRT sets seemed to deal better with standard definition images.  In addition, the size (depth) of the CRT TV did not present a problem for me, since my cabinet is very deep. <br /> <br />It is important to note that a typical wide screen image on this 27\\" Sony measures only about 24\\" on the diagonal and that there is quite a difference in size between this and the size of a wide screen image on a 32\\" LCD TV.  I certainly would have preferred a larger screen, but my family sits no more than 8 to 10 feet from the TV and given the excellent high definition video quality produced by the Sony, we are able to deal with the smaller screen without much difficulty. <br /> <br />Putting aside the problem that this is not a big screen TV, the Sony excels in nearly every department.  The audio is acceptable, but audio is really not an issue for me since I have a home theater system, which I usually use when watching the TV. <br /> <br />The first week I owned the Sony, I used a standard definition satellite receiver (a DISH 501 DVR.)  The video quality with the digital feed from the satellite receiver, using an S video connection, was very good.  Similarly, the video quality using a roof-top antenna connected to the co-ax input was also very good.  Also, a DVD player connected with both an S video cable and component cables using progressive scan both produced excellent picture quality.  I observed only a very slight improvement with progressive scan. <br /> <br />After the first week, I switched my service from standard definition satellite to high definition cable, which I have now had for about three weeks.  With high definition cable, there was a dramatic improvement in picture quality with programs broadcast in high definition.  The high definition picture quality is outstanding and the standard definition picture quality is very good.  The cable receiver is connected to the TV with both component cables and a three foot DVI to HDMI cable.  Video quality is only slightly better using the DVI-HDMI cable, and certainly not worth the $80-90 my local electronics store wanted for this cable in a six foot length.  Fortunately, I purchased my three foot cable on line from monoprice.com for less than $10.  It works quite well. <br /> <br />In summary, this is an excellent TV.  I recommend it to anyone who can deal with the relatively small screen.