Sony KV27FS12 27" Trinitron WEGA Stereo TV
State of the art for conventional tube TVs
Having lived with an aging 20&quot; TV for the past 10 years, I couldn't help but be impressed by newer technology and bigger screens.  But having spent hours comparing new sets at several different stores, I realized that Sony's flatscreen Wega line was impressive, even amongst its competitors' best efforts.  Not only does Sony's technology provide the best possible picture, but they've loaded this set with enough inputs, outputs and features to justify the slightly-higher Sony price tag.<br />The flat screen really does live up to the hype.  When combined with the 3-D digital comb filter, the picture rendering is truly superb.  Add to this both S-Video and composite inputs, and you have a chance to bring the best possible signal into the box.  The on-board audio is adequate, certainly useful for regular television viewing.  Sufficient outputs are available to connect a separate audio system.  Similarly, the multiple inputs allow you to connect several different devices (e.g., VCR, DVD, etc.) without having to chain them together serially. The 2-tuner picture-in-picture allows you to effortlessly surf either the main or embedded picture, and you can reverse them (or just switch the sound) at the touch of a button.<br />I've only found a few negatives to this set.  Although it will automatically scan for active channels and program itself, it doesn't seem to pick up the channel names - you have to program these manually.  This is surprising, considering Sony's VCRs are able to do this.  The other negative is the manual, which is cheaply produced and poorly written.  Again, surprising compared to other Sony manuals I've seen.<br />Overall this is a superb television set, with a terrific picture and feature set, offered at a reasonable price.  The 32&quot; and 36&quot; versions are perhaps even more spectacular, but their bulk (both physical size and weight) may make them impractical for many buyers.