Toshiba 27AF43 27" TV with FST PURE Flat Screen
Best in its range...for me
I (like everyone) did a little study on flat 27&quot; televisions and found this to be the most desirable for several reasons: 1) consumer reports 2) appearence 3) value. I bought this set from bestbuy and returned it because of a flaw (bouncing/blooming with the news ticker), and decided on the Samsung 27&quot; flat...bad idea, that tv had terrible geometry, and while the picture was sharp, it was not vibrant. Sound was terrible, and I'm not talking for cinematic reasons, but it was very 'tinny' and hollow. Returned it the next day (they were all that way). A salesman told me Sony (fs100) comes back as much as any (and circuitcity.com has customer reveiws..complaints of cheap frames etc) The Panasonic reminded me of and ugly boombox. The Sharp is not sharp. So...I bit my lip and took the toshiba. <BR>1-Toshiba <BR>(PRO)-sharp compenent picture, analog/digital cable got very clear once cables and connections updated. Great appearance with smokey color that blends with any room. Great sound even without surround (checked both). <BR>(CON)- without the cleanest cable connection, the picture clarity fails and tends to bloom (pays to update old cables in the house). This model seems to struggle a little with speaker shielding (noticable on white screens, but not a huge issue)...for the price those are the only problems I've found after 6 months. I still feel I made the right purchase<br />***One interesting way to get and HD look (rather prog scan look) is the 16:9 compression. By itself will 'squish' the picture...BUT, if you have a DVD player that'll expand the picture/signal, the TV will still display the same resolution on the screen (just morphed taller)...at this point you can use the 16:9 and compress the image back to a natural state. This produces the sharpest image without being an HDTV. BTW this only works with widescreen formats (1.85:1 and 2.35:1) and standard 4:3 movies. You can probably try this with any DVD player that will expand (I have a pioneer that will and a Koss that won't) and a tv with 16:9 compression (virtually all flats have)<BR>** Also, rather that purchasing that extended warranty (you get a year manufact), check the manufacturer website to find an authorized dealer in your area that handles factory warranty repairs. If a tv lasts a year (I've had a few), it'll last well beyond the extended warranty. All this is good if you get a 27&quot; (average 80-90 lb), but maybe not with a 150lb 32&quot; or higher