Philips 30PW850H 30" Widescreen HDTV-Ready TV
It's a steal at $599 ..... !
<br />Positives: <br /> <br />Bought this HDTV Monitor at Costco last week..for a steal $599 after a $100 coupon.  <br /> <br />I have been researching lots of HDTV's for some time now, and i havent seen any in this price range .. closest competitor is ranged around $800-$900 range. So i used that extra money to get a Progressive scan DVD+VCR combo from costco ($99.. another steal at that price..after a coupon this week.).. nice component cables (will need those to see best quality video).. And a stand..around $150 .. Surely Need that stand as this TV weighs a ton (125 lbs.).. Dont use wooden tv stands...coz u never know. <br /> <br />Works OK out of the box.. hooking up to regular cable.. You can improve video quality by selecting the \\"weak-signal\\" video option .. (one of the nice features in new TV's). <br /> <br />Digital cable looks much better..and HDTV Digital cable looks fantastic.. just like you see in showrooms. Has option to select 4:3, 14:9 , 16:9 , subtitle Zoom & wide screen ..for video. Audio is nice.. with auto vol. level.. for those loud Ads. in TV.  <br /> <br />Negatives: <br /> <br />Manual is OK.. could be better... Remote says it is universal.. but not true.. only few models of dvd,vcr, cable box work with that remote.. Also keys are not positioned ideally for a Uni remote..  <br /> <br />Its a 30\\" wide screen.. so it looks as big as a 27\\" regular unit only.. just a bit wider .. for someone who are comparing the units side by side. (So it will look smaller compared to a reg. 30\\" flat tv) <br /> <br />Remember..Its an HDTV monitor..! and not an hdtv tv .which means you will need extra equipment if you plan to use it with outdoor hdtv antenna. Most of the new cable & satellite tv provide HDTV cable boxes.. which dosent need any new equipments.. except some cables..!  <br /> <br />It does not have any DVI inputs or any HD15 /VGA (Computer) inputs ..like some newer TV's.. but this should not cause problems to regular use. And most od the regular inputs (component, composite & S-Video ) are on the back of the unit , only one at the side.. causing some inconvinence to hook up Gaming units.. <br /> <br />I havent heard any Humming or noise in speakers so far.. or any problems with colors (white looking like yellow tint).. Though, the tuning menu for picture & sound blocks the TV view if you are changing it while watching some live games.. Not like other units with the settings on the bottom of the screen, so as not to block the view.. <br /> <br />Weighing in all these Pro & Cons ... i feel its a great buy at this time.