Awesome picture quality. Can't wait to get a dvd player and see the almost 3-D picture everyone is talking about. The store I was in is having trouble selling their regular Sony's. You see the WEGA along side of the regular sets and none of them can come even close to the WEGA.

Extra heavy. The set is bigger all the way around than your average 27" set. I couldn't fit the set in the front way of my entertainment center. I did however manage to slide it in from the back. It was a bit back-braking but well worth it.

I would say to anyone to not hesitate in buying the 27" Sony WEGA. It is as close as you are going to get to HDTV without it actually being that.

Similar Products Used:

Zenith 27".

A STRENGTH IS THE PICTURE CLARITY. IT ALSO HAS GREAT SURROUND SOUND BUILT IN.

IT CAN GET REALLY LOUD AS YOU WATCH COMMERCIALS.

THIS IS A GREAT TV. IT EVEN HAS SURROUND SOUND BUILT INTO IT. YOU CAN PAY THOUSANDS TO HAVE ANOTHER FLAT TV, BUT MOST JUST DON'T COMPARE. YOU CAN SIT ANYWHERE IN THE ROOM AND SEE A GREAT DIGITAL PICTURE. IT IS THE BEST DOLLAR VALUE I HAVE EVER FOUND IN THE TELEVISION MARKET, AND I WILL NEVER GO BACK.

Overall picture quality is superb,Flat screen,Awesome color definiton even when compared to our non-wega (standard) 27" Sony model,Very clean & Bright picture,16:9 mode looks great when watching DVD's and even playing Dreamcast games (especialy the games that actualy support 16:9 mode)

Sound system is weak but I wasnt expecting much from it anyhow,the picture quality alone was worth it's purchase, Some *minor* geometry errors but nothing to really complain about..our standard 27" Sony model has even more geometry issues but still nothing severe,I see a lot of complaints about its weight in these reviews.. well yea its kinda heavy (103 lbs.) but just how many times do actualy plan on moving the set?

Overall im very happy with this set, I havent experianced any of the flaws mentioned other than some very minor geometry but this is one area I dont expect to be *perfect* with any tv (I havent had it calibrated yet either),DVD viewing alone made this tv worth owning and Video games look better than ever due to the super bright/clean/vivid color combo the picture delivers,Recommended.

Similar Products Used:

27" non-wega Trinitron

Overall picture quality is superb,Flat screen,Awesome color definiton even when compared to our non-wega (standard) 27" Sony model,Very clean & Bright picture,16:9 mode looks great when watching DVD's and even playing Dreamcast games (especialy the games that actualy support 16:9 mode)

Sound system is weak but I wasnt expecting much from it anyhow,the picture quality alone was worth it's purchase, Some *minor* geometry errors but nothing to really complain about..our standard 27" Sony model has even more geometry issues but still nothing severe,I see a lot of complaints about its weight in these reviews.. well yea its kinda heavy (103 lbs.) but just how many times do actualy plan on moving the set?

Overall im very happy with this set, I havent experianced any of the flaws mentioned other than some very minor geometry but this is one area I dont expect to be *perfect* with any tv (I havent had it calibrated yet either),DVD viewing alone made this tv worth owning and Video games look better than ever due to the super bright/clean/vivid color combo the picture delivers,Recommended.

Similar Products Used:

27" non-wega Trinitron

Incredible DVD playback picture—especially for a non-HDTV. Beautiful color depth and black value. Flat screen is addictive!! Makes a wonderful all-around TV, plus a great home theatre starter. Has component, S-video, RCA analog, and cable coax in connections, and Stereo out.

Simulated surround sounds a little “tinny” and built in speakers aren’t perfect—that’s worth reporting, but I don’t think that’s why anyone would buy it, anyway. You can’t go wrong with a WEGA, especially this model. The price is right, and the picture performance can’t be beat.

This TV was the first step to outfitting our apartment with a home theatre, so I wanted to make sure that I had the best monitor for the best price. The clarity and definition of the Sony FD Trinitron tube is better than any other on the market, and a simple in-store viewing should convince any that doubt.

For those who desire a flat tube but are concerned with the “cheap” sound of this model, the big brother WEGAs would be a better buy. However, if you are using this model primarily for watching movies—especially those on DVD—save yourself a few hundred and buy this model, then put the money you save into a home theatre receiver and some real speakers.

I know this system doesn’t allow it, but I would like to give this 5.5 stars for value. Even though the sticker is a little steep, watching Gladiator in 16:9 enhanced feels like viewing a miniature plasma display (weight differences not withstanding ;) ). You cannot get a better picture for this price range.

Similar Products Used:

RCA POS
Mitsubishi (1993)

same as the others: great picture quality, 16:9 mode, flat screen, lots of inputs

none really

first of all, Sears will match any online store's price - so just go to CNET or pricescan.com (which has a cool price history graph feature) and find the lowest of the low, you know, some place you'd NEVER actually order from. Print out the spec sheet w/price and show it to sale person at Sears. No arguments. I've used this for more than the TV.

The TV itself is wonderful, no serious complaints at all - it's made a huge improvement for our enjoyment of DVDs and cable. The only flaw I've found is that after 3 months I now notice a faint white outline on the silver plastic, about 1/2" away from the edge of the screen. I assume this is the edge of the actual screen which is hidden behind the plastic and it's one of those "burn-in" effects. Anyway, the picture is the same and it performs well.

Flat SCreen, 16 x 9 enhanced, real world color (see bottom)

weight, I would say sound but if you're buying a tv like this and not using a stereo your crazy...., price

While many people bash this tv's picture compared to the panasonic tau's, someone bellow said it best when this doesn't over emphasise color but gives you what it should really look like in the real world. Plus the fact that I think have the people that reviewed this tv didn't probably calabrate their tv with something like video essentials. One thing to remember when comparing TV's on stores is that one TV maybe be calabrated better than another so it's hard to acurately compare.

As for the tv itself it comes with all the inputs one needs though you might have to swith out but that is just minor. The same could be said about it being in silver and the top being slopped. Those were just minor things to me compared to things like the picture, screen, and 16 x 9 inhancement modes.

My only main gripe is that I think IMO tv's in general are over priced and this one is no exception though it's worth every penny I spent.

Similar Products Used:

32' sony trintron

16:9 mode, detailed picture, freindly remote and on screen menus

scan lines, geometry, small moviescreen, only 1 component input, weight of tv (100 lbs)

This is the Sony KV-27fs13 with a production date of June 2001. I paid $495 plus tax and also a 3 year warranty so the final cost was $600. I have read all the reviews and it came down to this model, the KV-27FS16 and the JVC AV-27F802.
I choose this model because, for $500 it is the best value of a high quality modern CRT available. I compared the KV-27FS16 and the AV-27F802 as the 2 top of the line flat screen CRT's. The JVC seems to have a more refined picture and less noticable scan lines, however it lacks the clarity of the Sony. For example, if you have the 2 showing simultaneously the same dvd, and freeze the screen when there is somebody's head and they have a strand of hair sticking out, the JVC will show the strand of hair but it is slighty blurred. With the Sony you can focus on how the light is reflecting off the strand of hair even. Perhaps this is why the scan lines are more detectable on the Sony, as someone said before it is just that much in focus.
The bottom line for me is the 16:9 mode. In 16:9, the horizontal resolution is condensed and therefore higher resolution, and the scan lines become indetectable. For that reason the Sony is better than the JVC when it comes to watching DVD's. My DVD player supports/can send 16:9 mode and therefore is a match made in heaven. Sometimes there is a show on TV where the people are skinny, a widescreen has been been horizontally stretched. With 16:9 mode you can fix this (note 16:9 will not do an RF signal, I use the S-video out of my digital cable box). Also in the future, you never know when they are going to start sending lots of tv signals in widescreen format, and having the 16:9 function could be the ace in the hole for that.
So watching DVD's the picture quality is great, however "widescreen" aka "true movie screen dimensions" are even flatter than 16:9. What this means is that about a third of the screen area shows nothing. So the distance where you normally watch tv from seems too far away when you play a widesceen dvd.
The pure flat crt is nice however there are geometry problems. Watching news tickers, there is a little bow in the bottom and top of the screen, a little stretching and condensing going on too. It is within my tolerance however. I have read the reviews and know what to expect. I am not about to haul this 100lb tv back to the store and get another and find out it is even worse, and go through ther whole ordeal again, etc. My life is not going to become a quest for the perfect CRT.
I have a dvd player with component outputs, and a digital cable box with S-video output. Therefore this TV has just enough inputs to handle what I have. One advantage of the JVC is that it has another component input, which may come in handy if my cable upgrades it's box or I get a playstation2 (but I won't).
One thing I would like to note, I have not seen any "pink bars" as some people have indicated. I have the Avia guide to home theater and had the screen on pure white, etc, have watched lots of tv and some dvd's, and have never been able to detect the slightest trace of this phenomenon. Maybe they fixed it in the latter models or something.
So in conclusion, I reccomend this TV if you need a new tv and have $500 to burn. Compared to my 10 year old 20 inch viewable RCA XL100, this new Sony made me giddy.

Similar Products Used:

10 year old RCA XL100

See my review below

See my review below

Addendum to my previous review. I found a page online that has plenty of info about the so called "service mode" codes for the Sony TVs:

http://members.accessus.net/~090/awh/sonyadj.html

There are more than 200 values that can be set independently in the service mode of this Wega TV in particular!!! Getting the service manual and a calibration DVD is recommended before tackling so many tuning options.
But watch out and heed the warnings in that webpage before attempting anything. It seems once you try that you have full control of the TV, but there may be warranty issues...

Colors, brightness, flat screen, component inputs

Why can't we have distortion-free flat TV's the same way we have almost distortion free flat CRT computer monitors?

This review goes for the KV27FS13. Have had mine for a week now, after the second day noticed what many people mention here (had not read these reviews before): the stretching and shrinking of news tickers. In my unit it happens only at the bottom/left corner of the screen though. Horizontal lines appear perfectly straight everywhere else, and I have detected only a mild vertical distortion (concavity) on the right border.

After reading these reviews and realizing the ubiquitousness of the distortion issue, I went back to Circuit City just to inspect in excrutiating detail all their Wega units on display. They have 27", 32" as well as 36" Wegas, and indeed all seem to have some degree of distortion in different parts of the screen that can be noticed (particularly on the bottom) when choosing the news channels and fixing your eyes on the moving words. Another test that I applied, chose an input without incoming signal (e.g. video 3), and then turned the brightness all the way up, the screen should be evenly dark gray. In my TV, as well as in most Wegas in the store, next to the left border there is a vertical stripe brighter than the rest of the screen, looking similar to a computer monitor when adjusting the horizontal position of the image and you take it too much to the left, so that it seems to wrap around. This kind of brighter left border seems to be characteristic of the Wegas, at least given my sampling.

Incidentally, they had a 27" Wega on display right next to a 27" Panasonic Tau. I noticed that the Wega shows more image on the left border than the Tau (*that* Tau at least), about half an inch to an inch more I estimate. On the right they seem to have the same scope. You need a still background image with enough landmarks close to the borders to notice this. Not sure if this brightness issue on the left border on the Wega is related to this larger viewing scope on that side, probably a design tradeoff, or a design flaw, or it was just that 27" Wega and that 27" Tau. Also, at least that Tau had some noticeable distortions on the left and right borders, vertical lines over there looked obviously curved, the Wega's were much more straight. Channel switching is noticeably faster in the Sony, Sony's menu and remote are way better than the Tau's, actually I don't think Sony's remote is too bad, but I have an AllForOne Cinema7+ at home anyway. The 27" Wega and Tau cost exactly the same price in Circuit City, and overall, I preferred the image and features from the Sony, even though with the TV's turned off, the Panasonic box looks nicer to me.

I have a Playstation 2 and have all the video cables for it: RCA, S-Video, and Component. As expected, without a doubt Component looks better than S-Video, and S-Video looks better than RCA. Not sure what kind of test that guy did who had pretty bad performance with component, probably his cables are bad, or the component circuitry in his Wega is unfortunately bad. For instance the Playstation has some menus where you have a blue X and a red O on the bottom of the screen, with S-Video the red O, and actually red letters over the screen in general, still have some minor flickering/vibration in them, the whole image doesn't look perfectly steady because of those slightly vibrating red-to-black transitions. With component it's a perfectly still image, it really improves over S-Video at least on the Wega I got. The real test would be to use a calibration DVD, actually that's needed to adjust the settings of the TV properly (skin colors etc.). I haven't done that yet with my TV though.

DVD's look great with both S-Video and Component. I am confused with the 16:9 mode though. If I turn the 16:9 mode on the image gets vertically shrinked too much. Probably I have to try some other DVD's, or another player instead of the PS2, but I really haven't been able to take advantage of the 16:9 mode without having a vertically over-compressed image.

In conclusion I'm a little dissapointed with the minor distortion that seems to be consistent in Wega units, and in flat screen CRT TV's in general. I wonder why we can't have TV's with the almost distortion free quality of flat screen CRT computer monitors (e.g. Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2020u, and even some Sony monitors).

Still, the images on this TV look really great. I'm considering changing it for another Wega 27" or 32" just to see if by an accident of luck I get one with less noticeable distortion.