Great TV in both sound and picture.

screen has a slight slant, not very noticable.

I purchased this TV at best buy and am extremely satisfied. I use it for DVD and VHS. The picture quality is exponentially superior to my previous 20" Crosly television. I like the features and did not find any difficulty in programming it. I use a One For All learning remote, and thus have no complaints about remote. The only thing is that I noticed that my picture slants a little, probably about 1/2" higher on one side. This is only noticable if I look for the slant and usually only when watching widescreen format (that makes it easier to notice an uneven picture due to black on top and bottom of picture). I would like to know if anyone else has experienced the slanting screen and if they did, what the remedy was.

Nice small cabinet, amazing picture quality.

Lack of inputs.

I won this TV in a Sony contest I entered. Since I had a 10 year old version (Sony) to compare it with, I can accurately tell you the differences. First of all, the 27S42 is an amazing TV and beats out all of its competition. This TV retails for 700. in Canada now and is relatively lightweight, fantastic picture quality and nice compact cabinet size.

It was obviously brighter and sharper than my 10 year old Sony but I realized that had more to do with age than anything else. The main difference between this decade gap was the build quality. I had opened up the rear cabinet of my old Sony and it was full of electronics and dust. The cabinet was slightly larger and used wood for internal bracing. It could actually stand on it's own 4 feet with the back panel removed. The new Sonys cannot. If you remove the rear cabinet, you better hold it up or it will collapse under its own weight. On the plus side, there are a lot fewer electronic pieces (I assume that's good) but the cabinet is made of cheap plastic.

On the other hand, all other TVs I've seen are still inferior to this Sony. I'll be fully content if this Sony keeps up for 10 years like my old Sony has up to now.

Similar Products Used:

1990 Sony 27" model with S-video input too.

Great picture and great price.

Picture was rotated clockwise (BUT repair was covered by Sony warranty)

Well, I just want to respond to everyone complaining about the slanted screen. This isn't a defect in your TV, but rather just a bad factory setting. This problem can be easily repaired, and is the repair is covered by your factory warranty. In fact, I was able to have Sony to send a technician to my home to fix it for free (they wanted me to take it in to the shop, but I complained about what a huge pain in the neck that would be because the set is so big, and they agreed to send someone to me). Just call the 800 number in the manual and tell them the problem. The repairman fixed the problem in less than 30 minutes. He simply opened the back of the set and was able to rotate the screen until we were both happy (he had a piece of equipment which projected a perfect grid on the screen so we could see exactly how much to turn it). Unfortunately seeing that grid shows you how much your TV (any TV) distorts the picture around the edges of the screen. This guy said that Sony is about the best in this category, and that some people freak out when they see how crappy their TV really is. Still, Sony took care of everything quickly and professionally. Though I wish the TV had been set correctly from the beginning, their customer service department made me very happy. So if you have this problem, call Sony, you don't need to return the TV, or come here to complain about it. For the money this is a fantastic television. I had to choose between picture quality and other brands with more features, and I'm very happy with my Sony. I'd rather my money go to picture quality than dozens of features that I don't need.

Similar Products Used:

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Great picture and great price.

Picture was rotated clockwise (BUT repair was covered by Sony warranty)

Well, I just want to respond to everyone complaining about the slanted screen. This isn't a defect in your TV, but rather just a bad factory setting. This problem can be easily repaired, and is the repair is covered by your factory warranty. In fact, I was able to have Sony to send a technician to my home to fix it for free (they wanted me to take it in to the shop, but I complained about what a huge pain in the neck that would be because the set is so big, and they agreed to send someone to me). Just call the 800 number in the manual and tell them the problem. The repairman fixed the problem in less than 30 minutes. He simply opened the back of the set and was able to rotate the screen until we were both happy (he had a piece of equipment which projected a perfect grid on the screen so we could see exactly how much to turn it). Unfortunately seeing that grid shows you how much your TV (any TV) distorts the picture around the edges of the screen. This guy said that Sony is about the best in this category, and that some people freak out when they see how crappy their TV really is. Still, Sony took care of everything quickly and professionally. Though I wish the TV had been set correctly from the beginning, their customer service department made me very happy. So if you have this problem, call Sony, you don't need to return the TV, or come here to complain about it. For the money this is a fantastic television. I had to choose between picture quality and other brands with more features, and I'm very happy with my Sony. I'd rather my money go to picture quality than dozens of features that I don't need.

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Superb picture quality, nice shape, decent remote, price

Could use another S-Video input, but that's about it

There is simply no arguing. For $349 at Fry's nothing even comes close. Nothing is like a Sony Trinitron. Unless you're trying to spend as much money as you can, this is the TV for everybody. It's SUPER!

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba 36" flat screen

Excellent picture quality and sound for a basic unit.

Not enough A/V outputs

I compared this unit with Panasonic, RCA, Sharp, and other major brands at the Electronic stores that were showing the same channel. The picture quality was much better on the Sony. When you compare picture quality look at the text edges displayed on the screen.

I purchased this TV at Best Buy and had a very difficult time purchasing the TV without buying the extended service contract. The sales people were very agressive to the point of becoming angry at me stating that if I did not purchase this contract I would be sorry because this TV has a history of failing after the Sony warranty runs out due to the fact that it runs hot(due to the noise when you turn it on) and other ridiculous statements. Most of the major electronic stores are pushing these contracts. They make big bucks on these contracts. (I did not purchase the extended contract)

According to Sony the loud noise you hear when the TV is first turned on is part of the television's normal degauss cycle. The degauss cycle eliminates any static build up around the picture tube (CRT). This helps the television reproduce uniform colors over the entire picture tube.

If you are looking for a good value home television with higher than average picture quality and fantastic DVD output - I highly recommend this set.

Similar Products Used:

Sharp 27"

Brand name (Sony), Great picture quality and color fidelity,
Excellent price for the quality.

Remote (no backlit), only one S-video jack

I have owned the Sony KV-27S42 for over a year (I have the Oct 1999 model so about 15 months) and have seen it all. The sound is very good for this TV and the picture quality is outstanding for both analog and digital TV (especially DVDs). You really don't realize the quality of the Trinitron tube unless you have a DVD player.

The remote is a bit flimsy but no better than the cable box remotes I've used throughout the years. You can use a universal remote with backlits if you don't like this remote so it wasn't a big dal to me.

Sound can be routed to a stereo system so that wasn't a big deal to me either. The standard TV speakers are very good otherwise.

Picture quality is outstanding especially if calibrated by an ISF technician or by owner. Either way, I left mine on factory defaults and it just blew me away. I mainly watch DVD monies and VCR rental tapes. Picture quality is quite simply a "5" rating for the price you pay for this TV (under $350), the size of the screen, the color fidelity and reproduction, and overall PICTURE QUALITY.

The degauss feature is a little annoying but I've gotten used to it. I'm aware that many people have gotten a lemon (my first one was a lemon that I bought in Sept 1999 but was able to swap it for the Oct 1999 model). if you get a Sony lemon then by ALL means trade it for a good one.

I have not been disappointed by this TV and even though its not perfect in every way, its the best at what it does for the price you pay. Otherwise get the Panasonic CT-32HX40 for $1500 (USA dollars) more!!!!

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic Superflats, JVC "D" series, Hitachi UltraVisions

Outstanding picture and sound for the money.

Flickering screen when watching DVD's. And yes, slanted screen.

OK, the picture for this TV is outstanding. This was the second last thing I wanted to buy for my own little home theater setup. The last thing was a Digital receiver.

Anyway, the only problem I have with this TV (please email me if there is a solution I am so pissed off about this) is non-stop flickering when I watch a DVD through the S-Video input. I thought that I would be able to get used to it, but I cannot take it anymore. It is driving me absolutely nuts. What happens is the screen just flickers like crazy when the image on the screen is dark, and it also happens non-stop during the opening and ending credits. I use my PS2 primarily to watch DVD's. I have hooked up a different DVD player too, my dad's Sony DVP-S330, and it sill flickers, so I know the DVD player is not the problem. Besides this LARGE problem, the TV is great. Is this something I can fix, or do I need to call Sony? Please help me, I need it. This is un-called for.

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Samsung 20'' TV, and RCA 20'' TV.

I am having a problem with the light coming on in the front of the TV. I have had the TV since January and now it comes on and then shuts off right away. I have unplugged the unit and tried to reset, but I cant get the TV to stay on long enough. I was happy with the TV otherwise. Any ideas on fixing this problem would be nice. Send mail to gusi@prodigy.net thanks for any help in advance.

Great picture quality, Automatic S-Video switching

Degauss buzz

This TV has some great features considering that it is just the "entry-level" 27-inch model. Stuff like Trinitron tube, Digital Comb Filter, Auto White Balance, 500 lines of resolution, blah blah blah. The features that I found most useful are the automatic s-video input switch, easy to use menu interface, and the XDS program information. If you look in the back of the TV, there's an input for a composite and s-video connector. If you have this TV connected to your receiver, the TV can automatically switch between inputs - useful when you have a DVD, VCR, and game console all connected together. Nice. This feature is missing on some of the 32" Sonys. XDS? I think it's standard in most TVs now but I still think it's cool when it works. The menu interface is simply the best. Compared to Panasonic or Philips, I was able to pick up Sony's on-screen menu the easiest.

I won't rave about the picture quality as it's already covered here but simply put it is excellent. I've done a comparison with a new Panasonic TV and I still prefer the Sony tube. There's really no downside with this TV except for the premium price that Sonys usually command. Most of the stuff that bothers me about the TV really is just nit-picking. Stuff that Sony can improve upon are:

- Automatic selection of XDS when pressing the Display button. On this TV, I have to set it to XDS. When I want closed captions, I have to go into the menu and set it to CC1. Kind of a hassle when the 32" Sony automatically cycles between: No Display - CC - XDS - Time

- No button on the remote for turning off the TV speakers and using the external output sound. If I want the TV speakers and not want to turn on my receiver (for those late night viewings) I have to go into the menu. If I want my full theatre experience using the external outs, I have to switch back via the menu.

- Channel Labelling. Uh... how useful is this when you're limited to some 20 channels to labels? If you're gonna have this feature, at least install enough memory in the TV to let me label all the channels (yes, I'd even label The Weather Channel!).

See told you I was being nit-picky.

I'm giving this unit a 5 star for value because you can pick up a used one for under or about $300 now.

Similar Products Used:

32" Panasonic, 32" non-WEGA Sony