Best picture in a non-HDTV I have ever seen. Great features. Unbelievable with DVD.

None

I have had this TV for more than 5 months and I am still amazed every day. The picture is perfect. I do not have any of the flaws described by the unsatisfied responders below. Maybe I am lucky or blind but I have looked meticulously at my screen trying to find a flaw and there just isn't one. I have a Sony DVP S330 DVD player hooked up on an S-video cable and I can't see how the picture could be any better using a component video connection. You can't beat perfection. This TV weighs a lot, but if you only have to move it once, I guess I can live with that. I recommend this TV to anyone. I do agree with the unsatisfied people below that Sony's customer service leaves alot to be desired.

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Compared to every TV at several stores including the top of the line Hitachis, Panasonic Proscan and Toshibas.

I've died and gone to heaven! Awesome picture!

Side speakers..I hate side speakers! Using sorry cables to hook this baby up!

I recently took back my Toshiba cn36X81 after using it for approx 2 weeks in my home. I returned it for the Wega because I did not like the motion artifacts that were produced by its cheap internal line doubler. Yea I know there are scan lines on the wega, but unless you sit less than 10ft away they are really not an issue, besides, I'd rather have scan lines than motion artifacts anyday. I think that to many people are getting caught up in the HDTV compatibility of the Cn 36X81. The key word is compatible, to get good HD signal you need to spend at least 3 grand on a decent HD decoder. I tell you this, the wega is the best by a large margin on dvd material. I've only had the wega for a couple weeks but that is already evident. I as many on this site are using the Canare component video cables purchased from custom video in texas. I can't believe the picture tis tv has, it is incredible. I did not use any other cables with this set so i can't honestly say what the tv would have looked like with other cables, but I can say that with these cables my picture is better than anything I've seen in any store. Anyway, I really like this set, and highly reccomend these cables. Sorry Toshiba Sony wins!

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Cn36X81

Picture and 3d feeling
Remote easy to operate

The high cost of the set and shear weight when you have to move it.

I purchased the set and tubular stand which is styled for a very clean look as my old RCA was back 25 years ago. I tend to purchase quality and expect to have it for a long period of time.
Since the WEGA arrived in my home it has been all that I expected. No problems on startup or with the setup. In the 4 months I have had it my children watched it and left it on overnight as if it has been turn on for 1 year and still no problems The colour is "right on" according to my daughter. The picture quality is good on cable , better on antenna and great on DVD. At times it seems I could fall into the picture. I watch every thing in movie mode as sports, vivid, are bright for my taste.
I have had non of problems that other reviewers noted in their reviews here. This is the best direct view screen out on the market to date with exception of the HDTV sets but they cost more $$$.
I,m not giving it a 5 because of higher cost of the XBR model wanted the "3d comb filter" (only available on the XBR model) and the fact the large split screen PIP is gone as the 1999 set had.
Sony should provide a longer standard warranty for this set as we sure have paid for it, if they believe in this product and built it right then adding years to the warranty period will cost Sony ZERO dollars and gain more customers.

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25 year old RCA Colour Trak

picture quality on digital sources

sensitivity to magnetic fields; scan lines; uneven brightness; price; sony customer service

I will start off with the description of flaws and annoyances most WEGA sets seems to share. The sensitivity
of this tv to magnetic fields is beyond belief. When my
set suddenly developed extensive color bleeding, I could've
never guessed that it was triggered by my neighbour's redecorating her room and placing floor-standing speakers
next to the wall we share. So if you happen to own unshielded speakers, consider getting rid of them; unless
you have sufficient space to work with. Of a dozen or so
XBR WEGA sets I've seen, all displayed a two inch-wide dark
band running along the left edge of the screen. It's only
visible on an all-gray background, as in a SONY vcr
or Toshiba dvd mode. This particular flaw was for months
discussed in the British Hi-Fi press as something that SONY
chose to overlook. As for the obscene weight, which so many
on this forum complain about, it is a consequence of the triple re-enforcement of the pure flat picture tube against implosion. Overall, the uneven brightness on WEGA sets varies from tolerable to terrible. Another area of frequent
complains appears to be the scan lines. When playing anything but dvd programmes, they really shout from the screen. I don't know how adding a line-doubler will cure
this problem, especially in light of the fact that most people have already shelled out $ 2K for this tv. When factoring in all the flaws, it's hard to comprehend how Sony
could set a $2299.99 MSRP for such product. Lastly, a word
about Sony customer service department where reps display
all the concern and understanding of an IRS auditor.
The only good thing about XBR250 I can say concerns its performance when coupled with a high-end, mass-production dvd player either by Denon, or Pioneer, or Toshiba. On a quality film transfer, it will make yellow taxis look exactly as look in the streets, also adding a three-dimensinal feel. It will also make modern animated cartoons look superb. These two factors, however, would hardly be able to tip the scales in favor of buying an XBR250.
All in all, if you are a movie buff, look at a Toshiba Widescreen HDTV-ready X81 series sets that completely blow away last year's model. And if you're a fan of the intellectually-challenging network TV, consider SF-series
Panasonic direct-view sets. Albeit,assembled in Mexico and not as bright as WEGA models, they still display solid blacks, whites and cost 30% less.

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n/a

Picture

Price

This is the best TVs I evey had. Picture over the air, cable and DVD are all wonderful. At $1643 shipped it/was the best deal going. Now when I look at other sets I can really see how really bad they are. Even when comes to my other Sony 32' tv. If you watch lots of DVDs as I do in "widescreen" this is the TV for you.

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None that compare

Anamorphic Compression

Scan Lines, Geometric Distortions, Uneven Brightness, Not HDTV-Ready, Price, Weight, Did I mention Scan Lines?? Did I forget to mention that this set is way overpriced???

Bought it! Hated it!! Returned it!!! Purchased a Toshiba CN36X81!!!!:)

I really wanted to like this set. My previous set was a Sony and I was really satisfied with it. I would give it zero stars but I can't.:(

Don't buy it. For what you will spend you can find many more "forward thinking" sets on the market.

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Toshiba CN36X81
Toshiba CN36Z71

Almost everything!

Scan Lines.........

I have ordered this television after looking around for a couple of months. I do have one concern - those dang scan lines! Does anyone her know of a way to reduce the scan lines on this TV ? My viewing room only leaves about 8-9 feet of space between me and the TV.

Picture, Vertical compression, flexibility of connections.

Weight, price.

I purchased this set after viewing the FV10, FS10 and XBR250 in the showroom side by side with the same DVD source. The picture quality is absolutely awesome. This is the best I've seen of any NTSC format consumer model ever.

I have not experienced any geometry problems or banding
in the black background. You definitely need to use
this set in the movie mode with the sharpness set to
minimum, or you will be seeing scan lines in bright
regions. (either that or disable the velocity scan
modulation in the other modes).

I do like the vertical compression feature for display
of anamorphic DVDs.

I also like the flexibility regarding the number of
connections to this unit. It has 4! video inputs
in addition to a cable/ant source, making connection to DSS,
DVD, camcorder, VCR, and VHF/UHF a snap. It also has 3 sets
of audio and A/V outputs. The remote (a universal remote)
control is probably the best organized and laid out remote
I've ever used. I navigated the whole TV without reading
the manual! Everything operates the way you would expect it.

My only reservation is that I almost wish I would have
sprung for the Sony 34" (I think) HDTV ($6000). It was
running a Progressive Scan DVD and the quality was just unbelieveable. You could get right up to the tube
and see absolutely no scan artifacts. Oh well; maybe
in a couple of years -- after I recover from moving this
behemoth!

awesome picture, attractive design

none other than it's weight and doesn't accept progressive scan input

in a word, the best NTSC and DVD images available - 4:3 format is a weakness for DVD's but the tonal balance and color saturation is unsurpassed - have not experienced any of the mentioned geometry problems - this is the next best thing to HDTV.

excellent tuner,sharp and 3d picture,nice features,aesthetic

uneven brightness,terrible geometry can't be fix via service
menu

First set (prod. date june 99) was having the banding pro-
blem and a bad picture on componement input,the uneven brightness problem and geometry problem.Second set (prod. date december 99) was ok on componement input but was having
the 2 others problems.Spent 2 days trying to fix geometry
problem without succes.If you look from the top,you see that
the vertical lines bows after the middle of the screen,pro-
ducing an annoying bumpy picture.Adjustements can't correct
such default.I'm returning this set also.I will simply wait
as the Toshiba CN36X81 have the moire problem (seen it on
a floor demo...),the Panasonic GAOO have no componement input and doesn't have a good dc restoration and I don't really like rear projection...

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