just returned my sharp and bought this one instead. i was pleased the second i pluged my dvd player in(although no component in i dont think a tv this size needs it). the picture is SOOOOOO much better and the sound is sharp. bought it for 399 so i couldnt go wrong. i will buy sony from now on.

Good color rendition, decent sound

Severe geometry problems

As other reviewers have pointed out, this TV does have very noticeable geometry problems. The tv image is not straight! The left side of the screen seems to be at least 3/4" lower than the right. I also noticed this problem to be present on the "demos" at Best Buy so it seems to be a design/manufacturing problem. I would not recommend this TV to anyone (do not be deceived by the current "deals" going around on this model!). I returned this TV and got the JVCD201 instead (which I also returned, but that's a different story).

Similar Products Used:

JVC 27D201

Nice picture and sound, nice looking case

many unessary features that complicate things, loud noise turning it on

I thought long an hard about my purchase before buying this set. ABC Warehouse gave me alot of details about the set and said they sell alot of them. I guess the V-series (Vertically flat with a slight horizontal bend) has been around for about 4-5 years. It is a pretty flat screen and does a good job of minimizing reflections. A true 27" flat screen WEGA (silver colored case) was next to mine in the outlet store. The pictures looked pretty much the same although most people seem to favor WEGA's picture. The WEGAS are not high definition (HD) so I decided I'd go with the V-series since it seemed identical in quality and was $200 less expensive. I might get a HD w/ surround sound etc when prices come down. The case of my KV-27V42 looks nice and for $350 I figured it was good. ABC warned me about outlets saying it wasn't wise to buy there. I decided to anyway and I am satisfied with the set's performance. I have not noticed any distortion or pisture problems. When you get close to the screen the picture loses some definition but from 7 or more feet away it looks sharp. I don't own a DVD player but my VCR movies look great. I wish it didn't have so many needless features (ie parental control and daylight savings time) it only makes things complicated especially when you hit a button you should not of and chance things drastically making it worse. It is a heavy set but I guess since it is not aportable thats O.K. The screen really is flat and nice looking. If you compare it to a RCA / GE / or Sanyo etc you really see a difference. I could have bought some junky set from Walmart or K-mart but I think the extra $100 or more dollars for a Sony set makes sense. If WEGA's become allt he rage I hope my set doesn't start to look dated too soon. I enjoy it and so far have not had any real problems. For $350 I don't think I went wrong.

Similar Products Used:

12" Mitsubishi Color Set - bought it in 1986 and it still works great! (Screen is too small though)
19" Samsung - HORRIBLE!! - This set like all other Samsung products is horrible to watch - a lousy remote and the need for a VCR to reach the high channels makes it lousy!

Quality and Durability

I bought a Sony KV-27 18 months ago, I was satisfied with the picture and flat screen, this is why I want to pay more to own it.
But it stop working last week after some strange flash when I powered it on. One of my friends has the similar problem with her Sony 27'' WEGA just after 2 month use, she has to pay >$200 to repair it.
I must say the quality of sony products is BAD!

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic, Philips

Nice picture and sound (I love the volume control), Its cheap and cheerful!

Some controls / features are useless to me and only complicate things. I don't like the loud "pop" it makes turning on but I have grown accustomed to it. I guess it has something to do with the discharge of static electricity and is intentional.

I like this set to a large extent. I'm kind of tight with my money and shopped about. This set seemed to look good. I liked the way the case looked and the fact that some buttons are on the top of the set and not on along the base or bottom of the set. The V-series, or vertical screen is completely flat vetically and only slightly bowed horizontally. I guess eventually everyone will gravitate towards the new silver colored flat screen Wegas. I saw a 27" Wega flat screen right next to mine in the store. It cost $200 more and I thought long and hard and went with the traditional tube trinitron. Alot of features I don;t need or want (ie parental control, daylight savings time etc) I still haven't figured out the daylight savings time thing. I love the volume control - now commercials and other channels don't increase in volume. I wish the color contrast knobs existed on the actual set rather than working through the remote. I learnt alot about the set through ABC Warehouse and then went to a sony outlet center. Guy at ABC said it is a popular model and sells quickly. He said it dropped in price when the WEGAS came out by $50. So now at ABC it costs $400 - $430 or so. He discouraged me from going to the outlets but I decided to take my chances and I suppose the set is good. I have not experienced any distortion or off-center pictures etc. (I guess I'm lucky). The new wegas aren't always high -definition ready. I figure they and other sets (ie high definition (HD)) will come down in price soon. Perhaps then I'll buy a better set perhaps even with surround sound. I didn't realize it, but my old set didn't get the full range of channels. My Sony picked up all of the available channels. I hope refurbished sets are O.K. I worry what mine was doing before I bought it. I bought it in May 2001 and it was made in January 2000 - I hope it was just sitting around for much of that time. I'm happy with it.

Similar Products Used:

A Mitsubishi 12" color set. Purchase in 1986 at "Boscov's" in "Good ole' Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania" ! I paid dearly for that set as remotes were rather new and still expensive. It still runs like a champ and works great after all these years of use by me and other people! Amazing! I just got tired of the small screen. One other set I bought was a SAMSUNG - YICK! - Samsung makes one LOUSY product! I need to change channels through a VCR, the remote is junk! Samsung should feel ashamed to sell a product like that! I bought the Samsung in 1991 overseas when $$ were tight and I was away from home!

Great picture

Needs another s-video input
Loud start-up noise
When using a dvd the picture does black-out

When we went shopping for a replacement 27 inch tv we were looking for a model with no pip as we use a 10 foot big dish,I really like the available jacks for hook-up,And the front jacks for video game use...

I have only had the TV for a week and love it. Sound and picture quality is outstanding. Had the JVCAV27D200 for a week(read my review, not good) and thought this was the better TV. I was right.

it's SONY brand name. superior picture quality for a 27" trinitron; no "fish bowl" effect.

quality standards seem to have gone down these years with all the newer digital technology.

my apartment just purchased this 27" sony for it's great picture quality. with the trinitron tube, there's no "fish bowl" effect that you'll get with other brands. only one problem that we've been encountering. we have a color distortion problem in the bottom corner of the tube. we've had the television replaced, but encountered the same problem. so they sent out a repair service to resolve our issue. finally the problem was fixed, giving us the superior picture quality we expected from sony, but it took over a month to get this resolved. overall sony is a great manufacturer of televisions, wouldn't buy any other... just hope that problems like this don't happen.

performance with respect to the price

picture is a bit dull

I am a bit unhappy with this one. The picture is decent, but kind of dull. I have worked with it for a long time, and now I guess I have to accept it. On the other hand, for the money ($429), it is a good value. I'd give it a 3 1/2 for overall rating, but since I can't , I rounded up.

I almost went with the 32 inch wega XBR for $1,500, but I figure why spend the money now, I'll get by with this and in a few years that $1,500 will be able to get something that is way way better. It's just not a great time to be in the market for a television.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic superflat

Price, Flatter screen

sound

A nice set for about $400. Can't stand the sound, however. Use a receiver. Has three different modes to store settings, which is nice.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic, Toshiba