It worked for a full year.

At high volumes, set would make a loud rattle noise. Sony warranty way too short.

My set broke 3 times, each time the same problem. Set would make a loud pop, screen would flat line then shut itself off... Be sure to purchase extended warranty when you buy this set, you'll surely need it!

Similar Products Used:

JVC, Toshiba...

The picture is great, flat and sharp.

The speaker placement.

I'm very pleased with the picture. Compared to other Toshiba and Panasonic TVs the sharpness and vertically flat picture makes the difference. The speaker placement is bad and does vibrate at high volumes, but I have my TV hooked up to a great receiver and I don't use the TV's speakers. This way it really looks and sounds great. If you really want good sound out of any TV hook it up to a receiver. I believe the picture is the most important factor in purchasing a good TV. This TV has it.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba
Panasonic

Vibrant picture

Contrast level (even in Movie Mode) is unbearable

Wizard of Odd?
This is the THIRD sample I've had in the past three months. Actually only one was faulty. It all started back in February. I bought this as a gift for my fiance. Within the first day, I noticed something terribly wrong. The picture's left and right sides were turning purple from time to time. I though it may have been my mistake of placing my video-shielded speakers too close to the sides. The first sample was brought back. The second sample (the only faulty one) had a bad power supply. Whenever the picture would try to produce black, it couldn't. It got as far as a dark brownish/red. To make matters worse, there would be white lines running through the brownish/red. That was brought back. The third sample... The frickin' thing had the purple stuff again. I thought that I may have been jipped and received the first sample again. After a quick service call, a big weight had somewhat been lifted off my back. It turns out the purple stuff wasn't from my speakers. There's some magnetic interference from my rooftop (still unknown). The problem now lies in where to put the TV interference-free.

The first thing I did was cranked the contrast down. Man, even in Movie mode, the thing can light up my darkened bedroom AND hallway. After letting the set run normally for about two weeks without any other adjustments (my fiance isn't picky about colour accuarcy like I am), I peeped into the service mode.

*DO NOT PLAY AROUND IN THE SERVICE MODE UNLESS YOU DON'T CARE FOR YOUR WARRANTY*

Out of curiosity, I wanted to see how this set compares with my five year old 32" XBR. I don't know too much about the stuff in the service mode, but suffice it to say that the 27" is pretty sparse in comparison. The only thing lacking that I wish it has (maybe I just couldn't find it) is a setting for contrast. Have they renamed it? With my XBR, I've got it set on the factory settings. But I used the service mode to tweak contrast, brightness, colour, tint, and sharpness. This way, if anyone screws around with the settings (my future 'outlaws' do all of the time) I just reset the values and voila!

PROS:
- vibrant picture
- good skin-tone reproduction
- little geometry distortion
- vertically flat screen
- excellent layout of remote control
- PIP with two adjustable sizes


CONS:
- lack of a component input (for the size)
- one S-Video input (for the price)
- noisy power up (can't find any other faults)


This set is on the expensive side, but worth its little annoyances. In this price range, the lack of component in is inexcusable. For a little more than half of this set's price there are brands out there with component in.
I had a 29" Panasonic 7-8 years ago that was a basic model and it had 2 S-Video inputs. This set should at least have an optional 2nd S-Video in.
With this recent purchase, heaven just got a little bigger. Whether I'm battling the Stormtroopers in my living room on my XBR or having a slice of American Pie in my bedroom on my 27"... there's no place like home.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba Cinema series, JVC D-series

Great picture and overall 'looks'.

The way XDS works.

I think this TV is awesome. The sound and picture is great, but like someone said previously...the speakers are NOT directly on the side of the screen...they're in the vents on the side which makes the sound seem a little off to me. The remote takes a little getting used to. I really like the XDS feature; when on, it shows you the station call letters, what program is on, how long it is, and how far along it is. Only problem is that you have to turn it on and off, on and off, unlike my Sony VCR which displays the XDS info for a few seconds then removes it. I thought this was a pain for such a convenient feature.

Great picture .

Speaker placement

I love the picture from this set and it only got better after calibrating it with VE. The three differant picture modes are very handy when you are using multiple sources.

The thing I dislike most about this set is the placement of the speakers don't be fooled by the grills next to the screen the speakers are really firing out the cooling vents on the side/rear of the set. Which is not very conduceive to low level listening especialy at night.

No S-Link connection despite what the Sony web site says.

I forgot to mention the number one disappointment in this TV. The Sony web site (along with Crutchfield's Fall '99/Winter 2000 catalog) says this model includes the S-Link connector to connect it to other Sony A/V equipment. Well, it does NOT. I e-mailed Sony about it and got a reply that my message was forwarded to the propert department to make the correction on their web page.

Bad audio, bad workmanship

SONY has gone downhill!
This is the SECOND 27" in past 3 weeks!

Set 1 kv27s40 -Broken uhf/vhf input(no nut on stub).
-Speakers vibrate.
-Picture flips when changing channels.

Set 2 kv27V66 -Loose plastic parts rattle inside.
-Audio "pops" & "spikes" when changing
channels.

Similar Products Used:

3 sony 19"s over past 20 years.

Picture in Picture
Variety of inputs

Noisy Simulated Surround

For those who want a great flat picture and 10W x2 speaker output but don't want to shell out the big bucks for a WEGA, this is the TV for you. I love being able to play my PSX or N64 while watching TV in PiP. Also has S-Video input for a great DVD picture. Came with a free stand, too!

Excellent sound

Hard to calibrate picture (it's a bit "soft"), Loud noise
when it starts, only one S-video in, only 2inputs in back

My dad just bought this TV and I helped him set it up.
The picture quality is excellent, but a little hard to
adjust (a bit soft, but colors are relatively accurate).
Speakers are excellent (for a TV). Will hook up DVD
player to S-video in a few months. Only prob - there
are only 2 inputs in the back. VCR and DVD take up both
of them - it would be nice to have 3 or 4 inputs.
Set is currently hooked up to outdoor antennae and
reception is excellent. One of our friends is an employee
at Sony, so we got it at employee discount for $399+tx
(delivered to our door). Excellent value at that price :-)

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Hitachi, Emerson

I love this Tv. The picture is great. I've had it for about two months now and it is sweet. I have it hooked up to a
hometheater sysyem but only use that when I'm watching
movies, what I'm saying is that the sound of the unit is
good for a tv. It is very easy to use and setup has 3 audio
video inputs one has s-video, and there are two coax as
well as audio and video out. A glow remote would be nice
but other than that the remote has large keys and the pip
is the easiest to use of any tv I've used and that is a lot
as I sell a/v for a living right now. Don't be talked out of the sony tv's by any salesman who wants to sell something that pays him more. I bought this for picture quality not it's features but now I don't know how I would live without the very nicely done picture in picture on the sony units. I only wish it had tv guide+gold on it like the kv35v68 but at three times the price I'll do without unitil someday when they do add it to the smaller models