On 11 Jun 2003 05:08:42 -0700, clinthannah@hotmail.com (channah) wrote:

>I am in the market for a new TV. It will be in a smaller room about

>6-7 feet from the sitting area. I am trying to decide between a 27

>and 32 inch flat screen. My budget will NOT include a HDTV. I am

>learning towards a 27 since I will get a new HDTV 46in + when my 12

>year old projection screen goes out in the other room.

>

>I am looking into the Sony 27FS100, Panasonic 27SX12, and Toshiba

>27AF42. I have recently found a deal on a Philips 27PT643R for about

>$299. Anyone have any input on this model? This seems like a pretty

>good deal. Or, are the other models which are about $110+ more still

>the better buy.

At 6-7' viewing distance, without going to HDTV, I would

choose the highest-resolution 27" you can find - otherwise

the softness of the image will annoy you. I was lucky to buy

a good 27" TV about 10 years ago with very satisfying detail

resolution when viewed about 7' away with DVDs and Mini-DV

original (and adequate to good resolution with good cable

service here for standard TV), but leaning closer to this

good 27" TV tends to spoil the effect of good sharpness

even with DV originals... Also, it appears that most recent

TVs do not have the resolution capability of this old set,

and would therefore be less satisfactory viewed close (this

includes a 20" WEGA I use for monitoring - the old 27"

reveals more detail on the same material...). Also, consider

looking around for a demo model with low convergence and

geometric-distortion problems and buying THAT PARTICULAR

SAMPLE. TVs still vary so much from sample to sample that

I will not buy a "new, sealed-in-box" TV - I'm too much of

a nut about image quality to do that...;-). The first three

brands you mentioned are the ones I would look at first...