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Rating: 
Summary: My first HDTV, so...
Review: I might be a little bit in awe of the general picture quality and features, so my rating could be a tad high.
At first, after casually "window shopping" at my local "CC" electronics store, I liked the Sony Trinitron WEGA 27" picture the best.
However, I did do quite a bit of research on the features to look for in HDTV, including number of component video inputs, progressive scan compatibility, etc, and determined that Samsung had the features (at a decent price).
I went back the the store to look again. The Samsung was diagonally below the Sony so I could make the easy comparison. The picture quality was equal, but color seemed a bit better on the Samsung.
It was $50 cheaper, and includes an off-air digital tuner. This means you can get digital HD broadcasts without requiring more hardware. However, if you have cable or satellite service, then yes, you still need another box.
Although Samsung says all HD broadcasts are in widescreen, I found that not to be the case with several stations. In some cases, you have the ability to change the picture size from "standard" to "16:9" (with black all around) or use 2 zoom levels, so if you really want to see it full-screen, you can do so.
I'm embarrassed to admit I only have cheap, bent rabbit ears right now, but I got some crystal clear signals regardless. DVD image is great. The default setting has the contrast value at 100%, which looks good to me, and the picture quality starts to fall of at lower settings. At first, I notice the image was tilted just slightly compared to the set itself - voila, a minor "tilt" feature adjustment fixed it right up. I haven't even fine tuned the color hues or color temperature yet.
Samsung warns about the possibility of burning in the top and bottom of the screen with prolonged use of black bars (as in widescreen images), so if you watch a lot of widescreen movies and want a reasonably-priced CRT (cathode ray tube) screen, you might consider getting a widescreen TV. You'll get bars on the side of that when you watch "full-screen" movies or broadcasts, though.
Audio is decent with a 5-band equalizer, and a couple other audio features.
If you don't have the unlimited budget for LCD or plasma, this is a great alternative.
I've spent about five grand at Amazon over the last 2 years, so I hope they forgive me making this purchase locally, and on sale too.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for the Price
Review: I spent months researching the TV (largely because I couldn't afford it until after Christmas.) This is the best non plasma HDTV, period. It's basically a giant computer monitor which means it's crystal clear and will last for years. The TV has a built in HD tuner. This means you can immediately use HD-TV. I have Comcast DVR and now I get the High Definition channels, no equipment, no calls, it just works. It also has multiple inputs including DVI. DVI is a digital connection, ultra clear picture and ultra adaptable. You can hook ANYTHING up to this TV.
I would definitely recommend the 27inch over the 26inch widescreen. There are still very few HD channels and if you have cable you will still watching regular old TV. And the TV is big enough where HDTV and DVDs look just fine in letterbox.
This is a high quality TV that will last you for years. The only downside is weight, it weighs a little over 100 pounds, be sure that you have help putting it in!
Rating: 
Summary: A whole new experience
Review: This is a wonderful television, picture is crystal clear and reception is good. I am using my existing off-the-air antenna and I cannot believe there are so many more digital tv channels in addition to the analog channels. I really don't need cable now. Cosidering the HDTV tuner set-top box is around $300 this days. This HDTV is a bargain in my opinion. I've notice some minor geometry misalignment on it but unless you run the test patants, most people will not notice it. If you perfer 16:9 HDTV, you can check on TX-P2670WH too. Another bargain priced HDTV is Sanyo's HT32744 which can be found on some Wal-Mart stores for $747.
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