I will start by saying that we didn't intend on buying a TV yet, but our 7 yr old 32" RCA set went diggers on us, forcing us to find a replacement. We have a custom built solid oak corner TV cabinet, that was made right at the borderline on dimensions for a 32" set to fit inside, and alas, most of the current 32" flat tube models won't fit due to the need for a narrow taper angle at the rear of the set, so we had to downsize to 27" since we definitely wanted a flat tube model.

I do believe Panasonic had a bad run of CT-27SL14's because the first one we bought @ Circuit City, the stereo and simulated surround did not work, and the tube had a geometry anomaly that caused images to swim/distort in the approximately 3" edge area on each verticle side of the screen. Which was a shame because the picture was absolutely razor sharp and vibrant. Reluctantly, we exchanged it, only to receive one that had the same stereo non-functionality and also a grainy and flickery picture. So we refunded the 2nd one and were going to be done w/ Panasonic.

I went to Best Buy intent on buying a Toshiba 27AF44 flat tube set for about the same money, which we had almost gotten but instead had went to Circuit City to see what they had (and then got the ill fated Panasonic there). Just so happens BB had a Panasonic CT-27SL14 next to the the Toshiba 27AF44 and next to the Toshy on the side was a Sony WEGA/Trinitron 27" flat tube rig. Standing there comparing the three sets, the CT-27SL14 clearly had the best, sharpest picture resolution. I switched each of the three to BB's company "channel" that runs a lot of text and graphics in vivid colors plugging their services, etc. That's where the Panasonic put the Toshiba and Sony to shame. The graphics on the Panasonic were sharp, clear and perfectly focused, very vibrant. On the Tosh and Sony they were fuzzier, not terribly fuzzier but enough that the Panasonic took the gold medal, the Sony the Silver, with the Toshiba receiving the Bronze in that contest.

Short version: I took a chance on yet another CT-27SL14.

3rd time has been the charm! This one rocks! The sound is excellent for little 5W speakers, and the Virtual Surround feature works well, if not exceptionally well. The picture is Pure Nirvana. You have to see it to believe it, but it really seems only a few clicks away from HDTV quality. Any TV that can beat out Sony WEGA in the picture clarity dept is exceptional, and this one I brought home from Best Buy does.

What others have mentioned regarding the darkish picture in shadowy scenes is true to some degree, but it can be adjusted if you have patience w/ the controls.

UPDATE 10-04-06: Just want to say that although this great little 27" set has been put on 2nd string TV duty in the bonus room of our new place, it still looks absolutely perfect in picture fidelity and quality. Its still in the oak corner cabinet, main TV duty has been taken over by a Hitachi 51F59 16:9 widescreen HDTV CRT rear projection set which was a hedonistic splurge for our new house (moved in February) since the living room is much larger now. We still watch the 27" panny and enjoy it, although the screen is certainly smaller than the Hitachi, its still enjoyable to watch due to the clarity and vividness. Pretty sure Panny has discontinued the CT-27SL14, which is shame. It is a hell of a little set.