Sony KV-36XBR200 36 inch TV

I will start off with the description of flaws and annoyances most WEGA sets seems to share. The sensitivity of this tv to magnetic fields is beyond belief. When my set suddenly developed extensive color bleeding, I could've never guessed that it was triggered by my neighbour's redecorating her room and placing floor-standing speakers next to the wall we share. So if you happen to own unshielded speakers, consider getting rid of them; unless you have sufficient space to work with. Of a dozen or so XBR WEGA sets I've seen, all displayed a two inch-wide dark band running along the left edge of the screen. It's only visible on an all-gray background, as in a SONY VCR or Toshiba dvd mode. This particular flaw was for months discussed in the British Hi-Fi press as something that SONY chose to overlook. As for the obscene weight, which so many on this forum complain about, it is a consequence of the triple reenforcement of the pure flat picture tube against implosion. Overall, the uneven brightness on WEGA sets varies from tolerable to terrible. Another area of frequent complains appears to be the scan lines. When playing anything but dvd programmes, they really shout from the screen. I don't know how adding a line-doubler will cure this problem, especially in light of the fact that most people have already shelled out $ 2K for this tv. When factoring in all the flaws, it's hard to comprehend how Sony could set a $2299.99 MSRP for such a product. Lastly, a word about Sony customer service department. To be honest, the representatives display all the concern and understanding of an IRS auditor.

The only good thing about XBR250 I can say concerns its performance when coupled with a high-end, mass-production dvd player either by Denon, or Pioneer, or Toshiba. On a quality film transfer, it will make yellow taxis look exactly as look in the streets, also adding a three-dimensional feel. It will also make modern animated cartoons look superb. These two factors, however, would hardly be able to tip the scales in favor of buying an XBR250.

All in all, if you are a movie buff, look at a Toshiba Widescreen HDTV-ready X81 series sets that completely blow away last year's model. And if you're a fan of the intellectually-challenging network TV, consider SF-series Panasonic direct-view sets. Albeit,assembled in Mexico and not as bright as WEGA models, they still display solid blacks, whites and cost 30% less.