Sony’s Wega TV good choice for home theatre

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Figuratively speaking, a big-screen TV ain't no big thing. It might sound like home-theatre heresy, but a big screen isn't mandatory -- particularly in a smaller room. The minimum suggested size for home theatre is a 27-inch screen, measured diagonally. Sony's midlevel 27-inch Wega, the $999.99 KV-27FS13 (Canadian), is a solid (100-plus pounds) block of a TV with a flat screen, two-tuner picture-in-picture, a digital comb filter and a component video input for the highest-quality connection to a DVD player. When properly calibrated with the Avia Guide to Home Theater DVD, the Wega's picture is richer and more dimensional than most under-$1,000 sets. Two features I loved about the KV-27FS13: z A Favorite-Preview function that allows quick access to seven favorite channels, with a single preview displayed in a little picture-in-picture window. z A 16:9 Enhanced Mode that heightens detail on anamorphic DVDs, frequently described as "enhanced for wide-screen." In this setting, the Wega devotes all the scan lines to the picture instead of distributing some to the black bars above and below the letter-boxed image. The same set, with fewer features, is available as the KV-27FS13 for $700. The top-of-the-line KV-27FV17 retails for $900. Want to see the difference between a Wega and non-Wega set? Insert a movie like Moulin Rouge, sold in the anamorphic format, into your DVD player and set the Wega to 16:9 Enhanced Mode. Although I also own a 32-inch Sony, I use the 27-inch Wega in my basement home theatre. It's the better TV, by far, and the screen size suits the smaller room. PHOTO --Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/03/2002 (8661 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Figuratively speaking, a big-screen TV ain’t no big thing. It might sound like home-theatre heresy, but a big screen isn’t mandatory — particularly in a smaller room.

The minimum suggested size for home theatre is a 27-inch screen, measured diagonally. Sony’s midlevel 27-inch Wega, the $999.99 KV-27FS13 (Canadian), is a solid (100-plus pounds) block of a TV with a flat screen, two-tuner picture-in-picture, a digital comb filter and a component video input for the highest-quality connection to a DVD player. When properly calibrated with the Avia Guide to Home Theater DVD, the Wega’s picture is richer and more dimensional than most under-$1,000 sets.

Two features I loved about the KV-27FS13:

z A Favorite-Preview function that allows quick access to seven favorite channels, with a single preview displayed in a little picture-in-picture window.

z A 16:9 Enhanced Mode that heightens detail on anamorphic DVDs, frequently described as “enhanced for wide-screen.” In this setting, the Wega devotes all the scan lines to the picture instead of distributing some to the black bars above and below the letter-boxed image.

The same set, with fewer features, is available as the KV-27FS13 for $700. The top-of-the-line KV-27FV17 retails for $900.

Want to see the difference between a Wega and non-Wega set? Insert a movie like Moulin Rouge, sold in the anamorphic format, into your DVD player and set the Wega to 16:9 Enhanced Mode.

Although I also own a 32-inch Sony, I use the 27-inch Wega in my basement home theatre. It’s the better TV, by far, and the screen size suits the smaller room.

PHOTO

–Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service

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