Great value for the size and picture quality, perfect 27" or 32" replacement

We finally decided it was time to replace our aging, 4:3, 27" tube TV with a new, larger, wide screen (16:9), HD TV. My main criteria were to get the largest projection or flat screen HD TV that would fit in our entertainment center and cost less than $1000. All the 32" screens I looked at still had room to spare if placed in our entertainment center, while the 42" units were all too big. That got me looking at the 37" units and the Sony Bravia LCD Projection unit fit perfectly. And I mean perfectly -- about 2" to spare at the top and 1.5" on each side (hidden by trim), so it looks like the cabinet was custom made to fit the TV! None of the other TVs I looked at in this price range had the picture quality or perfect size that this one had.

I admit, purchasing a TV based upon fitting my cabinet seems a little superficial, so how does it perform? In a word, great! Once you get past the long warm-up time (more on that in a minute), the picture quality is great. There's a bit of a "screen door" effect on low definition channels (if you're sitting too close), but the picture quality at low def is better than many other TVs I've seen and the HD content is awesome. The picture is very bright, the blacks are very black, colors are rich (especially in "vivid" mode in HD) and the sound is better than I normally expect from a TV (I also run it through the stereo). I wasn't so sure about "projection LCD" technology, but this set blows away the brightness, color, and contrast of flat panel LCD's (compare them side-to-side and you'll see) and black is truly black (unlike plasma TVs). In short, the picture quality exceeds what I was looking for.

Okay, so downsides to this unit? 1) It runs warm. Once the lamp heats up and that fan turns on it blows a fair amount of warm air out. I even put a vent into the back of my entertainment center so the TV would stay cool. This isn't a big deal, but you know the TV is sucking down some juice when it puts out that much heat (though less than plasma); 2) the aforementioned long warm-up time. It's usually about 10-15 seconds before the picture displays on the screen. That might not sound like a long time, but it's an eternity when you're used to "instant on" TV's. Again, not a deal killer, and worth the wait for that great picture; 3) As mentioned before, there is minor "screen door" effect (pixels clumping around edges of objects on the screen), but it's not that bad and hardly noticeable if you're not sitting too close (bad habit); 4) Side mounted buttons aren't easily accessible in a tight cabinet -- but how often to you try to get to them? 5) With moving parts (e.g., the fan) and more complex projection technology, is reliability going to be a factor?

On the plus side, in addition to the great picture, 1) the remote is clear and easy to use and looks like it'll hold up for a while (unlike recent Samsung and Panasonic remotes I've used); the picture is bright and there is very little glare. The glare that does hit the screen is readily overpowered by the bright picture and dark blacks; 3) the menus are well thought out and easy to navigate and program; 4) despite it "only" being a 720p HD TV (which looks great), it does display 1080 HD content -- which looks fantastic. Really, the 1080i channels look better than their 720p counterparts. The HD content on this TV easily looks as good as the 53" 1080i TV in the family room.

In summary, if you're looking for a great HD TV that's sized right between 32" and 42" sets, this is a great choice. If you don't mind waiting a few seconds for it to warm up, you'll love the picture quality and HD capabilities.