Sony or Philips 26"

[alanb3]

Good evening everyone. I'm looking to buy a good 26" for the kitchen. I know the Panny LXD70 is the best one on the market today but I don't fancy paying their ridiculously inflated price for it. I'm down to 2 models but not sure which is the best one to go for. They are the Sony KDL-26T3000 (allegedly the second best on the market) and the Philips 26PFL7532D (can't find any reviews of this one anywhere but it looks to have a pretty similar spec to the Sony).

The TV will be connected to Virgin Media cable so not particularly interested in how they perform with XBOX or PS3 etc.

I'm really looking for comments from anyone with experience of the Philips TV as I'm pretty confident the Sony is top notch. The main concern I have with the Philips is the quoted viewing angle of only 160 degrees implying a low quality TN panel - surely not ?

[YellowSphere]

The T3000 is undoubtedly a good TV, but, to be honest, I've always had a soft spot for Philips, and their SD performance (which, at 26" is likely to be at least 75% of use) is spot on!

[alanb3]

Couldn't agree more Yellow - my main TV is a Philips and is superb - but I'm a bit suspicious of the panel in the 26". And why are there no reviews of it anywhere. Surely someone must have reviewed it?

[alanb3]

On the other hand, I read a lot about problems with backlight bleeding on Sony TVs. Is the 26 T3000 aflicted with this problem?

[alanb3]

OK, gone for the Sony in the end (£404 from DigitalDirect if anyone's interested). Reason - after researching the Philips spec I found that most retailers are advertising it as having a 178 degree viewing angle whereas the Philips site clearly indicates only 160 degree horizontal and 150 degree vertical (an inferior quality panel perhaps?). Someone, somewhere is telling porkies and its all beginning to smell a bit fishy.:(