If your looking for a widescreen television and don't want to spend to much of your hard earned cash then buy a philips 28pw6006. I'v just got hold of mine today and it's brilliant, no matter what source I use, DVD, Sky or games console the picture quality is first class.

Like I said for not a lot of money, £320 from Unbeatable.co.uk, you can't go wrong.

[John Jennings]

Absolutely. I've got one too! I was actually willing to spend a lot more on a TV (up to nearly twice this price), but this outperformed the more expensive ones I was looking at.

[Nyquil Driver]

John- Sorry for being nosey, but why didn't you go for a JVC FT1?. I don't own one myself, but its reputation on this forum is almost unrivalled (and unlike the 6006 it has a flatscreen). You say you based your decision on performance, so did you consider the JVC and then rule it out for some reason?.

I only ask because I've tried 2 different flatscreen sets myself (PL1/S2) and I wasn't impressed with either of them. My previous set was a (beloved) 24" Philips 6005 and I'm kicking myself for ignoring the 6006 now. A flatcreen was one of my priorities when I started looking around, but I'm beginning to think it's more trouble than it's worth (does the curvature bother you at all?). Apologies for all the questions, but it would be really helpful if you could shed some light on these areas (I've honestly forgotten what it's like to just sit-back and enjoy watching a TV!)....

[John Jennings]

The JVC was actually second on my list. The curvature on the Philips screen doesn't bother me at all, it's actually way better than 'old fasioned' curved screens (Philips call it an 'ultra flat' tube). It was the bendiness on the JVC geometry in 4:3 mode that made me go against it. It would have have driven me up the wall! And before anyone starts on about stretching the 4:3 image to fill the screen, I really don't like those modes that make people look like munchkins.

Also, the poor audio output counted against the JVC for me.

Putting it simply, it was the damn near perfect geometry of the Philips PW6006 that made me go for it. The picture also seemed brighter on the PW6006. I guess that's one of the advantages of a curved screen; the glass is thinner than a flatscreen, so the image is brighter.

The JVC is still damn nice though. I'd probably have been pretty happy with it.

Also, just out of interest, the JVC actually has a Philips tube inside it (BlackLine S) licensed to JVC.

Cheers,
John

[Wayne Moule]

The 28in 6006 has won a best buy in a recent tv test pack in one of the tv/video magazines.

I've just ordered the 32in 6006 for £474 from Unbeatable,which rather fits the description of this telly,I hope.

[Nyquil Driver]

Thanks for the info John, it was very helpful.

I originally dismissed the FT1 for exactly the same reason as you (wonky 4:3 geometry) and the "panoramic" mode is more of a "TV with the worst geometry in the world" mode IMO. The JVC's stretch option is definitely one of the best around (probably THE best), but why would I voluntarily choose to watch things in the wrong proportions and have part of the image missing?. In fairness, the lines down the side of the 4:3 image can actually be rectified in the service menu, but I didn't know that at the time.

The 6006 sounds like a fantastic set though (and ridiculously inexpensive). If I can't get the issues with my S2 resolved, this Philips model will definitely be top of my list.