A couple of questions come to mind right away. First, why is this TV named WEGA and pronounced Vay-Guh? We know the answer to only part of this one. Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra. It was only natural that Sony chose the name of this star for their new technology, because this is supposed to be the brightest star in the television industry right now. But why the goofy spelling? Frankly, we don’t know. It’s just one of those mysteries we’ll have to live with.

The next question is: What’s the big deal about a flat screen TV? Well, if all Sony did was to put a flat piece of glass in front of their old TV, there wouldn’t be much to talk about. But what really happened here was that Sony sort of reinvented the next level of television technology, and what they ended up with was a visually flat display that dramatically enhances viewing enjoyment.

A regular TV is built around a CRT (cathode ray tube) that is curved across its front plane. This curvature causes problems ranging from glare to distortion, all of which diminish viewing pleasure. Even if you were to install a piece of flat glass in front of a regular TV, nothing would change visually. It isn’t just the front surface of the glass that makes the difference; it’s the way the entire system is designed.

In Sony’s new technology, the picture tube has been redesigned with a flat front surface that supersedes reflections from outside sources such as lamps or windows (especially from above and to both sides) to the bare minimum. The screen also maximizes contrast, delivering a deeper, richer, more lifelike picture.

A flat exterior was only the beginning. It’s the guts of this system that makes the WEGA such a delight to watch. Even though what was developed is far too technical for most of us to understand, it’s nice to mention what it was anyway – and what it’s supposed to do for us. One such item is the high-focus electron gun that increases focal length by 20-percent for better on-screen focus than any of Sony’s previous designs. Another is the fine-pitch aperture grille that employs higher tension and thicker grille members, which help focus the electrons for enhanced detail. Then there’s the new high-precision deflection yoke (Sony says it’s the most exact in their history), which they say keeps the beam spot supremely consistent in size and shape. Do you get the impression from all this that the WEGA will deliver a sharper, crisper image? That’s exactly what Sony was aiming for.

Improved picture detail was one of the goals. While curved TV screens distort the shapes of objects in the picture, the FD Trinitron flat screen renders everything accurately. Sony tells us that for the first time in big CRT history, squares are truly square, circles are circular, and straight lines are actually straight. Earlier technology was able to deliver fairly good definition in the central part of the screen, but toward the edges and corners distortion would increase. But the flat screen delivers excellent definition from center to edge, side to side, corner to corner.

Not only that, but with a curved screen, if you were sitting off to one side, the distortion became more pronounced. In fact, if the angle of view were severe enough, the far horizon of the curved picture tube would disappear altogether. Not so with the flat screen. Viewers watching the new FD Trinitron TV can sit well off to the side and still receive the full picture. This is an important consideration in a motorhome, because TV location and viewing angle may not always be ideal.

Now for the really technical stuff that has brought us new and exciting levels of excellence. These sets feature a 3-line digital comb filter that analyzes three TV scanning lines at a time for high resolution, pure colors and minimum flecks of video “noise.” Other high-tech elements include Velocity Modulation™ scanning, Trinitone¨ color temperature adjustment, and Vertical Compression. And what does all this stuff do? Retains the proper wide screen aspect ratio of “anamorphic” DVD-Video titles. Renders edge detail accurately. Makes the picture nicer to look at.

Ah, but the picture is only one factor in TV/Video enjoyment. The sound quality must be equal to the picture quality, or you will lose out on an enormous part of the viewing experience. Today’s television programs, movies, videos, and even commercials employ exciting sound elements in the overall recipe. Most of us have never heard all the sound that is available, because we haven’t had the technology to translate the full spectrum of the soundtrack so our ears can hear it.

Several sound quality features make the Sony WEGA systems like no other television you’ve ever heard. One ear-tickling feature is the SRS® 3D Audio Enhancement, which applies the psychoacoustics of human hearing to simulate surround sound, even though there are only two speakers in the room. In a sense, it tricks the listener into thinking the sound is coming from someplace in the room where no speaker even exists. This eliminates the audio “sweet spots” in the room and delivers ideal sound quality no matter where you’re sitting.

The WEGA units offer a terrific feature in the SteadySound™ volume control with BBE™ enhancement, which automatically adjusts the volume level to eliminate sudden blasts of loud sound during commercials (I hate that). It also helps maintain tonal clarity.

One might think that excellent digital quality picture and sound would be enough, but Sony took it one step farther with special convenience features. WEGA systems include V-chip parental control, so you can lock out programming that you feel is not appropriate. You can speed surf through the channels by pressing and holding the remote control up/down buttons to race through the channels at phenomenal speed – which can come in handy in today’s 200-channel environment. There is also a picture-in-picture feature, so you can visually follow two programs at once (a main picture and a smaller inset). There is also a freeze memo feature so you can freeze what’s on the screen (like a website address or a phone number, for example) and hold it while you search for a pencil and paper to write down the information. And last but not least is the universal remote control unit with major keys that glow in the dark. This remote has the ability to operate the TV, cable box, digital satellite receiver and DVD player all from a single unit.

There is no question about it – Sony’s high-tech approach to the entertainment systems used in Monaco coaches provides the best TV, video and DVD enjoyment available today.

Holiday Rambler currently offers the Sony Wega TVs in 20” (KV-20FV12), 24” (KV-27FV16) optional in 2002 Navigators. The Sony 42” Plasma Screen TV is currently available only as an option on the Navigator.

Rich Johnson is a freelance writer based in the Pacific Northwest. He has 23 years experience as a professional editor with several automotive and RV publications, including Trailer Life and Motorhome.