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| Date Reviewed: 11/01/2006 |
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Strengths: Best picture quality, ease of use, setup, styling.
Weaknesses: Awkward remote control. No PIP. Just Ok sound.
Summary: When Sony came out over a year ago with XBR KDSR50XBR1 50" TV, I thought it was the best picture on the market for any tv. But it had those elephant ear speakers that made it look so out of place next to the sleeker style of its competitors. When Sony replaced the KDSR50SBR1 with the new styling of the KDS50A2000 I was ready to purchase it. Plus the KDS50A2000 was about $500 priced less than it's predecessor, less a few features, PNP, Cable card ready, etc.
HD picture quality is outstanding, wither it's Off The Air antenna or from HD Satellite TV (DishTV). It auto programmed the OFF THE Air Channels, both Digital and Analog, in just a few minutes. Standard Definition quality broadcast channels suck, but that's expected with all large HDTV's anyway. No screen door effects or black areas near the edges, all crystal clear reception.
Sound quality is ok at best, but with a big screen tv you really need a quality surround sound system anyhow, so no real disappointment in this area with the Sony.
The remote is kind of long and awkward, and takes some getting use to.
A completely satisfied customer on my part!
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| Date Reviewed: 02/20/2007 |
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Strengths: Bright light viewing is excellent.
Weaknesses: Sound is OK, Sony can do better is this area
Summary: After four months of research and waiting, I saw that CircitCity had the TV (Sony KDS-50A2000) I wanted on sale for $1649.00. I placed the order online for pickup. Thirty minutes later, it was loaded into the van by CC. Way to go CC, great service and a great price.
I set the TV up next to my SD TV and connected some set top rabbit ears. The TV powered up into a search mode that took about three minutes. Wow, not I had 18 channels of digital and 12 of analog. The HiDef channels are stunning the SD channels were only acceptable. After a couple of hours I was able to adjust the SD to a better picture but this also degraded the HiDef stuff over the antenna.
The TV is now connected to DishTV HD. It’s hard for me to watch the SD channels after seeing programs in HD. Colors and picture quality are so superior to SD. I have read many reviews about Sony’s menus being difficult to use but, I found it to be very user friendly.
100% of People (4/4) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 01/20/2007 |
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Strengths: Very clear picture. Multiple connections for easy hook-up.
Weaknesses: None so far.
Summary: Have owned earlier Sony LCD TV's and was very satisfied with the picture quality, but the SXRD TV has the best picture I have seen anywhere. This TV is comparable with the picture of the plasma HDTV's. I have used this TV for a month and I am a very happy customer. Thanks, Sony. Ron Parks
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| Date Reviewed: 11/20/2006 |
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Strengths: Fantastic picture, you think the people are in the room with you. The internal speakers have great sound quality, makes you hesitate to upgrade to a home theater system. I was amazed how easy to setup.
Weaknesses: No PIP. Remote has a cheap feel to it.
Summary: I wish I would have bought this tv sooner. The amount of color and detail that is displayed is awesome, you don't know what you are missing until you see it in your own home.
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| Date Reviewed: 09/19/2006 |
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Strengths: Picture Quality is great even out of the box
A large number of video inputs
The wide range of user video tweaks
Weaknesses: No Picture-In-Picture
Remote
Summary: I bought the new Sony 50" SXRD a few weeks ago and it is very impressive both in picture quality and user functions. HD is unbelievable, which you would expect, but the Standard Definition is very good. I watch all types of programs and most is not HD so it was important the quality of regular TV be good. The TV has a lot of user tweaks and adjustments that make the picture quality even better. I hooked-up my progressive scan dvd player, about 3 years old, and I could not believe the picture. I don't see the need to buy an up converter at this time. I am very happy thus far. The only downside is that it does not have Picture-In-Picture, but my last TV had it and I never used the function. If you are considering HDTV, this one is it. It has all the connections you could ask for, including true 1080p input for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD.
94% of People (33/35) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 10/31/2006 |
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Strengths: Smooth "Film-like" picture
Excellent picture detail....low video noise
Customizable settings for every input
Weaknesses: None I have found yet
Summary: I purchased this TV after having owned a Samsung HL-S5086W DLP Projection TV. I returned the Samsung due to poor black levels, no variable audio output, and so much detail that the picture look grainy at times with plenty of artifacts in moving images. The Sony KDS-50A2000 has DEEP Black levels and excellent detail in darker areas of the picture that the Samsung couldn't touch. It also has a "Variable Audio Output" function that allows me to use an inexpensive computer 2.1 sound system and still control volume with the TV's Remote. The picture on this set has excellent HD detail, yet is very smooth looking....very little video noise and artifacting. It also does a much better job at rendering Standard Definition images than most of the other Projection TVs I looked at. Another boon is the seemingly endless tweaking options in the user menu. Each input can have its own set of three customizable video and audio settings. SXRD technology certainly yields a very realistic picture with great contrast and detail. Not harsh or artificial looking at all. I am VERY pleased so far!
94% of People (16/17) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 11/24/2006 |
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Strengths: Beautiful picture with 1080p native resolution capabilities. Great cabinet design and layout. Two 1080p HDMI inputs. Tons of picture controls.
Weaknesses: No Picture-In-Picture.
Summary: So you're wanting the best...look no further. This 50 inch HDTV is at the top of the pile for projection sets. After looking for nearly 6 months, and originally wanting a Samsung DLP, I purchased the Sony after way too much research...like reading over 50 on-line reviews! I also spent some quality time at my local Circuit City looking, asking questions, and adjusting display models. The main feature for me was the top end video quality and controls. It delivers true 1080p resolution (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) which means its ready for ANYTHING you connect to it...both today and in the foreseeable near future. Its just the best there is in consumer electronics right now. Even the remote for this TV has Blu-Ray DVD device controls built-in. And if connect an Xbox 360 HD (1080i) or Sony PS3 (1080p) this set will make you the envy of the neighborhood! The next main feature is the SXRD Light Engine. SXRD = Silicon X-tal Reflective Display. This has been the number one editor's choice for HDTV projection TVs for the past couple of years. It produces very bright, vivid color, and evenly toned pictures that (IMHO) surpassed the Samsung DLP sets. And the lamp on this set has an estimated life of 8,000 hours, so if you watch TV for 4 hours a day, it will last over 5 years. I doubt this number of hours at the light intensity levels this TV puts out. It may last 8,00 hours but I doubt it will remain at the original light intensity. A replacement bulb is about $250 bucks, so seriously think through the extended warranty options. This TV also has an enormous amount of video controls so that you can customize the picture to your liking. Honestly, there may be too many for the average user, so if you buy this set do a little web searching of other reviews (CNET) to find some comprehensive video settings. Finally, I'd like to suggest that if you buy this HDTV you put a florescent light BEHIND the set. The reason for this is that these HDTVs deliver such high contrast and brightness that watching them in a dark room for a couple of hours can cause really bad eye-strain. This is particularly true of you watch an action movie with lots of flashy explosions. I have a 1.5 foot, single bulb, florescent light (daylight color temp bulb) mounted BEHIND the set. I attached it with double-sided tape. It is plugged into my HD cable box and is switched to turn on/off with the cable box. It actually enhances the quality of the TV picture. Its well worth the $15 at Home Depot.
88% of People (7/8) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 12/27/2006 |
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Strengths: Clear, bright picture. Sony legendary quality and reliablity.
Weaknesses: Bulkier (depth and height) than equivalent DLP models (depth is same as my previous 27'' CRT). Remote does suck indeed.
Summary: Not much to add to existing reviews, except a 2-cent warning to new big tv prospects. Careful what you wish for: 50'' is perfect for DVD but watching TV requires either a large room (acceptable viewing distance is typically 7x the diagonal) or an expensive limited access to HD broadcast. The bigger and clearer the screen is, the more obvious SDTV broadcast compression artifacts are. It makes me wish I could reduce the image size of SD TV to 1/2 the screen size.
17% of People (1/6) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 11/30/2006 |
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Strengths: picture quality
favorites menu options
basically everything is nice
Weaknesses: none that i noticed yet!
Summary: I am very very impressed with this tv. i researched and looked for about 2mts before deciding to buy this...the LCOS is defn much much better than DLP or LCD. the blacks really look black, the brightness is correct, and it has great settings that you can make the color/brightness/contrast actually look correct! esp with the price of this coming down its a very good deal
(new model same except has memory card reader and cablecard options and pip...none of which i cared for!)
11% of People (1/9) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 01/06/2007 |
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Strengths: Quick setup guide and operating instructions. Neat, clean appearance to the exterior design.
Weaknesses: Warm-up time for the bulb.
Summary: I don't believe the setup guide and operating instructions can be written any better than they are. I had no problems with the connections to the satellite receiver, sound system or setup of the TV. The picture and sound on standard TV are above average, but not what I consider excellent. We are waiting for HD to be hooked up in about a week. The warm up time on the projection bulb seems quite long. The TV comes from the factory with the picture setting at 100%. It seems to be a little too much. Backing it down to between 65 and 75% improved the picture. I connected the TV to a laptop using the video 8 port and was pleasantly surprised with a clean, crisp picture and very good sound. I think this bodes well for good HD reception. Overall, based on what I've experienced so far, and the price, I think I the TV is worth what I paid for it.
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| Date Reviewed: 01/03/2007 |
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Strengths: Incredible picture in HD, 1080P, Built-in digital QAM tuner, Analog tv looks ok, Easy to navigate menus, Custom picture settings per input, PC input, TV utilizes the linux kernel ;-)
Weaknesses: PC input won't do the native resolution of the tv, 1080p only through HDMI, remote is long, awkward and doesn't light up.
Summary: I was torn between getting this or the Samsung s5087w DLP and I'm glad that I went for the Sony. The picture is absolutely amazing. Even NTSC analog tv looks good on this tv, well most channels anyway as some do look pretty bad. My old school xbox hooked up via component cables looks super sharp and my dvd player looks great also, it is hooked up via component cables and is running at 480p. I'm sure that if I got an up converting player it would look even better. Two features I wish it had that the Samsung had is native resolution at 1920x1080 for the PC input and a usb hookup. Not a real big deal, but I would give it 5 stars if it did. Definitely do your research on the DLP chip vs the SXRD lcos chip before you purchase a tv. A Google search should provide some good articles. The differences between these chips are what made me choose the Sony.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/31/2006 |
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Strengths: Reasonable Price, Excellent Resolution, HDMI Ports, Style
Weaknesses: Horrible Remote Included, Can't display HD resolution with my Xbox 360 through VGA (the VGA input isn't capable of HD through it).
Summary: It took me a while to decide on the right TV but so far I haven't had any regrets since buying this. Great picture quality at a reasonable price for a mid size HD set. Love the simple interface to make adjustments to the picture as well. A couple of things that bother me: as expected the remote included stinks. It is way too long, has an awkward layout, and doesn't even light up. Not a big deal though just a remote. Another thing that bugs me is the fact that from what I've seen and read you can't get HD resolution through its VGA input which is what I was hoping to do with my Xbox 360. Other than those flaws I highly recommend this set.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/08/2006 |
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Strengths: Being a LCOS display. Having multi HDMI hook-ups & other in-puts & out-puts. Plus an easy to use remote, and great looks.
Weaknesses: Haven't found any as of yet!
Summary: 2006-12-11 15:04:45 This is the first big screen TV that I have bought. I had a dinosaur big screen CRT that cost $1999.00 ten years ago. It's hard to believe that I have a TV that cost $300.00 less with a lot more features. Great job SONY!!!
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