Sony KDS-55A2000 55" LCOS Rear Projection TV

This is a GREAT HDTV

Strengths: Excellent picture quality Very good reproduction of Standard definition sources Lots of inputs

Weaknesses: Takes a minute to power up and a about 30 seconds to change input signal sources, but I can get used to this.

Summary: A friend has the highest rated 42” Panasonic plasma and watching sports broadcast in Standard Definition (SD) looks horrible. It was hard on his eyes and so he had to purchase the HD package (13 channels of HD) from his cable provider. Even though I have direct TV, which has the most HD channels of any provider, the vast majority of what I want to watch is not part of the channels they broadcast in HD. Because of this, my biggest requirement was for an HDTV that could reproduce SD sources good enough so that it would not be really blurry on a big screen TV. The research I had done seemed to indicate that the WEGA engine Sony uses was one of the best at reproducing SD. I looked at DLP, Plasma and many rear projection sets and from my perspective learned that HDTV that are 60” and larger do not reproduce SD as well as those which are smaller. For my eyes 55” was about as big as I wanted to go to minimize the blurriness of SD signals. Why have a huge set that has a picture quality worse than a smaller set?

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CNET’s first review of the Sony A2000 HDTVs in August 2006 was very disappointing, so I waited for SBR2 models to come out. I looked at the SBR2 when it first came out and really did not how the speaker are integrated into this weird border that makes the whole TV set bigger and in my opinion unattractive. Then CNET reviewed the SBR2 in Nov. 2006 they learned new information about the A2000 product line from Sony and so they went back and reviewed the A2000 again. This time the picture quality of the SBR2 and A2000 lines were pretty much the same, but CNET rated the A2000 less than the SBR2 because it did not have PIP and the cable card. I have scrambled movie channels and so the cable card does me no good, I never use PIP and the ugly speakers made me decide on the A2000 model after the November update by CNET.

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I bought the 55A2000 and hooked it up using coax, component video, video/audio, S-connector and an HDMI cable and then began to test how well the TV reproduced SD signal sources. What I am presenting in what follows is the end result of a lot of trial and error experimenting. The SD reproduction was just ok when using the initial factory settings. Then I turned the DRC OFF and everything improved (this is done in the video setting menu under the sharpness control options). When I turned the DRC OFF the SD performance of everything got dramatically better! I was amazed that even using a coax input with the DRC OFF produced a very nice picture—a better picture than what I had seen for SD signals in all the DLP and Plasma TVs I had seen (I have not seen SD on the Pioneer 5070).

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The A2000 has two main functions that allow users to change the picture presented to meet their liking. First, there is four different sizes of the image reproduced; Full, Zoom, Zoom wide and Normal. I have found Full, Zoom wide and Normal all reproduce SD well. Second there are three different color/brightness settings: Vivid, Standard and Custom. This provides 12 different combinations any input signal source can be presented in. It also stores the configuration you use for each of the input sources. This is useful for me because I have two DVD recorders, a DVD/SACD player and a gateway, etc. as inputs and some look better to me when using different settings than the others.

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I have a Toshiba recorder with an HDMI output that can upconvert signals to 480I, 720I and 1080i. Connecting the HDMI output from the DVD recorder to the HMDI input on the 55A2000 resulted in beautiful images from purchased DVDs. The images from movies TIVO’d (recorded and output as 1080i) were of excellent quality and close to the quality of purchased DVDs. I output the SD input signal through a HDMI connector from the Toshiba as 1080i and it passes directly through a Sony DA3200ES receiver and produces a lot better image quality. So if your watching SD or HD or playing a 1080p game, I have found the 55A2000 to produce picture quality up to my expectations.

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Great TV............Great Choice

Strengths: Picture Quality, 2 HDMI inputs. Only about 19 inches from front to back.Able to handle 1080P.

Weaknesses: No P-I-P, but many big screen TVs dont it have anymore. Bulb having to be changed out after about 4,000-8,000 hrs.

Summary: Great TV . Great Picture Quality. Havy happy with purchase.

HD channels look great, so do DVD movies

(using un upconversion DVD player).

If you do get this set or any of the other KDS series 50,55,& 60 inch. Get an extended warranty that includes bulb replacement( bulbs go for about $200-250.) The life of a bulb for these type of TVs & DLPs as well, is about 4,000-8,000 hrs. The bulb is easy enough to change by yourself.

After getting TV, you need to play around with the picture settings.Here is a great place to find ideal picture settings for this TV..........

on cnet.com

help.cnet.com/9602-125...

I do highly recommend this TV and any of the other KDS series sets.

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Sony KDS-55A2000 55

Strengths: Our movie room is about 13 feet from the first set of chairs to the TV. Picture looks great. Dark colors are its strong point. Did have to upgrade the DVD player to the uplinked DVD player.

Weaknesses: no PIP, was not really looking for that anyway. The only weaknesses that I noticed was replacing the bulb. I did buy the extended bulb warranty.

Summary: Did a lot of research, looked at plasma's, LCD's and rear projections. I did not plan on hanging the TV on the wall and wanted at least 50 inches. I felt that the rear projection offered the best picture for the best price. Very simple setting up the TV basically plug and play.

If you buy this TV, highly reccomend buying the extended bulb warranty, its worth it since the bulbs will dim over time, and it does become noticeable. I saw one with a bulb that was dimming at one of the stores I went to.

Do check out the this address, from the previous poster I used it for the settings on my TV and it saved a lot of playing around

help.cnet.com/9602-125...

In my opimion if hanging the TV on the wall is not a buying criteria go with the rear projection

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KDS55A2000

Strengths: Picture sharpness and vivid colors.

Weaknesses: None seen as of yet

Summary: I purchased this TV for it's picture clarity and the ability to up-convert. The picture really shows off the vivid colors and the sharpness on HD channels is amazing. I had originally considered the Samsung DLP, but many AV forums reviewed the Sony with better satisfaction. It is a truly impressive TV.

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Sony KDS-55A2000 55" LCOS Rear Projection TV

Strengths: Attractive cabinetry that does not take up extra space. Extremely clear picture, esp. when viewing DVD's and HD Channels. Remote control is easy to operate and easy to program. Fairly lightweight

Weaknesses: Because of the 55" size regular broadcast TV can be somewhat blurry at times. Better picture if the room isn't too bright.

Summary: This TV is now priced affordably at almost all on-line sites. The picture, esp. when viewing HD programming and regular DVD's (not Blu-ray) is clear and crisp. Sound quality is excellent. The cabinet is attractive and reasonably thin and light. We sit about 10 ft. from the screen and the 55" screen size is perfect.

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The KDS-55A2000 and why it's worth buying

Strengths: 1080p with best looking picture I've seen - image blows DLP away. 8 external inputs (including component in front). Built-in tuner is a plus. Surprisingly light-weight for its size.

Weaknesses: No PIP - instead offers a "Freeze" function that I don't really see a need for. Only 1 of 2 HDMI inputs allows audio input, however if you have a receiver with HDMI input this isn't a problem.

Summary: While my wife wanted to get an LCD TV because it would be "skinnier and prettier," getting one that's 55-inches would be impractical for the cost. However, the KDS-55A2000 is a great middle-ground between LCD and projection and you can find it for under $2,000 at many places online. But beware - this TV is big. Before I bought this TV. O saw it in-person at a store, but didn't realize just how big it truly is until it was sitting in my living room.

So far I've used the TV for watching Standard and HD TV programs, HD Sports programs, XBox 360 (running at 1080i) and an upscaling DVD player (at 1080i).

If you're worried that your SDTV programs might look pixely - don't - standard def looks great (as does HD).

Playing XBox 360 on it is amazing as well. The picture is great and I can't say enough good things about this TV.

The Owner's manual says that the bulb will last for 8,000 hours. That's 8 hours a day for the next 3 years, so don't worry about burning it out.

If you're going back and forth as to whether or not you should spend the extra cash for a Sony versus a DLP, go with the Sony. My father-in-law has a 46" Samsung DLP TV and while the picture quality on that is nice, the Sony is just cleaner and sharper.

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Excellent TV

Strengths: Picture quality

Weaknesses: Slow to power on, bulb replacement

Summary: This tv is an excellent choice due to picture quality. The TV actually looked better when I got it home then it did when it was in the store. I think that this has to due with the number of hours the bulb has been used in the store. I could not be happier with this tv as it has 2 HDMI inputs.

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Great HDTV - too bad they don't make it anymore

Strengths: Picture quality, array of functions

Weaknesses: Image in bright room, bulky

Summary: This is a great TV. I heard that Sony don't make these TVs anymore, which makes me worry about bulb replacement. Being in Europe, I didn't buy the bulb extension warranty; moreover, bulbs are quite expensive here (200 euros, 265 dollars). The TV seller (a medium store in Lisbon) told me that they could perhaps have one free replacement from Sony. Let's wait and see. Anyway. The image quality for viewing films or playing high-def games in the PS3 is jaw-dropping. Blu-ray is absolutely amazing in this TV. Makes me not want to watch DVD movies anymore. Standard def TV is great too, as is HDTV. It has worked flawlessly in my living room for almost two years now and the bulb looks set for another two years.

f course it doesn't make sense to recommend the purchase of this TV anymore, but two years ago it was clearly the best deal available (as long as you don't want to hang your TV in a wall) and it still is a great, great TV.

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Excellent TV For the Money

Strengths: picture, imputs, customization, price

Weaknesses: limited viewing angle, possible bulb replacement

Summary: I bought this TV after doing about 6 months worth of research on various HDTVs. I read everything I could get my hands on from reviews on CNET, to articles in Consumer Reports, to the reviews on this excellent web site. I finally settled on two choices, this offering from Sony and the Samsung 5687W DLP HDTV. After a lot of debating, I decided both were likely excellent TVs with the edge going to the Sony due to the rainbow effect issue on most DLP TVs out there.

I went ahead and purchased this one at Butterfly Photo.com and was very happy with the customer service from them. I did buy an extended warranty for bulb replacement that I may/may not need but I felt it was a worthwhile investment after spending almost 2 grand on a TV.

So far, I have been extremely happy with this purchase. The TV’s picture quality is outstanding, and if you don’t like something, there are so many options to change or customize the picture with, that it will make your head hurt! Honestly though, I didn’t have to change very much to get an excellent picture on this TV. Of course the HD picture quality is better than SD but I am still happy with the SD quality overall (using Dish Network VIP622 receiver via HDMI).

The only thing that I don’t like about this TV is something I should have thought more about before purchasing the unit. This TV sits in a built-in cabinet which is elevated above my fireplace in my family room. While standing in the family room, the picture is plenty bright and detailed, but when you sit down on the couch you can notice a slight loss in brightness as the vertical viewing angle increases. This is one of the few negatives with rear-projection TVs, as they have a more limited horizontal and vertical viewing angle when compared to flat screen HDTVs. I knew this before I bought this TV, but I gambled that it wouldn’t be that noticeable. Now in all fairness, I am kind of a perfectionist so this bothers me a bit and will likely lead to me purchasing a flat panel HDTV sometime next year and moving this TV up to our theater room where the viewing angle is straighter on. However, my wife and friends don’t really notice the difference at all. Until then though, I am still very pleased with this TV and the quality of Sony TVs in general (this is my 3rd TV from them).

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