Flat Screen, Picture Quality, Presence in the Room

Difficulty level talking the wife into the need for a purchase of this nature

Now that I have had this unit for over a year with no problems, I feel pretty good about it. The people who installed this beast said that if you get past the first few days or weeks problem-free...chances are this unit will last a good long time.

My biggest fear is that my 5 year old will smash the frontal area playing with a sword, bat or some other bloody toy.

I purchased this unit on Sony's solid reputation, keeping in mind that the newer the model year, the better, so I held out for an early 2000 model as opposed to a late '99.

DVD or high end VHS is amazing. I tested the XBR which had slightly better resolution. This was only visable duing a side by side comparison and I could not justify the additional cost. Cable reception becomes an issue with this unit. If the reception for a given day is good, the picture is wonderful. If for some reason the reception is weak, the unit will amplify this weakness, so if digital cable is available...get it.

Sound quality is good. Although I have a decent HT system, I generally utilize that system only while watching movies and will use the TV's system otherwise.

The only thing that could have been improved would be the remote. I have no complaints about it, I've just seen better.

All and all, I feel that I've made a very good purchase. Even my hard-sell wife now appreciates having this in our house. I am fortunate to have this unit set up in a basement entertainment room where having control of outdoor light and having the TV as the central focus in the room is not an issue. My wife would not allow having a TV as the central focus in our living room.

If you are in the market for a 36" TV. This Sony will not disappoint.

Similar Products Used:

Several Tested

Picture clarity, color rendition, clean lines of cabinet

Weight (like all the WEGA models of this size), reflective screen, PRICE ($$$)

Studied all comments of this product line and luckly have had no problems so far. Only abnormality I've seen is a slight color shift on upper right hand side of screen compared to the left based on a blank blue screen from my VCR. On regular viewing of tapes, cable/RF, DVD, this is very minor. The SRS setting on the audio over compensates and makes the set sound very boomy and over-driven. Chose this model over the other WEGA's because of the picture clarity over the regular trinitron sets. Only real advantage the XBR model has would be the vertical line compression for letter box viewing. Extra inputs, PIP, little more power for sound, IR wireless headphones are nice but are not worth the xtra $500 for the KV36XBR250.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer "Elite" series of RPTV

Gorgeous DVD images using the component (Y,Pb,Pr) inputs.
Flat screen
Super sexy looks.

Video Locks while switching inputs.
Inconsistant Background Black levels
Not HDTV ready

Well, I was trying to hold out for a HDTV, but seeing as how prices where not coming down any time soon, I decided there would still be lots of programing to watch on a SDTV. I have always like the Sony for their flat screens, and color saturation of an Aperature grill design. I would have to say I am slightly dissapointed with my purchase, and maybe should have waited, or payed a bit more for a true 16:9 HDTV, like the new Toshiba 34" 16:9.

For some strange reason my set locks up into a mode where no video signal is sent,only audio. This happens while switching through the Video line in. Sometimes the DVD can be seen but it resembles a badly scrambled image from a cable company. To correct this condition the TV has to be reset thought the reset routine, as turning the set off and on does not cure it. I contacted Sony of Canada regarding this and they stated that they have not heard off, or seen this problem. I have been able to minimize this by juggling the input assignments, it crashed 100% of the times when my

configuration was;
Video 1, Playstation with S-video, Left/right audio.
Video 2, (front Panel Jack) 8mm Camcorder (not connected)
Video 3, Sony SL 799 VHS, Composite & Left/Right Audio
Video 4, S550D DVD, component Video
VHF/UHF, cable

A Standard setup with nothing out of the ordinary.

The second biggest problem I have is the monitor does not have a consistant background color black level. 3/4's of the left side is nice and black, while the remainding 1/4 on the right side of the screen is blackish/blue. This looks to be a vertical separation in the screen. This is most annoying while watching a letterboxed DVD that also has a dark scene, such as the night skys in the movie CONTACT, or during any situation when the whole back ground is black. The letter box bars under most situations, display this separation in black levels and is only noticable in a darkened room (my type of viewing environment) Further, reviews of the 36" XBR 250 indicates this is a real problem with the design of the Wegas. and is not percieved. It seems the problem is variable in set to set, and most reviewers don't seem to mind or mention it.

Those two problems are currently over shadowing any praise for this TV, as Image and function are the key reasons I payed more than $700 over a similar classed TV. I find
this very disturbing and as such, may return the TV. Sony of Canada has stated the segmented black levels are not a known problem with the Wegas. After reading the 250 XBR reviews I would conclude this problem to be real, it's just a matter of how much it bothers you and if you can live with it. I am undecided, but it does bother me......

Gorgeous DVD images using the component (Y,Pb,Pr) inputs.
Flat screen
Super sexy looks.

Video Locks while switching inputs.
Inconsistant Background Black levels
Not HDTV ready

Well I was trying to hold out for a HDTV, but seeing as how prices where not coming down any time soon, I decided there would still be lots of programing to watch on a SDTV. I have always like the Sony for their flat screens and color saturation of the Aperature grill design. I would have to say I am slightly dissapointed with my purchase.

For some strange reason my set locks up into a mode where no video signal is sent, only audio. This happens while switching through the Video line in. Sometimes the DVD can be seen but it resembles a badly scrambled image from a cable company. To correct this condition the TV has to be reset thought the reset routine, as turning the set off and on does not cure it. I contacted Sony of Canada regarding this and they stated that they have not heard off, or seen this problem. I have been able to minimize this by juggling the input assignments, it crashed 100% of the times when my configuration was;
Video 1, Playstation with S-video, Left/right audio.
Video 2, (front Panel Jack) 8mm Camcorder (not connected)
Video 3, Sony SL 799 VHS, Composite & Left/Right Audio
Video 4, S550D DVD, component Video
VHF/UHF, cable

Does any one know what the arrow on the Video line 3 panel indicates? It seems at first glance to indicate that any composite video line in on line 3 should be plugged into line 1. I have done this and it does minimize the lockups, but it doesn't seem right and it still randomly locks up.

The second biggest problem I have is the monitor does not have a consistant background color black level. 3/4's of the left side is nice and black, while the remainding 1/4 on the right side of the screen is blackish/blue. This looks to be a vertical separation in the screen. This is most annoying while watching a letterboxed DVD that also has a dark scene, such as the night skys in the movie CONTACT, or during any situation when the whole back ground is black.

Those two problems are currently over shadowing any praise for this TV, as Image and function are the key reasons I payed more than $700 over a similar classed TV. I find this very disturbing and as such, may return the TV if infact this is a consistant problem with the Wegas.

Flat screen, Color and image definitions, Component and S-Video inputs.

Low Brilliance Noise, Distortion in picture

This is our first "large" set for our new HT system. We hesitated longly between a large screen projector and this WEGA, but chose the picture quality over the size ! What a mistake as I am quite disapointed with this set. I did not expect any problems after reading reviews on this site.

Our viewing distance is about 11 feet away, so 43 inch would have been the largest one should consider, as most dealers suggested... WRONG !!! Actually 36 inches look small after a while. Read the reviews on the KP-53V80 before you do the same mistake we did! And go see for yourselves if you can afford the space. (KP-48V80 would also be good, but KP-43T70 is not as clear). Sports Fans, be careful of the line doubler sets !

While playing DVDs through component inputs (this happens with any input), an area a quarter of the right side of the screen showed backgroud noise (grey zone and lines)when the light level is low. The Sony Tech came visit twice, even with his NTSC Generator last time, and detected the problem near the power source. He fed-back the problem to SONY Canada in Whitby, ON. back in November. He has also located 7 or 9 more units with the same problem in the Quebec City area alone !!! I do not know if this is only specific to the FS10 models, or if the FVs and XBRs also have the problem.

Nothing has been done to fix it so far. He said it is now in the hands of SONY Japan. I am sorry but I cannot wait anymore.

Furthermore, there is a distorted area in the picture tube. It lays about a third left of the screen and is about 2 inches wide. It is most apparent while the image moves laterally. It looks like a bulging lens effect. I noticed it first while watching Football games, as the diagonal lines on the field are curved in that zone. Vertical and horizontal lines do not show the problem.

This is unaceptable for a set this expensive. I feel that I have bought a prototype !!! I was told that geometry is not perfect in any TV set, but that is not a good enough answer. RPTVs do not show these artifacts, especially those with the XBR mirrors (V80s and XBRs).

We bought our set at The SONY STORE, which might save us. It is nice to shop around to save a few bucks, but what do you do when it goes wrong ? The sales people at SONY are pushing hard to have the set taken back by SONY CORP. This way we will likely be able to upgrade (yes, upgrade !) to a KV-53V80 (long decision and many reviews).

We figured we might as well go for the best RPTV available in that price range, and wait for the real HDTV (not very expensive currently available flimsy prototypes, nor HDTV-ready prototypes) when it REALLY becomes available.

In the meantime enjoy the transition period fellows...

Similar Products Used:

KV-27V10

FD and composite option.

Weight

Very pleased with this set, and I know one thing that I won't need to fear and that is comming home from work and finding the living room rearranged by the wife.
Everything looks gerat on it so far, but I did have to adjust the settings because the fac defaults are poor.

I would recommend this set to anyone, I looked at the XBR version but I was distracted by that silver frame.

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Replaced Sony PVM2530XBRPro.