Customer Reviews

Sony Bravia SXRD KDS-50A3000 50-Inch 1080p Rear Projection HDTV

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recently got this TV because my LCD was too small for my living room. It's excellent, excellent picture, very deep black level and solid color reproduction. It has a lot of user adjustable image settings including iris adjustment (the iris controls the amount of light coming from the bulb and is a more powerful adjustment than Brightness for many purposes). Try these adjustments to get a substantial improvement over the default picture quality when using HD cable:

Go into Picture settings and set:

Picture mode Standard
Iris mode Auto 1
Color temperature Neutral
Noise reduction and MPEG noise reduction off

Then go into Advanced and set:

Black corrector Low
Live color Low
Detail enhancer Off (this is important - it causes noise)
Edge enhancer Off


This type of TV can be professionally calibrated but for most people this is not necessary.

Note that in the product numbering, the 50 refers to the size, A is the series and 3000 is the generation (this is the 2007 model). A 50A2000 is older, a 55A3000 is larger. The A series is high end (an SXRD projector - this is Sony's brand name for LCoS, which is subtly different from DLP - Wikipedia it if you're curious) If you compare it to the E series (an LCD projector) you will see a substantial difference in picture quality. SXRD produces a much better black than LCD and does not suffer from motion blur.

I caught this during a 2 or 3 day sale and got it from Amazon for $1,299. It's already back up to $1,700+ everywhere I look. So right off, I'm already pleased with the price, but now that I've used the TV for a bit, I'm giggity.

The picture is fantastic. The 1080p makes it unbelievable when viewing HD signals. Why anyone would even consider buying a 720p HDTV these days is ludicrous, IMHO. It took a lot of tweaking of the picture, iris, and all the other settings to finally get it where I wanted it. And the cool thing is that you can regulate a million different settings for EACH input. So I have different picture settings for my Dish, my over the air HDTV antenna, and my upscaling DVD player.

The 120Hz engine in this thing is remarkable. The smoothness of sports or fast action is VERY noticeable when compared to 60Hz LCD or Plasma TVs. As soon as you enable the anti-blur stuff, it's mind blowing the quality, sharpness, and delivery. I have a $89 Sony upscaling DVD player hooked up to my Bravia and it is INSANE how good and amazing it looks! It looks like I'm watching it on Blu-Ray! I don't now exactly what it definitive reason it all looks so good, but I have to imagine that the combination of the 120Hz stuff, HDMI, and the 1080 upscaling DVD player all make it just mind boggling!

I bought a $40 HDTV over the air antenna and put it in my attic. I'm watching my local channels in HD with no problem at all and it looks fantastic!! Forget ANYTHING you knew about using an antenna and expecting static, fuzziness, etc. My antenna picture actually looks better than cable box HDTV!!

Now my .1% downers. My 2 problems are mundane and probably would not effect most people. One, if you use an AV receive or home theater and even though TV has a million input jacks on the back, you really can't drive audio through the TV without losing your digital audio.

So if you hook up a DVD player to your TV with HDMI, even though a Dolby signal is sent to the TV, the TV changes all audio signals to 2 channel PCM. Even is you use the Digital out on the TV and send it to your Home Theater, you still get 2 channel PCM signal. In order to watch a DVD but still get full Dolby/DTS surround, you have to use a HDMI to your TV, but still have a digital audio cable from your DVD straight to your AV/Home Theater receiver. I find this completely annoying for now I have to change the video input on my TV when switching components. Then I have to switch audio components on my receiver to match. Was hoping to just drive all the video and audio through my TV. But if you don't care about sound quality and dont mind the downmixed 2 channel audio, then this is a non-factor.

The other thing that is annoying me is that the remote that comes with the TV will do EVERYTHING, including control my DirecTV DVR. Sweet!! Except....you can only program it for ONE model AV/Home Theater...and it has to be a specific Sony model. So while I can control my DVD, TV, and DirecTV functions, I CANNOT control the volume of anything since all the sounds go through my Home Theater. So now I'm going to have to go purchase a 3rd party programmable remote. So this is really just a personal gripe and in no way detracts from the overall quality and wow factor of this TV.

Overall, I really am just amazed with it. But Sony has announced that it is getting out of the rear projection business. It's a real shame for even Crutchfield says that this SXRD line might just be THE BEST HDTV on the market. At this point, I couldn't agree more.

I originally went from a Vizio 42" plasma to a Sony Bravia 40". Huge difference. I eventually took the 40" back and got a refund (it cost me $1790 w/ tax) because it was too small. After seeing the other reviews and determining this TV would fit on my shelf, I got it for $1499 from Amazon (shipping / tax included). Saved $$$ and the picture is UNREAL! Much sharper / crisp compared to the 40" Bravia LCD. Only gripe is it takes about 20 seconds longer for it to turn on as opposed to a regular LCD. Plenty of HDMI, VGA, S-video, and component connections to accomodate just about anything.

I don't think you'll find another television at this size, this price, and with such a superior picture. I highly recommend the Sony Bravia SXRD for anyone interested in getting the new rear projection LCD HDTV.

This TV blows our socks off!!!

I have been on the fence for years wanting a big HDTV but felt that the technology wasn't up to snuff for me. I purchased a DLP of a well known brand a couple of years ago and ended up taking it back the next day because the picture was so much worse than my standard 32" CRT - even on DVDs. So I've been looking ever since and boy did I find it - this TV is everything we wanted and more for a price I can't believe.

If you want to hang your TV on the wall, this isn't for you, but if you are putting it on a stand - THIS TV IS THE TV YOU WANT. Most of the components on my entertainment stand are deeper than this TV so I see no reason for some ultra slim panel.

The picture is simply breathtaking with HD content from my satellite provider and standard DVDs on my regular old DVD player (HDMI) look like they are HD. One of my biggest concerns was Standard Definition TV as a lot of the shows we watch are still in SD. No, the shows don't look as good as HD content but in my opinion they look more than acceptable. We are definitely NOT distracted with poor image quality when watching SD content.

So now about Sony canceling the LcoS line:
All I can say is that I am thrilled that I bought this before it was discontinued. The reason given by Sony is that the consumer market is moving in the direction of LCDs but then goes on to mention that they are trying to fill the current back orders of the high end line of SXRD TVs so I don't understand how they can't make enough to keep up with consumer demand of a product that they say no one is interested in. Personally I think it has to do more with margins than anything else. If you tried to buy a Plasma or LCD with 120Hz refresh, 1080P, 3 HDMI 1.3 inputs, expanded color range and the quality of this picture you would have to pay at least double.

$1400.00 is still a lot of money for a TV in my opinion but I am THRILLED with the purchase and would make it 10 times over again.

researched hdtv's over 6 months before deciding.

best value for the money:
excellent picture
good sound
screen menu very easy to learn and use
has latest 1.3 hdmi software
lighter than lcd and plasma (easier to move)
unlike most projection tv's it can be view at angle
good documentation

One of my biggest concerns about purchasing a new hdtv was how the
companies customer service (internet and phone) would handle questions and provide information if needed.
Sony easily beat out Panasonic and Samsung.

the kds50A3000 is all i expected. the shipping and delivery was prompt and the service was excellent. unpacked and put in place. as advertised, standard tv is acceptable with the bravia engine and better than most hd sets i've seen. the hd picture is clear with full-bodied color that sony delivers. motion is smooth. the set seems to run pretty cool within a slightly restricted cabinet space. menus are clear and outputs/inputs are conveniently placed with just a small movement of the set.
all in all, there are a lot of nice sets but i'm totally satisfied with my selection.

If the depth of your T.V. is not an issue, a rear projection is a great bang for the buck. I spent just under $1500 for this Sony and it is great for what I use it for. I have a 42" plasma & a 32" LCD (both hdtv) and this 50" Sony has just as good if not better picture than those. I don't get the motion blur on fast moving images (sports and gaming) as we did on other sets. I have heard the viewing angle wasn't as good on projection T.V's and I will vouch for that, but who likes to sit at a wide angle from there set anyhow? Bottom line, I had a good experience purchasing (from Amazon) and using this set. I highly recommend it!

Regarding my purchase of the Sony Bravia SXRD KDS-50A3000 50" 1080p Rear Projection HDTV (Purchased on 12/26/2007):

The product was shipped through EAGL (or EGL) which was delivered outside of the time frame they agreed to(1PM-5PM or something along those lines). Their customer service was rude at times when I called to inquire about the lateness, but the package did arrive before 6. The driver was very courteous and understanding of my frustration. It was indeed white glove service as advertised. He brought the TV into my unit of my building. The television and its packaging was in perfect condition.

He waited until I set it up, turned it on and tested it with component XBOX 360 before leaving. The delivery guy/driver made the experience much improved over the horrible telephone customer service.

On to my fears about Sony-
I am afraid that the Sony rear projection models are reported by many to suffer from the 'yellow stain' or miscolored yellow donut' area. I have researched the matter quite a bit to find that Sony has suffered many services, returns, and replacements over this matter with previous, similar models. Sony has officially stopped production of any rear projection televisions going forward probably due to this issue.

However, I had not found anyone complaining about THIS particular model. The issue is clearly mentioned in the product's manual that this is a normal issue and is not something Sony will necessarily cover. You should do your own research on this matter.

That all being said, the product picture has been nothing short of fantastic so far with no sign of any issues. It never showed the grainy picture that a lot of plamas and LCD TVs display in stores that I disliked. I looked for months researching the various HD television types before selecting this particular rear projection model and I'm perfectly pleased in the picture quality. Sound isn't terrible either (as TV speaker audio goes). There are ample inputs which are very accessible (easy to reach w/o moving the tv.

I am expecting that this 'yellow donut' problem may reveal itself in time with continued use. But for now, I am satisfied with my purchase and would recommend this TV as long as you are aware of the potential downside.

Like many others, I spent more than a few hours researching tv's before purchasing. What stuck me is that the technology still has a ways to go before being anywhere near perfect, so why go out and spend nearly 3K on a top of the line plasma or LCD, when they will most certainly be overshadowed by newer and better products in the very near future. With that said, this tv delivers state of the art picture quality and features at around $1400, so when all the next generation tv's hit the market, I won't feel so bad giving it the boot.

I read reviews about this product on Cnet, they gave it a decent rating. I agree, this Sony T.V. is a very good buy for the price. Now all I need is HD PROGRAMING at a reasonable price to enjoy it fully. Hooked up to a HD DVD player though the picture is awesome. So if your planning to buy a HD T.V. I definetly recommend this Sony, if your on a budget and want a quality item. Be prepared though if you purchase an HD T.V. and want to actually enjoy it your gonna have to open up your wallet for the HD DVD player and the HD programming, other wise you'll just have a big T.V.