Sony FWD50PX2/B 50-Inch Plasma TV Black

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Product Details

• Item Weight: 77 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 118 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000BWA1QA
• Item model number: FWD50PX2/B
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #110,973 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 28, 2005

Product Description

Product Description
The FWD-50PX2 is a 50-inch High Definition Professional Display, well suited for corporate and consumer applications. The display provides a versatile platform including analog and digital inputs for both video and PC devices. This HD monitor is able to display video resolutions up to 1080i.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent monitor - lousy service!, July 14, 2006

By	Merrick (Vienna, VA) - See all my reviews

This is a truly excellent monitor. If you like Sony, you won't be disappointed by this choice.

The entire delivery process, on the other hand, was a nightmare.

Like most people, I can't be home during approximately banker's hours that most delivery companies work on. And when you're expecting a $3000 delivery, you're concerned about the details from the beginning. And the beginning is where dissatisfaction with the shipping process started.

This monitor was purchased through Amazon from TigerDirect.
It wasn't until the day after the order was confirmed with Amazon that any information regarding the order appeared on the TigerDirect website. Then, all that appeared on the TigerDirect site was an indication of the order with no shipping information. A tantalizingly labelled link stated that shipping information could be had by registering with TigerDirect. So I registered. And after handing some information over to them that I would rather not have in order to register (though they already in theory had it from Amazon - but now with my explicit permission) the link lead me to the highly informative message (read sarcasm here) that no shipping information exists on the website, but that shipping information could only be obtained via e-mail. So I waited - another day - and finally got my html-enabled e-mail confirmation stating that my package was shipped via UPS and that all I had to do was click the UPS button to track my package. Do I have to state, at this point, that there was no UPS button on the e-mail? And that there was no tracking information, either?
After calling TigerDirect I finally was able to learn that in fact my package had not been shipped via UPS, but by a shipping company called ABF.
So, I called ABF. ABF knew they had the package, but didn't have any idea where it was or when it would be delivered. They would call me. So I checked to make sure they had the right phone number. They had my home phone, which would of course be completely useless during their normal operating hours, so I gave them my cell number. Several days later, no call. So I called them. "Oh, it'll be a while," was the response. So, a day later I called again. After talking with the person on the phone trying to get some useful information, the person suddenly asked, "is this a business or residential delivery?" A full week after the order and they didn't even know that! When I told her it was a residential delivery she said, "oh, we don't do those, we hand those off to our shipping partner, ABC. Let me check... you can expect a call from them tomorrow." Tomorrow was Friday.
I waited until 5:30 ET on Friday and did not receive a call from ABC (seriously, I'm not making these names up) - nothing. So I called ABF. Now, the ABF website clearly states that their office hours are from 8 AM to 6 PM CT M-F. So I was calling 90 minutes before the office should have closed. I got the service that answers there calls after hours. I asked if they had any idea who ABC was and how I might reach them. Of course, they had no clue. Checking ABF's website after the call, however, did confirm that the package had been handed off to ABC. Well, that's useful (sorry, sarcasm again).
When I finally got hold of the ABC Monday morning (after calling ABF to get their contact information - I know, I should have asked for it as soon as I found out ABC existed) the person at ABC told me that I could expect a call that afternoon. At that point I gave them the correct phone number, because, of course, ABF had given them the wrong one.
They didn't call. So I called at 5. The person on the other end said that a delivery had been scheduled between 9AM and 1PM for the following day. My response that I could not meet the delivery and that no one had called me to set it up was met with silence. After a little more silence I said, "well, I'm sorry, but I have meetings all morning, and I'm simply not going to be there." "OK," was the response.
I got home about 90 minutes later. I found a message on my *home* answering machine - with a time stamp about 15 minutes later than I had called in the morning and when I was told to expect a call in the afternoon - requesting me to call back to schedule delivery. I also found a second message time stamped about 15 minutes after the 5PM call I made, apparently from the driver, saying please call him in the morning, let's try to work a delivery out.
So, I called at 6AM - which is actually when the office opened. "Sorry, that's out on the truck for delivery." So, I left for work. I wanted to get in early to get as much done before my meetings as I could and possibly be home for an afternoon delivery. At 6:45, as I was arriving at work, my cell phone rang. "Hi, I'm at your house with your delivery - where are you?" If someone had told me they'd attempt delivery at 6:45, I could have stayed home. Oh well.
This is now getting too long, so I'll stop here, but suffice it to say I had about 10 more extemely frustrating phone calls to and from ABC regarding this shipment before I finally took delivery. Apparently most people can just take a half-day or full-day off at literally a moments notice so that shippping companies feel they don't have to give any warning to customers.

As I said at the beginning - a nightmare.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Needed service after 1 1/2 year, June 27, 2007

By	***MATT*** - See all my reviews

I've owned this monitor for about a year and half, and overall it's been very enjoyable. It's used as a PC/TV monitor. Why the 2 stars then? Because after about a year a sparkling red pixel appeared and has remained in the lower left half of the screen. As far as I know there is not a remedy for this. This might sound minor but it can be distracting while watching a HD feature within about 10' of the screen. Also for the record, it bothers me, but not the wife. If anyone knows a cure for a pixel fix for a *plasma*, please comment to this review!

The other disappointing thing was about 2 weeks ago I stepped out of the room while the TV was running and returned 5 minutes later to find the picture became very grainy and dark. I turned off the TV and turned it back on only to hear a clicking noise as if the TV was trying to turn on, but could not.

The good news is that this monitor came with a 2 year warranty. It was quite easy to get a Sony registered tech to come to the house after a quick online search(Within a week). After describing the incident to the tech over the phone, he ordered the parts he felt necessary to repair the panel and we scheduled a appointment once Sony sent him the parts. He replaced some boards in the monitor and it's back up and running as it was. Initially, the sparkling red pixel seemed to disappear after this repair; however, it seemed to re-appear about an hour after he left. It probably never left and just went un-noticed as it only appears during the transmissions of certain colors. From the bit of research I did, it would appear that this is a manufacturing defect of sorts. Also, because only one pixel affected, it's not covered under warranty. In fact, in the instruction booklet it list this as being somewhat normal, specifically red, green, and blue pixels. That is why it's important to make sure that there is a return policy of sorts that won't hurt your wallet when you purchase this monitor.

Some other thoughts are a stand or wall mount can easily add another $100-$300 to the price, and you might consider a consumer version of a plasma with a built in HD tuner or speakers. Personally I use this with my cable box tuner and surround sound speakers, and had no need for another version.

Using Component, or HDMI with HD programming is simply awesome, while the other inputs(s-video, composite, etc) are disappointing.

This monitor has an dvi port which means you needs to buy a dvi to hdmi cable, or buy the optional hdmi input module.

The remote looked like it would come with a $30 tv and looks cheaper then most $9 remotes in stores.

My first choice at the time was a Panasonic TH-50PH8UK, which seemed to be the way to go after reading countless positive reviews. However it was on backorder just about everywhere for months, and I lost patience and went with this.

Shortly after I bought the Sony, I also bought a Panasonic TH-42PH9UK(the next generation of Panasonic) for the bedroom and love it. I love them both, but have always liked the Panny more because it's setup is more user friendly, and it has been more reliable. Also, the Panasonic reads the incoming signal faster and sometimes the Sony takes a while to display the signal from the cable box. The pictures of both are pretty identical, and beat any LCD I've owned or viewed.

The last thought is you should have someone home who is capable of lifting the plasma as every unit I've received has been delivered by only one person. It's best to have two people at home capable of lifting though, as it's not the job of the delivery person to carry the plasma for you. However, all the delivery people I've dealt with have helped me get the monitor inside even though curbside is the norm. They even helped unpack it to make sure it wasn't damaged.