Sony Grand WEGA KDS-55A2000 55-Inch SXRD 1080p Rear Projection HDTV

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 50.9 x 18.9 x 35.9 inches ; 83.9 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 98 pounds
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B000GZUN9M
• Item model number: KDS-55A2000
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,467 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Experience rear projection on a grand scale. The A2000 SXRD television brings the picture detail and clarity of SXRD display technology to the masses. Imagine: Full HD 1080p picture quality within a slim, compact design. The Grand WEGA™ SXRD™ Rear Projection HDTV is also equipped with Sony’s WEGA Engine™ system, which minimizes signal distortion to provide you with the best picture , and features enhanced connectivity with dual HDMI (1080p capability) and front component inputs (1080i). Add PC inputs, SRS® TruSurround XT audio enhancement technology and a compliment of other great features and you begin to see why Grand WEGA SXRD Rear Projection TVs are an excellent value. The Big picture has never looked better.

SXRD Panels
SXRD technology is the latest display technology developed by the legendary television engineers at Sony to meet and exceed the demands of a High Definition image at its full 1080 line resolution. Digitally transmitted High Definition signals can contain over 2 million individual detail points that need to be displayed accurately and rapidly. SXRD displays those 2 million detail points per SXRD panel accurately since the 3 SXRD panels actually contain enough pixels to fully display a 1080 line picture without interlacing it. SXRD has the speed to create a smooth, film like image. The SXRD panels have a blistering 2.5ms response time (total rise and fall time), which exceeds the demands of even the most rapidly moving High Definition images. And SXRD creates highly accurate, natural colors because the 3-panel design displays all the colors, all the time.

SXRD Technology
With a display area of 0.61", Sony’s third-generation SXRD chip is one of the world’s smallest microdisplay chips with a full 1920 x 1080 native resolution. It has an outstanding panel contrast ratio of up to 10000:1. Over two million pixels per chip deliver incredible detail and clarity. You can see things even in the deep shadows. There’s a true sense of depth and dimension without annoying screen door effects interfering with picture quality. And watching sports is like looking through a sky box window. Pictures are crisp and motion is smooth.

Advanced Iris
Advanced Iris is a special Sony function designed to improve brightness and contrast expression especially in darker scenes. It is accessed inside the Picture Menu and offers 2 Auto settings and 5 Manual settings. Auto 1 and Auto 2 are dynamic adjustments that automatically open and close the iris according to the gamma level of the picture on the screen. Auto 1 is best used for viewing video content that has a large variation in brightness from scene to scene. Auto 2 is best for viewing video content that has less variation in brightness from scene to scene. The 5 manual settings (Max, High, Medium, Low, and Min) can be used to adjust the iris opening to allow the best possible picture viewing depending on ambient room lighting conditions. For instance, High works well for viewing in brightly lit rooms. Low is a good setting for viewing in low light conditions.

WEGA Engine Video Processor
Leveraging Sony’s TV heritage and engineering expertise, the latest generation of Sony’s exclusive WEGA Engine™ is born. Its fully digital signal-processing path includes video processing functions that are designed to improve overall picture quality. Among the key functions that have been added to the WEGA Engine are:

• Green, blue and white color enhancer circuit which selectively adjusts common natural colors like green, white and blue color levels for a more vivid image.
• Digital MPEG Noise Reduction Circuit which reduces MPEG artifacts such as "block noise" and "mosquito noise" caused by compression used in digital broadcasts used to maximize bandwidth.
• Digital Contrast Enhancer circuit processes every field automatically selecting out details and optimizing contrast for each scene. Adaptive processing improves the low contrast parts of the picture providing crisp and vivid images with high contrast.

HDMI and PC Inputs
Designed for maximum versatility, Sony’s Grand WEGA SXRD line is equipped with a comprehensive range of input interfaces. The HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is the first industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. HDMI™ technology supports enhanced or High Definition video, together with multi-channel digital audio to provide matchless image and sound reproduction. A D-Sub 15 input also allows connection to your PC, allowing you to use your high resolution Grand WEGA SXRD TV as a computer monitor.

Product Description

SXRD technology is the latest display technology developed by the legendary television engineers at Sony to meet and exceed the demands of a High Definition image at its full 1080 line resolution. Digitally transmitted High Definition signals can contain over 2 million individual detail points that need to be displayed accurately and rapidly. SXRD displays those 2 million detail points per SXRD panel accurately since the 3 SXRD chips actually contain enough pixels to fully display a 1080 line picture without interlacing it. SXRD has the speed to create a smooth, film like image. The SXRD chips have a blistering 2.5ms response time (total rise and fall time), which exceeds the demands of even the most rapidly moving High Definition images. And SXRD creates highly accurate, natural colors because the 3-chip design displays all the colors, all the time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An awesome HD TV that will not dissapoint!, February 13, 2007

By 

Karen A. Hunter (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony Grand WEGA KDS-55A2000 55-Inch SXRD 1080p Rear Projection HDTV (Electronics)

Pros: True 1080p capable, LCOS technology, 2 HDMI inputs, numerous other inputs, easy to use/understand onscreen menu, picture quaulity is superb.

Standard Def is nice and easy to watch.

Cons: It will cost you, no cable card slot, no picture in picture, will have to replace the bulb (aprox. every 8,000hrs).

The picture you get from this HD TV will not dissapoint! The system was incredibly easy to set up and connect. This thing is lighter than my 27" philps magnavox! Enough can't be said about how much we are enjoying this television. We are using comcast HD-DVR to recieve our HD programming. The picture is so crisp and clear and 3d like its amazing. The speakers aren't that great, but we are going to be hooking up a Onkyo reciever and speakers to take full advantage of the THX surround sound.

The reasons we settled on this tv are numerous.

LCOS vs. DLP - With DLP there is the possiblity that you will get what's called a rainbow effect. Not everyone can see it, but there are people who are sensative to this, and it will disrupt their viewing. It would be horrible to throw a superbowl party and have a few guests be distracted by the rainbow. I also didn't like the idea of a color wheel that spins...it made me nervous, and there were reviews by people who had their wheel get stuck, or break down.

LCOS vs. Plasma/LCD - We initially considred Plasma and LCD, however, at this time, to get the 1080p resolution that we truly wanted it was going to cost considerably more to have that feature on a Plasma or LCD. The LCOS image though I must say rivals many of the Plasmas and LCDs we viewed.

Sony vs. JVC - Once we decided to go with the LCOS technology it was a deul between Sony and JVC. I was lucky to get a side by side comparison at my local Best Buy. The image on both tvs were beautiful, however, my eyes kept moving back to the Sony. The image was crisp, it was clear, and yet there is a very subtle softness that really adds to the overall look of the image. The JVC image was very colorful, crisp, yet almost too harsh, it seemed hard on the eyes to me.

All in all, this is an exceptional HD Television that provides a great viewing experience. It's true what they say, "once you watch HD, anything else looks faded and blurry". Be prepared to have your television life altered forever!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great TV!, March 17, 2007

By 

jharterman (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sony Grand WEGA KDS-55A2000 55-Inch SXRD 1080p Rear Projection HDTV (Electronics)

I just got this from Amazon, and this TV is great. I was worried it would be too big but the size is just right for 7-12 ft viewing distance. The shipping went smoothly. I received the TV in about a week, and they brought it up to my 3rd floor apartment. I would definitely recommend Amazon and their shipping company for such a purchase. Also, check with your credit card company because many automatically double the warranty for you and offer their own extended warranties.

Also, note that HD quality depends on the HD signal. I discovered that my cable box (Motorola from Comcast) does not give the best signal. If you can get it, OTA HD is usually best. Cable rebroadcasts those signals in an unscrambled format. When I plug cable directly into TV (and bi-pass box), I get much better quality, but when I go through box, it is worse. This is especially noticeable with live action sports -- the box drops frames. For scrambled HD channels, you're stuck with the box unfortunately. I don't know if DirecTV is better, but I suspect it is.

DVD through my Toshiba up-converting DVD player is fantastic and looks HD. I like that you can have different video settings for each input. You will want to turn down the brightness -- swith from Vivid to Standard or Custom setting -- but overall, out-of-the-box picture is very good. The menu works well. I did not need manual to get going and to set up my system.

Thus far, I've noticed only two flaws: (1) you cannot set different audio setting for different inputs. I wish I could set it to always turn off TV speakers whenever I watch a DVD. (2) the remote is junk. It looks nice but is not really multi-device because it is not compatible with the rest of my components. It will not work with my Toshiba DVD-player or my Onkyo Receiver. Both are major brands, so that's unfortunate. I suggest investing in a universal remote.

I compared this with the cheaper KDF series. I like that this has 1080p, but the real reason I chose this TV was that it appeared brighter and sharper in the store -- even with 720p programming. It also has a wider viewing angle and better contrast. This is definitely the best projection available. IMO the picture quality rivals plasma.

Finally, I'd like to say a few words about bulb replacement. Yes, you will have to replace the bulb every few years for $200 or so. If you only consider this fact, then the overall cost of this TV is higher than a plasma. However, plasmas consume more than twice the energy. They are the SUVs of home entertainment, and your energy cost savings over time will almost pay for your bulbs. Also, you don't have to worry about picture fading over time. Every time you replace the bulb, you have a new TV. This type of TV is also more reliable and durable than plasma. Many extended warranties for plasmas therefore cost more -- sometimes twice as much. Finally, this TV is actually lighter (by a few pounds) than a comparable plasma.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT TV !!....... LCoS 1080P, January 24, 2007

By 

dabig25 (Bay Area,California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony Grand WEGA KDS-55A2000 55-Inch SXRD 1080p Rear Projection HDTV (Electronics)

Have had my TV now for about 2 1/2 months. Just look at all the great reviews this set has gotten from others. Have been very happy w/ it. I was debating between the Sony SXRD & the Samsung DLP. I went w/ the Sony because of the technology used on the Sony. LCoS 3-chip technology, vs. the Color-Wheel used by Samsung. I suggest using Cnet's, David Katzmaier's suggestions on user setting's ( search under Tips & Tricks, then type in Sony KDS60A2000 user-menu settings).After using those settings, you can tweak it a little more to get it exactly the way you want it. The picture still looks good when I have to get up & go into the kitchen to get something.SD channels look fine too. If you have Cable TV, find out if they offer an ADS line-up ( Advanced Digital Service). It makes the SD channels look better, they upgrade the SD channels which are Analog signal, to Digital. So the picture quality is much better on SD channels. This makes a difference on HDTV's.

I currently have mine hooked up to my Motorola HD DVR, OPPO Upconversion DVD Player, & Onkyo Surround Sound. I really liked the look of the A2000 series over the XBR 1 & 2. The XBR series still have the Elephant Ear speakers that stick out. Also I couldn't afford about the $1,000 difference in price. Like someone else suggested I also got a Logitech Harmony Remote (Harmony 720) You can also see my review of the Harmony 720 remote. Makes things so much easier.

I highly recommend this TV. Every once in a while, I still go into the retail stores & look at Big Screen TV's. After looking at other sets, I still believe I made the right choice. Also glad I went w/ the 55 inch instead of the 50 or 60 inch.