Customer Reviews

Sony KD-27FS170 27-Inch FD Trinitron WEGA Digital TV

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This is a great TV by means of picture quality. Component input is superb. S-Video is really good also. I only have a few complaints though. There is no option to adjust the treble or bass for the audio. Also there is no audio out so you cant hook up a stereo or other speakers. Also when the screen is almost all white such as watching a hockey game you can see two pink shades of colored lines about 3-4 inches thick running vertical on the left and right side of the screen, which is probably the speaker's(built in the tv) magnetic field causing that. Other than the few complaints the tv is really nice. Thats why I give it 4 of 5!

After spending the last two weeks reviewing as many $300-$400 27" tv's as I could find (that were also for sale locally as I refuse to purchase such an item over the internet and have it shipped), I finally went off to Best Buy last night.

They had this television, and a nice Samsung SlimFit 27" tube SDTV, as well as a couple of Insignia and Samsung and Toshiba tube HDTV's (both 4:3 and 16:9).

After wandering around the tv department for almost two hours, I finally made the girlfriend happy by selecting one. For $405.99, and being a Sony Trinitron, I decided this was the best deal going. I liked the Samsung 30" widescreen 720p HDTV, but didn't want to spend $699.

The main reasoning is that it is replacing a 12+ year old Sony 19" tv + vhs combo unit. We have DirecTV TiVo in the bedroom, and a dvd player, and an original Xbox game console. The old tv just wasn't cutting it anymore, and the menu/description text on the TiVo was almost unreadable.

We hooked it up, fooled around with it a bit, and I have to say I am extremely impressed:

1. The picture is definitely the best non-HD tube picture I've seen. After staring at that 19" Sony combo for almost 12 years (we do have a 42" Mitsubishi HD as our main tv for NHL hockey and Xbox360), I'm still sort of amazed.

I'm using the DirecTV TiVo unit with S-Video out + the RCA audio (white/red) into the S-Video and secondary RCA inputs

2. The Xbox games...you can actually see what is going on clearly, and you can read all of the text in all of the games properly! The Xbox is plugged into the Component input with Monster Cables (we had it plugged into the 42" HD until Xbox360).

3. The DVD still looks fantastic. I wish I could set it (and the Xbox) to Progressive Scan mode (480p), but honestly, it is just a bedroom tv after all, and I didn't want to pay anymore for a better LCD/Plasma/HD-tube tv, and I didn't want to buy a weak LCD/Tube HD unit for around the same money ($500-ish is where they were for 24" to 27" tube and LCD HD's).

I have the DVD player plugged in with the audio/video RCA cables to the front inputs on the tv.



Overall, a great looking television, but there were some issues:

1. Tickers from CNN or ESPN, etc, they were very blurry/fuzzy at the bottom right and bottom left corners on Vivid and Standard settings.

Movie sharpened up most of these lower artifacts, but left the picture too dark.

Pro lightened up a little over Movie, but not much, and the colors were "cool" instead of "warm".

Raising Picture and Sharpness and Brightness would correct this, but then the top half of the picture would get a bit blurry or fuzzy during fast action (we watched a bit of the Predators vs Coyotes NHL game as well as news where we could see real skin tones, and ESPN Sportscenter for some basketball highlights, all good ways to judge color mix to get it right)


A little tweaking in Pro and Movie however, fixed this right up. Got a little brighter, but still not as bright as Standard (and Vivid is just awful anyway). The entire picture seems evenly sharp and clean, the colors are not really all that warm overall but a lot warmer than before, and the color tones are still a little dark but after spending 10 minutes watching anything, you tend to stop noticing (and then turing on the Xbox...you forget all about it as the Xbox is bright and shiny like it should be!)

2. Everytime you turned it on, it wanted to go through initial setup and wanted me to connect a coaxial cable (again, I have the DirecTV box hooked up via S-Video). Finally I did, just to shut it up (I'd have done it anyway if this was a PiP model as the tv doesn't have enough inputs to accept anything more than coaxial).

Just for testing, we watched a bit of each channel for a while for about 15 seconds on the coaxial, and then switched it to the S-Video and you could instantly see the picture sharpen up. It wasn't really bad with coaxial, but it definitely is noticeably sharper with S-Video and Component Video inputs.

The message went away.

3. Digital...I guess since I am using digital satellite, I have no need of this (and I have no digital antennae anway). I wish I could turn this off though so I wouldn't accidentally have to go into the menus then back out once in a while.

4. As previous reviews have said, not enough inputs, and especially no side inputs. Front inputs are still great for DV cams etc, but side inputs or enough rear inputs is necessary with every darn device a lot of us have these days (PS2, Xbox, Xbox360, Wii, DVD, DV cam, VHS, TiVo, etc).

5. Audio outputs are missing too, and that is a shame, but not as bad for us as for some others. I wish it had headphone jack more than anything as I have a nice pair of wireless headphones for late night watching...or gaming (she sleeps like a rock thankfully but I'd still like to have something better than whisper-low audio!).

It isn't really all that bad because we'll be hooking up an older bookshelf stereo unit to it, placing the speakers on either side of the headboard of the bed so the volume won't need to be loud, and then I can also use my headphones.

A home theater setup in the bedroom though...not interested.


6. 16:9 setting. I've tried with DVD, Xbox, satellite, and I haven't found a real use for this yet. At BestBuy, the display was set to this 16:9 mode, but I'm very sure because the entire feed through all of the display units was in HD (all of the HD units displayed the exact same video as the ED and SD units).

It looked very sharp in the store. Our living room tv has the HD box, and the bedroom the TiVo, so we'll probably never use this feature (and if we wanted HD there, we'd have purchased the HD model(s) for extra).




Overall, I am very impressed with this television. Our main use is watching recorded TiVo bits like Dexter and The Wire (hockey is for HD on the main tv) and our Xbox.

I would highly recommend this television to anyone that isn't ready to jump to HD, or wants a second television that doesn't have to have all the HD features.

I especially recommend this to 18-35 year olds (like me, 33) who have a game console and want/need a television for it. This is the best non-HD television in my opinion.

If you want HD though, it will be superior (provided you get an HD television and have HD programming or HD game console)

This is a great tv in general. Actually, I returned 6 to the store until I found one with minimal tube distortion. If you don't know what tube distotion is just try looking at an image with static straight lines. Most tubes will bend in random areas (most sony flat tubes anyway!).

On the digital broadcast input the volume is approx. 30% louder than on the analog inputs. I like to listen to TV at low volume, and this makes the digital signal basically unusable for me.

After my disastrous experience with the Toshiba 27df46 (see my review of that product), I purchased this set.

The picture, sound and all features are superior. I don't watch much TV, but what I do watch is at least enjoyable from a technical perspective thanks to this Sony. I really don't understand the complaints others have posted regarding the sound being too loud on this set, I have not run into that problem at all.

The only complaint I have thus far is that it is obvious that HDTV menus are a add-on to this set. If you wish to adjust anything (other than channel or volume) while watching Digital TV you have to select the Analog menu then tab over to the Digital menu before you can adjust picture/close captioning etc.

The design of the menus for the Digital is modern and high tech in appearance whereas the Analog is very 70's and cartoonish in appearance. It appears that Sony "went cheap" on this feature and rather than rewriting the entire Menu software they simply tacked on the Digital to the existing.

If you watch primarily DVD's, analog Satellite or Cable this menu issue is less likely to be an annoyance. I use the Digital menus a lot simply because I frequently watch over-the-air HD broadcasts.

I purchased this Sony in April 2007 from Circuit City (on sale for $280!). I work in video production, and when my old television died, I searched for a quality standard definition tube TV that I could use to monitor my standard definition work. Of course I would enjoy it as a regular television on the side.

After lots of research and in-store comparisons, I chose this Sony. The picture quality is simply outstanding. I think it is the best standard definition quality available in it's class. I compared it side by side to the Samsung Slimfit after adjusting settings, and in my opinion the superior digital comb filter of the Sony gives it the edge over the Samsung.

When watching television, I catch free over-the-air digital channels through a bunny ears antenna and the internal digital tuner. When the Sony catches digital shows that are broadcasting in HD, it downconverts them to standard definition and the picture is simply gorgeous!!! I don't even watch regular cable anymore because those free (yea, free) over-the-air HD shows are so much more appealing than the compressed, fuzzy cable channels. Call me crazy, but my standard definition television nearly looks high definition when watching HD broadcasts over the air. And when you're watching the digital channels over the air, you get a summary guide of the show info similar to what digital cable offers. And there is a menu option that tells you the strength of the signal. So you could move the antenna around the room to find the best signal. Very cool.

Note: In the menu, turn the picture profile to "Pro" or "Movie" instead of "Vivid". Make other minor picture adjustments according to your liking. I calibrated mine with Avia Guide to Home Theater DVD.


OK, now on to other qualities ...

- The TV certainly is heavy and takes up more room than the Samsung Slimfit. Picture quality mattered more
to me than size of TV, so I chose the Sony.

- The lack of audio outputs that other reviews have mentioned indeed is a misstep by Sony. Not being able to
easily hook up to a surround system or other better speakers isn't a huge issue for me, though. I am
quite satisfied with the audio quality of the internal speakers.

- The volume level when watching digital channels over the air is too loud. As others have mentioned, even
the lowest setting is a tad too lound when watching TV at night in a quiet house. But it isn't loud enough to
keep me from falling asleep.

- The remote is a good one. It's small but has everything you need. The digital menus are neat compared to
the analog menus. But there are a few stalls and kinks when switching through the menu items.

- The connections (aside from the lack of audio outputs) are adequate. I can't wait to hook up a DVD player
through the component inputs. The controls on the front of the TV are useful as well.

- The Sony allows you to resize a show to adequately fit the TV screen ... for example, if you're watching a
digital channel that is broadcasting a standard definition show in 16x9 with black bars on the top, bottom,
left and right, then you can resize the picture to eliminate the black bars.

Conclusion: If you're priority is picture quality, I don't think you will find a better standard definition television than the Sony 27" Trinitron. It's especially impressive when watching free over-the-air digital HD broadcasts. The drawbacks are size and weight, lack of audio outputs, and loud digital channel volume.

But man, that picture quality is eye candy.

Product and Sony support were absolutely horrible. After 3 months, no picture or sound with standby light blinking. I followed manual instructions and then contacted service providers. Sony had two on website, one with disconnected number, the other would not work on TV. Next step, onto the live Sony chat. Only thing they could tell me was to review the user manual and then gave me the same two service providers I had already tried to contact. Next step, onto the home service call in number at Sony. The service person was able to tell me that the number for one of the service providers listed on the website was the wrong number. Thanks. Could not resolve issue or find another service provider in Northern Virginia - outside DC???? Next step, placed TV on curb.

For various reasons, I was not ready to go HD yet, so I checked this TV out at my local Sears store and was blown away by the picture quality. I paid $399 for it that day and haven't regretted it at all. The picture looked even better after I got it home and adjusted the settings. I have it connected to my satellite receiver with the S-video cable and it looks better than any TV I've ever seen, that includes HD TV's. If picture quality is important to you, you can't do any better than this Sony. Hurry and get it before they stop making tube TV's!

I bought this TV 8 months ago. Its a great TV, never owned anything like it before. Samsung just doesn't compare.

The only complain is its weight. If you are like me moving around every year apartment to apartment this is not for you. Its too heavy even for two people lifting it. I'm selling it off for a LCD TV since the price of this one is almost the same as an LCD. Oh yeah by the way, it holds the price so forget about getting a better deal.

i replaced my philips 32" with this sony wega and am loving it. the picture quality superb so is the sound quality. the only negative thing in this tv is no audio/video out jack. but thats nothing major issue. overall i am very happy with my selection.

VERY POOR DESIGN - GREAT PICTURE - VERY POOR VIEWER INTERFACE - I bought one yesterday from Best Buy to replace my Philips 27PS60 / Mitsubishi SR-HD5 OTA Digital Receiver. The combination was working perfectly, but I wanted more convenience for my wife, which I thought I would get in on box from Sony. WRONG! Lots of problems:
1) Sound is WAY too loud on digital reception, I couldn't turn it down enough to listen comfortably, but could turn it up 3 or 4 times as loud as I could stand to stay in the room with. I taped cardboard over the speakers and it was still too loud. This was the absolute worst feature. If you enjoy sitting in a movie theater and being blasted by sound, and you don't ever want to talk to anyone while the TV is on, you may like the Sony.
2) Very poor reception on the digital tuner in the Sony, couldn't get a couple of the digital stations that my Mitsubishi pulled in.
3) Very difficult to set up, complicated, particularly the digital. I have an MSEE and had a problem figuring it out.
4) I tried to program to fill the screen with Zoom. It said that I did, but it didn't work. I had to manually expand the picture every time I changed channels.
5) My Mitsubishi includes both analog and digital stations in the rotation. The Sony must be switched back and forth from the digital stations to the analog stations. A PAIN!!!
6) The Sony only has 2 input systems on the back and one on the front. My Philips has 3 on the back and one on the lower right corner, much better. And Sony has NO Video/Audio output of any sort, my Philips has one to drive by VCR. Sony is Cheap, Cheap, Cheap on the inputs and output.

Great Picture - Reasonable Priced $365 on sale at Best Buy - Terrible LOUD Sound - Very COMPLICATED Setup

VERY POORLY HUMAN ENGINEERED - My 10 year old could have engineered a better operating system.

I TOOK MY SONY BACK TO BEST BUY TODAY! GOOD RIDDANCE!!!