Customer Reviews

Sony KD-30XS955 30-Inch FD Trinitron WEGA CRT HDTV

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I spent quite some time comparing comparable sets in this price range and size range and there was no question in my mind that both quality- and value-wise this Sony KD-30XS955 set is the best out there. And after purchasing it and owning it for just over two weeks, I am only more certain that my initial assessment was accurate.

First off, picture quality: There is no comparison between this set and comparable HD sets in this price-range. To get anything sharper or brighter you will need to at least triple your price range. Because this is a tube rather than one of the thin-screen technologies, you will definitely get more of a workout putting the extremely heavy television in its place (I almost killed myself), but the flat screen image is viewable from almost any angle and is extremely bright and dynamic.

When you buy this set you are basically future-proofing yourself. There are so many different inputs and outputs that you will have no problem connecting each and every one of your peripherals. There are a total of 8 video inputs and the cable input is digital cable ready, which is very nice. You will not have to purchase a separate digital cable box to receive digital cable from your provider. There is a cable card slot. Two sets of HD-ins. There is even a memory stick slot.

And finally, the tv is easy to use. The WEGA Gate menu is intuitive and very user-friendly allowing the user to control the sound, the video, the channels, and just about anything else you could want.

Besides the weight of this set which makes the backside very difficult to access once it is in its place in my entertainment center, I have no complaints with this set. I am very satisfied with my purchase.

I recently went shopping for HDTV sets on the internet. After researching as much as I could about the different types, LCD, Plasma, Directview, and many makes, models, and sizes, I was still undecided. Before paying more than $600 for a direct-view or more than $1000 for a 27" and higher size set, I had to be sure. So I went into a Best Buy, looking at the different HDTVs they had on display. After looking at every LCD, Plasma, (with and without projection) and directview TV they had and speaking candidly with various store personnel, I came to the same conclusion: LCDs (and certainly Plasma's) are not worth the cost, due to their limited life, burn-in problems, and their overall good but not great picture quality. TVs having the greatest contrast, best color, and most vivid pictures were the Directview (or picture tube, CRT) TVs. Furthermore Directview TVs cost a lot less and would be likely to last a lot more because the technology is very robust (picture tubes can last ten to twenty years or more without a problem). The only downside for me was the extraordinary bulkiness and weight of these behemoths (140 to 150 pounds for a 32 inch standard 4:3 aspect TV, or a 30 inch widescreen). Also, for very large screens (40 inches and more), you need to go with LCD (with back projection) or a Plasma, costing many thousands of dollars. Since I was looking for something around 30 to 32 inches, this was not a problem. I found that most directview TVs had very good definition (certainly much better than my eight year old 27" RCA CRT), and I could not decide between the different brands, Sony and Samsung were the best, but Panasonic and Philips were good as well. The price differences between the different models ranged from 50 to $100 (Panasonic and Philips being the cheapest and Samsung and Sony the most expensive).

After racking my brain, I was just about to leave the store when I stumbled upon this baby (Sony KD-30XS955). I was immediately struck by the incredibly high definition of the TV, showing regular (not HDTV) cable broadcasts over a simple cable connection (not even composite or s-video, let alone component video input). This TV was very different from all the other ones I looked at. I asked the personnel and they said the TV had super-fine pitch (four times the resolution of a normal TV) and a HD-detailer which can clean up and improve even a standard TV signal and make it look almost like HD.

I was blown away! Even though this TV was outside of my budget (about $1399 + tax), I decided to get it (but not at Best Buy). I shopped around and got it on uBid for $600 (manufacturer refurbished with warranty of 1 year parts and labor and 2 year on the tube). Home delivery cost $349 which was expensive I thought, but you get the TV itself for less than half of the Best Buy price. I also paid $180 for two years extended on-site warranty service. The total price for all of this was $1129. Not a bad deal considering the Best Buy price would have been close to $2000 (including tax, home delivery and extended on-site warranty service).

In short, I would recommend this TV to anyone on the market for a new TV and with a little bit of extra cash. The TV also has a HD tuner so you can pick up HD signals over the air without renting a receiver from your cable or satellite company (if they have them in your area). This TV is definitely not perfect, as CRTs tend to have geometry problems (straight lines appear crooked on a contrasting background), but unless you watch news tickers all day, you won't notice this. Besides, the picture quality is unmatched by anything else out there right now. Go out and buy it today, but shop around to get the best deal!

I am not a videophile, but I did research purchasing a TV for about 5 months. After considering most of the important options (CRT [no ghosting], 30"-34", under $1000, HDTV) I decided on this model. I am VERY happy with the purchase.

First of all, the image is incredible. Being a newbie to HD, after I first plugged it in and found the channels, we ended up watching half of "24" in regular broadcast on channel 9. My wife commented how she didn't see any difference from our regular 27" Panasonic. Commercials popped on and she started channel surfing, and I realized that HD channels are actually different numbers altogether. We switched to channel 9.1 and enjoyed the rest of Jack and the team taking on the president's men in HD. Needless to say, my wife took her words back. Total night and day between regular broadcast and HD. "They" say that HD is to regular broadcast as the switch to color was from black and white. No kidding!

The set up was so easy. It took about 10 minutes for the TV to search for regular and HD channels before we were mesmerized. There is a cool option to preset your channels and the translucent display is great. Its great that I now can read the name of the show, short descriptions of the content, and the resolution that it is broadcast in. This is all over-the-air, not cable! I definitely like the over the air option, as we are not interested dishing out $70 a month for TV we probably won't watch. However, if it's snowing outside, the picture can sometimes cut out, the screen will turn black and "no signal" will pop up. We feared it was the TV set, but soon realized it was the snowstorm outside.

Sound is fantastic. It's a bit of a mute point however, since I have a simple surround sound system. If I didn't, though, I may not have felt justified in getting one, since the sound is so good on this TV. I cannot yet comment on DVDs as I am waiting for a Monster component cable to arrive via e-bay. I watched a bit of the Matrix using an S-video cable and was not impressed. It didn't look bad, just not up to potential. You will definitely need to upgrade to HDMI or component cables to take full advantage of DVDs or game consoles.

Finally, the option of viewing photos via the Sony memory stick slot is a great bonus. The pictures are clear and colorful. You have the option of zooming, flipping, playing a slideshow and using piano music set into the TV or MP3s your memory stick. Cool. Well, I am still playing around with the options and feel very lucky to have this set. On top of that, I paid $835.99 including shipping. If you look around, you might find that deal too!

this is a great tv. It works very well, has an excilent image, and has a LOT of inputs as well as good internal processing.

X-box 360 looks incredible on it and it picks up over the air HD channels very well.(7 hd channels at my house with just rabbit ears)

only problem is if you have a large living room to put it in you may want to get a bigger size. 30" is nice but for some video games (playing amped on the 360 for example) I need to sit about 5 feet away to see the details well.

note: you can look at this tv from 1 foot away and not see pixelation!

Contrary to popular opinion, you don't have to buy an expensive plasma or LCD (liquid crystal display) TV to get a great high-definition picture. In fact, many experts (including Consumer Reports) assert that high-definition TVs using traditional cathode-ray tube technology -- as this high-definition Sony does -- currently offer a sharper picture than plasma and LCD TVs, plus they are much less expensive and more reliable. This widescreen HD Sony TV has a very good picture with standard broadcasts and an outstanding picture with HD broadcasts and DVDs. If you'd like to get a widescreen high-definition TV now but you don't want to spend thousands of dollars on an expensive plasma or LCD set, please consider this 30" Sony. The picture is superb and the price is quite reasonable.

I've had the KD-30XS955 for almost a year now and it has been a great purchase. (It's also much cheaper now than when I bought it.)

PICTURE
The picture quality on tube (CRT) TVs is still superior to that of plasmas and LCDs, although you have to put up with the weight/bulk factor. This TV is no exception. It accepts full 1080i and 720p resolution, producing amazing high-def pictures. Sony also has a feature called Digital Reality Creation for standard (480i) images, which Sony claims produces "4X the density or the original signal". Not sure what that means, but I will admit that even standard-def content looks great on this TV. One thing to note: the out-of-the-box picture settings on this TV needed some work, so I bought the "AVIA Guide to Home Theater" DVD to do picture calibration, and it made a definite improvement.

FEATURES
No PiP with this TV, but that didn't bother me since I have a dual-tuner DirecTV Tivo receiver. The built-in over-the-air tuner is a huge plus; many TVs have this now but a year ago this was one of the few. The independent picture memory per input is by far the best feature.

CONNECTIVITY
Tons of inputs in the back, including 2 S-video, 2 component, DVI, and HDMI. Currently not using the HDMI input but I will soon. The only possible drawback is that there is only 1 HDMI input, which may prove problematic in the future.

Overall I'm extremely happy with it. It's worth noting that I have a small living room; if you need a bigger screen you should look at the KD-34XS955.

After 9 days, I am convinced this is the right set for me. It does a good job tuning HD broadcasts over the air, using a set-top Terk TV5 antenna. I can view HD from ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, WB and PBS, all of which broadcast from within 10 miles of my home. An on-screen signal strength meter makes it easy to accurately orient the antenna. I do not recommend this TV if you primarily watch over the air analog broadcasts which display poorly compared to non-HD sets. (I can't comment on cable analog but suspect there could be similar issues.) HD widescreen picture quality is superior corner-to corner judging for color, contrast, brightness, straightness of vertical/horizontal lines and picture clarity, rivaling much more expensive plasma screens. My only complaint is that the pictyure has a faint graininess which you will probably not notice if sitting 6 or more feet from the screen. That said, there is a definite "wow" reaction when watching PBS HD and HD sports (FOX baseball, NBA playoffs, NASCAR). Major sports events, many primetime shows, and a PBS HD-only channnel are already broadcast in widescreen HD. And the long-term trend is for more. Also excellent is the display of DVDs using component video cables. If you get this TV you will like the ability to adjust the screen rotation and vertical position. Without this, the black bars of a non-widescreen picture may appear off level. Finally, you may want to consider purchasing the 34 inch version if you sit more than 8 feet from the screen and have room for it.

Bought this unit 7 months ago. Long story short: TV fails to power on. Sony says its broken and requires service. They will cover parts but not labor. We get to pay a premium for in house labor or somehow transport the 150+ pound unit into the shop. Don't do this to yourself. Spend the money on something else.

A follow up: After 3 weeks in the shop and $200 in labor costs, the power problem was fixed. Now, three short weeks after getting it back we see a strange, disctinct area of discoloration in the lower right corner of the screen. The support solutions offered were not of help - it needs a repair person to asess the problem once again. So, we are now 8.5 months into this purchase, and we are looking at another $200 to keep it working. Sony claimed maybe they would consider reimbursing us for the labor costs as even they admit these kinds of problems should not be happening with a unit less than a year old, but then they canceled the review of the case for unknown reasons without notifying us. Oh how I rue the day we bought this tv!

For the price, screen size, and picture this television is an excellent purchase. The picture is awesome, and the colors vibrant. The sound is good, and the t.v. has some interesting features (like the thumb drive port). The down side of this television is the dark is very dark, and the light very bright. You end up adjusting one by sacrificing the other. Overall, I love my new t.v.

I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to buy this great CRT television before it goes away forever. The last Sony set to offer Super Fine Pitch technology, the picture on this TV is both sharp yet natural. The 30 inch size is not a factor if your viewing distance is 6-7 feet like mine is. It is a beautiful looking set with a dark gray front that looks classic and upgrades the appearance of any room. HD viewing is wonderful and there are enough setting choices to make SD the best it can be. If anyone is reading this and has the chance to get a 30XS955, my advice is to go for it. You won't regret it and you might be still looking at this 150 pound beauty 10 years from now.