Customer Reviews

Sony Grand WEGA KDF-50WE655 50-Inch LCD Projection TV with Integrated HDTV Tuner

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I'd like to start this review with a disclaimer. I am very happy with the TV. It works exactly the way it's supposed to. Problem is, nobody who sells the thing tells you how it's SUPPOSED to work.

When you are looking at these things in the store, notice that there is always a DVD playing, or they have the set turned to Discovery HD Theater. There is a reason for this. An LCD HD monitor that is showing a regular (I think analog) or even a digital signal will not show well. The picture quality is lower than that of a regular CRT TV in these cases due to the extreme pixelation of the image.

However, if you position the TV correctly in your viewing space, some of this will be aleviated. For a 50 inch TV, you should sit back between 10-15 feet from the screen. From that far, you really won't see the pixels, so it won't bother you. (You can definitely tell the difference between HD and non-HD from this disctance still). This viewing disctance is what the manufacturers tell you to do. Do not buy this TV and sit 8 feet away and expect to be happy with it.

I say all this not to harp on Sony. THEIR PRODUCT WORKS JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE'S LCD!!! You should know this because currenlty only 10-15 channels are broadcast in HD depending on your vendor and region. Therefore - if you have 150 channels, 90% will not be in HD, so the majority of your viewing will be pixelated.

OK - all that said - it's a great TV. All the pro's have already been discussed - so I won't go there.

This TV is capable of astounding IMAX-like pictures when viewing a good HDTV signal. Has very good 480i/NTSC up-conversion but only so-so at 480p. That's because the advanced video processing menu option is only available for 480i and NTSC, not 480p (progressive). As a consequence the TV does a really amazing job at up-converting ordinary analog tv signals and 480i DVD output. But 480p component/DVI DVD is NOT as good as 480i component DVD, at least with my Denon 1910. The sony's 480i up-converter even has an edge over the Denon's 720p and 1080i internal DVI up-converters. Too bad you can't get 480i over DVI.

As others have noted, black level is mediocre. The screen puts out a glow during dark scenes that can't be adjusted away. You don't really notice it in a brightly lit room. But in a dark room it is very much apparent. Before buying, judge for yourself by playing Harry Potter 3 or other dark movie in a dark room. Turning on the DVD player's black level boost can help separate dark scenes from the background glow without compromising normally lit scenes.

After about a month, I got use to the glow and don't really notice it except during extended, very dark scenes.

I got this TV about a month ago. Fantastic color and sound quality. Black is not absolute, which is typical for an LCD TV. Black is dark enough however that it really is not a factor.

When you get used to HDTV you really notice how low quality a standard broadcast is. I am using a DirecTV HD receiver for all channels including local. I do not get cable or HD good local reception where I am. I can not comment about off air TV quality.

I chose an LCD based product because I could see the rainbow on some DLP based products. There is also a squeal audible (color wheel?) with some DLP products. I chose the Sony because it does not give much of a "screen door" appearance as some other LCD projectors do.

If using a home theatre or surround sound receiver for your audio be sure to get a "fast" TV like this one. On some TVs the video processor is slow enough that you get sound and video out of sync. This TV does not suffer from such a video delay.

This is the best 50" I've seen at any price. A previous reviewer complained that the bulb blew after 30 min. Well, This happens sometimes. I've had light bulbs blow that fast. All he had to do was go to Circuit City and get another. He then could have installed it himself, an easy chore. To return a TV because the bulb went is simply foolish.

Update:

I wrote the above based on what I saw in the store. I now have had this TV for one week and Still think it's great. This tv converts standard signals to HDTV like resolution which works very well. The standard signals are the best I've ever seen, very HDTV like. Some people complain that LCD TV's don't produce deep blacks well. This may bother some but I don't notice it at all. The TV, while not flat, is only 17" thick and weighs only 83 lbs. It has built in hand holds so 2 people han easily pick it up and carry it around. It has more inputs than I'll ever need (8 components). Thre are optical and coaxial digital outs for surround sound. I couldn't be more satisfied. For $2700 at Circuit City I consider this a bargain.

Update 2:

Sept 30 2005, After 10 months no change of opinion. We watch the TV every day. No problems at all. Still a great picture.

Update 3


July 4 2011. I upgraded this TV for an LCD flat screen and gave it to my daughter. It is still in daily use with only one bulb replacement. If you can find one used cheap I recommend it.

I purchased this exact TV only a 60 inch in 2004 and that was the beginning of my troubles. Let me tell you why simply it is not cost effective to purchase this tv even if it is FREE: Dont do it. This is why.

1. These are multiple class action law suits against Sony because all the LCDs they put out between 2003 to 2008 have bad parts, namely a big problem called the OPTICAL BLOCK. They new it and shipped them out anyway. It cost 1000 to 1500 to replace, but the kicker is all SONYs optical blocks for these TV are refurbished and subject to the same problems as the originals.

2. Blue or Green or Yellow Dots or lines begin to appear on your TV until you cant see your picture anymore. THis is what happens when the OPTICAL Block goes on these TVs. After being sued so many times, sony stopped making these rear projection TVs. Go to Google or Yahoo and search this phrase, "Blue dots on my sony lcd tv". There is more information than you want to read and all of it make me mad I purchase my tv in 2004 for 3500 bucks.

3. THey also dont tell you that every 1.5 years the picture lamp burns out and you have to replace it for a whooping 300 bucks a lamp. What a joke. I have have had to replace my 3 times. Sony says, well you watch the TV to much. The lamp is only designed to accomdate 10,000 hrs of viewing or whatever they said. But 300 bucks every 1.5 years is BS.

4. The picture sucks if you are not watching a HD Station or a movie. It is unreal how grainy and what this TV looks like when you get it home. Night and day.

DONT BUY THIS TV. DONT DO IT EVEN FOR FREE. CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF ON WEB AND SONY KNEW ALL ABOUT THESE PROBLEMS BUT COVERED THEM UP. These Tvs have so many problems the people selling their used TVs are the ones that SONY wheeled and dealed with. THey told me because they recongize their problem they would give me 50 percent off another Sony TV. NOT!!!!!

I would not sell this TV to anyone without telling them what they are getting into. Buying any sony rear projection TVs from they year 2003 to 2008 is bad news. Check out this link. Cut and paste it into your browser.

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I owned the samsung 42" dlp before this unit. The samsung service was INCREDIBLY bad--it couldn't be any better than what is described in other reviews. I had innumerable problems with this TV, including service calls, washed out images, and total failure. I finally got them to give me "permission" to trade this in for the sony. This product is far superior. However, do yourself a favor and get a calibration disc. This will improve the picture immeasurably. If you are going to spend big bucks on a tv, pay the money to get the dark/light and color in focus. How can others complain about the "black," if they haven't had it professionally calibrated? Playing with the tv menu and complaining is like changing the stations on your car radio and saying your engine now runs rough. geez!

My only complaint also concerns outputs which are limited as another person stated. However, if you hook up inputs correctly, the output problem becomes mute. I run a satellite receiver, DVD/VHS, 6 speakers (psb and paradigm) and audio receiver with this TV, so connections are a bit tricky. I also wish that they had included the computer input which many other hdtv's have--however the price of this tv is somewhat lower than other 50" so that trade-off seems understandable. For the money this is a great tv, and 50" is a wonderful size for a larger living room.

I've had this TV for the last 2 weeks and am satisfied so far. However, as some of the others pointed out, this is best for HD channels and DVDs. Currently, we get about 10 HD channels on cable and the rest is regular broadcast as 480i and 4:3 aspect. These non-HD telecasts are not what you would expect them to be in terms of picture quality using this TV (probably any other large screen has the same problem). The cables are a rip-off so do not forget to account for its cost.

Let's be honest. This is one very high class television with all the bells and whistles. The picture it produces is incredible with either Digital Cable or HDTV signal, and is just as amazing when used with Optical, S-Video, or Progressive Scan component cables from a DVD/VCR. The clarity, brilliance, and color rendition is A+ through and through. You'd be hard pressed to find folks to disagree with that. The area where this TV gets dinged in the same for any large screen LCD, DLP, or Plasma unit - no one likes the low resolution analog delivery when a large widescreen is hooked up to a poor analog cable or worse still VHF or UHF non-digital signal. So make a commitment now that you are shopping for a big screen HDTV set-up. If you are willing to spend a couple of grand on a large screen high-end television, you should really give consideration to providing that television with a high-end signal. That means getting digital cable, satellite (digital signal), a house antenna for free over-the-air HDTV, and investing in a DVD/VCR that has the modern outputs. Do that and you are going to be in awe each night you settle in front of this television. Don't do it and you are going to settle for less than this television can provide.

I've owned this television for about one year now. I can tell you that it is highly impressive. The clarity and depth of the picture are astonishing and the brilliance is fantastic. Style-wise, okay, the newer model of this same system is more "modern" than this. Sound-wise, this system produces clear tones and great surround. I utilize this set with a home theatre set-up using Optical out from the TV and am immersed with sound. And I can say that playing Xbox on this set-up with the MS HD component cables is astoundingly realistic.

The really great features too are that this does have its own integrated ATSC tuner to decode the HD free over-the-air signals. And better still the no need for picture-in-picture when you can split the screen and watch them side-by-side (though you can't do that with two ATSC tuned stations - one has to be analog).

But probably the best perspective I can give you is that I treat the guests to my home who haven't yet seen such a high-end widescreen television to a bit of a test. I display for them the analog every day picture first in full 16:9 view and then in 4:3 standard. They instantly agree that analog in 16:9 is not sharp, and less appealing. Then I switch it over to a digital connection and they are back to being awed. Finally, I tune in an HDTV broadcast and everyone is absolutely mesmorized. During the Superbowl this year one of my party guests exclaimed, "Wow! I can see individual faces in the stadium seats when the cameras are watching the action on the field." Yes, I know. I get that enjoyment every single day when I power up the Sony 50". If you are seriously looking to get a big screen, this one is the absolute way to go! I'll leave the rest to argue over which is better, an LCD Projection, DLP, LCD flat panel, or Plasma. I already know. It's sitting in my entertainment center.

I got this TV in November 2004, and now 5 years later, started seeing blue dots all over the screen. I was not aware that there was an optical block issue on this model until now... Disappointing to be sure. My extended warranty has expired last year, and I didn't purchase a new one.

Just called Sony, and they would not offer any discount for a repair. I inquired about the price of the optical block (just the part, not the labor), and they quoted $562.
They did offer 4 TVs at what appears to be a good discount, so now I have 14 days to decide. Not sure what to do. Here are the TVs in case anyone is interested:
KDL-40VE5 $500
KDL-52VE5 $875
KDL-52XBR9 $1150
KDL-46W5100 $700

I must admit I am only an amature when it comes to this stuff, but both myself and my son noticed that even though the picture colour and image quality were great, turn the lights out and the whole thing gets washed with internal ambient light. Try as we might, we could not get the black pitch to a suitable level. We are considering trading it in for something else. When an HD source was used, it was awesome. So, even though the set has everything we could possibly want, that one thing just annoyed me to no end.