Sony KDF-E55A20 55-Inch LCD Rear Projection Television

by Sony

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 115 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: B0009Y2EXI
• Item model number: KDFE55A20
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,335 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Bring a true cinema experience into your own living room with the 55-inch Sony KDFE55A20 rear-projection LCD TV, which features a new design with a thin dark black bezel, a compact body, invisible speakers located at the bottom of the set, and Dolby Digital surround sound capability. It features built-in analog (NTSC) and HDTV digital (ATSC) tuners. (Digital high-definition programming is available via terrestrial signals (over-the-air) or unscrambled cable signals provided by your cable company.) It's also Digital Cable Ready, so you can enjoy digital cable without an additional box or remote.

The KDFE55A20 uses the 3LCD video projection system, which combines three LCD panels to produce an image for a brighter picture in well-lit rooms, intensly vibrant natural colors, and spectacular HD performance. It's driven by Sony's WEGA Engine System, which delivers superb picture quality from any video source by minimizing the signal deterioration caused by digital-to-analog conversion and stabilizing the signal processing.

The Digital Reality Creation line doubling feature replaces the signal's NTSC waveform with the HD equivalent, while doubling the number of vertical and horizontal lines. This results in four times the density for quality sources, such as DVD, satellite and digital camcorders. The CineMotion technology feature uses reverse 3-2 pull down technology, providing smoother picture movement when playing back movies or other video sources on film. Other features include the Steady Sound audio equalizer (for consistent output between programs and commercials), parental controls (V-chip), Favorites channel list, front AV Inputs for connecting camcorders or video game consoles, and an HDMI connection for uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface between the TV and any HDMI-equipped audio/video component.

It has a 24-watt stereo audio system (two 12-watt speakers) and compatibility with Dolby Digital and TruSurround XT. It features the following video and audio connections:

• Composite AV In (RCA): 3 (1 front)
• S-Video In: 3 (2 rear, 1 front)
• RF In: 1
• Component Video In: 2 (rear)
• HDMI In: 1

What's in the Box
KDFE55A20 TV, remote control, two AA batteries, printed instructions

Product Description

WEGA Engine System delivers superb picture quality from any video source by minimizing the signal deterioration caused by digital-to-analog conversion and stabilizing the signal processing. The engine features unique Sony technology including the first step in the digital processing system, Composite Component Processor, which enhances input signal-to-noise ratio by chroma decoder digital processing. Digital Reality Creation(TM) (DRC) Multifunction Technology unlike conventional line doublers, the DRC(TM) Multifunction feature replaces the signal's NTSC waveform with the HD equivalent, while doubling the number of vertical and horizontal lines. This results in four times the density for quality sources, such as DVD, satellite and digital camcorders. The Video Menu allows you to select interlaced, progressive or CineMotion output. Parental Control (V-Chip) Specifications Aspect Ratio - 16 - 9 Video Signal System - NTSC, 480i, 480p, 1080i, 720p Output Power - 12w x 12w Power Requirements - 120V 60Hz Power Consumption - 210 Watts when in use, Less than 17 Watts during standby Inputs - RF 75-ohm F-type, Cable 75-ohm F-type, POD PCMCIA-type 1 Front Composite Video Input, 2 Rear Composite Video Input 2 Rear Component Video Input 1 Front S-Video Input, 2 Rear 1 Rear Digital Audio Output 1 Front Headphone Output LED - Power/Standby, Timer, and Lamp Channel Label, Skip/Add & Jump Weight - 92.5 pounds (42kg) Unit Dimensions - 57 3/8 x 37 1/4 x 19 3/8 inches

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars bright and sharp HD images, October 25, 2005

By 

movie buff "fofee2r3" (Seattle, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony KDF-E55A20 55-Inch LCD Rear Projection Television (Electronics)

I've had this TV for about a week now. It is my first non CRT TV (first HD TV as well), so I had high expectations as well as quite a bit of uncertainties. When the TV arrived, my wife was worried that the size of the TV was too big for our family room, and she said she got motion sickness when she watched the TV. But after about a week, she had no such complaints.

I chose this TV after an extensive search, but the main reason for me was the picture quality that I saw at Best Buy and Circuit City, etc. I think when buying a TV this expensive, you should check out the TV image for yourself. The online reviews can be helpful, but seeing the TV with your own eyes should be the main factor for your decision.

For me, the brightness and the sharpness of this TV was very impressive. I didn't even consider plasma TVs by the way, because of my budget. But after seeing this TV in my house for a week, I am glad that I didn't even consider plasma TVs. The reason? I am a movie buff, and the projection TV image is so close to the movie theatre experience. It's rather smoky, and not too sharp, and I think that kinda mimics cinema film projections. Plasmas are way too sharp and bright to have that kind of retro experience. So if I was to buy another TV, I think I will prefer the projection TVs over plasma TVs.

I bought the Sony TV stand made for this particular model, and I am okay with that. I don't like the fact that the back of this TV stand is wide open. All the messy wires are in plain view in the back of the TV stand. So I put white inkjet papers taped in the backside of the stand, and my wife loves it.

You get the best view of the image in the front of the TV (at least 5 feet away). The image looks dark from the top or from the sides. When there is bright sunlight directly in front of the TV, It's really hard to see the image, but I am sure that's the case with all the TVs. The important thing is that you get almost no reflections whatsoever.

Image quality is great with HD broadcast, and DVDs are ok. I warned my wife before I turned on the TV for the first time that our regular analog channels will look terrible, but after watching several regular channels, my wife said that it looks just fine. And I do agree with her. Later on I found out that her motion sickness was caused by the choice of image wide option. We had the TV on wide zoom, and that distorted images in a strange way that made some people dizzy. Now we keep it in Full mode, so everything looks the way they are broadcast. I don't mind black bars in the sides of the regular broadcasts.

The worst thing about this TV is the remote control. I like to use the sleep mode at night, but I have to press way too many buttons to get to that mode. Same with closed caption mode. Sony put all the settings options into this circular chunk of buttons instead of giving dedicated buttons for some popular options. But I can control my Sony DVD player and Sony video player with the same remote, and I do like that.

One other bad thing is that there is no PC input for this TV. I knew about it when I bought the TV, but maybe other people want the PC input so they can use the TV as their computer monitor, which is unnescessary since I only use laptops.

The last problem is that I am hooked on this TV, and I just watch and watch HD broadcasts, because I am just amazed with the big, crisp moving images that fill my room. It's like having a theatre in your living room.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars HDTV IS NICE REGULAR TV IS TERRIBLE, January 22, 2006

By 

zeroxiq (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony KDF-E55A20 55-Inch LCD Rear Projection Television (Electronics)

So first off I'll explain as much as i can from the experience.

I order it from Amazon.com takes abuot 2 1/2 weeks to arrive from the time i order it. A third party delivers my TV with 3 Guys. the BOX IS HUGE!!! They help carry it downstairs, unpack, setup, and take away all my boxes etc. Overall a Good Experience. But i hate waiting for the 2 1/2 Weeks~!!

After plugging in my cable directly into the TV ( NO HD YET). I start to surf around and the picture quality is TERRIBLE. Regular channels MTV, CBS, NBC etc are all pixelated and grainy looking. I play around with the Wide Screen features but it just makes it worst as you stretch out an already Pixelated Picture. Overall for regular channels, my regular Sony CRT 32 inch is MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH BETTER( i've had it for 10+ years)~!!!! 1 Star

After that, I decide to play a DVD. Put in my Progressive scanner and pop in the Matrix. Picture quality was Ehhh. I was expecting something SPECTACULAR. Overall I felt that wasn't much of a difference from my regular TV, just the fact that you can watch it in Widescreen. 3 Stars

Then the Cable guy comes in and Installs my HDTV. You don't need a box for this since it already has a Cable Card Slot. Its great sinc e you don't have to 'rent' the box from your cable provider. This was much cheaper (about $1.50 per month for the cable card VS Cable box $6.00). However the only downside is that you can't have on-demand and the TV Guide Features. But for saving about $5 bucks a month ( which will add up) I'll suffer with out those features. So after installing my HDTV (takes abuot 30 Minutes) i turn on ESPN HD. 1 word WOW~!!!!!!. It was truly amazing. i saw everything~!!. The picture quality was truly jaw dropping, super clear! You can even see the Mesh on the Jerseys. I basically felt like i was in the Game. I start to surf around more in the HD channels, and they were just gorgeous to watch~! The only draw back is that there are about only 15 HDTV channels, and out of those channels ONLY certain shows are in HD( most Prime time Shows. 24, Lost, Prison break, ETC). Also to note the sports games are in HD but NOT ALLWAYS. So you can be watching a football game from an ariel view in HD, but once they change camera angles, it might not be HD. Also REALLY fast movement ( like nascar) at times will be pixelated, i guess since its soo fast. But overall for the HDTV i give it 4 Stars. I would give it 1 more if there were more channels~!

So my overall conclusion is that this TV is basically JUST for HDTV nothing else. If you plan on using this for regular TV WITH OUT HD DON"T BOTHER, get a regular tv.

Just to Sum UP
Overall experience with Amazon = 5 Stars
Regular TV Channels = 1 star
DVD = 3 Stars
HDTV = 4 Stars

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great picture and sound, and six auxiliary input sources, February 10, 2006

By 

webgrunt (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony KDF-E55A20 55-Inch LCD Rear Projection Television (Electronics)

Some people have complained about the quality of standard-definition (non-High Definition) TV signals on this system. Of course, standard-definition signals are going to look much poorer than high-definition signals, but I was very surprised by the fact that standard-definition actually looks a lot better on this TV than it did on my 27-inch standard-definition JVC TV which was top-of-the-line in its size range when I purchased it in 1999.

The controls are fairly easy to understand and the manual is helpful, though it would be better if it gave more detailed information.

The sound quality is very good. I had thought the sound on my old JVC was good, but I was missing out on the bass (low) range, when I started watching this unit I was amazed to hear what I had been missing.

Note that the effective size of the screen is measured at 55 inches, however since most signals are still standard-definition, you won't use the full screen. When watching standard-definition TV, the effective screen size is about 46 or 47 inches, because the sides of the screen are not used.

Update August 8, 2006: A couple gripes

1. The "SteadySound" feature, which is supposed to level the volume by making loud sounds quieter and quiet sounds louder, so you don't have to turn the sound up to hear the program then get blasted out of your house when the loud commercials come on, doesn't seem to do anything. I do not notice a difference whether it's on or off.

2. Only one HDMI input. What were they thinking??

3. If you're thinking about using this TV with your computer video card's DVI output, don't buy this one. While you can use a DVI to HDMI converter cable to use this TV as a computer monitor, the TV converts the input so that you can NOT set it to native resilution and therefore the screen displays poorly. Sony's official position is that this TV was not designed for use as a computer monitor. I now regret buying it, because though it is a terrific TV for both standard and HDTV, I spend much more time on the computer than I do watching TV.

I still keep my rating at five stars, because for what it's designed to do the TV is awesome.