Customer Reviews

Sony Grand WEGA KF-50WE610 50-Inch HDTV-Ready LCD Rear Projection TV

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I want to describe my experience with this TV even though Amazon does not currently offer it. (Perhaps with good reason.)
My television worked fine for two weeks. Then it developed the buzz at start-up that others have described. After a few days it would not turn on. I purchased this from Cr*tchfie*d (four thou). I am going to find out if they really honor their 30 day money back guarantee.

The picture quality with HD broadcasts was superb. Quality for SD DirecTV broadcasts was only fair to poor. Some channels appeared muddy or out-of focus with an overall smudgy appearance. Even the best SD channels were worse than my old 50 inch Pioneer rear projection TV which never failed to turn on in ten years.

This was actually the second tv that I received. The first came with several cracks running through the screen image and a heavily dented chassis.

The manufacture date for my set is December 2003. The problem with the buzz comes from the television's very expensive (two hundred fifty) halogen lamp. The lamp is either no good or something in the television's circuitry is causing them to burn out prematurely. Sony rates them to work for approximately 1 year of average viewing.

In searching the internet I have found dozens of complaints similar to mine. Some people report exchanging one tv only to have its replacemnt develop the same problem. There was even one who had three televsions develop this problem. I have seen posts that claim that Sony is aware of this problem and has taken steps to correct it with recently manufactured televsions not having the problem.

In a way a problem that presents immediately is better than a problem that appears after several months when the only option left is to be at the mercy of Sony's guarantee and face several weeks of waiting for in-home repair visits. I present this review as a warning to others so that they can avoid this painful experience.

Just bought this tv after doing some research and looking around. The LCD tvs are just as good as Plasmas. The only reason to get a plasma is if you want to hang it on your ceiling of something. Otherwise this tv is just as good. It is very light and slim. It doesn't have any of the bad things that plasma has like burn ins and it won't be dead after 10 years. with a little tweaking you can get the display perfect. there are many display settings. The tv looks very nice and sleek. The sony stand that was made for the tv is too short for my liking and WAY overpriced. Instead i got a techcraft stand from circuit city. It was also made for this tv. It is very durable and matches the television perfectly. It is half the price and has a weight capacity of 300lbs compared to the sony stands 145lb capacity. here is link for the techcraft stand: http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&qp=0082308310589&bookmark=bookmark_0&oid=86038&catoid=-9798

I am so glad that I didn't get my samsung 61 inch DLP on time when I ordered it months ago. Sony has done it all with this unit, beats DLP by far, and much cheaper than a 50 inch plasma. Features are great, some tweaking with the controls are needed but you will be happy with the end result. Dvds are great and dish network satellite is OK for a s video hook up. I got mine form BB for 2619 for the TV, 450 for stand, and 299 for a 4 yr. warranty. Hope this helps you out.

I just recently bought this TV. DVD's look great! The picture on HDTV is stunning! Two minor negative points: the sound quality is not quite as good as on some comparable sets (the 55 inch Philips Cineos for example) and the DVI port does not support input from a computer. The computer issue was very disappointing for me as I had very much been looking forward to connecting the computer to the TV (I've been told I may still be able to connect the computer through the component connection, but this will require an adapter and/or a new video card).

This review may be based on an isolated incident. I hope so for the sake of others out there who purchase this tv. I've only had it for about 3 weeks, and now it doesn't work at all. Up until this morning I was very happy with my new tv. The picture quality is amazing. The size is perfect for my living room. It had my wife and me watching dvd's that we thought we'd never watch again just for the big widescreen experience. I haven't subscribed to HDTV service yet, but watching dvd's on my progressive scan dvd player with my tv tweaked for optimum quality is amazing. We watched a movie last night. Everything was fine... no sign of trouble. This morning I tried to turn the tv on, but it didn't work. I thought the lamp had blown out. I called sony's tech support and we figured out that it wasn't the lamp. I don't know what it is. I was refered to a local authorized service center, and the soonest they can look at it is two weeks from now. Two friggin' weeks! I can't believe it. I feel like I should be compensated in some way. I blew a huge chunk of money, and now all I have is a huge broken tv taking up space in my house. Be warned. The standard warranty is good for one year, but I think I should have bought the extended warranty. I'm even beginning to consider returning the television. This is rediculous.

This review is for the Sony KF50WE610:
Pros: 1. Almost the best picture...comparing to current plasma's and other DLp/LCD project TV's.
2. Definitely better than any rear projection TV and slim enough to save you that extra space.
3. Easy to move and setup.
4. No burnout issues.
5. HD Picture is the best, when compared to other TV's.

Cons: 1. Uses a replaceable projection lamp which may need to be replaced more frequently than you would think. I have had this TV for 7 months, but the bulb is still going strong.
2. I have heard about issues with TV making sounds when starting immediately after switching off. I have noticed that too, but dont think it really matters.
3. Black portions of the picture are not entirely black as you would think, but this is also noticeable only if you watch extremely carefully in night scenes. I have had some success by tweaking the "Picture", "Brightness", "Color" and "Sharpness" controls.

Overall, a very good TV, but I would have given it 5 stars if it was a little less priced and did not have the replacement lamp issue.

Reportedly, Sony had a burnout problem in sets manufactured before January 2004. I bought mine in late May and it came with a January 2004 manufacturing label. It does have an excellent picture and the sound is very good. It has a wide viewing angle. It's a great TV that has worked flawlessly for two entire weeks. It also came with advice that says, "In some cases, the lamp bursts with a loud bang inside the lamp unit, but the lamp unit is securely designed so that the pieces of broken glass remain inside the lamp unit. For details, see `Replacing the Lamp' in the Operating Instructions." It looks easy to replace the lamp. I'm relieved to know in advance that loud bangs inside this set are normal.

I'm keeping the set anyway. It's light, easy to move, and it's thin, so it fits almost anywhere. If it explodes, I'll update this review.

Update: as of 7/26/05, it works beautifully. This is an excellent TV - so far.

Update as of 11/23/05: the lamp went out 3 days ago. BestBuy showed up within 24 hours of my call and replaced the lamp under warranty. Lamp burnout is apparently common in LCD and DLP TVs. BestBuy service was excellent.

I received the set in early March, after waiting for SONY to correct the circuitry problems. It has been working superbly since that time (5 months). No issues with any aspect of its function. Exceptional picture quality in HD and with DVD's. Comparable picture and cheaper than plasma. I dont recommend the SONY stand since it has shelves which are too narrow to accomodate large sound components.

This is a beautiful television, but it's coming to light that there were manufacturing problems, resulting in a large number of sets leaving the factory that die within weeks of purchase, by being unable to power up. See
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=316921
for details. Mine died after 6 days. Let's hope the replacement doesn't have them same problems.

First, let me state that this TV exhibits some well known (and expected) Sony qualities: it is easy to use, it physically looks good, the picture is good (it is what is supposed to be, even if the black is not that black), the sound is OK (nothing compared with a decent receiver and external speakers), the inputs and outputs work fine. Watching widescreen DVDs and HDTV is certainly a new experience.
However, after almost one year of owning one, it has become obvious that this TV has a number of irritating kinks:
- the projection lamp buzzes occasionally on startup, and sometimes the front LED flashes indicating that the lamp is bad. Not sure what causes this, humidity maybe?
- there are a number of dead pixels, and one cluster of dead pixels. The cluster is the most visible (always on bright green), but it is not bothering from regular TV watching distance.
- the set is not fully silent, there is constant background hum from the fan that cools the lamp.
- the closed captioning is useless in any mode than standard. Try to zoom the picture (to use the full screen) and the captioning is zoomed also, going partially out of the view.
- the response to remote commands is sloppy. Try to change channels and adjust the sound, and if you do not wait for the command to be executed, it is totally ignored (only the sound is adjusted).
This is a product that was obviously rushed to market, and as such, it does not reflect the expected Sony quality.