Customer Reviews

Sony WEGA KLV-21SG2 21-Inch Flat Panel LCD Television

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

 

 

Last week I purchased a Sony KLV21SG2 LCD TV, banking on the fact that Sony has always produced an outstanding product, and that the five Sonys I have purchased over the past three decades (all CRT's), while expensive, were well worth the extra cost. This is the first Sony set that I am returning, because while it delivers excellent HD pictures and sound, it strikes out in virtually every other category.

I get my TV reception through Cox cable, which has a few (very few) HD channels, and a fair number of digital channels, but is still mired mostly in the analog world. This makes an LCD TV a bad bet for a Cox customer.

When compared to a high-end Sony CRT costing about the same as the SLV21SG2 -- there really is no comparison. Digital channels are viewable on the LCD TV, but the images are far from crisp. Sports events where there is fast motion create multiple images and blurring effects. Pictures with lines close together (such as empty basketball bleachers or a plaid suit) create noticeable rainbow or vibration effects. Even worse, the Sony LCD TV does not handle dark backgrounds at all well. For example, the series "24," even though it is on a digital channel, is just a big blur during the nighttime scenes, which as fans are aware are at least half the show. Sci-Fi buffs will be sorry to learn that space operas like Battlestar Galactica and Stargate SG-1 have similar problems.

I don't think these quality issues are unique to Sony LCD TVs. They are a general problem area common to all of today's crop of LCD TVs, which, especially when paired with a low-quality digital or HD box, do not deliver an acceptable picture on non-HD channels. I have heard that people have had better luck using LCD TVs with DirecTV, but in my view LCDs are still not ready for prime time.

I have a fifteen year-old Sony Trinitron 32" that is still delivering a picture that is superior to all plasmas and all LCDs, except when viewing HDTV. I'm taking my $1400 Sony LCD back to Circuit City and trading it in for a $300 20" Sony Trinitron CRT. Thank God for Circuit City's 30-day return policy!

I've had this TV for over two years and have never had a problem. When my house was hit by lightning last year all the electronics in my house fried, except for this little miracle!
The picture quality is fantastic. I dont have it hooked up to HD, but it has the option.
Of course this TV came out in 2004 or 2005 when HD was in its infancy so I'm not sure it will be as good a quality as a brand new 42" would be. But for a student on a budget this TV is perfect. It sounds and looks great. It's big enough to impress, but not so big that you have to get someone else to help carry it. I've even hooked it up to my computer when my monitor crashed and it worked like a charm.
I would recommend it to anyone!

I've seen a lot of bad things said about this TV, and they've mostly been said before HD television was the norm. I've had my WEGA hooked up to Comcast digital HD and it looks fantastic, great picture and sound. In fact, I bought a new HD television and had problems with the picture two days after hooking it up. I've never had an issue like that with this Sony. Sony makes quality products, although this t.v. isn't worth the $1,600 that it cost back when it first came out, it is for sure worth the price you'll get it for today.