Customer Reviews

Sony MFM-HT95 19"LCD Monitor with TV Tuner (Silver)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The quality has gone up and the prices are finally coming down on name-brand LCD television sets (unfortunately, this one has gone up 15% since the pre-order price offered by Amazon). Space considerations dictated a unit without the bulky back-side protruberance of a conventional CRT set, so I took a deep breath and pre-ordered this stylish and compact, newest Sony model, which is being pitched as a versatile monitor rather than a "dedicated" LCD TV set.

To begin with, the main advantage is the shallow case. If you have room for the old cathode ray model, hang on to it and save yourself a small fortune. That said, this Sony LCD unit performs better than conventional sets in some areas and is of at least equal quality in most others. Its superiority is most noticeable where numbers, titles, and animation are concerned--all are razor sharp beyond my expectations (can't see why anyone would invest the extra money needed to activate the "high-definition ready" feature). Human figures and flesh tones can be a bit more inconsistent than on a cathode ray tube. Occasionally, the contrast is excessive, regardless of how much I tweak the settings. On the other hand, when the signal source is a DVD player or VCR rather than cable TV, the images are crisp and consistent (so good, in fact, I noticed no appreciable improvement when I substituted for the composite cable first an S-Video, then a component video, cable).

The set is ready-to-go out of the box, and the remote has minimal but convenient buttons for instantly changing brightness, contrast, and picture size ratios. As for the stereo sound, complete with "sub-woofer" (apparently defined by Sony as a speaker larger than a silver dollar), I wouldn't make purchase contingent on that consideration. The audio is fine, as television sound goes, but I have yet to experience anything out of the ordinary. I tested it with a jazz CD. By boosting treble and bass to the max, I was able to coax from the set undistorted balanced sound with fairly alive cymbals and an audible bass while maintaining an adequately present mid-range.

Even when the power is off, the case is understated, trim, and elegant. Moreover, my cat can't jump on it and make it come crashing to the floor, which was the fate of this set's precariously balanced predecessor.

[Since I wrote the above, my wife has condemned the LCD image, claiming it lacks depth and warmth. "Chancun a son gout," I say. At least I won't have to share the set with "Guiding Light."]

18 months ago we purchased a Philips 180MT combination monitor TV - the apparent equivalent of this Sony. After 13 months, it went black and we sent it to their warranty department, expecting them to replace it within the five days promised. After weeks with no word we called and were told they no longer made it and had no parts to repair it. We were sent a refurbished model with a smaller screen and no PIP feature. After five more months of calls, we were sent another model, again inferior to the original. When I plugged it in, it went up in smoke! I called and finally got connected to someone with authority and a true concern for customer service who refunded our original cost.

We bought the MFM-HT95 with high hopes and it has delivered. The picture is as good as I have ever seen for both TV and PC. The PC reviewers were more critical than I, but I am not a gamer and the lighting in our kitchen does not interfere with viewing. The colors wash out slightly from off center but it is still a good picture. I had trouble with the sleep mode but when I talked to the tech support staff, they gave me a fax number to send a copy of my invoice and they would send out a brand new unit. Alas, it was my fault for not using the Sony supplied cable - everything works fine. It is also a very handsome machine that graces our desktop. It is everything you would expect from Sony. I wish this model had been available 18 months ago.

I purchased this monitor 2 weeks ago and it seems fine. No dead pixels, the colors are great. It works fine as a TV set with my cable antena and it gives me a lot of screen real estate for my PC. The brightness is adjustable so there is no eye strain involved.

As I use it longer I will try to update this review.

Wow,
I am a gamer (BF2, CS, and so on and so on...) and this monitor is totally fine! No ghosting unless you really really really look for it and/or you have a crappy video card (but then you'll ghost on a CRT anyway). This monitor has a remote to set it to different levels of brigtness, easily, with one being a setting to match the light level in the room. It also have 3 sized of picture in picture that you can put in 4 different locations and has inputs for PC1, PC2, video 1 and video 2 as well. So you can easily hook up VCRs, DVD players etc... Overall, this is such an amazing monitor with NO DEAD PIXELS (at least for me) that I can't stand that I didn't get one earlier. Of all the things I've bought in the past year, this is for sure, 100% the coolest and as my friend Mike Fairchild said "the monitor is the one thing you ALWAYS are interacting with on your computer, so get a good one and get a BIG one." This is some of the best advice I've ever gotten, espeically seeing that I use my computer for mail, shopping, work!, and gaming. If you buy this, you win, and you get to drink FROM THE FIREHOSE!!!!! (ignore the last comment if you don't get it). Take care, word! Sammy K

Having viewed this item at various locations - shopping for it was easy to locate the best price and availability. It fit our needs & our pockets perfectly. Arrived promptly in excellent condition!

We got this TV for about $160 cheaper than it cost at Best Buy, and that's including shipping and taxes. It shipped quickly, as usual, the quality of picture is excellent, and the design of the TV itself is simple yet elegant.

I bought this monitor years ago and at a much higher price than it is now, of course. I have really enjoyed it and it has consistently served as a reliable and good looking product. I give it a thumbs up for sure

It is a great computer monitor and a good tv as well. Easy to use and the sound is good too. My daughter
has one also and put me on to it.