63 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
Great TV for the money
This is my first HDTV. I bought it because my brother-in-law has the previous model, which is pretty much the same. He loves it for the bedroom because it's light and just all around a great TV.
Cable broadcasts in 720p/1080i. So unless you have the room and money for a larger screen, have a Blu-Ray DVD player or are a serious gamer, go with the 720P and...
48 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
Sony Quality Control Sinks To All-Time Low
A few weeks ago I purchased a SONY KDL32L5000 720p LCD-TV from Amazon, which was shipped from one of their approved associates, J&R Elecronics, Inc.
Upon arrival, it was found the unit had (according to Sony Tech Support) a "board problem" which prevented the display of "program name and content description", and the TV would have to be shipped to Sony (at my...
This is my first HDTV. I bought it because my brother-in-law has the previous model, which is pretty much the same. He loves it for the bedroom because it's light and just all around a great TV.
Cable broadcasts in 720p/1080i. So unless you have the room and money for a larger screen, have a Blu-Ray DVD player or are a serious gamer, go with the 720P and save yourself some bread.
I'm very happy with the sound and picture. I do not have this hooked up to a home theater. There are plenty of inputs, so it should work well for your system. I tried my JVC HD camcorder and it was simple to connect and view.
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I purchased this TV about a month ago as a replacement for a fairly new SDTV, that I merely replaced because I wanted something with more component connections that I could use for a multitude of different purposes. (Gaming, movies, HD programming etc.) As of this writing, I couldn't be more satisfied the picture and sound are both amazing and it's everything I was expecting and a whole lot more. Word to the wise though, You will need HD service and an HD receiver in order to get the most out of this set in terms of HD programming. I really dig the cinema setting that darkens the picture (This is optional) to replicate a movie theater experience when watching a movie, it's a pretty cool feature. And in my opinion it's hard to go wrong with a Sony due to their trusted name as a reputable brand.
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I bought this TV at Best Buy for $447. Was surprised at how light it was, especially compared to the 25" tube TV it was replacing. Anyway, got it out of the box, attached the stand, attached the cables and it was ready to go. Automatic setup took less than 5 minutes, and even found HD channels I didn't know I had (Explanation: I have Time Warner cable and this would just be plugged directly into the coax with no cable box. Previously I was only seeing about 70 SD channels, this TV found about 90 SD and about 10 HD channels, so I was pleasantly surprised.)
The picture quality is great, sound is good, menu and operations are fairly straightforward and intuitive. Only reason I docked it one star is because the remote is only compatible with Sony products (Bravia specifically). I still need to keep my old remote to work the DVD player that will be used with this TV. Selfishness and greediness gets a one star deduction.
One sticky point, the "Favorites" menu lists the raw channel number, and rearranges then depending on which one is currently being viewed. How do I know what channel 112.1113 is?? I choose it to find out, then go back to the list and they are all rearranged...
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We have had this for about 2 weeks and are very happy with it. It was very easy to set up. Our cable package only has broadcast stations but with this we seem to be able to get the digital versions of a whole lot of basic cable channels. Unfortunately, there's still nothing on them except reality shows and procedurals reruns, so it just confirmed for us the uselessness of cable TV.
I hooked up my Mac Mini with a DVI to HDMI cable and got a Microsoft Wireless keyboard and mouse for it. It works very well as a PC monitor and we are able to watch Netflix Watch Instantly movies, YouTube videos and TV shows from Hulu or the networks' sites. We are using Boxee.tv as an interface and that works well. Next up, get an eyeTV so we can use the thing as a DVR.
This is working out exactly as I had hoped and I strongly recommend this TV. We checked out the different brands at comparable price points ($400-$500) and only this one and the Samsung really floated our boat. The picture is almost too clear. I mean, how many acne scars do you really want to see? It has a very usable favorites function which allows you to save your channels. It also interfaces with our Sony Home Theater system with an HDMI cable so we can control the whole system with one remote. Actually I can use the Home Theater remote and my wife can use the TV remote and we can have remote wars.
It has a Picture in Picture function so you can watch TV while you're working on your PC. One complaint is that in order to go back to full TV you have to go through more key presses than I would have liked. The only other complaint is that it takes a few seconds to tune in each channel.
We now have a very useable media center in our living room which gives us complete access to all the wonderful entertainment out there on the interwebs!
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This TV is just what you'd want in a sleek design. The picture is very crisp, great sound, and it hooks up easily with lots of inputs. It works for all viewing and gaming needs. It was really easy to set up right out of the box, and when I turned it on it immediately ran auto set-up, saving a lot of time and hassle.
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A few weeks ago I purchased a SONY KDL32L5000 720p LCD-TV from Amazon, which was shipped from one of their approved associates, J&R Elecronics, Inc.
Upon arrival, it was found the unit had (according to Sony Tech Support) a "board problem" which prevented the display of "program name and content description", and the TV would have to be shipped to Sony (at my expense) for repair or possible replacement. (Sony would not guarantee that a new unit would be supplied, if a replacement was made.)
I elected to return the unit to J&R, who to their credit provided a prepaid UPS shipping label. As it would take approximately 2 weeks before J&R received the defective unit, give me credit for the return, and reshipped a replacement, I elected to purchase another unit so immediate shipment could be made, with my account to be credited upon receipt of the original defective return.
About a week later, the second Sony TV arrived. Upon opening the shipping box and setting up the TV, it was found that the LCD screen was "cracked" internally (not visable until power was applied) and that it was inoperable. Another call was made to J&R, and this second Sony has now been repacked and we are awaiting pickup by UPS for return to J&R for yet another credit.
I wish to quickly state that everyone I have talked to at J&R Electronics have been extremely helpful, and I would not hesitate to do business with them in the future. They are very professional, friendly and caring.
On the other hand, Sony Support (they mainly use off-shore outsourcing personnel) is absolutely horrible and these "support" people have absolutely no technical knowledge to assist the caller. (Half the time one also gets disconnected and has to call back and start at the beginning of the waiting line again.)
Call it bad luck, however EVERY single Sony product I have purchased over the last 6-8 years have had "out-of-box" problems, requiring either exchange or repair. A few years ago, my very expensive Sony "book-shelf" AM-FM-SW Radio-CD combo developed problems. It spent over 6 months in Sony's Company Owned Burbank Service Center. They could not repair it and finally had to send it to Sony's Engineering Labs in Arizona to be repaired, which took another 2 months to complete. To this day the system still does not work properly, with one audio channel constantly turning itself on and off, at will. I have many other Sony QC problems I could cite, but won't bore you with the details.
It is no wonder that, today, Sony are having financial problems. Their product QC is very poor and their support even worse.
-UPDATE (23-Oct-09)-
Yesterday, while visiting a local Best Buy store, I noticed ALL of the Sony LCD HDTV's were being deeply discounted. The KDL32L500 (above) was on sale for $429.00. They had a ton of them in stock, but apparently no takers. The 1080p version (KDL32S5100) was being offered at $544.00. Salesperson's everywhere were "touting" Sony. Appears Sony is "dumping" all current models, most likely because newer units are on the way.
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I've had this TV for a month or so, and it seems to fit the bill. My first was a half decent used one, but after it was stolen, decided to get something a little bit nicer for my bedroom, where I do all my living. It's not "entertainment center" quality, but it's the only screen I watch 3-4 hours a day that doesn't give me a headache (like the laptop, the desktop, the phone, etc etc etc).
Video is clear, looks great in HD, sound is pretty good and has good variation.
I really like having 4 different zoom options for wide/square screens.
Every input you could imagine. I only use cable and from laptop, but still.
Channel changing is slow...I don't mind; I don't go flickin through the channels during the commercials, but it could get annoying.
Menus and setup are clear.
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I've now purchased two of these sets for family members, and I can't recommend it highly enough as a great low-priced HDTV perfect for bedroom or gaming use.
It sets up very quickly and the built-in ATSC tuner easily finds all local digital TV channels.
The set has a good complement of composite, component and HDMI inputs, and the included remote functions well.
Note that as with all TVs, you will have to make adjustments for accurate color out of the box - manufacturers still set their default settings to make the colors look good in a store, but not accurate.
Still, you can't find a better deal for the price, and unless you're sitting two feet away you'll never notice the difference between the 1366x768 resolution of this set and a full 1920x1080p model.
Note that one of this unit's best features is the ability to mark unused inputs as "Skip" so you don't have to cycle through multiple inputs to toggle between TV and Blu-Ray or a cable or satellite box.
This set also wall mounted beautifully using the Sanus MF110-B1 pivoting arm wall mount - they make a great combo!
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I'm not a techie, so my review is based on what I see. Which is, a clear picture, good color, and much better picture than our old analog set. Controls relatively uncomplicated, something us senior citizens look for in today's high-tech electronics. Someone else set it up for us, and it seemed fairly easy--for him. Anyway, we are very happy with this set, and would definitely recommend it.
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I recently purchased another name brand tv and had to return it. I purchased this name brand tv on line. The reviews were great and the price even greater. After one week of fiddling around with this thing, I returned it and knew I had to get a Sony Bravia. I did and am I glad. I've had the Sony for over a month. So far it's great! The colors are bright, the sharpness is crisp and crystal clear. The dark backround visible. The sound is excellent. Go for it! Spend the extra $50 and get this Sony tv KDL 32L5000.
P.S. If you use the HMD1 imput (3 imputs included), you will get 1080p output. Wow, this is fantastic!
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