Features of Sony KDFE55A20
HDMI HDCP Interface 3LCD Technology; 16:9 widescreen WEGA Engine System WEGA GATE - Easy Operation Guide ATSC Integrated Tuner with CableCARD Slot
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
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Sony KDFE55A20 Customer Review(s):
Summary: bright and sharp HD images
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Comment: 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.
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Summary: LCD Technology is FINALLY catching up
Rating: 4 (out of 5)
Comment: Watching the new Grand WEGA KDF-E55A20 LCD rear-projection TV has been a fantastic experience. I've always preferred LCD over DLP technology, but at larger sizes over 42' a loss of quality would ensue, mostly from the reduced 'black levels' on the screen. This model has made a great stride in correcting that issue, and even though I went with the 55', even the 60' shows the same quality.
I would highly recommend buying the factory stand for this television as well; I tried using an existing stand, but after almost having it tip over when it got a good bump, I purchased the stand and just put it in the slot. Much more secure!
Overall, it's still not plasma, but it's close, and at least you never have to worry about burning an imprint into the screen. A good choice!
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Summary: Pretty Good, But....
Rating: 4 (out of 5)
Comment: OK, so the last TV I purchased was 1990. Yes, technology has come a long way for sure. I've been really wanting to make the jump to a big screen, and last weekend I finally purchased the Sony 55' LCD. While at the store, this TV was near a plasma, and with some tweaking of the remote, I was able to get the picture on this TV to be as close to the same as the plasma as possible. It looked GREAT! BUT....
When viewing TV on a non-HD receiver, the picture leaves a bit to be desired. I have this set hooked up to my DirecTV receiver using the S-Video connection, and there are things that are well, disappointing.
1. Using the Sat guides--they look horrible--muddy and blurry. Yet if you pull up the Sony guides built in to the TV, they are crisp and sharp.
2. Most TV is still in 4:3 format, which means you have the black bars on the sides of your picture. A minor complaint, but a bit annoying. Yes, this Sony has 4 viewing modes to stretch the picture out to fill the screen, but when you do this things look, well...obviously stretched out.
3. The owner's manual is pretty lame as most manuals are. It would be nice if a company stated in plain language how to use their TV, how to get the best picture using various sources.
I have hooked this TV up to my progressive-scan DVD player using the THX certified Monster cables. The picture was more of what I expected it to be. I also recommend using a calibration DVD to get the set adjusted as best as possible. If you don't have one, you can cheat by using most any movie from George Lucas, as he usually includes a THX calibration program on the DVD (Star Wars, and Raiders for example).
I have 30 days to look at this TV. I purchased this mainly because of the great deal Best Buy was offering (2400, including shipping). I am on the fence as maybe a smaller plasma in the same price range will suit me better. Of course I could pony up for a HD satellite receiver. My scores overall:
Ease of Setting Up (B+)
Remote Control (C-)
Picture Quality (Regular programming) (D+)
Picture Quality (HD) A-
Sound Quality A
Hope this helps fellow big screen devotees in their quest for the perfect picture.
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