Customer Rating: 
Summary: The END ALL Review
Comment: I purchased this TV from Amazon during the Dec special and could not be happier. I've owned a 720P projection and decided it was time to enter blu-ray and HD-DVD world with a TV that supported 1080p inputs. I have done as much research as humanly possible and decided on SXRD and could not be happier.
My decision was based on these facts:
1. First and foremost, I did not intend to hang my television on a wall and having a rear projection that protrudes 13" as opposed to 5" for LCD or plasma was no concern.
2. Based on #1 I decided to weigh the pros and cons btwn projection and LCD. LCD has better viewing angles and brighter during the daylight. Well I work during the day like most people and the room is not greatly lit anyway. And I do not intend to move to the sides of the tv while watching. On top of that, these projections have better contrast (black levels) and pixel response time (2.5ms vs. 8ms for LCD generally). This proves very important watching movies (contrast) and sports (response time) where the action is fast.
3. Now the harder decision was which technology? DLP, LCD projection or LCos (which sony calls SXRD). The below reviews and articles from video mags and their high tech tests convinced me the newest technology (SXRD) did away with 'rainbow effect' and/or 'screen door effect' inherrent in DLP and LCD Projection, respectively.
[...]
Now I have the TV and could not be happier with my decision. I paid the same as some friends with 1080p LCDs with a bigger screen! (50 vs. 40). These friends have agreed that after some tweaking, my tv actually is better watching sports (no trailing pixel effect) and movies (where deep blacks can be realized). Their advantage is very brightly lit rooms where the projection picture can look dimmer but this is extreme conditions. They also watch their LCD on a stand which removed any size difference since it will protrude only as much as your stand does. Also note this TV is about 75lbs, which is light to me. If it werent for its size, I could move this around myself! As far as the viewing angle is concerned, I cant see much difference sitting from any angle until you actually are at the side of the screen but who watches at that angle anyway?
SETTINGS: I know many people want to know the optimal settings. There are two schools here.
A. Majority perception - this is the pre-set settings out of the box. Most people are not as technical will enjoy this since colors are bright and the display is bright and generally the normal population will like to see this and it sells better in stores this way. Colors and brightness are maximized.
B. True to Scale (lifelike) - this is the videophiles who have everything set closely to the telivision braodcast standard and what the dvd calibrations help you attain. This is where everything looks 'real' and not exaggerated and scales are distinguishable for the same color i.e. different shades of black.
The settings Ive used to accomplish B. are below. This seems to be the preferred settings from many of the forums for this television and originally distributed by CNET with their professional calibrations. I have followed this and am very impressed by 1080P Blu-Ray movies!!!! AND you can have separate settings per input!!! which is great because I want blu-ray 1080p material as close to whats intended and I want to 'tweak' cable broadcast, especially standard definition signals.
"What follows are the user-menu settings we found ideal for viewing in a completely dark room with a 1080i HDMI source, namely the Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player (with its Enhanced Black Level turned Off). Your ideal settings will vary according to room lighting, source and personal preference. We have not listed settings that do not affect picture quality with this setup. See the full review for explanations as to why we chose these settings.
Picture menu:
Mode: Custom
Advanced iris: Min [I use AUTO IRIS 1 since my lighting varies and not completely dark room as in there tests]
Picture: 84
Brightness: 56
Color: 41
Hue: 0
Color temp: Warm2
Sharpness: 50
Noise reduction: Off
--Advanced Settings--
Black corrector: Off
Gamma: Off [I use low to correct Standard definition picture with my DVR box input and off with 1080p blu ray input since I assume it sends what was intended to view]
Clear white: Off
Live color: Off
White balance: (see below)
Detail enhancer: [I use low to correct Standard definition picture with my DVR box input and off with 1080p blu ray input since I assume it sends what was intended to view]
Edge enhancer: Off
--White balance--
R-gain: -2
G-gain: -1
B-gain: 0
R-bias: -3
G-bias: -2
B-bias: -1
Setup menu:
Color matrix: Standard
Power saving: On"
[...]
The last thing is bulb replacement. The bulb lasts about 8000 hours (approx 4.5 years for 6hrs avg daily viewing). I think I would prefer to replace the on rear projection which brings the picture back to 'new' with no picture deterioration (at a cost of ~200). As far as LCDs, I dont think there is any method to bring the picture back to new after many years of use.
I know this review is long but I believe it is helpful for many needed to make a big decision.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Optimal Settings
Comment: What are the optimal settings for non-HD sources and HD siources and are they different for each channel? What cables provide the best picture quality? What are some alternative HD DVD players and will non-HD DVD players provide a good picture?
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fantastic High Definition - true 1080p for hundreds less
Comment: I just purchased this television from Best Buy when my 4 year old Toshiba 42 inch rear projection television was being to die. I am incredibly happy with my purchase.
Out of the box set up. Incredibly easy. I connected an HDMI cable from the television to my DirecTV HR10-250 HD DVR. (I then connected a fiber optic audio cable from the HR10-250 to my receiver.) I then connected the 3 component cable from my TV to my DVD player. (Again, connecting a fiber optic audio cable from the DVD player to the receiver). This took less than 5 minutes and I was ready to go.
The remote was a little twitchy trying to figure out the menus but I was able to label Video 4 for my DVD player and Video 6 for my satellite and I was off to the races.
First, please remember that the factory settings for your picture are horrible. If you expect to see a fantastic picture right out of the box you will be disappointed. You actually need to set the controls to match the room/environment where your television resides. Luckily, I pulled out my DVD Video Essentials disk [...] and began the calibration. This took about 20 minutes. I would highly recommend purchasing this DVD [...]
Once I was done with the calibration, I was awestruck by how beautiful the picture is in HD. The picture was crisp, the writing on the screen was spectacular, it was amazing. I couldn't pull myself away from my television set on Sunday because I was watching a golf tournament! A turned to a couple of basketball games in HD and felt like I was in the arena.
I did quite a bit of technical research and concluded that this rear projection television was a much better buy than an LCD or plasma. I didn't want to go back down to a 40 inch screen (LCD and plasma) and ended up getting a much bigger screen (50 inches) for a few hundred dollars less! It is a fantastic buy in my opinion.
For those of you finally entering the world of big screen HD television, this television would be a great choice. Trust me, I have been viewing HD for the past 4 years and this television is phenomenal.
Customer Rating:
Summary: great tv!
Comment: This tv has a fabulous picture. I usually play DVDs on an Oppo 981 upconverting player and they look awesome, even the ones I create myself in iMovie. My friends are all very impressed. Highly recommended!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent HDTV
Comment: I have had the 50" SXRD for over 1-1/2 months and have had no problems with this HDTV. The picture quality is amazing with DVD's, HD Cable and as a computer monitor. The unit arrived in less than week and delivery was easy to schedule.
Summary: The END ALL Review
Comment: I purchased this TV from Amazon during the Dec special and could not be happier. I've owned a 720P projection and decided it was time to enter blu-ray and HD-DVD world with a TV that supported 1080p inputs. I have done as much research as humanly possible and decided on SXRD and could not be happier.
My decision was based on these facts:
1. First and foremost, I did not intend to hang my television on a wall and having a rear projection that protrudes 13" as opposed to 5" for LCD or plasma was no concern.
2. Based on #1 I decided to weigh the pros and cons btwn projection and LCD. LCD has better viewing angles and brighter during the daylight. Well I work during the day like most people and the room is not greatly lit anyway. And I do not intend to move to the sides of the tv while watching. On top of that, these projections have better contrast (black levels) and pixel response time (2.5ms vs. 8ms for LCD generally). This proves very important watching movies (contrast) and sports (response time) where the action is fast.
3. Now the harder decision was which technology? DLP, LCD projection or LCos (which sony calls SXRD). The below reviews and articles from video mags and their high tech tests convinced me the newest technology (SXRD) did away with 'rainbow effect' and/or 'screen door effect' inherrent in DLP and LCD Projection, respectively.
[...]
Now I have the TV and could not be happier with my decision. I paid the same as some friends with 1080p LCDs with a bigger screen! (50 vs. 40). These friends have agreed that after some tweaking, my tv actually is better watching sports (no trailing pixel effect) and movies (where deep blacks can be realized). Their advantage is very brightly lit rooms where the projection picture can look dimmer but this is extreme conditions. They also watch their LCD on a stand which removed any size difference since it will protrude only as much as your stand does. Also note this TV is about 75lbs, which is light to me. If it werent for its size, I could move this around myself! As far as the viewing angle is concerned, I cant see much difference sitting from any angle until you actually are at the side of the screen but who watches at that angle anyway?
SETTINGS: I know many people want to know the optimal settings. There are two schools here.
A. Majority perception - this is the pre-set settings out of the box. Most people are not as technical will enjoy this since colors are bright and the display is bright and generally the normal population will like to see this and it sells better in stores this way. Colors and brightness are maximized.
B. True to Scale (lifelike) - this is the videophiles who have everything set closely to the telivision braodcast standard and what the dvd calibrations help you attain. This is where everything looks 'real' and not exaggerated and scales are distinguishable for the same color i.e. different shades of black.
The settings Ive used to accomplish B. are below. This seems to be the preferred settings from many of the forums for this television and originally distributed by CNET with their professional calibrations. I have followed this and am very impressed by 1080P Blu-Ray movies!!!! AND you can have separate settings per input!!! which is great because I want blu-ray 1080p material as close to whats intended and I want to 'tweak' cable broadcast, especially standard definition signals.
"What follows are the user-menu settings we found ideal for viewing in a completely dark room with a 1080i HDMI source, namely the Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player (with its Enhanced Black Level turned Off). Your ideal settings will vary according to room lighting, source and personal preference. We have not listed settings that do not affect picture quality with this setup. See the full review for explanations as to why we chose these settings.
Picture menu:
Mode: Custom
Advanced iris: Min [I use AUTO IRIS 1 since my lighting varies and not completely dark room as in there tests]
Picture: 84
Brightness: 56
Color: 41
Hue: 0
Color temp: Warm2
Sharpness: 50
Noise reduction: Off
--Advanced Settings--
Black corrector: Off
Gamma: Off [I use low to correct Standard definition picture with my DVR box input and off with 1080p blu ray input since I assume it sends what was intended to view]
Clear white: Off
Live color: Off
White balance: (see below)
Detail enhancer: [I use low to correct Standard definition picture with my DVR box input and off with 1080p blu ray input since I assume it sends what was intended to view]
Edge enhancer: Off
--White balance--
R-gain: -2
G-gain: -1
B-gain: 0
R-bias: -3
G-bias: -2
B-bias: -1
Setup menu:
Color matrix: Standard
Power saving: On"
[...]
The last thing is bulb replacement. The bulb lasts about 8000 hours (approx 4.5 years for 6hrs avg daily viewing). I think I would prefer to replace the on rear projection which brings the picture back to 'new' with no picture deterioration (at a cost of ~200). As far as LCDs, I dont think there is any method to bring the picture back to new after many years of use.
I know this review is long but I believe it is helpful for many needed to make a big decision.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Optimal Settings
Comment: What are the optimal settings for non-HD sources and HD siources and are they different for each channel? What cables provide the best picture quality? What are some alternative HD DVD players and will non-HD DVD players provide a good picture?
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fantastic High Definition - true 1080p for hundreds less
Comment: I just purchased this television from Best Buy when my 4 year old Toshiba 42 inch rear projection television was being to die. I am incredibly happy with my purchase.
Out of the box set up. Incredibly easy. I connected an HDMI cable from the television to my DirecTV HR10-250 HD DVR. (I then connected a fiber optic audio cable from the HR10-250 to my receiver.) I then connected the 3 component cable from my TV to my DVD player. (Again, connecting a fiber optic audio cable from the DVD player to the receiver). This took less than 5 minutes and I was ready to go.
The remote was a little twitchy trying to figure out the menus but I was able to label Video 4 for my DVD player and Video 6 for my satellite and I was off to the races.
First, please remember that the factory settings for your picture are horrible. If you expect to see a fantastic picture right out of the box you will be disappointed. You actually need to set the controls to match the room/environment where your television resides. Luckily, I pulled out my DVD Video Essentials disk [...] and began the calibration. This took about 20 minutes. I would highly recommend purchasing this DVD [...]
Once I was done with the calibration, I was awestruck by how beautiful the picture is in HD. The picture was crisp, the writing on the screen was spectacular, it was amazing. I couldn't pull myself away from my television set on Sunday because I was watching a golf tournament! A turned to a couple of basketball games in HD and felt like I was in the arena.
I did quite a bit of technical research and concluded that this rear projection television was a much better buy than an LCD or plasma. I didn't want to go back down to a 40 inch screen (LCD and plasma) and ended up getting a much bigger screen (50 inches) for a few hundred dollars less! It is a fantastic buy in my opinion.
For those of you finally entering the world of big screen HD television, this television would be a great choice. Trust me, I have been viewing HD for the past 4 years and this television is phenomenal.
Customer Rating:
Summary: great tv!
Comment: This tv has a fabulous picture. I usually play DVDs on an Oppo 981 upconverting player and they look awesome, even the ones I create myself in iMovie. My friends are all very impressed. Highly recommended!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent HDTV
Comment: I have had the 50" SXRD for over 1-1/2 months and have had no problems with this HDTV. The picture quality is amazing with DVD's, HD Cable and as a computer monitor. The unit arrived in less than week and delivery was easy to schedule.
Sony Grand WEGA KDS-50A2000 50-Inch SXRD 1080p Rear Projection HDTV Reviews: Page 9 of 17
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |