Sony KDF-42WE655 42" Grand WEGA LCD Projection Television with Integrated HDTV Tuner

Rating:
Summary: Great picture. Great price. Space saver. Versatile.
Review: After completing a basement renovation, we were ready for a big screen to watch New Years and January football games. The shopping and selectio process for this was long and hard, and the high end of our budget range certainly included some plasmas and flat panel LCDs near (but mostly above) the price of this TV.

If you are a technology consumer, you know the deal: early adopters of LCD and plasmas are going to take a beating as prices for these fall. These technologies are not yet mature, and there are lingering issues, such as burn-in with plasma, and the sheer expense of LCDs. This set offers an excellent value for the size while the super thin formats settle in the marketplace.

The picture is astonishing, and even more if you are lucky enough to live in an area served by HDTV. Even though not a true flat panel, it is only 15 inches deep and weighs less than 60 pounds. Getting it where you want to sit will probably take two people, but once there, it can be moved for cabling access easily by one person.It has more input options than most of us could ever affort to populate.

Its user guide is complete and clearly written. I give only a B+ to some of the on-screen menu options; not all of them are immediately intutitive. This is a minor complaint for a TV that delivers every bit of the picture quality that the Sony enjoys a reputation for (going back to the days of "a Sony of my owny..."

Terrifc TV, Makes me never want to leave home:-)

Rating:
Summary: Great TV for half plasma price
Review: Considering the price, this tv is a great value. I've been waiting for prices to come down and made the purchase soon after this model came out. There are multiple connections of all types including the cable card slot, which lets you get HDTV from your cable company without a set top box. The only drawback to this is that you don't get the program guide or any interactive features (program guide, PPV) with this feature. Hooked up to a HDTV signal, the picture is incredible. Football is super clear, and movies from HBO etc in HD also look great. Hook up a progressive scan DVD player and the picture is fantastic. The speakers are very good. Only drawback is that like any projection TV, there is an optimal viewing angle. You will notice a dimming of the picture as you move around. When you see this TV, it's best to view it at an angle that you will be seeing it at home, even if that means looking silly in the showroom by crouching down when you look at it. Also be aware that you will have to replace the bulb on this type of tv as it ages.

Added 2/08 To clarify my point about the picture dimming as you move, I really meant that you need to look at the TV at the correct height. The picture is much different if you stand higher than it rather that look at it direct on. I have not noticed a problem in the side to side viewing angle. Sorry for any confusion. After 3 months, I still love this set.

Rating:
Summary: Great TV
Review: Great TV!! I am not sure why anyone would pay twice as much for a flat screen. Not sure why anyone would save a few hundred dollars and get a 300 pound standard projection TV. All of the small complaints I read are present (blacks are not perfect and you can hear the internal fan) but overall I think this is the best for the money. HDTV looks fantastic. DVDs look excellent. Regular TV just looks about the same with my old TV.

Finding a cabinet was difficult. But our local furniture store hooked us up with a furniture builder that makes cabinets that hold a 50" wide TV http://www.hookerfurniture.com/ .




Rating:
Summary: Amazing HD Picture, lot of inputs, built in digital tuner..
Review: I bought this TV in January from the local GoodGuys store. I needed a bigscreen without a lot of weight, and did not want to go with a plasma given the burnout concerns. LCD rear projection fit my budget and my apartment, and I am happy with my purchase. I did get the store warranty, just in case!

I have limited basic comcast BUT was shocked to see the TV picking up HD channels right out of the cable! I do not have a comcast cable box but the built in digital tuner did the magic. So I am enjoying about 10 HD channels with no cable box to add to the clutter. Picture quality is amazing! There are lots of inputs. I have connected its audio to Onkyo HT770 home theater via an optical cable. I have also managed to connect my computer to the TV via S-Video, since the HDMi input didnt work great for me - I had to get a DVi-HDMi cable ($120) but still I could not get resolutions more than 640x480. I have given up on that. Other than that, DVDs are rendered in progressive @480p with my Sony DVD player. The quality is good enough for me, to not think about going with an upconverter.

The only thing I do not like about it is the lag between turning it on and picture showing up (about 10 seconds). There were some postings on the internet about the lamp life, but I believe those were earlier models. Also, the remote does not allow switching to an input directly (It has 7 video inputs). If I have to reach Video IN #5, I have to browse all the way from Video1. Maybe I need to read the manual real closely.

Overall, good bang for your buck and an excellent candidate for a Home Theater hookup. However, I never had good luck making an HTPC out of it. SD channels do look a bit strange but acceptable. With the right set up, this TV can really turn your living room into a personal movie theater..for me it did!

Rating:
Summary: Best Picture on the Market
Review: I looked at *many* televisions before buying this one. While I was initially attracted to DLP projections (I am not impressed with the plasmas on the market), this Sony LCD projection caught my eye from all the way across the store. It converts all signals to 720p, so you will see improvement even from standard (480i) signals. With its built-in tuner, you'll be able to pull in HD signals as soon as you get home with only an antenna (the Zenith/Gemini ZHDTV1 is what I would recommend). Having this television for the college bowl season was one of the happiest parts of my holiday, as I get all the local networks' digital broadcasts with my antenna (here's where 720p beats 1080i). If you are a sports fan, you *need* an HDTV.

There are numerous connections, including HDMI, and so far everything I have hooked up to this set looks amazing. The settings menus are very easy to use, which is important since a little tweeking with the controls will ensure that each input performs at top quality. One of the other reviewers suggested that the viewing angle is restrictive. I could not disagree more: you basically have to be standing beside it or directly above for the picture to go dark. I'd say the viewing angle is probably more than 150 degrees.

In short, buy this set. It is very affordable (less than half the price of a plasma the same size, with much better picture), has all of the bells and whistles (including a built-in HD tuner), and will look great in your living room.

Rating:
Summary: Sony KDF42WE655
Review: I love this unit. With a 132 page manual it does take a rocket scientist to connect all the toys. It took about 2 hours to unpack, read part of the manual, make the connections and power up. What a glorious picture. I just watched Day After Tomorrow and the picture quality was beyond expectations. Good sound from box speakers. I chose this sony over DLP units.

Rating:
Summary: Great Picture, Nice Features.
Review: I too (re)searched many tv sets in the past 6 months before settling on this Sony. Great Choice! The setup is not that complicated, you won't break your back moving it, HD tuner built-in, everything you would expect from much higher price LCD TV's. And it is still a Sony!!
The PIP is great, sounds great even before I installed the sony home theater. HDMI for future digital connection.
Overall, I feel great that after 1/2 a year of reading reviews, visiting stores, comapring prices online, that I made the right decision on getting this set.