Sony Grand WEGA KDF-50WE655 50-Inch LCD Projection TV with Integrated HDTV Tuner

Review by W. Wu for Sony Grand WEGA KDF-50WE655 50-Inch LCD Projection TV with Integrated HDTV Tuner
Rating:
I’d like to start this review with a disclaimer. I am very happy with the TV. It works exactly the way it’s supposed to. Problem is, nobody who sells the thing tells you how it’s SUPPOSED to work.

When you are looking at these things in the store, notice that there is always a DVD playing, or they have the set turned to Discovery HD Theater. There is a reason for this. An LCD HD monitor that is showing a regular (I think analog) or even a digital signal will not show well. The picture quality is lower than that of a regular CRT TV in these cases due to the extreme pixelation of the image.

However, if you position the TV correctly in your viewing space, some of this will be aleviated. For a 50 inch TV, you should sit back between 10-15 feet from the screen. From that far, you really won’t see the pixels, so it won’t bother you. (You can definitely tell the difference between HD and non-HD from this disctance still). This viewing disctance is what the manufacturers tell you to do. Do not buy this TV and sit 8 feet away and expect to be happy with it.

I say all this not to harp on Sony. THEIR PRODUCT WORKS JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE’S LCD!!! You should know this because currenlty only 10-15 channels are broadcast in HD depending on your vendor and region. Therefore – if you have 150 channels, 90% will not be in HD, so the majority of your viewing will be pixelated.

OK – all that said – it’s a great TV. All the pro’s have already been discussed – so I won’t go there.

Review by J. Demmon for Sony Grand WEGA KDF-50WE655 50-Inch LCD Projection TV with Integrated HDTV Tuner
Rating:
This TV is capable of astounding IMAX-like pictures when viewing a good HDTV signal. Has very good 480i/NTSC up-conversion but only so-so at 480p. That’s because the advanced video processing menu option is only available for 480i and NTSC, not 480p (progressive). As a consequence the TV does a really amazing job at up-converting ordinary analog tv signals and 480i DVD output. But 480p component/DVI DVD is NOT as good as 480i component DVD, at least with my Denon 1910. The sony’s 480i up-converter even has an edge over the Denon’s 720p and 1080i internal DVI up-converters. Too bad you can’t get 480i over DVI.

As others have noted, black level is mediocre. The screen puts out a glow during dark scenes that can’t be adjusted away. You don’t really notice it in a brightly lit room. But in a dark room it is very much apparent. Before buying, judge for yourself by playing Harry Potter 3 or other dark movie in a dark room. Turning on the DVD player’s black level boost can help separate dark scenes from the background glow without compromising normally lit scenes.

After about a month, I got use to the glow and don’t really notice it except during extended, very dark scenes.

Review by Thomas B. Cass for Sony Grand WEGA KDF-50WE655 50-Inch LCD Projection TV with Integrated HDTV Tuner
Rating:
This is the best 50″ I’ve seen at any price. A previous reviewer complained that the bulb blew after 30 min. Well, This happens sometimes. I’ve had light bulbs blow that fast. All he had to do was go to Circuit City and get another. He then could have installed it himself, an easy chore. To return a TV because the bulb went is simply foolish.

Update:

I wrote the above based on what I saw in the store. I now have had this TV for one week and Still think it’s great. This tv converts standard signals to HDTV like resolution which works very well. The standard signals are the best I’ve ever seen, very HDTV like. Some people complain that LCD TV’s don’t produce deep blacks well. This may bother some but I don’t notice it at all. The TV, while not flat, is only 17″ thick and weighs only 83 lbs. It has built in hand holds so 2 people han easily pick it up and carry it around. It has more inputs than I’ll ever need (8 components). Thre are optical and coaxial digital outs for surround sound. I couldn’t be more satisfied. For $2700 at Circuit City I consider this a bargain.

Update 2:

Sept 30 2005, After 10 months no change of opinion. We watch the TV every day. No problems at all. Still a great picture.

Review by M. Hoffman for Sony Grand WEGA KDF-50WE655 50-Inch LCD Projection TV with Integrated HDTV Tuner
Rating:
I owned the samsung 42″ dlp before this unit. The samsung service was INCREDIBLY bad–it couldn’t be any better than what is described in other reviews. I had innumerable problems with this TV, including service calls, washed out images, and total failure. I finally got them to give me “permission” to trade this in for the sony. This product is far superior. However, do yourself a favor and get a calibration disc. This will improve the picture immeasurably. If you are going to spend big bucks on a tv, pay the money to get the dark/light and color in focus. How can others complain about the “black,” if they haven’t had it professionally calibrated? Playing with the tv menu and complaining is like changing the stations on your car radio and saying your engine now runs rough. geez!

My only complaint also concerns outputs which are limited as another person stated. However, if you hook up inputs correctly, the output problem becomes mute. I run a satellite receiver, DVD/VHS, 6 speakers (psb and paradigm) and audio receiver with this TV, so connections are a bit tricky. I also wish that they had included the computer input which many other hdtv’s have–however the price of this tv is somewhat lower than other 50″ so that trade-off seems understandable. For the money this is a great tv, and 50″ is a wonderful size for a larger living room.