picture quality overall beats all TV's its size and really rivals $7 - $10,000 TV's

Only 1 HDTV input. I have a progressive scan DVD, HDTV Xbox and hope to get HDTV cable.....I'm screwed.

So far the best TV I have ever seen. Still very impressed with the picture, especially with my Sony progressive scan DVD player. Cable is soon offering HDTV and I can't wait to see 1080i resolution(DVD does 480p). It has surprised everyone who has seen it. From the picture clarity to the ability to watch from several (some extreme) angles. The powered rear channel speakers were a nice setup. No amp needed just provide two speakers for the rear channel and you get a pretty good surround sound. However, there is nothing like a full blown surrond sound system. I am REALLY enjoying this, just hope it lasts, in fact hope it never breaks!

Superb picture (have it set up by a professional after you install it)

None so far (Crosses his fingers!)

I have to tell you that this is the best set I ever owned. I purposely waited until the end of the model year to get this one at a great price. In addition, maybe the "bugs" or complaints were with the first few sets that came out and have now been ironed out. I now have cable with HD and the picture is superb. My sony progressive scan DVD make the movies look almost film like! After being dissapointed with a mitsubishi (all of the other sets in my house), I switched BACK to Sony.

Similar Products Used:

Mitsubishi 5052 50" projection

ease of use in the menus, selections selections selections that are available for menu and hook up options

only one HD hook up in this mdl

Some of the comments about a soft picture and constant need of adjustments sound like other issues, such as expecting more that the tv can deliver. I purchased this tv as a floor mdl then proceeded to file for a 500 rebate from Sony making this a sweeeeet $2100 set. I saw this as a great price for a HD ready chasis tv. Bottomline straight from the show room floor to my home I have had no problems for the past 6 months. I am hooked into DTV, have a progressive scan DVD and the picture quality is great. Anyone that can lay there hands on a HD tv reciever should try it once just to experience a 1080I picture. Overall I am very happy with the tv, I will have to upgrade my reciever is a few years to get a AV reciever that has multiple component in so I can run a progressive DVD picture or a HD DTV picture to the tv. other than than no problems here.

Similar Products Used:

none

awesome picture and great sound

lot on stuff on the menu that I don''t know if it is truly relevant.

this TV is awesome. I read a few review that complained that the colors seemed to need a lot of adjustment. I haven''t had any problems as of yet and get a lot of compliments from all my friends when they come over to watch sports events. I''m not a huge TV person but this TV definitely makes me watch more.

Similar Products Used:

sony DVD ns700

Excellent picture with progressive scan DVD; solid construction; excellent picture-in-picture feature

Picture quality is too soft; built-in line doubler can make a mediocre image look a lot worse than it should

For the past several years, I had dreamed of buying a widescreen HDTV for my living room. Every time I saw one at an electronics store, I wanted one even more badly. In early December 2000, I finally saved up enough cash to purchase this Sony. It was going to be the mother-of-all-Christmas gifts to myself. Given how much I was spending, I had very high expectations. Well... I must confess that I am somewhat disappointed. This television is good, but it is not great!

Here's what disappointed me about the Sony.

First, the picture image is a bit on the soft side. It never reaches the level of being what I would describe as "sharp as a tack." It just seems a little flat.

Second, the television has a built-in line doubler feature (which Sony calls "DRC" -- Digital Reality Creation) that can make things look worse, not better. This feature converts a standard 480i picture into a 960i picture. (By comparison, HDTV is 1080i). In theory, this feature should knock your socks off because you get the appearance of high resolution from a standard image. In practice, this feature can be annoying. In the event you receive something less than perfect T.V. reception, a slight imperfection (which is otherwise imperceptible) gets magnified to the point that it can become visibly distracting. Imagine taking a mediocre 4"x6" photo and enlarging it to 11"x17". It wouldn't be pretty! (After several months with analog cable, I decided to switch to DirecTV. The Sony now performs much closer to my original expectations).

Here's what I really like about the Sony. The television performs like a champ with a progressive scan DVD player. The picture is absolutely film-like. Scan lines are virtually invisible. Color is excellent and bold. This is home theater as advertised. "Wow" is all I can say!!! In addition, if you receive your basic television or cable channels with a satellite dish or digital cable, the DRC feature will actually perform as intended -- it will enhance the picture's apparent resolution. While this feature cannot replicate HDTV, it can make your image modestly more pleasing than 480i.

In conclusion, this television may disappoint you unless you receive satellite or digital cable. Also, you won't be taking anywhere near full advantage of its capabilities if you don't have a progressive scan DVD player. Subject to these caveats, the Sony is a good television. While there are more impressive HDTV televisions out there, the Sony is certainly one of the best ones in its price range.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Elite; Mitsubish HDTV

May be the best 16x9 Rear Projection TV available, and for a reasonable cost.

Only one set of the component video inputs supports HDTV & Progressive scan DVD

I am confirming what has already been written in Stereophile Guide to Home Theater March /April 2001. The only area of disagreement I have is with the statements made in the review are about Sony’s DRC (Digital Reality Creation). It was stated that DRC and progressive scan were very close in quality. All of the DVD’s I have viewed have a clearly superior 3D look to them using a progressive scan player. The picture exemplifies greater depth. DRC is still a very good technology, but it’s not nearly as good as a progressive scan DVD player.

This TV was rated AAA on page 60. For those of you not familiar with Stereophile ratings, Class AAA means: Nothing is perfect, but this is as good as it gets at the present state of the art for this category of equipment. Impeccable sound/or picture. Ergonomics have no serious flaws.

Just as with any high-end component, you can’t just simply plug it in and expect to see what the reviewer saw. You will need some tweaks to get the most out of this unit.

A good power conditioner is a must. Try the Monster HTS2000. Try switching back and forth from the normal wall outlet to the HTS2000 video input and watch the picture get brighten, sharper, and enhanced color depth. The HTS2000 performs better that some equipment costing thousands for $250.

Purchase high quality component video cables. I tried Monster's 75 Ohm HDTV cables and saw a lot of serious red push around the lettering in the beginning sequence of Toy Story 2. I spoke to Mike Mitchell of Audio Visions about the problem and he recommended the PRISM Video HT cables. I never would have believed that there could be such a huge difference in cable quality. All of the red push that I saw was completely eliminated by the Prism Video HT cables.

Get a good high-end progressive scan DVD player to match the capabilities of your TV. There is a big difference in picture and sound quality vs. typical DVD players. The Sony DVP-S9000ES is a great match for your TV.

Finally buy yourself a copy of Video Essentials or Avia. Each of these DVD’s will permit you to properly adjust the picture of your TV and give you and good education about optimizing the Home Theater experience at the same time.

If you follow these steps, you will see AAA performance from your new television.

My System:
TV Sony KP-57XBR10W
DVD DVP-S9000ES
Reciever DA777ES
Front Sp. B&W 604-S2
Center Sp. B&W LCR6-S2
Rear SP. B&W 601-S2
Sub B&W ASW2000

Similar Products Used:

Mitsubishi Diamond

None

Poor picture, out of focus after two technicians attempted to correct.

I first purchased the Sony 53" which had a bad power board that could not be fixed -- television after 2 months would not turn on. Thank goodness for the Good Guys liberal replacement program. Went to the store to obtain the replacement set and eyed Sony's new widescreen TV. Decided to spend the extra money and upgrade. Intially I was impressed with the picture but it was never quite in focus. After two attempts by different technicians the set was still out of focus. After many telcons with Sony they arranged yet a third technician to come out. In the meantime I contacted two ISF Certified Calibrators who both confirmed to take back the set. Their reasoning was that Sony simply does not get it with HDTV. Also, they said that due to basic design the set can never be adjusted as well as a Toshiba. Recommended that I purchase the Toshiba TW56x81 set, which both of them considered the best set currently on the market. Good Guys filled the order without question. After a professional full ISF calibration the Toshiba is stunning. 2 Sony's in 3 months made me simply lose confidence. At $4,000 plus the set should have had no flaws. I must admit that Sony did try but failed to locate a competent tech who had the equipment or knowledge to deal with the set.

Similar Products Used:

Sone 53".

None

Blurry Picture, DIM compared to comparable sets, Denon 2800 Progressive Scan DVD does not work with this set.

The first unit delivered would not auto focus or allow convergence adjustments. The 2nd set delivered was probably ok, but upping the brightness caused white out. The last straw was that my Denon 2800 Progressive Scan DVD player produced freeze frames and pixelization reguardless of the DVD played.

Sony sent out a tech person and stated that their are known problems with this set using certain brands of progressive scan DVD players. Solution,buy a Sony and it works fine.The tech admited that this set was designed specfically to work with Sony DVD players, but the set is probably not in compliance with progressive scan standards. He also stated that they have had alot of calls on Auto Focus and Convergence failures within one year of ownership... Usually just past the warranty period.

If you live in the bat cave and love Sony this set will do you well. I have since replaced it with a Mitsubishi. Tired of Sony propriatary technology and pushing the envelope of compatibility. Reliability of Sony products appears to have reached a new low also. Sorry, I am not waiting around to be added to the victim list. Anyone that really thinks this set is great is either a Sony deadhead or has a low set of satisfaction standards. New sets are now twice as bright and comparable to Plasma displays... Except Sony...

The new Sony replacement model is KDP57XBR2
MSRP still $4999

See review below

In answer to Art's question, Extron makes a 2 port switcher. Model number 'SW2 ARxi'. I picked mine up at Pro Home Systems in Oakland (510-653-4300). I'm sure they would ship. My rating on this on is for the Extron.