Take a puff--it's nutcase time.
Well, I finally ran out the string on my 1983 Sony KV2654R. A couple of days of rolling brownouts around July 4th here in SE PA and I lost my flyback tranny, which though replaced and then paid for by PECO, our local electric company--they have to hold a +/- 5% residential tolerance you know--the set was left with some intermittent vertical blanking hits. So a-shopping I shall go.

Naturally I looked into a new Sony. But then I read so many scary reports up on the net that were authored by some of the most anal-compulsive TV addicts known to psychological man, or perhaps by customers-from-Hell without a life, or maybe by unpaid and/or unknowing field-testers for Sony that I really had to force myself to consider a WEGA, which after seeing one was all I wanted. That, and the fact that Sony TV's are all I buy--I still use a 1975 17" solenoid-driven remote model in the bedroom that I got a week after they repealed the (un)Fair Trade Act. Call me crazy.

So I called my man Steve at Country Video in Lafayette Hill, PA (610-828-2600).
He assured me that he waited 6 months himself before stocking the WEGAs, but since he started selling them he hasn't had a single return. After the scathing reports I had just read up on the Nut (I mean Net), I couldn't bring myself to believe him. So I looked at everything else I could find to see if I could possibly talk myself into something less radical and untested and dangerous and possibly even suicidal than the WEGA.

I wanted a 32" set, so I considered all relevant models from Panasonic, JVC, and Toshiba. First of all, the present state of affairs of TV sales is abysmal--no retail outlet displays what you want to buy. They only display what they THINK you want to buy, namely what is more feature-laden than the competition at a given price point, because they know their customers so well. Or they display what they have leftover from last year because if they can put up on the shelf what they have in the back from this year, you wouldn't buy what they have left to sell from last year. Well, they know me--the customer--so well that after all of this, I AIN'T THEIR CUSTOMER! And they blame HDTV!

So I talked to some TV repair guys. One guy just went through a special Sony
service and setup class, and he described how they set the beam landing--how you have to point the TV North/South and adjust this and then rotate it 90 degrees and adjust that, and bow towards Tokyo and say "Sony, Sony, Sony" three times and click your heels and you're done. But also that the skinny is that Sony initially seriously underestimated the production labor cost of proper setup of the WEGAs, and for a while about 50% of them were being released for sale with visible problems. But that still with all of this, if you walk into any TV showroom, the only set you see is a WEGA.

And he's right. Nothing comes close at the price.

So I called Steve back. He loves to gloat. I demanded a sealed-box KV32FV15. My repair guy had also told me that the XBR is apparently the same chassis, with a 3D comb filter you can't tell is there and some extra profit-generating bells and whistles, say what you will about the fake 16:9 compression mode--it's still a 4:3. OK, so over it (and he) came. At least two guys can carry it--I don't know how you move a 36" WEGA. By the way, a 32" Panasonic is WAY lighter, which in my mind isn't a plus.

Picture? Note that I have a 10-foot C- and Ku- band dish with low-noise LNB's and a Drake 1824 receiver, not some Hellish CATV source, which I will NEVER BUY. Cable is sh** in the winter, sh** in the summer, sh** all the year 'round. Hope you like it, America. Biggest ripoff since the leased telephone. But I digress.

First thing I looked at was the famous CNBC crawl. And then I went searching for the Tilt control on the setup menu. Seemed to me I needed a +2 adjustment to make the ends of the bottom of the crawl symmetrical, if not ruler flat, and I mean at the VERY BOTTOM of the screen. Later I backed this off to a +1 adjustment, and there it's stayed. Letterbox movies over satelite (AMC, for example), ARE ruler-flat. I don't have no stinking DVD, because picture compression sucks--another ripoff, so can't help you there. I have to think that most if not all the complaints about this technology are as related to poor sources as the set itself. Can you say video bandwidth?

Steve likes a TV to look like a TV, so he uses the HIGH setting of the Trinitone control and the STANDARD video mode, but I've found myself leaning towards NTSC-STD and a weaker-than-default STANDARD mode, and it does push red a little--kind of like a parchment white in a way, but nothing that can't be adjusted to suit.

My feeling is that the point to keep in mind here is that this isn't a computer monitor, it's a TV set. Just look at the warranty if you don't believe me. And to expect a 32" monitor at the cost of a TV is unrealistic, to say the least, and I don't care how much you think you should get for what you paid. The simple fact is you're spoiled if you think this is anything other than a pure marvel at the price. Every time I turn it on and look at it, my mouth starts to slowly open. Think back a few years to when America made TV sets--the stinking thing blew, and either you called the TV repair guy that did house calls with a tube caddy in tow, or pulled all the tubes yourself and went up to the drugstore and tested them on the U-Test'Em meter and hoped they had the one you needed in stock. And this was once a year--kind of like your good old American car at the time. Times have changed.

If you think you have problems, first look at the source, and then look at yourself. This TV is the tits. But that's me. I could be wrong. (Mine IS oriented parallel to an East-West line, by the way.)

Five Stars, going away.

Be a tissue and organ donor and support Presumed Consent in the United States.

Amazing picture from DVD player, lots of ports in the back to support whatever you want to connect. 5.1 audio, S-Video, Component Video, etc.

Grainy picture quality from cable, only allowed to put tv channel captions (labelling a tv channel) on twelve tv channels.

It's a lot of money to spend on a tv, when you can spend the same amount and buy a larger projection tv. However, I absolutely love this tv. Hooked up to a DVD player and 5.1 channel audio, and movies are just breathtaking. So clear, just like being at the movie theater. You will be pleased. Also, many options for your home theater system in regards to the ports in the back. The tv can handle traditional A/V hookups, S-Video, Component Video, 5.1 Channel audio, etc. I've switched from S-Video to Component Video for my DVDs, but the picture looks the same to me. It's supposed to be better. It could be just a subtle improvement in quality. Suffice it to say, this tv is meant for high-quality viewing.

One unfortunate aspect I don't like is that I recently hooked up cable tv to it, and the picture is grainy. However, I attribute this to cable tv itself and not a defect in the tv. If my cable company can upgrade their lines, this should improve. I'll also try playing around with the sharpness. I've been playing around the preset settings for picture like Standard, Sports, Movie, etc, but Standard is least harsh. Again, this is most probably because of the cable tv line quality. I believe the tv is just accentuating the poor quality of cable.

Also, you can not label more than 12 channels on screen. I don't understand why the limitation, but it is unfortunate. I'll admit the tv is heavy, but you can deal with it.


I'll admit that it looks great in my room.

Similar Products Used:

None.

sharp pictures with good color representation. Flat screen.

Fear that this product will be as bad as the FV10 series

At first I was really worried about my purchase considering the amount of problems people had with the earlier version. I believe they said the image was concave or what not.

I tried the 32fv15 at magnolia next to a 36fv1 and the fv15 did not have a concave image. So I purchased it and had no problems with it yet.

With a DVD the image is excellent and the colors amazing. Also there is very little dot crawl. The speakers are very good for a television and the stereo and simulated surround is good.

The remote is easy to use and the buttons well placed for hours of surfing.

I read how people complain about reds or other color flairs at one of the corners of the screen. Yes, I see it was well but only when the screen is pure white. To tell you the truth I don't notice it at all unless I really look for it.

I paid $1500, I found it cheaper at supremevideo.com but with shipping costs and credit card interest, magnolia had an interest free deal, I went with magnolia.

To sum it up, yes it costs twice the price of a normal tv, but the quality is there, and the image is so good even a neophyte can see and appreciate the difference.

Similar Products Used:

old sony 32xbr, RCA 27 inch

Flat Screen, Amazing Color

Minor color convergence, horizontal line distortion

I just took delivery of a KV-32FV16. Tweaked the settings with Video Essentials and the DVD movies looked great. Unfortunately there were a number of problems that showed up when viewing a movie in widescreen format (whether or not the 16:9 compression is used). I noticed a slight bending of the horizontal lines on the upper left hand corner of the screen . Also there is a very visible color convergence (red and green) at the same corner. There is also a visible blue line (very thin) across the entire screen at the bottom.
I called Crutchfield and they recommended that I call Sony to schedule for a tech to check the TV. They said that there is a strong possibility that the TV was dropped or bumped during delivery and that it should be something that can be repaired. I am in the process of doing that and will give an update as soon as the TV is looked into.
My rating is representative of the problems I found (which I strongly feels should not be there). I would have given it 4 stars otherwise.

Good-looking box - does not junk up my overpriced custom-made wall unit. Flat panel display? No, but money still left over to eat. Nice picture quality when fed with good quality sources and not viewed too close to screen.

SONY is a company seemingly devoid of public relations, but they do develop some "cool stuff" every once and a while. Fortunately, I did reach someone in customer service that was extremely professional/helpful - she helped save the day.

I have received a gaggle of emails from people wanting to know if I ever found a solution to my new TV's (KV32FV26) color banding problems when using component inputs. I am not a fequent internet user, so I am amazed how many people my comments have reached. The answer to the question is yes, so by all means read on - I hope this helps those of you unable to get results from your Sony dealer; I understand your frustrations first hand.

Sony Canada has an engineer (genius?) by the name of Mr. Duc who found the solution by trial and error and it is bang on the money.

You will require a certified technician to come service your set because only s/he has (or should have) access to the service menu on your set (don't try it yourself, it's FREE). The technician will adjust what is called "horizontal compression" to a setting of between seven (7) and eleven (11). The factory setting is supposed to be seven (7), mine was set at zero (0). If you've got banding problems your set is probably factory set incorrectly like mine. I am using monster cable (US$70) and tried both Panasonic and Sony DVD players to route out the problem. As in my case, the problem should go away immediately with this adjustment, but I'm told that the WEGA sets are designed to work "best" with Sony's own sources (DVD, VCR, DSS). Some DVD players may run too "hot" for Sony's TV sets.

That's all; I believe I have done my good deed for the day.

PS I find it hard to give anything a five star rating. If I were anyone else, I would likely give the box the five stars it rightfully deserves, but that's just not me...

Similar Products Used:

SONY, it's the one and only.

picture quality to say the least!

none to report yet

TV rocks simply rocks! great picture quality and clarity. have not expirenced any of the problems listed below. sorry it did not work out for you guys. if you actually own this TV you have to admit that this TV is the best in its class to put it vauge. Buy it if you can get it below $1200 as i did but it may be difficult. i got it through my military exchange for $1079.10 with a 10% of coupon. cant beat that. my buddy has the 36 inch and it's even better but im on a budget and it works for me. watch it yourself and dont trust these reviews.

Similar Products Used:

jvc

Flat Screen Technology, Component Video, Aesthetics.

Weight

Simply an awesome TV! The picture quality is superb and even the default speakers are nice. Excellent TV for viewing DVDs. Despite some problems reported below with the picture tube, I can say I’ve had none and am very satisfied with my purchase. I do agree however about the factory settings being a little off and need some tweaking to maximize your viewing pleasure. Other than that, no complaints here.

AWESOME PICTURES! GREAT FOR DVD VIEWING AND UNBELIEVABLE LOOK IF YOU DON'T MIND THE WEIGHT AND SIZE

WEIGHT, (BUT REMEMBER THIS MEANS THAT THE COMPONENTS USED ARE GOOD ONES)

I BOUGHT THIS WEGA BECAUSE I WANTED A FRESH LOOK AND ONCE I COMPARED THE PICTURE TO A FEW SIMILAR MODELS, THOUGH LESS MONEY, THEY WERE ALSO LESS PICTURE.

I AM TRULY GLAD TO HAVE SPENT THE EXTRA $200 FOR THE ENHANCED DIGITAL COMB FILTER IN THE FV15. THE FS10 WAS COMPARABLE TO OTHER SETS IN PICTURE QUALITY, BUT THE FV15 GIVES YOU PIP(BIG DEAL) AND ENHANCED CRISPNESS!

I AM USING THIS TV WITH A SONY 835 RECEIVER, BOSE 301'S AS MAINS, BOSE 100'S AS SURROUNDS, AND A SWEET BOSE CENTER CHANNEL, WITH AN ACOUSTICS RESEARCH POWERED SUB. I ALSO HAVE THE SLV-N80 NEW WEGA VCR THAT LOOKS AWESOME AND WILL SOMEDAY UPGRADE TO THAT WEGA DVD THEY NOW MAKE.

THIS IS THE BEST TV OUT THERE THAT IS NOT HIGH DEFINITION, AND IT WILL BE WITH ME FOR ABOUT 6 YEARS, AT WHICH TIME I CAN AFFORD A HDTV!

Similar Products Used:

SONY 27" XBR

WEGA WEGA WEGA, what more can I say. flat screen, crispy pictures, and a better than average sound system

too damn heavy.

This is an incredible TV. The picture is unbelievable. It is so vivid. I am not an audoi/video expert and I can only judge by what I see, what I saw was simple awesome. I've had this unit for 2 months and it has not let me down. Not considering the great deal I got on it. I found an advertisement on the internet for 759.99, brought that price to my local Sears store and they met the price. what more can you ask for. I'm now a loyal Wega user and Sears shopper.

I have my sony 560 dvd hook up to this baby with a yamaha 5240 and now my home theatre just rocks. Just saw Matrix and the sound and pictures were so real, I thought I was there myself.

WEGA WEGA WEGA, what more can I say. flat screen, crispy pictures, and a better than average sound system

too damn heavy.

This is an incredible TV. The picture is unbelievable. It is so vivid. I am not an audoi/video expert and I can only judge by what I see, what I saw was simple awesome. I've had this unit for 2 months and it has not let me down. Not considering the great deal I got on it. I found an advertisement on the internet for 759.99, brought that price to my local Sears store and they met the price. what more can you ask for. I'm now a loyal Wega user and Sears shopper.

I have my sony 560 dvd hook up to this baby with a yamaha 5240 and now my home theatre just rocks. Just saw Matrix and the sound and pictures were so real, I thought I was there myself.