I'm thinking of buying a 32xbr400 to replace a lemon of a 32xbr100 on which I had strange geometry probs. I notice from the lack of complaints about geometry that Sony seems to have licked that situation, but I am concerned about: a) feeds from analog and digital cable (I currently have Time Warner analog in NYC and am considering going to their digital service), b) the sudden power shut-off, and c) the speaker grilles peeling. The cable issue is of course my biggest concern, and I'm wondering if anyone has specific experience with Time Warner here in NY. What do you think: buy or don't buy? (The demo I had in a store was terrific, but they used a dvd with a Sony S7700 player.) And if not this set, which 32" should I get that will handle cable, dvds, laser, and VHS with high quality all around? Thanks for the help.

Similar Products Used:

sony 32xbr100

Picture Quality, HD-TV Ready, Flat Screen, Sony quality, simple remote

Only DVDs look good - even my satellite (Sony DirecTV connected through S-Video) looks a bit grainy.
Where are the wireless headphones that have graced past XBR models?
Unsatisfactory sound quality (my older XBR sounds better!)

I need some help. Whenever I plug an analog source into my TV it looks TERRIBLE!!! My DVD player looks good, but my kid's Nintendo-64 looks downright terrible! My 20 year old sony TV looks WAY, WAY better. I really want to love this TV, especially since it has so much to offer. Does anyone know if this problem is normal? If so, please email me at my email (nevm@email.com) - I would be _VERY_ grateful.

On another note, when I first set up my TV the edges were kind of distorted and blue-green in color. After about 20 minutes, this distortion dissapeared. Has anyone else had this problem? Again, email me with feedback if you can (nevm@email.com).

Enjoy the TVs guys!!!

Similar Products Used:

Sony KV-32XBR250

Picture is stunning. Great sound.

Need a friend to help move it. Remote would be better if back-lit. XBR stand not enough room for all components

The picture is the closest to plasma I have seen. Sound is really good. Love the freeze, pip and favorites buttons. Imax dvds look like liquid color. Would recommend to anyone.

Picture (no lines), front S-video hookup, and I actually like the remote.

About 200 of them, each one weighing a pound. What makes it awkward is that all the weight is in the front three inches of the screen. Pick a spot and don't move it.

You've got to be kidding me..... this is an awsome television. I didn't joyfully depart with my money either, but I have not regretted spending it. If your SOURCE is good and you take tme to adjust your screen settings, you will not find a better picture on a tube television. As for the other quirks, I must have just gotten a gem because I've had no problems.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic "almost flat screen"

HD Ready, (2) sets of HD inputs

Heavy & I have heard mixed reviews on this set with regards to Dish Network

My wife has ordered this set for me KV-32XBR400 as a combo B-Day & Annaversary present...

I have heard that some Dish Network customers are not happy at all with the picture quality of Dish Network on this set.

I am looking for input and or tips from Anyone that ownes either the KV-32XBR400 or KV-36XBR400, with a DishPlayer or any other Echostar unit....

I want to thank anyone in advance that responds or emails me with regards to this posting.

Sincerely,

John, Boston, MA.

Similar Products Used:

KV-36XBR400

solid picture quality (from what I have been able to see of it), aesthetically pleasing, plenty o'inputs

does 'didn't work right out of the box' work for you?, basic remote, peeling speaker coverings, could this thing be heavier?

While I can't really give a full and nonpartial review of this set yet because I haven't been able to watch it for more than twenty minutes at a time I will nonetheless give some quick comments. Read on...

After reading some reviews on this site and doing some of my own research, I settled on this model, a Sony KV-32XBR400 WEGA, over similar Panasonic and Toshiba models. Any of the German-brand Loewe models would have been my first choice but they were a little out of my budget at this point in time. In retrospect, maybe I should have sucked it up and spent the extra dough but too late for that now.

As this TV is my first top-end set, in fairness, I have nothing to directly compare it to. That being said, I was very eager to hook this set up and frankly I have been disappointed from the start. First off, just like other reviewers on this site have noted, the speaker grilles were already starting to peel away from the cabinet. This was before I even turned the thing on. Simply unacceptable for a set of this supposed caliber. That brings me to my second problem.

Not having cable in my apartment yet (what, Time Warner drag their heels for installation?), I hooked the set up solely to my Sony 550D DVD player using the crap cables that Sony provides for you when you buy a dvd player. I turned the tv on (running it through a Monster Cable HTS2500 Power Conditioner) and plunked 'Conan the Barbarian' into the DVD player. While the opening scenes of the movie do have a lot of red tones in them, the picture was overly red as most people have commented. This was only slightly annoying and probably can be fixed/tuned with the Avia dvd. Of course I would have popped in another disc to watch in order to see any differences in the color scale however after 20 minutes of watching 'Conan', the TV decided to shut itself off. After turning it immediately on again, it immediately shut itself off again. After checking all the settings to see if something was awry, I could not find anything out of the ordinary. I decided to give the set a rest and try it again the next day. Same result, it kept shutting itself off after watching it for around 20 minutes or so. This is when I knew something was fundamentally wrong with my TV. I called Etronics.com, the place from where I bought the set, (aka Supreme Video and Electronics here in NYC's lovely lower-east side) to tell them of the problem. They said they have not heard of something like that happening before and I would have to call one of the Sony authorized service centers. We all know what a joy that can be. (Basically, their hands are washed clean of big screen tv's once sold so buyer beware!) So, after some bickering with Etronics (naturally I wanted another TV or my money back which they wouldn't do) I called a service center. A tech came to look at the set and could not find anything wrong with it while checking it out in my apartment. He said it would need to go to the shop in order to be fully checked out. Not wanting to be without the merchandise that I had just plunked down over 2G's for (with stand), I called Etronics again to see what they would do about it and they would not relent on not taking it back or exchanging it for a new set. Therefore, I had to have the tech come back which added to an already time consuming process of getting my product to work. They seem to think it is a voltage problem but because of the extreme weight of the set, they were reluctant to take the whole thing down three flights of stairs and instead took the motherboard. They have had the part for nearly 2 weeks and I haven't gotten a call yet and they keep telling me it is still being looked at. Very frustrating indeed. Anyway, that is where I stand now. A half empty TV with an extensive dvd collection sitting there useless. So, my boycott of Sony products has begun as has my patronage of Etronics.com. Stay tuned and hopefully I can give a real review of this unit and can speak to quality it is supposed to deliver.

Similar Products Used:

Sony trinitron 27"

Great Picture in general, vertcal compression for anamorphic DVDs, twin picture view, number of inputs

slight geometric distorsions

I purchased the set in August and had it calibrated by a professional a few days ago.
I have both digital and regular cable services, a vcr and a dvd player and the set has all the inputs necessary to accomodate those sources, and more.
The picture was good before calibration, but became nothing short of stunning after calibration.
The DRC circuitry does indeed improve the image from all sources, including VHS material.
The set is performing as expected for a product in this price range.

Similar Products Used:

None

DRC, Anamorphic Squeese, Brightness

None that I have found

I’ve spent two weeks with this set and love it. I had originally ordered a 36” XBR250 but when it was delivered it would not fit in my entertainment center. I went back to my dealer to order the 32”XBR250 and when he called his Sony rep, he was told he could no longer get the 250. So I ordered the XBR400 sight unseen. I am so glad! This set blows away the 250. There is NO comparison.

VHS composite input: I can actually watch my old VHS tapes now. The picture is no stunning by any means, but it is as good as VHS gets.

DishNetwork DBS SVHS input: Excellent quality picture. Some channels even have a “film-like” picture. Computer generated graphics and titles look three-dimensional.

DVD SVHS input: Awesome! It is a pleasure to watch DVD’s on this set. BTW, IMAX Beavers is an excellent way to show off your picture (and sound) to your friends.

I have not noticed any of the problems on this set that people have reported with the 250. I have done a little tweaking of the Standard setting using Aria. The brightness of this set is amazing. The colors are naturally rendered, and best of all – NO SCAN LINES!!!!

I may try a progressive-scan DVD player and see if there is any improvement. I don’t think there could be much improvement; it’s already a great picture.

Setup:
Sony 32” XBR400
Panasonic A110 DVD
Sony M91HF VCR
Denon 4800 Receiver
Rotel RB1090 Amp
Rotel RCD-971 CD
Sony KA2ES Cassette
Dish Network 4000
Paradigm PW2200 Sub
Paradigm Studio 100’s v2 L/R
Paradigm Studio Center
Paradigm 450 Ceiling Speaker Surrounds
Sony MD
Philips Pronto Remote (Haven’t programmed yet…)
Monster Cables

Similar Products Used:

RCA, Toshiba

Picture Quality
Ease of Setup
No. of video inputs

skimpy manual
limited remote

I have had this set up and running for only 24-hours now, and I can't turn it off! So taken am I by the clarity and brillance of its flat display! I chose this set because I wanted to upgrade to HDTV but with a reliable set that could fit into an existing home theatre cabinet which previously housed a 31-inch Mitsubishi. Although I had to remove the cabinet doors to get the XBR in the unit, it just managed to fit and looks great.

Here are my first initial impressions: The XBR has virtually no scan lines, even when viewing regular broadcasts over cable channels; it handles all DVD input equally well, even just using a SVHS connection; it automatically adusts for 16:9 anamorphic DVD's; the menu system is easy to understand and master.

The picture quality is stunning, and I have yet to see andy hi def. For instance, here are no "swimming" effects when viewing brilliant reds or "sunset" tones. As is typical with Sony XBR, black goes to really black, and color and clarity stays true right up to the picture edges at all four corners of the display. The only factory default in the video setup I adusted was brightness - but only by one or two notches. This was necessary for viewing DVD's, such as The Beach, which was otherwise lost in darkness without the adjustment.

I know I am going to love this set, and look forward to adding an HDTV decoder when it becomes available. My only comlaints are: a rather skimpy manual, a remote control that is limited in learning the functions of other A/V gear (I can't get is to operate my Mitsubishi VCR) and its weight.

Similar Products Used:

Mitshubisi

Sound, digital source picutres, overall quality

I have had my xbr 400 for about a week now. I LOVE watching dvds on it, the picture is amazing.

But, with my regular cable signal, I notice some picture problems with the TV. On right and left side there is almost a faint line...that in certain colors distorts the picture.

The bryn mawr stereo guys set it up for me and have it set in vivid mode. Do you have any suggestions about "adjusting" the setting and the name of this video essentials dvd?

I love it with my dvds! The picture is great. I guess I will have to splurge a little more for satellite or digital cable?

I would recommend this tv without hesitation if you have digital sources, I think regular cable is just "ok"