Sony KV-36FV16 Standard Televisions

Sony KV-36FV16 Standard Televisions 

DESCRIPTION

36" FD Trinitron Picture Tube 2 Tuner Picture-in-Picture 3-D Digital Comb Filter 16:9 Enhanced Mode (V-Compression) Audio Effects: SRS (Sound Retrieval System) 3D Audio Effect, Simulated Multi Language Display (English / Spanish / French) Advanced On-Screen Menu with Program Palette Presets

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 26  
[Feb 09, 2002]
philliz
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Picture especially DVD using component video. 16x9 enhancement.

Weakness:

Heavy!!!!!

This is an incredible TV. Flat Screen, 16x9 mode, PIP, and numerous other little features. It has held up for over a year now and I bought a floor model. My cousin was the one who got me to buy it. He was going to get one originally but I''m glad he tricked me into getting it.

Similar Products Used:

Zenith Model IMCRAP

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Mar 02, 2001]
Doug Murphy
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Flat, large as hell... Mad-crazy image clarity. Biggest and best tube TV you can get. 250lbs, so no one's gonna steal it. Good price when you price-match at Sears.

Weakness:

Come on. Well, manual 16x9 is kinda inconvenient, but it's worth it.

I studied this purchase well. If people are complaining about these TVs, something is wrong. My only explanation for that is these are 250lb TVs so whoever is shipping them is dropping them and damaging the tube. Hardly anything wrong with the geometry on mine, slight tilt correction is all that was needed. If you play around with the settings you can get a much better picture than provided by the factory default settings (duh).

The only problem with this TV is that it is *too* good. If you are getting a bad signal, this TV shows the bad signal. The size and clarity show exactly what the TV is recieving. You can even see the difference in the qualities of DVDs.

Antenna TV: I get crappy reception back here. Aside from the static, the picture looked pretty good tho, until I got cable hooked up :)

Cable TV: Image quality varies from crappy to great... It really depends on the quality of the source, the channel, and your cable provider. Some channels come in really grainy. You need to keep a setting with the picture and sharpness turned down a bit and the grainyness should be masked well. Some channels come in great and I can use a little more picture and sharpness for a crisp vivid image.

DVD: Sweeeeet. Currently I'm using S-video, but I plan to get the Bettercables.com high quality Component Cables. The image provided by S-video is sweet though, very colorful and extremely crisp. I've seen some people post here not knowing how the 16x9 compression works on the WEGAs... What you need to do is go into the setup for your DVD player and tell it that you have a widescreen TV. That way the DVD player will send a signal with all lines of resolution, and what you will get is an image that looks vertically stretched. Then, enable the 16x9 compression on the TV, and it compresses all the TV's beams into the 16x9 area, giving you a much higher res, more concentrated image. This is a sweet feature. If you get a high quality DVD, the image quality is stunning on this TV, better than anything I've seen before.

My only complaint is that the KV36FV16 and all models below it have manual 16x9 switching, so you have to go into a menu and select the enhanced 16x9 every time you want it. If you can get the FV26 model, I would reccomend it. I didn't because my Sears didn't have it (More on that later). Plus, when you switch video modes (like from DVD back to cable TV) the 16x9 mode disables, so you have to put it on again. Would be nice to have it automatic.

I like the sound quality of the TV. Right now I don't have a sound system to hook up to the TV, that comes next. But the speakers on the TV more than do the job. Make sure to get an FV16 or FV26 if you want the quality speakers, I've seen people complain about poor quality on the lower models.

Thanks to this place, I knew about Sears' price matching policy (wonder how long before they finally kill internet price matching?). I found the KV36FV16 online for $1439 and the lady at Sears did not hesitate to match it (I printed out a copy of the page from the site with the price and showed it to her). My Sears did not have the FV26 model, but Sears.com does carry it, so I assume some stores have it. I would have gotten it because I saw an online price of about $1460, the modest price increase would be worth it for the auto 16x9 and wireless headphones.

The size and weight of this thing is indeed a madman. When I bought the TV, we tried loading it into my friend's SUV - It wouldn't fit. So I got Sears to deliver it the same day for $35, not too bad I guess. Then, they send out one guy to deliver this 250lb tv set. Obviously, he was gonna need help. The box wouldn't fit thru my door so we had to take it out of the box to make it thru. From there tho, I was suprised as the 2 of us were able to carry the TV fine. I got the Sony Stand with it which is good as well, you just gotta put it together first :) The stand looks like it could probably hold 4 components just fine (DVD, VCR, Reciever, dtv reciever or other). It looks good in my room and the TV looks bigger in your house than it does in the store.

All in all, this tv rocks. I plan to get component cables for the DVD, DirecTV for higher quality TV imagery, and add a DD/DTS surround reciever/system to my system. The X-box shall rock on this TV too.

Looking at a 27" TV now is like a joke after watching the WEGA for hours.

You can't go wrong with a 36 inch flat trinitron. If there is something wrong, tweak it or tell whoever you bought it from to quit dropping them down stairs :)

Similar Products Used:

27" Sony Trinitron

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 06, 2001]
Andre
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Non-distorting flat screen with vivid colors and beautiful sharp picture especially from DVD

Weakness:

None atributable to TV yet.

Picture from DVD is excellent exept on 16:9 enhanced mode it is distorted (streched horizontally).
Picture from cable however depends on the source and it is very clear how good the source is.
During football scenes when they zoom out there is a very noticable pixelation of the picture I have to find out if it comming from the source or it is a flaw of the TV. When they zoom in, picture improves and pixelation disapears. It only apears during a wide angle view. If anybody has the same experience please mention that in your review.
Untill I find out what is the cause I have to lower the rating.

Similar Products Used:

None

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
3
[Feb 22, 2001]
Paul
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

16:9 enhanced, Flat Screen incredible at all angles, Just.. Wow

Weakness:

It doesn't make coffee or balance my checkbook for me. None

This TV is just incredible. The picture clarity from my digital cable and DVD's are outrageous.

I was able to convince the guys at PC Richards to "bundle" the TV, matching Sony stand and 3 year warranty for $1,850.

A/V inputs in front of the TV make hook-up of video game systems a snap.

Did I mention that 16x9 anamorphic widescreen DVD's look unbelievable? I don't wait for movies to come out anymore.. I'm on DVD schedule now..

I'm still in awe.. I think I might leave work early today just so I can go watch my TV..

Similar Products Used:

Earlier Sony Wega models

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 04, 2001]
Ramon Stertz
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Picture, Appearance

Weakness:

It weighs a freakin' metric ton.

I bought this TV because I saw it at a friends house. The picture is beautiful, and I wasn't in the mood to get a low quality HDTV, as prices for them are so high. I paid $1699 for mine at YourInsider.com

I can't rate the audio output as I have never used it. The picture is perfect. I have it hooked into my A/V System with DVD, Dig Cable, VCR, Hi-8 Video, and even a computer input. At all times the picture is bright and clear.

Another note. It makes quite a centerpiece in our living room. Whenever I have people over, it does nothing less than impress. The remote controls my Sony VCR.

Con: Don't move this TV. With the stand it is over 300 lbs. I don't know what will happen when HDTV is in full swing. Hopefully I can get a converter box, as the resolution should be good enough to keep up with the best of TV's in the years to come.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 24, 2001]
Andrew Margulis
Casual Listener

Strength:

Picture quality, features, wireless headphones

Weakness:

Weight (but not that big a deal)

This review is for the 36FV26. I did a great deal of research before buying, including reading all of the reviews here. Everyone else was right on--the picture is incredible. I've been using it for about a week, and am thrilled with it. I have it hooked up to digital cable, and I have never seen picture quality like this. I'm still fine tuning the settings, but that's easily done and the variety of settings is actually very good. It's true, it does weigh a ton, but it's not really that big a deal. Just get someone to help you lift it. I first got a price of this at Crutchfield for $1899 with the SONY stand made for it free, plus free in home delivery. I took this to PC Richard and they matched the deal. The stand is a must. Not only does it look great, but I don't think any other stand can support this TV. I have not yet hooked up a DVD, but will be doing so shortly, and I'm sure that will look great also. (The auto 16:9 on the 36KV26 is a nice added feature.)
Do not hesitate to get this set--you will not be disappointed with the quality.

Similar Products Used:

RCA

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jun 12, 2001]
Carmine T. Taverna
Audiophile

Strength:

RGB Component, Flat Tube, No Glare, Brilliant Color Representation from all sources, DVD, VCR, and Digital Cable, Easy to navigate colorful menu, 15W x 2 Speakers with Treble & Bass Control, This TV Looks Beautiful even when its off!!

Weakness:

Weight is only a weakness until you get it set up on the stand, Once i put wheels on the stand, my 5 year old sister can move this TV around. The only thing i would like is for the 16:9 to be automatic with widescreen DVD's but once its selected, the 3 seconds it took to change it is well worth it

I saw this TV in a friend's house (the 27" sony wega) and was extremely impressed. After going to such stores as Best Buy, the Wiz, Circuit City.....the line of Sony Wega TV's dont even belong in the same isle as the other TV's. The actual Set looks beautiful as it is the center of attention in my appartment. Once it is turned on, everyone watching is amazed. Watching Movies, and sports will never be the same. I even hooked up my NES nintendo system from 1985 and the colors were so brilliant. Seriously don't consider other TV's. Get A Wega. Worth every penny

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 05, 2001]
Dan Doviddio
Audiophile

Strength:

Great Picture, Soft Touch Remote

Weakness:

Weight, Sony Remote won't work with Dish Network Receiver

The picture with the Dish is incredible. When I had my annual Super Bowl Party in January, everyone couldn't get over how great the picture was. I liked the soft touch remote that comes with especially compared to the Panasonics or the Dish Network one. If anyone can help on how to program Sony's remote for the Dish Network reciever that would be great, but none of the codes worked.

All the inputs on the back make this set very flexible.

Only the XBR is better. With the XBR you can walk up close to the TV and it is still sharp. But for $1100 this Sony is a steal

Similar Products Used:

27" Panasonic Panablack TV

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 03, 2001]
Geneva
Casual Listener

Strength:

Great Picture, It's a sony need I say more.

Weakness:

None

Got a great price on this TV from Video Only. Sony list price is $1799 on this thing. I shopped around at brick and mortar's and online stores and this was the best price hands down. Their prices were great without having to negotiate. They also gave away the matching stand with the TV. If you want a great price and great service check out the Video Only store in San Mateo.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 27, 2001]
Troy
Casual Listener

Strength:

Great picture, good sound (when I choose not to use my receiver).

Weakness:

Come on guys stop using weight as a weakness. I don't know too many people who can carry a 36in tv by themselves anyway. I think the weight makes for a good theft deterrent.

I love this set. My wife brought it for me as a birthday present(she must really love me.) after dropping hints for 6 months. The only problem with the Wega line which is really not a problem at all but if you run a dirty signal be it cable or sat' through these tv's they will let you know it by displaying a crappy picture. To resolve this buy a signal amplifier(between $12 and $39) to boost your cable or sat' signal. My only gripe and I don't mean to sound ungrateful is that I wish I was with my wife prior to her purchase so I could have talked her into buying a 36XBR400 instead. With the wealth of HD programming being shown in Ohio I feel as though I'm messing out(sarcasm). Great tv that I highly recommend. If you have one don't feel bad about not having bought a HDtv which is still an emerging technology and has many years to go before it's perfected or there is a established format. The KV-36FV16 is pure analog perfection.

Similar Products Used:

Other Sony tv's

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 26  

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