Best picture quality I've seen next to Sony's 34" HDTV direct view.

Way too heavy, over 200 lbs.! I recently moved it off one stand onto another, with the help of someone, and ended up dropping the set onto the ground! Fortunately, no damage was done. I would also love it if Sony came out w/ native 16x9 Wega like they do in other countries.

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones who have not experienced any of the problems which others have noted on this board. I couldn't be happier with the set, although in retrospect I should have also considered some of the newer 16x9 RPTV's - it'd be nice to have an even bigger screen. The vertical compression works flawlessly for me as well, although I wouldn't expect any problems with this feature given the fact that I have a Sony DVD player.

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Previously owned a 27" XBR from nearly 10 years ago.

Fantastic picture, especially when using component inputs from digital sources. Given a half way decent composite signal the comb-filter cleans the picture up better than any other NTSC TV I've tested

Background color pattern generated by TV on inputs.

Praise first: This is the best 'standard' TV I've ever seen. The picture is clean and crisp and it does a great job at cleaning up sub-par signals and shows its true-colors when fed a signal that exceeds NTSC standards (s-vid or anamorphic DVD).
Problems: As noted in other reviews, my TV generates a color mask fading progressively from black (left) to light-blue (right). I have proven that the signal is generated by the TV as it happens even without a component connected. If a 16:9 output is selected on my DVD player, the TV generates the black bands top and bottom and the black-to-blue fade pattern is then letter-boxed. If I disconnect the DVD player it goes full-screen again.
Oh yeah! The weight is something else. I had to build some custom furniture to hold it's mighty 253lbs safely.
Resolution: Before I read the reviews here, I convinced my dealer - Chelsea Audio in Oregon - that the unit is defective and they have graciously agreed to replace it. I am concerned, however, that this is a design fault and a swap-out may not be the cure. I will update this forum with the results after the 29th Nov. when I receive the replacement unit.

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Most Tosh, Mits and Zen alternatives to this product.

Pretty Picture

Quality Control; Manufacturer interested in making money

I'm sorry I din't find this site prior to my purchase. During the last week I've had three sets delivered and removed.
Set 1: Heavy vertical bands as variously described in other reviews. The anamorphic function threw up 1" gray bands between the movie image and the top and bottom black "letterbox" bands.
Set 2: Anamorphic function did not work at all. Serious flaw in the glass. Upper right corner had a "fisheye" that distorted the image in that area. But the vertical lines were a bit less pronounced.
Set 3: Back to vertical bands and, again, problems with the anamorphic function.
I told the dealer 3 strikes you're out. Guess I'll go back to watching my 9yo Mitsubishi.
It seems to me that a major electronics company like Sony should be selling a top-of-the-line set that is nearly perfect. Instead, they seem to be interested in selling a large volume, and, if a number of the sets are bad, well, that's just the cost of doing business. BUYER BEWARE.

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What else is this bad??

Vertical compression, picture.

Uneven blackness levels. Slight geometry problems.

When I first received the set I had the same blackness and geometry problems many of you reported. I had a repair technition out to look at it and he was able to find a Sony service bulletin on the problem that recommended replacing a capacitor. It does look better now but its not perfect.

I've heard that an ISF technition might be able to fix the uneven black level problem?

Picture

Weight, price

Had it just over a month. Watched about a dozen DVDs through a Sony 530D.

So far, I am satisfied. Luckily I wasn't hit by big quality issues. Careful delivery might have played a role. (It was picked up from a Sony warehouse and sent to my home by 2 of my best friends.) I am also easy-going enough to forgive minor geometric distortions noticeable only looking from the side, and uneven darkfield when brightness is way high above normal level.

Have to say this unit is about the best in picture clarity, color reproduction, and day-time contrast among TVs of similar sizes. I highly recommend it for people who look for a small TV mostly for movies, and ,are not too idealistic.

It is, indeed, very pricy. However, I would not blame Sony for this. I wish GE could offer a similar unit for $800, but it has yet to happen. Weight? I guess others have said enough.

Need help on component cables. I experimented with composite, S-video, and component connections and noticed little difference. What could I have done wrong?

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Hitachi, Panasonic

AWESOME picture...WHEN WORKING!

PRICE, PRICE, PRICE, and, oh wait, it weighs a TON!

Picture is great, but the sad thing is I have similar problems (ex: geometry, tint, etc...). I do have one question though. I called Canare the other day and asked for some appropriate component cables, the lady that helped me had no clue on which one of their models would best fit my needs. For those of you that do have these cables, can you please email with the model number and their prices please. Cant seem to get Canare's costumer support to help me, hmm...maybe my $$$'s no good, dont know :) I do like this tv an awful lot however, just wish sony's quality control could be a bit tighter. Any info on Canare would be mighty appreciated. thanks!

email: elirex@aol.com

Picture, Flat Screen, Anamorphic Display

Price

Just got my Sony 36" XBR250 a couple of days ago. I'm very happy -- did not have any problems. Picture is pretty good with regular cable but even better withe DVDs. Anamorphic DVDs are awesome. Compared to 43" Sony RPTV but the 36" TV fits better in my loft. Also, picture is better than RPTV. Weight is no big deal -- that is, if someone else is delivering it. Connected TV via Digital Coax cable to DVD and I am using the Sony STR-DB930 receiver with Definitive Tek speakers, BP2002TLs. It's great. Sega Dreamcast games look and sound great as well. I'd recommend trying this TV first and if you have any problems then switch to the Sony 43" RPTV. There's not much else better in this size and price range -- I've looked. However, the XBR flat screens looks sharper and has a major cool factor.

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Toshiba, Sony 43" RPTV

widescreen compression, sharpness & clarity

al problems mentioned, plus a bad tint on whole screen

It came saturday afternoon, its now Sunday AM. Tomorrow I go to fight for a restocking fee-less return. I have on this tv seen pictures better than I have on any other standard tv, but the faults are just too many. I thought that the banding problem would be the pickiness of videophiles showing through (my apologies to all below for doubting you). The first time a widescreen title starts and you see the band cut right through the picture and you gasp, you'll know that sinking feeling. Plus, and no one else seemed to have this problem, I found a strange tint to the whole wcreen. I can't get a clean white and all other -- particularly non-neon -- colors are "polluted" by this effect. I guess that's why my best experiences... First Contact & What Dreams may come -- were ultra-bright color that could go beyond this problem.... as a result of it facial tones, particularly on cable (which sucked for me...really that bad, my old tv looks better) were so pasty and flat I almost died. Three friends who dropped by to check it out all had the same "there's something wrong with this picture" when they saw regular broadcasts.
Did I just get a lemon? I don't know, but after 14 hours of non-stop testing with a friend (who I now owe big) I'm convinced it must go back and that its probably a design flaw. I'm scared to even try another.
In addition to the gray band, I lost sharpness along the left edge... letters and such would blur slightly, not too bad, bda jeez, its brand new. Other than that, the clarity, particulalry with the incredible widescreen compression, was simply stunning.
Also, unlike most, I found the sound impressive. Better than my Adcom-powered ACI speakers? Give me a break. But as far as built in TV sound goes, quite impressive.
Buying this tv seems like rolling dice. Unfortuntely, they came up snake eyes for me. Yet another Sony product dissapoints (my MD player broke after one year). Oh well, at least the Playstation works!
Good luck if you decide to buy, maybe you'll get lucky.

2 stars value for a feature no one else offers (compression).
3 stars overall for the best dvd sharpness I've seen.
But I'm returning it, so that should say it all.

Great Picture, anamorphic display, great remote

Service menu not describe in manual, internal calibrations maybe required, weight

This TV is awesome. I've only had this TV for about 5 days and I thought, WOW, the picture is awesome. I've been shopping around for other TV's and I almost went out and got me a plasma TV. But I wanted a TV with a great picture and after comparing a lot of TVs, this was the best. Also, I just got a Sony 7700s and I connected it to this TV with the Canare component cables. I first got red vertical lines. Then I called Mike and I asked him. And he mentioned that I had to adjust the Horizontal Oscillation. I was thinking... what the hell is this. I didn't know anything about this and I thought the TV was bad. But Mike was very helpful and he walked me through adjusting the TV. THANKS MIKE!! Anyways, after the adjustment, the TV looked awesome. Also, I compared the connection with S-Video and the horizontal lines did not appear. Mike informs me that the horizontal lines may only appear w/component video cables and therefore, may require adjustment like mines needed. But all in all, I love this TV. Once properly adjusted, it's the best TV out there.

Finally, for all the folks complaining about this TV, I suggest you properly adjust your set and get good quality cables. If all else fails, there are other altneratives out there. But granted, their picture quality may not be as good. For now, Sony is on top with the TV.

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Other Sony TVs

Incredible depth, rich colors, nothing better except HDTV.

HEAVY! Some useless features...

This thing is awesome....I watched A Bug's Life and The Matrix both on widescreen DVD at the store and that was enough to justify it's purchase even with an HDTV upgrade in the works in the next several years. This TV s as good as it gets, though it does take some setup...I love sports on it, but only on MOVIE mode with it set up soft, I agree that out of the box it is too sharp on live broadcasts. I have around 50 DVD's that are 16x9...come to think of it everything that is coming out now is...so if you are a fan of the audio quality available on DVD, this is the picture to match. It has a few useless features like wireless headphones, SRS surround, etc. that anyone serious enough to buy this TV would not bother with, but the picture quality is only topped by Sony's 34 inch HDTV flat screen which was on "sale" for $6999 when I bought this set for $1799. Time to go immerse myself in Rattle and Hum..the opening scene of Helter Skelter looks like a tiny Bono is standing on my video rack...

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Mitsubishi, Phillips, and JVC large tube televisions.