Sony Grand WEGA KF-50WE610 50 in. HDTV-Ready LCD TV

Let me start by saying that this TV's picture is stunning, especially on 1080 HDTV feeds. In fact, the other night I was watching a hockey game on HDTV and it truly felt like I was sitting at center ice in person....but on a comfy couch instead of a hard stadium seat! DVD feeds are almost as beautiful, and the picture is bright, crisp and viewable from almost any angle. I've been using the TV for about 6 weeks now, and I still find it amazing just how stunning the picture is. One word of advice, however. Make sure your room is big enough for you to sit at least 12-15 feet away from the TV, especially if most of your viewing will be analog cable feeds. This TV is so big that it can become difficult to watch when it's only getting fed about 300 lines of signal. The TV has circuitry to make the best of that situation...and it does admirably...but if you have a smaller room you'd be better served by a smaller set, like the 42 inch version.

Ok..that's the picture. Let's talk about features and audio. First off, the audio is satisfactory, but you might expect a little more richness from a $3,000 TV. The TV has three audio settings, one is "normal" mode, and the other two are simulated hifi/surround settings that add depth and richness to the sound. I like the variety of options, and each listener will probably have their preference. Again, it's fine for normal viewing, but if you're watching a concert or a movie in full screen HDTV, do yourself a favor and run that signal into a surround sound receiver to get the full theater experience. Just add popcorn!

The TV has tons of great features, most of which you'll never mess with. Believe it or not there are hundreds of more settings that are hidden away in a technical menu accessed through a series of remote control commands. The reason they're hidden away? Because they don't want normal humans screwing up their picture! :) Believe me, you won't need the extra settings to take care of your needs. There is the expected full range of pictures settings like brightness, contrast, picture and the like, but there are dozens of other settings specific to this high quality digital TV. Another great feature is that there are SEVEN, yes seven, video inputs into this TV, and through the menu you can name each one of them. No more "video 1" and "video 2", you can name them "cable box" and "DVD". Very nice feature indeed. One connection is on the front of the TV (RCA jacks), and 6 more are accesses in back. Not only can you connect SVIDEO to any connection, but most will accept component video, and one will even take DVI. It's got all the bases covered.

So why haven't I given this perfect ratings? Because after 50 hours and 3 weeks my lamp went. It doesn't go all at once in a small explosion like Panasonics tend to do, but slowly the TV started having longer delays when turning it on, until finally it wouldn't anymore. Since I bought the TV through Circuit City (and waited 5 weeks to get it) I called them first. In the first 30 days they'll swap out the entire product if you have a problem. Well, since the TV was backordered and they didn't expect any more for ANOTHER 5 weeks, swapping it out wasn't an option. They graciously arranged to have a tech come to our house within a few days, with new lamp unit in hand, and fix the TV. I watched him carefully too. The instruction are in the user manual if you want to know how to do it. The lamp unit is a 6 or 7 inch cube that includes the lamp and some circuitry. The tech did not imply that a lot of these TVs were having trouble, but it sounds like from reading here that there may be a inherant problem. Either way, my TV is back in the realm of the living again.

So, here's the bottom line. This TV is beautiful, and I wouldn't wait just because the price might fall significantly as LCD projection TVs become more popular. I looked at Panasonics, Hitachis (my 2nd choice) and the Samsung DLP and this TV is the runaway winner in terms of picture quality. It looks good in the store even with the signal split to 100 TVs...you should see it at home! If you buy this TV and are concerned about the lamp problem, here's something to consider. Before I bought the TV I called Sony to inquire about the warrant. According to Sony this TV has a 12 month IN HOME service warranty that covers the lamp for the entire year. Yes, you heard me, I was told they covered the lamp for the first year. Secondly, consider investing (yes, I said investing) in an extended service contract that covers the lamp. Now, these are rare. The ones you get from most on-line retailers, at prices ranging from $200 to $600 (For the same warranty from the same warranty company, by the way) DO NOT COVER THE LAMP. Be very careful before you put good money down on a warranty that doesn't, as this will be your most likely problem area. I got the 4 year warranty from Circuit City, which DOES cover the lamp. The $500 I paid for the warranty may seem like a ton of money, but seeing as the lamp itself costs $200 or more I expect this warranty to pay for itself several times over. Make sure to do your homework, and understand that 1) the lamp has been an issue, and 2) LCD panels are expensive to replace too!

I hope this review helps.

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6 Month Update!
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I'm very happy to report that I have exactly ZERO problems with this TV since the bulb assembly was replaced. Any fear that I had that there were circuitry problems that would eat a $200 bulb every month were unfounded. The TV has performed flawlessly, and it an absolute joy to own. There has been no degradation in picture quality, no bad pixels, and no problems with the screen, sound, remote, or any other aspects of the TV. We now have 10 HDTV channels and they are absolutely eye-popping on this TV.

I'm not sure how difficult the TVs are to get (they were impossible for a while), but given my recent experience I would suggest that any wait is worth it. This is an outstanding television that I expect to grace my living room for a long time.

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November 04 update!!
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Here we are now, nearly a year after my first review, and nearly that long since the bulb was replaced. I am VERY happy to report I have had absolutely ZERO problems with this TV since the repair. I'm convinced that Sony has the problem fixed and any new buyers should not have this problem. As reported before, the picture on this TV continues to be stunning, and even though it's on about 6-8 hours per DAY there are no bad pixels or other video anomolies that you might expect to crop up over time. The picture is PERFECT, the sound is great, and I'd buy another one of these TVs in a heartbeat. Everyone that comes in my house says "WHOA" when they see it...even when off.

Can you tell I'm very, very happy with this TV?? :) Email me if you have any specific questions.

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July 05 update!!
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Since there was an issue with bulb failure I wanted to keep this review updated so people could track whether or not the problem is fixed. My guess is that Sony has updated the model now to eliminate any problems, but the good news is that I've had ZERO problems with this TV since the repair! The picture is bright and perfect, and everything I've wanted in a hidef TV. I still cruise electronics shops and still have not found a better picture at any price.

Another thing that I've done recently is switch from component video input from my HIDEF cable box to using the DVI connection (using a HDMI/DVI conversion cable from my cable box to the TV). I do notice a slight improvement in the picture, but it's not nearly as significant as going from svideo to component. I think the newer models of this tv have a HDMI port built in rather than the DVI from last year.