Sony KP-43T70 43 in. TV

My old 32" Mitsubishi was dying. I had it for a little over 7 years. Back in the day, I had paid well over $1500 for it at the Wiz. Prices of TVs have dropped considerably since then. I did a bit of shopping around at local stores, looking mainly for projection screen TVs.

I noticed a few things about projection screen TVs.

First, Sonys was notably more expensive than all the other brands, usually by an average of $100. RCA tended to be cheaper than all the other brands, also by an average of $100.

Secondly, the larger the TV was, the lower the clarity was. The pixels on the screen were larger, making screen quality considerably poorer when viewed at close range.

Lastly, larger TVs usually had a large speaker on the bottom, which also doubled as a stand. This went for TVs that were nearing 50" or more. The ones in the 40" range were shorter in height, usually because they had a much smaller speaker on the bottom.

I was able to narrow down my choices to the Japanese brands, since I knew that RCA is not known for quality products. I further narrowed it down to 2 TVs, this one, and a 50" Sony. The TVs cost $1500 and $1700 respectively. The main difference between the TVs aside from the obvious size, was clarity. The smaller TV was much clearer than its larger counterpart, with basically the same functions. I was able to purchase this TV for $1250 tax-free at an electronics store in NYC. I also decided to purchase a $100 matching stand, since the TV is too short by itself.

About the TV:

The TV is grayish-silver in color, not black like most Sony projection TVs. Although Sony has not stated so officially, I think it's something inbetween a Sony Wega TV and their regular TVs. The screen is flat. The TV doesn't take up a terribly large amount of space; less than 2.5 feet from the screen to the very back of the TV. The foot print follows the dimensions of the largest part of the TV, which is the bottom where it bulges out.

The clarity of the picture is simply amazing, which is one of the things that leads me to believe it to be a Wega hybrid. Even from a few feet away, the picture refuses to become pixelated.

The sound is excellent and very clear. It easily fills my living room. Treble and bass are adjustable, along with balance. There are a few modes of sound: "BBE", "Surround", and "Simulated". Surround does a great job simulating a surround sound system.

There are a lot of options for the TV, half of which I don't even use. Among them are:

2-Tuner Picture-in-Picture, Free Layout Picture in Picture, PIP Direct Tuning,Freeze Memo, Speed Surf Channel Selection,
V-Chip Parental Control, Steady Sound Automatic Volume control With BBE, and Favorite Channel (5 Channels).

The audio, video, channel preset, and other basic options are driven by a menu based program on the screen of the TV, which can be activated with the touch of a button.

There are 3 A/V inputs, 1 of which is located in the front of the TV, which makes access easy.

The one complaint I have about this TV is the remote. The remote is not lit at all. The buttons are glow in the dark, which is a bit pointless, since they must absorb light to radiate light. A remote that has been in the dark for a period of time will not glow. Sony would have done well for themselves by making a remote that had some sort of self-lighting system.

All in all, this is an excellent choice for a projection screen TV, especially for those of you who don't have enough space for a 50".