Sony KP-53HS30 53 in. HDTV-Ready CRT TV
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- Digital TV Standard: HDTV-Ready
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 16:9 Enhanced
- Weight: 168 lb.
- Projector Technology: CRT
- Built-in Tuner: NTSC
- Screen Size: 53 inch
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Awesome Big Screen TV
Pros
Picture Quality, Features, Price
Cons
No major cons
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
This is an excellent TV. The 53HS30 & 53HS20 are very similar models so read the review to see which is best for you.
This is taken from my review of the 53HS20 which is an identical model to the 53HS30 with 2 minor differences. The 53HS30 includes a screen protector and a slightly more powerful sound system. The screen protector is a nice feature if you have kids or pets that may touch the screen, but keep in mind that the screen protector has a shiny surface that reflects room objects & lighting. This makes lighting a bigger consideration than if you get the 53HS20 which has a matte screen that reduces reflections considerably. The sound system is not noticeably different than the 53HS20. The 53HS30 is also about $200 more expensive than the 53HS20.
Let me start by saying that I'm not going to overwhelm you with big screen techno-babble. The technical descriptions for most tvs contain all sorts of cool sounding technical terms but the only factors I was interested in were my own impressions of the display quality, price and features. The Sony 53HS20 delivers well in all these criteria.
I looked at several TVs in the 53" to 61" screen size. I mostly watch network TV so I wasn't interested in the 16 x 9 shaped screens which are best for those that mostly watch HDTV and DVD's.
Screen Quality
The picture quality is easily recognizable as the best of any of the models I looked at including models by Toshiba, Panasonic, RCA, Phillips, Samsung, Pioneer and several others. This is a newer model in the Sony line and is a major improvement over even the previous Sony model. If you fear that regular tv shows will look grainy you're in for a nice surprise. If you receive cable programming and are receiving a good quality broadcast the picture is excellent for a standard broadcast signal. Some shows do appear more grainy than what you're used to but not so grainy as to be annoying. Major sporting events and news programs are crystal clear. Movie channels such as HBO also have a noticeably excellent picture. For some reason the picture quality is better by connecting the cable directly to the tv than if you connect the cable to the tv through a cable box. The Sony has enough inputs so you can connect the cable both ways at the same time.
Watching a DVD really shows off the awesome picture quality. A DVD image is about as flawless of a picture as you can see. Depending on the DVD you can watch the movie in widescreen mode or standard tv version. Widescreen mode puts the black bars above and below the picture but displays the same image as shown in a theatre.
The 53HS20 comes without a screen protector. The 53HS30 includes a screen protector but I think the picture looks better without a screen protector. The screen protectors are usually shiny and add reflections from the room onto the screen. This makes you have to turn up the brightness more to filter out the reflections.
Features
The cabinet design is really nice, a dark gray graphite. The tv comes with rollers installed so you can move it around without much trouble. Other nice features include a 10 screen index mode which displays 10 simultaneous channels at once. The downside is you have limited control over which channels are displayed. The tv uses a different style of pip which is pretty cool. It displays two tv channels side by side and you can scale the screen sizes using the joy stick on the remote control. You also control which screen the audio come from by moving the joy stick left or right. It also has all the typical tv features for controlling picture quality, sound, captions, etc.
Price
I paid $2499 minus a 10% discount from Best Buy. A good price for a TV of this size and quality. The 53HS30 is about $200 more.
Drawbacks
The only drawbacks I have found are very minor. The remote has only basic cable box controls. My cable box can display an interactive guide and program descriptions but to use these features you have to use the cable box remote. Also the 10 screen index display would be really awesome if you had more control over which channels are displayed.
Conclusion
At the time I purchased my tv 9/2001, it was easily the best tv is this size/price range.
Let me start by saying that I'm not going to overwhelm you with big screen techno-babble. The technical descriptions for most tvs contain all sorts of cool sounding technical terms but the only factors I was interested in were my own impressions of the display quality, price and features. The Sony 53HS20 delivers well in all these criteria.
I looked at several TVs in the 53" to 61" screen size. I mostly watch network TV so I wasn't interested in the 16 x 9 shaped screens which are best for those that mostly watch HDTV and DVD's.
Screen Quality
The picture quality is easily recognizable as the best of any of the models I looked at including models by Toshiba, Panasonic, RCA, Phillips, Samsung, Pioneer and several others. This is a newer model in the Sony line and is a major improvement over even the previous Sony model. If you fear that regular tv shows will look grainy you're in for a nice surprise. If you receive cable programming and are receiving a good quality broadcast the picture is excellent for a standard broadcast signal. Some shows do appear more grainy than what you're used to but not so grainy as to be annoying. Major sporting events and news programs are crystal clear. Movie channels such as HBO also have a noticeably excellent picture. For some reason the picture quality is better by connecting the cable directly to the tv than if you connect the cable to the tv through a cable box. The Sony has enough inputs so you can connect the cable both ways at the same time.
Watching a DVD really shows off the awesome picture quality. A DVD image is about as flawless of a picture as you can see. Depending on the DVD you can watch the movie in widescreen mode or standard tv version. Widescreen mode puts the black bars above and below the picture but displays the same image as shown in a theatre.
The 53HS20 comes without a screen protector. The 53HS30 includes a screen protector but I think the picture looks better without a screen protector. The screen protectors are usually shiny and add reflections from the room onto the screen. This makes you have to turn up the brightness more to filter out the reflections.
Features
The cabinet design is really nice, a dark gray graphite. The tv comes with rollers installed so you can move it around without much trouble. Other nice features include a 10 screen index mode which displays 10 simultaneous channels at once. The downside is you have limited control over which channels are displayed. The tv uses a different style of pip which is pretty cool. It displays two tv channels side by side and you can scale the screen sizes using the joy stick on the remote control. You also control which screen the audio come from by moving the joy stick left or right. It also has all the typical tv features for controlling picture quality, sound, captions, etc.
Price
I paid $2499 minus a 10% discount from Best Buy. A good price for a TV of this size and quality. The 53HS30 is about $200 more.
Drawbacks
The only drawbacks I have found are very minor. The remote has only basic cable box controls. My cable box can display an interactive guide and program descriptions but to use these features you have to use the cable box remote. Also the 10 screen index display would be really awesome if you had more control over which channels are displayed.
Conclusion
At the time I purchased my tv 9/2001, it was easily the best tv is this size/price range.
