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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Excellent Television - particularly when using a DVD player -
Pros
Easy to use, excellent picture quality
Cons
Lighting important with KP-53HS30
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
I give it a Strong Buy - particularly if you are looking for a 4:3 format TV - full featured HDTV with easy intuitive controls
The decision process
When I went out looking for a big screen television, I found myself caught up by the 16:9 to 4:3 dilemma. After looking at a lot of standard 4:3 televisions, and seeing a few 16:9 HD televisions I realized that I wanted the crispness and sharpness of the HD but in the 4:3 format - since most of my viewing is standard broadcast television. That left me with few choices, and the Sony KP-53HSx was top of the list.
When I started looking the KP-53HS10 was the only model in the HS line which was available in the 53 inch size, but when I went to purchase it, it was out of stock and discontinued - I get a really good discount at a local store (the price I quoted is the retail price)- and they recommended I wait for the KP-53HS30.
There are only 2 differences between the HS20 and HS30 - The built-in speaker is a little more powerful and there is a protective screen on the HS30 - which makes the room lighting a LOT more important.
The TV
The TV arrived and it looks really nice. It feels solid, and is on casters, so it was easy to move when I rearranged the room because of the lighting. It has 6 video inputs in addition to RF. One the inputs is on the front - really practical for hooking up Video Cameras or a game console. Two of the video inputs are component inputs for HD, the rest have S-Video or RCA jacks.
The Picture by Picture
When I hooked it up to my cable box, I was surprised to see there are 3 RF jacks on the back of the TV - I normally do not pull out the instruction manual... but I had to find out. The TV has a RF pass-through feature which is really cool for Picture by Picture when using a cable box (it is not really picture in picture because the pictures are placed side by side) - since I have digital cable I thought I would not be able to use the PiP feature of the TV.
I can do picture by picture for standard broadcast television (analog channels), or one Digital and one Analog, or multiple source - although I have not figured out how to change the source for the second picture - it appears to be limited to the internal tuner. The coolest thing is that you can change the size of the pictures, so you can have them be the same size, or have one be a lot bigger than the other.
One feature I would like to see, is the ability to switch audio between the two pictures - maybe it is there and I have not figured out how to do it - there is a lot of stuff in the manual :)
Sound
I do not use the internal speaker at all - I have all of it hooked up to my Dolby Digital AV Receiver, which obviously has a little more umph than a TV speaker, and in my opinion if you are making the investment in the TV a good Dolby Digital system is well worthwhile the additional investment. Particularly if you watch DVDs
If you have to wait, I think that for regular broadcast TV watching the speaker is quite reasonable.
Image Quality
I am not inclined to mess with the service settings although there are several sites which give you information on how to do that. They do also caution you to the dangers. After the initial disappointment of the screen looking a little fuzzy, I read the manual and found how to 'Converge' the image - essentially focus the 3 colors. The manual recommends doing it after 30 minutes of operation.
Sony has a DRC which is a computer based interpolation of the pixels, which should result in a sharper picture than normal. Standard broadcast channels look sharp, and digital channels are really sharp. 480p (such as my DVD player) are exceptionally sharp, especially at the recommended viewing distance of 7 ft.
On Screen Menus
The menus on the TV are colorful, and fairly intuitive. The TV gives you the ability to label channels and inputs - although the list of choices for input types is limited. The amount of channels you can label is also pretty limited. Programming favorites is a nice feature, and it uses the PiP to show you the channel you are currently watching, and the favorite on your list in a smaller picture (again this only works for analog channels using the RF bypass).
The Remote
It is an excellent remote, following with Sony tradition, it has the flip up section, which has the controls for my Sony DVD player down pat, and does OK with my Samsung VCR. However I cannot control my Kenwood receiver. I also have the Sony RM-AV2100 remote (which I wrote a review for), which I use most of the time.
When I went out looking for a big screen television, I found myself caught up by the 16:9 to 4:3 dilemma. After looking at a lot of standard 4:3 televisions, and seeing a few 16:9 HD televisions I realized that I wanted the crispness and sharpness of the HD but in the 4:3 format - since most of my viewing is standard broadcast television. That left me with few choices, and the Sony KP-53HSx was top of the list.
When I started looking the KP-53HS10 was the only model in the HS line which was available in the 53 inch size, but when I went to purchase it, it was out of stock and discontinued - I get a really good discount at a local store (the price I quoted is the retail price)- and they recommended I wait for the KP-53HS30.
There are only 2 differences between the HS20 and HS30 - The built-in speaker is a little more powerful and there is a protective screen on the HS30 - which makes the room lighting a LOT more important.
The TV
The TV arrived and it looks really nice. It feels solid, and is on casters, so it was easy to move when I rearranged the room because of the lighting. It has 6 video inputs in addition to RF. One the inputs is on the front - really practical for hooking up Video Cameras or a game console. Two of the video inputs are component inputs for HD, the rest have S-Video or RCA jacks.
The Picture by Picture
When I hooked it up to my cable box, I was surprised to see there are 3 RF jacks on the back of the TV - I normally do not pull out the instruction manual... but I had to find out. The TV has a RF pass-through feature which is really cool for Picture by Picture when using a cable box (it is not really picture in picture because the pictures are placed side by side) - since I have digital cable I thought I would not be able to use the PiP feature of the TV.
I can do picture by picture for standard broadcast television (analog channels), or one Digital and one Analog, or multiple source - although I have not figured out how to change the source for the second picture - it appears to be limited to the internal tuner. The coolest thing is that you can change the size of the pictures, so you can have them be the same size, or have one be a lot bigger than the other.
One feature I would like to see, is the ability to switch audio between the two pictures - maybe it is there and I have not figured out how to do it - there is a lot of stuff in the manual :)
Sound
I do not use the internal speaker at all - I have all of it hooked up to my Dolby Digital AV Receiver, which obviously has a little more umph than a TV speaker, and in my opinion if you are making the investment in the TV a good Dolby Digital system is well worthwhile the additional investment. Particularly if you watch DVDs
If you have to wait, I think that for regular broadcast TV watching the speaker is quite reasonable.
Image Quality
I am not inclined to mess with the service settings although there are several sites which give you information on how to do that. They do also caution you to the dangers. After the initial disappointment of the screen looking a little fuzzy, I read the manual and found how to 'Converge' the image - essentially focus the 3 colors. The manual recommends doing it after 30 minutes of operation.
Sony has a DRC which is a computer based interpolation of the pixels, which should result in a sharper picture than normal. Standard broadcast channels look sharp, and digital channels are really sharp. 480p (such as my DVD player) are exceptionally sharp, especially at the recommended viewing distance of 7 ft.
On Screen Menus
The menus on the TV are colorful, and fairly intuitive. The TV gives you the ability to label channels and inputs - although the list of choices for input types is limited. The amount of channels you can label is also pretty limited. Programming favorites is a nice feature, and it uses the PiP to show you the channel you are currently watching, and the favorite on your list in a smaller picture (again this only works for analog channels using the RF bypass).
The Remote
It is an excellent remote, following with Sony tradition, it has the flip up section, which has the controls for my Sony DVD player down pat, and does OK with my Samsung VCR. However I cannot control my Kenwood receiver. I also have the Sony RM-AV2100 remote (which I wrote a review for), which I use most of the time.
