Sony KP-53S65 53 in. TV
Out of stock |
Similar in Projection Televisions
- Screen Size: 53 inch
- Overview
-
Reviews
-
Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Hack your TV (by a tweak geek)
Pros
Sharp, bright picture, little blooming, good lines
Cons
Hard to adjust convergence... see article for work around
Recommended it?
Yes
I wasn't going to buy a huge TV, but on the last day I could return my $349 TV, which happened to be Christmas Eve, I received a call that I won $1151 in a contest, for a total of $1500, which is how much a (slightly damaged) 53" Sony Bigscreen costs as the local Building 19. I could only conclude that God wanted me to have this TV, so I had better carry out His wishes.
This TV didn't look all that huge in the store, but in my little apartment this thing is obscene. It takes up most of the wall. It's bigger than some of my friends. I love it.
Features
This picture is clear and crisp. CRT TV's look a little out of focus to me, and are warped like a fish bowl, and straight lines aren't straight, and the picture size changes ("blooms") with changes in brightness. Not so on this TV. While there is a tiny amount of blooming and the lines aren't _perfectly_ parallel, nobody has noticed but me, and that's because I'm obsessed with perfection in my gizmos.
The simulated surround sound sounds as surrounding as my surround speakers, as long as there aren't large objects beside the TV, thus blocking the side speakers. The 2-tuner PIP is wonderful. I can watch one show while surfing for a better show, which I did in the begining. Now I have the PIP set at the preview channel, so I can see what's on while I watch something else. One can also swap what is in which window, or swap where the audio comes from while watching two channels.
One can set names to channels and then make a custom menu of one's favorite channels, among other nifty features. It has coax, RCA and S-Video inputs. It has up to 640 lines of resolution so you can hook your computer up to it and play quake, I suppose. (Don't even bother asking Sony about this, 640 is less than all other competition so they pretend it doesn't matter and refuse to divulge any information on the subject.)
Missing features
While the menus are easy to use and contain just about everything I can thing of, the convergence controls are lacking. Convergence is how closely the colors of the red, green and blue cannons line up, which most normal users will never care nor think about. The menu allows you to make slight adjustments in the convergence if you notice a problem.
Most TVs should come out of the box almost perfect. Almost perfect isn't good enough for me, and so I was forced to hack into the diagnostic menus to adjust the convergence the way I wanted it. I made a web page if other people want to hack their TV, too.
http://skintigh.tripod.com/sony/sony.html
Blah Blah
Why then did I buy a damaged TV? Almost every component I've ever bought has been an "open box". I have had no trouble (excluding every item I've ever bought at Circuit City) and I've saved hundreds of dollars on every item. This TV was in a warehouse that was damaged by a huricane. The TV had no damage other than deep scratch in the screen that some Building 19 employee probably made while opening the box with a knife. Morons.
Anyway, I called Sony and told them my new TV was scratched and they sent me a free screen that I installed myself for free. I'm so cheap. The TV is build very ruggedly and help together with tons of screws, in case you care.
Conclusion
I am very happy with my TV. If I were to buy one today, however, and I had a little more money, I would get one with "line doubling" which makes huge pictures look less liney. If I were rich I would get an HDTV, but I'm not, and neither are you or you wouldn't be reading reviews on cheap TVs.
This TV didn't look all that huge in the store, but in my little apartment this thing is obscene. It takes up most of the wall. It's bigger than some of my friends. I love it.
Features
This picture is clear and crisp. CRT TV's look a little out of focus to me, and are warped like a fish bowl, and straight lines aren't straight, and the picture size changes ("blooms") with changes in brightness. Not so on this TV. While there is a tiny amount of blooming and the lines aren't _perfectly_ parallel, nobody has noticed but me, and that's because I'm obsessed with perfection in my gizmos.
The simulated surround sound sounds as surrounding as my surround speakers, as long as there aren't large objects beside the TV, thus blocking the side speakers. The 2-tuner PIP is wonderful. I can watch one show while surfing for a better show, which I did in the begining. Now I have the PIP set at the preview channel, so I can see what's on while I watch something else. One can also swap what is in which window, or swap where the audio comes from while watching two channels.
One can set names to channels and then make a custom menu of one's favorite channels, among other nifty features. It has coax, RCA and S-Video inputs. It has up to 640 lines of resolution so you can hook your computer up to it and play quake, I suppose. (Don't even bother asking Sony about this, 640 is less than all other competition so they pretend it doesn't matter and refuse to divulge any information on the subject.)
Missing features
While the menus are easy to use and contain just about everything I can thing of, the convergence controls are lacking. Convergence is how closely the colors of the red, green and blue cannons line up, which most normal users will never care nor think about. The menu allows you to make slight adjustments in the convergence if you notice a problem.
Most TVs should come out of the box almost perfect. Almost perfect isn't good enough for me, and so I was forced to hack into the diagnostic menus to adjust the convergence the way I wanted it. I made a web page if other people want to hack their TV, too.
http://skintigh.tripod.com/sony/sony.html
Blah Blah
Why then did I buy a damaged TV? Almost every component I've ever bought has been an "open box". I have had no trouble (excluding every item I've ever bought at Circuit City) and I've saved hundreds of dollars on every item. This TV was in a warehouse that was damaged by a huricane. The TV had no damage other than deep scratch in the screen that some Building 19 employee probably made while opening the box with a knife. Morons.
Anyway, I called Sony and told them my new TV was scratched and they sent me a free screen that I installed myself for free. I'm so cheap. The TV is build very ruggedly and help together with tons of screws, in case you care.
Conclusion
I am very happy with my TV. If I were to buy one today, however, and I had a little more money, I would get one with "line doubling" which makes huge pictures look less liney. If I were rich I would get an HDTV, but I'm not, and neither are you or you wouldn't be reading reviews on cheap TVs.
