Sony KP-57WS500 57 in. TV
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- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 16:9 Enhanced
- Weight: 210.13 lb.
- Screen Size: 57 inch
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Good Choice
Pros
Beautiful HD, PiP
Cons
Picture tube failure (though fixed by Sony for free - see below)
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Well worth your money - just watch out for the picture tube problem.
In November, 2002 I was in the market for a Wide Screen Projection TV. After a fairly exhaustive search (including much web analysis), I settled on the KP-57WS500. I have never regretted that decision.
First, the bad:
I have only 2 gripes about this TV.
(1) The input labels. I've read about this in other epinions reviews, so I won't dwell on this subject. It just bugs me a bit that for the money I spent, I can't name my inputs what I want to name them. I have to choose from a somewhat slim list of pre-defined values. All in all, this is a very minor issue.
(2) About 6 months after purchasing this TV, I started getting color-switching. The red, in particular, was quite bad. When watching a movie (or worse, when using the PS2), the entire picture would get a very red tint, almost like I had adjusted the hue all the way to the red side. This got progressively worse. I contacted Sony who promptly sent an authorized repair technician to my house to replace all 3 picture tubes. I was told by the tech that all TV's between certain serial #s had bad picture tubes. I'm very glad this happened under warranty, as the repair would have cost me $1200-1500, according to the technician. It has now been about a month since the repair, and the TV is working beautifully.
Now, the good:
I originally wanted the 54" version, but after some gentle prodding from my fiance, I walked out of Circuit City with the 57". I don't regret that decision. As soon as I hooked up the HD box at home, I fell in love with TV again.
DVD's also looks wonderful. My cable leaves a bit to be desired, but that's Cox's fault, not the TV. All in all, this is one of the best pictures I've seen on a projection TV. There is very little picture loss as you move to the sides of the TV. Recommended viewing distance is at least 8-10 feet from the TV. I'm at about 6-7 feet and still get a great picture.
The TV has casters which hide well in carpet and make moving the TV quite easy. It's far easier to get behind this TV than it was my 27" that preceded it.
The sound quality is great - I have not hooked up the TV to my home theatre yet. I've been quite pleased with the built-in audio.
The Sony name (and their response to my aforementioned problem) added that extra oomph, and made this the best choice for my money.
First, the bad:
I have only 2 gripes about this TV.
(1) The input labels. I've read about this in other epinions reviews, so I won't dwell on this subject. It just bugs me a bit that for the money I spent, I can't name my inputs what I want to name them. I have to choose from a somewhat slim list of pre-defined values. All in all, this is a very minor issue.
(2) About 6 months after purchasing this TV, I started getting color-switching. The red, in particular, was quite bad. When watching a movie (or worse, when using the PS2), the entire picture would get a very red tint, almost like I had adjusted the hue all the way to the red side. This got progressively worse. I contacted Sony who promptly sent an authorized repair technician to my house to replace all 3 picture tubes. I was told by the tech that all TV's between certain serial #s had bad picture tubes. I'm very glad this happened under warranty, as the repair would have cost me $1200-1500, according to the technician. It has now been about a month since the repair, and the TV is working beautifully.
Now, the good:
I originally wanted the 54" version, but after some gentle prodding from my fiance, I walked out of Circuit City with the 57". I don't regret that decision. As soon as I hooked up the HD box at home, I fell in love with TV again.
DVD's also looks wonderful. My cable leaves a bit to be desired, but that's Cox's fault, not the TV. All in all, this is one of the best pictures I've seen on a projection TV. There is very little picture loss as you move to the sides of the TV. Recommended viewing distance is at least 8-10 feet from the TV. I'm at about 6-7 feet and still get a great picture.
The TV has casters which hide well in carpet and make moving the TV quite easy. It's far easier to get behind this TV than it was my 27" that preceded it.
The sound quality is great - I have not hooked up the TV to my home theatre yet. I've been quite pleased with the built-in audio.
The Sony name (and their response to my aforementioned problem) added that extra oomph, and made this the best choice for my money.
