My Sony KP-46WT510. I've finally joined the big screen world! (1 Viewer)

[StevenFC]

Hey! I finally took the plunge and came into the world of big screen hdtv(pic below). I can't tell you how great it is to finally be able to enjoy a movie on a large screen tv. Not to mention a Sony HDTV. Great picture. Yes, I do see the flashes of green from time to time that some have mentioned when moving my eyes, mostly on white text. But that just seems to be one of the anomalies of projection tv. I don't find it distracting. The picture is so good looking. Projection televisions have sure come a long way. I Never would have considered a projection tv a couple of years ago. But man, with the prices being what they are, and with the quality you get for the money, I couldn't pass. I can't wait to get some hi-def programming on it.

I am finding that I'm a little bit more apt to use the zoom function when watching regular tv and old movies because of my fear of the evil burn-in. But I think I'll get over that eventually.

For some reason the remote won't control my satellite receiver. So I have to use two remotes at the same time. I mean their ARE only two major satellite providers correct? How can they not have a code for my Dish receiver?? I guess I'll either have to buy a new remote or use my Dish remote to control the tv and forget about the fancy features on the Sony remote.

Man it's a big tv. I can't imagine having one any bigger. Well a bigger one wouldn't fit anyway as you can see. And a bigger one would never make it up the stairs. This tv is almost too big. I gotta tell you, I was a little overwhelmed when I sat down to watch my first DVD. I'm setting back about 10 feet or so. Seems to be just about the right distance. I do watch it closer when I'm at my computer like I am now, but I don't get the sense of space and composition like I do when I'm in my recliner. The only problem with a having a tv that's almost 20 inches larger than my other tv is that it's now going to be hard to ignore the image flaws of less than perfect DVDs.

As you can see it's on a wire rack. It's made by Wiretech which most home improvement stores carry. It's just the right size. I lucked out for sure on that one. I like the look of it to--kind of sleek and modern looking. LIke the tv itself.

I don't have a surround system for it or Monster cables and all of that yet. That's my next big purchase. I'm a man of humble means. I paid just over 1400 from Best Buy. That price included me choosing home delivery btw. I passed on the extended warranty. 200 and some bucks for that. I don't think so! This is most assuredly a major purchase for me. So I'll have to get everything in stages instead of all at once.

I gotta admit. I don't consciously see any difference between the different picture modes. Cinemotion with it's 3/2 pulldown and Interlaced along with Progressive pretty much look the same to me. Maybe a professional calibration would change that. I'll have that done sometime down the road. But anyway, I'm very happy with my new hdtv the way it is now. Size was the most important thing to me anyway--so long as it had a good picture which this tv absolutely has. I hope everyone here gets a chance to own a nice tv like this one someday. It really will change your home video experience.

Any questions or advice?

 

[Chad Ferguson]

Right now I'm stuck between either buying the TV you just bought or the Panasonic 47x54 tv. Please sell me on this TV or the other. I can't seem to choose!

 

[DarrenHo]

i got the 51" version of the same tv. i'm also very happy with it. i agree on not being able to see a difference in the various upconversion schemes. get a copy of avia to calibrate it. pretty simple to use. i use "wide zoom" for all my 4:3 material viewing. i don't notice the stretch most of the time. happy viewing.

 

[Chad Ferguson]

I noticed that the 51'' model has a WS in it's name rather than the WT shown in the picture. IS there any difference? Are teh WS series last years models?
THanks

 

[Jack Briggs]

Steven, your happiness is infectuous. I am happy for you, buddy. And when you get the audio equipment for that big guy, you'll wonder how you ever lived without a home theater.

Congrats, and happy viewing!

 

[BrionL]

Welcome aboard, Steven. I've been widescreened for over a month now and I still can't get enough of it.

Brion

 

[StevenFC]

Thanks Jack, Darren and Brion.

Someday I'll get to see a High Definition movie in glorious DD or DTS, then I'll truly know what it means to own a HD/16x9 tv. I do recommend doing a manual convergence on this set. The flash focus doesn't quite line up the crosses perfectly. I did a manual convergence and I was able to come away with, to my eyes, a slightly better picture. I did notice that the left vertical line on the THX rectangle and square test is missing. I guess maybe that could be an overscan problem or maybe a problem with my DVD player. Thing is though--the entire screen is filled when watching a 16x9/1.85 movie. In other words there's no gap on the right side of the screen like I would assume there would be. One of those things I guess. Another thing to be addressed by a professional calibration I suppose.

Chad, all I can tell you is I'm really happy with my set. I won't say it's a perfect tv or the best tv. But for the money, it's as near to perfect as you can get. Personally, I'll never buy a Panasonic again. The one I have now is 27 inch model and a widescreen picture on it leans to the lower left side. So I would personally be a little leary spending major bucks on one of their hdtv's. I guess you'll just have to decided which one has what you want. I went with the Sony over a Toshiba model because of Sony's reputation for the long life and quality of their tube televisions. And I think the "WT" and "WS" are just an indication of size and not age. Happy hunting!

 

[Chad Ferguson]

Steven: I just think you sold me. Right now the 51'' has 500 off and is going for 2300 Canadian. Think I might go for. Only problem is I'm not sure if I have enough room to be far away from the set. What is the proper distance for a 51''?
THanks

 

[StevenFC]

Well, I think I'm about 10 feet back from mine. Setting closer is just too close for me--even with my less than perfect eyesight. If it were me, I wouldn't want to set less than 10 feet away from a 51 inch tv. And this is just a guess, but I would imagine that when hdtv programming becomes more prevalent, the clarity of the picture will allow one to set back without having to squint.

But, I guess viewing distance is just another matter of taste. I know some say this distance or that distance is the proper one, but I would say just set in the store and look at the screen and decide what distance seems the most comfortable for you and then step it off and decide if it will fit your house.

At the very least I would say it's best to set at a distance that lets you follow the action without difficulty. Setting too close will give your eyes a real workout and make it hard to keep up with movement on the screen. But if it were me, I would try to have at least 10 to 12 feet between me and the tv--even on 4x3 material. I wouldn't even consider less than 8 feet. Trust me, 51 inches is a big friggin' tv.

Maybe someone else could chime in on this.

Hope that helps.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

This Viewing Distance Calculator can sometimes be helpful if you want the results of study into seating distances.



There are some rather good $500-$800 Home Theaters in a box so when you are ready, this site can help point you to some that wont break your budget.

While decent, Monster cables are retail-priced, and not certified for HD video. The custom cable sites are your best bang-for-the-buck like www.bluejeanscables.com. Great cables start at about $45 - but rival the $220 high-end monster cables.

 

[StevenFC]

Thanks Bob for the advice and recommendation. Although to be honest, I'm not real cable savvy and I'm not sure I would know which ones to get. I think I certainly need to take advantage of the resources here at HTF to help find the right ones. I know if I just picked some off the shelf at Best Buy or Radio Shack I'd never hear the end of it around here.

 

[BrionL]

Check out IXOS cable. I find that it is as good or better than Monster cable and at a fraction of the cost.

Brion

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Not true. I often recommend the better Radio Shack or AR Pro2 cables from Best Buy for smaller, standard-video systems. I suggest the custom cables for displays above about 40" or HD video. The difference in price is about $15 for the 'good' stuff.

We have helped many people put together very good systems for a budget price. It's what makes HTF one of the better sites. All budgets/intrest levels are welcome here.

 

[Andy Kim]

I'm shopping for a bigscreen also. Was going to go with the large Sony Rear LCD's but they are just too expensive. I've never been sold on CRT RPTV's as they've always looked horrible in the showrooms. But that's with all the lights and reflections.
Was comtemplating getting the 34" widescreen direct view but that's pretty much just like getting the 36" 4:3 and the 4:3 is a lot cheaper.
From someone going from CRT Direct to CRT Rear, it sounds like you were sold quite quickly on the PQ of Rear CRTs. I'm looking to take the same plunge...would like to get the 50"+ but don't know if it will fit down the stairs. How are the viewing angles on the set?

 

[Chad Ferguson]

I looked at this sony today and I noticed a rub on the screen. I asked the sales person about it and they try to rub it off but it was just a mark, basically a scratch on the screen. Needless to say I think the guy shat his pants and said it most likely happened during moving or something. Does this happen easily, say if you pants rubbed against the screen by accident or something?
Thanks

 

[Jeff W.]

I'm about to buy the same TV.

What kind of stand is that and how high is it off the floor? *edit ok Wiretech, I will look for it, but how high is the bottom shelf and is it adjustable? I assume the other shelves are adjustable? Also important, does it rattle or vibrate easily? Like say if you put a 400W subwoofer a few feet away from it?

I'm trying to pick a stand/table for this (it's a tabletop model, btw "WS" = Wide floorStanding. WT = Wide Tabletop, I guess

I definitely don't want Sony's expensive stand because it wouldn't hold all my components. I originally wanted a low bookshelf type of stand, about 13-15" high (any higher is too high for my seating position..), and wide enough to stack components 2 x 2.
Like this:

The only thing I'm afraid of is the remote sensors on the components will be too low.

Now that I look at your arrangment, might be better off with a rack putting the components on top (I also have a large center channel speaker that I was going to rest on top of the set, but might be better in a rack..)

 

[Andy_Hamric]

I have this TV and got the matching stand. I was a bit disappointed that you can't fit more components into the space, but my solution was this: I took out the shelf and put my center channel speaker down there. It's a rather heavy-clunky black box of a speaker, and I'm afraid it would warp the TV plastic if it sat on top for months.

Also, when sitting in my chair or couch, the TV is just the right height so that my eye level is right at vertical center of the TV screen.

 

[StevenFC]

Yes, all of the shelves are adjustable. I doubt that it would rattle with the tv on it. But it's only 48 inches wide. It might hold a 47 inch 16X9 tv, but certainly nothing bigger than that. It has plenty of shelf space for your components. In fact, you can buy extra shelves separately if you want to.

Also, you may want to buy some wood or something similar to put under the tv like I did. It's just a piece of painted wood from the home improvement center. BTW, the opening of the shelf is less that 48 inches, so you'll need to make sure not to just grab a 48 inch wide piece of wood and expect it to fit.

 

[Jeff W.]

Thanks. I noticed the shelves are only 18" deep, that deep enough to put the TV on?

If the shelves are just wire-mesh I'll probably get some wood to put on top of all of them. Unfortunately Staples doesn't carry these in stock at their retail stores so I can't go look at em... but I do have a $30 off coupon

 

[StevenFC]

Well, my 46" tv hangs over the back of the shelf. I don't see a way to avoid that since all your larger tv sets will be deeper than 18 inches. But the board I use is deep enough for the tv, so it's not like the tv is not being supported. I guess you could always place something underneath the board to help support it if you so desire. But I'm not doing that and I haven't had any problems yet.