Sony KDFE50A10 50" HDTV ? (1 Viewer)

[Mark Cappelletty]

Dave,

So you got the Sony, but are having second thoughts afterwards? I'm looking to get a new set -- my first jump into HDTV, as I'm getting rid of an old 32" Sony -- and looking for advice. The Samsung certainly is cheaper. Please let us know what you think.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Eric

I have a 50" SOny Wega HDTV recently and while the picture is very nice. I only purchased it because it was on sale and I had to save and go without alot of things for the Sony HDTV. While dvd's look very good and pay channels and HD programing look good over digital cable. I am not convinced that there is any upconverting of any source coming into the tv. For example SciFi looks horrid and so do many of the channels bellow channel 100 on Cox Cable.

As far as not having a dvi input I do not view that as a problem. I would however veiw it as a problem if it did not have a hdmi connection. Especially if you plan on backing and purchasing a Toshiba HD-DVD player. If you did not have a hdmi connection with HD-DVD you would not be able to view HD-DVD at 720p or 1080i resolutions via component connections.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Hey Mark,

There where some things I liked about the Samsung over the Sony. The Samsung does not suffer from screen door effect and dead pixels. It seems to have a smoother film like image but the Sony has its strong points as well. At the time I got the Sony cheaper than I could have got the Samsung. I was also looking into trying to afford a 1080p dlp set but after finding out that the hdtv's did not accept 1080p input. I decided to wait and invest in a 1080p projector later on down the road.

I admit that I was slighly biased against the Sony when I was first looking at HDTV's. PeterTHX got me to think and I gave it a chance. I dont like Sony recievers at all as I dont care for the overall quality of the units or the sound quality of them. The Sony LCD so far has been very reliable and has worked out very nicely. As long as you do not sit to close to the Sony you dont notice any screen door effect. As far as the Samsung goes I am not sure if it was not tweeked properly but scences with fog or smoke looked pixelated and did not look right. Everything else looked great on the Samsung. The Samsung had a crisper film like image vs the Sony. The Sony seems to have better detail in dark scenes. The color ballance seems to be good on both. The Sony color seems to be alittle more realistic over all and with good HD content is rock solid.

I would take your favorite movies and watch them on both the Sony and Samsung. However if you are thinking of the new Sony HDTV.s that just came out these past few months. They are pricy but they seem to have a edge over the older Samsungs. If you are looking at LCD IMHO Sony hold an edge over the other companies producing LCD HDTV's. If you are looking to get a HDTV that will accept 1080p sources I would wait for the new tv;s to come out and for the prices to drop.

Oh another thing you might want to consider is a Sony LCD projector or DLP projector if you are looking to watch alot of movies. I did not have the room for a projector in my apartment. But for alittle more you could have a projector with 100" - 120" picture.

Over all I have been very happy with the Sony LCD HDTV and I have not had any second thoughts buying it. And I am very carefull when buying anything from Sony. The Samsung is nice and I think I would have been happy with that as well but the Sony has worked out nicely. Look at them side by side and also check out the Mitsubishi. And then buy what looks the best to you, good look and enjoy your future HDTV.

 

[Ken Makela]

I bought the Sony 42" about 6 weeks ago. It's not perfect, but it is only for our master bedroom. I think it's great bang for the buck.

 

[Erik_AND]

What things didn't you like?

 

[Ken Makela]

It's in an armoire, so when the doors are open, the fan's noise level is a little annoying. I think the cabinet sort of amplifies the sound. I'm sure this isn't an issue when it's on a stand. Also there's a bit of green push. But for $1,900.00 (CDN) the KDFE is a great TV. I also looked at the Samsung DLP, but in mu opinion the Sony beat it.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I haave my Sony KDFE50A10 50" HDTV on a stand and do not have a problem with fan noise. I would have to agree that maybe if the tv was in a enclosed stand the fan noise would most likely be noticeable. I dont seem to notice a green push on my Sony. It may be the dvd player you are using with the tv? I noticed that my Pioneer DV-525 DVD player had that appearence with my older Toshiba tv and it went away when using my Sony DVP-S9000 ES DVD / SACD player or my Denon DVD-3910 DVD/SACD/ DVD-A player.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

At a 50" screen size 720p is going to look just fine. I don't thing 1080p has much benefit over 720p until you get up into the 60" sizes.

 

[Dave Moritz]

It might be true that 720p might be just fine on a 50" hdtv. But for myself I still want 1080p especally since I am planing on buying a projector and a 120" screen.


Sony Blu-ray 1080p

 

[Dean L]

My brother in law owns the KDFE50A10, looks very good, and I was never a LCD fan, I am now thinking about purchasing the 42 inch KDFE42A10, not enough room for a larger display.

Can any owners tell me how their picture settings are set for future ref.
I know conditions are different for all rooms, but just curious what your settings are and what test DVD's you used for the best results.
And do you need to use different settings for different inputs (composite for Laserdiscs)(S-Vid for NES/Dreamcast/Game Cube) (component for DVD's, Xbox, PS2) (HDMI) in a fairly light room during the day, and a dark rook at night (put not pitch dark?

Love to year some input from all you owners!

 

[Dave Moritz]

I own the KDFE50A10 and it basically replaced an 11+ year old Toshiba CRT 31" TV. I was not crazy about LCD ether at first but after my tv died and I needed to replace the old one. I got a good deal on the Sony LCD and the main reason I did not go with the Samsung or Mitsubishi was because they did not accept 1080p sources.

I have owned my Sony KDFE50A10 50" HDTV since October 7th, 05 and am satisfied with it so far. I had the technician out a few weeks ago to do an update to the firmware. After getting a letter from Sony about a possible software problem. I have not done much tweeking to the tv. I was waiting to find a copy of Digital Home Esentcials or Avia so I could properly adjust my KDFE50A10. The room that my tv sits in does not have alot of light in it. Only what gets in with the blinds closed. I live in an apartment and its allready been broken into. So I dont really want to advertise that I have a hdtv in my apartment now. For the most part I used Gladiator, Star Wars 3, Stargate, Shrek 2, Spiderman and Starz HD to adjust my tv. I will be most likely tweeking it more after I hook up a HD Blu-ray player to my HT.

Hope this helps.

 

[Tim Jin]

I've been followering your post since day 1 or day 2, 3, 4 , and I am stoke that you got your setup, but why haven't you go out and buy DVE or Avia and calibrate the TV?

You have to tweak your settings every so often anyway.

Why wait?

 

[Dave Moritz]

Hey Tim,

Not sure if your post was aimed at me or not?

I have not been able to find anyone localy that caries DVE or Avia. No one at Best Buys or Fry's Electronics here in Phoenix have even heard of it. And I dont have a credit card so I have to find a place that has one of the set up disc's.


Would appreciate it if anyone here in Phoenix can tell me where I can find ether set up disc.

 

[Tim Jin]

Just buy it from Amazon!!!

 

[Dave Moritz]

No credit cards, have to find it at a local retailer :b

 

[Tim Jin]

Bank card!

 

[Dean L]

Anyone?

 

[Dave Moritz]

Does anyone know a web site that has the codes and instructions for tweeking the Sony KDFE50A10 ?

 

[Dean L]

Good question, anyone?
Or your own personal tweaks?

 

[craig_curtis]

I just ordered mine last night (the 42A10 - room is too small for the 50). Can't wait for it. I also compared it to the Samsung, but just thought the Sony waas sharper. Plus, quite a few other people on this board like theirs.

Next step is to get a decent DVD player, which will probably be a Denon 1920.

I'll post back once I get mine up and running, and tweaked...