Sony KP-43HT20 (4:3 HD-monitor w/16:9 mode), anyone seen it? (1 Viewer)

[MickeS]

It's on Sony's site, and it looks like a great set. MSRP is $2700, which seems a bit high, compared to other brands right now. Here's the link to the Sony webpage: http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer...p-43ht20.shtml
Has anyone seen this set in action? I've searched the web for it, the only things I found where references to Sony's pressrelease.
Thanks.
/Mike

 

[KevinO]

Mike, I haven't seen it (would love to), but my local Sears says its ready for delivery, which should mean it will be in their display rooms shortly. They're charging $2199, plus $179 for the stand. Neither CC or BB around here have it on their floors either.

 

[Bill Bradstreet]

I saw it at NOW! Audio/Video in NC the other week. Absolutely amazing picture compared to last year's model.
I'm happy with the $2200 price tag. I'm hoping to still get it cheaper when I finally get off my duff and succumb to the buying urge.

 

[Ron Rodrigues]

Hey guys, new poster here.
I got the KP-43HT20 last week and am absolutely stunned with it's picture quality. I am a first-time RPTV owner so I am probably not as critical as other RPTV owners might be. Having said that, I am very impressed with the improvement in color and detail over my old Sony (non-Wega) direct view.
I got the TV at Sears in Glendale, CA for $2199. After calling around to several Sears in the area, none of them had it on display and, curiously, only the Glendale store had it available in their system for delivery.
Once it was delivered, setup was easy and I had the thing working almost immediately. I did the flash focus and the picture is flawless. (PS - I got into the service menu using the same procedure as other Sony big screens, but I did not make any adjustments).
I compared the quality of various video inputs, and not suprisingly, found that the component inputs put out the best picture. I hooked the TV up to my Toshiba SDP-1000 portable DVD player with progressive scan and component video outs and the picture was nothing less that eye-popping. Fine color rendering, intense detail, no scan lines and minimum jaggies. Of course, the 16x9 vertical compression went a long way to helping the picture look great.
I have another DVD player, the Playstation 2 actually, hooked up to an S-video input. I know many people do not like the PS2 as a DVD player, and it did not put out as good a picture as the Toshiba (keeping in mind the limitations of the s-video input).
My Dish Network satellite receiver is hooked into another S-video input, and the results are frankly disappointing. I guess as the old saying goes, garbage-in, garbage-out. While about half the viewing is fine, sometimes great, I can now see a lot of digital artifacting on this TV that I never noticed on the smaller direct-view screen. I can live with this for awhile, but I look forward to the day when Dish makes a hi-def receiver/PVR combo that will permit me to watch HD ota broadcasts.
Anyway, that's about it. If anyone has any questions about the set, feel free to ask. In the meantime, I have a couple of questions of my own:
1. The Sears salesman convinced me to purchase an extra year of warranty service for $200. I'm having buyers' remorse about this and am wondering if I made a good decision.
2. I can't seem to discern a difference using the DRC button between "Interlaced," "CineMotion," and "Progressive." Am I to to believe that these modes only work on material that was captured on film? And, does it only work on certain video input modes?
Thanks.