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This is the second sony I have bought recently and will buy this kind again. This tv is wonderful. It is clear and has great sound and is the perfect size for my room.
If you look at the TV's sold here at Amazon, they all have a pedestal base and a wide aspect ratio with a black frame around the display. It even came in a rose color (I think they called it Mauve). The square look with the radius corners is very classy and very appealing aesthetically. I found I could get everything on my cable system without the need for their box (except on-demand and pay per view).
At first I only set up the analog channels and they were fuzzy just like before. I love it. The TV is very stable with the bracket in the back. They (comcast) use some funky locations though. Also better than any small TV I've had before and plenty good enough I don't feel a need to add speakers.
I think everyone in three counties lost their TV. They all look the same, and in fact, they all look exactly like all the computer monitors being sold today as well. This time the ATSC channels were picked up and like I said, I was stunned. Lots of inputs including HDMI, well placed controls and a well placed headphone output. I got the black one and was surprised to see the cabinet is white.
I pretty much only watch news and weather so the favorites menu is a godsend, though I wish it had more than eight presets. This set is beautiful and doubly so because of its uniqueness. It will stand up straight in a vertical position and feels plenty solid. A 100 lb. As good or better as any TV I've ever seen, including the 42" plasma Panasonic we got a while back.
I got only a few channels off the air before. The set picked up the same channels on several different bands. Sony has always been an innovator in both picture technology and TV set design. I took the time to write down the numbers for every channel as a reference, using the first band they appeared on. Highly recommended.
The 16x9 HD images have only a slight bar above and below the picture (thanks to the incredible black this set produces it's almost unnoticeable). Many things impress me about this set. The 16x10 ratio (as another review pointed out) is a perfect choice, making 4:3 full screen look a lot less distorted. They are a class act in every way, and the innovative styling of TV's like this one deserves a place in the Museum of Industrial Design. The reception was startling. The menu is easy to use and the remote is wonderful, uncluttered and has every function you could need. The picture quality is incredible once you get it tweaked the way you like it.
It's a beautiful combination with a slight white line around the black front, like a graphic design. I had no idea digital TV was going to improve things this much. Then I realized there was another step to the auto programming and did it again. I was an electronics retailer at the time (much closer to the epicenter) and we lost everything in the store. The bit about a strap to secure it probably comes from the fact that Sony's US headquarters is located in Brisbane, only about 60 miles from the epicenter of the Lomo Prieta Earthquake in 1989.
The blacks are amazing for an LCD and colors are true no matter what color temperature you choose. With this set and an old pair of rabbit ears I got about twenty channels and they all looked better than DVD's. This 19" LCD is another example of the brilliance of Sony design. The set's cabinet is heavy and very high quality. Sony btw was the best of all our vendors in helping us recover. At that year's CES show the Toshiba Rep told me it would take the rest of the industry years to catch up to Sony (again). One of the cool things about the XBR is it didn't look like every other TV being sold at the time. After that quake everyone was advised to strap their TV's, bookcases and the doors to cabinets securely.
By far the one aspect of this set that impresses me the most is the styling. 32" Sony flew about ten feet and smashed itself on a counter. None of them were ever clear. The opening along the bottom gives the impression the TV is floating. Their XBR series was a milestone when it was introduced. I'm in a rural area so I never expected it to be this good.As people said before, the sound is quite good. I don't know why they do this but it makes it hard to remember where stuff is.
The picture is outstanding (connected to Uverse via HDMI cable), sound is great, and the setup a no-brainer. Instead of having a stand under it, it has an easel-style back, giving it a small horizontal and vertical footprint. It is a great set at a very good price. I purchased this TV for my kitchen where I did not want a TV to be the focal point of the room. It is the perfect size, and because of the unique design (speakers hidden, "bounce" sound off bottom bar) it can be set up just about anywhere and look and work great.
It is also solid and easy to adjust how straight it stands up.Plus, using the exact same rabbit ears from the Sharp HDTV it's replacing in my kitchen, for over the air digital channels, the Sony has much better reception. This white Sony is also a very attractive unit and perfect to have in a nice kitchen. I'm able to pickup more digital channels then I could with the Sharp.I would certainly buy this Sony HDTV again. This is the second 19-inch LCD HDTV that I have bought, and the first Sony for this size.I bought this white Sony to place in my kitchen where I have had a black Sharp 19-inch LCD HDTV (which I moved to a bedroom). Well first I found that the color is bright and the blacks are solid giving it an excellent picture.
I tried to adjust the picture a number of times but finally realized I was trying to get the colors and resolution I was used to on the Sharp, which the Bravia apparently won't do. This Bravia replaced a Sharp Aquos counter top model which developed a shadow on the screen after about two years of use. I will probably be looking for a replacement set and relegate this one to a guest bedroom. If my set had true factory picture presets I can guarantee anyone else buying this set will be spending a lot of time trying to adjust the picture.In addition, unless you are viewing the set from directly in front and at set level the picture washes out excessively which is annoying since a kitchen set is usually viewed from a number of angles.I would definitely recommend viewing and comparing this set in a store before purchasing. It is larger (about 4") picture wise than the Sharp and was the largest set I could find that would stand on the counter and fit under an overhead cabinet. It runs off a Direct TV, non-HDTV signal.Factory preset picture settings were just awful with a very dark picture and odd glossy flesh tones.
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