Panasonic PT AX200U 720p 3LCD Home Theater Projector

March 1, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Electronics

Panasonic PT AX200U 720p 3LCD Home Theater Projector




The PT-AX200 is ideal for watching sports events or playing video games in daylight conditions and surely for viewing movies in a dark room. Powerful 2,000-lumen brightness and new Light Harmonizer 2 technology make it easy for people to enjoy vibrant, dynamic images even if they don’t have a special theater room. Together with the 2,000-lumens brightness, Panasonic’s Light Harmonizer 2 technology produces vivid and easy-to-see images even in the kind of bright lighting that makes images from other projectors look whitish, faded or lacking in detail. The Light Harmonizer 2 circuit not only adjusts the gamma curve, but also controls the iris setting, lamp power, and picture sharpness to maintain easy, comfortable viewing at all times. The PT-AX200 features a Game mode that improves signal processing for better response, allowing you to play games with minimal stress. It also reveals gradation in saturated areas to show details that are otherwise lost in very dark areas. The Pure Color Filter was born from Panasonic’s pursuit of optical technology that delivers true Hollywood picture quality. The light spectrum is adjusted to produce a level of light that maximizes the performance of the LCD panels, which expands the color range and produces truer blacks. The high definition picture of the PT-AX200 is remarkably smooth and film-like, while remaining amazingly sharp and detailed. Dynamic Iris has been refined to provide deeper, richer blacks for true image reproduction with stunning smoothness. This technology adjusts the lamp power, iris, and gamma curve according to data obtained from frame-by-frame histogram analysis of the image brightness level. The new Advanced Dynamic Sharpness Control determines image areas that need to be sharpened at varying degrees by examining small changes in brightness levels within the image. This greatly reduces noise amplification and delivers clear and natural looking images.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars best deal out there
best projector under [...] hands down.

I was looking for a projector that would be able to play nice with my Mac via a digital connection, do HD, be able to hook up an HDMI source, as well as an SD source and haven’t been disappointed at all!

NOTE: Not all DVD players are created equal and if you think your image looks kind of crappy, consider the source, I played a DVD through my PS2 onto this thing and it looked like crap, I could literally count the pixels, then I played a DVD through my Mac and I felt like I was sitting in a freaking theatre, it was pristine and clear and the colors were amazing.

I have mine hooked up to a receiver that up-converts my SD TV signal to 1080 and it looks alright (but what can you expect when you blow a 720×480 pixel image up to 92″!), though some channels I’ve noticed are better than others, it really shines when you play an HD source through it.

Sometimes you have to fiddle with the color/luminance options, but the good news is it has a ton options to tweak, and you can save profiles, so you basically tweak it once and load up different settings for different sources.

I play DVD’s out of my Mac into the pt-ax200u onto a 92″ screen via a cheap DVI-HDMI cable and it’s like being at the movies. Playing HD content off of fox.com is even better than what you see at the theater no joke! You seriously have to see it to believe it. And it works as nice big monitor, even though it’s native 1280×720, it’ll do 1920×1080 which is actually more than my regular flat screen monitor. I do video production and I can’t use it to accurately monitor the color and luminance levels of my photoshop projects and video projects, but it’s nice when you want to just sit back on the couch and get the work done that doesn’t involve tweaking colors or brightness/contrast levels.

A COUPLE OF THINGS TO NOTE:

I tried to the point of almost killing myself to get this thing to work right with a laptop running vista and couldn’t get it to do the same thing twice, the problem might be on Vista’s end (big surprise) but it’s something to be aware of.

Also if you get it you SHOULD NOT ENABLE ECO-MODE RIGHT AWAY.

I did that thinking I’d extend the life of my lamp and after 30 or 40 hours of use and noticed extremely annoying flickering. After searching forums about it I read that your supposed to “burn in” the lamp for like the first 500 hours or something by leaving it in normal mode. I switched it to normal mode and after an hour or so of use the flickering went away and I haven’t seen it back since almost 50 hours later.

ALso be aware of the lens shift difference between LCD and DLP projectors, the lens on this thing can move around a decent amount verses a DLP projector which can barely move the lens, if at all.

So bascially it’s not a perfect projector, but it works great with everything, really shines with HD content and you can’t beat the price.

3 Stars Worked great until the bulb went… at 290 hours
I don’t have too much to add on what other people have said – it’s a great projector. My projector-owning friends compared it quite favorably with the ones they own… it just has such bright, crisp images. I was very happy with my purchase.

However – the other day, after about one year and 290 hours of use (I am not a heavy user!), something was clearly wrong with the image. The colors were not saturated, the image was dull… brightness was lacking. One more evening of that, and then it wouldn’t start up – the “Lamp” indicator light was flashing. I will be ordering a new lamp, but it’s far from cheap. I’m pretty upset, as I don’t think I did anything in particular to make it die so early.

Hopefully this serves as a cautionary tale for those considering this product.

5 Stars I like it.
Bought this over a year ago and use it quiet regularly to watch movies on. No complaints, no issue. Operates great, never had any problems. Easy to setup and arrange.

Only the ‘energy saving’ feature sacrifices quality of picture, but what do you expect for less light to the bulb I suppose…

4 Stars great picture
Picture is outstanding right out of the box… even at 120 plus inches. would be even better if had 12v trigger. Still a great projector

5 Stars Haven’t been this satisfied with an electronics purchase in over a decade.
I’d been shopping around for a new gaming display for Wii, PS3, Laptop through DVI, and movies, for a very long time, to replace my monster 36″ 300lb CRT. First I went with a 46″ LCD that just had too much lag, GHOSTING, grayish blacks, banding on the image, all these problems, and ended up returning it. Then a friend recommended I try the projector route. I was at first skeptical but eventually read a bunch of very helpful reviews on projectorreviews.com, and decided to go with this one, as it is marketed by Panasonic as a “gaming projector”

4 months of owning it and now I would never go back to anything else. Ever. Every one of my friends who sees this thing in action says the same thing – even one who has a massive 1080p 70″ Sony rear projection set. This thing is just stellar, the image is sharp, very bright – even in a dimly lit room, and vibrant with great contrast and colors, no lag or ghosting, perfectly complements the high gain 100″ gray glass beaded screen I bought for it (I recommend these over a plain white any day – see pictures)

There is no rainbow effect since it is a 3LCD projector, it is fairly quiet and does not have any sort of screen door effect, and ghosting is very very minimal – no more than a CRT or any other display. It also has a crazy amount of advanced image tweaking options that I’ve never seen on even the most expensive sony XBR LCD’s.

The short throw lens is very flexible and can easily fill a 100″ screen from less than 24 feet. I place mine in front of the viewers, on a table, angled slightly up with its adjustable feet, and found it gave a better picture than putting it behind and high above viewers. The viewing angle is very good – much better than the LCD it replaced, and is best achieved by placing it with the lens closer to the level of your head. The lens can be shifted all over the place with the little joystick and locked into place by twisting it, and the focal and zoom rings are very precise and have a nice feel.

Sure, it’s not 1080p, and I wrestled with this issue a lot before buying it, but now I see that it really wouldn’t matter unless i was trying to push this thing past maybe 150″ or more. Also, most ps3 games only support 720p anyway, and the wii is only 480p – and taking into account the great value to performance ratio of this thing, I don’t miss 1080p at all.

Even taking into account the bulb replacement costs (about $250 for each ~2000 hour bulb), I still feel it’s worth it and cannot stress how much I love this thing. I beat Metal Gear Solid 4 on it and it was a transcendental experience to play through it on such a huge and beautiful display.

The only bad thing I can think of about this projector is that the lens cap is manual – you have to clip it on when you’re done. I would have preferred a nice automatic one that shuts over the lens when you switch it off.

One final note – this projector is MADE IN JAPAN! How often do you see that any more? All the LCDs and Plasmas I looked at were all made in china, taiwan, mexico and all these other places that I feel have much much lower quality control standards than Japan. Made me feel very good about this product.

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Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 400

February 22, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Electronics

Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 400




A versatile home theater projector, the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 400 ensures a true cinematic experience, with advanced video processing and maximum installation flexibility. Now you can view movies the way filmmakers intended you to see them, with incredible color and detail.In designing the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 400, Epson blended engineering ingenuity with the world of theater and art. Top-of-the-line technologies are hard at work in this projector, so you can enjoy the ultimate movie experience. Color settings are optimized for the ITU709 color standard, ensuring the most accurate HD quality available. And, with six specialized color modes, you get optimum performance, whatever the setting or situation. In addition, innovative Epson 3LCD technology offers the best possible image quality, even in dark areas of the picture. With one LCD panel each for red, green and blue, it’s truly a better way to see.The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 400 delivers a premium home theater solution. With HDMI connectors, you’ll enjoy true HD digital viewing. And, with Epson cinema filters, sharpness and gamma adjustments and many other advanced features, you’re sure to see the home theater experience in a whole new light.It’s all possible with this high performance projector, the ideal fit for any home theater setting.The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 400 is the next best choice to the top-of-the-line Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 800. Designed for professional home theater and the AV enthusiast, the PowerLite Home Cinema 400 provides maximum placement flexibility and has many of the same features as the Pro Cinema 800. With advanced video processing, the PowerLite Cinema 400 is an ideal solution for those looking for a premium HD solution with some cost savings.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars My first Projector! now in HD!
This review is probably more a complementary one to my already published HD Universe list-mainia piece. OK lets walk down the path again of what i wanted to do:

1. i made my decision on the DVD Wars format

2. I bought a high end Pioneer 24fps Bluray player

3. I am not planning on a big surround system except for a yamaha single closure system (which i wil connect directly to pioneer optical output)

4. The final piece was the actual eye candy!

I was doing allot of digging around with LCD vs Plasma vs SXRD vs LCOS from JVC and honestly when my brother in law pointed me in this direction, it was like a big slap on the face!!! when i saw this Powerlite in action i was instantly blown away.

I was made aware that in fact for me the cinematic true experience was in the size of the screen in addition to the actual Pixels being projected! i very much dumped the idea of a traditional windscreen box to watch my movies and opted for this gorgeous projector.

It was especially sweet because the store that carried this had no idea of what HD means! it was in a stock pile marked down in price too. i had no choice but to run home and grab my apple tv (loaded with some HD material) and test this puppy with HDMI hookup.

The contents were amazing and since apple TV shoots maximum at 720p, it was a match made in heaven. I didn’t really cared for 1080p vs 720p anymore. All that mattered now was 103′ diagonal view of actual 1 megapixel movie being projected on my white wall! Best part is all that eye candy from a Bluray 24fps player with digital optical for audio.

guys all i can say this piece is the ultimate in any HD mega setup.

5 Stars Epson Powerlight Projector
Great Product. It’s hi-def picture is incredible. It’s a little bulky, but its projected picture is wll worth it. It’s so bright, no screen is needed. Just a painted wall works fine. And it was delivered a week AHEAD OF SCHEDULE.

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Sony VPLAW10 720p High Definition Home Theater Projector

February 20, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Electronics

Sony VPLAW10 720p High Definition Home Theater Projector



User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars good workhorse, has advantages over DLP
I originally purchased the Mitsubishi HC1500 DLP projector, but had some problems with it. Ordered this one from amazon and put them side by side. This isn’t a review so much as a comparison between 3 Chip LCD and SINGLE CHIP DLP (which tend to be in the same price range). I actually liked the HC1500 a lot, but ended up keeping this SONY VLPAW10 for a number of reasons. It’s not perfect, and in some areas underperforms the DLP. Here’s the comparison.

Single chip DLP projectors create images by having a “chip” filled with thousands of tiny mirrors (1 per pixel on the screen) that can tilt up and down. When they tilt, they send light to the screen, when they don’t tilt, the light stays in the projector. This ends up creating wonderfully bright and brilliant images. The only problem with this setup is that there’s no color (just the white light is being directed) so the color needs to be introduced by spinning a color wheel in front of the chip. (in this case it’s a 7 segment red-green-blue-white-red-green-blue wheel. The problem is that the colors are therefore being created via an optical illusion, which for some people creates a “rainbow” effect where they see color rainbows in the white areas of the image. It’s very pronounced when there are credit rolls at the end of movies, or any other times there are high contrast black/white (or light/dark) areas. In a certain percentage of cases, the rainbow effect causes headaches and eyestrain It did so for me. (google “DLP rainbow effect” if you don’t believe me. There are such things as 3 chip DLP projectors that don’t need the color wheels and don’t create this effect, but they aren’t even close to being in the sub $1000 price range (they start at SEVERAL thousand dollars)

Three chip LCD screens actually have 3 panels (red green and blue) so they don’t need the spinning color wheel, they just project the light through the panels, and the colors line up on the screen if calibrated properly. They are not as bright and brilliant as the DLP images because the light is going through the panels, and not being reflected by mirrors which create more direct light. The LCD projectors also need more space between the pixels than DLP, and this ends up giving you a more visible “screen door”effect where you can actually see the faint black lines of the pixel grid if you sit close enough to the screen (as if you were looking through a door or window with an insect screen on it, hence the term “screen door”.

So that’s the background, here are the results of my side by side tests (accompanied by the media manager for a major lecture hall at an Ivy League university) who is a specialist in these kinds of things (I myself teach video production, so have some expertise here as well).

The Mitsubishi HC-1500 (1 chip DLP)

Advantages

+ about half the physical size of the SONY.

+ Image is brighter

+ colors are more saturated

+ no need for air filter

+ less screen door effect

Disadvantages

- potential for rainbow effect

- noisy (the spinning wheel makes a high pitched whine which is louder and more annoying than the fan)

- If you have a small room, you may not be able to fill a large projector screen with an image because this projector cannot throw a large image from as short a distance as the sony

The SONY VLPAW-10 (3 chip LCD)

Advantages

+ no rainbow effect

+ quieter

+ can throw larger image from shorter distance

Disadvantages

- Much larger than the mitsubishi

- Bulb not as bright, need darker room

- colors are less saturated

- has an air filter than needs to be changed periodically

- more screen door effect

- HDMI input on the rear has a bezel around it that will make it impossible for some of the cables with thicker ends to fit in. I had to change cables to get this to work

CONCLUSION

I went with the SONY. It’s not perfect, but for my needs it beats the Mitsubishi. I know there are a lot of die hard fans of the HC1500 and I’m sorry – but this is a fair assessment of my needs.

Some ways to mitigate the SONY’s disadvantages:

Neither tv will perform great in a bright room, so both of these are really best suited for rooms where you can control the light.

In terms of the saturation, if you’re watching DVD movies, then I think you’ll prefer the LCD since it creates more natural colors. The DLP is better for watching HDTV shows where the colors really pop (like CSI Miami). I use it mostly to watch movies, so don’t mind the less saturated and brilliant colors.

In terms of the “screen door” effect, I find this is minimized by defocusing the image just a hair. Yes the image is more soft, but this looks more like a projected image in a movie theater, and this is the effect I’m going for when watching movies on my projector, so it works great. It does not work as well to watch sports or news or other material that has lots of CG text up on the screen.

One last note, if you decide to buy it, the price of the sony does fluctuate on Amazon wildly ($[...] yesterday, $[...] today !!!). But I see it go up and down on an almost weekly basis. So time your purchase carefully!

5 Stars Fantastic Projector!
I have this projector ceiling-mounted in my basement and it is AWESOME. HD television and HD video games are very clear from a mounting distance of about 12 feet on a 92″ widescreen. Ambient light does not interfere with the picture as I have some windows near the basement cieling that I was worried would cause problems. Not the case, even in the middle of the day with the sun shining in the window, the picture is very clear and I have no issues. This projector is a great deal ($850) and you will not be unsatisfied. Easy to mount too – fits most universal mounts.

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Sony SXRD VPL VW40 1080p Home Theater Projector

February 20, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Electronics

Sony SXRD VPL VW40 1080p Home Theater Projector




The VPLVW40 BRAVIA home cinema projector uses Sony’s BRAVIA Engine & trade full digital video processor for crisp and clear images. A digital contrast enhancer circuit improves contrast by enhancing all areas from dark to bright in parallel with texture control providing a three dimensional picture. Details in dark areas of the picture are there, just like they are supposed to be. Sony’s Advanced Iris function uses algorithms designed to analyze the histogram of each picture along with nonlinear amplification to dynamically adjust the iris for its optimum opening. The result is a stunningly high contrast ratio of up to 15,000:1. A Sony-designed fan efficiently removes heat at a barely noticeable noise spec of 22dB. Advanced Sony technologies ensure a clean picture, while the ultra quiet fan means noise won’t distract you from the beautiful projections. A specially designed crisp focus lens was developed to take full advantage of the full 1920 x 1080 HD resolution that the SXRD panel device offers. SXRD is a display technology developed by the legendary television engineers at Sony to meet and exceed the demands of a high definition image at its full 1080-line resolution. It is a 1920 x 1080p panel characterized by several key benefits, including full HD resolution, smooth film-like image with minimal screen door effects, high response times (2.5ms rise and fall), high contrast ratios, and accurate color rendition. PC video input, remote network connections (RS-232C), 12V trigger input Acceptable signals – 480/60i, 480/60p, 575/50i, 575/50p, 720/50p, 720/60p, 1080/50i, 1080/50p, 1080/60i, and 1080/60p Ultra high-pressure lamp (200W) for natural color 900 lumens brightness 3DY comb filter DRC palette presets (mode 1, mode 2) Color system – Auto, NTSC, PAL, and SECAM Wide mode – Wide zoom/normal/full/zoom Dimensions – Width 15.55 x Height 6.83 x Depth 18.56 Weight – 24.25 pounds

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars 1080p front projection finally at an affordable price
I picked up the Sony VPL-VW40 to replace an aging 720p VPL-HS51 that has worked pretty well for over 3 years. One warranty repair was needed on the HS51 for a problem with the blue filter about a year and a half in, and it’s now out of warranty and was also about due for another lamp replacement so it seemed like a good time to upgrade.

I was a little worried that the VW40 might not be bright enough since it reportedly has a little lower maximum light output than the Epson 1080UB (which I also looked at), but I shouldn’t have been worried since I only project an about 85″ image (small room). To me the VW40 actually looks slightly brighter than the HS51 if anything. The big difference, though, is in resolution and black level. The image is much sharper and more detailed, especially with a 1080p source. I think it even looks somewhat better on upconverted content. It’s also quieter and I can’t even hear the fan noise unless I listen carefully for it. One thing I struggled with a bit is the sheer size and weight of the VW40. It’s a significant increase in both size and weight from the HS51 and I had to modify my home built ceiling mount to ensure it could handle it. It’s over 24lbs while the HS51 was less than 13lbs.

My reasons for choosing this model over the 1080UB include a couple of main factors. First, I’ve become accustomed to Sony projectors and I liked the similar features/connections/menus/etc. Secondly, the Sony is an SXRD (LCOS) projector vs the 3-LCD Epson. It has a sealed light path, so the need for a frequently replaced fine particle air filter is largely eliminated as is the danger of getting “dust blobs” in the picture. I’ve also heard some reports of convergence problems on the Epson. Otherwise, the performance of the projectors is very similar, with the Epson having a slight edge in maximum light output as well as black level, however both are so much better than the previous generation that the difference between them seems minor.

So far I’m very pleased with the projector’s performance, however, since it only comes with a 1-year warranty and my HS51 needed a warranty repair after more than 1 year I went ahead and got the extended warranty on this one, and would probably recommend that others do the same. As such you may want to factor that in to the total cost when comparing this unit with other models that may come with longer standard warranties (I believe the Epson has 2 years). I think you can even add the warranty to a refurbished unit if you want to make up for some of the extra cost, and Sony sometimes has an extra 10% off coupon for refurbished products.

4 Stars I’m in Heaven
I just hooked up my Sony vpl-vw40 projector and I’m very happy with it. I must admit that I have little experience and don’t have an extensive comparison backround, but it is more that I had hoped for. Nice blacks, vibrant colors. Also a very simple remote with intuitive functions. I just had over 20 people over- we watched “Night at the Museum” on Blue ray with a superb full 1080 res and then “Crouching Tiger” on traditional DVD. Upscaling to 1080p was great. Not quite as good as the BlueRay but pretty dang good for making up info. Everyone was amazed at the clarity. I hooked it to a Denon AVR-2308CI Home theater A/V Receiver and Fluance(tm) 5 Speaker SXHTB+ Surround Sound Home Theater System SX-HTB+. The speakers just boggle me. So much for so little. Anyways- there’s not any reviews I can see so far on this new projector, so hopefully this will be of use.

Jim

5 Stars A+
Phenomenal. Compared to a 52XBR5, it bests it in just about everything minus that 120hz motionflow the xbr5 has. Great price, much quieter than my PS3 and/or my xbox 360, for it is just about inaudible. Colors do need some tweaking out of the box. I would recommend a calibration dvd. No screendoor effect allows me to sit 8 feet close to a 103″ screen. Great flexibility as well.

5 Stars VPL-VW40
Only one word…..AMAZING…..The picture quality, the blacks, the contrast….all excelent. Thanks to Sony for make another great product.

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Sony Bravia W Series KDL 52W4100 52 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

December 9, 2008 by admin  
Filed under Electronics

Sony Bravia W Series KDL 52W4100 52 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV




Sony’s 1080p KDL-52W4100 with Motionflow 120Hz technology doubles the number of existing frames by calculating in real time and inserting 60 entirely new frames between the original 60 frames, this creates a new standard for picture performance, with smooth, lifelike image quality that responds to the demands of even the fastest moving images with ease. Full HD 1080p means the W4100 connections accept 1080p signals and the Display will render that signal in Full HD 1080p. Take full advantage of Blu-ray Disc players and PlayStation(R) 3 systems that can deliver 1080p content. The latest version of Sony’s respected BRAVIA Engine fully Digital video processor uses a collection of unique SONY algorithms to significantly reduce noise and produce sharp, vibrant, life-like images. With Advanced Contrast Enhancer (ACE) you get real-time image processing to dynamically adjust backlight levels for improved Contrast without masking details the filmmaker intended you to see. ACE delivers deep blacks in darker scenes, as well as fine details in shadows and other dark areas of the picture for a difference you can truly see. Add to that unique features like the enhanced Xross Media Bar(TM) with 3D graphics and integrated TV Guide program information, built-in DMeX functionality, and you can see why we call the W-series the new standard in 120Hz performance. Advanced Contrast Enhancer circuit (ACE) BRAVIA Engine fully Digital video processor 24p True Cinema capable DMeX capable New TV Guide IPG New Enhanced (XMB) User Interface with Rich 3D Graphics BRAVIA Sync capable S-Force Front Surround Voice Zoom BRAVIA Theatre Sync capable Dolby Digital V-Chip Parental Control VESA hole spacing compatible Piano Gloss Black color 1-Year Limited Warranty Input Ports – 4 x HDMI (1 Side/3 Rear), RF Connection, 3 x Composite Video (1 Side/2 Rear), S-Video, 2 x Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Input, PC in (D-Sub) + Audio

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Great: Price/Performance/Delivery
After going nuts for months analyzing HD TV specs and comparing 52″ sets in stores I bought a Philips 120hz model at Costo who do have a 90 day return policy as I was leery of buying something this big and fragile on-line with cross-country shipping.

Long story short, the Philips had a few issues, it was returned, and I “bit the bullet” and went with Amazon for the W4100. My considerations went by the way because the TV arrived in six days, was unboxed and put on a stand by the bare handed White Glove guys, and the set has run as advertised.

The sets I compared were the Samsung 650, the Philips, and the Sony 4100. 120hz was important consideration for sports and action movies, and I didn’t want to spend over two grand. The Samsung’s screen is nearly as reflective as most plasma sets, a deal breaker for my very bright room. The Philips was best for that but for its power-cycling, re-sizing, and sound issues.

Watch for Amazon deals on this TV. For the price of the warehouse store Philips, I got a TV that has more features, a marginally better picture (although a bit more reflective), and a Sony Blu-ray S350 and four movies thrown in! And this doesn’t cover the included delivery and set-up.

Sony Bravia W-Series KDL-52W4100 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

5 Stars Sony Bravada 52 inch LCD T
The TV is fantastic!! Great picture and sound!! I cannot thank Amazon enough for this product, the price was the best I have ever found and the shipping was excellent! Ordered the TV on a Monday, it came that Friday! Thanks Amazon!!

5 Stars Amazon Customer service absolutely first rate 100% tops!!!
I ordered the Sony 2 weeks ago, after doing some research, in part because of Amazon’s great price, and the reviews I read here. I admit, I was a tad nervous about ordering a big-ticket item from an online retailer, having never done it before. The set arrived exactly when scheduled, the afternoon of the 11th. The guy from my cable company came the next morning, the 12th, to hook it up. We take it out of the box, put it on the stand. He connects it, turns it on..we have sound, but NO picture. So we call Sony..they say try a few things..( thank God the cable guy is here) no luck..NO pic..nada..zilch…so Sony gives me an Event #..( sounds like a FEMA event) and the number for one of their authorized repair outfits..I call, and the guy arrives the NEXT day, the 13th, on time, exactly when scheduled.a miracle..We lay the set face down on a blanket, he takes it apart..tests a bunch of stuff..he thought there might have been a loose connection..no joy..he calls Sony, on his tech support line..they go through more options..finally decide that the whole panel, AND possibly one or two boards, are kaput, and have to be replaced. It will take a week or so to get them, and then they have to turn my living room into a TV repair shop. At this point I say to myself..NO WAY..not gonna happen..so I call Amazon..just start to tell my story to the lady who gets my call…after one minute, she says “SIR, STOP!!! I’m so sorry that happened to you.. We’ll send you out a new set today, and the people who deliver it weill pick up the old one at the same time..” I am stunned. NO WAY it can be this easy. Truly a great way to do business. BTW…talking tot he repair guy and the Sony tech, it seems like it’s unheard of for a set to be bad right out of the box…neither of them new of it ever happening before. All I can say, if I had boufght it from Best Buy or Circuit City, no way would they have been as eager to send me a new one..so, for me..I’m 100% sold on Amazon…however..I’m gonna miss all the footballgames theis coming weekend on my big new set…

5 Stars Great TV
Did a lot of research on LCD tvs and actually purchased a much larger type. Our son talked us into returning it and purchasing this Sony for the 120 hz and we’re glad we did. Picture is fantastic. No complaints. Amazon delivery was perfect as well.

5 Stars Great product
I was a little leery to purchase such an expensive and delicate item over the internet and have it delivered to my home. I have to say that I can’t be more pleased with my purchase. The television arrived quickly and in perfect condition via Amazon’s “white glove” delivery, and I have been enjoying my favorite programs in HD ever since!

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