Sony KDF-55XS955 55-Inch HD-Ready LCD Projection Television Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've had this TV for about 2 months now. I've connected an HDTV cable box via HDMI, progressive DVD player via component input and TIVO through S-video. So far the TV has performed extremely well, no problems to report. I've also been very impressed with the sound this TV produces. It's so good that I don't normally bother to run normal TV through my AV receiver.
Standard definition looks better than I expected for both straight cable broadcasts and through the TIVO recorded on medium quality. DVD look very good, but the true HDTV sources really shine with this TV - the Olympics were amazing!
The display is bright enough that I actually watch it with the bulb in "reduced" mode (even in the day) to extend the bulb life.
I've had no problems, and as suggested for anything projection systems I've got the TV hooked up to a UPS in case of power failure, and I did spring for an extended warrantee with bulb replacement.

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Go for gold with Sony's stellar, 55-inch KDF-55XS955 rear-projection LCD television. The big-screen, flat-panel set delivers standard and full-fledged HDTV reception right out of the box through its integrated NTSC and ATSC (HDTV) tuners. It also offers digital cable readiness with a CableCARD slot and the latest digital-video interface, HDMI. Weighing a mere 105 pounds and standing just 19 inches deep, the set also offers maximum image with minimal space investment.The set's 1,366 x 788 liquid-crystal display frees you from having to make convergence adjustments or having to worry about image burn-in. Instead you get incredible detail (more than 3 million pixels), high contrast, and even, corner-to-corner brightness from the set's user-replaceable 132-watt UHP (ultra high pressure) lamp.The screen features a wide, 16:9 aspect ratio to match the dimension of most movies and HDTV broadcasts, and the KDF-55XS955 offers compatibility with standard-definition 480i, enhanced-definition 480p, and high-definition 720p and 1080i signals.Sony's CineMotion 3:2 pulldown detection and reversal is a handy feature for watching progressive-scan movie programs in their native 24-frame format. Digital video mastering introduces a common distortion when adjusting 24 frames-per-second movies to 30 fps video; 3:2 pulldown digitally corrects this distortion, removing the redundant information to display a film-frame-accurate picture.The set's WEGA Engine system maximizes picture performance from any video source by minimizing the number of digital-to-analog conversion processes. This full digital processing engine includes Sony's MID-X (Multi Image Driver), which maintains the integrity of a converted signal by minimizing image loss in the scaling process; and a proprietary optical engine, which employs a trio of Sony's wide-XGA, high-resolution LCD panels, 1 for each of the RGB signals (resulting in a total of 3.28 million dots of resolution).The optical engine also features a special 11-element lens system responsible for the lightweight, ultra-slim cabinet. The lens system bends the light path, creating an ultra-short focal point while maintaining high brightness. This proprietary system delivers vivid images from the center of the screen all the way to the edges.This XS Series Grand WEGA television offers advanced menu functions that are typically found only in service menus: gamma correction (bright and dark balancing), black correction (enhances contrast), white balance (fine-tunes white intensity), detail enhancement (sharpens the picture), and clear white (emphasizes whites).The set includes numerous other features.
TwinView PIP (picture-in-picture) lets you view any 2 sources simultaneously, even at different image resolutions, while the built-in Memory Stick media slot offers ready display of both JPEG images and MPEG-1 video.
A Memory Stick media slot (compatible with Memory Stick Pro and Memory Stick Duo media) grants convenient viewing of JPEG and MPEG-1 files. It can also display customized slide shows using MP3 files for background music.
Authorized CableCARD ability means the set will receive digital cable television systems services directly from the cable operator without requiring a bulky, external cable box.
Live Color is an innovative circuit that emphasizes blues and greens without affecting reds for a more natural, vivid picture. Choose from 3 enhancement levels (high, medium, low) or "off."
Sony's exclusive S-Master 1-bit digital amplifier produces 5 watts per channel (x 2), pumping an additional 20 watts into a built-in subwoofer for rich, full-bodied sound from movies and music.
HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a lossless, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface to link the set with any audio/video source (such as a set-top box, DVD player, or AV receiver).What's in the Box TV, remote control, remote batteries, a user's manual, and warranty/registration information.

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