This past December I purchased a new television for my new apartment in the Buffalo area. After taking many factors into consideration, and changing my mind about the features I was looking for, I eventually ended up with a 30" Sony WEGA HDReady TV.
These days, searching for an HDTV should involve looking both locally at brick-and-mortar stores for the physical aspects of the displays, and online for the most competitive pricing.
From the onset I had envisioned getting a 30-32 inch LCD panel. My desire for something sleek and impressive was overwhelming, and LCD TV's give that effect today. Unfortunately they are fairly expensive for large displays (27"+).
However, features such as static pixels, and a natural ability to be used as a computer monitor still drew me in. I still wanted to consider an LCD display... I would just have to look for the cheapest ones.
A search for low price LCD TV's today yeilds such names as Olevia (a new manufacturer), Westinghouse (think lightbulbs), and Mitsubishi (think cars). None of them give you a comforting feeling of confidence when compared with names such as JVC, Sharp, and Sony. (Sharp for a long time has not been included with such names as Toshiba, Sony, and Panasonic; But the company has literally led the way for amazing LCD displays, and their LCDTV's are now considered among the best in consumer electronics for image quality.)
After eventually ruling out getting an LCD Display (There is no good quality 30 inch display available for under $1000.00), I decided on a SONY KV-30HS420, as pictured above. After 4+ months of use, I can attest that the TV is fantastic for what it is.
Features: To be honest, the TV isn't heavy on features. Mostly it serves as an excellent quality traditional TV/ superior monitor. This HD Capable TV does not feature an HD Tuner, and I don't mind, because I wouldn't have gotten over-the-air reception anyway, seeing as I live in the basement level of my apartment complex. All menu's are above average in terms of ease of navigation. The feature I use most often on the display is actually the zoom features on the TV. Currently I regularly watch an Xbox 360, 1080i upconverting HDMI DVD player, standard definition antenna broadcasts, and s-video output from my ATI video card equiped PC. Between all these sources, it is often necessary to vary the aspect ratios/ zooms of the display, and I've noticed that the Sony provides one very useful feature; it's called "Wide Zoom", and it is fantastic at stretching out a 4:3 image to an approximate 16:9 image. Instead of grabbing the image and stretching everything out (making everything and everyone look fat), the tv applies a geometric algorithm of what Sony describes as 5 lenses, to the image. As a result, the people and places you are watching, dont appear stretched out at all, and very little of the original image is cut off. It really is a remarkable feature, and I was recently surprised to learn that it isn't offered on all of Sony's 16:9 displays. It really takes the worry out of watching 4:3 programming with "bars" on the sides, as I can fill up the entire screen, and never feel like the picture is skewed, or awkwardly stretched.
Quality: The Image quality is excellent, blacks can be truly black, and build quality of the remote, and external case of the monitor are fantastic. Colors are appropriately saturated, and lines on the monitor are absolutely crisp. Although I havent watched HD TV programming, I do have HD signals running out of the upconverting DVD player, and also the Xbox 360. Both provide unbelievably clear images on the screen.
The Stand: Stands are always an issue with flat screen TV's, thats why I wanted to make mention of the stand. As a former home theater professional, I knew before getting this TV that I would definitely be needing a new stand, as my previous 10 year old 27" stand would not be able to take the incredible weight of all the glass used in SONY's Trinitron/ Flat screen monitors (details below).
On top of that, I now had to accomodate a Widescreen TV. That meant that a traditional 32" TV stand for a 4:3 monitor, might not work for my 30" widescreen TV. If you purchase a 32" stand, and expect it to fit your 30" widescreen TV, think again. I purchased a new 36" television stand, to accomodate my new 30" widescreen TV, and its a perfect fit. Actually it looks fantastic with the TV on it, as the dimensions of the TV, and those of the stand are very close in shape and size. So remember to think deliberately about your choice of TV stands, otherwise you could be dissapointed with the results.
Weight: Another factor I want to mention in TV selection is the weight of the Television. CRT Tubes TV's are the heaviest type of Television, followed by Rear projection TV's, then Plasma, then LCD displays. This Sony weighs approximately 165 lbs! You can see why I wanted to mention it. Luckily I'm a young, strapping lad with plenty of friends. If I wasn't, I would have definitely looked more closely at a different display technology.
Remote: I've liked Sony's remotes for quite a while actually. They are large, typically easy to read, and ergonomic. Their styling typically reflects the styling of the unit they control (unlike some other manufacturer's who contract their remote's design to third-party manufacturers). All buttons are easy to reach, and none are too-small to easily operate. Sony's television remotes today all feature the ability control a separate cable box and dvd/ vcr. I can attest that this remote does an excellent job of controlling my new Sony DVP-NS70H DVD player (most major functions except Menu button).
HDMI: A quick note about HDMI. This television has one HDMI port, which I am using with my upconverting DVD player. Although HDMI is a fairly new technology, I can already see that it will be the new standard in AV connections. Its ability to transfer fully digital video and audio signals in one cable (up to 1080p easily, and 5.1 digital audio standard) and the simplicity of the connectors (like a USB cable) are sure to usher in a new era of simple, high quality connections among components.
So there you have it, my brief review of the Sony KV-30HS420. An excellent quality HDTV Monitor, with exceptional display properties. I want to wrap up this review by mentioning that I am not a Sony follower. In fact in my past work as an AV sales associate, I used to be anti-Sony because of the above average pricing (for similar quality/features) versus other manufacturers. The reason I ended up with this Sony display is actually based on that point. I got a terrific deal on the monitor from Sony direct at Sonystyle.com. If it were'nt for the great price I got by negotiating with them over the phone, I most likely would have ended up with a similar quality (lesser priced) Panasonic TV.
So thats it! If you have any questions, please feel free to write them in the comments, I would be happy to answer them as updates to this post.
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