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| Picture Quality | |
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Sony KDL-52W3000 Review
Users Reviews & Ratings:
Most bang for the buck -
Was a little leary about changing from a Sony 1080i 34 inch Trinitron, but this one does very well. Albeit not as sharp as the tube, but still damn good.
Opted to spend a couple hundred more and buy this from a big box store, was just too worried about getting a bad copy and the pain of a return. Brought it home myself in a small size pickup, and my 14 y/o daughter and I had it set up in under an hour. So if you can get help and are reasonably technically inclined save the $$ on the installation.
Enjoying the playoff games on a the big screen!
Excellent HDTV -
Couldn’t be more happy. The XBR has a faster refresh rate that is a little noticeable, but this Bravia is super for $1,000 less. We have this TV in a large family room with lots of windows. Our old projection TV usd to get washed out in the daytime, but this Sony LCD overcomes the bright windows with ease. And the viewing angle is nothing short of incredible. The TV adjusts to the type of incoming signal, so there is no manual adjustment like on some of the cheaper LCD HDTVs. Sounds is very good, and there are plenty of inputs. Free shipping took just two days with Eagle USA. What a great deal!
Yabba Dabba Dooo -
I purchased the Sony Bravia KDL-52W3000 52″ TV from Amazon.com after reading reviews that this TV is as sharp as the XBR’s and the Samsungs. I’ve heard and have personally experienced problems getting parts from Samsung. Even under warranty, you dont want to have to wait weeks for parts. So I bought the Sony and it blows away my expectations. Here is my setup:
Sony TV is plugged into an APC AV H15BLK Power Conditioner (also purchased from Amazon.com) because my home has substandard RG59 wiring which is susceptible to harmonic interference. I also have problems with minor power fluctuations. Even though the power conditioner is a surge protector, I plugged it in to a panamax Max 2 surge protector so it will take the hit in the event of a surge and not screw up my $380 power conditioner.
The picture is clean and amazing. I cant wait for the superbowl. HD programming is supurb. Regular programming is good as well. I use the vivid mode for cartoons, standard for regular TV, and cinema or my custom settings for football. Setting the TV on cinema or customizing it will smooth out the picture for fast moving sports.
The sound is great in custom mode. Just crank up the voice boost. It wont interfere at all in regular programming and it is absolutely wonderful when watching the news. The difference between the regular sound and custom sound is very noticeable so by all means customize it the way you like it!
Be sure to only use HDMI 1.3 Category 2 cables because this TV has the capability to separate the colors more for a better picture, but only if you use cables that are compatible.
I was concerned about late delivery because I had scheduled Eagle Delivery to come on New Years Eve and the installer was coming on New Years Day. When Eagle didn’t arrive by early afternoon, I gave the local warehouse a call and they put me in touch with the delivery supervisor who gave me the driver’s cell phone. I was able to do some shopping and made an appointment directly with the driver for 9pm. He showed up just after 9pm. I praise Eagle’s responsiveness to my needs.
Eagle is now part of CEVA Logistics and you can track your package or call the customer service number for your local warehouse once your package gets there (www.cevalogistics.com).
My recommendation is to purchase from Amazon.com. I’ve read a lot of reviews that state that people spent the extra money to buy from a big box store. All you are doing is spending more money AND paying sales tax to boot. As for me, I will continue to buy from Amazon.com and have CEVA deliver it to my door. Yes I was fortunate that the TV has NO dead pixels, but then I’ve never seen a dead pixel in a Sony TV although I have seen some in the smaller Samsungs. I usually check all of the high end TV’s when I’m at my local warehouse store and havent found a single dead pixel in any Sony TV of any size. It does happen according to the delivery driver, but Sony is pretty good about purchasing only the highest quality samsung LCD screens.
Stop your indecision and buy this TV. You will thank me for it! I’ve already received almost $120 back due to Amazon’s 30 day price guarantee!
Fantastic TV, Phenomenal Picture, Sony - way to go! -
1080p, v1.3 HDMI, fantastic picture, all the latest technologies and it’s a Sony. Nothing much else to say but this TV is awesome. You won’t be disappointed. My buddy has a Pioneer 50″ 1080p plasma that costs almost twice as much and this LCD blows it away in picture quality, life like color reproduction and doesn’t show any reflections like the plasma definately does. I also own a Mitsubishi 52″ 1080p DLP and did not think the picture could get any better and I was wrong, way wrong. This TV has a phenomenal picture that I have yet to see on any other TV that I have looked at.
Great choice -
I spent many moths reading up on LCD and Plasma HDTVs and visiting every local showroom multiple times. Also reading all the posts on AVS for every TV of interest. I had held of purchasing a TV because I felt the 120Hz sets were likely to be the first ones I would consider due to motion blur. Those came out and I started doing live compares and reading the posts and reviews on various sites. It became apparent that a) the non-120Hz sets are doing very well with motion blur these days and b) 120Hz doesn’t really help with motion blur to any noticeable extent (but adds a lot to the price). I argued with myself for a long time but decided even though 120Hz felt like “insurance” on image quality there just wasn’t evidence to really support it. I looked at Sharp, Samsung etc. as well as comparing the 52″ W3000 and XBR4. I ultimately settled on the W3000 from a local store so I could return it if I was disappointed after viewing it. I never once considered returning this thing as the picture quality is phenominal (on HD and good quality SD feeds). No clouding, no banding, no dead pixels, nor any of the other horror stories you read about in reviews on every brand. As one review I read some time ago said, the PQ on these sets is so high you can find yourself glued to the set watching some show that is of absolutely no interest to you but which has great HD imagery. I’ve kept following AVS posts on the main brands I considered and on the whole the W3000 maintains a strong positive set of feedback. I recommend it without hesitation. I have my paired with a Toshiba A20 for 1080/24p output and it is a great and troublefree combination.
<< Click HERE to Read The Latest Sony Bravia KDL-52W3000 User Reviews >>
Bought my KDL52W3000 from Sears on one of their sales in November 2007. $2,400 out the door seem like a pretty good deal on this TV.
It worked beautifully for about 14 months until it started to develop horizontal lines on the right side of the screen creating a ghosting image. If I turn it off for a while, the picture comes back to normal. But eventually, the problem comes back. I didn’t get extended warranty cause didn’t imagine that such a TV could go so bad so soon.
Pixel problems seems common for this TV based on the reviews.
I’ve been a big fan of Sony products especially of their tube TVs. Not any more.
I’m regretting not picking up the Samsung next to it.
My sister took a Samsung at the time and the picture seem more alive. I didn’t get the Samsung because it had a glossy screen which can be bad when viewing in front of windows and such. But the glossy screen makes the contrast and black level so much better.
No more Sonys for me unless it’s 50% off or better cause that’s what I feel is worth.
If you’re shopping for a TV, picture quality is important, but reliability is just as important because it can be very frustrating to see your money on the curb.
I have used this model for twelve months, picture was beautiful and crispy, after that it started showing verticle lines, it used to disapear after some time, as the warranty was just over we were worried about our losses, one of my inlaws suggested to me that if it is bought using American Express Card the warrenty is autometaically extended by one year, I contacted American Express, they visited my home and immiediately took action and credited the charged amount!
This 2 star rating is just for Sony, if it is other brand i would have given 3, nobody expects a LCD panel to be replaced with in 9 months from the purcahse date, loved the picture quality for 8 months, after that a thin vertical line started to appear on the left side of the screen it will remain for few mintues but after that it will disappear, when checked with SONY they told me to contact the local repair shop, repair person came and told me that panel needs to be replaced, since it was under warranty they replaced it for free, but still i didnt expected this from SONY.
I’ve absolutely loved this T.V. for 9 months, then the screen went blank. I can’t complain about the warranty/repair process so far (although they intend to replace most of the components to avoid giving me a new T.V. and a new warranty). If, like me, this is your first time buying a T.V. of this price, keep in mind the factory warranty is only one year, and the these LCD T.Vs are clearly more trouble-prone than our old picture tubes.
The picture clearly rates “5 stars.” I rated it 2 Stars because I expected my $2200 T.V. to last at least a year.
I’ve had this TV for three years. I don’t have any complaints about it. One day, it simply quit working. I called the extended warranty company, they came out, said the entire panel needs to be replaced. Now they’re going to buy me out so I can buy another TV.
Very disappointing that this TV only lasted three years. I’m glad I bought the extended warranty. I normally don’t buy them but back in 2007, Consumer Reports said the life of LCD’s was unknown and that they are very expensive to repair. So I spent the money for one. Now I’m glad I did.
All I can say, is that this TV was perfect until it died. I was very happy with it. Mine was in a very bright room and there was no loss of color on the TV. I had lots of sunlight coming in and the picture quality was the same no matter how bright the room was. I also like that this TV does not have a piano finish. I did not want reflection off of the sides of the TV’s due to all the sunlight and reflection that our family room has.