NOT AN XBR

The Sony Bravia KLVS32A10 is a very respectable LCD unit with amazingly good sound in a well designed package.

Anyone buying an HDTV for the first time should do some very thorough research and make sure that they understand what they will get for their money and what they can expect. Otherwise they are likely to be disappointed with any quality HDTV and be putting one star ratings on the board for some pretty good products.

I did a lot of research a couple of years ago, and bought a 4:3 Sony XBR (tube type). It is a fabulous product, and with my television service and watching habits, it was absolutely the right TV for me.

This time I was looking to save space in the Master bedroom, and bought this unit. I didn't do as much research, and was looking specifically for a unit without side speakers, since the intended wall mount area didn't allow for anything bigger than a 32 inch unit. The KLVS32A10 fit the bill. I think the styling is pretty good.

When I started to watch TV using my comcast (not digital) feed, I remembered all of the things I had learned and forgotten from my prior research. When trying to take a 4:3 non digital signal with a few ghosts added in to 16:9 wide zoom, the result can be downright demoralizing. Some stations on my feed do pretty well, but the local broadcasts in the lower numbered channels are better viewed in the original (letterboxed) format. These look "fair to good" but are not any bigger than my 27 inch JVC picture that the unit replaced.

It doesn't have PIP (but then I can PIP the pants off the XBR and almost never use it). It has some amazingly good sound for a 32 inch unit. I haven't even hooked up my surround digital dolby yet...

Now, after being frank about the picture, I want to say that this is everything I should have expected. It is not the TV that is causing the lack of better quality, it is the lack of a better feed.

Comcast cable is overpriced and inconsistent, and I will move to Direct TV when and if that company ever figures out how to market their product. I am not buying in with 4 rooms of HD and no HD DVR if I have to pay rental on all of those units. They must have engineers doing their marketing (I am an engineer, and I have seen very few who care to or can do a decent job of marketing). Until then, I refuse to pay the Comcast crooks the extra money for the digital feed [great Internet connection] but $5 more for digital gets me 3 more converter box rentals for non-HD TV's in various rooms, etc. Charges never stop with Comcast, and the Dish TV adds portraying them as "pigs" is a pretty good one as far as I can tell. I grew up when people watched TV broadcast over the air for free (funded by TV adds which seem to still be present on most cable channels). I don't like paying nickel and dime charges for everything they consider 'added on'.

In my area and I understand in most of America, the best HDTV is broadcast free. Unfortunately, I only can pull in about 8 or 9 stations. Although a bit astray, this discussion is directly relevant to the unit being reviewed. If you use a poor quality feed, and you are disappointed because the television is accentuating the poor quality feed, this is probably not the televisions fault.

I bought a Samsung T451 set top box to put with this unit (I have one on the XBR as well) and it does just fine. DVD's vary in quality, but quality DVD's look great and if in a widescreen format, they do even better, even at 480P. NFL football is tough to beat off the open air broadcast in full HD with Digital Dolby sound... still I have to compromise on the regular cable TV, but should have expected it.

I would have rated this at 3.5 stars if it were available. This is a relative rating, comparing this unit to units much more expensive, like Sony's XBR. It is a very good rating relative to this 'standard'. LCD black doesn't yet match the old tube technology on my XBR and there aren't as many settings to play with, but it is a very good unit. I wouldn't have a plasma screen and could have bought a 42 inch for the same money as I paid on this unit. Although I don't intend to use it for a computer monitor, the 32A10 has the capability, and it is nice to know I have the option.

For the price, still a good buy, and I got back a lot of my bedroom.