Grand WEGA KDF-60WF655 60" LCD Projection TV (16:9, HDTV)

Manufacturer: Sony
Model: KDF60WF655
Diagonal Screen Size: 60 in
Input: A/V (Composite)|Analog Coaxial(RF)|Front A/V (Composite)|Front S-Video|HD Component Video|HDMI|S-Video
Comb Filter: 3D Digital
Audio Format Supported: BBE High Definition Sound|SRS
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (Widescreen)
: Number of User Reviews: 12

Reviewed by: blankman from NY on Jan 28, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 7 Days

Strengths: Fantastic picture quality, vivid color, sleek design, great value for the price.

Weaknesses: Takes about 30 seconds to warm up, channel changing could be faster, remote could be a little better designed.

Summary: Amazing picture. We compared this model against samsung, hitachi, toshiba, jvc, panasonic, mitsubishi, rca, and zenith in side to side, picture to picture comparisons at various dealers and this sony unit blew them away. The clarity, color, resolution of this tv is incredible especially on HD tv.

We chose the 60" model because the picture size in the standard broadcast 4:3 mode is 40" wide by 30" high which was exactly the same as our old 50 "wide screen hitachi. If we went with the 55" sony model we would have lost about 4" in width and 3" in height so we decided to go with the 60". All of the stores we visited had the tv's playing an HD channel so it completely filled the rectangular screen. As soon as you changed the channel to a standard broadcast, 6" inches from each side was cropped off. Also when you play a wide screen dvd it crops a little off the top and bottom and does not fully fill the screen. This tv offers a variety of screen formats that can stretch a 4:3 broadcast to widescreen or zoom in a widescreen picture.

Our viewing distance on this tv is about 14 feet. Even at 8 feet the picture is wonderful. This tv is large and can be a little overwelming. Our viewing area is about 17' by 15' and fits well. Any room much smaller may make the 60" tv seem a bit large.

When watching HD tv I am still amazed by the detail this tv displays. You can actually see an actor's bloodshot eyes, and see the fine threads in their clothing. Outdoor scenes are awesome and look like you are looking out your window. Well... enough about the great picture.

Can't say much about the sound system since we have a separate surround sound system.

Be careful when you purchase a tv on line. PriceGrabber is a great forum for feedback on equipment and dealers. There are many places that sell refurbished units at discounted prices. There are also places that claim to be sony authorized dealers but are not. Your best bet is to call sony and find out if the dealer is an authorized sony dealer. We purchased this unit on line from electronics expo and saved $1600 over the retail stores in our area. I would recommend purchasing the matching stand. A little expensive but very well constructed and matches the tv perfectly.

I would not recommend purchasing the extended warranty from the dealer where you buy the tv. It is expensive, ranging from $400-$600 for a 4 year warranty. You can purchase a 4 year extended warranty direct from sony for $229. You can do this up to 11 months after you purchase your unit.

Another big plus for this tv is you can use a cable card from your cable company without having to rent their cable box. The monthly charge for the cable card is $1.75 vs $6.95 for the cable box. The only disadvantage of the card is you can't get pay per view and you don't get the premium channel guide. You can get the HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax guide on line. HBO and Showtime have a HD station which is included in the HD package for $4.95 a month.

Overall we had a good experience purchasing this unit on line. Do your home work and compare features and picture at your local dealer and then make your decision. The picture in your home in most cases will be better what you see at a dealer because the signal at the store is probably split 100 times to feed all the tv's. Keep in mind that returning an on-line purchase because you got it home and didn't care for it could result in a significant re-stocking fee of up to 25% plus shipping.

You will not be disappointed by purchasing this tv. Hope this review was informative and helps in your decision making.

Reviewed by: kummermd from MI on Dec 27, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 7 Days

Strengths: Picture quality and brightness. Ease of use and set-up. Remote control. Size. On-screen features. Built-in HDTV tuner.

Weaknesses: Long start-up time. Sound system is average.

Summary: This TV has a truly outstanding picture! I've seen many LCD TV's, and SONY clearly leads this market in my estimation. The size is perfect for a large room, the remote control is easy to use, and setting everything up is simple. The built-in tuner picks up over-the-air HDTV stations very well. The HDTV and DVD quality are as good as you'll find in any LCD TV. Viewing Memory Stick pictures is easy and a real pleasure on such a huge screen. A few channels don't come in well, which is likely a function of my cable company rather than the TV. The only minor drawbacks are the 30-45 second start-up time and a basically average sound system. As with any TV this size, a surround sound system is a necessity for full enjoyment. Also, remember that bigger is not always better. The 50" or 55" models would be better for many living rooms: this TV could actually be a bit overpowering in an average-sized room. Bottom-line: You won't find a better LCD TV.

Reviewed by: azor96 from MA on Jan 12, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 14 Days

Strengths: Picture, sound

Weaknesses: None so far

Summary: After reading the reviews several tv brands I decided getting the Sony Wega KDF-60WF655. It has a beautiful picture and the sound is very powerful. One strong plus on this tv is that it does not need anything else extra to recieve High Defination, as some brands are only HD ready. Comcast is coming out with the chip that this tv uses and therefore it will not need a cable box to receive HD channels. The colors on this TV are extremely good. The other factor that made me choose this TV is the being able to play games without worrying if it is going to burn through the screen, as the plasmas are known for.

Reviewed by: sweethrt from KS on Feb 6, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 14 Days

Strengths: Great color and digital pictures. Sound was good even before home theatre installation.

Weaknesses: Packing was almost as heavy as tv.

Summary: TV has great color and sound. Digital signals from cable & dvds are exceptional. After getting this hdtv I was glad that we opted for the 60 inch instead of a smaller one.

Reviewed by: prusnak from NJ on Jan 13, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 7 Days

Strengths: The Multi-ARAS CRT Coating, the flat, glass CRT faceplate is coated with layers of anti-reflective and anti-static compounds to minimize reflections and dust build-up on the screen.

Weaknesses: The dark images still need work with this technology. Contrast level still can not adapt to dark images.

Summary: This High definition LCD projection TV provides a true home theatre experience. The Hi-Scan 1080i? display and an ATSC integrated tuner makes this SONY product an excellent choice for the person who wants a great value for the price. I have not used the Digital Cable Ready with CableCARD? slot but having it available for future use is a benefit. The slim, lightweight design make this a perfect choice for a room where the old projection TVs just wouldn't work.Enhanced Memory Stick? media playback is great if you have a sony digital camera.

Reviewed by: Colinmb from FL on Apr 11, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 2 Weeks

Strengths: HDTV Picture quality. Number of inputs/outputs.

Weaknesses: NTSC picture quality. Flat sound through standard speakers.

Summary: Great tv. Has outstanding HDTV picture quality. Very vivid colors and clarity. Had many problems with the non-HD reception but was able to get an acceptable picture after the addition of a signal amplifier for my cable. Seems to enhance any cable line quality issues and the signal amplifier was a tremendous help. Can't wait for more HD channels. Only get 6 from my cable company and 10 local stations from my HD antenna. Sound seems to be flat with the built in speakers and would only recommend them as a last resort. Wish it would up-convert standard audio to digital/optical output so I wouldn't have to switch sources on my amp.

Reviewed by: leppa9 from MD on Dec 11, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 2 Weeks

Strengths: large viewing screen, hdmi input, built-in hdtv receiver, twin view, improved and fancier menu than the previous XXwe610 gen models, keeps up with action video (unlike DLPs), memory stick slide show

Weaknesses: black levels are not the best (since its LCD), takes a few seconds after pushing power to fully bring up the screen, can hear the bulb fan with extended viewing of quiet programs or after turned off

Summary: I bought this TV around Thanksgiving (Black Friday) as my first large screen HDTV (previous was a Sony 53S70). I was looking at the 65WS550 (c:huge, p:better blacks, c:convergence issues, p:more adjustable via service menus) but it was just too big to fit in my place so I went the LCD route (p:slim, c:possibility of dead pixels, p:no refresh problems, c:lamp replace?) for its slimness and because of its advantages over DLP (p:slightly better blacks, c:action pixelation) when viewing sports. I went with the Sony because I use Memory Sticks and its really cool to put mp3s and pics on one (not a MagicGate / MS Duo one) and have it do the slide show for you. The scalable Twin View POP (picture out of picture) mode is nice but unfortunately ONLY the LEFT side can display HDTV input (HDMI or converted component). Unfortunately there is no PIP mode or other elaborate picture modes like the Hitachi tvs have but you can move the image up/down/left/right like the Hitachi tvs (its just called something odd in the Sony tv menu). The built in HDTV receiver is awesome! I just connected an old vertical power antenna and deleted the analog stations from the list so most my tv viewing is digital and HD (e.g. I deleted NBC 4 and now watch NBC 4.1). It has a CableCard slot but if your tv company has Video OnDemand and you want that then you supposedly still have to get/rent a receiver. One big note is the black levels -- its LCD so the limitations can jump out at you in mostly black or dark scenes (i.e. black ends up like the blank screensaver on your computer, like an illuminated dark blue-black since I guess they can't completely turn the pixel off because the video signal may need to immediately change it) -- however if there is a hint of color like a guy wearing a dark blue suit you can't really notice it (Note it is NOT like the horrid older LCD tvs where black=> dark gray). I bought this over other Sony's because of price and also all the complaints and problems I saw with the 60XS955 -- the sony tv one step above which has another connection for each input type (+1 HDMI,S-video,composite) and better speakers. The 60XBR950 is the next step above and looks great but is way too much money. Final notes: Pushing power the tv comes on but its takes about 10-30secs for all the color to show (i.e. the tv to fully reach whatever brightness level you have programmed) and the fan is only noticeable when the tv is off and running to cool down the bulb.

Reviewed by: jhconjr from FL on Dec 31, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 3 Months

Strengths: Picture, value, form factor, no 'burn-in' issues

Weaknesses: Questionable long term reliability

Summary: After considerable thought and and a lot shopping, I decided to purchase a Sony KDF-60WF655. The picture (color saturation and resolution) have been very impressive. The new Sony LCD projection TVs are a dramatic improvement over the previous editions (at least all the versions I had seen). The brightness and black levels are not quite as good as the new Samsung DLPs I saw, (which appear to be the best of the DLPs), but the Sony has the ability to display higher resolutions (1080 vs 720 horizontal lines) with a significant decrease in pixelation, and costs less than a similarly sized Samsung. Viewed side by side in a store, the small differences between the two types of TVs are more noticeable, but in your house the Sony will look great! The pure HD channels are amazing and the upconversion circuitry improves the standard definition signals, especially with DVDs. As with almost any TV of this type, the sound is only adequate and is appropriately enhanced by a suitable surround-sound system. Additionally, I just purchased a Toshiba DVD player/VCR that also has upconversion. It makes DVDs look almost as good as HD signals (SD-V592SU). Toshiba also sells a similar DVD-only player (SD-5970). It includes an HDMI cable for the best quality signal input to the TV. Highly recommended!

Reviewed by: sportyhead from NY on Dec 15, 2004
Rating:

Experience: 5 Days

Strengths: Excellent Picture, Menu/Settings are easy to use & have good options.

Weaknesses: Only 1 HDMI input. Remote could be better

Summary: Only have it 5 days but so far I have been very impressed by the picture it displays. Of course HD broadcasts are best & the overall picture quality is only as good as your weakest component which includes cable connection source signal & original source.Overall quality considering the price it is the best bang for the buck if you have the space for it.

Reviewed by: mtullos from MD on Feb 6, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 20 Days

Strengths: great picture clarity. all the a/v connections you could need. Depth is minimal at @ 16"

Weaknesses: You'll need at least a 35" table/stand for it, or buy the $799 stand from Sony. Must use a VCR or other receiver for PIP to work from a digital cable box. Cannot use PIP with HDTV source.

Summary: I studied these for a long time before purchasing. I always have trusted Sony for great quality, and this TV is no exception. It's a terrific value as well, as other brands with fewer features are more expensive.

Reviewed by: chiverwat from AZ on Apr 5, 2005
Rating:

Experience: 10 Days

Strengths: Excellent picture when watching HDTV program. Easy to set up and build-in HDTV tuner

Weaknesses: Slow start up time

Summary: A good buy for less than $3000 for a 60" rear projection LCD TV. The picture and image is as good as Plasma HDTV when watching HD program. I like the build-in memory stick slot that I can preview my picture in a huge screen. The sound system is not as good as what I think, but is acceptable.

Reviewed by: jeffrsmi from MN on Feb 13, 2005
Rating:

Experience:

Strengths: Great resolution, easy to set-up and use, super value for the price.

Weaknesses: A bit slow to warm-up on turn on (30-45 seconds)... not a big deal for the quality!

Summary: Great TV. Very easy to set-up, great resolution... even in a bright room. Highly recommend. A bit slow to warm-up on turn on (30-45 seconds)... not a big deal for the quality! Sony deserves the reputation it has in putting out great quality TV's