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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic picture quality, great sound, simple operation!, 31 Dec 2002
I bought this television eight months ago as a replacement to an old 21" set. This model had to be the one because it was pretty much the largest non-widescreen television with a flat screen, and it came with the prestiguous Sony name. And the free stand was a big bonus, as it holds my (Sony) video recorded and DVD player (and I don't think most stands would hold the weight of this 29" tube). I would also point out that a 4x3 set (non widescreen) has a much larger screen area than a 28" 16x9 set, and that most UK programmes appear to still be transmitted in the standard format.When it arrived it was a little disappointing that the substantial stand was flat-packed, and this did take a couple of hours and some squinting at the assembly instructions (not up to Sony standard) to build up. Lifting the television onto the stand was also a chore, as I did this solo, but after a few grunts I managed this also. But as soon as I switched on the set any apprehension about the money spent dispersed immediately. The picture was fantastic! Compared to the £1000+ widescreen and £3000+ flatscreen models I had been looking at in the shops, the picture quality to me was equally good. Playing with the menu revealed some picture presets and adjustment controls, which improved the colour and contrast settings. I chose movie mode as the default was too bright and colourful for my liking. (It's still set to that.) And now, eight months later, I still find the quality unbelievable, especially when comparing to other people's television sets, and am thoroughly pleased with the money spent. I have a camcorder, digital camera and laptop which plug in using phono/s-video leads, and find the pop-up control and connector panel on the side invaluable for this purpose, as it saves fiddling round the back. The remote control is very comfortable to use, and the menus are easy to navigate. Teletext is great and easy to flip through using the controls. The only (slight) niggle I have had with this set is the sound and speakers. There speakers are a good size and fill a room with no effort whatsoever, and there are preset bass/treble settings with a spacial feature (which I found too harsh and unconvincing to use). However, my personal opinion was that bass and treble controls weren't enough to adjust the sound and often the sound had to be turned up higher than intended to make subtle speech and music completely audible. Some music I have played through the TV using the DVD/CD player was disappointing and sounded less appealing than my modest stereo system. However this is only my opinion and you may find the sound perfectly fine. Overall I rate this television five stars because it is by far and away the best set I have seen (especially considering the price). A final warning though - once you're used to a 29" screen everybody elses' seems tiny by comparison - you have been warned!
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