Best bang for the buck!

Review by That'sCrazy Talk!

$2,399.99 $1,949.95

Ordered from Amazon, best price by far at the time of ordering. Free delivery, box arrived in pristine condition, it looked like it had just been pulled off the packaging line, no dents, tears or even scratches in the cardboard. So far so good... The delivery guys unpacked it, put the stand on and plugged it in. I was trying not to salivate. 

It was a breeze to set up. Coax cable to HDD recorder, HDMI to TV. 2nd HDMI from Sony Blu-ray to TV. Done! I turned on the tv, autoscan picked up the analog and digital stations (took about 30 minutes) and I was watching the news in high def. Wow, the picture was stunning, right out of the box. Oops, forgot, also coax from HDD recorder to TV. 

I have watched 4 movies, the blu-ray is stunning. At first I noticed a mild "flashlight" effect in the lower left corner in dark scenes while watching Bladerunner in a dark room. I watched it again 4 days later (again in a dark room) and it was gone, so maybe it was my imagination. The blacks are good, not as good as LED or plasma, but really good. If the room lights are on, the blacks are black. For $1,000 less than a comparable 240hz led backlit model it is a no-brainer in my opinion. The PQ is just amazing. Some of the explosions on the Bond flick I was watching appeared as if pieces were flying out of the screen. I was expecting some 3D effect, but this was ridiculous! I was so entranced that at times I forgot to follow the plot. Planet earth blu-ray also spectacular. The 3D effect is again breathtaking. It feels like you are on the plane/helicopter with the film crew! 

About the sound. I was expecting it to be really bad, due to a few reviews I read. I am an audiophile with my music, but keep my sound system separate from the TV (different rooms). I was hoping to not need to buy a receiver/speakers but was skeptical that the sound would cut it for me. But it is not bad. I tweaked the settings to my liking and the dialogue is crystal clear. There is a little "surround" effect using the front surround setting. I was really impressed. Let's face it, most people will be using external speakers. Now, my room is small with 7' ceilings, which I am sure helps the sound work for me. I can see how this would not be powerful enough in a great room type setting, or a more open area in general. 

At this time I only have one complaint. There is only 1 hdmi input in the rear panel, the other 3 are on the side. With my cables, there is no way to completely hide the one plugged into the side. Maybe there are cables with an "L" type connection that would keep the cable around the back. Eventually I will find a way to tie it back behind the TV with a zip tie. For now I am way too busy watching movies on this beautiful piece of HT equipment. My next order of business will be to connect to my high speed network with a wireless bridge to access Amazon and Netflix for streaming HD! 

For the price.... FIVE STARS!!!