Sony Grand WEGA KF42SX200

Anybody have the Sony Grand WEGA KF42SX200?
For example from:
http://www.buy-cheap-electricals.co.uk/Televisions/Sony_KF42SX200.html

It looks like a pretty good TV and is only 11 inches thick!
I was toying with the idea of buying a plasma when I decided to check out some LCD RPTV's as alterantives and these sony ones popped up.

Hope someone can give me some advice on picture quality etc of these TV's.

 

The picture quality is good generally but as with most LCD sets they struggle with doing blacks and having good detail in dark scenes. Don't get me wrong though every set has issues of some kind and to be frank this is their only failing I would say. Unlike plasmas and rear projection CRT sets you don't have to worry about screenburn and can happily and safely use them with game consoles, pcs etc. They also look fantastic I think.

 

Can anyone please explain why the 42sx200 is priced between £2200-£3500 when the new version is priced
between £1550-£2000 I suspect that Sony have re-engineered their product removing key items such as DRC processing

 

Try and find anybody who owns one, some time ago on AV it was ask about the sx200 and there was no body on the forum who knew anybody who had one let alone owned one (except in USA).Bulb failure seemed to be an issue, with early failures. May be fixed on new model but still a little strange on the lack of owners willing to review it. Could never find from Sony life expectancy of bulb.

 

the newer Sony was reviewed in an AV magazine this month as it fared rather poorly tbh. Lots of noise on blacks, which imho is unforgivable...

Why do Sony restrict their sets with crappy Scart and interlaced?

 

which AV magazine was the review in?
cheers to everyone else for their thoughts
(given the collective comments I think I had better go and try to find one on display somewhere before I buy online!)

 

Its the current issue of What Video. The set is capable of a progressive image because its LCD based so de-interlaces all input signals that are interlaced. You can also feed it a native progressive signal via its pc VGA input.

 

achilles8
Try totteham court road sony centre they have both 42 and 50 side by side in shop window
for testing of blacks suggest you ask for the sets to be put into teletext mode and compare against CRT

 

cheers vinny41, will go and check it out this weekend.

 

They have the 42" set on display at various Comets and Currys. I saw it at the Currys near Fulham (near the bridge that leads on to Trinity road) and the Croydon Currys has it too.

I have spent some time looking at this set and I decided to order it once I was convinced the blacks and general concerns I had surrounding LCD tech were not going to be an issue. But it's all subjective.

I will be receiving my TV next Tuesday from Robert Whyte. I found they were the cheapest around for this model.

 

Waser
which model did you purchase the 42sx200 or 42sx300 please advise

 

I purchased the 42sx300 (the latest model).

 

Waser if you dont mind, could you tell us how much you got it for?
Was it cheaper than what it appears to be at qed?
(1600 GBP)
http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPC-Sony_KF_42SX300

 

I ordered it from here:

http://www.robertwhyteltd.co.uk/robertwhyteproduct.php?ID=361

As I mentioned I am receiving it on Tuesday, then I'll be able to provide further impressions and answer any questions you have.

 

Waser, please keep us informed on the performance of your new toy, and what you think of it. Nice to know some one who has got one so we can all get some feed back.

 

Yeah no probs mmrb. I can't wait till Tuesday to test it out! You can get a good feel for the TV at the Currys where they are displayed. As they have a sofa setup at good viewing distance.

Check it out if you can.

 

I have the KF42SX200.
I orignally purchased a KF50SX300 from Unbeatable complete with stand but I had to send it back as it was waaaaay to big They pictured the 60 inch model on its stand and the stand was the same width as the TV. The stand is for both the 50 and 60 inch models so when it turned up the stand was 12 inches longer then the TV and wouldn't fit in my room. I ended up forking out £80 for return delivery for something that wasn't my fault I hope that made some sense?

I got the KF42SX200 from Robert Whytes. I went for the earlier model partly because it was only £1100 for the graded model and it has far more features then its newer version. The SX200 has twin tuners with proper picture in picture and 2x RGB enabled scarts.

The first one I got from RW was immaculate but had a high pitched whistling sound all the time. They replaced it and the new one is just superb. If anybody is considering this TV from RW, then don't let the graded put you off, nobody would ever know the one i have wasn't new. It is excellent in all respects.

I was going to buy the Samsung LCD from Panther after speaking with Bongpig. I very nearly did, but the price from RW for the 42SX200 was £400 cheaper for a TV that looks superb and performs as good it looks.

If anybody would like to know anything in particular about this model then let us know, I'll try and answer any queries you have.

Cheers.

 

shadieb, what are the additional features of the 42SX200 over the 42SX300?

 

I cant find any technical specs on either of these models.
The lcd resolution would indicate it can take a 720p HDTV signal.
Can you advise if this is the case or not?

 

Dunno about that webbp. Tech stats from robert whyte are as follows for the two models:

http://www.robertwhyteltd.co.uk/robertwhyteproduct.php?ID=457

http://www.robertwhyteltd.co.uk/robertwhyteproduct.php?ID=361

there are also some details on the 42sx300 at Sony.co.uk if you check the rear projection section.

 

Thanks for that mate.
I've already looked at those and the sony web site too.
Doesn't really say whether it can or not though.
Hence I was hoping Shadlieb can check the manual which I would assume would have better tech specs in it

 

Well I only had the 50 inch set overnight, mainly due to the fact we could hardly move in the living room Main differences was in the picture in picture settings. The SX200 (Grand Wega II) allows you to split the screen in 2 and resize each window to suit. It also sends the audio for one side of the screen out through the speakers and the other side out through headphones for dual viewing. It can do similar features with teletext and picture.
The picture quality also appeared to be a lot better on the 42 inch SX200. That could be down to the DRC circuitry or to the fact the screen is a little smaller then the 50 inch SX300 (Grand Wega III).
The GWII also has multi screen for choosing between channels and twin tuners for the split screens I could find none of these options on the GWIII.
Cosmetically, friends have remarked over the look of the GWII and say it looks more modern the the newer GWIII. Perosnal taste more then anything, but I do tend to agree.
The SX200 has a nice hard plastic screen the SX300 is a flimsy covering that feels like you could poke your finger through it.
THE SX200 definitely has RGB on scarts 1 and 2. I could only get RGB through scart 1 on the SX300. Again this could be down to me not having the TV set up correctly in the menu. I didn't have it long enough to mess about too much.
On the back of the SX300 there was literally 3x scarts and 1x VGA. The SX200 doesn't have the VGA connector (shame) but did have the 3x scarts and speaker outs so you can use the TV speakers as the centre channel in a surround sound set up.

Not sure on the 720p issue? I aren't that clued up on it, but as far as I know LCD should be capable of HD pictures, I don't think its implemented into either of the Sony's especially in the UK market?? Someone else might be able to shed some more light on the subject?

I will check the manual tonight when i get home, if anyone wants any specific info for the KF42SX200 let me know and I'll dig it out for you.

HTH. Cheers.

 

Man shadieb, where were you a month ago when I placed my order for the 42SX300!?!?!

Ah well what's done is done. I will check out the TV tomorrow and if I'm happy I'll keep it. Robert Whyte aren't too picky about exchanges are they?

Really the only point of concern for me in everything you said was the soft screen on the sx300. I would have prefered the harder screen.

Funny you only had one scart with RGB. It says there should be two RGB enabled on the Sony site.

 

The screen on the SX300 is matt coated where its a gloss screen on the SX200. It does feel a lot less solid then SX200 screen though.
The RGB might have been down to me. As I mentioned earlier I only had the 50 inch overnight due to size and I had just got my Panasonic DMR E85 which is why I wanted 2x RGB. When temporarily connected to the SX300 it was coming through as composite, I could tell by the crawl around text on the screen.
I just didn't have time to set it up fully
Don't get me wrong, the SX300 is still a gorgeous TV. Just having had both, the SX200 does everything I needed with no problems.

HTH.

 

shadieb: thanks a lot for all the comments on the two tv's. BTW how far are you watching the 42" from?
I have a small living room and was wondering if it would be advisable to view the tv from about 7 or 8 feet away or does one see a lot of artifacts at this distance?
How is sky on the tv? have you had the opportunity to watch any footy on it ?
your comments will be greatly appreciated...

 

Hi mate,

We sit approx 6-7 feet away and with DVD it is fantastic. There is artefacting from Sky but it is to be expected. I'm not really a sports fan so cant really comment. Weird thing is, with Sky+ attatched the picture seened very grainy and full of artefacts. My Sky+ box died a night ago and I have had to go back to my old Sky digi box (panasonic) which appears to be a lot lot better? I don't know if the grainy picture of the Sky+ box was just down to my box being faulty as I already had Sky+ when getting the Tv so never tried my old box beforehand.
At a viewing distance of 6-7 I cannot see a single pixel, even up close I cannot really see any unless specificly looking for the pixel structure.
As to viewing at 6-7 feet, you will notice the artefacts to begin with, but within days you won't even be looking for them The sheer quality of the TV is far more overwhelming then the quality of picture sky broadcast.

They are a cracking TV wether you buy the WegaII or the WegaIII. Get yourself one mate, you will not regret it

 

Well I received delivery of my 42SX300 and it is great apart from one thing...

There is a pink spot that is clearly visible in the bottom centre part of the screen. It's most apparent when displaying a black scene.

Also it appears as though there is only one RGB scart available. Although I haven't had enough time to dig through the settings but I am pretty sure you cannot turn something like RGB on and off in the TV settings.

I am going to consider exchanging it for a refurbished 42SX200 given what shadieb has said. I really could do with two RGB scarts as I have so many games consoles and stuff that need to utilise it.

Hey shadieb, how were RW with the returns? Did you have to return your 50" set before they shipped out the replacement set? Or do they send one courier to do a delivery and pickup at the same time?

It is a spanking TV though I got to say. I love the looks, the picture quality with Sky is awesome and I think it's a bargain. Shame I got a dud but hopefully it will be sorted soon.

 

I couldn't find a second RGB scart on the GWIII either mate.
RW will not send you a new TV and pick their old one up. They told me their company policy was to send a courier to pick yours up, once they receive it, they check it and then send a replacement TV. It took exactly one week from reporting a fault with my first TV to getting the replacement which wasn't too bad.
They was very good with swapping things for me as I originally ordered a 50 inch and then swapped to 42 inch with no problems.
If you are going to ring, ask for Anne Marie as she was really helpful for me. She was genuinely concerned when their was a problem and did her upmost best to help. A big thumbs up to Anne Marie

I think you will be a lot happier with the 42 inch SX200 Waser. I love mine and the extra features it has over the GWIII. At least you get twin RGB scarts. Proper PIP and twin tuners
Believe me when I say the graded GWII I have is undistinguishable from brand new mate.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

Nice, but are they 100Hz and do they fit on a table top?

 

They fit on a tabletop mate no problem. Dont know about the 100hz as they are LCD. Not sure if its required on an LCD screen?