With these sets now hitting warehouses, I think its time to converge into one thread. Hopefully we can all learn from one another.

Sony is currently releasing new LCD sets for 2005/2006. More info will be added as it becomes available.

Please post initial sightings, owner reviews, tweaks/calibration settings, issues/problems and tips 'n tricks with these new sets.

Do not talk street pricing, MSRP only.


Availability:

A20 Series (55" and 60" models): Mid/Late July (should be shipping now)



A20 Series Inputs:

• Input(s): RF 75-ohm F-type

• Input(s): Cable 75-ohm F-type

• Input(s): POD PCMCIA-type

• Composite Video Input(s): 3 (F:1/R:2)

• S-Video Input(s): 3 (F:1 R:2)

• Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr ) Input(s): 2 (F:0 R:2)

• Input(s): Total Audio Input (LR, RCA-pin) excluding HDMI 5 (F:1/R:4)

• Digital Audio Output(s): (Optical) 1 (F:0/R:1)

• Headphone Output(s): 1 (F:1/R:0)

• Input(s): Incorporates HDMI™ technology. HDMI + Audio L&R



Sony KDF-E55A20 55" Rear Projection LCD Display

MSRP: $2999 as of 7/22/05

• Dimensions

• 57 3/8" x 37 1/4" x 19 3/8" (1456 x 943 x 491mm)

Sony Link To KDF-E55A20 (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=KDFE60A20&Dept=tvvideo&CategoryName=tv_ProjectionTVs_RearProjection_55to70TVs)



Sony KDF-E60A20 60" Rear Projection LCD Display

MSRP: $3499 as of 7/22/05

• Dimensions (WxHxD)

• 62" x 39 5/8" x 20 1/2" (1574 x 1055 x 518mm)

Sony Link to KDF-E60A20 (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?CategoryName=tv_ProjectionTVs_RearProjection_55to70TVs&ProductSKU=KDFE60A20&TabName=specs&var2=)


What we know so far: It appears the A20 series (55" and 60" models) are a WF chassis with new WEGA Engine video processing tweaks and a new cabinet.

Owners Manuals:

Sony KDF-XXA20 Manual (http://www.sonystyle.com/intershoproot/eCS/Store/en/documents/specifications/KDF-E55A20_usermanual.pdf)

Has anyone seen an A20 (55"/60") in their area yet?

Cfoote
I have seen the A20 here in Tampa, FL.....It looks great! I was really impressed with the PQ from this set. For some reason the blacks looked much "blacker" to me. I know this set doesn't have the new Iris that the A10 does, but still very nice looking. I am waiting for the A10s to show up here shortly. How about you?

Maybe I'll have to venture to CC and Best Buy tomorrow to see if the A20 has hit the shelves up here in the Northeast.

Has anyone seen an A20 (55"/60") in their area yet?

The A20 has been in the L.A. area for about 3 weeks. I made a post about my first impressions.

With these sets now hitting warehouses, I think its time to converge into one thread. Hopefully we can all learn from one another.

Sony is currently releasing new LCD sets for 2005/2006. More info will be added as it becomes available.

Please post initial sightings, owner reviews, tweaks/calibration settings, issues/problems and tips 'n tricks with these new sets.

Do not talk street pricing, MSRP only.


Availability:

A10 Series (42" and 50" models): Late July/Early August (as of 7/22, should be shipping any day)

A20 Series (55" and 60" models): Mid/Late July (should be shipping now)


A10 Series Inputs:

• Input(s): PC Input (D-sub 15) + Audio Input (Stereo Mini) 1 (1 Front 1 / 0 Rear)

• Input(s): HDMI™ + Audio L&R 1 ( 1 Rear) connector

• Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr ) Input(s): 3 (1 Front / 2 Rear)

• S-Video Input(s): 1 (1 Rear)

• Composite Video Input(s): 3 (1 Front / 2 Rear)

• Input(s): RF 75-ohm F-type 1 (1 Rear)

• Input(s): Cable 75-ohm F-type (1 (1 Rear)

• Input(s): CableCARD™ PCMCIA-type 1 (1 Rear) slot

• Input(s): Total Audio Input (LR, RCA-pin) excluding HDMI 5 (1 Front / 4 Rear)

• Digital Audio Output(s): (Optical) 1 (0 Front / 1 Rear)

• Headphone Output(s): 1 (1 Front / 0 Rear)

• Audio Output: Audio Output (Variable/Fixed) 1 (1 Rear)



Sony KDF-E42A10 42" Rear Projection LCD Display

MSRP $1999 as of 7/22/05

• Dimensions (WxHxD)

• 39 3/8"×28 1/2"×14 1/8" (999×722×357mm)

Sony Link To KDF-E42A10 (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=KDFE42A10&Dept=tvvideo&CategoryName=tv_ProjectionTVs_RearProjection_42to51TVs)



Sony KDF-E50A10 50" Rear Projection LCD Display

MSRP $2499 as of 7/22/05

• Dimensions (WxHxD)

• 46 5/8"×32 5/8"×16 1/8" (1184×827×408mm)

Sony Link To KDF-E50A10 (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=KDFE50A10&Dept=tvvideo&CategoryName=tv_ProjectionTVs_RearProjection_42to51TVs)

What we know so far: The A10 series has an Advanced Iris which is supposed to improve contrast/black level. To what degree we do not know, but the only Sony front projector (VPL-HS51) with this feature has received very good reviews on contrast/black level.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A20 Series Inputs:

• Input(s): RF 75-ohm F-type

• Input(s): Cable 75-ohm F-type

• Input(s): POD PCMCIA-type

• Composite Video Input(s): 3 (F:1/R:2)

• S-Video Input(s): 3 (F:1 R:2)

• Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr ) Input(s): 2 (F:0 R:2)

• Input(s): Total Audio Input (LR, RCA-pin) excluding HDMI 5 (F:1/R:4)

• Digital Audio Output(s): (Optical) 1 (F:0/R:1)

• Headphone Output(s): 1 (F:1/R:0)

• Input(s): Incorporates HDMI™ technology. HDMI + Audio L&R



Sony KDF-E55A20 55" Rear Projection LCD Display

MSRP: $2999 as of 7/22/05

• Dimensions

• 57 3/8" x 37 1/4" x 19 3/8" (1456 x 943 x 491mm)

Sony Link To KDF-E55A20 (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=KDFE60A20&Dept=tvvideo&CategoryName=tv_ProjectionTVs_RearProjection_55to70TVs)



Sony KDF-E60A20 60" Rear Projection LCD Display

MSRP: $3499 as of 7/22/05

• Dimensions (WxHxD)

• 62" x 39 5/8" x 20 1/2" (1574 x 1055 x 518mm)

Sony Link to KDF-E60A20 (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?CategoryName=tv_ProjectionTVs_RearProjection_55to70TVs&ProductSKU=KDFE60A20&TabName=specs&var2=)


What we know so far: It appears the A20 series (55" and 60" models) are a WF chassis with new WEGA Engine video processing tweaks and a new cabinet.

Owners Manuals:

Sony KDF-XXA10 Manual (http://www.sonystyle.com/intershoproot/eCS/Store/en/documents/specifications/kdfe42a10_manual.pdf)

Sony KDF-XXA20 Manual (http://www.sonystyle.com/intershoproot/eCS/Store/en/documents/specifications/KDF-E55A20_usermanual.pdf)

Let's get this thread started! :D


I'm not sure it's a good idea to merge the A10's and A20's in one thread. These are two different animals. Different technology (the A10's have a different chassis). And as an example, most of us are considering the A10's only. An A20 post wouldn't be relevant to the A10 people and vice versa. I would suggest a seperate thread for the A10's and the A20's. Just a thought and really do appreciate all the help from this great forum.

I agree. Let'ss keep the A10 chassis separate.

cfoote, I appreciate the effort, but I'm going to have to agree with lipcrkr. I think the A10 and A20 are different enough that they should have their own threads.

OK I'll split it off., the A10 thead is here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5924924)

I am in the midst of having the moderators change the subject title.

OK I'll split it off., the A10 thead is here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5924924)

I am in the midst of having the moderators change the subject title.

Will we have to "resubscribe" to the new thread if the title is changed? I'm really only interested in the A10.

OK I'll split it off., the A10 thead is here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5924924)

I am in the midst of having the moderators change the subject title.

Thanks for starting the thread dude and thanks for separating the two creatures as I agree the A10 should have its own thread.
take care
Tec :)

Wow...nothing like watching a good butt kissing! :p :)

Can you feel the love? :)

Agree that the A10 and A20 each deserve their own thread, but "props" for the intitiative and gusto to start a well-intentioned comprehensive thread.

Jason

I just bought a 60" A20 after returning a Mitsubishi 62" DLP (had the annoying rainbow effect). The A20 set was the only 60" LCD set Tweeter had and I felt obligated to buy from them since they delivered, and exchanged the sets for no additional charge. Seeing the posts regarding the A10 I was curious about the differences (A10 vs A20) even though it appears the A10 only go to 55". I would appreciate a rundown of the differences :-) Lastly, I saw a KDF60xs955 in a retail store and it appeared that the XS set had a sharper, clearer, smoother picture - simply put a better picture. Not being able to compare my current A20 set next to the KDF60XS955 set I was wondering if the XS set is a superior set to the A20? I would certainly take the A20 back to Tweeter, and go buy the XS if the differences were that great in picture quality. Any facts/opinions are greatly appreciated.

I believe the 60wf655, 60xs955, and e60a20 should all have identical displays... conenctivity, menus, and speaker options are the only difference... That being said, when I looked at all 3 side by side, the XS did seem slightly better... I am guessing it was due to the set-up though and certainly not worth returning a TV for.

The A10's only go up to 50" (right now). I believe all three models have the same display properties aside from the A10's iris.

Does anyone own an A20 yet? I am very interested in getting one (bought a 60" Panasonic and it's a little too big for my viewing distance and I really did like the Sony's I saw better anyways...just couldn't afford the 60"). I'm going to head to Fry's after work and hopefully they'll have one there.

I just got the 55A20 over the weekend and am impressed so far. Don't have too many specific comments so far since I'm still getting it set up and this is my first RP tv, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions soon. :D

Do you have a video game system? If so which one and how does it look? What do you think of SD TV? Any impressions would be great!

I just got the 55A20 over the weekend and am impressed so far. Don't have too many specific comments so far since I'm still getting it set up and this is my first RP tv, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions soon. :D

Take some pictures man :D

” I too am very interested in your review of the A20. Everyone is talking about how much better the A10's will be but I really want a 55" so I would prefer to get the A20.”

I’m not much of a wordsmith when it comes to writing a produce review, so lets just say I’m very, very happy with my Sony E55A20 that I’ve owned for a little over two weeks.

My previous HDTV was 50” Samsung HLM 507W DLP TV and I never was completely happy with it on many levels, including crushed blacks and whites, banding, and bad colors. Never could get rid of the slightly green hue without over pushing the red drive. After owning the DLP for 2 ½ years it lost its digital mind (banding lines became bright orange and/or blue) and would need a board replaced for around $600 to $800, so I decided I would buy a new HDTV instead. Add the board replacement cost to the cost of 4 replacement lamps and the cost of ownership of the Samsung was just too high for the picture quality.

I did check out the newer Samsung DLP HDTV in local stores as I was searching for the best replacement for me. At each store the Sony LCD was a stand out compared to any and all newer DLPs on display. What finally pushed me over to Sony was the LCD TV connected to a cable box and tuned to INHD2. Compared to my DLP the picture was simple awesome and the cost was cheaper than a DLP.

I was not that happy with my new A20 the first couple of days it was in my room, until I found the “advanced” setup menu and was able to adjust the TV to my liking. It also helped that three days after getting the Sony A20 I picked up my new glasses that corrected my vision to 20/20. :D

Out of the box the TV had crushed blacks that was easy to correct by increasing the brightness setting 10%, setting the advanced black level correction to “low” and increasing the “gamma” setting. I have a computer connected to the HDMI input that I use to play HDTV Transport Stream test patterns for calibrating the TV. After adjusted with the test patterns I made minor adjustments to the internal “over the air” HDTV tuner and the cable tuner. The settings for the tuners were very close to the HDMI input settings. I used AVIA test and setup DVD for adjusting the component inputs. The TV remembers different settings on all inputs.

In a nutshell the A20 has excellent black and white details, outstanding color across the color gradient, absolutely no banding or contouring, excellent contrast with image depth, smooth film like motion, no mesquite noise and is a delight to watch. Did I mention that at 55” (with side speakers) this TV is BIG, but due to the base design still fits on the same stand used for the Samsung 50” DLP.

Well that is my story and I’m sticking to it. ;)

P.S., Forgot to mention that a week after receiving the A20 Comcast installed a CableCard and a day later after correcting a code error in my account I have some great HD channels in addition to the OTA network programs.

P.P.S. Also forgot to mention the black level on the A20. The black level is slightly better than my Samsung DLP and is not really noticable unless viewed in a totally dark room. I've learned from the DLP TV to use front (indirect) lighting which greatly improves the black level from digital panel TV.

**I know this post is for the A20 series and I included some info on that unit in my post that I also made in a Mitsu thread. Thought the people reading this post might be interested in this**

I had a chance to check out this TV (52527) and the Sony 55” A20 tonight at Best Buy. It was perfect because those were the 2 TVs I’ve narrowed my choices down to and they were right next to each other.

Overall, out of all the TVs in the room, they did look like the best two (compared to all the DLPs & LCDs). The colors were deep & rich and the blacks looked pretty good too. They had on the trailer for that new ‘Stealth’ movie and the scenes were going pretty fast so it was hard to look back & forth and see the same scene to see how they compared. However, at the end it had the ‘Coming to theaters…’ and the text/white coloring of the text looked much cleaner/crisper on the Mitsu.

About the only thing I noticed that made me hesitant to pick the Mitsu was there was some times when all the other TVs had something that was orange and on the Mitsu it looked red. It also happened with yellow and made it look orange. However, my guess it’s because they were factory settings and hadn’t been adjusted (at least that’s what I’m hoping).

I’m exchanging a 60”Panasonic DLP and based on my viewing tonight we’re going to get the Mitsu. There are a few reasons…2 HDMI (Sony only has 1), look of the TV and the look of the picture (looked slightly better than the Sony). I really wanted a 55-56” TV but I am content with the 52”. If someone were comparing these two models it’s really a tough decision, at least IMO.

I’m not very knowledgeable about a lot of TV stuff (still learning about DLPs/LCDs and all they have to offer) but any questions I can answer just let me know. I wasn’t able to get this tonight (long story) but will be going tomorrow for it. They said they can deliver Friday so I can post some pics/reviews then.

That's funny because my wife almost thought the Mitsu was too bright as compared to the Sony. However, her comment was it's probably better that it's too bright 'cause we can lower if needed but we don't know how bright the Sony gets.

We just moved into a new house where the living room gets a lot of light from about 10am-4pm so I wanted something brighter (especially until we work on darkening the room a bit). With my current 60" Panasonic this morning when the picture got even a little dark I couldn't see anything.

Where's the pics of the A20s you slackers! Quit enjoying your damn TV and get back to work! :D

Jason

[b]...

I’m not much of a wordsmith when it comes to writing a produce review, so lets just say I’m very, very happy with my Sony E55A20 that I’ve owned for a little over two weeks....



Are you able to get 1:1 pixel mapping with the A20 and a PC, if so at what resolution ?

Are you able to get 1:1 pixel mapping with the A20 and a PC, if so at what resolution ?

I'm interested in this answer as well. I'll be taking a crack at it this weekend (I hope) and will post my results. I didn't have too much free time during my initial setup, so when I found a standard resolution that worked pretty well for me, I stopped.

Can anyone with an A20 please post their settings? I have mine at home waiting for me when I get home from work and would appreciate some help on what settings work well.

What does everyone with this set think of the SDTV? It looks terrible on mine. Some channels look better than others but overall I'm not really happy with it.

What does everyone with this set think of the SDTV? It looks terrible on mine. Some channels look better than others but overall I'm not really happy with it.

Did you find the DRC menu that allows you to adjust the settings for SDTV?

[b]
My previous HDTV was 50” Samsung HLM 507W DLP TV and I never was completely happy with it on many levels, including crushed blacks and whites, banding, and bad colors. Never could get rid of the slightly green hue without over pushing the red drive. After owning the DLP for 2 ½ years it lost its digital mind (banding lines became bright orange and/or blue) and would need a board replaced for around $600 to $800, so I decided I would buy a new HDTV instead. Add the board replacement cost to the cost of 4 replacement lamps and the cost of ownership of the Samsung was just too high for the picture quality.

Excellent post as your observations are all too true.
I too owned the 507 but for less than half the time you did. What a lemon.
Man you've been through hell. A Sammy dealer told me today that getting service or parts from Samsung is still difficult.
Congratulations on the new Sony...

” I too am very interested in your review of the A20. Everyone is talking about how much better the A10's will be but I really want a 55" so I would prefer to get the A20.”

I’m not much of a wordsmith when it comes to writing a produce review, so lets just say I’m very, very happy with my Sony E55A20 that I’ve owned for a little over two weeks.

My previous HDTV was 50” Samsung HLM 507W DLP TV and I never was completely happy with it on many levels, including crushed blacks and whites, banding, and bad colors. Never could get rid of the slightly green hue without over pushing the red drive. After owning the DLP for 2 ½ years it lost its digital mind (banding lines became bright orange and/or blue) and would need a board replaced for around $600 to $800, so I decided I would buy a new HDTV instead. Add the board replacement cost to the cost of 4 replacement lamps and the cost of ownership of the Samsung was just too high for the picture quality.




Going from a Samsung HLM DLP to this set is quite a step up. The HLM's had a truly garish picture. The colors looked like something out of a bad cartoon and if you breathed on it too hard it would stop working. Good Luck, you now have an excellent HDTV.

Going from a Samsung HLM DLP to this set is quite a step up. The HLM's had a truly garish picture. The colors looked like something out of a bad cartoon and if you breathed on it too hard it would stop working. Good Luck, you now have an excellent HDTV.

Plus I didn't see that much improvement in the HLR models compared to the Sony A20.

Plus I didn't see that much improvement in the HLR models compared to the Sony A20.

No, it appears that the HLP's with the HD2+ Chip were the peak that was reached with these sets. I agree, the HLR's don't compare favorably with the A20's

What does everyone with this set think of the SDTV? It looks terrible on mine. Some channels look better than others but overall I'm not really happy with it.

How do you have SDTV hooked in? Try hooking the cable line directly to the set (unhook it from the cable box) and see if its any better. If it is, you might want to run two cable lines to your TV. I know that sounds obnoxious, but give it a shot and report back as to your results.

What does everyone with this set think of the SDTV? It looks terrible on mine. Some channels look better than others but overall I'm not really happy with it.

FYI, I have read in other forums where people have hooked up a signal booster on their cable line coming into their house and reported much improved SD picture. Be sure to use a booster that is made for cable TV, otherwise you may not boost all the frequencies correctly.

The A20 looks nice indeed at the top of the LCD sets. Couple of concerns holding me back, maybe someone can address:

1) Screendoor - its very clear within 5ft of the set, despite sitting back 8-10ft to view, a fill ratio of 55% does not sound appealing?

2) Lack of 1:1 pixel mapping over HDMI. Its easy now to use a PC to generate HDTV test images. Only the Panasonic and Samsung DLP HD2+ sets seem able to produce a perfect 1:1 mappings at 720p.

As for the DRC menu, I found it but I have no idea what it does. There are two little dots I can move around but have no idea where to put them (I've never seen a DRC menu and don't know how to use it). Is there somewhere online that will tell me how to set it?

I have digital cable (Comcast) hooked up to the TV via component. I tried also hooking it up via Coaxial and went back & forth to compare and no difference.

Someone mentioned a cable booster....can you tell me what that is and where I connect it?

Thanks for all the help...I'm very new to all this stuff.

If anyone's interested in some pics let me know and I can post some tomorrow.

...I have digital cable (Comcast)...Someone mentioned a cable booster....can you tell me what that is and where I connect it?...

If you have digital cable, then a signal booster will not help; it is meant for analog cable.

If you have analog cable, go to Radio Shack; they will help you with a signal booster.

The best place to hook one up is as soon as the cable comes into your house. This way you are boosting the signal at its strongest point.

As for the DRC menu, I found it but I have no idea what it does. There are two little dots I can move around but have no idea where to put them (I've never seen a DRC menu and don't know how to use it). Is there somewhere online that will tell me how to set it?.

Gee -- how about reading the manual!

Lastly, I saw a KDF60xs955 in a retail store and it appeared that the XS set had a sharper, clearer, smoother picture - simply put a better picture. Not being able to compare my current A20 set next to the KDF60XS955 set I was wondering if the XS set is a superior set to the A20?.

I saw 55A20 next to 60 XS at the Sony Showroom in NYC. The pix on the A20 was very noisey. Must go back and check, but if true, then i suspect A20 electronics are not as good. Which means that the only real choices are the conimg SXRD 60" verses the XS 60" vs the XBR 60" or 70". The XBR had a nice pix, but much softer -- but then itwas a 70" Don't know what a 60" would like.

If the SXRD has the same ugly case as the XS -- the I'm not sure what the advantages of SXRD is over LCD.

Whatever, I need two HDMI inputs -- one for cable/DBS and one for HD DVD. Then three component -- HDV camcorder, D-VHS deck. and WM9 DVD player. One of the sets seem to offer all these inouts. Plus, Sony, unlike JVC, has eliminated FW.

Gee -- how about reading the manual!

Thanks for your insight....who would've thought to read the manual!

I did read the manual...I did make adjustments and the picture only got slightly better...and the white lines are still there.

I spent some time (not as much as I'd hoped) this weekend trying to get a 1:1 mapping from my PC, but didn't have much luck. I did get a 1368x768 resolution to sync, but the aspect ratio was off. For now I'm still using 1280x720.

Has anyone else had any luck with this? FWIW I'm using VGA through a transcoder (ordering a DVI -> HDMI cable to play with).

My 55A20 will be delivered tomorrow.

I went to ABC Warehouse (a chain in Michigan and Ohio) looking for the 50A10. They didn't have the A10, but the salesman showed me the A20. They had it priced at MSRP. I played with it for about 15 minutes and decided if the price was right, I'll take it. After discussions with the salesman, I got the 55A20 for 20% off MSRP plus a free 5 year warranty (that covers bulb replacement). It was an offer I couldn't refuse. This TV will really only be used for video gaming, and occasional DVD viewing. I really won't have much time to really play with it until Saturday, but if I get the time I'll post what I think of it.

I saw the A20 55 inch today and was totally overwhelmed with the picture quality and really did not expect it to be this good. Anyways, still must wait to compare it to the 50 inch A10.(not here in Canada yet) But, one question......
Is there really any difference between the new 55inch and the old model?
I know the 50inchers have the Iris etc....but is there anything added to this model ?
Because, honestly, it looks better than last year's 55 inchers!
Thanks

I saw the A20 55 inch today and was totally overwhelmed with the picture quality and really did not expect it to be this good. Anyways, still must wait to compare it to the 50 inch A10.(not here in Canada yet) But, one question......
Is there really any difference between the new 55inch and the old model?
I know the 50inchers have the Iris etc....but is there anything added to this model ?
Because, honestly, it looks better than last year's 55 inchers!
Thanks

The press releases and marketing information (hype?) imply that the A20 (and A10) models have improved WEGA technology type stuff going on with the displays. And/or, it could be that the new models have 720p native resolution.
However, the differences (and I, too, noticed the differencein the stores between the older models and the A20s), could be that the older models' bulbs are a bit more tired than the newer models.


Mitch

Here's my opinion of the A10 50" vs. A20 55" (I posted this in the A20 thread and am pasting it here)...hope it helps:

A10 vs. A20

I bought the A20 about 2 weeks ago and overall was very happy with it (other than some rolling white lines on some SD channels...long story). I've been reading all these posts about the A10's and how great they are so I had to see one while I was within my 30 day return/exchange period.

I called every Sears, Circuit City, Best Buy, Frys, etc. in a 20 mile radius and no one had it. Fortunately one the Dallas Sears did have it so I took a ride there. As someone mentioned earlier, it's on an endcap all by itself so it's somewhat hard to judge against other TVs. However, a 60" A20 is about 20 ft. behind it so if you take a step to the right you can see both the A10 & A20 (they did have an open spot next to the A20 and I thought about asking them to move the A10 next to it to compare but since I wasn't going to buy it I didn't want to put them through that).

So, the 2 TVs were not next to each other so it was slightly harder to compare them but I have owned the 55" A20 for 10-14 days so I feel like I know what it looks like for the most part. Overall, I was NOT impressed by the A10 over the A20. I spent almost an hour messing with all the settings that the A10 has that the A20 doesn't have (black corrector, white brightness, iris, etc) and overall nothing I did made me say 'Wow, this looks so much better than my TV." IMO (and I'm not an expert) the iris on the A10 is nothing more than a tweak for the brightness.

It's been a few hours since I was there so I can barely remember what was on it (I do know it was a DirectTV HD signal) but there wasn't anything very dark/black for me to be able to see how much better it could be than the A20. There were some dark sequences but nothing that held for too long or with a ton of detail. So, that is about the only thing I still am not sure about but I'm about 95% happy with the blacks on my A20 (only time I wish it could be better is on a certain map on Halo2).

Feel free to ask any questions but I was all set to exchange my 55" A20 for a 50" A10 due to everyone proclaiming it was so much better. While there is a whole extra settings menu for the A20 I honestly don't feel like any of those settings do anything drastic to the TV that you can't come close to with the A20 menu/settings. I bought my A20 for $2999 from Best Buy and right now it's on sale for $2849. So, instead of exchanging my A20 I just got a $163 credit from BB and am happy for now.

If in the next 2 weeks I can see an A10 again somewhere else I will check it out (the Sears store was pretty bright...I would've preferred a lower lit room) again to give it another shot but as of now I think the A10 and A20 are very close in performance...which overall I do think is great.

Here's my opinion of the A10 50" vs. A20 55" (I posted this in the A20 thread and am pasting it here)...hope it helps:

A10 vs. A20

I bought the A20 about 2 weeks ago and overall was very happy with it (other than some rolling white lines on some SD channels...long story). I've been reading all these posts about the A10's and how great they are so I had to see one while I was within my 30 day return/exchange period.

I called every Sears, Circuit City, Best Buy, Frys, etc. in a 20 mile radius and no one had it. Fortunately one the Dallas Sears did have it so I took a ride there. As someone mentioned earlier, it's on an endcap all by itself so it's somewhat hard to judge against other TVs. However, a 60" A20 is about 20 ft. behind it so if you take a step to the right you can see both the A10 & A20 (they did have an open spot next to the A20 and I thought about asking them to move the A10 next to it to compare but since I wasn't going to buy it I didn't want to put them through that).

So, the 2 TVs were not next to each other so it was slightly harder to compare them but I have owned the 55" A20 for 10-14 days so I feel like I know what it looks like for the most part. Overall, I was NOT impressed by the A10 over the A20. I spent almost an hour messing with all the settings that the A10 has that the A20 doesn't have (black corrector, white brightness, iris, etc) and overall nothing I did made me say 'Wow, this looks so much better than my TV." IMO (and I'm not an expert) the iris on the A10 is nothing more than a tweak for the brightness.

It's been a few hours since I was there so I can barely remember what was on it (I do know it was a DirectTV HD signal) but there wasn't anything very dark/black for me to be able to see how much better it could be than the A20. There were some dark sequences but nothing that held for too long or with a ton of detail. So, that is about the only thing I still am not sure about but I'm about 95% happy with the blacks on my A20 (only time I wish it could be better is on a certain map on Halo2).

Feel free to ask any questions but I was all set to exchange my 55" A20 for a 50" A10 due to everyone proclaiming it was so much better. While there is a whole extra settings menu for the A20 I honestly don't feel like any of those settings do anything drastic to the TV that you can't come close to with the A20 menu/settings. I bought my A20 for $2999 from Best Buy and right now it's on sale for $2849. So, instead of exchanging my A20 I just got a $163 credit from BB and am happy for now.

If in the next 2 weeks I can see an A10 again somewhere else I will check it out (the Sears store was pretty bright...I would've preferred a lower lit room) again to give it another shot but as of now I think the A10 and A20 are very close in performance...which overall I do think is great.


Thanks for the post.
Later
Tec

What settings are people using? The A20 is my first LCD RPTV so I'm still learning a lot about what settings look best. For now I've been using the settings people are posting for the A10 (minus the iris) and it looks good but just wondering if it could be any better. Also, where does everyone have their DRC pallette set?

Thanks.

The link to the 55" model in the first post in this thread is incorrect, it should be this one (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=KDFE55A20&Dept=tvvideo&CategoryName=tv_ProjectionTVs_RearProjection_55to70TVs)...

Does anyone own these sets? I've had mine for about 2 weeks and love it but it seems like everyone is going crazy over the A10s and the A20s are getting no attention now. Who has this TV? What are your thoughts on it? What settings are you using?

What does everyone with this set think of the SDTV? It looks terrible on mine. Some channels look better than others but overall I'm not really happy with it.

SDTV typically looks bad on HDTV sets unless your SDTV signal is excellent. I certainly thought SDTV looked really bad when my friend first got his 60" 2nd gen Grand Wega. At the time he had it connected to Time Warner cable box. However, he recently got the new Time Warner HD DVR box that must have some good upconversion built in, because SDTV looks very much improved on it and very acceptable to me.

Hey guys,
The A10 thread has exactly 2, 400.98 % more reviews than this thread.
Anyone?
Look at me look at me....my hair is on fire!..... :D :p

I was this close to buying a 50" A10 the other night, but I couldn't find one in a store that made me say "wow!" I've seen four now, and the old 50"-ers with the higher resolution and disgusting silver boxes ;) were far more spectacular, image quality-wise. I have been very impressed with the A20s, however, and despite people's raves over the A10's styling, in the flesh (or in the plastic), I think it looks very cheap and bland. And believe me, I was trying very hard to fall in love with the A10. (To be fair, I havn't yet seen one in a completely darkened room to check black levels).

I've looked very hard at the A10 and like it quite a bit. However, the more I think about it, the more I don't want to settle for a 50" TV. I really want a 55" or 60". That leaves me with the A20 series or possibly a clearance XS series. Then there's that new Mitsubishi 528 that has a dynamic iris as well...

Hmmm....

I was this close to buying a 50" A10 the other night, but I couldn't find one in a store that made me say "wow!" I've seen four now, and the old 50"-ers with the higher resolution and disgusting silver boxes ;) were far more spectacular, image quality-wise. I have been very impressed with the A20s, however, and despite people's raves over the A10's styling, in the flesh (or in the plastic), I think it looks very cheap and bland. And believe me, I was trying very hard to fall in love with the A10. (To be fair, I havn't yet seen one in a completely darkened room to check black levels).

I have ONLY seen the 55inch A20 and thought it was amazing but I have to wait to compare the A10 to it!
Thanks for your comments though. :D

Maybe this will jump start this post/these TVs...

Fry's in Dallas has the 55" A20 for a great price (it's in their ad). I took the ad to Best Buy and got a pretty hefty credit. They weren't happy (and were actually kind of rude) because according to the girl who did the credit I was getting the TV for below BB's cost. I'll stick to rules and not post the price but feel free to PM me for details.

Well that settles it then. I was on the fence between this and the A10. If I can get someone to pricematch to Fry's I'll be getting this tomorrow...

Which BestBuy did you buy from?

I recently had my 60A20 ISF calibrated. The calibrator had some interesting comments. He said that Sony had changed the service menu with this model. The control for adjusting the color decoder was nowhere to be found. In spite of that one deficiency, he was still able to tweak other settings to provide a geat looking picture. He said that he was able to get a higher contreast ratio from this set than from any Sony LCD set he's worked on in the past. Sorry, I don't remember the specific numbers. Convergence was nearly perfect out of the box.

Just bought the 55" A20. I actually like the A10 slightly better, but I have an old 4:3 50" now and sometimes think I'd like a bigger set. I figured going with a 50" widescreen may make it seem like a smaller set...

Anyway, got Best Buy in Frisco to pricematch to Fry's. They didn't even blink. Then I got them to pricematch their own website for 15% off a stand. Then I used a coupon for double Reward Zone points which should net me another $175... All and all a good day. :D

I bought from Vista Ridge Best Buy in Lewisville.

Get them to price match + 10% (that's what you get if you buy it and then bring the ad in). If they think the ad is wrong or it's a rebate (like the girl thought at BB) just have them call Fry's to confirm. You won't be disappointed...it's a great set...especially since you're getting it for less than MSRP for the 50" A10! :)

Just bought the 55" A20. I actually like the A10 slightly better, but I have an old 4:3 50" now and sometimes think I'd like a bigger set. :D

You guys in Texas always have to have the BIGGEST don't you!!
:p ;)

I purchased a 55A20 yesterday at local Circuit City (it and Sears are the only choices within a one-hour radius).

OOTB, I love it! I'm using Charter Comm cable service, with an SA-8000HD STB. I was prepared for sub-par SD, but it looks great to me. And the HD offerings, though meager, look superb. The main downside is that there is only one network affiliate locally, and they haven't added ANY HD capability yet! So I've got HBO/SHO/DISC/TNT/STARZ/ESPN/CINEMAX in HD. And the other network channels that Charter carries are not in HD feeds, either.

I haven't done any serious tweaking yet, but I've followed the "UMR does GWIII" and "Official GWIV Tweaks" threads, and have a lot of notes and data to try over time. As good as things look to me now, I don't know how much better a picture I can take!

I do have one issue I could use some help with. I want to have Closed Captioning turn on when I "MUTE" the TV. I've only been able to get it either ALWAYS ON or ALWAYS OFF, regardless of MUTE status [using the TV remote]. On my old TV, it would work with the cable remote, but it doesn't on the new Sony, even though it's the same remote. I now can neither control volume or mute with the cable remote. All other functions on the remote work. Any ideas?

This thread is dead...

Everyone is going nuts over the A10s (I like 'em too), but the A20 is pretty sweet too.

I have no idea how to calibrate this tv correctly, but I've played around with it. Here are a couple of pics.

How about owners posting some settings. That other thread is just A10 people posting their set-ups...

Can someone provide the pros and cons of getting the A20 vs. the XS. I am looking at both and the pricing is very similar.

Thanks in advance!

A20 cons (vs XS):
* no TwinView
* 1 HDMI port (vs 2)
* Service menu may have less tweaking options. We need UMR to comment on this one. Either way, most people don't mess around in there anyway.


A20 pros:
* One ISF calibrator suggested the contrast levels have improved greatly. Again, would like to get UMR to comment on this.
* Uses 120 watt lamp vs 132. Some will suggest this helps the black levels.
* Some will say the cabinet design is much better - no speaker wings.
* Some people like the Wega Gate

I'm sure other people can add to the list.

Does anybody know if the Denon 1920 has the macroblock issue with this TV?

Well, my 2-month old 55A20 has a problem. Last night after watching a film, I noticed a very distinct 2+inch grouping of green pixels or "area". They were not full stuck on, but resembled more of an aurora borealis quality. Some were brighter than others and they had a blob shape to them. Upon further inspection, I found about 5 flickering red and green pixels at various locations on the screen that were not present until last night.
Service is coming on Tuesday - I will post the final determination.

Let me know how it goes. I returned my first A20 when it arrived with around 6 stuck pixels (stuck on bright green...4 within in a two inch area just left of center) but my second one has been perfect for a close to a month now. In my experience LCD's normally show up with problems if they have any at all rather than develop them later but I've only had flatpanel LCD's before. Good luck with it.

Did you find the DRC menu that allows you to adjust the settings for SDTV?

Can anyone tell me what SD stands for???

Standard definition. Or junk/garbage depending on what channel you are watching.

Here are some measurements I made on the one I calibrated.

On/Off contrast ratio:495:1
Gray scale accuracy 20-100 IRE: 2 Average Delta E CMC from D65
Black Level: 0.22 fL
100 IRE Level: 111 fL
Rec. 709 Gamma: Almost Exactly 2.5 over entire range

A few observations after calibration:

Too Bright
Excellent Colors
Geometry Difficult To Correct
Service Mode Adjustments Are Required To Fix Gray Scale, Color Decoder, Geometry, Enhancement and Filtering
Deinterlacer performance is not very good

A few observations after calibration:
Too Bright
Excellent Colors
Geometry Difficult To Correct
Service Mode Adjustments Are Required To Fix Gray Scale, Color Decoder, Geometry, Enhancement and Filtering
Deinterlacer performance is not very good

UMR, can you tell us how these observations compare with your experience of the earlier model Sony LCD RPTVs? The same, worse or better?

I would say the performance is pretty similar, but it is less adjustable than some of the prior sets.

Thanks! Be very interested to read your thoughts on an A10 when you've worked on one.

umr,

Even though it's being discontinued, it seems the XS series is still an upgrade over the A20. How do they compare? My understanding was the primary difference between the old WF and XS series were the adjustments that could be made on the latter.

umr,

Even though it's being discontinued, it seems the XS series is still an upgrade over the A20. How do they compare? My understanding was the primary difference between the old WF and XS series were the adjustments that could be made on the latter.

The adjustments in the old XS series were insufficient to do the job. Service mode adjustments were still required to get accurate color reproduction, reasonable bandwidth and correct geometry. I would not make my purchase decision based on the less than fully capable user menu adjustments found in the XS series.

The poor audio (no sound under 120 hz) of the A20 would be a reason in my book to look at the XS series.

The poor audio (no sound under 120 hz) of the A20 would be a reason in my book to look at the XS series.

So, if one planned to hook this up to an external sound system, the A20 would be the choice? All else being equal?

After reading this thread, this set (60" A20) just jumped higher than the Sammy HLR-6167W on my list ;)

So, if one planned to hook this up to an external sound system, the A20 would be the choice? All else being equal?

After reading this thread, this set (60" A20) just jumped higher than the Sammy HLR-6167W on my list ;)

I cannot tell you what to choose there are many parameters at play with all sets. The A20 is a reasonable choice if it fits your needs.

Since I'm only using three of the seven (8?) possible video inputs, is there a way on this set to turn off unused inputs to avoid unnecessary cycling? Seems like that was possible on other/earlier models.

Since I'm only using three of the seven (8?) possible video inputs, is there a way on this set to turn off unused inputs to avoid unnecessary cycling? Seems like that was possible on other/earlier models.

Yes, you have to go to the video label section and select skip for the input that you don't want to display.

So, if one planned to hook this up to an external sound system, the A20 would be the choice? All else being equal?

After reading this thread, this set (60" A20) just jumped higher than the Sammy HLR-6167W on my list ;)

I just got a 60" A20 2 days ago. I listened to the internal speakers for all of 5 minutes before turning speakers off and using audio out to my stereo. I don't ever plan to go back. It seems a shame to get such a beautiful TV and skimp on the audio. I doubt there is any TV that has speakers as good as a decent stereo or home theater setup. To my mind, internal audio quality is not even a factor in considering what TV to buy.

And what a beautiful TV. I'm a total A20 fan now. I just watched House of Flying Daggers from my 480i DVD player and I'm stunned by how good the upconversion in the Sony is. Not to mention the A20's colors are incredible, and that movie really shows them off. (Finally, the Sony Style store is showing that instead of the tired Spiderman movie). Watching that movie convinced me to hold off on any DVD upgrade until HD-DVD is available at a reasonable price.

Does anyone have any settings for this tv? I've just got mine out of the box and it is my first HDTV. Thanks.

Does anyone have any settings for this tv? I've just got mine out of the box and it is my first HDTV. Thanks.

Read the A10 thread for settings. Particularly the last 4 or 5 pages or so.

And what a beautiful TV. I'm a total A20 fan now. I just watched House of Flying Daggers from my 480i DVD player and I'm stunned by how good the upconversion in the Sony is. Not to mention the A20's colors are incredible, and that movie really shows them off. (Finally, the Sony Style store is showing that instead of the tired Spiderman movie). Watching that movie convinced me to hold off on any DVD upgrade until HD-DVD is available at a reasonable price.

Wow!!! That very movie is burning a hole in its box as it waits for me to set up my new A20 this weekend!!

Thanks for the great report!

Read the A10 thread for settings. Particularly the last 4 or 5 pages or so.

But ignore the parts about the iris adjustments, of course.

[b]Out of the box the TV had crushed blacks that was easy to correct by increasing the brightness setting 10%, setting the advanced black level correction to “low” and increasing the “gamma” setting. I have a computer connected to the HDMI input that I use to play HDTV Transport Stream test patterns for calibrating the TV. After adjusted with the test patterns I made minor adjustments to the internal “over the air” HDTV tuner and the cable tuner. The settings for the tuners were very close to the HDMI input settings. I used AVIA test and setup DVD for adjusting the component inputs. The TV remembers different settings on all inputs.

In a nutshell the A20 has excellent black and white details, outstanding color across the color gradient, absolutely no banding or contouring, excellent contrast with image depth, smooth film like motion, no mesquite noise and is a delight to watch. Did I mention that at 55” (with side speakers) this TV is BIG, but due to the base design still fits on the same stand used for the Samsung 50” DLP.

Well that is my story and I’m sticking to it. ;)

P.S., Forgot to mention that a week after receiving the A20 Comcast installed a CableCard and a day later after correcting a code error in my account I have some great HD channels in addition to the OTA network programs.

P.P.S. Also forgot to mention the black level on the A20. The black level is slightly better than my Samsung DLP and is not really noticable unless viewed in a totally dark room. I've learned from the DLP TV to use front (indirect) lighting which greatly improves the black level from digital panel TV.


I saw a 55" A20 yesterday at BestBuy, and the black crush was horrible. Sure the blacks were nice and black; but I noticed several scenes were all the shadow details were just completely lost. I was watching it scene for scene against a 50" LG DLP set. The Sony had deeper blacks, but it was at the expense of the crushing detail in dark scenes.

I'd be interested in knowing how you improved the black crush because the next time I'm in BB, I'll use those setting to see if it helps.

I saw a 55" A20 yesterday at BestBuy, and the black crush was horrible. Sure the blacks were nice and black; but I noticed several scenes were all the shadow details were just completely lost. I was watching it scene for scene against a 50" LG DLP set. The Sony had deeper blacks, but it was at the expense of the crushing detail in dark scenes.

I'd be interested in knowing how you improved the black crush because the next time I'm in BB, I'll use those setting to see if it helps.

Dude,
Based on your signature, I guess you don't think much of Hobbes. :p

I just ordered a 55" A20 from BB. Now, I'm trying to figure out if I'll need a new stand before they deliver it. What is the width of the base the TV (not the actual TV itself)?

Roughly 38 inches. I have my A20 on the same stand that held my old 35 inch CRT until I can find a new one I like.

I did it!!! Ordered my 60" A20 thru Amazon (who sent it to OneCall!)

I can't wait.... now, to find a stand that will work nicely!!! Suggestions?!

I just ordered a 55" A20 from BB. Now, I'm trying to figure out if I'll need a new stand before they deliver it. What is the width of the base the TV (not the actual TV itself)?
I measured that out to 38.5 X 19/38 at Circuit City.

On another note, I was considering running the component cables through my receiver (Harmon kardon AVR-335). Is there any reason to either do that or avoid it? Would there be a potential loss of signal strength? Or am I just thinking too much?

Thank you, AMartin56 and Stable, for getting those measurements. I got a stand that I feel fit the A20 perfectly, once I knew what size of the base was.

BB just delivered it this morning and I spent a few minutes optimizing the picture. I plan to have lots of fun tweaking in the coming days and weeks.

Stable, I think running your component cables for switching purposes through your receiver is fine as long as they will handle a 720p or 1080p and you are depending on that type of resolution.

BB just delivered it this morning and I spent a few minutes optimizing the picture. I plan to have lots of fun tweaking in the coming days and weeks.



Make sure to post your settings that you use!

Make sure to post your settings that you use!
Yeah, let's keep this thread alive.

I got my A20 on Saturday and have just switched the picture setting from "vivid" to "normal". With that done I've had great luck with most TV and DVD stuff, but the black detail definitely needs work.

Shark Tales on HBO-HD Sat night was nothing short of jaw-dropping.

I just got my DVE back from a friend at work and will try to tweak using that sometimes this week and will report what settings I land on.

I agree to keep this thread alive. I just bought mine yesterday after months and months of research. So far so good. I looked at the A10s but wanted a 60" TV so this was my choice. I got a GREAT price and even better financing from my local store.

So far, I love this TV, but keep in mind this is my first big screen TV. The FSU-Miami game looked incredible in HD last night and that was over regular coax from my cable company. I guess they have some free HD channels hidden here and there.

I am planning to upgrade my current Tivo to the HD Tivo ASAP. Sucks that I will have to decide which source gets the HDMI cable, (DVD or Tivo). Any help on this?

I am using the HTIB Sony Dream System, the model is the DAVFX80, which I think is being discontinued. I just wanted something that had some decent sound a decent DVD player. Will be upgrading when HD-DVD comes out. Does anyone have a good recommendation as to the best DVD player for this set?

I really don't understand why the A10s are getting so much pub? Comments?

I will be spending the next few days making adjustments to get my settings just right. I will post what I find out for those interested. I think I will start with what people are posting for the A10s.

Does anyone know if you can get a HDMI-->DVI convertor cable to be able to use that as a second HDMI in?

Also was wondering what you all thought the optimal viewing distance is for this TV (the 60"), my wife is thinking it's too big and I might be returning it for the 55. :(

Also, I was VERY disapointed when I got home and realized that this TV has no Twin View feature or even basic PIP for that matter. The sales guy said that it had Twin View when I was in the store and I guess it's my bad for not checking on this.

Well thanks in advance for any help/comments, I will be happy to post any results I find to make this TV look better. Now on to trying to figure out how to get my 5, 27" TVs to fit around it for football season! :)

I agree to keep this thread alive. I just bought mine yesterday after months and months of research. So far so good. I looked at the A10s but wanted a 60" TV so this was my choice. I got a GREAT price and even better financing from my local store.

So far, I love this TV, but keep in mind this is my first big screen TV. The FSU-Miami game looked incredible in HD last night and that was over regular coax from my cable company. I guess they have some free HD channels hidden here and there.

I am planning to upgrade my current Tivo to the HD Tivo ASAP. Sucks that I will have to decide which source gets the HDMI cable, (DVD or Tivo). Any help on this?

I am using the HTIB Sony Dream System, the model is the DAVFX80, which I think is being discontinued. I just wanted something that had some decent sound a decent DVD player. Will be upgrading when HD-DVD comes out. Does anyone have a good recommendation as to the best DVD player for this set?

I really don't understand why the A10s are getting so much pub? Comments?

I will be spending the next few days making adjustments to get my settings just right. I will post what I find out for those interested. I think I will start with what people are posting for the A10s.

Does anyone know if you can get a HDMI-->DVI convertor cable to be able to use that as a second HDMI in?

Also was wondering what you all thought the optimal viewing distance is for this TV (the 60"), my wife is thinking it's too big and I might be returning it for the 55. :(

Also, I was VERY disapointed when I got home and realized that this TV has no Twin View feature or even basic PIP for that matter. The sales guy said that it had Twin View when I was in the store and I guess it's my bad for not checking on this.

Well thanks in advance for any help/comments, I will be happy to post any results I find to make this TV look better. Now on to trying to figure out how to get my 5, 27" TVs to fit around it for football season! :)
Almost everyone I told that I would be sitting 9-10 feet from the 55" A20 told me I should stick with the 50" flavor (A10). The far end of the couch is a couple feet farther away.

I do notice that the picture is better on the far side of the couch, but I prefer bigger picture over absolute best PQ. I would not go down in size, but I do get the feeling that I'm pushing the limit size-wise though. So I guess the advice was pretty good. Plus I don't need to put on my glasses to watch.

Sorry about the PIP thing. I did notice that but it's no big deal to me. I got some bad info from the retail stores and/or the cable folks when doing my research/setup. When it comes to HDTV nothing beats doing your own research.

I think Sony is ultimately responsible for that 18 month no payment deal. They have it on their website and when I got mine they had a long list of financing options on the screen at checkout. When he said it was no payments for 6 months I said, "nope, look again" and pointed to the "Sony-no payment/interest for 18 months" line and said "that's the one".

For what it's worth Mitsubishi had a no payment until 2008 option available!

I picked up the 55" KDF-E55A20 a few weeks ago and just had the Comcast HD box installed. The live HD broadcasts are awesome (like last night's FSU/Miami game), but the rest of the digital channels are just so, so. The non HD stations are barely watchable at the normal screen setting let alone the wider settings. I would be very interested on reading on how to adjust the settings beyond what the owners manual tells you.

Like I said the live HD is beautiful. Thanks in advance for the help.

Mike

I just set up this TV on the weekend, and have come across an issue where the screen goes black for a second shortly after changing the channel on my satellite receiver. When I change the channel, the picture shows up, with the title banner from the satellite receiver. After about two seconds the title banner goes out. It is during this time that the screen goes black again for a second before the picture comes back. Is this normal?

The satellite receiver is a Bell Expressvu 9200 (Dish 942) using HDMI output. This didn't happen when using an older TV, so I don't think it is the satellite receiver.

It also only happens with the HDMI input. It does not happen with the compontent input.

It's as if the TV needs to detect a signal again once the channel title banner goes out.

Any ideas?

Just wanted to bump this thread.......

[b]”


Out of the box the TV had crushed blacks that was easy to correct by increasing the brightness setting 10%, setting the advanced black level correction to “low” and increasing the “gamma” setting. I have a computer connected to the HDMI input that I use to play HDTV Transport Stream test patterns for calibrating the TV. After adjusted with the test patterns I made minor adjustments to the internal “over the air” HDTV tuner and the cable tuner. The settings for the tuners were very close to the HDMI input settings. I used AVIA test and setup DVD for adjusting the component inputs. The TV remembers different settings on all inputs.


If you had crushed Blacks then maybe the computer is to blame? Did you correct the black crush issue with using a computer and DVI/HDMI? You have to use either WMCE or ffdshow to correct black crush over HDMI with a computer. Also which TV mode did you use? MY 55” Sony GWIV is set to vivid by default. That mode introduces the most black crush. You have to use the Pro mode to eliminate black crush on the GWIVs. Are the new A10’s the same way?

I just got a E60A20 delivered yesterday. ordered it saturday from tweeter. We were looking at the 50A10 so the sales guy told us they made it in a 60 inch model, so we ordered it. It is definitely not the same TV, the wife hates the look of it. But asides from that i hooked it up and got it to look ok on a HD feed. Started to watch a show and about 10 min later the screen went black. The power light was red. Turned the set off and on again, comes on green light, 1 second later you hear a click and power light goes red. So calling tweeter today to see what they are going to do. It doesn't seem there is too much of a choice when it comes to 60 inch LCD tvs in that price range. Just thought Id let folks know my experience so far.

I was wondering if anyone could please post their settings for this series. I have the E60 and am trying to get it to look as good as possible without hiring someone to set it up. I have been reading the A10 forum to try and find some good settings in there.

So far so good though, just looking to do some tweaks, still loving this TV.

I was wondering if anyone could please post their settings for this series. I have the E60 and am trying to get it to look as good as possible without hiring someone to set it up. I have been reading the A10 forum to try and find some good settings in there.

So far so good though, just looking to do some tweaks, still loving this TV.

I just got a E60A20 delivered yesterday. ordered it saturday from tweeter. We were looking at the 50A10 so the sales guy told us they made it in a 60 inch model, so we ordered it. It is definitely not the same TV, the wife hates the look of it. But asides from that i hooked it up and got it to look ok on a HD feed. Started to watch a show and about 10 min later the screen went black. The power light was red. Turned the set off and on again, comes on green light, 1 second later you hear a click and power light goes red. So calling tweeter today to see what they are going to do. It doesn't seem there is too much of a choice when it comes to 60 inch LCD tvs in that price range. Just thought Id let folks know my experience so far.
Return the TV and don’t by from that store again. The A20 is not the same as an A10. In fact last year’s WF series is actually better than the A20 series and it should be a lot cheaper. It also sounds like you got a defective TV.

Return the TV and don’t by from that store again. The A20 is not the same as an A10. In fact last year’s WF series is actually better than the A20 series and it should be a lot cheaper. It also sounds like you got a defective TV.

Better in what sense? Everything that I've been reading says the A20 is a better set than the WF?

The A20 does not have the twin-view and the memory stick. Otherwise they are almost the exact same set besides the new menu. Give me the twin view(I love this for March Madness) and I will just do everything through the service menu anyway.

I just got my E55A20 today. So far it seems great. No problems at all. I'm using it with a SA-8300HD cable box connected via HDMI. I have a lot to learn, but so far everything is good.

I snapped a foto of the serial number label for my records and noticed that the TV was manufactured Sept 2005. I got the set on Sept 8. I wonder how they were able to build this in Sept and get it to me so fast? They must have been working on Labor Day.

I picked up the 55" KDF-E55A20 a few weeks ago and just had the Comcast HD box installed. The live HD broadcasts are awesome (like last night's FSU/Miami game), but the rest of the digital channels are just so, so. The non HD stations are barely watchable at the normal screen setting let alone the wider settings. I would be very interested on reading on how to adjust the settings beyond what the owners manual tells you.

Like I said the live HD is beautiful. Thanks in advance for the help.

Mike

Mike, you want to make sure your Comcast box is set to "PASS THROUGH" for signal output. Honestly I'm not sure how this is done, I'm hoping someone here can chime in or, worse case scenario, you have to call Comcast and ask them.

Your picture is probably poor because Comcasts box is sending you an upconverted signal and your TV is, depending upon the source, down converting it again. The scaler in your set is probably much better than teh one in the Comcast box.

Does anyone know if it is ok to hook a CPU up to this series through the DVI connection? I looked in the manual and it says nothing about it. Just wanted to make sure. I heard it was a problem with the older 70" Sony.

Can anyone elaborate on the differences between the 50" A10 and the 55" and 60" A20 sets? I was assuming they were essentially similar (same generation, same features, etc.) I saw a 50A10 in Sears today and was very impressed with the picture. Do the 55 and 60 have inferior pictures and other features?

Can anyone elaborate on the differences between the 50" A10 and the 55" and 60" A20 sets? I was assuming they were essentially similar (same generation, same features, etc.) I saw a 50A10 in Sears today and was very impressed with the picture. Do the 55 and 60 have inferior pictures and other features?

Simply the A10’s have a new dynamic iris that is supposed to improve black levels. The A10 series also have a new design for the actual TV. The speakers are on the bottom instead of the sides which makes the TV fit into a smaller space width wise. The A10 series TVs also have a native 1280x720 resolution which should theoretically make 1:1 pixel mapping through DVI to HDMI possible. So far I have not seen anyone confirm that this is actually possible. The A20 series are simply last years wf series except the new A20 series does not have the Twin-view(Similar to picture in picture) and memory stick slots. However, it does have a new wega-gate menu that is supposed to make tweaking and calibrating very easy. If you need a 42” or 50” then definitely get an A10 as those TVs are very inexpensive right now. If you need a 55” then try to find a steal on a WF TV from last year. If you can’t find a wf TV then the A20’s will do. If you want the very best then wait for the new 1080p SXRD TVs. However, those TVs are quite expensive compared to the A10s and A20 for that matter. Their benefit is still to be determined also. Happy shopping.

Nighttime viewers, are you happy with the black levels on this set?

I went to Circuit City the other day, brought a few DVDs - Empire Strikes Back, Incredibles, Return of the King - and I thought DVD playback was pretty good on this TV via 480p. I'm still not happy with the 42 A10's black level reproduction, but I do like the size. The only TV that's giving this particular one competition is the 34" XBR 960.

I also played Spider-Man and Aliens (both formatted at 1.85:1 aspect ratio) and thought DVD playback got substantially worse at this ratio. Lots of pixelation, jagged edges, nowhere as smooth as DVDs formatted at 2.35:1.

Anyone else have a similar experience with this? Also, who here has their DVD set to 480i, 480p or 720/1080i up converted? I'd like to know what your experiences have been.

Regards,

Justin

Mike, you want to make sure your Comcast box is set to "PASS THROUGH" for signal output. Honestly I'm not sure how this is done, I'm hoping someone here can chime in or, worse case scenario, you have to call Comcast and ask them.

Your picture is probably poor because Comcasts box is sending you an upconverted signal and your TV is, depending upon the source, down converting it again. The scaler in your set is probably much better than teh one in the Comcast box.
CF,

Thanks. I just hate going through the leaning curve with new technology. Sounds like I need to give Comcast a ring. I'll keep all posted.

Just purchased a 55A20 yesterday. Got it for about $2500 including delivery... wasn't the best price I could find but I trusted this etailer more. This thread (and avsforum in general) was quite helpful in getting me to my choice. I'm sure I'll be coming back to discuss settings once I receive the set.

I did it!!! Ordered my 60" A20 thru Amazon (who sent it to OneCall!)

I can't wait.... now, to find a stand that will work nicely!!! Suggestions?!

I just received this set yesterday, and can say nothing more that it rocks. For those complaining about poor standard definition images (SD), they are probably just using a crappy source like cable tv, or a bad antenna feed.

I've got this bad boy sitting connected to my HD Tivo DVR, and all pictures are stellar. I haven't even gotten around to tweaking the settings yet. Going to wait for the HDNet channel to show their calibration show to see if that helps.

The channels are all good, the HD channels will blow your mind. I'm not a huge sports fan, but after seeing some of the sporting events in HD, you just sit there and drool.

Great set, and at under $2900 through most online shops - worth every dime in my book.

I just received this set yesterday, and can say nothing more that it rocks. For those complaining about poor standard definition images (SD), they are probably just using a crappy source like cable tv, or a bad antenna feed.

I've got this bad boy sitting connected to my HD Tivo DVR, and all pictures are stellar. I haven't even gotten around to tweaking the settings yet. Going to wait for the HDNet channel to show their calibration show to see if that helps.

The channels are all good, the HD channels will blow your mind. I'm not a huge sports fan, but after seeing some of the sporting events in HD, you just sit there and drool.

Great set, and at under $2900 through most online shops - worth every dime in my book.

Bill - do you have DirectTV? I've heard many people say that the satellite quality is better than digital cable. Is this true? I'm currently trying to decide between satellite and cable.

Bill - do you have DirectTV? I've heard many people say that the satellite quality is better than digital cable. Is this true? I'm currently trying to decide between satellite and cable.

In every home/apt I've lived in, dealing with cable companies such as Comcast, RCN, Time Warner - Satellite blows it away.

My SD DirecTV channels are 10000000% better than the Time Warner Cable SD channels we had in our apt while we were waiting for our new home to be built. The Cable TV HD looks good, but the SD sucks.

Just my opinion...

After months of research, I finally decided on the 55A20. It was a close call between the 50A10 but I wanted the larger TV. I also had a Pansonic 50U plasma on order but cancelled it based on my location (Denver) and that I didn't want to potentially have a TV last only 5-7 years.

First impressions:
It's a BIG tv. It's hard to appreciate the size of these tvs on a display floor as the space is so large relative to a home scenario. The tv does, of course, fit in my media center (barely) but is very overpowering visually.

PQ right now is a bit disappointing. SD via my Qwest digital cable is tolerable but not great. They do not offer HD content so I cannot judge that. DVD looks pretty good but is not the stunning picture I expected. The picture is a little grainy and I cannot seem to get realistic flesh tones or reds. There seems to be a greenish hue yet Yoda does not look very green (perhaps he's not really as green as I like to remember him).

I actually think the sound from the set speakers is fine. Yes, I will use my AV system (6:1) for watching movies but for normal TV viewing, the internal speakers suffice.

Calibration: Here's where I need help. Playing with the hue only seems to let you move to either more red or more green, but not both. I can start to reproduce better flesh and fire effects moving towards "red" but at the cost of losing the "greens." I cannot get the DRC menu to come up, even in "custom" picture. It shows it but it is not selectable. Clearly, I am a novice in this area so if any experts out there can post their settings, it would be very helpful.

Connections: I do not have HDMI enabled components. I am connecting my pro scan DVD player to my a/v receiver, and then to my tv, all via component video cables. Should I just connect my DVD video directly to my TV and bypass the receiver?

My cable tv connection is coming straight from the wall. I have one central box and that is located at my main floor tv. I believe I can hook up from the box directly to one TV with S-video. But since it's upstairs right now, that's currently not an option.

My viewing distance is about 11-12 feet and eye level is right about at the bottom bezel. The 55 may be a little too big, even at that distance.

Honestly, I think most of my PQ problems are connection and signal based. It seems that going with a better cable or satellite provider may help. But right now I'm just plain disappointed. This was the TV I'd been waiting to get for years now as I finally completed my basement and set up my home theater.

I would really like to keep the A20 but have not ruled out returning it for the 50A10.

Any help would be much appreciated. :confused:

How is this set for watching sports? Is there any motion artifacts at all?Thanks for any info.

After months of research, I finally decided on the 55A20. It was a close call between the 50A10 but I wanted the larger TV. I also had a Pansonic 50U plasma on order but cancelled it based on my location (Denver) and that I didn't want to potentially have a TV last only 5-7 years.

First impressions:
It's a BIG tv. It's hard to appreciate the size of these tvs on a display floor as the space is so large relative to a home scenario. The tv does, of course, fit in my media center (barely) but is very overpowering visually.

PQ right now is a bit disappointing. SD via my Qwest digital cable is tolerable but not great. They do not offer HD content so I cannot judge that. DVD looks pretty good but is not the stunning picture I expected. The picture is a little grainy and I cannot seem to get realistic flesh tones or reds. There seems to be a greenish hue yet Yoda does not look very green (perhaps he's not really as green as I like to remember him).

I actually think the sound from the set speakers is fine. Yes, I will use my AV system (6:1) for watching movies but for normal TV viewing, the internal speakers suffice.

Calibration: Here's where I need help. Playing with the hue only seems to let you move to either more red or more green, but not both. I can start to reproduce better flesh and fire effects moving towards "red" but at the cost of losing the "greens." I cannot get the DRC menu to come up, even in "custom" picture. It shows it but it is not selectable. Clearly, I am a novice in this area so if any experts out there can post their settings, it would be very helpful.

Connections: I do not have HDMI enabled components. I am connecting my pro scan DVD player to my a/v receiver, and then to my tv, all via component video cables. Should I just connect my DVD video directly to my TV and bypass the receiver?

My cable tv connection is coming straight from the wall. I have one central box and that is located at my main floor tv. I believe I can hook up from the box directly to one TV with S-video. But since it's upstairs right now, that's currently not an option.

My viewing distance is about 11-12 feet and eye level is right about at the bottom bezel. The 55 may be a little too big, even at that distance.

Honestly, I think most of my PQ problems are connection and signal based. It seems that going with a better cable or satellite provider may help. But right now I'm just plain disappointed. This was the TV I'd been waiting to get for years now as I finally completed my basement and set up my home theater.

I would really like to keep the A20 but have not ruled out returning it for the 50A10.

Any help would be much appreciated. :confused:


I just got the same TV. My signal is from a (digital) Brighthouse HD DVR connected via HDMI, and a Pioneer DV-563A DVD player via component. The PQ is astounding. I have tinkered with the adjustments but the standard settings seem fine. Sometimes I prefer Vivid mode, usually I go with normal. I have to think your issues are related to your signal quality. I am sitting about 10 feet from the set. It would be worth a try to hook the DVD directly to the TV via component and see how it looks. I am just using the built-in speakers and they are surprisingly good. They sound better than my old home theater system.

After months of research, I finally decided on the 55A20. It was a close call between the 50A10 but I wanted the larger TV. I also had a Pansonic 50U plasma on order but cancelled it based on my location (Denver) and that I didn't want to potentially have a TV last only 5-7 years.

First impressions:
It's a BIG tv. It's hard to appreciate the size of these tvs on a display floor as the space is so large relative to a home scenario. The tv does, of course, fit in my media center (barely) but is very overpowering visually.

PQ right now is a bit disappointing. SD via my Qwest digital cable is tolerable but not great. They do not offer HD content so I cannot judge that. DVD looks pretty good but is not the stunning picture I expected. The picture is a little grainy and I cannot seem to get realistic flesh tones or reds. There seems to be a greenish hue yet Yoda does not look very green (perhaps he's not really as green as I like to remember him).

I actually think the sound from the set speakers is fine. Yes, I will use my AV system (6:1) for watching movies but for normal TV viewing, the internal speakers suffice.

Calibration: Here's where I need help. Playing with the hue only seems to let you move to either more red or more green, but not both. I can start to reproduce better flesh and fire effects moving towards "red" but at the cost of losing the "greens." I cannot get the DRC menu to come up, even in "custom" picture. It shows it but it is not selectable. Clearly, I am a novice in this area so if any experts out there can post their settings, it would be very helpful.

Connections: I do not have HDMI enabled components. I am connecting my pro scan DVD player to my a/v receiver, and then to my tv, all via component video cables. Should I just connect my DVD video directly to my TV and bypass the receiver?

My cable tv connection is coming straight from the wall. I have one central box and that is located at my main floor tv. I believe I can hook up from the box directly to one TV with S-video. But since it's upstairs right now, that's currently not an option.

My viewing distance is about 11-12 feet and eye level is right about at the bottom bezel. The 55 may be a little too big, even at that distance.

Honestly, I think most of my PQ problems are connection and signal based. It seems that going with a better cable or satellite provider may help. But right now I'm just plain disappointed. This was the TV I'd been waiting to get for years now as I finally completed my basement and set up my home theater.

I would really like to keep the A20 but have not ruled out returning it for the 50A10.

Any help would be much appreciated. :confused:

I've got the 60" version, at a 12' distance, and that is about the right space. You should be fine at that distance on a 55". I think the general rule of thumb is 2 - 2.5 times the dimentions (60" = 120" = 10 feet, or 60" x2.5 = 150 = 12' 6"...)

As for the PQ question - garbage in, garbage out. Ditch the cable tv, and get satellite. DirecTV w/ this set will blow your socks off.

The best part, I didn't even change any settings on the box yet, so things will only get better when I find some good calibration settings.

How is this set for watching sports? Is there any motion artifacts at all?Thanks for any info.

I see a little pixelation when the camera pan extremely fast, but I think the sports in HD look stellar on the A20

I see a little pixelation when the camera pan extremely fast, but I think the sports in HD look stellar on the A20

That's not the TV. It's compression artifacting. I have Time Warner here in Texas. If I watch a game on HDNET (Like Stanford and Navy this past weekend) it looks PERFECT. Of course Mark Cuban supposedly requires carriers to provide this channel in full bandwidth by contract before he allows anyone to carry it.

On ABC I get a lot of the artifacting you describe. CBS is slightly better and then ESPN is probably the best next to HDNET.

I haven't seen any of what you would call LCD lag on these sets. You used to be able to see it really well on 'crawls' like you get on news channels and my A20 handles those perfectly.

I've got the 60" version, at a 12' distance, and that is about the right space. You should be fine at that distance on a 55". I think the general rule of thumb is 2 - 2.5 times the dimentions (60" = 120" = 10 feet, or 60" x2.5 = 150 = 12' 6"...)

As for the PQ question - garbage in, garbage out. Ditch the cable tv, and get satellite. DirecTV w/ this set will blow your socks off.

The best part, I didn't even change any settings on the box yet, so things will only get better when I find some good calibration settings.
"My" seat on the couch is about 10 feet from the 55" A20 we have and you could make a case that it's a little too close (but I like it).

The other end of the couch is about 12 feet away and their is a difference. It looks perfect. I don't think you're too close.

When you get something to watch with good PQ you'll be really happy, but I usually only find 1 or 2 things at a time to watch that really look good.

I did tweak a little with DVE but not much different than straight out of the box on standard setting (actually I believe "vivid" was the default out of the box):

Brightness 53 (default on "standard"=50)
Contrast 65 (d=75)-I had trouble with this, this is kind of a guess
Color 52 (d=50)
Hue-left at 0
Sharpness-45

This is my first post, so I apologize in advance for asking a question in the wrong thread or a question that has been previously asked.

I am in the process of purchasing a new tv...(I currently have a 10 year old tube to) My choices include:

Panasonic TH50PX500U 50" Plasma
or
one of the Sony's (A10 50" or A20 55")

Any opinions or experiences would be deeply appreciated!

So it seems that my issue with my DVD playback had to do with the fact that I had no reds. Hadn't noticed this as much as I was playing a lot of low light type movies. I think this affected my greens as well. I bypassed my receiver and hooked the DVD player directly to the tv and, voila, I have a beautiful DVD picture.

I played around with my cable tv connection and took the cable off of the Monster surger protector that I was routing it through. This seems to have helped the overall quality, though it still not great. I don't think this will improve much more without changing cable/satellite providers and getting HDTV (now I'm researching OTA tuners).

So, other than the being TV being perhaps a little too big, I'm much happier with my picture and am anxious to view some HD content soon. Still may trade for the A10 but this is only because of size, not picture...

Cheers!

So it seems that my issue with my DVD playback had to do with the fact that I had no reds. Hadn't noticed this as much as I was playing a lot of low light type movies. I think this affected my greens as well. I bypassed my receiver and hooked the DVD player directly to the tv and, voila, I have a beautiful DVD picture.

I played around with my cable tv connection and took the cable off of the Monster surger protector that I was routing it through. This seems to have helped the overall quality, though it still not great. I don't think this will improve much more without changing cable/satellite providers and getting HDTV (now I'm researching OTA tuners).

So, other than the being TV being perhaps a little too big, I'm much happier with my picture and am anxious to view some HD content soon. Still may trade for the A10 but this is only because of size, not picture...

Cheers!

If you had no red you might have crossed up the red audio cable and the red video cable.

I had the WF 55 incher and had to return it...
I just got back from a trip and my room had another Sony 55 incher from the
prior year...
I had the same problem with both and hope someone can help...

During movies from a DVD player (3 different ones tried), the Zoom setting
would just change ALL ON ITS OWN.

I tried everything... even had a tech come out.

Has anyone else had this problem? Or does anyone else have an idea of what I can do?

And everything was hooked up thru component on mine (at the hotel room I didnt check).

I don't think anyone has posted their optimized settings for the A20.

Anyone have anything to share?

I need a new set and this one is currently at the top of my list. I want 60" minimum. I need to keep the price in the $3k range. I want it to last 5 years+. I'm hoping SD material from D* and OTA will look OK as I still watch a lot of it. I want something reliable, based on the large thread on the JVC's, they seem to have more than their share of problems.

umr, you seemed generally unimpressed with this set from your posts. What's better in this price range for a 60" set, either LCOS or LCD?

Jim

Jim,
My friend that talked me out of my new KDF-E55A20 the same day it came in, has two other A20's set up in a lounge in his billiard parlor and the PQ is outstanding. Picture is very clear and bright. He sold me on this HDTV. When mine was set up in my house, my wife said "that TV is huge." WolfpackRon.

I'm watching MNF tonight and the picture is absolutely unwatchable. It's kind of hard to describe, but the picture kind of stutters. It's just not fluid motion. This only happens while they're showing the action. It doesn't happen when they show Madden yapping or on commericials. It also doesn't happen on any other channel.

I'm watching OTA thru a DirecTV HD Tivo unit. I've also tried using the tuner in the Sony and get the same effect.

I've had the TV for a little over a month and have not experienced any other problems. Could this be some kind of issue with the signal? Since I haven't experienced this before, I'm guessing the signal is bad for some reason tonight???

Thanks for any input

I'm seeing a lot of compression artifacts on the game tonight via Time Warner Cable. I wouldn't worry about it unless you start seeing problems on other HD channels. I'm pretty sure what you are describing is just a poor signal. I have yet to see any motion blur on my A20.

Thanks. It cleared up in the 4th quarter. Wierd.

I would appreciate others posting Sony KDF-E55A20 Picture Quality Settings. I noted Stable Dave's listing, but did not understand his setting for contrast. I do not see a setting for contrast with a default 75. Thanks in advance. WolfpackRon.

Saw the A20 55" at Circuit City today, next to a Sammy kapt Kirk DLP model, I was very impressed with the Sony.

Has anyone hooked up a PC yet? What kind of resolution can you get? How does it look?

Also, what about DVD, does it upconvert, how does it look on a regular non-upconverted DVD player?

Thanks!

Hey all,
I have spent the past few months waiting for the 50inch A10 and saw it and studied it in various stores and settings. That said, I continue to gravitate to the 55inch A20. The picture looks better to me and the set itself looks more solid and sculpted than the 50inch box. All that said, I just finished reading thru the 138 posts here and there seems to be a few complaints. Questions.......

Is the SD quality the same as the A10?
Can you hook an Xbox up and have no lip-sync issues etc...
Is anyone totally thrilled about this set?

thanks guys,
Take Care
Craig :)

Hey all,
I have spent the past few months waiting for the 50inch A10 and saw it and studied it in various stores and settings. That said, I continue to gravitate to the 55inch A20. The picture looks better to me and the set itself looks more solid and sculpted than the 50inch box. All that said, I just finished reading thru the 138 posts here and there seems to be a few complaints. Questions.......

Is the SD quality the same as the A10?
Can you hook an Xbox up and have no lip-sync issues etc...
Is anyone totally thrilled about this set?

thanks guys,
Take Care
Craig :)


I have the E55A20 and I am certainly thrilled with it. No complaints at all - the display is incredible. SD looks great too. I have not hooked up an XBox so I can't comment on that. I am using the built in speakers and am really happy with the sound. It actually sounds better than my old home theater system.

Hey all,
I was at our local BB today and I asked about the price of the tv,stand,extended warranty and cables and the dude came back with a lame price of roughly 200 off the total. He factored in $5oo for the cables and $8oo for the stand(cdn).......
Is there a good alternative to the $800 stand and what cables do I need?
Thanks so much for any info.
Take Care
Craig

Bump....why is this thread so quiet.
Could it be that these sets are perfect and nobody has neer a complaint?
:)

I'm enjoying my 55 inch A20 after having to return a Samsung DLP due to rainbows. Only downside for me is the small number of inputs (Although not everyone will want as many as I do) but a switch box has mostly resolved that (Until the XBox 360 comes along) . Since I see rainbows RP LCD was very atttractive to me (no burn in from games or 4:3 content, small weight and cabinet size, not too expensive for it's size,can watch it in a room that doesn't have to be a cave, no game lag and a good SD signal looks pretty good on the set (and I have an 35XBR48 to watch poor SD feed on).

This thread is quiet because the A10's are more popular....which is fine, but I'm not convinced that the features in the A10 like the dynamic iris would make that much of a difference to ME.

Andrew

I'm enjoying my 55 inch A20 after having to return a Samsung DLP due to rainbows. Only downside for me is the small number of inputs (Although not everyone will want as many as I do) but a switch box has mostly resolved that (Until the XBox 360 comes along) . Since I see rainbows RP LCD was very atttractive to me (no burn in from games or 4:3 content, small weight and cabinet size, not too expensive for it's size,can watch it in a room that doesn't have to be a cave, no game lag and a good SD signal looks pretty good on the set (and I have an 35XBR48 to watch poor SD feed on).

This thread is quiet because the A10's are more popular....which is fine, but I'm not convinced that the features in the A10 like the dynamic iris would make that much of a difference to ME.

Andrew

Hey Andrew,
Do you think Xbox 360 would be fully operational and flawless on this set?
My son and I want to get it around Christmas and I know some TV's have lip sync issues etc., with games.
Thanks
Take Care

Craig

Hello, all,
I was checking out the A20, SXRD and 50V525 at one of the local stores. My sight was setting at A10, but they don't have it in stock nor display. However they had an 55inch A20 and 50V525 side by side, I found out the PQ was very close. But there was a $1000 price different. How is the A10 compare with the A20?
Needless to say, the SXRD blew everyone else away. But it cost way too much that I'm willing to pay.

Thanks
Ken

Hello, all,
I was checking out the A20, SXRD and 50V525 at one of the local stores. My sight was setting at A10, but they don't have it in stock nor display. However they had an 55inch A20 and 50V525 side by side, I found out the PQ was very close. But there was a $1000 price different. How is the A10 compare with the A20?
Needless to say, the SXRD blew everyone else away. But it cost way too much that I'm willing to pay.

Thanks
Ken

I prefer the A20 over the A10 but I think I may be in the minority.

Today is the Day!

I ordered my A20 over a month ago now and after a shipping deboggle it will finally be here. A month without TV or Games sucks! I was actually so distraught at times that I listened to movies that I had watched before but without the picture. Recalling all the scenes from my mind. The sound it so much more immersive this way. Try it sometime. :-)

So to chime in on all these sets and to put some support behind the ever unpopular A20 thread...I too did all the comparisons. Compared all the Sony lines. Compared them to Hitachi, JVC, Pioneer, Marantz, RUNCO, Mits, etc. etc. At my price point and for the picture the A20 was the better set. Hands down.

In my opinion the A20 looks crisper and more color precise than the A10. I have come to this conclusion Time and Time again. I know the black levels aren't quite as nice as the A10 but the overall picture appears better to me. FYI, I have posted other thoughts on the IRIS and Resolution of these sets in another thread. Check them out if you like. I do wish the A20 had one more HDMI input but I'll deal with the one for use with my OPPO DVD player. For all other components (game systems) I'll route through my receiver.

I intend to hook up an XBOX 360 and PS3 upon release. I do not anticipate any lag or other problems. I have previously owned a 50 inch Sony LCD RPTV and it didn't have problems with the XBOX or PS2. I'm expecting the same.

For those of you who buy a new set and don't use a DVD tuning disk...TSK TSK. IT really makes such a difference in your PQ.

And for those of you who buy the A20, be pleased. This is really a great set! Truly superb color, great resolution, NO rainbows, less SDE than the A10, Brighter picture and great Contrast ratio (NO it's not the best, but it's very good).

Cheers!

I too like the Sony A20, but have not done much tuning on the PQ. The picture looks very good out of the box. The HDTV is out of site. Football and racing are like being there. I am watching baseball in HD now. I also got my Dolby Digital sound system set up today. I got cable installed on Wednesday of last week. Time Warner cable does not have ABC and UPN in HD, so I may purchase an OTA antenna to get Monday night football in HD.

I would still like someone to list their settings for the A20. Thanks in advance. WolfpackRon.

I will post my settings after I have tuned it this evening.

BTW, everytime I have seen the A20 in a store somewhere it has always had the big 3LCD sticker logo on it in the lower left-hand corner. Mine arrived today but doesnt have the logo. Is this normal?

BTW, everytime I have seen the A20 in a store somewhere it has always had the big 3LCD sticker logo on it in the lower left-hand corner. Mine arrived today but doesnt have the logo. Is this normal?

Mine has the sticker in the lower right corner. I think it's ugly... I would like to take it off. Has anyone done this? I don't want to make it worse.

Mine has the sticker in the lower right corner. I think it's ugly... I would like to take it off. Has anyone done this? I don't want to make it worse.

Why would one have it and not the other?

Mine has the sticker in the lower right corner. I think it's ugly... I would like to take it off. Has anyone done this? I don't want to make it worse.

I was worried, but it actually came off easily and cleanly. It just takes a little careful fingernail prying.

Well if mine had arrived with it I would take it off. They may not be placing the stickers on them anymore...depending on production date. Who knows. Sticker or NO sticker it's still a 3LCD set.

I was worried, but it actually came off easily and cleanly. It just takes a little careful fingernail prying.


Thanks for the tip. I just peeled my sticker off. It looks much better.

Is it true that neither of these has Twin vue PIP or whatver they call it now. Its hard to believe a TV of this price range would not have this as standard. In fact any TV of this caliber should have it. My 150 dollar CRT in the bedroon has it.

We like the speakers on the bottom to keep the width down. But the lack of 2 tuners and twin vue is a stopper.

Thanks,

jsut ordered the 55A20 and get it Friday. I ahven;t seen much in here about settings, does anyone ahve any to share?

jsut ordered the 55A20 and get it Friday. I ahven;t seen much in here about settings, does anyone ahve any to share?


Someone said to simply use the A10 settings....only difference of course being the lac of an iris. There is a settings thread for the Grand Wega 5.....
Let us know what you think when you get the tv.
Good Luck
Craig

I've had the 60A20 for about a six weeks now and absolutely love it. I've been using the tweaks from the A10 thread and they seem to work pretty well although I'm new to calibration. I can't remember if the tweaks are in the Grand Wega 5 tweaks thread or the A10 thread, but one of the members posted settings for each type of input(DVD, digital cable, HD, etc) and they seem pretty good.

I jsut got my 55A20, now I need alittle help understanding the HD signals. How can I tell what format a HD station is brodcasting in, and also whetehr or not the show was recorded in HD, or merely being shown in HD. I assume there is a difference. Sorry for the simplistic question.

I jsut got my 55A20, now I need alittle help understanding the HD signals. How can I tell what format a HD station is brodcasting in, and also whetehr or not the show was recorded in HD, or merely being shown in HD. I assume there is a difference. Sorry for the simplistic question.

The display button on the remote will cause the TV to display the type of signal it's receiving. I get all of my programming thru a cable TV box and it's set to output 1080I, so that's all I see. On a DVD it will show 480P. Many shows have a logo that indicates that they are broadcasting in HD.

Thanks. I have mycable box set to 720p, i guess I will play around with changing that to see what I like better. I am still trying to find the best combo for watching SD channels. I am using an HDMI (from cable box to TV) for HD stuff, but I find the SD channels come in better if I use RCA jacks from the box to the tv on Inout 1. How are you watching yours?

Thanks. I have mycable box set to 720p, i guess I will play around with changing that to see what I like better. I am still trying to find the best combo for watching SD channels. I am using an HDMI (from cable box to TV) for HD stuff, but I find the SD channels come in better if I use RCA jacks from the box to the tv on Inout 1. How are you watching yours?

I run everything thru an HDMI cable. The SD stuff looks very good as far as I can tell. I'm not an expert at this stuff though. I am using a SA 8300HD cable box. I changed my box to use 720P, it looked about the same to me so I left it at the default 1080i. I haven't tried the composite inputs. I have a DVD player on one of the component inputs and it looks very good too. I have Brighthouse cable (running SARA).

Hi, I just found this forum today (I'm used to just reading the ReplayTV forum). I got my 55A20 a week ago and received Hi-Def Cable earlier this week. Here are my current two questions I'm working on.

1) The Hi-Def cable box does not have a HDMI port but it does have a DVI port. Right now, I'm using composite video but I would assume that DVI would be better. Is there any point to getting a DVI to HDMI converter?

2) I noticed that the TV has a Digital Coax output. I currently am using the TV's speakers while my 5.1 sound system is being repaired. The cable box, VCR, and DVD are using the RCA jacks to send audio to the TV. When the home system is back, should I leave the current wiring and use the digital coax from the TV to the receiver or move the RCA jacks directly to the receiver. I'm trying to make it easy on the family to use the TV and not switching audio inputs would be easier.

All comments welcome.

// Scott

Hi all,

I bought the 55A20 about a week ago and love it. I had to upgrade my digical TW cable to HDTV :D and it works great.

Need to adjust for display for best viewing but will get to that later. The A10 forum has alot of great suggestions that I plan on following.

Today I connected my PC (ATI AIW 9800 Pro) to the TV and it took me a while. I was using PowerStrip (new user) to get the video set but had no luck. After reading alot on here and ATI web site I am using the CCC display setting to get it working. Currently running at 1152X648 as it has the "best" setting for me at this point. I would like to run at a higher setting but have not got it working yet. Any have this setup yet? I would like to hear your thoughts. What are your resolutions set at?

The only small issue I am having is that the text has a shadow to it and it is readable but not crisp as it would be on a CRT. Anyone have this problem or solved it? Getting ready to play Half Life 2 and see how the graphics look.

Glad to be a new member of this forum and a new owner of a HDTV. :)

Jon in Kansas City.

Still would like to see posts with Sony KDF-E55A20 settings. WolfpackRon.

Still would like to see posts with Sony KDF-E55A20 settings. WolfpackRon.


Here are my settings:
Picture 70
Brightness 60
Color 57
Hue 0
Color temp Warm
Sharpness 58

Mort

I tried these settings, but was unable to use the "warm" setting for color temp because I was not able to highlight it. Any suggestions? WolfpackRon.

Hi, I just found this forum today (I'm used to just reading the ReplayTV forum). I got my 55A20 a week ago and received Hi-Def Cable earlier this week. Here are my current two questions I'm working on.

1) The Hi-Def cable box does not have a HDMI port but it does have a DVI port. Right now, I'm using composite video but I would assume that DVI would be better. Is there any point to getting a DVI to HDMI converter?

2) I noticed that the TV has a Digital Coax output. I currently am using the TV's speakers while my 5.1 sound system is being repaired. The cable box, VCR, and DVD are using the RCA jacks to send audio to the TV. When the home system is back, should I leave the current wiring and use the digital coax from the TV to the receiver or move the RCA jacks directly to the receiver. I'm trying to make it easy on the family to use the TV and not switching audio inputs would be easier.

All comments welcome.

// Scott

I'm still wandering on these questions and my receiver is due back today. Anyone have a suggestion? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? :cool:

// Scott

I tried these settings, but was unable to use the "warm" setting for color temp because I was not able to highlight it. Any suggestions? WolfpackRon.

Are you in "custom" picture?

mrega,
No, I was not in "custom." I will try again with the picture setting in custom. Thanks, WolfpackRon.

When I am using my OTA antenna for ABC Monday night football, how do I get audio from my A/V receiver? The OTA antenna is connected to my Sony KDF-E55A20 HDTV using the antenna connection. Thanks in advance. WolfpackRon.

When I am using my OTA antenna for ABC Monday night football, how do I get audio from my A/V receiver? The OTA antenna is connected to my Sony KDF-E55A20 HDTV using the antenna connection. Thanks in advance. WolfpackRon.
wolfpackron,

You have a digital optical out port (toslink) that will be active if you are receiving a digital signal. There are also analogue audio out ports (RCA jacks). However, the analogue ports are enabled only if the onboard speakers are turned off in the settings menu. There is also a setting for the analogue audio out to be variable or fixed volume.

rareearth,
Thanks for your input. I connected an optical audio cable from the TV to the input on my A/V receiver. There seemed to be an echo/lag when using both TV and A/V sound. The TV had a way to adjust for this lag under audio settings. It is also possible to cut off the speakers on the TV as well. It sounds fine using both sources (TV and A/V receiver) with the A/V sync set on a setting of 3. WolfpackRon.

Just got the 55A20 on Sunday. I'm stuck with analog TWC and that's probably going to be the case for a long time. FOX and UPN appear to be digital, as their quality is far superior to all others. Despite this fact, I think I need to get a HD antenna. I'm about 16 miles from all the action, but I don't think Outdoor is a real option. That would probably cause too many problems. I'd really like to know if anyone is using an HD antenna with their A20 and how good the quality is. I've been checking the lineups and programming is limited, but increasing, and will be mandatory in May. Does anyone have any advice as to which antenna will be the best indoor? Is there really an advantage for amplified antennae?

Keep in mind, I'm on a limited budget.
RCA, TERK, JENSEN, ZENITH.
Oy.

drelien,
I too have TWC in Winston-Salem, NC and the Sony KDF-E55A20 HDTV. I get most of the local channels on digital TWC cable TV. I am missing ABC on cable, which means missing Monday night football in HDTV. I got a TERK TV55 antenna from a friend for free. This is a unit that can be used indoors or outdoors. It is about four feet long and about 4 inches thick. I am able to get ABC which is about 35 miles from WS as well as 10 or 12 other digital channels. This antenna is rated poorly by some, and good by some. It is meeting my needs. I have it installed in my basement between the floor joists just below my TV on the main floor of the house. The price is about $100, which may be a little pricy. It has a built in amplifier which is powered by 120v with a transformer using 12vdc. I really like my Sony TV. The A10 seems to get all of the press, but I could not be happier. Good luck, WolfpackRon.

I have the 60A20 and use the Terk55 to get OTA HD. I've also seen mixed reviews on this puppy and I'm happy to say its the antennae I'm keeping. I live in Plano, Tx and I've got it perched on top of a 8 foot book shelf right now and it picks up all the digital and HD stations without ever having to move it. I'm about 35 miles from the towers. I'm getting anywere from 80% signal to 90% signal strength on most channels.

I'm planning to mount it in the attic when I have some time and I'm thinking it should be even better from up there.

Thanks guys. I haven't even seen the new tv yet since I haven't gone home, but I'm going tomorrow and I can't wait! I just heard that some adjustments were made with the cable box and now all the channels look like their digital. If this is truly the case, I'll just buy a cheap hd antenna, cuz i won't be using it that often. I'm really excited and I'll look into the Terk products if they work for you. I'll keep you posted on any happenings and goings on.

I've been using this in Philly with good success.

Zenith ZHDTV1 HDTV Indoor Antenna

Eagles games come in clear and in dolby digital 5.1.

Hi,
Just wanted to know of a good solid alternative to the Sony stand. One that would not see the tv topple and is good looking.
Anyone using such a creature?

Thanks

Craig

Just got my 50A10. Used the Comcast DVR box for a few days, and its Toslink out to get 5.1 DD. Got a cable card yesterday. and tried to use the digital audio out on the TV to get 5.1 into my AV receiver. No luck. The analogue out works OK until you plug the toslink into the TV then completely nothing. I know the TV is getting a 5.1 signal because I have another TV tuned to the same station, and the AV Synch menu in the audio menu is live. Sony told me that if that menu is live, 5.1 is there. The only thing that has changed is the connection formerly on the cable box is now on the back of the TV. I have a friend with the same TV and the same problems.

Any thoughts?

Hello: Did you figure this out. I have the same config and surprise the same issue? Can you help?

thanks,
R



I just set up this TV on the weekend, and have come across an issue where the screen goes black for a second shortly after changing the channel on my satellite receiver. When I change the channel, the picture shows up, with the title banner from the satellite receiver. After about two seconds the title banner goes out. It is during this time that the screen goes black again for a second before the picture comes back. Is this normal?

The satellite receiver is a Bell Expressvu 9200 (Dish 942) using HDMI output. This didn't happen when using an older TV, so I don't think it is the satellite receiver.

It also only happens with the HDMI input. It does not happen with the compontent input.

It's as if the TV needs to detect a signal again once the channel title banner goes out.

Any ideas?

No I haven't. You are the first to reply.

I have since switched to using the component input which does not show the problem. My guess is that there is a momentary loss of signal through the HDMI output, which causes the tv to re-aquire the signal, thus causing the black screen.

Maybe it will be fixed in the long coming firmware upgrade for the 9200, but I have not read anywhere that it has been reported as a bug. If not I guess I will reserve the HDMI input for a future HD DVD player.



Hello: Did you figure this out. I have the same config and surprise the same issue? Can you help?

thanks,
R

Just got the 55A20 on Sunday. I'm stuck with analog TWC and that's probably going to be the case for a long time. FOX and UPN appear to be digital, as their quality is far superior to all others. Despite this fact, I think I need to get a HD antenna. I'm about 16 miles from all the action, but I don't think Outdoor is a real option. That would probably cause too many problems. I'd really like to know if anyone is using an HD antenna with their A20 and how good the quality is. I've been checking the lineups and programming is limited, but increasing, and will be mandatory in May. Does anyone have any advice as to which antenna will be the best indoor? Is there really an advantage for amplified antennae?

Keep in mind, I'm on a limited budget.
RCA, TERK, JENSEN, ZENITH.
Oy.


My biggest concern was getting HD OTA. I am watching my dollars as well currently. I have my set in my basement and an RCA amplified set of rabbit ears perched on the basement window ledge. I recieve 10 digital channels and 19 analog. Rarely do I have to adjust or move the antennae for better reception. A recent stormy day did seem to interfere but not disrupt the signal. Only the major networks come in clearly but they are superb. I originally bought a $20 set of amplified rabbit ears but upgraded to the $30 set thinking it would be better but in all honesty they are about the same. I do live in the metro area and am very close to the broadcasters. I would say start with a set of rabbit ears and work your way up untill you are happy with your reception. You can always take them back to the store in they do not work properly.

Hi,
Just wanted to know of a good solid alternative to the Sony stand. One that would not see the tv topple and is good looking.
Anyone using such a creature?

Thanks

Craig
Circuit City carries a Gusdorf stand #18421. It is 57' wide and so is a perfect fit for the 55" A20. IMO the color is a good match also. The only drawback is that the glass shelf is relatively flimsy. If you want to put something heavy (like a center speaker) on the shelf, you will need to add some support at the center point.

All,
Newbie here, I just received my 55A20 last week and have been trying the user settings in the A10 thread and they seem to work pretty well, although the TV was pretty much spot on right out of the box.

What exactly is red push? I think I am seeing this where the reds are somtimes too bright? I took a large leap of faith and went into the service menu using the instructions from the A10 thread and I cound not find the "CST"section or the "CHAXIS 1" item.

Is the A20 servce menu different from the A10? Is there anywhere that lists what buttons do what when in the service menu? Luckily I figured out that once in the service menu the jump button toggles and, I think, the 1 and 2 buttons toggle within the main menu selections??

Has anyone tried the A10 red push fix on the A20?

TIA
RSS

a911sc,

I have had the KDF-E55A20 for about a month and I do not know the answer to many of your questions, but I think the red push is what some are referring to the bright, cartoon like colors, especially the reds. I happen to like the brightness of this TV and the cartoon like colors as well. I have tried some of the adjustments listed for the A10, but still like the adjustment out of the box. The A10 has these bright colors as well. Enjoy your new HDTV. WolfpackRon.

Thanks. I have mycable box set to 720p, i guess I will play around with changing that to see what I like better. I am still trying to find the best combo for watching SD channels. I am using an HDMI (from cable box to TV) for HD stuff, but I find the SD channels come in better if I use RCA jacks from the box to the tv on Inout 1. How are you watching yours?

Curious,
How do you change the settings on the DVD player from 1080i to 720p.?
Thanks

Ok guys i have decided to do it. I am going for an A20 55" this weekend. Strong debate between alot of sets but the deal and the quality I am getting in this set, there is nothing that can beat it. I also have a price match guarantee till End of Jan.
With the system I am going to have

Denon Reciever
Motorola Satellite HDPVR with HDMI
Sony DVD progressive scan DVD player.
and Monitor Speakers to round it out.

Quick Question about the wires. I was thinking of running components for the entrie system and leaving the HDMI open for expansion. I am kind of a beginner for this stuff, should I do this. And should I run all my video straight to the tv or through the reciever.

Any help it would be greatly appreciated.

My biggest concern was getting HD OTA. I am watching my dollars as well currently. I have my set in my basement and an RCA amplified set of rabbit ears perched on the basement window ledge. I recieve 10 digital channels and 19 analog. Rarely do I have to adjust or move the antennae for better reception. A recent stormy day did seem to interfere but not disrupt the signal. Only the major networks come in clearly but they are superb. I originally bought a $20 set of amplified rabbit ears but upgraded to the $30 set thinking it would be better but in all honesty they are about the same. I do live in the metro area and am very close to the broadcasters. I would say start with a set of rabbit ears and work your way up untill you are happy with your reception. You can always take them back to the store in they do not work properly.
I have both the a10 50" & a20 55" with cable. I also use a Jensen indoor amplified antenna (Model TV 920). I get all of the local HD channels as well as their sub channels. It has a 30 db adjustable gain and an a/b switch. I am about 40 miles away from main OTA feeds and I hardly have to use the gain control. Cost $49.95 at Ultimate You can check out EBay.

It works awesom and is low profile so it will fit right undeerneath the a20

Looks like I'm gonna get myself one of these for christmas!

Could someone with the 55" model do me a favor and measure the bottom stand, thanks!

Looks like I'm gonna get myself one of these for christmas!

Could someone with the 55" model do me a favor and measure the bottom stand, thanks!

mufaddal,

The base on the Sony KDF-E55A20 is 18" x 39." I have mine on an older black 36" Bush stand from Best Buy. Very inexpensive and looks nice. WolfpackRon.

Has anyone have info on how long their bulb has lasted? Also what about replacement cost and where to get one?

For those looking, our local Costco has the 60" A20 with the stand. I would have bought one, but want PIP.

I ALSO HAVE THE A20 WITH A DENON 3803, MOTOROLA DCT6412 HD/DVR.
I AM ASSUMING THE DVD ONLY PUTS OUT PROGRESSIVE SCAN 480P, SO IT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR COMPONENT CABLES. I WOULD SUGGEST GETTING AN HDMI TO DVI CABLE OR ADAPTOR PLUG TO RUN FROM YOUR MOTOROLA DVR TO THE TV. THIS WAY YOU CAN ENJOY ALL OF YOUR CABLE SHOWS IN THE BEST POSSIBLE FEED. ALSO THE DVR RECORDS IN HD IF YOU ARE A SUBSCRIBER THROUGH YOUR CABLE PROVIDER.

Motorola DCT 6412 HD/DVR
Denon 3803 7.1 , 120 watts
Panasonic E50s DVD Recorder
Panasonic Progressive DVD Player
Sony 200 Disc CD Player
JBL, Infinity, Bose Speakers
15" Audiosource 250 Watt Subwoofer

Just got my OTA antenna connected this weekend and am getting 7 digital channels some of which have an incredible PQ. I am about 40 miles from antennas and when with the CM 4228 wiht CM7777 amplifier - what an amazing antenna. I just stuck it up basically on a fence post and it is pulling in stations from both north and south directions.

Anyway, was going to try to fine tune antenna but cannot fighure out how to display signal strength - anyone know how??

TIA
Russ

Anyway, was going to try to fine tune antenna but cannot fighure out how to display signal strength - anyone know how??


WEGA Gate/Settings/Applications/Diagnostics will show signal strength.

Purchased the A20 55" on saturday. I love it...

If anyone is interested in buying this TV, I can tell you how to get it for $2399.99.

Send me a private message and i'll tell you! :-)

WEGA Gate/Settings/Applications/Diagnostics will show signal strength.

That works great - thanks.

Purchased the A20 55" on saturday. I love it...

If anyone is interested in buying this TV, I can tell you how to get it for $2399.99.

Send me a private message and i'll tell you! :-)

This may be against the rules but I rolled the dice and bought mine for similar price (actually a little less) through an internet retailer. I am very happy with TV. The retailler has a bad repuation for trying to sell you stuff like cables and warranties and such but all you have to say is no I don't want that stuff just the TV. They did get me for a little extra $$ for 5 day shipping but the cut rate shipping is something like 14 business days. I did have to call them a couple of times to find out the status but once I got a tracking number it was delivered on time. The price I got was something like $700-800 less than BB or CC which IMO was worth the extra effort and a significant savings to justify the risk.

Just hooked up my E60A20 and was hoping to get some help on a few issues. Generally looks ok, but many HD shows on Comcast seem to be in 4:3 format. I thought the INHD channels were 16:9, but tonight they weren't. Another issue is that I'm not convinced that the picture is as focused as possible. I tweaked the picture and sharpness controls. Also watched 2001 and Blade Runner using Sony's upscaling DVD player over HDMI. I read the manuals a few times, and I'm wondering if I missed something critical.

My set will not turn on. Instead I've got a red light blinking 6 times (power light). Anybody else encountered this problem?

To answer my own question, turns out The Cable Guy didn't configure the cable box correctly - it was outputting 480i. Problem solved. Looks good now.

After over a week of enjoying new A20 55", I have some disapointing news.. I noticed I have a dead pixel right in the center of the screen.

Its not too noticable until I use 720p & 1080i then it stands out. Has anyone else had any experience with dead pixels on their sets?

Oh yeah--- Happy Thanks Giving :)

I have a new 55" a20... this was a new replacement set since the open box item I bought at CC developed a pretty sizable blue spot in the bottom center of the screen. That set was also last years model.

The problem I noticed is there is too much green on all inputs except for the cable (coax). I've been able to minimize this somewhat by using the custom settings, reducing color and hue and using the cool temp setting. However it's still too high. I've been reading quite a bit on here and have found that the SM has changed on this set. I did find a lot about the red push settings and some tweaks that introduced or corrected the green tinge, but that's not an option on this set.

I would like to hear from anyone who has the same problem and their solution, I did read one post about setting the green drive up higher and that corrected their problem of the green tinge... user was commenting on how they thought setting it lower, not higher would correct the problem.

Would like to try setting the green drive up/down a few values to see if that would fix my problem... just would like some input on SM adjustments...

I did enter SM and browsed through the settings... Would like to confirm which settings would be the one to try to change.

Currently RGAINA - 174 - diff 1, GGAINA - 145 - diff 1, BGAINA - 192 - diff 1

Not sure what the diff 1 represents...

Thanks!

Hey guys just purchased my A20 and it has been delivered...
I was running my PS2 component cables and I am having a problem with the red, first it is not really that red and secondly it has alot of flickering when i am running this on HD 1080i.
Any suggestions?

Hey guys just purchased my A20 and it has been delivered...
I was running my PS2 component cables and I am having a problem with the red, first it is not really that red and secondly it has alot of flickering when i am running this on HD 1080i.
Any suggestions?


Check the cables. One might be loose or you might have crossed the red audio cable to the red video input

Just purchased the 55a20, it's my first HD set. The over the air HD picture looks really good, but I don't have a good frame of reference for "good" or "bad". SD material looks marginal at best, but I have yet to see an HDTV look great on SD material, especially when stretched or zoomed. I would like to tweak the picture, ie; color and black level.

I have done some adjusting to the Standard setting, looks good but the black level could be better (still crushing). I played with the Custom level, and it seems to me that the picture is noticably sharper in Standard even though the sharpness setting is set higher in Custom. Anyone know why that would be?

One quick question. My manual says that there is audio delay setting for the audio out, yet I can't find it. Doesn't seem to be there. Anyone else notice this?

Thanks

Has anyone else noticed that there is no Sleep button on the remote of the a20 55" ---- WTF :-(

What would be the best compatibility between the Sony 55A20 and the Comcast DVR cable box? 1080I or 720P? I can choose between both.

Also, I can set the default 4:3 output to 480i or 480p. Anyone with a preference?

Thanks in advance!


amajamar

I picked up my A20 this weekend even though my room won't be finished until Friday. I have it stuffed into a spair bedroom at the moment. :rolleyes:

My first impression is of course "Wow!". HD looks great, SD is OK. I've got a Comcast digital box. I'll setup the sound system this weekend.

One question I have is a very specific one that I've not been able to find a definate answer for....

Playing Halo2 on Xbox seems to not get me 16:9 format. If I set the A20 to "Normal" I get a 4:3 letterbox. If I set it to "Full" I get full screen but reticules look stretched. I've read that it is possible to setup a non distorted Halo2 on widescreen for the regular game graphics but the reticule overlays will always be a stretched 4:3. Any definitive answers?

did you configure your Xbox for widescreen? you need to turn it on without a disc in to change the video output settings on the xbox

did you configure your Xbox for widescreen? you need to turn it on without a disc in to change the video output settings on the xbox

Yeah, I did set it to widescreen and Halo2 "claims" to have widescreen support. However, it doesn't actualy display in widescreen on my set.

Dave

1st time poster.. I've been using this site for hours and hours of research.. I'm shopping for a new HDTV and have 99% convinced myself that the KDF-E60A20 is the one to go with. My other consideration is the 60in XBR1 but I feel like if I bought the XBR1 now I would kick myself a few months later when I could have gotten it w/1080p Inputs over HDMI. Would it be a wise investment to just save the extra cash and go with the A20 for now since I'm very happy with the performance it offers albeit no 1080p input but who's to say in 5 years there won't be a set that doesn't offer 1080p inputs as well as probably better PQ/performance, etc.

A friend of mine told me the way he sees it that if I paid the extra for an XBR1 that my money would be going towards a slightly better PQ, etc and that in his opinion it wasn't that great a difference to spend an extra $1200 - 1300, especially when Sony is likely to come out with another XBR1 that does have a 1080p input for close or a little more money. He said If I can't wait now that I should just go with the A20 and then in say 5 or so years look and see what standards have emerged such as 1080p inputs, PQ, etc and consider getting more features for my money.

Does this logic make sense?

Thanks!
Brian.

one thing to consider, the A20 is generation 5 of a technology, Sony knows what they're doing and it is matured. The SXRD is generation 1 of a new technology, that's like buying the very first model year of a new car, not a good idea. (as much as I want a Ford Fusion, I'm gonna wait!)

Welcome to the Forum BTW! :)

Hi,
Just wanted to know of a good solid alternative to the Sony stand. One that would not see the tv topple and is good looking.
Anyone using such a creature?

Thanks

Craig

I got this stand at Circuit City, its was $399, but was $269 when buying at the same time of the tv. Centrios 60" TV Stand (C22110)

http://statik.oooyah.com/wega/DSCN6219.JPG

PS: just got the a20 and loving it, no complaints so far, using directv and xbox in 480p

My set will not turn on. Instead I've got a red light blinking 6 times (power light). Anybody else encountered this problem?


From the service manual....
"Low B error6 times- No "DD 6V " output (GM board) - No picture/No sound"
"6 : Low B error When no "SETIIV " is detected, pin 129 of IC3002 is low and it turns off the main power."

Time to call for service.

Thanks Wally-Gator. Service has started, but that's a story for later. I will update this later.

What would be the best compatibility between the Sony 55A20 and the Comcast DVR cable box? 1080I or 720P? I can choose between both.

Also, I can set the default 4:3 output to 480i or 480p. Anyone with a preference?

Thanks in advance!


amajamar


I would recommend that you use a DVI to HDMI connector for the DVR. Your output will then be controlled automatically by the DVR and you will no longer see a menu option for output. I have my Comcast HD DVR connected to the A20 in this manner and it works great.

Well,
I finally got Digital Video Essentials to superficially calibrate my 55A20 and spent two hours looking at grey patterns and blue colours through a spaceman lens and guess what! The new settings I came up with totally suck. I went back to the ones I monkeyed around with myself and found them much much better.
So, before you rush out for the DVE disc, maybe save your money for a professional ISF dude to properly calibrate it.....and by the way, if anyone posts the settings they like I will also do so and we can maybe come up with something....
Later,
Craig

Yeah, I did set it to widescreen and Halo2 "claims" to have widescreen support. However, it doesn't actualy display in widescreen on my set.

Dave

Do you have Xbox live? There was a problem with 16.9 in H2 untill Bungie fixed it with a patch you can download if you subscribe to live.. I have a free 2 month trial card.. You can have it, if that would solve the problem.. Must have broadband though..

I am having part of my house remodeled and I have packed away my A10 manual.

Can someone look in it and tell me what the Image shift setting is all about?

I had it on Auto but I have been tinkering with it at Level 4 and it seems to help SD look better.

Am I nuts?

Edit: My bad, I am in the A20 thread not the A10 thread. :o

I was playing this last night...

If you changed to widescreen, and put in 480P for HD, and run it thru the HD convertor box (a 30 buck cable that converts your Xbox outputs to component instead of S-video) then you should have no problem. Otherwise, it will stretch the 4/3 screen - this is true -

but once I made that Xbox adjustment problem was solved - try this - let it set for a few hrs and then watch the demo - it looks a lot grainer to me then the real game - I can actually see/pick out targets and shoot them now -

Contrary to what the WEGA GATE says when you change to that input, I don't believe it's on 4:3- I play another game where the round gauges were oval until I made these changes to my Xbox - then problem solved -

but I do have Xbox live - as a previous poster stated, if there was a patch, then there's your issue - I'm patched myself -

RB

No I haven't. You are the first to reply.

I have since switched to using the component input which does not show the problem. My guess is that there is a momentary loss of signal through the HDMI output, which causes the tv to re-aquire the signal, thus causing the black screen.



I take 2-3 seconds thru my HDMI input too, but in my HDMI I have a up-converting DVD player -

So I think that's your issue - just takes the HDMI a couple seconds to fire up -

RB

Well, I just returned by Hitachi 50V500 (piece of junk, horrible picture) and purchased the Sony KDFE55A20. What a difference, much better picture quality and I have not even calibrated yet. The stand for this thing is a bloody rip off. They wanted $800 for the thing, I got them down to $200. So total cost, TV, 5 yr warranty, stand, tax was $4100. Glad I found this forum, lots of great info here. Anyone have any reccomendations for TV settings?

I would recommend that you use a DVI to HDMI connector for the DVR. Your output will then be controlled automatically by the DVR and you will no longer see a menu option for output. I have my Comcast HD DVR connected to the A20 in this manner and it works great.



My Comcast DVR box has HDMI and even when connected in this way, I can select output resolutions.



amajamar

WALLY_GATOR: turns out my set had a bad thermocoupler. Sony changed vendors on this part and apparently the parts were prone to failure. Sony has now gone back to the original vendor. Sony has issued a service bulletin regarding this. My set is working well again.

I'm planning on getting a new DVD player to go along with my new 55A20. What do you guys suggest?

Thanks,
Jeff

HappyLCD, you should get the new upconverting HDMI Sony DVD player. Saw it here in Canada for $144 CDN, Nice match with your TV.

I take 2-3 seconds thru my HDMI input too, but in my HDMI I have a up-converting DVD player -

So I think that's your issue - just takes the HDMI a couple seconds to fire up -

RB

Whiskeytown,

No this is most likely a bug in the Sony HDMI code.

Vio4, who also had the same problem took the Sat. box into the Sony store and confirmed the same problem in the 55A20 and the new SXRD, but not the 50A10 and 51W520.

He said they were going to report it to Sony Tech, but I haven't heard anything back yet.

Scott

I'm planning on getting a new DVD player to go along with my new 55A20. What do you guys suggest?

Thanks,
Jeff


OPPO 971H
What more do I need to say. I don't want to start a war with anyone who doesn't agree, but this player is regarded as the best money spent these days...
http://www.oppodigital.com/
I have one as do 4 of my friends. You cannot go wrong. Do a search on this (AVS) site and you'll find a hundred people who are in love with this player.

[QUOTE=HappySonyLCDman]I'm planning on getting a new DVD player to go along with my new 55A20. What do you guys suggest?

I would get a basic progressive scan player. Your TV already is capable of doing a good job upconverting.

I found a open box Pioneer dv-563A for $50 at Comp USA.

I may be wrong, but I believe even if you get an upconverting player it won't match the TV's native resolution and the TV will have to convert it again. Again I could be wrong on this one.

SOON I hope we will be able to buy HD DVD players. That will be the time to lay out some $$$ for a new machine.

The following is what I read about upconverting DVD players, in this case the OPPO unit, doing a better job than your TV does:

Q: Why should I buy the OPPO DVD player when my HD display has an internal scaler?
A: That’s because, in general, the scaler in a high-performance upconverting DVD player, such as the OPDV971H, is more specialized in deinterlacing and scaling DVD signals than an HD display’s scaler, leading to better picture quality. The process of converting a standard-definition DVD signal to the native resolution of your HD display may cause a host of video artifacts if not performed properly. These flaws will be especially noticeable on large and high-resolution screens. Quality deinterlacing and scaling are the key components to stable, artifact-free movie watching, and frequently the components built into the display (and into many competing DVD players) to perform these tasks are not up to the challenge. The top-quality Faroudja scaler, built into the OPDV971H, is more suitable for upconverting DVD video signal to high def video signals, because:

The deinterlacing and scaling are performed at the point closest to the video source, thus avoiding video artifacts that can be introduced when analog video signal travels from the DVD player to the TV display. Once unconverted to HD signal, the video signal is carried to the TV in pure digital format via DVI or HDMI output, and is no longer susceptible to analog noise.
The Faroudja upconverter in OPDV971H has a direct digital hookup with the DVD reader, so that it can get the flags and additional information encoded in the DVD disc directly and performs the upconversion accordingly. Doing upconverting outside of the DVD player may lose this advantage.

I am wondering when they say "in general" when refering to the machine being better than TV's in upscaling if the 55A20 Sony would fit into the "in general" population or if this particular TV can do just as good or better when upscaling the DVD image?


Jeff

I am wondering when they say "in general" when refering to the machine being better than TV's in upscaling if the 55A20 Sony would fit into the "in general" population or if this particular TV can do just as good or better when upscaling the DVD image?



The OPPO blows the internal scaler of the A20 out of the water. The pic quality from well-mastered/transferred DVD's to my A20 is far superior from my OPPO than a non-converting/scaling player, or even upconverting players from other manufacturers.

WALLY_GATOR: turns out my set had a bad thermocoupler. Sony changed vendors on this part and apparently the parts were prone to failure. Sony has now gone back to the original vendor. Sony has issued a service bulletin regarding this. My set is working well again.


Hey guys my set has the same problem. Did the service guy have the replacement part with him or did it have to be ordered. This is going to be my first weekend with HD Football, and I dont really want to wait for this guy to order a part from japan. He comes friday to look at it.

Thanks in advance

The OPPO blows the internal scaler of the A20 out of the water. The pic quality from well-mastered/transferred DVD's to my A20 is far superior from my OPPO than a non-converting/scaling player, or even upconverting players from other manufacturers.



Will the 55A20 accept a 540p feed from the OPPO? How does it look?



amajamar

Anyone figure out how to adjust the red push?




amajamar

in the service menu change CH_AXIS1 (whatever setting it may be on) and bring it down to 0002 or 003b.

in the service menu change CH_AXIS1 (whatever setting it may be on) and bring it down to 0002.



Oh, I thought I read somewhere earlier in this thread that CH_AXIS1 didn't exist. How exactly do you get to it?



amajamar

hold on...

ok found it

(step -1) Start with a TV where all needed inputs have already been configured to best custom mode settings
(step 0) If necessary turn off TV and wait for bulb to turn off
(step 1) Press the following 4 key sequence without a pause:
(display) (5) (Volume +) (Power)
(step 2) Wait the normal turn on time for the debug screen to appear
(step 3) Select the desired input (ex. Press TV/Video) with a signal present- preferably a color test signal
(step 4) Press (jump) twice to get to service data screen
(step 5) Press (2) eight times to get to CST category
(step 6) Press (1) once to get to CHAXIS 1 item
(step 7) Write down current setting
(step 8) Change the item value from 46 to 45 or from 2c to 2b by pressing (6) to decrement the value by one. Observe the effect on the display, press (3) to increment setting back if desired
(step 9) To save the new value press (mute) (ent) and wait for write to complete, skip this step if no change is desired
(step 10) Press (jump) to return to the debug screen
Repeat steps 3 through 10 for each input and resolution, skipping steps 8 and 9 if the value is already decremented. I only needed to change one SD and one HD value for the other inputs to show the new value.
(step 11) From debug screen press (power) to turn the TV off and wait for the bulb to go out (provided by deconvolver)

you can try the suggested above settings, but many have found that 0002 or 003b setting looked best and so it did for me as well.

dont forget to write down the original setting!!!!!

ok found it

(step -1) Start with a TV where all needed inputs have already been configured to best custom mode settings
(step 0) If necessary turn off TV and wait for bulb to turn off
(step 1) Press the following 4 key sequence without a pause:
(display) (5) (Volume +) (Power)
(step 2) Wait the normal turn on time for the debug screen to appear
(step 3) Select the desired input (ex. Press TV/Video) with a signal present- preferably a color test signal
(step 4) Press (jump) twice to get to service data screen
(step 5) Press (2) eight times to get to CST category
(step 6) Press (1) once to get to CHAXIS 1 item
(step 7) Write down current setting
(step 8) Change the item value from 46 to 45 or from 2c to 2b by pressing (6) to decrement the value by one. Observe the effect on the display, press (3) to increment setting back if desired
(step 9) To save the new value press (mute) (ent) and wait for write to complete, skip this step if no change is desired
(step 10) Press (jump) to return to the debug screen
Repeat steps 3 through 10 for each input and resolution, skipping steps 8 and 9 if the value is already decremented. I only needed to change one SD and one HD value for the other inputs to show the new value.
(step 11) From debug screen press (power) to turn the TV off and wait for the bulb to go out (provided by deconvolver)

you can try the suggested above settings, but many have found that 0002 or 003b setting looked best and so it did for me as well.


Seems like these are tweaks for the A10... I thought I read that the A20's had a different service menu. Did you try them on an A20?




amajamar

Has anyone tried using an external video processor with this display in order to bypass the internal deinterlacer? Will it accept a 540p input signal? Can you feed it a 1366x768 input signal?


amajamar

Seems like these are tweaks for the A10... I thought I read that the A20's had a different service menu. Did you try them on an A20?




amajamar

oh, sorry I didn't think they would be that much different. Have you tried the following steps and seeing what service code you land on? I thought service menus on sony lcds were similar to each other as they are on their crts with just a few variations.

The A20 service manual does not list a CST category much less the CHAXIS setting you refer to.

I have a copy and could not find any references to these items..

Walter

Hbassi and Paulwozniak,

This issue you have had to call service out for,
what is the manufacture date for your units?

Thank you

Walter

Manufacture date on my set was September 2005. Sony overnighted the part to the tech, who needed all of 20 minutes to install ,start to finish. My hats off to the guys at ABL Electronics, Madison Heights,MI.

The A20 service manual does not list a CST category much less the CHAXIS setting you refer to.

I have a copy and could not find any references to these items..

Walter

That was also my findings in the posts mentioned previously about the red push fix on the A20s. I have gone back into the SM with the same results - cannot find the CST category???

Please suggest a good place to pick up the E55A20 for a good price. I need to pick this baby up in a week. I am in the S. Cali area (Temecula).

All your suggestion and help are greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!

KN

I actually might pick it up this wk. Please advice. Thanks!!!