[JoeBob9000]

I was in Circuit City last night looking for a KDF-42WE655. I found that they are no longer getting them in as it was replaced by a newer model, the KDF-E42A10. I looked at the model and the picture looked good, however they didn't have any of it's specs listed.


After some research, I found the two set's specs, only to find out that the newer model has a weaker resolution (the current model has 1280x720 compared to the older model which had 1366x788). I don't understand why they would lower the resolution on the newer model.


Does anyone have any experience with the older model? I am trying to decided whether I should go with the newer model or try and find the older one which seems to me would have a better picture.

 

[JoeBob9000]

Just called Best Buy and they have a few of the older models in stock. Looking to pull the gun, just waiting on some advice.

 

[lander215]

 Happy reading

 

[DolfanJay]

Joebob9000,


I just bought the older model 42we655. I am pretty happy with it. The blacks could definitley be better but the TV on a whole is very nice.


I'll paraphrase the differences for you and save you some reading.


A10-New models

-Biggest addition is the new Iris feature that is supposed to improve blacks. The difference didnt blow me away.

-Like you already noticed Less resolution 1280x720 vs 1366x768. Some people were happy about this because they said it would give them a direct 1:1 pixel mapping on 720P source material. Others have said that the lower res causes more Screen Door Effect. Neither one has objectionable SDE to me if you are sitting at a reasonable distance.

-Lesser sound system then the old models. This is very noticeable.

-No PIP. To be fair the old models cant do PIP with HD sources anyways.

-PC input. My set does not have this feature.

-Smaller cabinets. This is a big difference to the 50A10 is about the same size as my 42WE655. Mainly because the speakers have been moved to the bottom.



I thought long and hard about exchanging my set for the new model but in the end decided to keep it.


If you do buy the old model make sure you get a good price on it. Sears has a good price on it now. When I checked BB they wanted the same amount for the old sets that you could get the new models for.

 

[ekb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DolfanJay Like you already noticed Less resolution 1280x720 vs 1366x768. Some people were happy about this because they said it would give them a direct 1:1 pixel mapping on 720P source material.

I think this is irrelevant since the Sony supposedly converts the HDMI to analog and then back to digital for display purposes. So 1:1 pixel mapping is meaningless. BTW, I think that 768 vs 720 for all practical purposes is also irrelevant.
Quote:

Others have said that the lower res causes more Screen Door Effect.

This is also untrue. The amount of SDE would depend on the ratio of the lighted pixel dimensions and the space between pixels. A coarser resolution does not mean that there is more space between pixels. Most likely, the overall size of the LCD has changed.


Ed