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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Can't wait for HD"
Pros: Color, picture, sound
Cons: Weight and size
Summary: I purchased this unit as an open box from CC yesterday. I've spent about 40-50 hours researching HD technology, pros/cons, pricing, reviews, etc. Because of budget and space issues, we ruled out any of the rear projection, lcd, and plasma models. The KD-30HS420 and KD-34HS420 were clear forerunners at this point. I really wanted the 34XS955 but it was out of our budget.
While doing a visual comparison of the 30 and 34", I stopped at Circuit City. After a while, the TVs started to run together, so I didn't really notice at that time that I was comparing the 30HS420 to the 34XS955. I liked the picture of the 34" better. To make a long story short, the next day I revisited and realized the 34" was really the XS955 as an open box, listed at about the same price as the HS420. After nit picking everything I could on the open box issue, the salesman sold it for $999.
A side note when doing a visual inspection of picture quality. Every place I shopped did NOT have an HD feed to the majority of their TVs; usually only the high-end models. Best Buy used an HD low power broadcast to get signals to the showroom. Therefore, I couldn't see the HS420's HD because of the lacking tuner. CC used a single HD-DVD source that could "almost match" HD quality according to the salesman. I want to see what I'm getting. You should have seen the 2 salesmen carrying the TV across the showroom to the real HD signal for me to view it. I would not buy an HD set without seeing that model's rendering.
This unit is big and bulky compared to the other technologies. My brother-in-law helped me move it. He has a 52" rear projection LCD that weighs < 100 lbs. He couldn't believe how heavy (204 lbs.) this thing was. It just barely fit on the stand my old Sony 32" Trinitron used and it is much deeper. I have not noticed the geometry issues another reviewer mentioned. I have seen that on all 4 of the Samsung SlimFit TXR3081WH models I looked at. The bowing was horrible and once you see it, it bugs you to death so I was definitely looking for it.
I immediately noticed a difference on the digital channels we currently have. The Military Channel was clear and crisp and the analog channels looked better as well. The Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" DVD is slightly better on the new model using component cables. Tomorrow, TimeWarner delivers the HD DVR and I'm sure I'll be pleased. At that point I can rate this a 10, but until then, it gets a 9.
You have every input imagineable. A very welcome change from the RF, 1 S-video, and 2 composite inputs the old Trinitron had. A big plus was the optical digital out on the set. I'll try that out later to see if it is useful. I fail to see why Sony continues to place an analog audio output that requires you to turn off the built-in speakers to use. Hopefully, the digital output is not like that.Updated
After 2 months I still love this TV. The HD is incredible and I show it to everyone that will watch. Thank you CBS for showing the majority of March Madness in HD. Friends came over for the games and couldn't believe the HD difference.
My only problem with this set. One night I went to turn it on and nothing happened. Not a good thing when your 2 year old is expecting cartoons. I spend 20 minutes trying to troubleshoot everything I could think of. Finally, I noticed a procedure to reset the box to factory. Tried this and it fired right up. That was 3 weeks ago and I'm waiting to see if it happens again...
