Sony FD Trinitron WEGA KV-32FS210 32 in. Direct View Flat Screen SDTV Television
Written: Feb 14 '05 (Updated Feb 14 '05)
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Pros: picture quality, no-glare screen, picture-in-picture, sharp images
Cons: the weight can be a problem
The Bottom Line: This is a great television, and has many features that make sure you will have a great experience watching it.
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| three_ster's Full Review: Sony KV-32FS210 32 inch TV |
Growing up, television was something I loved spending time with. Indeed, it was part of my life, and I had many shows that I liked to watch. The end result though, was that shows would conflict with each other, and I would have to pick and choose. I always knew that I wanted a picture-in-picture television, and finally, I now have one. You may ask yourself why I would want a television simply for the purpose of watching 2 shows at once, and I must admit that it is not the only reason that I went with the model that I did. Televisions can be fickle things, and sometimes we don't even realize what functions will be our favorites until we use them. All I knew was that I wanted a 29+ inch television, with picture-in-picture, and it had to have exemplary color. I ended up settling on the Sony Trinitron, and came away very pleased with my decision.
The Trinitron that I went with is the KV-32FS210, which is a 32-inch television with dual speakers on the left and right sides of the picture. It comes in a very clean, silver, metallic color that blends well with any color coordination which you house may have. With my house, I have it surrounded by other appliances, which happen to all be black, and it fits in very nicely. In fact, it serves as the focal point that all televisions should be, and helps it stand out from the other fixtures of my entertainment world. There is a control panel on the bottom front, which flips down to reveal video inputs, which I use to connect my DVD player to. This also allows for easy game console hook-ups (in my case a Game Cube), and has the generic volume and channel buttons that come on every television.
Before I get into the specifications, there is one draw-back to this television, and that is how much it weighs. I am a pretty big guy, and I can lug around my fair share of weight, but this television comes in at about 172 lbs. So, moving it around the house is not an easy task, and once you have it placed in a particular spot, it can become a chore to move it someplace else. For people that are constantly redecorating, or moving the furniture around, this can pose a big problem simply because of the weight. For me, I dread having to carry the thing, and have only moved it to two different places while I have owned it. So, if you decide that this is the television for you, also make sure that you have someone around who is strong enough to move it, or simply willing to help you with the moving process.
As I said, one of the things that won me over with this television was its ability to provide picture-in-picture. What I tend to use it for, is when I have a show that conflicts with a sporting event that I am watching. I now have the ability to shrink the sport into the corner, watch the show on the big screen, and flip back and forth if something exciting is happening, or if a commercial break takes place. This allows me to take part in two shows at the same time, and thus create something that appeals to a very short attention span. That is not to say that I cannot focus on one thing, but rather I am always enjoying multi-tasking on things, and by being able to watch 2 things at the same time, it saves the time that it would take to record a show and watch it later on. This has become a great thing for my television viewing time, because there are a lot of shows that I am in to, and at the same time, I am a die-hard sports fan.
The other 2 things that have won me over, are the picture quality and the sound that the speakers produce. First, with the picture the television has program palette presets that involve Vivid, Standard, Movie, & Sports modes. Each one shows the picture in a different color scheme, and all of them give off a crisp, sharp picture quality. I am big into the Vivid mode, but many users will find it more to their liking to switch between modes, depending upon what is being watched. The television also keeps its image integrity preserved with a 3-Line Digital Comb Filter. With the flat screen, you have a picture that is full from corner to corner, and its lack of an arc actually makes it that much better of a picture. This has been nice for me, because it also makes it easier to see the picture from more angles in the house. Thus, I can be at many different places in my apartment and still have the same crisp picture.
The set allows you to rotate where the picture-in-picture box will be located on your screen, and you can control it either by flipping it, or changing it through the VCR. The preset channel quantity is 181, and it of course gives you the ability to jump from channel to channel in the memory. The Menu feature is very easy to use, and it comes up with a clear background, so that you can see what the set is doing as you change any of the functions. From there you can choose to turn on or off the closed caption, change the language, pre-set channels, and pretty much anything else you can think of that a television can do. The set also has 5 video modes that allows you to hook up many devices to it at the same time. For those with gaming systems, VCR's and DVD Players all at the same time, this feature makes it so you don't have to keep plugging and unplugging devices.
My favorite feature is actually a silly one, and that is the ability to freeze a picture on the screen. You can use it to have a lot of fun, or if you are watching a sporting event you can use it to capture a moment, and get that significant other to come in the room to see it. I like playing with it, as well as with many of the other functions that the television provides. This is a television that I can highly recommend, because I have had nothing but great experiences with it. The volume on the speakers can get up to a nice decibel without taking into account extra speakers, and the sound quality is always great. That coupled with the real-as-life picture quality, and the set has everything that I need. It has been a great addition to my apartment, and I have found it to be the best television I have ever owned.
Audio System Specifications:
-Sound output mode Stereo
-Surround sound effects
-Audio controls Balance, Bass, and Treble
-Total output power of 20 Watts
-Speaker system details 2 x Right / left channel speaker - Built-in - 10 Watt.
The Input / Output Connections
Front:
1 x Composite video / audio input (RCA phono x 3)
Back:
2 x Composite video / audio input (RCA phono x 3) - 2 x S- Video input (4 pin mini- DIN),
RF input (F connector),
1 x Fixed / variable audio output (RCA phono x 2),
2 x Component video input (RCA phono x 3)
Dimensions:
-Width : 35.4 inches
-Depth : 23 inches
-Height : 26.9 inches
-Weight : 172 pounds
Included with the television set:
Instruction Manual
Remote Control (RM-Y181) -- supports VCR, Cable box, DVD player, Satellite TV system
(2) AA Batteries
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 599.99
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