Nice, but Sony should do better (Sony KV-28LS35)

Member Name: simbloke

Product:	Sony KV-28LS35
Date:	09/01/02 (954 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Styling, Picture colours/contrast, Simplicity

Disadvantages: Only 2 SCART's, Geometry could be better, Can't get a service agent in my area

History:

I had to return my first set because of a very noticeable geometry problem - the top left quarter of the screen was squashed down by about 1cm. The replacement is better but not what I would call perfect - the picture
is horizontally bent and there's pincushion distortion in the 14:9 mode. Otherwise the set is very good.

Setting up:

This is dead easy. Turn it on and a language select menu appears, then you can adjust the picture tilt, then it search for and labels all the channels. It only takes a couple of minutes and it's all done. The enclosed stand is quite nice, the sides and doors keep the noise from my video down and hide most of the wires.

There are just two SCART sockets at the back only one of which supports RGB, the other has composite and S-Video and supports the video Smartlink. There's also composite/S-Video inputs which pop out from the side.

Picture Quality:

The picture is good given my not so great reception, the contrast and colours are great. The picture from DVD's is very good. There are various modes for displaying normal and widescreen pictures. The 'Smart' mode does a good job of filling the screen from 4:3 and 14:9 transmissions. In some modes the picture can be moved up or down to make sure subtitles are visible.

Features:

There aren't many fancy features on this set but there are a few useful ones: There's a menu option to turn off the TV speakers and the TV volume control affects the stereo phono outputs on the back (and the manual says this does not apply to sound via the SCART socket). The picture tilt can be adjusted to compensate for the earths varying magnetic field and when viewing an RGB source a menu entry lets you adjust its centre position.

The remote control can also handle a video and dvd player but only supports their basic features. For example, you can program even a Sony video with it, nor can you
skip to the next chapter on DVD's or navigate the menus.

Problems:

I have tried to get the geometry problems corrected but my supplier (Unbeatable) were unable to find a service agent that was close enough. The nearest one 70-80 miles away would have had a callout charge of about £100 so instead I sent the set back (again). They were out of stock and I waited 10 days for a replacement before calling them and cancelling it.

Summary:

Overall I liked the TV, but they really should have put on an extra RGB SCART socket and the geometry should have been better. Maybe it was down to quality control and I had two from a bad batch but if they can't get someone out to look at it then I won't be buying another Sony.

Rating:

Given the problems I've had trying to get this set fixed I've revised my rating down a point.

Summary: