| Value for Money | 7/10  |
|---|---|
| Overall rating | 9/10 |
Full review by
GF.
expert review 
on 11th Jan 2001
User Rating : 9
Respect :
+15
Good Points: Picture the best I have ever seen, especially when viewing with anamorphic widescreen signals
Bad Points: Price
General comments: I have a Sony KV-28DS60U IDTV(Should stand for, Improved Definition TV?).
As I receive a bad analogue signal in the Swindon area, I was told it would be unlikely to receive any digital signals, but was pleasantly surprised the auto digital tuner picked up BBC1&2, ITV1&2 and CH4 flawlessly and in the correct channel order. CH5 had to be manually tuned and only works on a good day. Need an aerial upgrade? (Note)-It helps to put the aerial into the TV first.
The picture is absolutely stunning, especially when viewing anamorphic widescreen signals. Colours look smooth and rich, the contrast range is out of this world. I have never seen so many pockmarks on so many actors before. My recommended settings are: Picture Mode - 'Personal'(As 'Live' is too bright), Sharpness - 'Full On'(Better for analogue), AI(Auto contrast optimization) - 'ON'(A must), 100Hz - 'ON'(It does make a slight difference).
For enhanced viewing of a DVD RGB source, with an aspect ratio of 1:2.35, you must connect to AV1, so that the RGB size can be set to 'X+10, Y+15' and then set screen mode to 'Smart'. This gives the best possible display, unless you know better? 'Zoom' is the recommended mode and fills the whole screen, but doesn't look good.
The sound is best left on 'Flat' mode for most things. For Music programs I prefer 'Rock' mode, which beefs up the low frequency bands. I have configured 'Personal' mode to boost all the frequency bands. This is great for low volumes and gives a similar affect to 'loudness', as used on most HiFis.
The pro-logic sound is very good and enhances the experience of home cinema. The rear surround sound speakers are a bit on the feeble side, but you can configure the surround channel, to be a higher level than the others, to suit your personal ambiance.
Digital teletext viewing requires a board upgrade from Sony.
OnDigital is not available in Swindon officially yet as the Mendip transmitter has not been upgraded fully, but I am entitled to free subscription for a year on the basic package and can get my aerial upgraded for £40 when OnDigital finally get their act together.
In conclusion:
Picture - 10/10 (Never seen anything like it!)
Sound - 8/10
Features - 9/10 (Great for the gadget man?)
Overall - 9/10
GF.'s review and ratings | 399 words | 11 comments added.
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