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Sony KD-36XS955 CRT -vs- Sony KDS-R60XBR1 SXRD?

Hello,
I recently purchased a Sony KD-36XS955 36" 4:3 direct view CRT high definition television.
I am very pleased with the picture quality, but, I sure wish it had a bigger screen and 16:9 ratio for most of my dvd's and HD broadcasts!
I saw one of the Sony KDS-R60XBR1 SXRD LoCS RPTV's at Circuit City and Best Buy and was very impressed with the picture quality and the size.
It literally surpassed all the other RPTV's, plasmas and LCD monitors in overall video quality, no matter what the price of the RPTV, LCD, or plasma was IMHO!!!
My daughter went with me and she agreed with my opinion as well.
But, the picture was probably "tuned" to look that way, plus they were using exclusive HD broadcasts only.
I would be worried that it would not impress me once I got it home, or that my 36" would have a superior picture, and overall video performance.
Has anyone who once owned or still owns the KD-36XS955 CRT tv, went out and purchased one of the Sony KDS-R50XBR1 or KDS-R60XBR1 SXRD LoCS RPTV's?
If so, did the SXRD big screens offer ANY visual advantages at all over the direct view CRT besides a bigger image?
If so, what were they?
What all advantages, if any, did the direct view CRT offer over the SXRD big screen?
For overall video quality, would you most recommend sticking with my 36", or would you recommend the big screen?
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a million.
daltonlanny
6 responses Add your response
audio_girl
91 posts
 
Hello daltonlanny,
I also own the Sony KD-36XS955 36" crt tv.
I have extensively watched the Sony KDS-R50XBR both at Circuit City and at a friends house.
The 36" CRT still has slighly better blacks, slightly better color uniformity, in my opinion, and a wider viewing angle.
However, the 50" SXRD RPTV will most definitely give the CRT a run for its money, and may even surpass it when its comes to image detail resolution, sharpness, and overall brightness.
This is when viewing HD broadcasts and dvd's.
The SXRD is a VERY IMPRESSIVE RPTV...the best I have viewed yet.
If I were in the market for a big screen of any kind, one of the Sony SXRD's would be my first choice!
Hope this helps.
daltonlanny OP
301 posts
 
Thank you audio_girl.
Anyone else have a response?
tnildh
2 posts
 
It's kind of an apples and oranges comparison. If you are happy with a 36" TV you should probably stick with what you have. Since you bought it recently you clearly didn't see any particular need for a large screen set. The SXRD has a great picture when the input signal is optimal, but like many LCD or DLP sets, there will likely be times when the picture quality will not be as nice as your set (such as when standard definition programming is viewed). You might want to spend more time looking if you still have an interest as there are some plasmas with great picture quality. If you are not really trying to recreate a bigscreen home theater experience, though, then it's not really worth your bother.
rlogleb50d
1 posts
 
I have had the Sony KDS-R50XBR1 for about three day's now.... I have never loved a TV as much as I love this one. I went from a Samsung Widescreen HDTV (CRT based) to this... I wish I'd done it months ago.... If you do go with this don't buy into the whole HDMI is better crap, go with component cables, much better picture with that and Univeral HD has the best HD by far...... Hope this helps, any questions just email me....
northwoods_maine
70 posts
 
Virtually every A/V magazine has rated the Sony SXRDs (50" and 60")as a "Best Buy", or "Highly Recommended" often citing that these new units are equal to or better than CRTs. They also have stated that these units actually out-perform the $13,000 big brother Qualia set because of the "next generation" chip set. I've looked hard and often and will replace my 55" 'big box' Mitsu within the next year ... hoping they'll upgrade to 1080P input with next year's set coming out this summer.
donbellphd
205 posts
 
I have a Sony 36 XBR and have been looking longingly at Sony's 60 SXRD RP. But then I saw a demo of a well set up Sony SXRD FP projecting onto a 110" Stewart Greyhawk screen -- the dealer said a FireHawk would be even better, but they already had the GreyHawk. The envelopment you get from a large screen is hard to beat, and the picture quality with both HDTV and a sampler progressive scan DVD with a Sony 9100ES was outstanding. It certainly put my 60 SXRD RP buying decision on hold. I suspect that in a couple of years the $10K SXRD FP will have dropped to around $5K. Of course, there's a couple of $K for the screen, and I suspect another $K for installation and ISI set up.

I use two of the channels for listening to stereo music as well, and FP would clear the space betwen the speakers, which should improve imaging.

db
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