Sony KV-30HS420 30-Inch FD Trinitron WEGA HD-Ready Widescreen CRT TV

Amazon Customer Reviews

(5 out of 5)

Widescreen high-definition TV at an affordable price

Contrary to popular opinion, you don't have to buy an expensive plasma or LCD (liquid crystal display) TV to get a great high-definition picure. In fact, many experts (including Consumer Reports) assert that high-definition TVs using traditional cathode-ray tube technology -- as this high-definition Sony does -- currently offer a sharper picture than plasma and LCD TVs, plus they are much less expensive and more reliable. This widescreen HD Sony TV has a very good picture with standard broadcasts and an outstanding picture with HD broadcasts and DVDs. If you'd like to get a widescreen high-definition TV now but your budget is limited to a thousand dollars or so, please consider this 30" Sony.

(5 out of 5)

Exceptional TV for the price

This model (along with its 34 inch sibling) was rated a best buy by Consumer Reports in traditional TV widescreen HD category. I have it plugged into my Cablevision service for HD signal - the step up in picture quality compared to standard signal is quite noticeable. But the good thing is that even standard TV transmission (non HD) produces very good picture on this TV (which was a factor in its best buy choice by Consumer Reports). The TV has plenty of video inputs of all kinds, including 2 component video and 1 HDMI.
I have my Panasonic S97 DVD player hooked up to this TV via HDMI input and this allows my Panasonic DVD player to upconvert DVD's to 1080i so I can watch them as clear as the HD TV. Granted that the DVD upconvert to 1080i is a Panasonic DVD player feature but you can't use it without having HDMI input on the TV.
According to the Consumer Reports review of HD TV's, most HD TV's produce great picture with the HD signal but the picture quality is not so good with standard TV signal. Since most of the programming on TV continues to be transmitted via the standard signal, this TV's very good performance with the standard TV signal was a big factor in my buying decision.

(5 out of 5)

Fabulous Picture Quality!

We have needed a new tv for quite some time (our 14 year old Hitachi set was failing), and after doing research on the different types of tvs available, plasma vs LCD vs conventional set, I decided to go with a conventional set, which delivers the best picture for the least amount of money.

I chose Sony's KV-30HS420 widescreen high definition tv after looking at a number of tvs in the store and reading reviews (it recently got a great rating in the March 2005 issue of Consumer Reports).

I could have saved about $60 on the set buying on Amazon rather than locally, but decided not to in case there were any problems with the set and also I would have to wait at least a week to receive it. Be warned that if this is your first HD tv, you will probably need to spend about $150 buying new cables to take advantage of the HD features when you hook up your dvd player and cable box to the tv. I bought two sets of Monster brand cables for my Comcast DVR cable box and my dvd player.

This tv is HEAVY! My husband and I managed to carry this down steps from our driveway into the house and then down a flight of steps into our basement tv room, but that's only because he's very strong. You really need at least 2 strong people to carry this. If you buy locally and can't find help, it would be worth it to pay for delivery and set up.

We did have some problems hooking up our cable box to the tv, as Sony's directions are not clear, but we finally got everything working. We have Comcast digital cable and receive a number of HD broadcasts and the picture quality is unbelievable! Our dvds look equally as great.

If you are considering a new tv, I would highly recommend this model.

(5 out of 5)

You Can't Go Wrong

This is as fine an HDTV as one can possbly buy at an affordable price. I have seen all alternatives up to 42-inch plasmas. This Sony equals or betters them all in image sharpness, color range, black level, and so on. Fed by my COMCAST digital cable box, I have been absolutely delighted with this purchase, and do not see replacing the set even if plasma prices fell by 50%. Yes, it took my son's help to lift it upon the matching stand, but what the hell, shouldn't one get 160 pounds for $850 (at Sears on a Sears card)?

(4 out of 5)

brilliant in comparison

first off, i got my set for 720 dollars, same price as the 27" 4:3 model. so i have no room to complain. obviously the quality and features wont match the 2 grand XBR series sony, but for the price and compared to its counterparts, its absolutely brilliant! very easy to use, enough audio/video enhancements and inputs. plus its a sony, you just cant beat its quality. pick this one up to start you off in hd, then in a few years, you can get the XBR when its reasonably priced! oh and also, didnt see much of a difference between the HDMI and component input running LOTR: Return of the King.