i ordered the bravia replacement tv from sony to replace my kdf55w655 for $893 plus tax. they said offer was accepted and i would hear from them when shipped that was 12/13/2008 ive called 13 times not in warehouse no supervisiors to speak to. pathetic
My 52W was supposedly ordered on 01/02/09 after I sent in my serial tag on 12/20/08. We should all post when our order was put in and when it ships to track what's going on.
GlassWolf,
What exactly do you mean by "mediocre"? I think most would agree that Sony products are overpriced in general but what makes them "mediocre"?
I think most would also agree that rear projection technology is severely flawed from several different companies in both LCD and DLP sets.
I have three smaller Samsung LCD TVs and the one projection Sony, and I prefer the Sony's color reproduction as being more realistic. I found the same tendency in comparing the Samsung LN52A650 to the KDL-52W4100 while deciding if I wanted to stick with Sony or not. I do like Sony products, but I am not so brand loyal that I would not consider others. That tendency cuts both ways too. It's quite subjective.
Their products, for years now, have mainly ridden on name alone, much akin to Bose. I've personally had nothing but bad luck with them both personally and professionally for 20 plus years now, but that aside, looking at reviews by both professionals, end users, and so forth, the sony products in most comparisons end up being middle of the road. "good" but not great. Usually lacking features others offer at the same price, or lacking any sort of stunning performance. In my recent quest for a receiver, a bluray player, and a plasma television, I looked at sony for all three, and was very unimpressed with my findings on all three counts, instead going with panasonic and onkyo for those items.
I wasn't trying to be rude. I just dislike Sony, and so did the company I worked for, chosing to drop Sony completely after the difficulties we had getting parts from them to do authorized repairs on their products we sold. I'll also note that as an EE and a former repair tech on a number of pretty high end brands, I was never that impressed with the designs sony uses either.
sorry if that sounds hateful or mean. I unfortunately can't convey much in the way of demeanor here, but really I'm simply stating my experiences.
PS, Samsung, while very proliferative company in the TV market these days, has a terrible reputation for QA. If you look at the RPTV section here as well as the flat panel sections, you'll notice a LOT of samsung complaints and problems. I really wish it wasn't so. I looked for a while at buying a samsung DLP set, but was eventually turned off to the idea because of the inordinate amount of failures.
Thanks for the feedback! I didn't mean to sound accusatory either, or start an argument between "hater" and "fanboy". ;) I try to remain objective about these things.
I have heard the same thing about Bose from an engineer friend of mine who works in the field and attends my church. Although he said that Bose makes nice products, but that they are ridiculously overpriced. He also said that many enhancements in high fidelity are imperceptible to the human ear.
I must say though that my newest vehicle (Mazda CX9) came with a Bose surround system and it is incredible. I did not seek out a model with this feature, but it's certainly a nice touch compared to how bad most stock stereo systems are.
That is how I tend to view Sony, and the high end products are very good, but incredibly overpriced.
Aside from the color rendering, I also like Sony's anti-blur "motion" technology. I found it to be much smoother than Samsung's.
I guess everyone sees things a bit differently and the key factor in this decision for me was the huge discount Sony was offering. I may have checked out plasma if not as there seem to be good bargains to be had in that area these days.
barry,
I just called Sony and they said my TV is due to be "loaded" tomorrow. They have two plants (one in PA and one in CA), so the CSR said there should be a tracking number by Wednesday.
Hopefully this is a good sign for you getting your TV as well.