Sony’s KDF-50E2000 HD RPTV has a native resolution of 760p (1280×720). It incorporates Sony’s 3LCD microdisplay technology as well as its video signal processing WEGA Engine. The Sony KDF-50E2000 is what one could call one of the entry level E2000 series of Sony’s rear projection television range. For same size TVs, the 3LCD, E2000 series is some 25% cheaper than the LCoS version.

3LCD Technology

3LCD technology is a video projection system that uses three LCD panels to produce an image. The LCoS technology models in Sony’s RPTV range also use a three panels arrangement.

Beginning in 1995, 3LCD technology has been adopted by numerous front projector and later (2002) rear projection TV manufacturers - Fujitsu, Hitachi, Panasonic, Sanyo and Sony - for its compactness and image quality.

3LCD is marketed as having three key advantages:

• A brighter picture even in high ambient light situations
• More natural colors
• Greater resolution - high definition performance

Further detailed information on 3LCD technology can be found at the 3LCD website founded by the manufacturers supporting the technology.

Advanced Iris

Advanced Iris is a special Sony function designed to improve brightness and contrast expression especially in darker scenes. Of the seven settings two are for automatic opening and closing of the iris determined by the gamma level of the video displayed. The remaining five manual settings are intended to adjust the display for varying ambient light conditions.

Sony’s WEGA Engine

Sony’s WEGA Engine Video Processor is a digital video signal processor designed to improve picture quality. The WEGA Engine System includes:

• High-speed A/D (analog-to-digital) converters for wide-range gradation capture of analog signals
• 3-D Y/C Comb Filter for minimizing cross color and dot structure artifacts
• Digital MPEG Noise Reduction Circuit which reduces MPEG artifacts such as “mosquito noise” caused by the compression used to maximize bandwidth in digital broadcasts
• Digital Temporal 3-D Noise Reduction (pixel-by-pixel basis)
• Digital Motion Adaptive I/P (interlace-to-progressive), as well as Edge Adaptive I/P deinterlacing conversion which improves resolution in video with motion

Sound

To provide an audio experience matching the visual one, Sony’s KDS-50E2000 has audio provided by SRS Lab’s patented SRS TruSurround XT surround sound technology. TruSurround XT is a multi-channel virtualization technology which aims to produce a surround sound effect using only two speakers. It will handle up to seven (6.1) audio channels.

TruSurround XT combines three patented sound processing techniques from SRS Labs:

• Dialog Clarity: Improves intelligibility of dialog
• TruSurround: TruSurround creates multichannel signals in a way that takes advantage of the human hearing system and create a surround sound field. It carries Dolby certification.
• TruBass: TruBass enhances bass performance utilizing proprietary psychoacoustic techniques. Perception of fundamental low frequency tones is restored by dynamically augmenting harmonics.

TruSurround will produce a two channel stereo output from mono, stereo, or multichannel input signals. It is compatible with signals that been decoded by a Dolby Pro Logic or Pro Logic II decoder and signals that have been encoded to stereo with a matrix encoder (e.g. SRS Circle Surround or Dolby Pro Logic).

For more information on the equipment supplied by SRS Labs can be found on their web site.

HDMI

Sony have thoughtfully included two HDMI interfaces with the KDS-50A2020. Two is really the minimum number required with the number of HD sources most consumers have now.

The HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is the first industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. HDMI technology supports enhanced or High Definition video, together with multi-channel digital audio to provide matchless image and sound reproduction. Sony has not introduced the new HDMI 1.3 standard with this television.

Comparisons

As mentioned, the KDF-50E2000 is one of Sony’s four 3LCD RPTVs which also includes the 55 inch KDF-55E2000, the 46 inch KDF-46E2000 and the 42 inch KDF-42E2000. The other RPTVs manufactured by Sony are SXRD (LCoS) technology. There are a number of differences between the 3LCD and SXRD models including:

• lower resolution - 760p for 3LCD vs 1080p for SXRD sets
• ower price - 3LCD being cheaper
• reduced set of audio features
• reduced set of video control features
• contrast ratio of up to 6,000:1 compared with 10,000:1
• Sony do not publish the 3LCD response time and but, LCDs do have an inherently slower response time than SXRD which in Sony’s case is a blisteringly fast 2.5ms. Sony’s Bravaria LCD TVs have an 8ms response time.

The SXRD technology RPTVs in Sony’s range are the 50 inch KDS-50A2020, 55 inch KDS-55A2020 and the 60 inch KDS-60A2020.

Warranty Information

Sony offer a limited warranty of 1 year parts & labor with 2 years on optical block.

Further Reading

Samsungs HL-S5679W won the CNET Best of 2006 Award’s TV category at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The 56 inch, HL-S5679W 1080p HDTV rear projection television (RPTV) is Samsungs first LED backlighting technology offering on the market.

Read our recent review of JVC’s True 1080p HD-ILA Rear Projection TV FN Series - HD-56FN97, HD-61FN97 and HD-70FN97 and our review of JVC’s True 1080p HD-ILA Rear Projection TV FH Series - HD-56FH97FH, HD-61FH97, HD-70FH97.

For more detail on the microdisplay panels powering the new generation of rear projection HDTV televisions, read our article Microdisplay Chips for Rear Projection Televisions.

User Reviews and Price Comparisons

Sony Grand WEGA KDF-50E2000 50-Inch 3LCD Rear Projection Television

Sony SU-RG12L TV Stand for KDF-50E2000 or KDF-55E2000 Rear Projection HDTVs (Silver)

Specifications KDF-50E2000 RPTV