This Sony was sold to me directly from Sony in exchange for a 5 year old 60" Sony that had an 'optic block' problem that would require an expensive fix. Sony had been repairing this problem for free but I had no way to know that until mine went bad and then talking to Sony they had switched to an exchange program where the customer would pay about slightly less than half the retail price. If you have a slightly older Sony that is putting either a blue color on the screen or a green one you might start directly with the Sony Style website and contact their support help to see what they may offer you. On one hand I was very sad to see my 5 year Sony develop a problem but on the other hand I have to give Sony credit for standing up to the known problem.
The largest TV offered in the exchange program was this 55" model or I certainly would have gone for the 60" because I prefer that size. That said this model has a better and more vibrant picture than my older Sony which was a premium model that I had paid over $4,000 for. So the bottom line for me is that this new Sony has a better picture for less than the old one even if you pay retail. My old Sony weighed 113lbs and this new one is around 65lbs so it is easier to handle. The remote is better and more intuitive. We watch this in a very bright room filled with natural sunlight during the day and this TV handles that very well with no glare. The speakers are nothing to write home about and probably not as good as my old Sony but we tend to watch movies with the sound coming from a quality sound system anyway. My old Sony was 1080i and this one is full 1080p which is an excellent picture. We get our signal from Dish Net which broadcasts almost exclusively in 1080i anyway. For movies we use a Samsung Blu-Ray player which works beautifully with this TV. In fact there is a type of automatic setting that the Samsung and the Sony have where when you turn on the Samsung the TV also turns on and then goes directly to the input from the Samsung. Very cool. Truthfully I can barely tell the difference from a good blu-ray picture and a good standard DVD. We tend to use Netflix a lot and always order Blu-Ray when available.
I thought the set up was easy and the available HDMI connections are excellent as my old Sony only had two HDMI inputs and this one has 4. We actually use all 4 with a DVD recorder, Dish Net, HD camcorder, and the blu-ray.
I would have no problem recommending this Sony LCD TV and in fact when I looked in the stores I thought the new LED LCDs seemed a little too bright. I do miss the 60" size but everyone who has looked at this picture has been in the 'wow' camp with it. Sony BRAVIA KDL-55EX500 Series 55-Inch LCD TV, Black
Had been looking for a new tv for a little while to upgrade from my 6 year old Mitsubishi Rear Projection 48" HDTV. Was trying to decide between Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, LG, and Vizio, and also LCD or Plasma. Did extensive research and decided LCD was the way to go for us. We had decided on a last years model Sony 52", but then it was sold before we got ready to get it. Thank goodness it did! Went back to Costco and found this beautiful new 2010 model Sony 55' LCD KDL-55EX501(costco's model is 501, whereas other stores carry the 500-same tv, even lists it in the instruction manual that way). This tv is so sharp and beautiful! The colors are rich and vibrant, and that was out of the box without adjusting any settings yet!Fine tuning made it even better. Has the Bravia engine 2 and that really makes it look sharp. 120hz processing, and i really dont even see anything wrong with motion scenes. Black sure looks black to me on this set, which is an issue with lcd tv's. Most stores don't carry the set yet as it was just released the first week of Feb. Can't beat Costco though, at this time its [...] and the offer not only the standard warranty on all electronics, but on this model tv, right on the box it states is has a 3 year warranty! Paperwork inside confirmed this! Lots of settings and adjustments can be made as well. Does 1080/24p very nicely. If you can get one, i would really recommend it, you wont be disappointed.
I had the same experience as the other reviewer with a 5 year old 60 inch rear projection Sony TV that developed a blue blob on the screen. I was none too happy when Sony put me on hold after telling me my [...] TV was out of warranty. When they came back on and offered me this TV for less than half the retail price I was OK with that result.
Now that I've had the TV for a couple of months I'm thrilled with it. It doesn't have all the bells + whistles/internet connectivity of other models but I love the picture. It's a great value even at list price and I'll get all those bells + whistles with my new Blu-ray player anyway.
Nothing bad to say about this TV.
As a mid-level LCD TV, the KDL55EX500 is simply a stunning bargain for what you get. And despite the fact that it doesn't use LED technology, it's still has excellent picture quality.
This is a standard LCD TV. Despite this, it has picture quality that rivals many of its LED competitors. I've found that after visiting several stores that many LED-based sets have restricted viewing angles (often getting washed out easily if you move away from center). Also, if you've ever done research on various tech sites, you would find some people complaining about how their LED TVs have uniformity issues, and/or light-bleed from the edges of the screen. Lastly and most important to me, most of the LED TVs that I liked seemed to have significant input lag. Input lag is a slight delay of the video displayed on the TV. All LCD TVs suffer from at least a small amount of input lag, but it seemed all the LED TVs I liked (mostly Samsungs) had a significant amount of it. (Input lag is not rated on most TVs. But on PC monitors input lag often rated as "latency" and measured in milliseconds or "ms".) And since I like to play Gran Turismo 5 on my PS3 a lot, input lag was a concern for me. My previous TV had a lot of input lag (a Samsung) and it made playing Gran Turismo 5 impossible. I had to resort to playing the game on my PC monitor - it was that bad. (Note: I know a lot of TVs now boast of 120hz, or 240hz motion processing. This does not address input lag. Input lag is a seperate problem.)
So after doing a bit of research (reading up on owner's forums of various TVs), I narrowed it down to the KDL55EX500 and the KDL55EX710 - both from Sony. (I really liked the Samsungs, but as I said before, the owners forums swayed me away from them due to quality issues and input lag.) There is about a $700 difference in price of these two TVs because the EX710 series uses the newer LED technology. Seeing them both side-by-side at a local store, it was really hard to see a difference. The EX710 model looked a bit sharper, but the difference was really hard to discern. I couldn't justify paying another $700 for the EX710. Yea, the EX710 is a lot thinner, and consumes less energy, but I don't care about that (gasp!). I just want a good picture for a good price - and the EX500 had both of those things. (When I asked if they had any of the EX500 in stock at that store, the salesman said they did not - which didn't surprise me.)
I will admit that the EX500 series does not have the best picture quality I have seen. The best I think are the upper tier Samsungs (UN558000XF is amazing looking when you see it in person). But after owning a Samsung and having it die on me after only 4-years I'll stick with Sony - who seem to have a better quality track record regarding TVs. (I still own a 12-year-old Sony TV that works perfectly). The picture quality on the KDL55EX500 is still nothing to laugh about. It is simply beautiful. It's sharp, vibrant, and bright. My only gripe is that flesh tones on my older Samsung seemed to look better and smoother, not sure why - but it's true. But that's a minor complaint in an otherwise excellent-looking TV.
This TV is great with games. I could not discern any sort of input lag at all on standard settings. Sony, however added a "game mode" where it supposedly increases response time from the TV. To be honest, the difference is minute, but I like that it's there. If you're a gamer and want decent response time from your TV with minimal input lag - the KDL55EX500 won't disappoint. - Lcd Hdtv - Bravia - 1080p - Sony'
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