The Sony KDP-65WS550 is one of only two TVs that didn't change its ranking between the two days. It's also the least expensive TV in the test by $500. How did it accomplish this? Balance, balance, balance.

Adrienne summed up this sentiment with the simple yet perfectly accurate quote: "It seems to do everything well, a good balance between all elements." Not surprisingly, this was her number-one pick on day one. Maureen also picked this as her day-one number one. She liked the "handsome silver bezel" and the good detail in the blacks. She also pointed out that there was very little noise in the picture. The overall feeling was one of consistency, with one reviewer remarking that the KDP-65WS550 "performed well with every source, as compared with others that looked good with one but bad with another." Jerry felt that the picture was a little soft and lacked the punch of some of the other TVs.

Perhaps Chris best hit the point right on as to why this set didn't score higher: "Solid, with nothing glaring either way but nothing to set it apart, either." It was a fine set that got buried by sets that did too many other things better, although most of those TVs had flaws of their own. The KDP-65WS550's only real flaw was its lack of light. It just wasn't very bright, and that made the brighter competitors that much stronger. This is why the set got two number-one votes on day one (when I tried to match light output) and none on day two (when I didn't). That said, its ability to be calibrated—and calibrated well—kept it from slipping lower; several reviewers raised it up a few steps when compared with its noncalibrateable brethren on day two.

The cabinet design was something of a toss-up. It's certainly the most unique-looking of the old-school big-box RPTVs. As mentioned before, Maureen liked the design and color, but Jerry didn't like the all-silver aspect. He thought that, while it might be an easier sell than a big, black box, the silver can be distracting in a dark room. Perhaps. However, as I said to Glenn, who shared Jerry's sentiment, you're not the only one buying the TV; ya gotta ask yer better half.

The remote is the same one that has come with just about every Sony TV we've reviewed for what seems like forever. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, other than the fact that it isn't backlit and doesn't have direct-input buttons. Otherwise, it's well laid-out and feels comfortable in your hand. The menus were easy to understand and follow.

Other than its light output, this TV really didn't do anything wrong, but it didn't excel at any one thing, either—except, of course, in the price battle. For $3,300, you get a 65-inch screen with a generally good picture and a built-in HDTV tuner. Adrienne wrote on this topic, "While I feel that one or two of the others might look better, this one performs almost as well and costs far less."

KDP-65WS550 65-Inch HDTV $3,300
Sony Electronics
(800) 222-SONY
www.sony.com
Dealer Locator Code SNY

HT Labs Measures: Sony KDP-65WS550 HDTV

The top chart shows the gray scale of the KDP-65WS550 relative to its color temperature at various levels of intensity, or brightness (20 IRE is dark gray; 100 IRE is bright white). The gray scale as set by the factory, in the warm color-temperature mode, measures blue with dark images and red with brighter images. After making adjustments using the Photo Research PR-650, the gray scale still measures slightly blue with the darkest images but tracks quite well across the rest of the gray scale. The bottom chart shows the gray scale (or color temperature) relative to the color points of the display's red, green, and blue CRTs. Red (x=0.659, y=0.338), green (x=0.300, y=0.610), and blue (x=0.145, y=0.066) are close to those specified by SMPTE, although red and blue are slightly oversaturated. The light output was approximately 16 foot-lamberts. The display has good DC restoration in the movie and pro modes and poor DC restoration in the vivid and standard modes. The KDP-65WS550 has a good color decoder, displays out to DVD's limits, and, using our Leader LT-446 HD generator, is capable of resolving 720p signals out to 600 (pph) and 1080i out to 800 (pph).—GM

Hitachi 57X500 (CRT, $3,500)

The Hitachi 57X500 is the second of the two TVs in this test whose rank didn't change between day one and day two. This is in no doubt due to its solid picture quality out of the box, which allowed it to hold its own on day two despite its inability to be calibrated.

If one thing solidified this TV in the reviewers' minds, it was the black level. Each reviewer commended the 57X500 on its tremendous black level and detail therein. Several people used words like "deep" and "solid." Maureen thought that the black level was about as deep as you could go. She and Amy both liked the pleasing, natural colors. Jerry, who chose this one as his top pick on day one and as his second pick on day two, said that the Hitachi was "absolutely absorbing" and that he found himself just watching the movie, not watching the TV. He felt that this was one of only two TVs that really had depth to the image, an almost 3-D quality.

While many of the remarks on the first day were positive but not over the top, everything changed on the second day. This is interesting because, with no way to calibrate the gray scale, all I did was increase the light output to the maximum level that the set would happily put out. It seems that, while the set was constrained by a low light level on day one (equal to that of all of the other sets), it became much happier when I gave it room to stretch its legs. It still wasn't as bright as the fixed-pixel displays, but it held its own and, more importantly, kept its excellent black level while doing so.

These two factors combined to make an all-around-solid picture. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the picture quality was the detail. Most of the reviewers thought that the image was slightly soft, yet test patterns revealed that it had one of the highest resolutions of any set we've ever reviewed. Strange, indeed. When I investigated this phenomenon, I discovered that, for some reason, the input I used to show the DVD and HD material showed less resolution than the component input right next to it. When shown the difference, everyone thought that the set looked better, but not enough to move it up a spot in their rankings. As both inputs are labeled the same, this was most likely due to some quirk in our review sample. Still, its bronze medal was secure.

The Hitachi remote is one of the best in the test. It's laid out very well, and most of the buttons are backlit. It even has direct access to each input, a surprising rarity in this test. As far as looks go, the Hitachi is fairly nondescript, enough so that no one wrote anything about its appearance (thanks, guys). There is something to be said for the TV with the least amount of visual flair.

At $3,500, the 57X500 is less expensive than the average price for this Face Off, but it doesn't come with an HDTV tuner. As a trade-off, you do get an almost perfect black level and lots of light and color if you want it. All in all, a solid picture.

57X500 57-Inch HD Monitor $3,500
Hitachi Home Electronics
(800) HITACHI
www.hitachi.com
Dealer Locator Code HIT

HT Labs Measures: Hitachi 57X500 HD Monitor

The top chart shows the gray scale of the 57X500 relative to its color temperature at various levels of intensity, or brightness (20 IRE is dark gray; 100 IRE is bright white). The gray scale as set by the factory, in the medium color-temperature mode, measures close to accurate with dark images, goes red with midlevel images, and then goes back toward accurate with brighter images. No service menu was available, so no calibration was possible. The bottom chart shows the gray scale (or color temperature) relative to the color points of the display's red, green, and blue CRTs. Red (x=0.667, y=0.330), green (x=0.321, y=0.662), and blue (x=0.146, y=0.059) are off those specified by SMPTE. All colors are oversaturated, while green is slightly yellow. The light output was approximately 34 foot-lamberts. The display has decent DC restoration and a good color decoder. The 57X500 displays approximately 480 lines (per picture height) with NTSC sources and, using our Leader LT-446 HD generator, is capable of resolving 720p signals out to only 420 (pph) and 1080i out to 1,010 (pph).—GM