Slimmed Down, Teched Up

With a vigorous exercise program and some stellar technology, Sony has slimmed down (by 40% over previous models) its rear projection televisions to allow them to fit more easily into your life--and your living room. The KDS50A3000 brings the picture detail and clarity of SXRD display technology to the masses with a generous screen size of 50 inches. It offers full HD 1080p picture quality--the highest HD resolution currently available--within a new compact, bottom speaker cabinet design and the BRAVIA Engine EX full digital video processor with its Digital Reality Creation-Multifunction v1.0 (DRC-MF v1.0) technology, which upconverts standard definition 480i video signals to near high definition picture quality.

Get The Big Picture

Sony's SXRD (Silicon X-Tal Reflective Display) device contains enough pixels among its three panels to display a full 1080-line picture without interlacing it. With a blistering 2.5 ms response time (total rise and fall time), SXRD has the speed to create a smooth, film-like image. And it creates highly accurate, natural colors because the three-panel design displays all the colors, all the time. The KDS50A3000 also includes the Sony's Advanced Iris function for improved brightness and contrast expression, especially in darker scenes. An integrated ATSC/NTSC/QAM digital tuner allows you to view HD broadcasts over the air or on cable. CineMotion Reverse 3:2 Pulldown technology smoothly converts movies on film from 24 fps to television's standard 30 fps. The 16:9 aspect ratio screen lets you watch widescreen movies and programs as they were meant to be seen. Digital Reality Creation (DRC) Multifunction Technology, replaces the standard definition waveform with the HD equivalent, producing four times the line density for great pictures from non-HD sources (broadcast, cable, satellite, DVDs, camcorders, VCRs). Together, these technologies create crisp, richly detailed, vividly colored high definition images. The big picture never looked better.

What's Your Frame Rate?

Prepare yourself for high definition entertainment as defined by Sony. One of the BRAVIA HDTV series, the KDS50A3000 offers refinements in picture quality with advanced imaging technology. Its exclusive BRAVIA Engine EX full digital video processor maintains a beautiful HD picture by converting all signals to digital and applying an entire system of processes to improve resolution, sharpness, contrast, and expanded picture dimensionality. Taking motion performance to the next level requires innovation and expertise. Enter Sony's MotionFlow High Frame Rate technology. MotionFlow doubles the number of frames from 60 fps to 120 fps and does it the right way by using real-time calculation of every single frame of video to create entire new frames of information. The results are spectacular and unlock a new level of smooth and natural motion reproduction.

Progressive Vs. Interlaced Scanning

Interlacing, and progressive scanning are common terms tossed around in television set advertising these days, especially high definition television. But what do they mean, and how do they affect the quality of the picture displayed on the screen? Way back in the time before the world wanted TV programming to look as sharp and colorful as in a motion picture theater televisions used a method called interlacing to create a picture. Each line on a CRT (cathode ray tube) screen was given a number from top to bottom, and the interlacing process would scan the odd numbered lines first, then go back and scan the even numbered lines, all within a 30th of a second. This resulted in a relatively sharp still frame; but left some distortion, or jaggedness, in active shots. The distortion was a result of phosphors (the color-causing element) fading between each scan. Today, televisions use new progressive scan display technologies like SXRD that don't have the fading problem. Progressive scanning simply means that instead of scanning alternate lines, lines are scanned in order producing smoother images, especially in active scenes.

x.v.Color--More Colors Than The Source

BRAVIA HDTV performance has now advanced to the point where color range can be defined by limitations in the original video source, rather than the TV. Thanks to the adoption of a newly approved international color standard called xvYCC (an option in the HDMI v1.3 specification that Sony helped create), the color space has been greatly expanded. Now BRAVIA's can faithfully reproduce 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals. Sony calls its version of this expanded new color standard x.v.Color and is incorporating it not only in HDTVs, but also other products like Handycam camcorders.

Connect Everything--Except Maybe The Toaster

There are lots of features on the KDS50A3000 that make it not only nice to watch, but also easy to operate. Three HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) inputs transfer uncompressed digital video and multichannel audio signals to the display through a single cable. HDMI is an enhanced version of DVI (Digital Video Interface), and is backward compatible with DVI using an adapter. And because you want to be able to connect this HDTV to older components that don't have HDMI, the KDS50A3000 features two component, one S-Video, and three composite video inputs plus five analog audio inputs and one optical digital audio output. There's even a D-Sub 15 PC input so you can use your high resolution BRAVIA TV as a computer monitor.

Coming Soon, All DTV All The Time

Digital Television (DTV) is the new broadcast TV standard that within three years is slated to replace the current analog broadcast NTSC system. NTSC, the National Television System Committee, established broadcast standards almost 60 years ago using an analog system of broadcasting that transmits a 525-line signal. About 480 of those lines are used to create the picture on your TV screen while the remaining 45 lines transmit other data like closed-captioned text. DTV, on the other hand, is a collection of 18 different digital broadcast signal formats and includes the highest quality signals available. ATSC, the Advanced Television Standards Committee, is the group that determined standards for the national digital television system. ATSC DTV signals are sent out via broadcast, cable, or direct satellite and then received and decoded by an ATSC receiver in your home. High definition DTV formats are all widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio with Dolby Digital audio and have either 720 or 1080 lines of resolution. To receive HDTV signals, you must have a digital TV that is capable of displaying the signals and an HDTV tuner, either as a separate tuning unit, or conveniently integrated into the TV, as it is on the Sony KDS50A3000. Now, does owning an HDTV mean you won't be able to receive analog signals anymore? No, not at all. Most HDTVs, including the KDS50A3000 can receive both types of signals, as well as unencrypted digital cable signals. Don't worry if there aren't any DTV broadcasts in your area--they'll be coming soon. Currently, digital over-the-air broadcasts are transmitted to about 97% of the households in America.

Included With Purchase

Remote control (RM-YD016), two AA batteries for remote, Quick Start Guide, and Instruction Manual.

Comparison Specifications

• Screen Size: 50" (Measured Diagonally)
• Display Type: SXRD Rear Projection With Advanced Iris Function
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Lamp: Ultra-High Pressure, 120W
• Progressive Features: CineMotion Reverse 3:2 Pulldown, MotionFlow 120 Hz Frame Rate
• Best Video Inputs: 3 HDMI v1.3, 2 HD Component
• Other Inputs: S-Video, 3 Composite, Analog/Optical Digital Audio (5/1), PC Audio/Video, RF Connection
• Native Resolution: 1920 x 1080 Pixels

Additional Specifications

• Video Processing: BRAVIA Engine EX/MotionFlow 120 Hz Black Insertion
• Response Time: 2.5 ms (Rise And Fall)
• Tuner: Integrated NTSC/ATSC/Clear QAM
• Comb Filter: 3-D Digital
• Digital Reality Creation: MultiFunction V1, Modes 1/2/CineMotion, Palette Presets Custom 1/2/3
• Picture Modes: Vivid/Standard/Cinema/Photo/Custom
• Wide Modes: Wide Zoom/Normal/Full/Zoom
• Gamma Compensation: High/Medium/Low/Off
• Color Temperature: Cool/Neutral/Warm
• Game Mode: On/Off

Manufacturer Specifications

• Sound Mode: Dynamic/Standard/Custom
• Detail Enhancer: High, Medium, Low, Off
• Channel: Skip/Add/Jump/Label/Favorite/Auto Program
• Outputs: Audio (Variable/Fixed)
• Convenience Features: Picture Freeze/Speed Surf Channel Selection
• Tone Control: Bass/Treble
• Parental Control: V-Chip
• Advanced Video Menu
• Clock, Sleep Timer, 2 Timer Events
• ENERGY STAR Compliant

Dimensional Specifications

• Dimensions: 45.38" W x 33.50" H x 14.38" D
• Weight: 75.0 lbs

Sony KDS-50A3000 Warranty Details

One-Year Parts And Labor Warranty