Sony Grand Wega 50-inch (KFE50A10)

Upside

Sony has added two new models to its Grand Wega range of rear projection televisions - the 42-inch KF-E42A10 (E42) and the 50-inch KF-E50A10 (E50). When we reviewed the behemoth in the Wega range last year - the 60-inch KFWS60S1 - we were impressed by its slimness and impressive picture quality. And with the new 42-inch and 50-inch utilising much of the same technology and boasting similar specs to the 60-inch version, it's natural to expect the same good performance from the two newcomers.

Both the E42 and the E50 have Sony's 3LCD projection technology and proprietary Wega image engine. The new televisions have a resolution of 1280x720 pixels and feature a dynamic contrast technology which automatically lowers the sets' light output in darker scenes. The televisions come with two tuners built-in (analog only, unfortunately), as well as an impressive set of inputs which include HDMI (something the 60-inch model doesn't have), two components, S-Video and more.

Downside

No digital tuner is always a downer, but perhaps the biggest question mark over the E42 and E50 is price. At AU$2999 for the E42 and AU$3999 for the E50, the sets are in the same price range as similarly sized plasmas. Sony's Wegas are certainly slim rear projection sets, but they're still nowhere near as slim as a plasma.

Outlook

With the same technology behind them as the well reviewed 60-inch KFWS60S1, the Grand Wega E42 and E50 look likely to continue Sony's winning form in rear projection sets.