HDTV Reviews Blog

Sony Bravia S Series KDL 40S5100 40 Inch 1080p LCD HDTV Black

Step up to Full HD 1080p resolution and stunning contrast without breaking the bank. The KDL-40S5100 40-inch BRAVIA S series LCD flat panel HDTV features Advanced Contrast Enhancer (ACE) for an impressive dynamic contrast ratio of 30,000:1 and BRAVIA Engine 2 digital video processor for superior resolution. Plus, 6 HD inputs are provided to connect all of your HD devices including PlayStation 3, Blu-ray Disc player and laptop or desktop.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars I love this HDTV
This TV is the best I have ever owned. The 2nd best was my old Sony trinitron with picture/picture. Sony is the best.

1 Star Poor Sournd Quality at low volume levels from internal speakers
First – I like the video. I installed the firmware upgrade and the auto-dimming problem is gone.

Second – the Sound out of the internal speakers is terrible at low volume levels (10 on the TV’s scale). This TV is used in a bedroom – usually at low volume levels with its internal speakers. There is a lot of background noise so that at low volume settings the noise is louder than the programming audio level. My 15 year old NEC had better audio than this box.

Doesn’t matter what programming source : DVD or QAM HD cable on the internal tuner.

A tech is coming over to look into it.

I have not tried this with a receiver yet.

If this is the way the Audio was designed, then don’t buy it for standalone use.

Updated 9/9/09

Tech was here today to work on the TV. He replaced the main board with one that was overnighted from the factory. No change. It still has an annoying amount of static on the audio at low volume levels (10 and under).

2 Stars Is it a Sony?
Is this really a Sony product? I’ve had some excellent TVs over the years from Sony, including a 42″ LCD that I purchased in 2008 with great results. However, this set has had issues from the beginning that were not resolved by the patch and numerous calls to Sony’s tech help service. The problem with the auto dimming feature only bothers me some of the time but what is perhaps the most irritating is the terrible internal speakers with this unit. It really gets mushy sound performace and I will eventually have to connect it to an outside receiver to get past this issue. After the patch did nothing to correct the problems I had this in a Sony repair facility for two weeks to replace parts and make things right with the picture and the sound. Upon return, it was simply more of the same. I’ve noticed that Amazon is no longer selling this model. Maybe they’ve recognized the issues. For those that are getting good performance, you’re the lucky ones. This will be the last time that I buy a TV on reputation alone, sight unseen. I really wonder if the apparent lack of quality in this model comes from Sony simply slapping their label on some low-end manufactuers work?

5 Stars new era of watching
The new Sony we purchased fulfills or exceeds all our expectations. We have looked at a lot of different LCD-TVs and we found this to have the overall best picture in all different environmental situations. The picture is warm and bright and shows no weaknesses even with fast moving pictures. You can get less expensive LCDs but we find this Sony to be worth its price. I used to have a Samsung LCD back in Europe. This one rocks.

5 Stars Amazing television…
This Sony 40 inch 1080p tv is amazingly beautiful. I had a Panasonic 52″ 1080i rear projection lcd for years that I thought looked pretty good, until it died. I set a budget of $1000 to get a replacement, and came home with this Sony. The 1080p picture immedietly blew me away. Though slightly smaller than my old hd tv, the clarity and vibrant imagry more than make up the difference. I watched an hd feed of “Quantum of Solace” and was amazed at the detail and the crisp picture, no matter how fast the action on screen. No hint of the auto-dim feature from earlier models that bothered so many. I work in the movie industry and a fiend for detail and picture quality; this Sony Bravia has proven itself to be professional grade in every way.

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