HDTV Reviews Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Kdl’

Sony BRAVIA XBR KDL 32XBR9 32 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

Experience the beauty of Full HD 1080p with the 32″ Class XBR9 HDTV. Perfect for your bedroom, office or kitchen, this flat panel has a 40,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, which produces deep blacks in darker scenes. Motionflow 120Hz refresh rate technology delivers crisp, clear images while gaming or watching sports and fast-action movies. Additionally, you can connect your camera or USB-enabled MP3 player and view photos or listen to your favorite MP3s. The 32″ Class XBR9 incorporates advanced power saving features and comes with 7 HD inputs (4 HDMI, 2 component and 1 PC) so you can take full advantage of all your HD components. USB – connect your camera, USB-enabled MP3 player, or USB storage device directly to your HDTV’s USB input to view photos on the big screen or listen to your MP3’s BRAVIA Link compatibility expands your HDTV’s capabilities by letting you connect optional BRAVIA Link modules, including the BRAVIA DVD Link, BRAVIA Wireless Link, and BRAVIA Input Link (not included) BRAVIA Sync capability combines the one-touch access and control functionality of BRAVIA Theatre Sync with the ability to control CEC-enabled Sony Handycam(R) camcorders and Cyber-shot(R) digital still cameras using the TV’s remote and an on-screen display 24p True Cinema mode provides a direct connection to 24p video sources, avoiding conversions and allowing you to enjoy films at their intended 24 fps (frames per second) cinematic picture quality In the box – Remote Control Batteries (Type AA x2) AC Power Cord 4 Screws Operating Instructions Quick Setup Guide Warranty Card (limited 1-year parts & labor, Manufacturer) Table Top Stand (separate, pre-assembled) Tuner (Terrestrial) – ATSC Tuner, NTSC Tuner VESA Hole Pitch – 200X200 M6/12-16MM Speakers – 20W (10W X 2) Unit Dimensions – 31 1/2 x 23 x 9 in (798 x 584 x 227mm), 31 1/2 x 21 1/4 x 3 5/8 in (798 x 537 x 89mm) without pedestal

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Sony Is Great But Now Looking For Large Plasma…
The Sony KDL-32XBR9 purchased from Amazon is excellent and so was the cost, but now looking for a large screen Plasma for Basement Family Room. Anyone have any suggestions, like Samsung or Panasonic and which model?

5 Stars Great LCD TV!
I recently upgraded from my old CRT TV and have been completely satisfied with my purchase. We did compare LCD TVs in a showroom and the Sony Bravia clearly had the best picture. It had sharp detail and the best blacks of all the brands. The only weakness is the sound because of the small speakers but there is an output so I can use my stereo system and it sounds great. If you have home theatre system that will work as well.

5 Stars Beautiful and High Quality
I love this TV. I’m sure I would feel differently had I not updated the firmware before I even tried to use it, but since I did — I LOVE THIS TV! I am going to try to put the link for the update at the bottom of this review, but Amazon may have a policy to delete links in reviews. If this happens, then go to [...] and follow the links for this model. You’ll eventually find the update. Download it to a jump drive and plug it into the service port (the only one that’ll take USB) with the TV off, then turn the TV on and things will take care of themselves.

[...]

UPDATE

Okay, so Amazon did delete everything. That’s okay — you know Sony has a website.

5 Stars Finally Got it…Love it!
So I finally got this TV for a multi reason based using. I just replaced my G5 with a Mac Pro and got a PS3 slim for the bed room as well while the older PS3 is hooked up to our 60″ Sony SXRD. I needed a larger monitor for my Mac Pro, but also wanted a TV for the room and we were originally going to go with the 24″ Cinema display from Apple. Amazing unit but is only for the computer and that is it. With that said, I turned to Sony.

The XBR9 does a great job with blacks and colors so when my Mac is running and im in Final Cut or iPhoto, the picture quality is great (I went DVI to HDMI) and when I switch the input over to the PS3 (HDMI), everything continues to look fantastic. So Games/Blu-ray and TV are great.

Again, I have to stress though like other reviewers, the XBR9 does not look as good as the XBR8 because its lower in the series! I mean look at the price difference for the love of god. So please, dont think that somehow Sony has gone back in their mindset. Just 2 different series.

5 Stars sony lcd tv
Great product, I really love hd. Spend the extra money for top of the line you won’t be disapointed. Works perfect with my over the air antenna, if not better than direct tv. Save 30% from retail. Shipping was to my door, open box and plug in for free, beat that. I will trade with them again.

Buy/More Info

Sony BRAVIA V Series KDL 52V5100 52 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV Black

Keep pace with fast-action movies, sports and game play. Equipped with Full HD 1080p and Motionflow 120Hz refresh rate technology, the KDL-52V5100 52-inch BRAVIA V series LCD flat panel HDTV provides a more fluid, natural and realistic viewing experience while enjoying fast-paced entertainment. Additionally, every scene will be sharp, vibrant and life-like thanks to BRAVIA Engine 2 fully digital video processor. Plus, a 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio yields deep blacks in darker scenes. The V series also includes 7 HD inputs to ensure you get impressive image quality from all your HD components such as PlayStation 3, Blu-ray Disc player and your PC.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Very good for a “Introduction To HD” TV
I’ve had this TV since the middle of June 2009(reaching the 6 month period). Before this TV, I’d never had an HDTV or a TV anywhere near this size either. I am pretty tech savvy but HDTVs were not my specialty. With that being stated, I will give you my experience with this particular HDTV.

Since the beginning of 2009, I’d been looking at TVs off and on with the help of “CNET”, just google it, and I’d heard that Sony had an impressive line of entry HDTVs. But I put off the thought of buying one until the middle of June. I was fumbling around on BestBuy’s website (sorry Amazon, at the time, I found a better price. BTW, its just a product review.) and in the “weekly specials” I found this TV on sale for $1499.99, down from its original price of $1999.99. It was the HDTV that I had favored the most from CNET’s reviews, so I made some calls around and none of the stores close had it. I managed to find a store about an hour away that had 2 left, 1 in stock and 1 on display. Drove an hour to check it out and loved it. I added the 3 or 4 year “bring it back no matter what” warranty and after taxes came out to just under $2250, which I paid on the spot in cash, I had not-so-great credit.

Brought it home and set it up and it was a beauty. It took about 30-45 minutes for the TV to recognize (it did something to find all the available cable channels) the channels and our first DVD experience was through our Xbox 360 and it was the Dane Cook’s HBO comedy special. The show wasn’t that greatest thing I’d ever seen BUT the freaking picture was. BTW, the HD cable, Xbox 360, and our Wii look superb on it as well. (Now if I can just get my hands on some Blu-Ray material.)

***PROBLEMS***

I guess every rose has its thorns (haha, cheesy), well this one has (2) of them, and they aren’t really thorns.

1st – MOTION FLOW: To my knowledge(I could be wrong), the MotionFlow feature is the HDTV’s way of enabling the 120Hz refresh rate, which is AWESOME, BUT you can’t just quickly toggle between the 3 options they have for the MotionFlow,(Off, Standard, Full) I mean, you can preview them on the MotionFlow screen, but no quick adjustment feature/button. You have to go into the picture settings every time and slowly make your way to the advanced settings at the bottom of the screen.

2nd – When you have the MotionFlow on “Full” there are still parts during whatever you’re watching that don’t continuously show in that “smooth frame experience”. I’m thinking that the 240Hz HDTVs are probably more dedicated to the continuous MotionFlow. It’s nothing to cry about.

Other than that, the TV is great. The sound is great, it ranges from 0 to 100 and at 60 its good enough for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’d go with a home theater system, but for now its nice. The remote is easy to understand and navigate. I would recommend it to anyone else who was in the same shoes that I was in. To say the least…(haha since I wrote a bibles worth of information) I am satisfied.

Feel free to ask any questions.

5 Stars great tv; great cost
amazon was great. terrific product at a very competitive price. also, easy delivery and installation

5 Stars Totally Happy
Have had the TV now for about 3 weeks and couldn’t be happier. Picture resolution in awesome. Sound is actually really good because Sony has a speaker bar type speakers across the bottom of the TV so the sound actually comes out at you instead of being aimed down and bouncing off the stand like some other brands.

The 120hz motion takes some getting used to after upgrading from 60hz. Otherwise I highly recommend this TV even if it is considered an entry level TV, you’ll never even know otherwise.

5 Stars Quality Television Set
This is a quality television set. The picture looks crisp, football is what I use the tv for mostly..that and xbox 360. This tv is awesome for both of those things. Also, blu rays are fantastic on it….this tv is the total package pretty much.

5 Stars Great TV
I did a lot of research before purchasing this TV. It’s one of the best one out there for the price. The picture is great and has a lot of features. It’s 120 HZ which good for watching sports. The sound quality is JUST OKAY -I recommend attaching a sound system to the tv or (just a couple of mini BOSS speakers which u can get for less than $100.)

Buy/More Info

Sony BRAVIA Z Series KDL 52Z5100 52 Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV

Enjoy the latest in HDTV performance with the Sony BRAVIA Z-Series, featuring Motionflow 240Hz technology for maximum motion detail and clarity, plus broadband internet connectivity with built-in BRAVIA Internet Video capabilities, that let you view select on-demand movies and TV shows and listen to music and more, and even lets you personalize your entertainment experience by selecting and positioning widgets containing the latest news, weather, sports and more directly on your TV screen. An Energy Star 3.0 keeps your energy bill down. XMB w/ enhanced 3D Favorites Menu – Allows you to easily navigate through your favorite photos, music, channels, and connected devices 7 HD inputs – HDMI x4, Component x2, PC Input x1 Ethernet x1 w/ DLNA photo/music/video player – Access digital photos, music, and video from DLNA-enabled PCs, other devices and Internet contents BRAVIA Sync capable – Gives you one-touch access and control of all your compatible home theater devices BRAVIA Link ready (DVD, Input, Wireless) – Lets you expand your HDTV’s capabilities with BRAVIA Link modules, such as BRAVIA DVD Link, BRAVIA Wireless Link, and BRAVIA Input Link (all sold separately) Exceeds Energy Star 3.0 Requirements TV Guide Interactive Program Guide – Works with the exclusive Xross Media Bar(TM) (XMB) to deliver regularly updated program listings — with no subscription fees or phone connection required Thin and slim design Scene Select ATSC/NTSC tuner w/ QAM DLNA support for photos, music, and video Dimensions – 49 x 33 1/8 x 14 1/8 in (1244 x 841 x 358mm) with pedestal; 49 x 30 7/8 x 3 3/8 in (1244 x 783 x 85mm) without pedestal Weight – 66.3 lbs. (30.1kg) with pedestal; 57.5 lbs. (26.1kg) without pedestal

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Dazzled!
I couldn’t be more pleased with this purchase. With an excellent picture and sound, it’s everything I expected and more. Amazon’s television delivery service is outstanding. The packaging and television arrived in perfect condition and the delivery people could not have been more accommodating to my needs.

5 Stars Excellent!
Removed it from the box, plugged it in, set it up and works great! Amazon is great! Ordered it Sunday and was watching it Friday!

5 Stars I LOVE THIS LCD TV!
The 52″ Sony 1280P, 240Hz LCD HDTV replaces my 50″ Panasonic 1280I Plasma HDTV monitor, and is everything I wanted in a new big screen TV. The Plasma had a great picture in most conitions, but required a dimly lit room for best viewing, was prone to screen “sparkle” distortion in the blades of grass of football fields & herring bone/tight patterened clothing, and would blur high speed images watching sports. The Sony is far brighter, displays no “sparkle effect”, and is crysal clear no matter what you are watching. Skin colors – especially skin tones – are as good as it gets. The matt screen surface is a huge improvement from background reflections that plauged the shinny surface of the Panasonic. I still prefer to have the blinds drawn & lights dimmed to limit screen reflection, but at least I now the picture is watchable in daylight even with the blinds open. I leave the auto-dimming mode OFF even at night, cuz I prefer the bright “clear as if you are there” image over the “faded/washed out” look when using the auto screen dimmer in darkened rooms.

I bought the 240 Hz version of the Sony Bravia from Amazon.com because it was NOT avaliable at [...], SAMS CLUB, or Wallmart stores – or their on-line websites. Only the 120 Hz version of the Sony Bravia was available, but all 120 Hz LCD HDTV sets are being phased out (to be replaced by 240+ Hz LCD/LED machines). After taxes, it would have cost me as much I paid for the 240Hz version!

I bought the Panasonic thru Amazon.com about 4 years ago and was very pleased with the price I paid ($1800), no taxes, and free shipping, no hassles. It was in the top two HDTVs’ for picture quality at the time. In both cases the items shipped safely from the East Coast to San Diego in about a week. It may be faster & more convienient to buy a HDTV locally (if you could even find one you want), but you will pay a high premium in local taxes and/or shipping charges. In this case the 240Hz version was NOT avaliable from the big box discounters. I shopped around & did my homework. I trust Amazon.com, got a great price, and highly recommend buying high buck electronics from them.

5 Stars Don’t be afraid to buy from AMAZON
I got this Tv last week from Amazon. Was delivered 2 days before prommised on web time. Chicago area driver was great. Set up tv for us and made sure IT WORKED RIGHT. He was even careful that bottom of box(didn’t look dirty to me) didn’t soil my carpet.

I don’t have The HD connection from Direct Tv yet and this Tv still looks good. We have many large windows in our room and there is very little refection on the screen. Lots on trim around edges.

Don’t wait just push the submit order and enjoy .

4 Stars A Great TV, but
my house got broken into and my 52v4100 was stolen. so i bought 52z5100. everything works perfectly except the audio. i can only listen to tv speakers or audio system. it cannot be both. my dad has hearing problems. he wants to keep the volume at a comfortable level for our family so that he normally uses wireless headset to listen to. He was able to do it on the old TV 52V4100 but not this Z5100. who is the engineer who could have thought about this STUPID idea and sony even adopted it.

other than that, it is a good TV, as always.

Buy/More Info

Sony BRAVIA V Series KDL 46V5100 46 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV Black

46″ screen (measured diagonally) * widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio * high-gloss black finish * built-in digital (ATSC) tuner for over-the-air TV broadcasts (antenna required) * built-in QAM cable TV tuner receives unscrambled programs without a set-top box (cable service required) * 1920 x 1080 pixels * 2 component video (one is selectable component/composite) *

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Great TV for the price
Almost purchased a Samsung LED TV from BB until I saw this set next to the Samsung. For $500 less, the picture quatily was identical. Found it even cheaper at Amazon, with free shipping. The picture quality is incredible. I have it paired with a PS3 as well as the Sony HDX-589 home theater system. No blurring while playing the PS3 or watching high speed sports. The software update was simple to install, and I’ve had no problems with the picture. Would buy this TV again.

5 Stars I love this TV
There’s nothing more than I can say, other than that this TV is awesome. Love the picture. It absolutely blows my mind. I have a sony bravia surround 7.1 setup for it, and I will never have to go to the movies, since the movies are playing in my living room. Take that Barry Obama, you can try to take away my healthcare, but you can’t take away my blu-ray.

5 Stars Great TV Tricky HDMI
The TV is great and all the features are great,but the HDMI has a control feature that will cause a little conflict with function. I just turned the control off and all is well. I would recommend this TV.

4 Stars Great TV
I was planning to buy a LCD for so long (almost 6 months), and then after a lot of research I bought this TV 2 months back and since then have started watching TV a lot. Truly a great buy !! The football games on Sunday could not have been better. With a 46″ screen and amazing picture quality in HD, and to that when you the loud sound (considering that I had an older TV before), watching Sunday games becomes awesome.

I am thinking of getting another Sony this holiday season, as we have only one TV and I want another one in my GAME room.

A great TV for a great price.

5 Stars LOVE THIS TV!!!
This is the best TV. Easy to set up, pull it out of the box-the directions are right at the top of the box on how to set it up-place it on the stand, screw in 4 screws, turn it on, it programs itself and PRESTO! We were watching TV in less than 15 minutes. The sound is excellent, the speakers are on the front. The picture is wonderful, even though I do not have HD on my satellite-do not want to pay for it-the size is perfect for my living area (the helpful size chart on the Amazon.com website was a life saver). My living area has south facing windows and there is no glare on the screen. My kids used to close the curtains to watch TV (drove me crazy)and they have not done that since this TV arrived. I went to my parents’ house this weekend and noticed my dad had the same TV in a 52 inch size. When I saw that, I felt confident that I had picked the correct TV since my dad is a huge techno freak and always orders the best of everything. I bought this TV as a “I got laid off” present to myself and have not regretted it.

Buy/More Info

Sony Bravia S Series KDL 32S5100 32 Inch 1080p LCD HDTV Black

Step up to Full HD 1080p resolution and stunning contrast without breaking the bank. The KDL-32S5100 32-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.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Sony Bravia sound quality
I like the TV, but I wish I would have saved for a bigger one. Also, sometimes when I am watching television, the sound just goes out on me and it’s not muted. I hope the speakers are not going bad! It is supposed to be brand new. I’ve considering sending it back for a refund.

5 Stars great tv
I bought this tv for my dorm and it is awesome everything looks so nice. Great tv ands the price makes it even better.

2 Stars STOP! STOP! STOP! Serious Audio Issues. Recall?
I love Sony TV’s. They have always had a superior product but this time, this set is highly flawed and Sony is doing its best to still sell the inventory left at lower prices leaving you with an item to return or to tolerate.

The audio is DEFECTIVE on units dated thru AUG 2009. The sound bar on the screen will reflect this distortion on level 1-3. Beyond 3 and up, the louder audio mixes in with the distoration so that you hear less of it. It’s ultra annoying at lower sound settings.

I went into the menu trying various sound settings but was not unable to correct. I then called Sony who said they would make a case number and that a Sony repair agent would have to insert a USB correction device. Wait time was 2 months!

I took mine back to Best Buy and the manager at the store said he could give me another set but that all of them were being returned with sound issues. He said that Sony was almost ignoring the issue trying to avoid a recall.

Another feature missing was a zero 5.1 set up and only 1 HDMI on the rear JACKPACK. One terminal for HDMI is insane in design but Sony does add two more HDMI inputs on the side of the TV for camera or camcorder connections. You could use those if you didn’t mind the wires.

Avoid this Sony.

1 Star 2 Replacements, Various Critical Problems
(I urge you to read this review before making a purchase, I know I wrote a lot, but they outline some very critical deal-breaking issues.)

My first HDtv, a Sylvania broke about after 2 years, and I decided to get this Sony after doing a bunch of HDtv research. I’m using the HD capabilities for gaming (Playstation 3 at 1080p, Wii at 480p) and just getting a regular coaxial cable signal for my TV shows.

1) First, as can be seen in various reviews for this TV, there are some sound issues. The one I experienced was that, sometimes, the speakers would get very pop/crackling sounding and also have an echo on top of that. This issue happened when you changed channels. You’d land on a channel, and the issue would begin and would not go away unless you changed channels (I left it on for a couple hours just for testing purposes). However, this TV has a new firmware on Sony’s support site which apparently directly addresses this issue. The first iteration of this model had the sound issue, but I got it before the new firmware came out, so I sent the first model back, and received the second one. The second one came with the new firmware and there was no more sound issue as far as I could tell.

2) This one bothered me more than the sound issue, as the sound issue only happened about once every 20-50 channel changes, and you could simply remove the echo sound just by changing channels. It’s a visual issue that was not fixed between my first set and the replacement one. It’s hard to describe; when a color would transition from a light color to a dark color in an image, you could see the actual separation lines of each gradient change, rather than just seeing a smooth transition of, for example, light blue to dark blue. It looked sort of like when you throw a stone into a pond, and the water ripples out in a circle from where the stone landed in the water–so the outer ripple would be dark blue, the next inner ripple would be a lighter blue, the inner ripple after that would be an even lighter blue, and so on. I thought maybe it was my PS3, my Wii, or possibly the HDMI/component cables I use for them, so I brought all of my equipment over to a couple friends’ houses and tested my stuff on their Sharp HDtv and a different model Sony Bravia–the issue was not present on my friends’ TVs. However, the issue is present on both KDL-32S5100 sets I had. This issue became very obnoxious when gaming, because it was very noticeable and pretty abundant. It would appear in skies (drastically in skies for some reason), smoke, floors, walls, etc–anything that’s mostly comprised of a solid color that has gradient changes–however, it does not appear on a static image (such as a wallpaper), only something animated. It also appeared when using composite cables, and appeared on every display signal (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p).

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If you have a PS3 and this model TV, change your system theme to “Original” then change the color to blue–this is a pretty easy way to notice the gradient issue. Generally on the blue color, the bottom left hand corner starts out dark blue, then going to the top right, it changes to a light blue. Around the bottom left hand corner when everything is dark blue, the gradient issue is very noticeable. I asked my friends and family to see if they noticed anything, without telling them what the problem was, and every single one of them (even non-gamers who have no idea what the PS3’s original theme or games’ skies should look like) noticed the issue right away. On any other HDtv I’ve ever seen, this issue is not present. It may not be a big issue for some, but if you’re getting an HDtv, it’s probably because you care about the quality of your display, and you won’t be getting decent quality with this issue present.

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I had a Sony tech guy come out to look at the issue, and he said he’s never seen the issue before (what a Sony rep would say anyway, whether or not he has seen this issue before ) but said he wasn’t sure what was causing it, or even how to fix it. He did confirm, almost immediately, that this is a problem and shouldn’t be happening. Considering this happened on both sets of this model I received, it’s either a) a problem inherent in this model, b) a problem inherent in a certain batch of this model, or c) I’m ridiculously unlucky to get two brand new sets of this model and have the same issue in a row, which is unlikely.

3) After all of this, last night the TV stopped being able to receive signals from all 3 of its HDMI ports. It was very, very odd. My friend and I were playing around on the PS3 and everything was fine (not counting issue 2 described above). We finished, shut the PS3/TV off normally and went to get some coffee. Twenty minutes later we came back and turned on the PS3/TV, except the TV said it wasn’t getting a signal. So, everything was fine->we leave->we come back 20 minutes later->all 3 HDMI ports stopped working. The composite ports work fine as do the component ports. We had 2 different PS3s with 3 different HDMI cables to test out, and none of them worked on this TV, but they both worked on a friend’s Sharp directly after. Totally ridiculous.

I’ll update if I decide to give this model one last try and get yet another replacement, but right now, I’m looking into other brands.

5 Stars Great value!
I’ve always been a Sony fan, and this is our 4th set. Amazon had the lowest price, and the delivery was prompt and professional. Our TV arrived as promised, on schedule, undamaged. The wait was only a few days, and we saved over $200.

Buy/More Info