HDTV Reviews Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Sony Product’

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.

Buy/More Info

Sony BRAVIA V Series KDL 40V5100 40 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

Keep pace with fast-action movies, sports and game play. Equipped with Full HD 1080p and Motionflow 120Hz refresh rate technology, the KDL-40V5100 40-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 it is okay.
For while ,it is a good price for the item. but now it is not the good deal.

4 Stars Great TV for the Money, but still has problems.
I purchased this TV about two months ago. I waited until now to write the review. I have this v5100, a PS3 Slim, and Xbox 360 elite. First and foremost, the picture is exceptional, I already have a 65′ Mitsubishi DLP, this is a welcome addition to the home. First off, the picture on this LCD unit is amazing, it may be the 120 HZ refresh, I’m not sure. Blu-Ray looks good enough that I am in the process of updating my DVD library with as many as I can find.

Cons, I bought this TV, a PS3 Slim, and Sony Sound Bar for the Bravia Sync. Bravia Sync is about 50% effective, I can control the Sound Bar with my television and cable box remote which makes it bearable. The bravia sync feature seems limitied, to the point where it doesn’t work half the time. I’m constantly having to rescan the unit, not to mention that the PS3 won’t even recognize the television as a Sony Product and limits Blu-ray capability until you find the 1080p Blu-ray option in the settings and disable.

I wrote this review because I purchased this TV to watch blu-ray, and I purchased the v5100 to sync w/ the PS3 slim, and it doesn’t even work properly. The TV it self is great, the problem is that it is not as advertised.

5 Stars I couldn’t be more pleased
The picture is awesome and the menu is easy to use. I just can’t find anything to complain about this product. I have only owned it for a month.

5 Stars really happy
I love the picture – it’s absolutely beautiful (too beautiful, I’m watching too much tv now!) And the user controls are quite easy, the inputs a snap and the overall usage quite nice. Attractive tv. And the price was quite good!

BTW, I am using an HD antenna and am happily surprised with the quality – it’s great!

5 Stars Best TV In The Price Range
This TV requires two things:

1) Install the firmware update. Details on how to do this can be found at the manufacturer’s website by typing in the model number (KDL-40V5100) and following the support instructions.

2) Calibrate the settings for optimal performance. It will vary a bit based on your room environment, but this should be pretty darn close (settings found in the “Picture” menu):

* Picture Modes

o Picture Mode : Standard

o Color Temperature : Warm

o Aspect Ratio : Full

* Picture Settings

o Backlight : 3

o Picture (Contrast) : 85

o Brightness : 54

o Color : 40

o Hue : R6

o Color Temperature : Warm

o Sharpness : Min

o Noise Reduction : Off

o Adv. Contrast Enhancer : Off

o Gamma : Low

o Clear White : Off

o Live Color : Off

* Advanced Settings

o Cinemotion : Auto 1

o Game : Off

o MotionFlow : Off

o White Balance : Factory Default

You now have one of the best pictures you can get for under a grand, and not too far away from even the most high-end of models. The TV has a few flaws (like only 1 HDMI input on the back of the TV, making wire control a bit of a hassle and having a bit clunkier design than some models), but the picture itself is great. Highly recommended.

Buy/More Info