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"Great HD 40" LCD - - Well worth the investment..." on by dfishkind
Pros: Image quality, inputs, ease of setup and use, clarity and quality...
Cons: A bit more expensive than plasma's... & 1 yr warranty (like most)
Summary: I recently purchased this HD 40" LCD after 3 yrs of shopping and waiting for LCD/Plasma technology to drop in price and improve in features. This year I caved and decided to take the plunge - and I'm ecstatic I did!
The New Sony Bravia XBR 40" LCD technology met all my needs for the TV I had been looking for. The key is I have a relatively odd shaped family room (in an old New England house) where room real estate is at a premium and the need for a flat TV was the only answer to increase to a 40" screen for viewing at 10 to 16 feet from where the TV is positioned. The other major issue is the room is that it gets incredible southern sun in the winter, making it a great TV/Family room but providing the added complexity of serious room "glare" from various viewing angles during different times of the day.
The size and glare issues were the key drivers for finding the right TV, and after experiencing some serious problems with glare off of many, very nice, high quality 42" Plasma (my favorite was Fujitsu EDTV for 3K with 3yr Warranty), I decided to settle in on finding the right Flat - LCD. After I saw Sony Bravia introduction and choked on the $3300 list price at CC and BB, I realized that the inputs we needed for HD, DVD, PC, and other video lines - I took a long, hard look at Sony. Others were good like Sharp, but the reality was Sony had the best quality image, color, contrast, etc.. when receiving an HD source so it closed the deal.
I purchased off the floor ("out of the box") from a Circuit City after they realized the one they thought was inventory was not there, and there were only 4 total in "shipment" to a Mid-Atlantic warehouse that supplied all the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region. The key was I arrived on early on a Sat. AM so I could seek out the floor representative with the most knowledge and background - who turned out to be a regional manager working that morning to see how well the store was operating... In the end he was great and I cut the check and am glad I did....
A spectacular TV well worth the investment if you like sports, movies, and general high quality video viewing... alot of fun and I guess my one vice now...
Happy viewing with your new flat no matter what you choose - - its truly a whole new world when you spend the extra bucks to upgrade to high quality, high def.... -
"Sony's Comeback!!" on by joelp
Pros: Excellent picture and sound
Cons: "Audio Out" configuration
Summary: I’ve been a loyal Sony TV fan for over 20 years but there’s no argument that Sony “dropped the ball” in the HDTV market and lagged behind competitors like Sharp. When I started my research several months ago for purchasing an HDTV, it appeared my loyalty had ended. Then to my delight, Sony came out with its BRAVIA series and after more comparison at the stores, I took a “leap of faith” and bought this TV. I’m glad I did.
The analog broadcasts are average at best but that seems to be true for all HDTVs. The digital broadcasts are as clear as my old CRT but the HD broadcasts are truly spectacular!! I spent a lot of time tweaking the Video and Audio settings but I’ve always done that with a new TV. As always, I turned down the “Color” (on this TV to “30”) which to me, gives much more realistic color and flesh tones.
The biggest negative I’ve found is the “Audio Out” configuration. Contrary to what Sony Customer Service told me before I bought the TV, the Audio Out jacks DO work when the TV speakers are set to “On”. If you’re like me and don’t want the hassle and mess that comes with a separate Surround Sound system, connecting the Audio Out jacks through your receiver to use your existing speaker system gives the next best thing to true surround sound given the SRS Surround Sound and BBE built into Sony TVs.
Besides an incredible picture and great sound, this TV looks like a work of art sitting in my living room. I think Sony is going to win back a lot its loyal customers with this BRAVIA series. If nothing else, Sony is back in the game!Updated
I meant to say that the biggest negative with the Audio Out configuration is that if you use your receiver and existing speaker system, the Volume and Muting have to be controlled separately. Small inconvenience for such a fantastic TV!Updated
I meant to say that the biggest negative with the Audio Out configuration is that if you use your receiver and existing speaker system, the Volume and Muting have to be controlled separately. Small inconvenience for such a fantastic TV! -
"Best all around 40" tv to date" on by charlie pittsburgh
Pros: black level superior to all technologies except for CRT
Cons: still expensive, no dvi (only HDMI for digital imputs)
Summary: I had heard good things about this TV from CES...When I first saw it at Circut City I was very impressed. Bought next day for bedroom (where I would not by a tv that could not display deep blacks..(replaced Sony 32 CRT HDTV) Great store placement put it against the best panasonic plasma Sharp 45" LCD (which I also own) and a nearby Sony 3 LCD 42"...This TV out performs them significantly in the most important performance area "black level" Additionally, detail is excellent. Its a 720p which is fine.(I would question anyone who could tell the difference between 720p and 1080i in a 40" set)1080p or 1080i, performance, in my opinion, is only really realized is set over 50". Pixel size and spacing (pitch is far more important) color saturation is excellent. Color accuracy is a little off but very acceptable. I havent tried to tweek it yet. Thats how good this TV is: I took it out of the box and turned it on and havent touched it since...and Im a tweeker. I repeat this is the best all around 40" tv on the market today given its size and performance...I think I saw someone review this set as a "5" they either were not reviewing this set or watching analog with rabbit ears...go see for yourself.
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"Wow, what a HD-TV" on by Jim Schwartz
Pros: Incredible Picture
Cons: More features
Summary: Recently purchased this TV after noticing the incredible picture vs the other LCDs/plasmas at Best Buy. Replaced a 10 yr old rear projection Sony table top with this TV. Never had a problem with my other Sony. I was dumbfounded at the unbelievable picture. I hooked the cable directly to the built in HD TV tuner with a splitter running the other cable to the HD cable box and then used the HDMI output back to the TV. The Adelphia tech who installed the HD cable box could not believe the picture; he stated that it was one of the best he has ever seen!!! This config allows better cable signal strength for local HD cable channels. Once again, I was extremely impressed. Tweaked the color settings (preset settings are too bold) for video, HD-cable box and HD-DVD; making the results even more amazing. Bought the TV online for $2795 making it very affordable for a large LCD. The bottom line is that I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this television; I cannot imagine a better picture out there!!!
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"An IMPORTANT read on this model..." on by raesinhale
Pros: Not much more than the brand name
Cons: BAD viewing angels, response time, and black levels
Summary: I have been reading these reviews for some time now to a point where I feel I need to say something. First off, what strikes me most is how these reviews are so uniformly in favor of this Sony Bravia LCD without any solid analysis except for some boiler-plate language. It makes me wonder over and over again who are these reviewers. Secondly, there is a need to talk about the timing of Sony's Bravia LCD ad campaign. Sony has been desperate to rescue its once dominating TV business. Its dominance in CRT technology which is reflected on its world-renown Trinitron TVs has made Sony so complacent over the last decade that it basically has ignored the advent and accelerated world-wide adoption of flat panel technologies. Sony suddenly found itself that it had virtually no leadership position in any of these flat panel technologies. To revamp, long story short, Sony hastily turned to LCD and started a big-budget ad campaign to push this new Bravia LCD line. But, this is just another case in which a business rescue plan often leads to pushing the panic button , which inevitably means the flaws in the plan itself. For example, the selection of S-LCD technology is ill-fated. S-LCD is essentially based on the S-PVA LCD manufacturing method developed in Samsung's new LCD plants in South Korea. For anyone who cares to follow the LCD methodology evolution, it is not difficult to conclude that, although S-PVA is superior to the TFT or TN ( Twisted Nematic) method, it simply trails behind the rapidly-expanding S-IPS technology (super in-plane switching ) in just about every crucial aspect of picture performance including viewing angels, response time, and black levels (or the so-called contrast ratio non-sense). Ironically, S-PVA is much more expensive than S-IPS now because of the favorable economy of scale already achieved by the latter. S-IPS is the technology originally developed by Hitachi and later licensed to LG/Philips, Zenith, Syntax and some others. Having spent years in the semi-conductor industry and traveled to Asia more often to Boston, I understand the S-IPS pretty well. I thought it is just a matter of finding one set and make a quick side-by-side comparison. I looked at both LG and Syntax LCDs. Both have slightly better viewing angles than the Bravia LCD and noticeably better handling of fast motion objects esp. around the image edges at a high speed. I could still detect easily the blurry moving edges of high-speed objects on Bravia. But my frustration started with the black levels on LG and Syntax, which are disappointing to say the least and did not fare better than the Bravia. The Syntax one is horrible in terms of displaying the low gray scales (conventionally called black levels). I could not see the subtle details in any dark objects such the textures of dark clothing and shadows of trees. All I see is this fuzzy darkness. LG one is, on the other hand, so much over the top. The pictures are so hard and feel like they are "screaming" at you. It does not have the color naturalism and the human skin tone is way off (the red push on human faces is unbearable). I finally turned to a freind in the TV business, who told me to look at the S-IPS originator, Hitachi. After doing some reading on their site, I was very much into Hitachi's Director Series' 32HDLX51 due to its AS-IPS (Advanced Super In-Plane Switching), cream of the crop, but I need a bigger size than 32". I decided to go for the 37HDL52. It took some time to locate one in a local shop (but i bought on-line, why not?) as it is not sold in any national chain stores like Best Buy or Circuit City. 37HDL52 beats this Sony 40" hands down in all aspects of picture performance the way S-IPS should top S-PVA. Not to mention, it is much cheaper. But what really helps me close the deal is its ability to display black levels. I challenge any serious buyer to find a LCD which can render better black levels than this Hitachi line of LCD. I have not found one. On a side note, I believe Hitachi made a stupid mistake to license its technology to these companies who have failed to fully capitalize the full strength of S-IPS. I heard Panasonic is introducing their S-IPS LCD line. But I would not hold my breath on it knowing its notorious history of manipulating numbers (it is funny to see how many people became suckers of the 4000:1 contrast ratio. Now it is 10000:1 one now? Where is John Stossel's "Give Me a Break" on this one?)
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