Sony KDL-46V5100 user reviews

4.0 stars

"Superb HD and SD picture, too many picture adjustments" on September 16, 2009 by k8ac

Pros: Great HD picture
Great SD picture
Menu system easy to use
Fast switching between inputs
Over-the-air channels can be added without losing those already learned (as in Samsung)

Cons: Non-rotatable base, short on non-HDMI inputs, default motionflow setting produces digital artifacts in SD sources, too many picture adjustments, too little guidance, complete manual online only - not provided with TV, only one RF input

Summary: While I'm technically competent, I don't want to have to make a hobby of adjusting the picture on my TV. If that's your thing, then this is the set for you. If not, maybe a Samsung would be a better fit as their default picture settings produce a better result than Sony's. I am amazed at the quality of the SD picture from my DirecTV receiver, particularly when I use the Zoom mode to fill the screen. On the Samsung that produced a grainy picture that wasn't really watchable. On this Sony, the resulting picture is very good with only the DirecTV digital artifacts degrading the picture. The set came with Motionflow set to standard on the input I use for DirecTV. Whenever there was rapid motion laterally (camera panning scene for example) the picture stuttered or there was a visible blurry vertical area in the center of the screen. After much experimentation with the various picture parameters, we determined the cause to be the motionflow feature and when that was turned OFF, the picture was excellent. There are simply too many such paramaters that affect the picture with too little guidance on how to set them (actually, almost none) and the defaults are not always good. The finish on the screen is somewhere between a true matte finish and a glossy finish. Reflections are greatly minimized, but you'll still see vague reflections of bright lights and windows. Setup time is extended unnecessarily because the firmware still scans the analog channels. Sensitivity of the digital tuner appears to be much better than my 2 year-old Samsung as I can now receive a couple of more distant stations (90 miles) with a solid picture whereas I was unable to get anything on those channels with the Samsung. The firmware is updatable via a thumbdrive after you download the new level from Sony. When we updated the firmware on the TV, the installation process completed successfully, but that was the end of the picture - there was none at all. Sony support concluded there was a hardware problem and the retailer replaced the set. Since I seemed to know more than the support person, I'd say the problem was more likely in the firmware update or process and strongly advise against doing an update as there is no way to reverse things if the update causes a problem.