Sony SDM-V72W

CNET editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.9 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Dan Littman
• Reviewed on: 10/24/2002
• Updated on: 01/08/2003
• Released on: 09/01/2002

Gamers, TV buffs, and media junkies, take note. The new Sony Personal Entertainment Display SDM-V72W provides you with the tools you need to hook up multiple input devices (including television set-top boxes, VCRs, game consoles, and DVD players) simultaneously. It lets you switch easily from your PC display to the Super Bowl or a Quake tournament. Also, the SDM-V72W's 1,280x768 resolution can display HDTV or letterbox movies at reasonable sizes in the correct aspect ratio. But considering this monitor's $999 price tag, lack of Picture-in-Picture (PiP) functionality, and mediocre image quality on basic text, we'd recommend this display only to wide-screen media enthusiasts. For a less expensive, home entertainment monitor, the Samsung 15-inch SyncMaster 151MP provides better quality on text with just as many inputs and PiP support.Gamers, TV buffs, and media junkies, take note. The new Sony Personal Entertainment Display SDM-V72W provides you with the tools you need to hook up multiple input devices (including television set-top boxes, VCRs, game consoles, and DVD players) simultaneously. It lets you switch easily from your PC display to the Super Bowl or a Quake tournament. Also, the SDM-V72W's 1,280x768 resolution can display HDTV or letterbox movies at reasonable sizes in the correct aspect ratio. But considering this monitor's $999 price tag, lack of Picture-in-Picture (PiP) functionality, and mediocre image quality on basic text, we'd recommend this display only to wide-screen media enthusiasts. For a less expensive, home entertainment monitor, the Samsung 15-inch SyncMaster 151MP provides better quality on text with just as many inputs and PiP support.

Space-age design
The SDM-V72W looks like something out of a science fiction movie. A mirror-polish black plastic shell (Sony also sells a silver/gray version) sits on an oval-shaped pedestal of the same material. A heavy, removable plastic sheet curves like a starship's interior walls to hide the panel's backside, where a row of ports awaits the signal cables from numerous sources. Even the LCD itself catches the eye. At 14.5 inches wide by 8.75 high, the LCD resembles a movie screen more than a computer monitor. In fact, with its 1,280x768 WXGA resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio, this LCD gracefully displays letterbox video and DVDs--a real plus for John Ford fans. Stereo speakers run across the monitor's bottom edge. The panel comes off its pedestal to mount on an arm or a wall bracket; unfortunately, Sony doesn't sell these components, but it provides referrals to companies that do. Thanks to the speaker's newly integrated SRS Lab's WOW Thing technology, we were able to make a DVD track's originally tinny, shallow soundtrack sound rich and three-dimensional.

But even the most techno-chic LCD can suffer from design flaws, and the SDM-V72W is no exception. The monitor's ports sit flush against the back of the panel, so it can be hard to get a good grip on cables to attach or remove them. Also, the control buttons lie on the side of the monitor. And although the panel tilts from 3 degrees forward to 15 degrees back, it can't telescope or kneel like the wide-screen iMac. So, until you memorize the order of the SDM-V72W's seven buttons--Power, Menu, Plus, Minus, OK, Wide, and Input--you must rotate the entire monitor and crane your neck to view the screen and use the buttons at the same time. Only the panel's 150-degree horizontal viewing angle makes that scenario possible.

Input from many ports
Sony designed the SDM-V72W to receive signals from multiple sources. Consequently, you can simultaneously attach your monitor to a VCR via the S-Video port, a camcorder via the composite ports, and a game console or set-top box via the Y/Pb/Pr component ports. The convenient Input button makes it possible to switch among these feeds at will. The Wide button lets you toggle between ordinary 1,024x768 video wide mode and PC wide mode. Sadly, this LCD doesn't support Picture-in-Picture, so you can't view two sources at a time. Also, like most LCDs, the SDM-V72W lacks a digital video interface (DVI) port. So, even if your PC's graphics controller came DVI ready, you can't go totally digital with this display.

The measure of a monitor
CNET Labs tested the SDM-V72W on a 730MHz Dell Dimension 4100 and 128MB Nvidia GeForce4 Ti4600 graphics controller, using DisplayMate's benchmark tests, with mixed results. Small text appeared somewhat blurry but legible at ordinary sizes. The screen also struggled to distinguish between intensities in grayscales, and grays picked up green or yellowish tints that didn't belong. When we played full-screen DVDs, the colors looked a little flat, but the image retained its crispness, with no smear or shadow. Also, when we changed from a normal (4:3) to a wide-screen image (16:9), we saw some distortion of shape and text. Overall, the panel doesn't look bad, but for $1,000, we'd hoped for better performance.

Hearty support systems
Thankfully, Sony backs the SDM-V72W with a commendable three-year parts and labor warranty that covers the backlight. You also get three years of 24/7, toll-free phone support from the company's tech desk. CNET managed to reach a Sony technician after five minutes on hold; the technician was familiar with our tech question and explained it clearly. Sony's policy on replacing units with dead or stuck pixels depends on how many pixels are bad, where they are, and how close together they are. The company doesn't consider up to 10 bad pixels dispersed near the edges of the screen as grounds for replacement, but it does replace displays with a group of 4 close or adjacent bad pixels, or 2 bad pixels in the center of the screen. As always with LCD panels, CNET advises ordering from a dealer with a no-questions-asked returns policy or buying from a local store where you can examine your unit before you plunk down the money.

Not that we enthusiastically advise you to purchase this LCD. Samsung's 15-inch SyncMaster 151MP provides better quality on text, has just as many inputs, includes a built-in television tuner that attaches to a coax cable, supports Picture-in-Picture, and costs less than $700. But the Samsung displays at only 1,024x768 resolution and doesn't do as well on video; so, the Sony has it beat if wide-screen media is your great love.

17- to 19-inch LCD image quality test  (Longer bars indicate better performance) CNET Weighted Score

Samsung SyncMaster 171P 81  Sony SDM-V72W 70  Envision EN-7500 70  Sceptre X9G 70  ViewSonic VE700 65

Using DisplayMate Multimedia with Motion Edition, CNET Labs put the Sony SDM-V72W through its paces. Although this LCD scored well on focus, it returned average scores in all other categories, including grayscale, color-test screens, pixel resolution, and distortion. As a result, the SDM-V72W's compiled, weighted score lands firmly in the middle of the pack. The Samsung 171P maintains its commanding lead among all our recently reviewed 17- and 18-inch LCDs, but the SDM-V72W's heavyweight multimedia and wide-screen viewing options will make it attractive to gamers, TV junkies, and movie nuts.  

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