Sony KDL-40V2500 40" Bravia V-Series 1080p LCD HDTV (Review)
Sony KDL-40V2500 40" Bravia V-Series 1080p LCD HDTV
| Average Customer Rating: 4.5 |
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| Pack in the sports, movies and games with an amazing backlit 40" picture1, amplified and enhanced surround sound, and the convenience of sleep timer and picture freeze. Plug in your PC and up to 7 other components—including HDMI™—to create the full entertainment experience. And enjoy the quality and style that can only come from a Bravia™ TV. Feature List BRAVIA Engine™ Full Digital Video Processor: BRAVIA™ V-Series LCD televisions use Sony's BRAVIA Engine™ full digital video processor for crisp and clear images. Several special picture enhancement technologies are integrated into the processor to create better gradations and details, enhance contrast, dynamically improve color, and reduce image flicker. Full HD 1080: There are a lot of ways to define high-definition but BRAVIA Full HD means you’re getting the best resolution that high-definition has to offer consumers. With Sony BRAVIA V-Series HDTVs, Full HD 1080 means 1920 x 1080 pixels and 1080p video inputs. Your lifestyle demands the best in high-definition and with BRAVIA Full HD 1080 products you get it. 1920 x 1080 Panel Resolution: When it comes to high-definition TV the pinnacle of performance is achieved by using 1920 x 1080 display panels. And BRAVIA V-Series televisions have them. Full HD 1920 x 1080 panel resolution with over 2 million pixels (more than twice that of 720p HDTV) is exactly what you need to reproduce the 1080p content that can be delivered by our cutting edge 1080p Blu-ray disc™ player. And working with BRAVIA Engine™ PRO everything from standard definition and high definition is upconverted to 1080p for a picture so real it’s like you’re actually there. Live Color Creation System: Decades of television know how allow us to realize that an LCD TV is more than just the panel; it’s actually a system. Uncompromised picture quality starts with combining carefully chosen components and circuits to optimize system quality, among these are the color creation and processing functions. That’s what Live Color Creation is all about. It starts with the BRAVIA Engine™ PRO video processing system, which enhances primary colors and corrects half-tone colors for natural overall color. Next, a WCG-CCFL backlight using Sony’s phosphor formula delivers a specific spectrum of light designed to work with our specially formulated color filters. The combination of these three components creates deep, deep blues and natural greens for overall colors that draw you right into the picture itself. High Contrast Ratio: Sony uses a dynamic backlighting system called ACE (Advanced Contrast Enhancement) on BRAVIA V-Series TVs. ACE automatically senses the APL (Average Picture Level) of the video signal and adjusts the intensity of the backlight for improved contrast. VESA test and measurement methods are applied yielding a contrast ratio of used 7000:1. This number represents the widest possible ratio between black and white contrast levels. Sony also measures their BRAVIA televisions with a more stringent method that measures the amount of black and white levels that can appear on the screen at the same time. This method yields a more real world measurement of 1300:1 HDMI™ and PC Connectivity: Designed for maximum versatility, Sony’s BRAVIA V-Series LCD TVs are equipped with a comprehensive range of input interfaces. The HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is the first industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. HDMI technology supports enhanced or High Definition video, together with multi-channel digital audio to provide matchless image and sound reproduction. BRAVIA V-Series TVs include (2) HDMI 1080/60p inputs. The PC input (HD-15-pin) offers easy connection to your PC, allowing you to use your high resolution BRAVIA V-Series Digital TV as a computer monitor. |
| Bought this 2 weeks ago. Because satellite isn't installed yet, we're using rabbit ears (yes, they still make them, much to my surprise) for another 3 weeks.
Picture is great when it's tuned to a nearby station; it seems to pick up stations awfully well, but no HD with the rabbit ears, yet. Using a Sony DVP NS77H, connected via HDMI (yes, you need to buy your cable; Mine cost $12 thru Amazon), we get a phenomenal picture. I've squinted and stared and crossed my eyes, but can't see the gray clouding that bothers some people. The remote is just fine; you don't have to page through all inputs to find the one you want: just read the manual and on page 32 you will find out how to label inputs, and skip ones you don't use. I bought it locally for $1399. Might have saved a few more bucks if I'd ordered it online, but we wanted it for the NFL playoff games this past weekend. We're very happy with the purchase! I knew that Sony made great products, but this one takes the cake. The picture is so good, I thought that football was actually being playing in my den. The clarity is as sharp as I can imagine. Our friends that have had an LCD TV with HD for over a year could not believe the picture of this television. I could not be more pleased. With the latest price drop this Sony has finally come into a competitive range with the Samsungs, Sharps, Panasonics, and Toshibas. Moreover, with Amazon's 18-month interest-free financing, it's close to being a screaming value. No doubt some consumers will immediately suspect a reason for the price decrease--the set's not selling because of some defect or it's about to be superannuated by a Sony model designed to put upstart Samsung back in its place. Not only has this particular Sony looked as good if not better to me than the neighboring sets at Best Buy, Circuit City, and Sears, but the brand still inspires confidence and trust (just ask a knowledgeable sales person which brand they prefer). Although Samsung has been coming on like gangbusters, flooding the market and taking most of the top spots at Amazon, my past experiences with the Korean manufacturer have not been exceptional--a monitor screen that burned out after 4-5 years' use whereas a Sony TV is about to see 20 years of faithful service. Besides comparing this Sony to other brands, I compared it to other Sony's--32" and 46", a 720p Sony, the V3000 Sony (its trumpeted 24 fps is actually antiquated movie motion), and the S and W series. It was enough to convince me that many consumers are willing to spend hundreds more on nothing but specs and/or cabinetry--a vaunted contrast ratio, faster motion detector, or glitzier frame. The only slight hesitation I experienced was the 3000's claim to have a feature ("Theater Synch") making it possible to dispose of the extra remote switches and enjoy "One Touch" operation of your equipment. Worth the extra 200 bucks? I checked all the consumer reviews on Amazon as well as Cnet. Not a single one even mentions the "One Touch" feature, and a couple said the "Media Bar" on the 3000 was too much of a time-consuming nuisance to bother with. In fact, the Cnet consumer ratings clearly prefer the 40V2500 over the 40V3000. (It's also one of the few HDTV sets that actually swivels.) But now that Sony has an affordable model in this size, why not simply trust the evidence of your eyes, forget the research, and desist from spec comparisons? Unless some of the rumors about Apple computer's plans prove true (a large-screen HDTV pre-configured to interconnect wirelessly with your iMac, iPhone, iPod, iDVD, iPhoto, iTunes, and .Mac--with limitless film selection), I expect that 18 months from now I will be no less satisfied with this purchase. If not, paying more at this time certainly makes no sense. |
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