 Superb all-rounder |
| Review Date: June 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Paul Blaney, Herts UK |
Can't beleive nobody has reviewed this yet.
I've had this TV for a week now and was totally amazed when switching it on for the first time. I've read loads of comments on websites and reviews of LCD's suggesting that they take a while to reach optimal performance. The picture on the KDL40V5500 was pin sharp as soon as I switched it on. Both the freeview and Sky SD look superb (colours on Sky a little bright). Set up was very smooth, although it took a while to install the GuidePlus feature, which is better than the usual freeview menu, but not a massive impact on enjoyment (you get to watch the picture as you scroll through the chanel select, which you can sort of do if you just use the Xcross media bar).
So far I have not messed around with factory settings. I don't really feel the need as the backlight doesn't come over too bright, there are no dark corners from backlight bleed, very happy.
I was initially going to buy the KDL40W5500, then read the reviews on input lag issues. As I'm a regular online gamer, this bothered me. Purchased a KDL40W4000 as this has no input lag (almost CRT like) but that developed a fault on the panel and I had to return it to John Lewis (input lag was indeed non-existant).
Then I heard that the KDL40W5500's main problem from input lag was a result of the motionflow 100Hz. The KDL40V5500 doesn't have this feature but has everything else, such as the Bravia 3 engine, DLNA, 24P etc.
I can report that the KDL40V5500 does have some input lag, most of the new panels do, but it very tolerable when the game setting is selected. In fact, the difference between the KDL40W4000 and the KDL40V5500 in terms of input lag was negligable (playing Gears of war 2, not tried it on Unreal Tournament yet, which is a faster game).
I hooked this beauty up to the Sony DAV260-DZ home theatre last night via HDMI and optical, and was totally blown away with the picture quality from the upscaled DVD. Can't wait to get Sky HD now.
Overall, a very nice looking TV. Mines wall mounted and looks great. The picture quality from both Sky SD and freeview is very crisp and from the upscaled DVD and Xbox360 in HD, the picture was fantastic.
Highly recommend this TV. |
HIGH QUALITY SONY HD PERFORMER
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| Review Date: July 3, 2009 |
| Reviewer: brentalexis, London, United Kingdon |
The first thing you notice about this TV is the quality of the picture on Digital TV from an external aerial. I was watching the Murray Warinka tennis match which was played under the new roof of the centre court at Wimbledon on Monday 29th June 9.30pm on the TV and the grass looked so naturally green with incredible detail on the whole seen.
A while earlier I watched a Blu-ray disc called 'Earth', a natural history film made by the BBC and all the scenes were crystal clear. In particular I can still remember the detail of the Polar Bears' coats and the clarity of the snow flakes.
The guide Plus is an excellent feature and a vast improvement to the ordinary Electronic Programme Guides we have on other TV sets. We do not really play games in our house unless we have the grandchildren visit, then a games console will be connected, so we are not really worried by motion blurr and hence could not justify the extra £200 or so to buy the W series Bravia with motion flow correction. we could not really notice any problems with fast moving images.
Instead this money was better spent on the maching Blu-ray player.
The energy saving features are a good idea; when there is long periods of no picture, it fades to BLACK screen and the BANNER(INFO) dims. I must say how impressed I am with the contrast ratio (60,000:1) specified, but you need to see for yourself how black the background is and then how white the whites are.
Connections are provided at the back left (your left)panel and also near the edge, with four HDMI inputs and others, but only two SCARTS for those of us who still have older equipment. My not so old SHARPE 30" TV which it replaces has a MEDIA BOX which sat on the equipment rack shelf and therefore gave access at the front via a concealed flap for when you needed to connect any AV equipment such as a camera or games console.
This is a design feature I think SONY and the other competitors should incorporate. Obviously not all connectors but some could be brought round the front for convenience. However we will come up with a solution to this problem so that people are not fiddling about behind the set in case it was to topple over!!
My other disapointment is the fact that the sound lacks any body to it (no bass)whilst the top and midrange is quite clear. I think this is probably clever marketing by Sony and the other competitors to get you to buy a Home Cimema Audio System. Well, in my case it has worked, because after experiencing the wonderful pictures, you just have to have the sound to go with it and therefore I am looking for a reasonable priced one to go with it. Yes, you guessed it, another Sony!!
To enjoy this TV set yoo must invest in a Blu-ray player and movies to play on it, which is what we have done. In addition we have have ordered sky+HD and so we look forward to this.
Connecting leads are required as you do not get any with the TV set, especially for the HDMI inputs. So you need to make an estimate of how many you might need to begin with. I suggest you start with a minimum of two HDMI connectors, one for your Blu-ray player and one for a PS3 console/ SKY+HD box. If you get the Home Cinema System, then you might as well double this to four HDMI leads and one or two Optical audio leads. By the way, buy high speed HDMI leads, there are some excellent value good quality PLATINUM ones I found on Amazon which were reduced from £20 to about £10 each and are gold plated.
All in all we are very pleased with the performance of this TV set and especially our venture into the world of High Definition TV. This Sony has proved to be excellent value for money and did I mention the three years guarantee you get as well when you register it with Sony. So welcome to world of HD and the extra spending you will have to make on the new media. In fact we are going to watch The Dark Knight and Transformers and that mouthwatering EARTH again, but this time with improved sound.
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Bravia gift
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| Review Date: November 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Dr. P. Joiner, Scotland |
| This TV is excellent and was well received as a gift. Tuning was automatic and in minutes the TV was up and running. As the donor I was delighted and the recipient remains well pleased. "Which" magazine rated this television and was the reason for my choice. |
Sony Bravia KD40V55 HD TV
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| Review Date: February 9, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Ted & Gill, UK |
| Super fast delivery. And easily set up, picture quality is fantastic at all times but when coupled with an HD signal the experience is breath takingly good. I would have no hesitation recommending this TV. My only moan would be the motion detector which automatically switches off the TV if no action is detected in front of the screen. I'm sure there must be a way of adjusting this or turning it off, but to date I have not found it yet, but there again it is early days the set is still new and is delivering a whole new experience. |
Sony Bravia KDL40 V5500U Flat screen T V.
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| Review Date: January 9, 2010 |
| Reviewer: P. F. Hall, Retford England |
| Time to relace the old 32"Trinitron so opted for the 40" Bravia. Purchase and delivery were trouble free as was connecting up. Delighted with the picture quality but there is an as yet unresolved problem of sound vibration in the right hand speaker at certain frequencys. The speaker buzzes at deep voice levels. I will now have to see how good the warranty terms are!. |
Sony Bravia
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Mac, |
| This is a great TV, the design is superb and the picture quality fantastic. It's a little bit more expensive than other brands but in my opinion well worth the money. Works seamlessly with other Sony products, BluRay, Surround sound...etc. |
Pretty impressive
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| Review Date: July 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Mark A. Campion, Hampshire, UK |
| Easy to set up, good quality picture and some nice features. The stand is very sturdy and the swivel feature is such a good idea. You have to have your own sound system though but this is a given for most LCD's. |
Good product at sensible price
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| Review Date: March 12, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Mr. Wol Wallace, UK |
| Overall very pleased with this TV and value for money. Good picture and easy to operate and the 1080i is worth having if you are connected to a HD Sky box |
Marked Frame Poor Service From Entertainment Xclusive
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| Review Date: July 7, 2010 |
| Reviewer: R. M. Wright, UK |
Sony has a good picture ,and the Scene mode is great, frame looks a bit dated , main problem is I purchased it from Entertainment Xclusive and would not deal with them again ,the Black Frame looks foggy grey instead of a nice deep Black and it also has a long scratch along the top, Entertainment not interested unless I take Digital Photos I do not have a Camera and the tone of their emails could be called rude and uninterested,If asked I would say stay away from this company.
R M Wright |
Good picture but bad build quality
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| Review Date: November 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Mr. Daniel Shelton, |
| I bought this TV several weeks ago and returned it almost right away because of a loud buzzing noise that I thought was a fan but discovered it was something else (not sure what), I wanted another and the retailer had ran out of stock so I waited for 2 weeks for them to get more in, I then bought another last week (with a build date of 10/09 on the box). I quickly found out that this had the same buzzing noise and researching online I found this to be a rife problem, this buzzing noise can be heard above normal to high volume of the TV, even if I connect my surround system which is louder. This TV also has very unstable software/firmware, when navigating the Guide the TV often restarts, sometimes the guide does not open, sometimes the light on the front of the TV that states the sleep mode is on when it isn't and once the TV's picture went blank, the sound continued and to fix the problem I had to unplug the TV got 10 minutes. I've only been using the TV for a week or so and I've found several problems with the TV, I'm going to return the TV next week. Many of these problems could be cured with a Firmware update but the most annoying problem (the buzzing) cannot. I bought a Sony because I thought the build quality would be great, but as I've discovered it's quite the opposite, don't think I'll be buying another Sony in the near future. |
buzzing speakers
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| Review Date: February 10, 2010 |
| Reviewer: J. Bell, Yorkshire |
| Received this TV in good time from Amazon, set it up and started to watch programmes on the 40" screen, instead of our old 32". Initially we were pleased with everything, probably because of the increased size of picture, but we then noticed a buzzing from the speakers when individuals were talking. It only happened with certain voices at certain frequencies and can best be described as a bee buzzing. Once noticed it became very intrusive, even though it only happened for a fraction of a second each time. I decided to return the product and filled in Amazon's returns form, which was authorised very quickly, as were the pick-up and credit. This was the most expensive item purchased from Amazon and I have to say the service level has been 5 star throughout. I have since bought a different (Sony) TV from Amazon and you may see a review on this soon. Although this review was supposed to be about the TV purchased I realise it has ended up being more about Amzon themselves. For this I make no apologies, as I feel knowing as much about the supplier is almost as important as the product itself. Well done Amazon. Final note about the TV, it may well be this was a one off problem. This is our fourth Sony TV and we have had no problems with any of the others. |
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