HDTeleVision Review

Features

* Experience sharp, vibrant and life-like images with BRAVIA ENGINE picture enhancement technology
* Watch digital TV with the integrated standard definition digital terrestrial tuner (MPEG-2, also receives analogue)
* Watch cable TV with the integrated digital cable tuner (subject to country and with supported operators only)
* Three HDMI inputs (two on rear, one on side, all with CEC) make it even easier to connect to High Definition sources such as Blu-ray Disc and PLAYSTATION3
* Control your entire home cinema set-up with just one click on the TV remote thanks to BRAVIA Theatre Sync
* Watch TV, movies and games in superb detail thanks to the 3.1 mega pixel resolution
* Featuring a “Piano Black” finish, the BRAVIA V4000 looks stylish and has a versatile swivel function
* Experience the effect of digital surround sound from only two front speakers with Virtual Dolby Surround and BBE ViVA sound technology
* Wall mountable with the optional bracket SU-WL500
* Power consumption data: 0.7W in standby, 101W in operation

Review:

a) Mr. M. S. Read

In my humble opinion when looking for an HDTV you need to examine the following. a. what source material you’re going to put on it, b. what level of picture quality you’re happy to settle with, and c. how much you’re willing to invest in pursuit of your optimum picture quality. The answers to these question for myself were a. Freeview via an external Daewoo Freeview PVR, an Apple TV, and an upscaling Toshiba SD580EKTB DVD Player also from Amazon (£50), b. I had looked at friend’s HDTV with Freeview / Sky Freesat and the picture always looked worse than what I was getting on my CRT, so I wanted as good as my CRT for Freeview, and something approaching HD for my Apple TV and DVD, c. I wanted a sub-£500 set that had as many of the features of it’s £800 W4000 relative. I believe the KDL-32V4000 provides that happy marriage between cost and quality. If you have a bigger budget then I’m very happy for you and would recommend the W4000 version, but I think that considering that the only HD I could get right now is via Freesat or via subscription and would only be showing a modicum of programmes from 2 TV channels – and via 1080i or less, plus that I don’t play Playstation (or any) games, and don’t want to start replacing my DVD collection with Blu Ray then 1080p is a bit over the top for me. This is my first HDTV and my largest screen so there have been a number of things to get used to that have been no fault of the TV so here are my observations to help you get over any anxieties when investing in this set as your first HDTV in similar circumstances to my own. Firstly, however great your TV the source material piped into it is extremely inconsistent. You’ve got old movies, stuff from the USA that looks fuzzy, badly filmed documentaries, but also some very well filmed stuff that makes you go wow! even though you’re watching non HD. My old CRT used to flatten everything out to a consistent standard so there never was a time when I noticed the rough edges of broadcasts like I do with this set. This initially felt like a downgrade, but it’s the broadcast’s fault not the telly. In order to make sure I got the best quality broadcast I got a SCART cable from Woolworths for £7 – make sure it has all 21 pins connected if your source supports RGB, a £15 and £9 HDMI cable from M&S (don’t get ripped of with cables – unless you’re stretching them over a great distance the £50 equivalents in other stores really don’t make enough difference to your picture). The cheaper HDMI was for the Apple TV which does upscale but I wanted to invest the most in the cable for the DVD player. All 3 sources are providing excellent results. I can’t imagine how much better true HD can be and it’s calmed my passion in rushing into any Freesat and Blu Ray purchases as I’m totally happy with the picture quality the current set up gives. Secondly, because of the inconsistency of the source material and the loads of different things you can set on the TV itself I found myself mucking about with the picture settings for hours. I also felt some eye strain for the first couple of days. If you have any DVD’s with a THX optimizer test in the set up menu – like most Pixar movies e.g. The Incredibles (http://www.thx.com/home/dvd/search.html) then this will help you set your TV’s picture settings to a happy set up so you can rest easy that you’ve done the best to improve your picture from the extreme settings that it ships with to one that won’t leave you rubbing your eyes. My settings were: Picture – Standard, Backlight – 5, Contrast – 84, Brightness – 38, Colour – 56, Sharpness – 7, Colour Tone – Warm, Noise reduction – Auto, Adv. Contrast Enhancer – On. You may not like these settings but they’re my favourite Also I never had such a big TV and was worried that it was too big for my room. I would say that if you sit around 8 foot from your TV then this is fine for your set up. Problem is that Amazon won’t refund you once you’ve opened the box so I would recommend you do a mock up in your lounge to the feeling for how it will be before you buy. Because you get so much detail you spend more time trying to look at parts of the screen that you never bothered with before, it’s like looking through a window onto the world, that takes a bit of getting used to, but you do after a couple of days. It’s easy to obsess over picture quality, the THX test helps with this. The sound is OK, nothing to complain or write home about. I have mine on BBE ViVa which seems to satisfy most viewings. I think Sony have pitched the features and price point on this TV to give you the benefit of 3 HDMI connections and PC input, 30000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio, and the size and design, all of which normally feature in more expensive sets and put them into a lower price machine which for me makes this set unique in the range – which is why I got it. P.S. A lot of searches on Google for this set come up with a similarly named Australian 1080p set so ignore them. There really isn’t a lot on the net about this set right now which is why I wrote this review – the review I wish I could have read before buying in order to comfort me that I was doing the right thing.

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Review by Shropshire

I spent a long time looking for a tv for my father who is 70, and the 15″ Philips cathode t.v. though still brilliant picture quality was becoming a strain for him to watch.
So I did a lot of research and it was down to either a Sony or Toshiba.
There was no need for full 1080p as the input was going not to be HD for the bedroom just the in built freeview tuner and may be a sky box.
When I saw this and read the specs I was amazed at the price..lets just say its the best price I found compared to any of the other major retailers ..with free delivery.
Ordered the tv wednesday it arrived 7.30 on saturday by a happy citylink courier guy who said when i opened the door..got a nice new tv for you mate. Great Service.
But the best was yet to come. Unpacked the t.v. put the stand on pluged it in and connected the aerial…and in 6 minutes it was up and running.
And the picture quality through the in built tuner ..is amazing.
It picked up all channels using an the old aerial we have that is 25 years old…as i was worried we would need new digital aerial. All i can say is try your old aerial first before spending money on a digital aerial, you may not need one.
connected the sky box and the picture is just as good. have to say I turned down the backlight setting from 7 default to 5 as it less strain on the eyes..but that’s a personal choice.
The sound is great too , more than enough for a bedroom, and even a living room as it was set-up and tested in the living room first.
And what I loved best..was that the instruction manual is all in English. Not a multi language book that sometimes comes with electronic goods.
So to round up this tv was a great buy at an amazing price with free delivery.
Just do a search on Tesco or Asda’s site at the price and I think you will have a heart attack…and they even hadn’t had delivery yet as the t.v. is that new ….
Amazon I thank thee lots .