Sony Bravia V-Series KDL-40V4100 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV by Sony
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List Price: Our Price: $900.00 You Save: $299.99 (25%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home Theater See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Sony Bravia V-Series KDL-40V4100 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Digital camera Review: Excellent TV--Great Value
Summary: 5 Stars
Purchased this TV from Amazon with the white glove service. Exceptional picture and nice delivery service. Reviewed/Observed many brands and came down to Sony or Samsung. This TV provides excellent image quality, deep color reproduction, nice grayscale contrast, and good sound quality. Certainly a great value for the price. Std definition programming is quite good and HD is exceptional. User interface is intuitive. Very happy that I finally decided on the Sony.Digital camera Review: Fantastic picture once I got rid of the clouding effect!
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had this TV for about a week now, and though it was a rollercoaster of emotions at first, I've grown to really like it, and would recommend it-- my only reservation the possibility of backlight clouding.
First of all, the very first thing I noticed after setting it up was a large but dim purple splotch directly in the center of the screen. My heart immediately sank as this was the dreaded Bravia clouding, or mura, effect I'd read so much about. In other words the backlighting is not completely consistent at all places of the screen and it showed anywhere from black to very dark purple in dark scenes. This is a common problem that a large percentage of the Bravia and XBR Lcds have problems with. Do a google search on "Bravia clouding" for more information.
To be fair, it was barely noticeable while watching a normal "lit" TV of movie scene, and my girlfriend was completely oblivious to it... But in the black screen pause between channels, dark scenes, and movie credits this purple blob stood out to me like a 14" Lucky Charms marshmallow-- taunting me for throwing away my hard earned cash...
From what I found online, Sony won't officially recognize this as a defect, and exchanging it for another would have been expensive (for shipping). I decided to try and fix it, and it worked! And while it worked for me, it probably won't work for everyone and you could potentially ruin your TV. Be very careful! The thin plastic screens are fragile and you could scratch or permanently discolor it. I took a very clean and soft microfiber cloth, and with the TV on a dark paused screen began to *very lightly* massage the discolored area in circular motions--just enough to make a discolored spot where I touched it. Within 30 seconds I managed to move the spot near the bottom. Eventually I was able to keep moving it towards the lower edge until the spot disappeared entirely! And after two days it hasn't come back.
Even if it doesn't work, the picture settings you choose can help lessen this effect as well, especially if you lower your backlight and enable the power saver mode. The initial picture settings out of the box are just terrible with a harsh blue tint and far too much contrast and picture. I would recommend something closer to this for normal viewing: Mode=Std, Backlight=4, picture=75, bright=50, color=50, hue=R1, temp=warm2, sharpness=10, noise/mpeg=low, and turn off all advanced settings. Search google for more recommendations or just play around with it some until you find what works best for your use.
Once the picture was adjusted the picture was beautiful-- even better than my new 50" Panasonic Viera plasma. Blacks are deep black, whites are bright and clear, and HD content especially shines. Standard definition content looks ok, but the issues there are probably more the signal quality coming in than the TV. I personally do not notice much of a difference between 60 and 120hz. So I wouldn't let that scare you off. Also the sound is better than I was expecting. Certainly good enough for day-to-day TV watching.
I guess my only reservations, besides the fixed clouding, are the remote isn't my favorite. At this price I would have liked a better feel and light up buttons. Also the menu system is like a Sony PSP--not very user friendly to me. But those are nitpicking... This is a considered a "budget" model for Sony, but for the price you get quite high picture and sound quality, making this a very impressive value. And the bezel looks much nicer than any of the competing models I'd considered.
Digital camera Review: Great Sony Picture Quality + white dot "sparkle" issue fixed
Summary: 5 Stars
I just brought this TV and love love it. It was between this model and a Samsung model when I went looking. I had a lot of Sony products so I went with this model. I am so glad I did. We have another HD TV but the regular station look bland. Not withthis TV the regular stations look great and the HD station look even better. The TV has a guide which walks you through the steps to set it up which are very easy. I love this TV no regrets. It did cost a few hundred dollars more than some other brand models but well worth it. You won't be sorry if you invest the extra money and get this TV.
Many folks are also complaining about the White dot (Sparkle) problem that can be seen during HDMI source playback at the top corner of the screen. Well it looks like Sony has fixed the issue through a simple software update for our TV. You simply have to either download the update to your USB flash drive or give Sony a call and they will mail you the USB flash drive with the update so you can connect it to your TV and update its software to fix this sparkle issue. As simple as that.
Digital camera Review: Great Sony Picture quality at affordable price
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this TV on May 28th from CC. So far I am completely satisfied with the TV. It has the legendry Sony Picture quality Tag and it truly delivers upto its name. Lots of reviewers talk about the Sound Quality but I foud that it is way better than other Samsung and LG/Sharp. The S Surround sound is exceptional. Though it should not be compared to any HT system quality.
4 HDMI connection rocks and if you have Bravia Sync components you dont even need an extra remote. I have hooked up my Sony DVD player, Onkoyo HT system and Cable receiver via HDMI. This TV has more than enough HD inputs which comes very handy if you wanna hoke up all the appliances together. One more feature is the TV and Text mode when I hook up my Sony Vaio. It delivers a crisp quality picture. The new V Series looks better than its predecessors and you cant get a better TV with a price tag of 1350.
Digital camera Review: Great TV!
Summary: 5 Stars
I considered the Sony 40W4100/40Z4100 and also Samsung 40" 650/750 models. After weeks of research, I finally went with the 40V4100 based on budget and "must have" technical specifications. I can't imagine the higher end models being much better than this TV. It was even more impressive once I got it home and away from the "over-stimulation" by all the TVs on display at the store. The setup was easy. The clarity is phenomenal. The remote control and on-screen options were well thought out by Sony. First class TV in the $1300-$1500 price range. The only problem is that I find myself watching more TV and doing less chores around the house!