Sony Bravia KDL37W5500U 37-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD TV with Freeview and 100Hz Motionflow

P. JOHNSEY

at 9:37 pm

I had researched my next tv purchase for some time as I had always found that the performance of LCDs just didn’t match the Panasonic CRT I had used for the last 9 years – in fact they seemed as if they were a step back.

I looked at Sony, LG, Samsung & Panasonic – based on other web reviews, talking to numerous sales personnel & other sources I decided on the Sony – albeit the 40W4500. As luck would have it the 2009 model was just out (the 5500). Had to compromise with the missus for price and opted for the 37 inch. I was nervous to say the least about purchasing one of these without seeing it in the flesh first – Comet weren’t expecting any stock for another 2 weeks. Took a leap of faith and purchased it – and I’m glad I did.

It arrrived yesterday and I hooked it up to Sky SD and my new Sony Blu-Ray S550. Installation was child’s play. The TV I managed to put on the stand alone though it would be easier with 2 people. The swivel stand moves left and right about 20 degrees – which is useful.

I have not seen any issues yet (only had it 1 day) with clouding around the corners as some people had mentioned on forums with the 4500 models.

Menu system is really good. The TV has got an ethernet port but not as yet connected it to the internet. I did connect the Blu-ray and it carried out a firmware upgrade in about half an hour.

I watched Black Hawk Down on Blu-ray last night and the picture was awesome. I thought the sound was good but could definitley benefit from surround sound (next purchase).

For the uneducated (as myself) if you buy this tv with your first blu-ray player then you may need to alter the default settings of your Blu-ray to output 1080p. Until I changed this under Setup/ Video Settings the Blu-ray was only outputting 480p.

The Sony Blu-ray doesn’t come with a HDMI cable – only a Composite cable

I watched some football on Sky SD as my biggest fear was motion blur which led me to buying a 100Hz as a minimum. If you select the Scene button on the remote there are a number of preset parameters you can choose – cinema, sports, games etc. If you choose Sports then motionflow automatically goes to a high setting. I saw no problems with motion blur and I think the motion was probably a 9/10 compared to my CRT.

Rating: 5 / 5

R. E. Stevenson

at 1:14 am

I read Amazon reviews frequently, but often find they miss the point when referring to the product. I hope this review is different. So here’s a brief overview of my experience with the TV so far:

Price: pre-ordered early March and paid £788 (inc guaranteed 1pm delivery). You simply cannot get this set any cheaper. I have visited all of the electronic outlets on Tottenham Court Rd and they’re selling this set for at least £850 – £1000. However I do, of course, appreciate the frustration as Amazon fluctuates its selling price almost daily.

Picture: I use standard Virgin Media (i.e. cable). For a 37” TV normal TV viewing is exceptional. Obviously the Bravia Engine 3 has done its job at upscaling, though naturally it still falls short of the awesome HD pictures you would expect from a SkyHD source etc. On the HD front, I have my PS3 hooked up and have so far tested Killzone 2 and Wipeout Pure HD. Both are incredible in detail and almost 3D like and, importantly, there’s no frame-rate drop or blur in fast paced action (unlike my Panasonic 32LZD85). Blu-ray wise, I have tested The Dark Knight and Wall-E. Both are impeccable, especially in terms of tracking and smoothness (thanks to motionflow I suspect). It beats my Panasonic with ease. On the motion point, I would always advocate the 100hz on these new sets as it actually works AND you can turn it off if you find it affects the picture adversely (something you can’t do with some other sets). It really is worth the extra £100 or so and is very noticeable on a screen of this size.

Sound: is decent but not amazing and presumably symptomatic of the small speakers right at the bottom of the set. However, the surround-effect works well, though never a substitute for a surround sound system (I’m using a Bose 3-2-1). The base could be better but otherwise satisfactory and loud enough for all applications.

Overall: I genuinely rate this TV as a superb viewing experience. The added features of internet capability etc are wasted on me but it’s nice to know I’ve got the technology for the future. Having the Bravia Engine 3 also marks this set out against its predecessors (selling for considerably more). So, for superb Blu-ray and gaming and standard TV viewing which couldn’t be any better on a screen of this size I recommend a buy. After all, it’s a brand new model and wont depreciate in price for quite some time.

Rating: 5 / 5

Mr. A. White

at 3:54 am

Wow, really impressed with this telly.

Amazing picture and sound, lots of really clever options to play with, and it remembers the settings used for each input, so if you switch between a games console and TV it’ll auto change the settings for you.

The EPG’s really quick, and the remote’s good.

Plugged it into my wifi router and it was really easy to set up streaming pictures/music from my laptop using DLNA. It’s fussy with reading videos over the DLNA though due to not having all the codecs so you’d need to convert all your video files if you want to stream them directly. Far better to get a PS3 for that sort of thing.

The Applicast thingy is a bit of a gimmick, but it’s ok. Don’t buy it for that.

Overall this telly does the important things really well, it looks and sounds amazing, has lots of inputs and outputs, seems well built, and the on screen graphics look great.

Thoroughly recommended.

Rating: 5 / 5