Sony Bravia KDL40EX403U 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD Internet TV with Freeview HD
Posted by Notcot on Jan 9, 2011 in Home Cinema & Video |
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Love it!,
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I purchased this TV at the weekend and after our first few days of use I can honestly say that I love it. I’ve done a lot of research and decided on a short list of models but nothing can compare to actually standing in front of a bunch of TVs and seeing the picture quality. This was by far the best picture in our price range. The build quality is excellent and the image quality is fantastic, especially for the price. Remember that you do get what you pay for so you won’t get the same picture as you would if you were spending £1000+ but for everyday use and HD playback it’s fantastic.
The internet side of things is a great feature. Streaming content from youtube is nice but it doesn’t stream the HD content from youtube, so hopefully that will come in a future update. Overall I’m really pleased with the picture and build quality. It’s excellent, so much so that my siblings have both bought exactly the same model
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|More than just a TV!!,
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Bought this recently after much research and do not regret it for one minute. Started looking at the previous KDL5500 and KDL5810 range which provide a great picture and are currently discounted by a number of retailers but put off by the cost of installing Free-sat on the 5810 and also both use Sony’s previous AppliCast solution for streaming internet content. This was never developed in the UK providing a calander, clock and not a lot else. The new Sony Internet interface included with this set is brilliant with some great content such as You Tube, Channel 5 replay and Love Film with most of it free apart from Love Film that requires a subscription. Missing IPlayer though but hopefully one for the future as it is available on the Playstation. The TV can also link to your PC by downloading an application onto your PC streaming audio and video. This additional functionality requires an LAN and Internet connection of course but I am lucky in having this existing. You can add a wireless dongle for approx £70 if required or use Ethernet over mains adapters which may work out cheaper.
The picture is excellent with natural colours and deep blacks for an LCD. It is worth noticing that the 40 inch screen provides a greater contrast ratio that the 37 inch version which is otherwise identical and a slightly better picture in my opinion. I started looking at the 37 inch but decided to go for the 40 inch after seeing both in Curry’s. The tuner supports Freeview and Freeview HD although this is not yet available in my area. The sound is fine to my ears although the surround sound option does not seem to make much difference. The unit looks sleek and stylish with a solid fixed table stand and an easy to use remote control once you have figured how to get the batteries in. All in all an excellent purchase and well worth a slight premium over the older models unless all the additional functionality and connectivity is not required.
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|A Value for money TV to suit your budget,
I bought this Sony TV after comparing some reviews on LG, Samsung and Toshiba TVs of similar range. I can only say I have made a right choice and have no regret at all.
I have seen some feedbacks in this site that the picture of this TV set is blurred and the sound is not at all good. I can only agree with the later in particular the so called S-surround function which I cannot make a difference when it is turned on.
As to the picture and color, if you use the default settings you might find the color and picture is not all satisfactory. What you have to do is to adjust the contract, the brightness and color settings and eventually you will be amazed by the picture and color quality. My suggestion is to increase the contarct, reduce the brightness as far as you can tolorate and then adjust the color to suit your desired level. Sharpness and noice reduction should be as low as possible.
There are 4 HDMI inpus, a component input, 2 SCARTs, a composite video, an audio output to your hi-fi and a TOClink to your surround system. You can also use a USB memory stick to play your picture. A Lan input socket is also available for you to watch internet videos which is is an added bonus if you have broadband. If you connect a Lan cable through your broadband router this TV set can also share the files with your PC and I can play my pictures or videos without plugging in my USB memory stick.
When I play PS3 games, Wii games and watch HD TV football using Freeview HD I found the screen and picture is quite steady even at fast motion pictures. I have not compared the picture with the higher model 40EX503U which uses 100Hz to to make the screen more steady. The price difference of EX503 and Ex403 is about £200 and unless you have extra mony I think EX403 is a better choice which is a value for money LCD TV with a reasonable price tag.
One last comment is about the i-Manual which is not all all user friendly. I need to spend some time over it before I know all the available functions of this wonderful TV set. The written manual comes along with the TV set is much too simple.
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