A Sony Bravia KDL-40W5500 Review | The Communication Blog

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

A Sony Bravia KDL-40W5500 Review

By Evan Grant

The Sony Bravia KDL40W5500 - also known as the Sony Bravia KDL40W5500U - is a 40-inch LCD TV from Sony that is brimming with extras including web, an on-screen instruction manual, media streaming capabilities - and, most importantly, has a stunning picture quality.

Sony leads the field by including the latest and best features in its products. And the Bravia KDL40W5500 is no exception. Media files can be streamed from a PC via an ethernet port. And internet access is included. This is via Sony's Net Application and offers access via an expanding offering of over 30 widgets.

Features are great - but a much more important consideration in a new TV is the picture quality. And this is outstanding on the 40W5500. The colour hues, details and depth are all better than Sony has achieved on previous models, whilst the overall effect can be described as natural looking. HD picture quality is of course stunning.

The built in speakers in the KDL40W5500 only provide average sound quality. This is to be expected of flat screen TVs, as the case doesn't have sufficient depth. Low frequencies lack some clarity, whilst higher frequencies sound over processed. If you would like superior sound quality, then analogue stereo and digital optical outputs are available to connect external speakers.

In addition to the audio connections, the KDL40W5500 has a range of connections including 4 HDMI sockets, 2 Scart RGB sockets, an analogue VGA port and USB port to link to your PC, and a headphone socket with an independent volume control that can be controlled by the remote.

Ease of use for the KDL40W5500 is good.

The remote control has easy to use buttons, although the layout could be improved slightly. Whilst the Electronic Programme Guide is readily navigated.

This TV has an on-screen instruction manual covering the main features and Bravia TV tips.

A particularly interesting feature is Voice Zoom. This increases the volume of any narrative if the background noise / music is too overpowering. Great for some US films! It also has Audio Description. This provides a narrative for those who are visually impaired.

Energy consumption is low, at just 110W, or 60W with an energy saving option activated. This is low. The screen brightness adjusts automatically to reduce consumption still further, depending on the light conditions. And the screen can be blanked whilst listening to the digital radio.

To summarise, despite only average audio output, there are useful extra features, and, what makes this TV such a great buy is the outstanding picture quality.

The Bravia 40W5500 is a great TV from Sony - you wont regret buying one if you are in the fortunate position to be able to do so.

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