Monday, September 13, 2010

Sony BRAVIA KDL40S5500U Review

Sony BRAVIA KDL40S5500U Review, Sony BRAVIA KDL40S5500U Spec

Sony BRAVIA KDL40S5500U 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD TV with Freeview

  • BRAVIA ENGINE 2
  • 24p True Cinema
  • Three HDMI™ inputs (two on rear, one on side, all with CEC)
  • 33000:1 dynamic contrast ratio

A BRAVIA LCD TV is no ordinary television. Design is sleeker, pictures are brighter, details clearer. All BRAVIA televisions are HD Ready with two HDMI connections as a minimum and come with an integrated digital tuner so there is no need for a set-top box to view Freeview TV and radio channels. After all advanced technology should simply mean technology that does more for you.

The stunningly designed 40" BRAVIA S5500 has Full HD1080 capability, letting you enjoy cinema quality entertainment at home. Powered by the BRAVIA Engine 2 processor, it delivers superb picture quality with vivid colours and sharp edges. Dynamic Contrast up to 33,000:1 gives the picture incredible depth and detail. And for true versatility, USB connectivity allows playback of both music and photos directly through your TV.

Diagram showing the difference between 1080p, standard definition and HD Ready. 1080p gives you 1920 pixels x 1080 lines, Standard Definition gives you 720 pixels x 576 lines and HD Ready gives you 1280 pixels x 720 lines

HD1080 - Gives you the ultimate standard of high definition
Full HD1080 for cinema quality in your home

High Definition lets you enjoy home entertainment with stunning picture quality and sound. The BRAVIA S5500 goes way beyond the specification of an HD ready TV: its screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 can accept Full HD1080p/24p input signals with no downscaling. In a nutshell, the more pixels you have, the better the resolution, the finer the detail – and the more amazing the experience.

Diagram showing difference in picture quality. Picture quality is enchance through Sony's digital processors

BRAVIA ENGINE 2 – Every picture is put through a digital perfecting process
Superb TV performance from BRAVIA ENGINE 2

An LCD television creates pictures by switching millions of pixels on and off. In the S5500 this is driven by BRAVIA ENGINE 2, Sony’s fully digital video processor that uses a collection of unique technologies to significantly reduce noise and produce clear, vibrant, lifelike images, regardless of their source. For example, it reproduces black just as it appears in the real world to depict objects with impressive depth and realism. BRAVIA ENGINE 2 technology also significantly reduces the visual noise that can lead to blurring..

Diagram showing where the USB plug is on the back of the TV

USB Media Player – Turns your BRAVIA into a giant digital media player
More ways to enjoy photos and music with the USB Media Player

The BRAVIA S5500 comes with a built-in USB Media Player that means you can connect devices directly to your TV. Content from your USB device is transferred directly to your BRAVIA TV, so you can listen to songs and see a slideshow of your favourite pictures.

Diagram showing dynamic contrast which gives your pictures improved depth and detail

Dynamic Contrast - Gives the image incredible depth and detail
Dive into the screen with Dynamic Contrast up to 33,000:1

To ensure consistently amazing picture quality, Dynamic Contrast up to 33,000:1 ensures all shades between the brightest white and the darkest blacks are maintained, giving the image so much depth and detail you’ll want to dive right in. It works by enabling the backlight brightness to adjust according to the brightness of the scene.




Sony BRAVIA KDL40S5500U 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD TV with Freeview

Sony BRAVIA KDL40S5500U 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD TV with Freeview
From Sony

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9 new or used available from £355.78

Average customer review:

Amazing kit for the price5
Sony started selling the S series as an introductory level TV, something for those who wanted the basics without all the fancy 100hz etc. Well, the 40S5500 is far from basic, even though the cost might lead you to believe otherwise.

Ok, it still doesn't have 100Hz (or the recent 200Hz of some new TVs) and it doesn't have a really really high contrast ratio, but at 33,000:1, unless you are really picky, the black levels are pretty good on both SD and HD pictures anyway.

What it does have is full HD (amazingly there are still 40" TVs around that don't, who's buying them?!) and the pretty amazing Bravia Engine 2 which has some lovely upscaling for SD pictures, 24p mode for Blu-ray playback at cinema speeds and some nice eco-modes to help you save energy.

The picture quality through the built in tuner is good, but ultimately SD so you'll notice a big difference if you switch to an HD signal. Using it with the Humax Freesat box, even on an SD signal (which the Freesat box upscales well) is far better and with BBC HD it's stunning, particularly on shows such as Life.

Blu-ray takes this a step further, playing the Disney film Cars (through a PS3) it's almost as if the picture is coming out at you! Gaming on the PS3 and 360 is so clear, even compared to an HD Ready set, I don't know how I lived without it.

I've even bought cables for the Wii to play it in its highest definition (still not HD, but an improvement) and this looks much crisper on the TV than it did in SD.

Bad point? Well, the stand isn't the best, even with the screws in place it feels like the TV could topple over if given a little push. Also, the Freeview menu displaying the channel is huge, why on earth they wanted a font that big I don't know, perhaps they're appealing to the partially blind? (I guess, having said that, it's useful if you are partially blind).

Aside from this, and with Bravia link supported for Sony Blu-ray and the PS3 Slim, this TV is huge value for money.



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