Sony BRAVIA V-Series KDL-40V5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 38.9 x 3.8 x 25.1 inches ; 37.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 49 pounds
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B001T9N0DU
• Item model number: KDL-40V5100
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,452 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Review from Home Theater Magazine

Review from HomeTheaterMag.com: Sony Bravia KDL-40V5100 LCD HDTV

The Sony came in a close second in the judging. Two members of the five-judge panel voted it first overall, and two rated it second. No one really disliked it. I can't say how I might have voted had I been participating blind, but I like to think I would have placed it on top, given my partiality to serious viewing in a darkened room and the resulting need for great black levels. As I noted earlier, the Sony also won raves for its performance with the lights on--although that was a very short part of the test and not included in the scoring. Read the full review at HomeTheaterMag.com.

Visit HomeTheaterMag.com for more product news and reviews

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Product Description

Features Built-in HDTV tuner; Add HD-capable antenna to receive over-the-air high-definition broadcasts, where available. Optional set-top box required for high-definition cable or satellite programming. Screen measured diagonally from corner to corner. Everyone will have a great view of the show or game. 1080p display. Provides the highest quality progressive-scan picture possible for a high-definition source. 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. With CineMotion reverse 3.2 pulldown technology and 24p True Cinema mode delivers accurate reproduction of film-based sources for a cinema-style entertainment experience. BRAVIA Engine 2 full digital video processor. Reduces visual noise, improves color and sharpens the overall image detail. Advanced Contrast Enhancer (ACE) Uses real-time image processing to adjust the contrast ratio. Motionflow 120Hz technology. Reduces jitter and sharpens fast-moving images for a crisp picture. LightSensor technology. Monitors ambient room lighting conditions and adjusts the backlit intensity accordingly. 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. For an arresting viewing experience. 3D digital comb filter. Brings out fine picture detail and enhances color purity. SRS TruSurround XT. With Dolby Digital and SteadySound utomatic volume control delivers a lush soundscape. Ultraslim (3-3/4" deep) design and VESA compatible. Ideal for wall mounting (with optional mounting kit, not included). 4 HDMI inputs

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent TV, Auto contrast can now be turned off!, May 17, 2009

By 

Dexter P. Yu "dyu7436046" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony BRAVIA V-Series KDL-40V5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)

First things first, THEY FIXED THE AUTO-CONTRAST! I have nothing but good things to say about this TV. Do not be fooled by the 1 star ratings. All those 1 star ratings complain about the auto contrast/brightness feature which could not be turned off, but SONY FIXED IT ALREADY in the newer units or a software update via sony.com will add the controls to turn the function off.

With that biggest gripe fixed, this TV has outstanding visual clarity and the color saturation is beautiful. Black levels are excellent on this non glossy screen. You can't go wrong with a Sony and the software update shows they are listening to their customer base. No dead/stuck pixel, great viewing angles, 120hz refresh is great for sports, but in my opinion, not for movies. Excellent TV, I would buy another one of these without hesitation, superior when compared to the other brands that offer the same features. The Bravia V series lives up to the Sony name and quality standards you would expect. Deserves all 5 of the stars it's rated.

37 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent TV, April 8, 2009

By 

Verbose (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony BRAVIA V-Series KDL-40V5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)

Update May 3, 2009:

My original review of the TV was negative due to a problem of dimming during dark scenes. But few days ago Sony released a software patch to correct the problem and it worked for me. Now, the auto dimming can be turned off by setting the "Adv. Contrast Enhancer" to Off. Also, even when it's turned On, it doesn't behave like it did pre- patch, it now dims gradually rather than abruptly and it doesn't dim as much as it did before. Thank you very much Sony, I'm updating my rating to 5-star.

I'm very happy with the TV now that the auto dim is fixed. If you own the TV and having problems with the dimming, go to the support section of Sony's site to download the patch and the instructions on how to apply it. You will need a USB thumb drive formatted in FAT32, but if you don't have it, Sony will mail you one if you call their customer support.

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Original review:
Date: April 8, 2009
Rating: 2 stars

When I purchased this TV few days ago, there were no reviews here since it's just been recently released into the market. I, however, looked at the reviews of the previous model (KDL-40V4100) and didn't find any serious complaints so I went ahead and purchased this TV. I regret my purchase and will explain why.

This is my third LCD TV -- the others are early generations LCDs from Sharp and Sony and they are still working great, but they are no match for the picture quality of this new Sony. There are a lot of good things about this TV and I would have given it 5 stars if not for one serious flaw.

The TV dims during dark scenes. And sadly it doesn't do it gradually, it happens abruptly 6 seconds after the start of a dark scene and it returns to normal lighting abruptly about 0.35 seconds after end of a dark scene. It seems to happen regardless of the source of input (I tested it with composite, and HDMI) and it happens on broadcast channels and cable and regardless of the "picture mode" and other video settings. There is no way to disable it. If you're watching a movie with lots of dark scenes, it's going to be a very annoying experience.

Take this example, while watching a documentary on first gulf war, there was a lot of night vision camera scenes and the TV keeps dimming during the lengthy dark scenes and when it does that, you can barely make out any details even with Gamma set at max. The dimmer kicking in and out is annoying by itself, much less the picture quality when it dims.

I contacted Sony support and they seemed clueless and recommended I initiate a repair request. I did an internet search only to discover many Bravia models suffer this problem. I initially thought I had a defective unit, but now I think it was intentionally designed like this.

85 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointed in Sony, May 16, 2009

By 

Cranniesmom "Carol" (Northern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony BRAVIA V-Series KDL-40V5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)

We bought the V5100 2 weeks ago. After getting it home we were a little disappointed with the picture as we didn't have HD yet, so we got the HD dish installed. Picture on HD was perfect, other channels good but not great. When watching DVD's we noticed the dimming issue, dark scenes getting darker and darker. After reading a few review sites I discovered there was a fix from Sony so I called the customer support and asked to be sent the software update. That took about a week, and the USB would not download, it went to a blue screen. So I called tech support and got a guy that was really clueless to the problem. He had me call a not so local authorized dealer which wouldn't come out, we would have to take the TV there, 40 miles away, drop it off then have to go back another day to pick up!! So, I decided to try to download the fix myself from the Sony website. After a few failures I discovered you had to format the disk to FAT32, so I did and it worked. But it hasn't fixed the dimming problem, it's still there just not quite as bad. The store we bought the TV from tried to work with us saying it might be that our DVD player is not the newest or best, but I'm not sure that's an issue. We have decided to take the Sony back and get a Samsung or Mitsubishi. It's disappointing that Sony would sell TV's knowing there is a problem, and then not tell their retailers that there is a known problem. Or at least the store is claiming they didn't know. They are willing to replace or exchange it. I'd be afraid of the same problem with another Sony. Very frustrating.

Update: Went and compared the 5100 to the Samsung and did not like the Samsung as much. So asked the store to send technician to adjust, haven't heard from them. In the meantime after much research on different websites I discovered after you do the software update you have to set the Advanced Contrast Enhancer to Low or Off, I set at low. And, I set the picture setting to Standard, not Vivid, altho Vivid was brighter but maybe not better. Now it seems perfect, no shadows or shading in the dark scenes. So for now we are happy campers, hope it stays that way!