Customer Reviews

Sony BRAVIA Z Series KDL-40Z5100 40-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I received this TV a week ago and I am in love. This TV has the Bravia Engine 3, not 2 like the spec sheet on this page says, so for the money, you are getting a top notch product. SD signals look like crap, because they are crap, its not your TV's fault, its your cable provider, but HD looks amazing. I have not been having any problems with the black levels, as described in other Sony reviews, and the colors are rich and vibrant. Plenty of inputs on this set. I currently have my macbook (watching HULU and other video streams, picture looks great) via DVI to HDMI, a PS3 (which is giving me the true 1080p experience for Blue Ray Discs, which is what I base my color and black observations on) and a HD cable box also taking up another HDMI port. I still have not even used 1/4 of the inputs provided. The cinema mode when watching movies adds a warmth to the picture that gives you a movie theatre experience without the "true white" LCD overexposure.

If you are looking for a GREAT tv at a semi-affordable price forget about Samsung and Panasonic, Sony is where its at for all around value, oh and you don't get that glossy screen which drives me nuts! Sound could be a little fuller, but by no means is it bad. Besides, if you are going to spend the money on a nice set, you might as well get a nice stereo system as well.

PROS- GREAT PICTURE, GOOD VALUE, GREAT COLORS, GOOD MODE SELECTIONS (PICTURE), LOTS OF ADJUSTABLE ITEMS, PLENTY OF INPUTS
CONS- AUDIO SOMEWHAT LOW, 240HZ ADVANTAGES REALLY HAVE YET TO BE SEENS AS THIS ONLY AFFECTS INPUTS THAT THE TV CAN CHANGE OR UPRES (IE CABLE).

ALL IN ALL I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS TV TO ANYONE SHOPPING FOR A NEW FLATSCREEN.

Terrific picture, especially on the HDTV channels. Controls, etc., are straightforward and intuitive. Sound is just a tad softer than I'd prefer, but it's not bad. Could easily hook a secondary sound system to it, but haven't bothered. My previous TV, an Olevia 32", was the same width, but with side-by speakers it lost a full 8" of screen size. The Bravia is exactly the same width, only a couple of inches taller, and delivers a 25% larger screen. The 240hz upgrade is definitely noticeable. If you're on HD, it's the only way to fly. Plan to hook it to my laptop and take advantage of online TV-movie selections. This set also connects to the Internet, if you have the correct cables or signal devices. That's on the agenda, too.

Don't fear the delivery service, my experience was excellent: They arrived when promised, brought it upstairs, unpacked it, hooked it up, and carted away all the trash. Buying via Amazon beats going to a big-box store and having to do all that yourself -- and the price I paid was more than $200 *below* my local big-box store for the same TV. Free delivery, too. Couldn't be happier.

Received our 40" Z5100 one week ago via Onecall Amazon Sale - double boxed via Fedex tracking/timeliness. Extremely happy with the results. I own four LCD TV's and a long term member of AVSForum.

Was able to replace a 32" Sharp with side speakers and gain 8" viewing for my wife's primary viewing in the Master Bedroom Armoire and while I was torn between it and the B750 it's a damn good thing I went with the Sony as I found the Samsung would not have fit the space.

To my surprise when I set everything up was how reflective the Sony was while off - not full matte like my Sharps but that has no impact when the TV is turned on at all. Damn the TV is black and semi-reflective Off but a beauty when displaying.

No gaming is done on this TV and so I won't report on anything in that regards and I won't assist with calibrations since my viewing preference is a vivid panel.

I decided on this panel after studying panels for the past 6 months and finally viewing the XBR9 and the Z5100 next to Samsung B750/B650 panels. As great as the Samsungs were I was unable to get that peering into PQ DEPTH that I experienced on the new Sony panels - plus I feared the wife may complain about reflections on the Samsungs after having none for 4.5 yrs on the Sharp. I was repeatedly impressed with this immersiveness on these two new Sony panels as I am in my Home.

I popped in Mamma Mia Blu-Ray and it was fantastic - the Mediterranean Sea color and clarity was eye popping and I turned on AMP and when you haven't experienced it before it's sort of strange to have that Live Camera view and soap opera look - I prefer the theater look but it's nice to play with but something one can use according to their preference.

The blacks on this are wonderful trumping the 4.5 yr old it replaced easily.

I spent hours going from the bedroom to my main 57" 3.5 year old Sharp and I used Food Network HD to cross compare since they constantly zoom into the cooking experience and it's easy to see PQ details on that channel. Again my in-store HD Viewing with 3D depth peering into of the Sony trumped my 3.5 yr Technology on my Sharp easily. The friggin clarity on HD on these cook-off's was simply amazing on the Sony and it tells me Sony may have a kick butt 65" when it debuts with BE3 on the W5100 in August. My Sharp had a flatter smoother look - still looked great and the 57" size delivers alot of WoW but the details on the Z5100 was stunning. The Z5100 and XBR9 are the first LCD's I've seen that could match or exceed the PQ details of the SXRD I owned previous with HD.

Also, I carefully watched for flashlighting and clouds and saw ZERO - simply BLACK - BLACK - BLACK!

The only negative I can report is Turdvision SD - it is what it is - a TURD!

I'm used to viewing HD 90+% of the time and so I'll always tolerate it for my channels that have not transitioned yet but I don't buy my TV's for SD - after all some SD channels can look quite good while others are crapola no matter the panel especially after growing accustomed to HD at six times the PQ.

The irony is that I'll rarely view this TV regularly as my wife and I have very different tastes and I have a sleep disorder where I only view the Sony occasionally after setting it up but it gave me a yardstick to make a move to a 65" > in the future with it's PQ Depth, Details, and Black Levels and hopefully I can provide her this larger 40" panel in the same space a 32" would only fit with First Rate PQ for 8+ years and she's quite happy and takes away the guilt when I jump to a 65" as she'll have the Z5100 for regular viewing and then the BIG HT 65" or my 57" for HT immersion as size does have it's benefits to get HT immersion with Blu-Rays especially.

IMO Ten/Ten Panel Processing, BE3, 240Hz, and the 100K:1 CR and the maturity of Sony Bravia Series is now returning rewards in the "Z5100" and XBR9. Enjoy!:D

ALSO --- Most importantly with the achilles Heal of LCD --- I see no Friggin HAZE!!! The Samsungs (B750/B650) are still outstanding IMO also but if you cannot handle the reflective nature and ambient lighting issues a viewing room may interfere with PQ these Sony panels trump the Samsungs IMO and with a little patience the prices should drop also.

Extremely Happy and look forward to the Sony 65" W5100 in August!!! :)

As many other reviewers have stated, this is an excellent LCD television. The picture and sound quality are outstanding, set up is straightforward, even when connecting the television to the Internet for use with services such as Netflix. When combined with a Bluray player, A/V receiver, and some good speakers you have a top of the line home theatre setup.

However, the high quality of the television is marred by the fact that Sony has chosen to put most of the HDMI ports on the side of the television and HAS REVERSED THE ORIENTATION OF THE HDMI PLUGS. The orientation of the plugs mean that they are only compatible with upward oriented right angle HDMI adapters. Consequently you either have cabling sticking out from the side of the television or you must buy Sony's overpriced HDMI cabling, as the orientation of the plugs makes them incompatible with virtually all right angle HDMI adapters as they are DOWNWARD oriented. Even the flat right angle adapters will not work, as they will mask some of the HDMI ports. Additionally, using a regular cable in the side ports and tying the cable back will result in stress on both the port and cable, leading to one or the other breaking.

It is a shame that Sony's incompetence in handling design details (or their desire to sell customers overpriced HDMI cables) has marred an otherwise fine television.

I did a lot research before buying this TV. Compared this KDL-Z5100 series to some high-end Samsung models and Sony's XBR series (which are around $200 - $300 more expensive). I will tell you now, this TV is perfect. The picture quality is awesome and crisp, the dark scenes look superb. I recommend this model to everyone who is looking for a decent TV with a lot of excellent features.

Oh, sound is also amazing. Can't go wrong with Sony Bravia.

I have no complaints about this TV. The picture is awesome, great contrast and no motion blurring. There are plenty of inputs. I connected it via Ethernet to the Internet and watch youtube, Amazon and Netflix videos (there are other apps as well). Menus are easy to use and comprehensive. Got it for around a grand which is comparable if not better than what Samsung model prices with this feature set.

I purchased this model towards the end of 2009. Within three months a vertical bar appeared on the screen that was roughly 3 inches wide where the image was reversed. I contacted Sony who told me to update the software, the bar remained. Then they told me it had to be the HDMI output only after I insisted that the bar appeared via other HDMI ports and components on my Bluray, PS3 and XBox 360 did they acknowledge there was an issue. They suggested their exchange program where they send you a certified refurbished model and you send the defective one back. Their site listed the TV would arrive in 3-5 business days.

Three weeks later of watching TV with the annoying bar the refurbished unit showed up. The box looked like it was thrown down a mountain being taped and retaped, upon opening the box I found the TV with a completely shattered screen and filled with ants...yes little red ants. I can only assume these came from Sony's warehouse in TX as we don't have these type of ants in my state.

After spending an hour on the phone with Sony they advised UPS would come the next day to remove it as a damage claim. Which UPS did. Another week with the annoying bar, the next TV arrived yesterday and after repacking my defective unit to send back I noticed the "new" refurbished unit had a scratch approx. 4" on the lower left of the screen.

I called Sony and they advised me that a scratched screen is acceptable for refurbished unit and they considered the matter settled and would not issue another replacement. So I was basically given the option of a screen with a scratch or a screen with a flawed picture.

I bought this from Amazon and they were great, their shipper was great. UPS was great with the damage claim, return etc. (The UPS guy went so far to make sure my 2nd unit's package wasn't damaged before putting it on the truck that morning).

My issue has been with SONY and their complete lack of customer service. As I told them this will be the last product I buy from Sony and I would advise everyone to do the same. Sony's warranty sucks, their customer service is a joke and it reflects poorly on them.

Next TV I buy will be a Sharp, Samsung or Toshiba. Absolutely ANYTHING besides a Sony.

I am very happy with this purchase. The image quality is amazing, and was very easy to set up. Amazon delivered on time and as promised (once more). I was about to buy a Samsung series 650 or 700's, but took my time to compare and discovered that the historic price differential beetween Samsung and Sony is gone; actually, this Sony TV set was even cheaper !!

I purchased this TV a few weeks ago and I am so happy I did! I spent months researching [online and in-store] LCD TVs for my bedroom and let me save you any more time and stress. Just buy this TV! You definitely won't regret it. In April 2009, I purchased the Samsung LN52A750 for my living room and I personally find the picture quality on this TV even better. Watching the 2010 Olympics on this TV has been oustanding!

I was looking for a TV for the bedroom and I figured I would spend the extra cash on a "smaller" TV because this is truly where we watch the majoriy of our television, anyway. Love this Sony, man! I read all the reviews for all the other mods and I'm really blown away by the quality of this model. It's a perfect fit for my bedroom. It's about 8' from headboard to TV and the picture is just absolutely perfect. The sound quality is phenomenal. This was important to me because I wasn't about to go and hook up yet another surround system, especially not in my bedroom (the wife won't let me :) ). If you have a DVR box (I have the HD/DVR box from Comcast), then the PIP still functions.

I hooked it up to a blu-ray player and needless to say....it's just awesome. I purchased the "Mediabridge Ultra Series - 6ft High Speed HDMI Cable - Version 1.3 Category 2 Certified - 1080p - Blu-Ray - PS3" cables from Amazon.com for $9.99, as I had for my 52" Samsung", and the quality is great. I suggest buying those cables, as well.

I decide to post this review because I rely heavily on user reviews (mainly Amazon and TripAdvisor) so I figured I would return the favor. I'm one of those guys that stresses about new big purchases, wants to make sure I'm getting the right and best product, etc. This is the one. I am so pleased I decided to pull the trigger on this TV set.

My biggest concern before buying this LCD for my bedroom was all the other channels that are not available in HD that we watch. Compared to my 52" Samsung, the quality of the non-HD channels on this TV is far superior. Of course, they're not going to be as great as HD or as clear perhaps on a tube TV, but the quality of even those non-HD Channels has truly impressed me.

On a side note - my wife and I happen to find the SONY-lit logo pretty cool (even though it can be disabled). I think it adds to the flavor of the TV. I'm a proud Sony owner and I want to show it off :).

Recieved my TV a week ago via CEVA. No problems with delivery. The TV set up was fast and effortless. I'm a Sony fan so unless the product is price-prohibitive, I alway opt for the Sony...they've been great over the years with my other electronics. Very light, very thin, very easy to set up and a blast to watch. Didn't think I'd notice much difference with the 240hz, but you can really tell. Its a really nice piece of electronics....amazing picture....I'll update this as I get more time on the TV. Big movie night this week.