Customer Reviews

Sony Bravia KDL-46S2000 46-Inch Flat Panel LCD HDTV

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After researching, shopping around, and trying numerous LCD TVs, I decided to go with the Sony KDL46S2000.

Some background on my shopping experience before I go into this TV. I first bought a Phillips 37" LCD from Costco in March for about $1800. It was OK but the picture wasn't that great. I returned it and bought a Sony 40" LCD (KDL40S2000) from Costco for $2350 last month. The picture was significantly better than the Phillips and I was pretty happy with it, except I wished it was a little bigger. Soon afterwards, I noticed that the price of the 46" Sony LCD (KDL46S2000) dropped significantly on Amazon. I waited a couple weeks until the price dropped further and finally bought it for $2550. I can't be happier with my choice.

First of all, the KDL46S2000 is a lot bigger than its 40" sibling. More importantly, the 40" Sony that I bought from Costco was made in Mexico. After the KDL46S2000 arrived from Amazon, I was ecstatic to find out that it was made in Japan! Just that in itself was worth the extra $200 that I paid for it, not to mention the extra 6". It is extremely difficult to buy Sony electronics in the US that are actually made in Japan these days, and I'm really happy that this one is made in Japan. All the other TVs I've looked at, like the Sharp 45", are made in Mexico.

As far as picture quality is concerned, I compared this TV to the Samsung 46" and the Sharp 45" at Circuit City and I liked the Sony the best. Samsung's colors are too strong and I don't like the piano black frame since it reflects like a mirror. Sharp's colors looked better than the Sony but the picture didn't seem as sharp to me.

Comparing connectors, Sharp had the best combination of connectors (2xHDMI, 2xcomponent). Sony only has 1 HDMI and 2 component videos, which is barely enough by today's standards and will probably be a problem in the future. An extra HDMI would have been perfect but at least Sony has a PC input that can be used as component video, especially on gaming consoles like the Xbox 360 (you just need the right cable). Samsung has 2 HDMI but only 1 component video, which is not any better.

The Sony remote was a little disappointing since my old Wega Trinitron has a better looking remote, but I guess most LCD remotes look pretty bad anyway. Still, Sony could have made it look better. At least its functionality is very intuitive.

Another weakness on this TV is that you can't change aspect ratio (the wide display options) when displaying HD signals from the HDMI. I'm not sure if you can do this on the Sharp or the Samsung.

In conclusion, the KDL46S2000 is not perfect, but I think at $2550, it's the best buy out there right now. The fact that it is made in Japan just makes it that much better. Sony is coming out with the KDL46V2500 next month, which offers full HD (1080p) and has 2 HDMI inputs with pretty the same looks as this TV. On paper, the KDL46V2500 is a lot more "perfect" than the KDL46S2000, but will likely costs at least $1000 more than the KDL46S2000. Sony already has the KDLXBR2 out, which costs even more. So if money is not an issue, I would go for one of the new full HD models. For me, I think the KDL46S2000 is perfect at $2550. In a few years, I'll get a bigger full HD model and put this one in my bedroom.

[...]. I am extremely pleased.

I previously owned a Sony projection CRT, and was debating between a plasma, flat-panel LCD, or a projection DLP/LCD. After eliminating the projection TV's due to decreased viewing angles and size, I was down to the LCD and plasma. In the end, I felt that LCD had better picture quality (or at least as good) and it was brighter. Its difficult to find a larger size, however Sony recently came out with this 46" size (as did Samsung). Other pro's are that there is no burn-in risk, longer lifespan, and best of all- there is no glare. Plasma TV's have horrible glare issues in brighter rooms, or rooms with lamps, etc. LCD's virtually eliminate this effect, so the picture is always clear and bright.

As for the cons, this Sony does not have PIP. This is disappointing after paying nearly $3k for a TV. Also, the level of blackness that Plasma TV promoters will tell you an LCD lacks is somewhat true. While the black levels are not as dark, they are much improved over LCD TV's of a year ago, and do not take away from the "movie experience" at all in my opinion.

Bottom Line: After much research, you can't buy a better TV in this price range.

This is replacing a faulty plasma set I had. It took a bit of playing with the settings in the menu but the picture quality is just about as good as the plasma was. It's a great trade off for me to not have to worry about burn-in.

DirecTV HD channels look great as well as all of the OTA locals. SD channels look ok (just as good as the old plasma). Xbox 360 looks fantastic! There's no lag or ghosting with any of the games I have played.

I can't comment on the sound quality because I have it hooked up to my 5.1 digital surround sound system.

I would reccomend this TV anyone. It's a great LCD HDTV that rivals the picture quality of a plasma.

I just finished my new media room. I'm not a gadjet guy, but I did some real shopping for this purchase. I ordered my 46 Bravia from Amazon and saved a bundle, it's my first internet purchase. My son insisted on Amazon, even after I found what looked like better prices on other sites, until I got the real delivered total. My set was a few days late. Tracking my purchase, I realized something was wrong, one call to Eagle found it sitting in Huntsville, they loaded it on a van and dilivered it later the same day in Birmingham. Just installed, the picture was outstanding right out of the box. I used the plugs provided from my cable company, I honestly believe all the hype over monster cables and other brands are just hype, a view the Charter technician passed on who installed it and had me return the expencive cables I purchased. Get one important thing: The BIG difference between the picture on this set and a plasma, is the picture is FANTASTIC even when viewing non HD stations. My girlfriend had just purchased the Samsung 42 plasma, and in non HD viewing the two are not even close, The LCD Bravia is far better, something you wont appreciate until you realize how often your not viewing in HD. The faces are clear and colors are sharp and bright, and on a plasma they are blurry. When shopping at a retail store, you are not getting to see the difference because everything is shown in HD..Believe me, it really matters. I'm adding a computer to my Sony TV for downloading music wirelessly from my sofa. I happen to have enough space behind my wall to have my 36 inch floor standing Klipsch speakers installed flush mounted, along with a new center channel, awesome looking and sound unlike anything I could have imagined, even high quality in wall speakers dont come close. Very deep, rich, alive sound. I found an antique "Victrola" hand cranked record player to place under the TV and house all my electronics out of sight, pretty cool setup! Good luck with your search, Jeff in Birmingham Al.

I have waited for some time before jumping into HD. With the release of the Bravia series I finally made the leap. The picture is outstanding and we minimized issues with glare and viewing angles by choosing an LCD over Plasma. The picture is truly entrancing and we simply cannot stop watching the HD channels available through our cable system. The picture on non-HD channels is more of a problem now as this TV does a better job of displaying the inherent flaws of regular TV. This was also my first (major) internet purchase but I could not resist the price. I saved about $700 vs the Best Buy price and got free shipping (and no tax) from Amazon. It arrived right on time.

One watch out however--HDMI Cables. You must use an HDMI cable in order to get the best picture. They are expensive and I recommend ordering through Amazon to save major dollars. However, the TV only has one HDMI input and this is a problem if you want to connect both a cable box and DVD player. The solution is to purchase an HDMI switch (app. $50-$200.) The best deal I've seen so far is through Radio Shack.

All-in-all, a great purchase. I just did not realize the money I would need to spend on cables, a switch, and a new DVD player.

After much consideration, I took a chance and bought the Sony KDL46S2000 46" Bravia Flat Panel LCD HDTV online from Amazon because the price was reasonable and I figured Amazon could get it to me in one piece, which they did. Buying objects like this online is always a risky venture but whenever I've had a problem in the past, Amazon worked it out to my satisfaction. Eagle delivered the TV to my door on time, carried it into my living room, and left without taking it out of the box and checking for damage. That worried me since they should have checked before leaving. Fortunately, the TV was fine.

As for the TV itself ... awesome! While shopping around, I visited Circuit City and Best Buy during the World Cup Soccer tournament and was able to compare the different HDTV's side-by-side. Watching the soccer ball and the players running across the screen, the Sony had excellent fast motion compared to the others (personally, I couldn't see any lag). The picture was pin sharp, the black was deep (it could be adjusted) and the colors stood out impressively. There was no reflection off the LCD screen, unlike plasma.

I am pleased I bought the Sony KDL46S2000 46" Bravia Flat Panel LCD HDTV from Amazon, it's my best purchase yet. If you add a Bose or Denon 7.1 home theater sound system, your walls will shake and you'll think you're in a movie theater.

I just upgraded from a 32" LCD TV to this TV. What a phenomenal difference. One of the things that we immediately noticed and were VERY impressed by is that there is NO reflection or glare off of the screen. We have a bright window across the room, in front of the screen, and we could see absolutely NO reflection or glare from the window. Likewise, there is absolutely no glare or reflection from any lamps or lights in the room. The picture is extremely vivid and true. The operation is simple, and, it sounds great. Up until now, it was hard to find any decent LCD set, over 40", without paying up to $8000! This TV clearly blows that barrier away.
Say Bye Bye to Plasma. Big LCD is now on the way at an affordable price. Last, but not least, shipping was/is free and the TV arrived to us in less than a week after we ordered it. Sony and Amazon really did good on this one!

Pros:
- Excellent picture quality
- Anti-glare screen
- Very good ATSC tuner
- Very good value

Cons:
- No nonlinear stretch mode
- Cannot stretch HD inputs
- Only one HDMI input
- No CableCard support

As others have noted, the picture quality of this TV is simply stunning. I compared this TV against various DLP, plasma and LCD panels and I was very impressed with the picture quality. I'm also very glad that the TV has an anti-glare screen. I didn't appreciate how important this would be when purchasing the TV. It makes it much easier to enjoy the TV in a room that has bright lights or a window.

The cons are somewhat annoying, however. For this price, the TV should have more than one HDMI input, and it will be a while before HDMI switching on receivers becomes commonplace. Second, I wish it had better support for image stretching. You cannot stretch 720p or 1080i inputs. And there is no non-linear stretch mode. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend this TV despite these issues.

Finally, I am extremely pleased that we purchased the TV from Amazon. The motor freight delivery included "white glove service". The delivery person unboxed the TV and carried away the packing supplies. He carried the TV up 3 flights of stairs. And he let me know that he would have carried down my old TV if I wanted. This service made it worth the wait.

The Sony KDL46S2000 46" Bravia Flat Panel LCD HDTV is everything we were looking for. It is slim-line and lightweight. It can be wall mounted. It has a clear picture that can be viewed from any angle with dark blacks and vivid color. The picture mode custom settings are easy to use. We especially like that LCD does not get picture burn-in or have mechanical parts or an expensive lamp to burn out. Our only negative comments are No PIP and this TV only only has one HDMI input.

This TV is simply incredible. You have to play around with the settings a bit to get it fine tuned but once it is set, the picture is incredible. Service and delivery were top notch. The freight company pulls it out of the box and tests before they release it to you so you'll have to be around to accept the delivery. By far, the best LCD solution out there!