21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
It's about time
I have been waiting for quite some time to buy a new tv. Originally I planned on getting the 40" Z series last year. But when the new models came out this year, the 40" W series offered everything I was looking for a little bit cheaper price. It has a good looking profile and was a snap to set-up. I used the Cheetah tilting mount that I also purchased from amazon. Don't...
SONY-LOUSY TV!!
NEVER buy a SONY- many problems with set & customer service ( after long wait ) was in India & totally non-helpful. Problem never solved despite obtaining a new TV. Customer service still not helpful. Buy any other manufacturer!!
This review is from: Sony BRAVIA W-Series KDL-40W5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)
I have been waiting for quite some time to buy a new tv. Originally I planned on getting the 40" Z series last year. But when the new models came out this year, the 40" W series offered everything I was looking for a little bit cheaper price. It has a good looking profile and was a snap to set-up. I used the Cheetah tilting mount that I also purchased from amazon. Don't let anyone fool you. The Cheetah mount is just as good or better than the expensive mounts. I already had a ps3 so the XMB menu system was very familiar. This is a great tv for the money.
The only con I can think of is that the remote doesn't have a 1 button sleep timer. You have to go through the menus.
BTW: Amazon did a great job. I order TV on a Thursday and the following Wednesday the tv was hanging on my wall. Nice Service.
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This review is from: Sony BRAVIA W-Series KDL-40W5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)
I spend weeks researching before I make a major purchase. It is my own way of always avoiding any buyer's remorse. And I certainly will never experience buyer's remorse with this purchase.
W series means less blur: First I should note that while it may seem the tv is geared towards the sports fan market due to it's excellent ability to show fast action with less blur than many other tvs of it's class, I can wholeheartedly say I am not that target market. However, the same features that make this an excellent tv to capture the sudden moves of your favorite team with accuracy also carry over into a great picture during gaming or doing an aerobic routine on the fitness channel. And that I do. The 120Hz processing also enables additional improved motion resolution.
Color: Deep shades of black, accurate color, excellent picture quality even compared to a tv we have that's far more expensive.
Gadgets: This tv features Sony's new "interactivity suite" typically seen on it's far more expensive models. This means you get Yahoo widgets, which is content from the internet, downloaded and activated directly from the tv screen. Yes, that means you can watch tv and twitter or get the weather or your finance info or the news while you watch tv on the side of the screen, for example. Information overload in a good way. You can move these widgets around your screen and place them where you wish, if you want to use them at all. The Net and TV Combined: Nothing on tv? You also have internet channels (which I tried to list in my review but Amazon deleted due to considering them "links") available on the tv.
High def video enabled: Aditionally, this tv comes with an internet video link built in to the tv (many others I looked at enabled you to add a box for a couple hundred dollars in order to get this.) This means you can get high def videos on demand from places such as Amazon Video On Demand.
Modes: In order to get the best experience no matter what you are doing on the tv it comes with presets such as "cinema, game, pc, and sports" to automatically enable best viewing presets for what is on the screen and eliminate delays in gaming, etc.
Looks: Sleek and sharp. The frame is 1.5" from the edge of the picture to the edge of the tv at top and sices with a slightly wider frame at the bottom (much like how you'd frame a photograph in a matt)
Digital Media Accessibility: Use the photo, music, and video category icons to access photo, music, and video files from DLNA certified networked equipment or Sony USB equipment. If you are showing your slideshow of a recent vacation, the tv also enables you to add music to the slideshow by selecting "slideshow music" and "browse music".
Your own screen saver: Background tv uses the current video on your tv to create images that are similar to a screen saver. Watching an underwater show and want your screen to look like a fishtank when you are having a party? Tune to that channel before the party and follow instructions to create a screen saver you can save in "favorites" and launch at any time.
TV Guide on screen included in tv functions shows tv programming info
And the experts say: CNET says "The W5100 delivers better picture quality than most standard LCDs out there, making it a well-rounded package if you have the extra cash and really want streaming video on your tv." (the price has gone down since that review.)
Additionally, I liked the fact that the price on Amazon was great and I didn't have to pay taxes or cost to have it delivered as I would here locally which made it even more of a bargain. (at least at the time of my review shipping was free and there was no tax)
Negatives: None with the tv but getting this from FedEx was tricky. We weren't notified when they were to arrive and received a note that would redeliver or we could go pick it up. Not knowing what time they come by, we actually went to the FedEx place and shoved this tv in the box in a smartcar. Yes, a smartcar. The smallest car there is. Fortunately, it was a convertible so it stuck out the top. Alot. It was either that or skip a day of work and we couldn't at the time...so...get your FedEx delivery schedule when you are getting your tv if you share a similar fate.
Conclusion: Amazing picture with more extras than I could imagine for this pricepoint. It's in our workout room but I like it better than our more expensive tv we have in the living room. No way am I uninstalling and reinstalling both though to change them out...plus I like the fact that it provides clear fast motion for my wicked aerobic moves. (grin)
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This review is from: Sony BRAVIA W-Series KDL-40W5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)
This is a great buy I have several LCDs HD around the house and did my research before this buy. The video quality is great. Clear and vivid colors. Motionflow is a plus, great for sports. Movies look great especially Bluray on 1080p. The picture looks like its going to pop out of the screen. This tv has great features as you can see, plus the xcross feature is sleek. You can watch Youtube on the tv; program weather,stock and news widgets plus tweeter and more to come (must have a broadband connection). You can also connect to your home network to access movies,pictures and music from your computer(s) to watch on your tv. The design of the tv is clean and does not look cheap, the frame around the screen is no more then an 1 1/2inch thick. The stand is rectangular and has a nice glossy finish. Has a multitude of input connectors. Great tv. No problems. The sound is fine for regular programing but if you want to enjoy movie quality sound don't expect the tv's speakers to do it unless your in a small room, so if you want great sound with this great tv just invest in a home theater system (Sony Bravia Home Theaters have a great kick)
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This review is from: Sony BRAVIA W-Series KDL-40W5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)
Got this TV for a week and overall very satisfied with purchase. PQ is excellent with many settings available. Calibration was found through forums. Watched several HD sporting events over the past weekend and didn't notice too much pixelations and blurring effects. 120Hz is definitely better than my year old Samsung 1080P 60Hz.
Widgets were cool and fun but only a nice to have, not a must. Probably should incorporate full website content, can only watch content available to the widget. Youtube is the only fully functional channel (exactly like website). Like I said, a cool thing to play with.
By comparison to other LCDs and Plasmas, I can say for sure that Panny plasma is still the best for PQ, natural coloration, least amount of pixelation and blurring. On the bad side of plasma, heavy and can only stand upright. My 2 year old 720P Panny still beats this set but I needed a lighter set to mount on the bedroom wall and just couldn't beat Amazon's price and package deal(included a Blu Ray Home Theater System).
Pros:
Excellent Picture Quality
Cool Widgets
Many changeable settings for fine tuning
120Hz
Cons:
Sound quality is a little muffled (speakers over & under chassis)
I haven't compared this to the XBR or Z (10-bit) panels, but those are substantially more and from an older generation XBR6 this panel (8-bit) is definitely better than that one.
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This review is from: Sony BRAVIA W-Series KDL-40W5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)
I got this tv from sonystyle. It's a great tv. I have the Samsung40B650. So i make comparisons because they are priced so similarly.
Appearance
Appearance-wise this tv loses to the samsung. There is no glossy screen, but the sony does look good in a bright room. However, sony doesnt swivel. The tv viewing angle is almost 180 and I never have to worry about glares as well. The frame is simple and it looks very professional. The samsung line is pretty and stylish. Both tvs are great, you have to decide whether style or simplicity is what you need.
Sound
HDMI-CEC works great. I got a sony bluray theatre with this product. One remote to control sound is amazing. The tv sound is okay. Because of the way the speakers are position, it kind of looks like it comes from the bottom of the tv, not so much natural. Any flat screen tv will perform horribly with sound if it is paired with 10W speakers.
Features
If you have worked the playstation 3, you will transition smoothly with the xmb crossbar. It's not complicated. Just a different feel.
If you arent using a cable box, TV guide works to provide you with information per channel using your analog coax. Unfortunately it isn't able to decipher the digital channels, so all your HD channels are not identified. You can manually move the channels to the appropriate name, but it does take some time.
The tv is also internet capable. I've used the on-demand amazon. And it renders well for their non-hd shows. It does hiccup now and then. Netflix just became available but it only streams movies you place on your queue. It isn't as advance as the Xbox 360 interface. The tv is also dlna capable where it can stream videos from your computer. The music seems to do well. The video looks awful. Unless its a 720 file. It looks worse than standard def tv. For this reason, i just stick to streaming my videos from my comp on my xbox 360. I dont know if the 360 processes the video better but its definitely not as choppy or pixelated. The tv has updated its firmware three times already. I haven't seen a better response time or any big changes to know what is happening.
Not really a big deal, but you can turn off the illumination of sony when the tv is on. For some reason, manufacturers decided it would be cool to light up their emblem to distract you from your viewing pleasures. Most people dont care. I found it annoying. So thank you SONY!
Channels/Inputs can be labeled with text, not just 'game' or 'dvd'
Gaming
One reason I got this tv is because I hated the gaming on the samsung tv. The hdmi input had a lag which messed up gameplay online. This tv does not have a lag.
Bluray
1080p looks great:)
Overall, the tv is amazing. There are a few turn offs, but this tv is great. The number of inputs are great. The tv color didnt need calibration. I guess i should talk about 120Hz. Yeah, it's there. Never used it. Sony has really lost a few points in reputation based on the cheap lines they put out- the s and l line specifically. The W line is certainly competitive but not cheap. I see the price has gone down fairly well. 900s are a great deal for this tv and I would buy it again.
I know my review is pretty nontraditional. I was trying to fill gaps that other reviews do not. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away!
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This review is from: Sony BRAVIA W-Series KDL-40W5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)
I am very impressed with the KDL-40W5100. The picture is crystal clear when viewing HD programming or playing games from an HD capable gaming system (PS3 in my case). If do you do have a PS3, you'll be quite familiar with the XBR menu systems on this TV. You can access all of the TV's setup options from this menu and even stream TV shows and other media from a select set of Internet sites, if you connect the TV to your LAN.
Speaking of connecting the TV to your LAN, this TV actually comes with an integrated RJ45 ethernet interface for easy connection to your wired LAN. If you don't have an available ethernet jack by your TV, you can purchase a wireless bridge to connect the TV to your wireless network. Once connected, as I said previously, you can stream content straight from the Internet. Also, if you have a Netflix account, you can stream movies directly to the TV! No need for a Roku or similar device. Also, if there are any firmware updates for the TV, you can check right from the XBR menu, and if there are any, you can download and apply the firmware with a few clicks of a button.
It's really one of the most fully functional TVs I've come across. You really can't go wrong with Sony.
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This review is from: Sony BRAVIA W-Series KDL-40W5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)
Like a lot of folks my age, we are stuck with a massive piece of furniture called an "Entertainment Center". The section for the TV was only 38" wide, so because of frame size, I was limited to a 37" TV or smaller. I kept checking dimensions of various sets and found this 40" that would fit and it was a SONY! With free shipping and attractive interest terms I could not resist. Picture is great,appearance great but like most flat panel TVs sound is poor. Put the sound through a good sound system and you have a winner.
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This review is from: Sony BRAVIA W-Series KDL-40W5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)
This TV is well worth the money, great picture whether watching Comcast HD through the cable box, or over the air also. Has TV Guide channel built in, that's a plus. Gaming, it's again, a great picture and sound. Can't say I wouldn't buy this one in a heartbeat again. I have this Lcd HDTV hooked to a Motorola HD DVR a 3425 series from Comcast, a Sony surround sound system, and a PS3 for Blu Ray movies and gaming.
All around a good TV for a fair price I would say. Would have loved to get a LED TV, but they are going for $2,500 in this size, that's still a little steep for me.
Hope my review helped.
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This review is from: Sony BRAVIA W-Series KDL-40W5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)
Everything is great but needed to add inexpensive speakers made for computer to get really good sound. I got a great deal thru Amazon at $918.
The shipping was not as good as expected. I thought they would take it out of the box, turn it on and set it on the stand. The shipper, Pilot, came in a rental truck, had me sign off and left it with me. Luckily setup was easy and I was good to go within 45 minutes with pretty much full functionality.
One note: though the tv has internet capabilities, you need to purchase a wireless bridge separately to hook it up. Expect to spend an additional $50-$100.
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This review is from: Sony BRAVIA W-Series KDL-40W5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)
The tv was great for about 3 hours until a thick, vertical neon green line appeared about 1/4 the way from the right side of the screen. After talking with Sony techs and not having the issue resolved, customer service agreed to replace the tv with a new one. I will review the new one when it arrives. This green line even appears with the tv plugged in and nothing else attached to it.
The new TV arrived about three days later. I have had it a few days now and it is very nice. Beautiful picture, very sharp with vibrant colors.
I am pleased with Sony's customer service. They didn't give me a problem about replacing the tv and contacted UPS to have them pick up the broken TV from me. Sony paid for the shipping.
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