LCD HDTV Reviews

C. J.

2010-08-31

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Can't be beat for the $.
I must admit that I have a bias towards Sony. I STILL have one that's pushing 15 years old and had it serviced at my expense - ONCE. And that was minor. Took the tech more time to remove the back-plate screws than to solder the bad connection.

There are currently seven TVs in our house. Yea, it's a big house. I'm a very serious audiophile and movie buff. (At over 2,500 hard-cased DVDs and B-Rs...and still counting.) Five of the sets are Sonys. Don't get me wrong, because I've tried MANY brands. LG, Mitsu, Samsung, Proscan, etc. (I WAS a huge Mitsu fan, until time proved me in error.) I keep coming back to Sony. The only reason I ever change sets is purely technology driven. I rotate them downward, and end up with lots of happy nieces and nephews. It is fun at holiday time.

This last one was for the guest quarters. It fit perfectly into the existing entertainment center and that was actually my paramount concern for this one. (Okay, I wasn't going to be watching it. Shoot me.)

BUT!!!! I find myself getting sucked into watching it in there!!! And there's a 70+ inch 1080i LCD Sony with audio to rival an IMAX in the REAL TV room! No kidding... (I'm not ready to shell out the dough for the "p".) Can't sell my wife on it - yet... ;-)

Hey, sure I could have spent more and improved a bit - maybe. It's one of those 95/05 esoterica deals. For what I wanted to spend, this was it. Hooked it up a Blue-ray and HD sat in about 90 seconds with HDMI. Perfecto. I could have assembled the stand in 3-minutes in a drunken stuper with only a flashlight. Other than the "cheat sheet", I still haven't opened the manual, nor needed to. I didn't have to go help the guests use it last weekend either!!!!!!!! That's sweet!!!!!!

If you don't have any significant OTHER considerations, don't even bother to shop at this price point (other than maybe between Amazon, Costco, BB, or whomever - and if there are shipping and/or availability issues). Do watch your MODEL numbers!!! I hate the way they ALL make it confusing sometimes to compare. You can't miss if you go by SONY'S model numbers - only.

Above caveat aside, bottom line, just buy it and start enjoying it. You'll never look back. :-)

funrunner599xx

2010-08-24

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Exception value- an amazing television!
I bought this tv to upgrade from a 26" Sony Bravia LCD that I bought a couple of years ago. It had only 720p and I was wanting something at least 32inch and full 1080p. This thing blows away all other competition in it's category! I had been studying up on the different sets for a while and decided that I couldn't pass up this tv at this price. It's got a 60hz refresh rate which is all you really need for a tv of this size. In my experience 120hz or 240hz refresh rates only stand to distract you from the movie. It doesn't bother some people, but I know when it's activated or not and it drives me crazy. All in all this is a great buy even for the 550 dollar price tag. There are places you can go to get better deals on it, but this tv has the quality that makes it worth the price.

Ever

2010-08-08

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32EX400 thoughts + calibration
Well, I picked up this set from another retailer when it was on special for $494 + tax a couple of months back. It is a really really nice set if you are looking for a value 32" HDTV that has 1080p and plenty of HDMI ports. Those were the 2 main points that made me go with this set. This set has great picture quality, has tremendously good black levels for an LCD set, has tons of customization options.

2 negatives about this set that make me wish I could have picked up a different set for similar price are:

1. It has really really bad viewing angles compared to an older LG 32" 720p model I had. I mean this set really really needs you to be viewing it from center on or it loses a lot of it's brightness. Both the vertical and horizontal viewing angles are worse than my previous LG 32lh20 model.

2. I wish this set had a swivel base like my previous LG model had OR like the EX500 set has. I would have purchased the KDL-32EX500 if it wasn't an extra $120 or so. That model has a swivel base which is great, seeing how the 32EX400 has such terrible viewing angles.

I'm currently using the following calibration on my 32EX400 while using HDMI for Cable HDTV, Blu-Ray, and DVI-HDMI PC. The viewing environment is in a dark room with a dim light towards the back of the TV and a viewing distance of 4-6 feet (although these settings also work for daylight viewing for me). Calibration was done using the AVS HD 709 calibration disc along with a blue filter (for setting color and tint/hue).

* Picture Settings
o Picture Mode : Custom
o Backlight : Min
o Picture : 91
o Brightness : 51
o Color : 54
o Hue : R2
o Color Temperature : Warm 2
o Sharpness : 1
o Noise Reduction : Off
o MPEG Noise Reduction : Off
o CineMotion : Off
o Ambient Sensor : Off

* Advanced Settings
o Adv Contrast Enhancer : Off
o Black Corrector : Off
o Gamma : 0
o Clear White : Off
o Live Color : Off
o White Balance : Factory Default

* Screen Settings
o Wide Mode : Full
o Auto Wide : Off
o Display Area : Full Pixel

o Sound Mode : Custom
o Treble : +7
o Bass : +5
* Equalizer
o 100Hz - 5, 200Hz - 3, 500Hz - 3, 1kHz - 2, 2kHz - 2, 5kHz - 6, 10kHz - 7
o Balance : 0
o Surround : On
o Volume Offset : 0

Purobi Phillips

2010-08-04

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Sony Bravia
Wonderful TV. Easy to install and use. Basically plug it in and follow simple instruction. We only watch Public TVs for less than an hour per day for less than 100 days a year in the USA. So, it will not be an elaborate review. We love the sharpness of the image and the sound is wonderful too.

J. Thomas

2010-07-11

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Really surprised
The picture and colors this TV has is simply amazing. Didn't think it would be a big difference but if you are gonna buy this for gaming this is the way to go, pop some GTA IV in and just have fun lost in the picture. Simply mesmerizing