Sony KDL-40 P 3020

...have purchased and the first Sony one. Overall this TV is a great purchase and at the time of my purchasing was excellent value for money. It cost me £699 in December 2007. It has good compatibility for current and future technologies with 2 HDMI ports. The picture quality from pure HD sources. including games consoles and Blu-ray players is immaculate as you would expect from a Sony product.

The built in Freeview and Electronic Programme ...
...boxes. Because this is a Sony TV with bravia sync when used with a compatible Sony home theatre the sound can be easily synced using a HDMI cable. This also allows the sound system control to be used for the tv and tv for the sound system (in a limited capacity)

The main advantages from my perspective are:
2 HDMI ports
Excellent Freeview picture and EPG
Bravia sync and HDMI control
Power saving (the TV can ... more

This is the second HD TV I have purchased and the first Sony one. Overall this TV is a great purchase and at the time of my purchasing was excellent value for money. It cost me £699 in December 2007. It has good compatibility for current and future technologies with 2 HDMI ports. The picture quality from pure HD sources. including games consoles and Blu-ray players is immaculate as you would expect from a Sony product.

The built in Freeview and Electronic Programme Guide are very easy to use and produce excellent picture quality when compared with Freeview set top boxes. Because this is a Sony TV with bravia sync when used with a compatible Sony home theatre the sound can be easily synced using a HDMI cable. This also allows the sound system control to be used for the tv and tv for the sound system (in a limited capacity)

The main advantages from my perspective are:
2 HDMI ports
Excellent Freeview picture and EPG
Bravia sync and HDMI control
Power saving (the TV can be turned off rather than put in standby by the power button on the top)

Where the TV does not perform so well comes down to broadcast high signals from sources such as satellite or cable. The tv appears to suffer from a problem where it struggles to blend pixels together (anti aliasing). This means that every imperfection in a signal will show up in all its glory. This can mean that channels such as BBC HD and ITV HD do not look as good as they do on some other HD TVs. These issues are mostly resolved when putting the TV into theatre mode. However this darkens the screen and in high lighting conditions can make aspects of the picture difficult to see. The TV also lacks a digital sound input or output other than HDMI. Which is fine if you buy a Sony home cinema system with HDMI connection, but is insufficient if you want to buy another brand. The now and next bar for the built in Freeview also appears at the top of the screen. to begin with this can be very annoying as it cuts off the top of peoples heads when u are trying to read the EPG and watch the TV. However it can be made smaller to minimise the impact and you do eventually get used to it.

The main disadvantages I feel are:
Poor picture quality on some broadcasts
Lack of Optical sound input or output
The now and next for the EPG appears at the top of the screen

This TV is a very good purchase for a family living room it is durable stylish without being too bold and very reliable. I would definitely recommend it if it can be found for under £600 

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