Middle aged father of one with a passion for movies, computers and games and sport.
Middle aged father of one with a passion for movies, computers and games and sport.
Member since:26.09.2005
Reviews:9
Members who trust:1
This review covers both the model and also my decision process in selecting it - if your not interested in that then please scroll down to the segment entitled "Delivery and Unpacking".
Now is a wonderful time to go looking for a new television, with the range of choice almost bewildering. I've been hankering to replace the TV in my living room (Toshiba 29" CRT that is 10 years old and still going strong), and after some less than subtle lobbying with my wife, we agreed to do so.
If you are at all into cinema, then there is no doubt that any new TV must be widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio), as this is the way that movies and a large number of TV programmes are shot and broadcast. Most freeview and all (I think) Sky digiboxes have the option to output in 16:9, so the chances are that you are already prepared to receive a lot of content this way.
The choice then is to go traditional CRT (large bump behind the screen that is awkward), or one of the newer technologies such as Plasma or LCD. In the end I opted for LCD having spent a lot of time loitering in Comet, Currys and John Lewis et al to see if I could decipher what was going to give me great picture quality. LCD is also a lot less power hungry, and uses about a third of the electricity that plasma does, so that may be a factor for you.
After much loitering, and also consulting with a couple of magazines on the subject, I had narrowed my choice down to a few brands, and pretty much knew that I would be looking for a 32" screen based on the size
of my living room. My choices were:.
Samsung LG Phillips Sony Toshiba
All showed great picture quality in the shops, and had models that included an integrated digital receiver, which was another must have for me with this purchase. In the end, although not the cheapest, I selected the Sony and purchased a DVD recorder at the same time. The purchase was made from John Lewis, who are currently offering a free 5 year warranty!
So on now to the set itself.
Delivery and unpacking ==================
The TV comes in an enormous box which will not fit into many cars boots, or even some of the smaller hatchbacks with the seats down. If delivery is offered it is well worth considering, as the box really needs handling by two people.Having said that, the TV literally lifts out of the box and is ready to pop onto any suitable table. Sony supply a fixing kit as a safety device to prevent it toppling over, hoever it needs screwed to the table, and if like me you have a glass stand then this is not a viable option. To date I have had no issues with the sets physical stability on the stand.
Setting up ========
To go you literally only need to plug in teh power cord and aerial, however if you have other devices you want to connect then it is a good idea to do this early on. This model comes with loads of good connections, which should allow you to hook up plenty of kit with no difficulty. Once I had connected my Sky box and DVD recorder I plugged in and switched on - the TV took over at that pointy and asked me if I wanted to start autotuning - selecting yes using the remote then started the tuning in of both digital and analog channels, all of which went flawlessly. I only had to manually tune in my Sky box.
Viewing ======
Once set up you will want to see what it can do! The analog channels are pretty much what you would expect, with good quality pictures being dependant on the strength and quality of the signal. The TV identifies if the broadcast is in widescreen or "normal" mode, and sets itself accordingly, however you can manually set this if you prefer. Digital tuning and navigfation is helped by the onscreen menus and electronic programme guide, which is common to most if not all digital TV's and receivers. This looks and operates in a similar manner to Sky - including the option to select a programme in the future and have the TV tune in automatically for you. This is especially useful if you want to record a programme, or dont want to forget to tune in at the appropriate time.
The remote control is simple enough to use, and is well explained in the excellent instructions.
Picture Quality ===========
With the TV being HD ready and also a Sony, which normally ensures a certain standard of quality, you should expect a great picture - and you get one. With all HD TV's the quality of the picture is driven by the quality of the source. Generally speaking connections other than just by the UHF cable should provide great quality viewing.
In my set up, the Sky box is connected via SCART, and the DVD recorder using composite video and audio cables. Watching DVD's with these connections (and setting the DVD player to play the disc in progressive mode, which means it plays the disc at a higher quality rate) is truly wonderful to watch. I would suggest using high quality composite cables from companies such as Monster - it seems a lot of money to pay for wires but it truly pays off. The difference shows up particularly in dark or night scenes. What was previously a dark smudge or blur, comes alive in deep blues and superb dark tones all over the screen.
Generally the picture is bright and responsive, with great natural colour on a range of viewing sources - I have not had to change settings when moving between DVD, Satellite, Digital and Analog programming. A real pleasure to watch, and it also gets the endorsement of my 84 year old Father in law, who says he is seeing things on screen that he has not in years.
Sound =====
The built in speakers are fine, but they will not deliver anything like the quality of any home cinema set up, so lets not pretend that it does. If you are serious about your sound, then additonal speakers and an amplifier and sub woofer are a must. For normal viewing the sound is perfectly adequate - it is clear to see that Sony have invested the engineering in this range in the picture, and not spread it around on speakers as well. Not disappointing but adequate.
Overall Viewing experience =====================
Stunning - a wonderful television which has delighted me in the 3 weeks it has been here. I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone thinking of a flat screen TV. It's big enough to be a main TV in a living room, and can also be wall mounted for those who like that sort of thing.
Technical Stuff ============
The Bravia has more connections than an internet cafe - I'll list them so you can see what is what.
2 Composite Video - 5 sockets which are 3 for video, and two for osund. In my set up I connect my DVD player usingthese connections.
3 PC video in using a phono type connector
4 Stereo Out - to connect to a Hi Fi and output the stereo sound FROM your TV
Left Hand Side Panel
1 Coxial in and out - this takes the signal from your aerial. The output is to allow the digital channels to be "broadcast" to your VCR or other recorder.
2 PC Video in - this should match up to the monitor socket of your PC or laptop, and allows you to connect them in this way
3 CAM (Conditional Access Module) - viewing card slot for your integrated digital (so that's where the extra channels card goes!)
4 Modem Connecor - decribed as for future use only
Right Hand Side Panels
1 The upper connections are for the new HDMI standard connector, which can be used to hook up your new Sky HD box or if you are very lucky, your new Xbox 360.
2 The lower panel is to allow you connect your camcorder or digital camera for viewing. There is also a headphone socket here.
HD Ready ========
HD or High Definition is the next big thing in broadcasting, and I'm not going to discuss it in detail here. Suffice to say that your Sony is fully HD ready and will look fabulopus once those broadcasts start coming in during 2006.
Price and Warranty ===============
This is available from around £1200 and up. My choice was to buy in John Lewis for the outstanding free 5 year warranty currently on offer - to buy this level of cover from Comet or Dixons will cost you in excess of £400 on it's own, and should be a significant consideration when purchasing.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Great review - sorry it's taken me so long to read it! alley x
big_dirty_em_n_that 01.02.2006 17:17
Great review, congrats on the diamond!!! Em xox
jesi 31.01.2006 01:48
Congratulations on your diamond - I must admit, the lack of spell-check spoilt it a little for me - as extra letters in words and for were quite distracting for my dyslexic brain to cope with - I have enough trouble noticing these and rooting them out of MY OWN reviews - so my brain is on "Auto-pilot" to notice them wherever they are. Is it possible to get a screen like this which is NOT tunable for TV? I only want it to watch DVD and Videos
. . . . - .................................................................................................... ~ ♥ ~ (if you are unsure how to proofread, I recommend using the "Edit review" link above under "Community" and copying the whole review block into Word or similar Wordprocessing for the spell-check, then select all and copy - when get back to review box, once again "select all" and then Paste the revision over the original review - tick the display as original, the ALL OWN WORK box and repost review) - when you write your next review, I can highly recommend PREVIEWing the review several times and doing a swift proofread in the form it will end up before editing and finally posting the review - It is amazing what you miss in the cramped box that you see when the review is showing like it will when it is posted
. . . . - .................................................................................................... ~ ♥ ~ jes ≈≈≈≈{; -)-{{::::: |||||< ♥♥
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