Sony KDL-40V2500 BRAVIA 40 inch 1080p Wide Screen LCD Review

Sony HDTV - 1080p BRAVIA KDL-40V2500 - Wide Screen LCD Review

Sony’s HD LCD televisions are marketed with the brand name BRAVIA - an acronym for “Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture”. The marketing slogan is “Color like no other” and their launch is memorable for the advertisement featuring 250,000 brightly colored rubber balls bouncing down a San Francisco street.

The Sony Bravia KDL-40V2500 television is a “Full HD” 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels). It’s apparent just how much high definition that is when you consider that there are over 2 million pixels. The KDL-40V2500 accepts native 1080p signals making it conveniently compatible with high-definition video sources such as Sony’s BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc player which will be retailing soon.

Apart from size, some more significant differences between this and the other BRAVIA LCD models are:

10-bit panel allowing an increase in the television’s gradation level by 64 times from 8-bit panels
Sony’s new Motionflow 120Hz motion compensation technology which creates 60 unique frames between each of the existing 60 frames, doubling the frames displayed per second for reduction of image blurring and motion artifacts

The KDL-40V2500 looks very stylish with a glossy black finish. The twin speakers are bottom mounted.

There is a reasonable range of customization options with the BRAVIA XBR including; picture modes, wide modes, noise reduction, game mode and sound mode. In addition, there are numerous convenience features such as; picture freeze, favorite channel, parental control (V-Chip), power save mode, clock and sleep timer.

BRAVIA Theatre Sync

A handy feature with the S series is BRAVIA Theatre Sync which provides one-button integrated command of television and external components operation if connected via an HDMI cable. Using a single button, TV viewers can quickly switch between programming sources such as AV receivers, cable boxes, satellite receivers and others.

BRAVIA Engine

The KDL-40V2500 display is driven by Sony’s reputable and powerful digital video processor the BRAVIA Engine. Sony have recently added a picture quality enhancement circuit called Digital Reality Creation Multi-function v2.5. The DRC-MFv2.5 now has the added ability to process interlace and progressive video signals and as it has twice the processing power of previous generation DRC-MF circuits which were originally developed in 1997.

Sony’s unique “DRC” technology is different from the conventional interpolation technology that generates pixels based on the linear interpolation function. The DRC=MFv2.5 can upconvert all lower resolution standard and high definition video sources to 1080p. Naturally, native 1080p input signals are not processed through DRC-MFv2.5. The DRC-MFv2.5 is user adjustable according to the video source.

The KDL-40V2500 has a respectable response time of 8ms which is the same as quoted for Samsung and Panasonic LCD displays. The Sharp AQUOS does however, lead the pack with a fast 4ms response time.

Contrast Ratio

The KDL-40V2500 has a dynamic contrast ratio of 7000:1 and a static contrast ratio of 1300:1. To improve contrast Sony uses a dynamic backlighting system called ACE (Advanced Contrast Enhancement) on BRAVIA TVs. Automatically sensing the APL (Average Picture Level) of the video signal it adjusts the intensity of the backlight for improved contrast.

The 7000:1 contrast ratio compares well with other LCD displays. Samsung is actually the closest with a 6,000:1 dynamic contrast ratios with Panasonic and JVC having 3000:1 and 1,000:1 ratios respectively.

Sony use the more conservative ANSI test rather than the Full On/Full Off test which yields higher results. The ANSI test involves the display of 16 black and white rectangles with contrast ratio being the result of dividing the average light output of the white rectangles by the average light output of the black rectangles. It is commonly argued that the ANSI test is more indicative of contrast ratio due to its checkerboard pattern being closer to actual viewing conditions.

WCG-CCFL Backlight Technology

To achieve a wider color gamut for more natural colors, Sony use a WCG-CCFL ((Wide Color Gamut Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) backlight. As always, because they are backlit, black levels are a weakness for LCD displays. Sony provide a backlight brightness adjustment to help achieve the best black levels for the ambient lighting environment the set is in. If you want to review a television with impressive black levels have a look at Sony’s SXRD rear projection televisions.

Connections

The latest and most desired audio/video interface is HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) which is the first television industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. The Sony BRAVIA KDL-40V2500 comes with 2 HDMI 1080/60p inputs. Conveniently, PC connectivity (HD-15-pin) has also been included. More supplied connection details are provided in the specification below.

The KDL-40V2500 comes with an integrated ATSC high definition tuner.

Sound

As with the rest of the BRAVIA range, to provide an audio experience matching the visual one, the KDL-40V2500 has audio provided by SRS Lab’s patented SRS TruSurround XT surround sound technology. TruSurround XT is a multi-channel virtualization technology which aims to produce a surround sound effect using only two speakers. It will handle up to seven (6.1) audio channels.

TruSurround XT combines three patented sound processing techniques from SRS Labs:

Dialog Clarity: Improves intelligibility of dialog
TruSurround: TruSurround creates multichannel signals in a way that takes advantage of the human hearing system and create a surround sound field. It carries Dolby certification.
TruBass: TruBass enhances bass performance utilizing proprietary psychoacoustic techniques. Perception of fundamental low frequency tones is restored by dynamically augmenting harmonics.

TruSurround will produce a two channel stereo output from mono, stereo, or multichannel input signals. It is compatible with signals that been decoded by a Dolby Pro Logic or Pro Logic II decoder and signals that have been encoded to stereo with a matrix encoder (e.g. SRS Circle Surround or Dolby Pro Logic).

For more information on the equipment supplied by SRS Labs can be found on their web site.

Warranty

Sony BRAVIA high definition televisions are backed by Sony with an 18-month warranty which is longer than the common twelve months term.

BRAVIA Internet Video Link Module

Sony Electronics has announced that it will soon introduce a BRAVIA Internet Video Link module. When attached to a compatible Sony television, the module will enable access to Internet video programming including high-definition content. Video will be available from internet sources without a PC. The BRAVIA Internet Link module is supported by the XBR, V and S series

Comparison KDL-40V2500 vs

The Sony BRAVIA HD television range also includes the XBR model series of the Bravia HDTV range are what Sony market as their “highest performance, premium design LCD TV”. The Bravia S series is the “entry-level” and the Bravia V series is the “step-up”

While the Sony XBR3 has a glossy black bezel, the XBR2 models have a standard silver bezel which can be replaced by one of five different color bezels (red, white, blue, black, brown) for custom integration with your rooms décor. Other than the replaceable bezels there is no specification difference between the XBR3 and XBR2.

The “XBR” series has an enhanced set of features compared to the V series including:

PRO (not standard) version of the Bravis video processing Engine
A floating glass look
Side mounted speakers
Three HDMI inputs (not 2)

The entry level Sony S series has a reduced set of features in comparison to the “V” series including:

Lower resolution high definition (1366 x 768 pixels)
Lower 5,000:1 contrast ratio
Single HDMI input (not 2)

Sony Bravia KDL-40V2500 Specification

General
Aspect Ratio:	16:9
Screen Size:	40 inches
Video
Display Resolution:	1920 x 1080
Native Resolution:	1080p
Video Features
Display Technology:	178° wide viewing angle LCD display panels
Tuner:	ATSC digital tuner with unscrambled digital cable (QAM) capability
Video Processing:	Yes (BRAVIA Engine)
CineMotion® Reverse 3:2 Pulldown Technology:	Yes
Comb Filter:	3D
Picture Modes:	Vivid/ Standard/ Custom
Wide Mode:	Wide Zoom/ Normal/ Full/ Zoom
Light Sensor:	Yes
Noise Reduction:	Yes
Audio Features
Sound Mode:	Dynamic/ Standard/ Custom
SRS® TruSurround® XT Audio Effect:	Yes
Digital Amplifier:	Yes
Dolby® Digital:	Yes
A/V Synch:	Yes
MTS Stereo Decoder:	Yes
Audio
Steady Sound® Automatic Volume Control:	Yes
Surround/Effects:	SRS® TruSurround® XT/ Simulated Stereo/ Off
General Features
Auto SAP:	yes
Video Label:	yes
Closed Caption (CC):	yes
Inputs and Outputs
RF Connection Input(s):	1
Composite Video Input(s):	3 (1 Side /2 Rear)
S-Video Input(s):	2 (1 Side/1 Rear)
Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr ) Input(s):	2 (Rear)
Audio Out (Variable/Fixed):	1 (Rear)
Digital Audio Output(s):	1 (Rear)
Headphone Output(s):	1 (Side)
PC Input(s):	1 (Rear) D-Sub 15
HDMI™ Connection(s):	2 (2 Rear) - 1 rear input included has L and R audio inputs
Convenience Features
Picture Freeze:	Yes
Favorite Channel:	Yes
Channel Label:	Yes
Channel Skip/Add:	Yes
Parental Control (V-Chip):	Yes
Input Skip:	Yes
Power Save Mode:	Yes
Clock:	Yes
Sleep Timer:	Yes
Timer Events:	Yes
Power
Power Consumption (in Standby):	Less than 0.1W
Power Consumption (in Standby):	Less than 0.5W
Regulation and Standard Compliance
VESA:	Yes
Energy Star® Compliant:	Yes
Weights and Measurements
Weight:	70.55lbs (32kg) with pedestal; 57.32bs (26.0kg) without pedestal
Dimensions:	44.13″ x 31.69″x 13.25″ (1120 x 805 x 334mm) with pedestal; 44.13″ x 29.75″ x 4.75″ (1120 x 742 x 119mm) without pedestal
Supplied Accessories	Remote Control (RM-YD012) Pedestal (swivel) Battery (AA x2) HD-15 to HD-15 Cable Operating Instructions Quick Setup Guide
Colors	High Gloss Piano Black

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March 16, 2007