Sony Bravia V Series KDL 42V4100 42 Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

Sony Bravia V Series KDL 42V4100 42 Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

Ready for HD done the Sony way? Sony’s KDL-42V4100 brings 1080p picture quality home with amazing, Sony-exclusive features like the latest version of Sony’s respected BRAVIA Engine fully Digital video processor, which uses a collection of unique SONY algorithms to significantly reduce noise and produce sharp, vibrant, life-like images. With Advanced Contrast Enhancer (ACE) you get real-time image processing to dynamically adjust backlight levels for improved Contrast without masking details the filmmaker intended you to see. ACE delivers deep blacks in darker scenes, as well as fine details in shadows and other dark areas of the picture for a difference you can truly see. Add to that a sophisticated, piano black design, 24p capability so you can get the most out of the movies you watch on Blu-ray and DVD, 4 HDMI inputs along with three other HD-capable connections, enhanced Xross Media Bar(TM) with 3D graphics and integrated TV Guide program information, built-in DMeX functionality, and what you have is a television that can bring dreams to life. BRAVIA Engine fully Digital video processor 24p True Cinema capable DMeX capable New TV Guide IPG New Enhanced (XMB) User Interface with Rich 3D Graphics BRAVIA Sync capable S-Force Front Surround Voice Zoom Dolby Digital V-Chip Parental Control VESA hole spacing compatible Piano Gloss Black color 1-Year Limited Warranty Input Ports – 4 x HDMI (1 Side/3 Rear), RF Connection, 3 x Composite Video (1 Side/2 Rear), S-Video, 2 x Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Input, PC in (D-Sub) + Audio In (Stereo Mini), 6 x Analog Audio Input (1 Side/5 Rear), Audio Out, Optical Digital Out, Headphone Jack Approximate Unit Dimensions – 28.4 (H) x 40.8 (W) x 12.1 (D) with Pedestal Approximate Unit Weight – 63 pounds

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars WONDERFUL!
THIS WAS A GREAT PURCHASE … SPEEDY DELIVERY, EXCELLENT PICTURE … I JUST LOVE IT! THANKS!

4 Stars Still impressed after 2 months of use.
I’ve been using this TV for 2 months now, and I’m still very impressed.

I found very few reviews of this TV anywhere, so was rather unsure about buying it. I was choosing between this and the Samsung LN40A550, and I was leaning towards the Samsung mostly because I had seen it once(at Costco) and was impressed, and its very well reviewed. I went and saw both the TVs at BestBuy and to be honest, I could not tell the difference.

The Samsung LN40A550 sat next to one of the other Samsung’s own 120Hz models, and the difference is striking, the 120Hz is so much better. I tried HD and standard definition signals on both TVs and in Standard Definition, the Sony seemed better, and in HD they looked the same.

I use the TV for DVDs, playing my XBOX 360, and streaming movies from Netflix over my Xbox360. The streamed movies from Netflix all look good ( about 3.5 out of 5 ); HD streams from Netflix ( like 30 Rock) are simply excellent. Xbox360 games look awesome, and DVDs are the best part: standard DVDs look really great on this TV. I’ve seen DVDs play much worse on other HDTVs, so that was one area I was expecting some disappointment, but was pleasantly surprised. The TV also has different “wide”-ness settings for changing the aspect ratio, or removing those letter boxes. If the original video quality is good, this is quite nice, but if the original video is bad, it makes it much worse. The matte screen does a good job of not reflecting anything and you can get a pleasant picture unless the sun is shining directly on to the screen. The blacks are really deep, and the colors are great. They are a little less brighter than the colors on Samsung, but appears more natural. The quality of the picture when there is a lot of motion on screen is also very good and clear.

On the flip side, The TV’s stand does not swivel,and its as if its tilted to the front a bit(I noticed this based on other reviews) ; I personally don’t have a problem with the non swivel stand, but the Samsung LN40A550′s stand does swivel. It may come in handy if this is a living room TV and you wanna turn it slightly every once in a while. The tilt is hardly noticeable, unless you specifically look for it. The TV does not play nice with my laptop; My laptop has a lower resolution, but I expected the TV to adjust to it; It gives me all ghosted and weird visuals over a standard S-Video cable. An HDMI cable clears up the picture from the laptop a bit, but its still unusable. Don’t hope to use this as a large screen for you laptop/desktop computer. The speaker volume is slightly low I’d say, but this may be due to the source. When I play games I keep it in the 20′s and its pretty loud; but for movies, I usually have to crank it up to 60′s or 70′s! The sound is much better than the Samsung though.

Overall I think I got great value for the price I paid. Best buy was offering this for $999(and so was Amazon) and I had a BestBuy gift card. put together his one turned out to be cheaper (I got it for 999-120 = 880 ). I give 4 stars for the performance, took out 1 star for not playing nice with my laptop.

+ Excellent picture quality in both Standard and High Definition.

+ Normal DVDs look really great.

+ Matte screen is great at preventing reflections.

+ Picture settings are easy and great.

- Audio is low for movies, but not for games.

- No swivel stand.

- Does not play nice with my laptop.

There are definitely better TVs out there, as a visit to the nearest best buy or other store will tell you, but if you’re on a budget, this one and Samsung LN40A550 is something definitely worth looking at.Samsung LN40A550 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

4 Stars Good Product. Great Service.
Well I expected the TV to be wonderful, and it is. But the big surprise was the care with which Amazon’s took over after the sale. Two guys with a truck arrived at our door three days ahead of schedule, carried it in, unpacked it, made sure it was free of any dents or scratches, programmed it with our signal and were gone in under half an hour.

If that was “White Glove Delivery,” I would highly recommend it.

5 Stars First rate product
I was very hesitant at first when I saw te low price on Amazon, but I thought I could not go too wrong with a Sony. I’m glad I made the purchase. The TV arrived very well packaged and the setup was a breeze even for a non-techie like me.

The colours are amazing and the overall picture quality superb. I can’t express adequately how happy I am with my purchase, but I can tell you all my Television sets in the future will come from Sony and Amazon.

5 Stars A Superb Picture At a Low Price
Even before calibrating the Custom setting, the picture on this SONY is superior or as good as all sets near its price by 20%, making the savings on a cheaper bargain brand moot. It’s only competitor for picture, especially the depth of the blacks and detail in the dark areas (which can be calibrated) is the Panasonic 42″ Plasma. In our bright room, it is superior. Off angle viewing is not as good but doesn’t apply to our environment. The black correction is high, medium and low so experimenting with it during different times of the day will relinquish the best setting. The room light contrast and brightness correction works fairly well, but I tend to change from normal or custom and vice versa if the correction isn’t that accurate. The “Home” set-up configuration is for savvy computer heads, not too user friendly. Would I spend the $300.00 — $ 500.00 for professional calibration? No — the Blu-Ray HD Basics disk is good enough and using the Custom picture configuration with some time spent on achieving the picture you want is really good enough. I mainly left the Vivid, Normal and Cinema settings the same but changed the Cinema to a Neutral color temperature — the Warm 2 is way too amber. I normally like the cool setting as it sharpens up the hard edges of images, especially in the warm tones.

I used the new Blu-Ray “Swan Lake” and “2201: A Space Odyssey” to check out the 120hz motion coordination for movies and it works great.

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