Sony KDL40V4000 Review

There was a time when it was easy to keep track of Sony’s LCD TV ranges, because there were only two of them. Arriving late to the LCD party after abandoning attempts to produce its own flat panel technology, Sony famously partnered with the LCD experts at Samsung in order to get back up to speed. The resulting BRAVIA range has been a huge success, and there’s now almost too many series and model variations to count.

The V-Series has actually been around since the beginning of BRAVIA in 2005, and has traditionally taken its place in the comfortable mid-range spot (the first V-Series BRAVIAs were featured prominently in the company’s original memorable adverts). Although specifications have changed in order to move with the times, the same would appear to hold true today: the Sony KDL40V4000 features the now ubiquitous 1920×1080p LCD panel, but doesn’t feature a 100hz system or some of Sony’s fancier video processing or convenience features. Does this no-nonsense 40″ HDTV display do what it sets out to do well? Read on.

Design

Like all but their most affordable displays, the KDL40V4000’s design is unmistakably Sony. Resembling a slightly less prestigious W4000 series, the company’s “Draw the LINE” design concept is in effect, visible as an indentation between the area below the screen and the dotted speaker grille. The indentation here is covered in gloss black plastic rather than the glass-like perspex of the W-Series model, but the result is still appealing, despite the inclusion of a glossy finish (which can be distracting and reflective in certain rooms).

The back of the chassis features recessed handgrips, which eased the process of unboxing the LCD HDTV, fitting it onto its stand, and finally placing it into position.

Connections

A single back panel houses two HDMI inputs (there’s a third on the side), a set of Component video and stereo audio inputs, two SCART terminals (which can each accept RGB, Composite, and on the second input, also S-Video), an aerial input, and a VGA/PC input. In addition to the third HDMI input, the recessed side panel also features a Composite video input and accompanying stereo audio jacks. In common with several other recent European HDTVs, there is no traditional S-Video jack, but we can’t imagine anyone really missing it. If you have S-Video equipment that you absolutely must use, you can do so by feeding it through the S-Video compatible SCART terminal with an adapter.

At the time of writing, this array of connections should leave almost nobody out in the cold.

Operation

On-screen User Menu

Unlike older Sony displays which have featured the blue and yellow “WEGA GATE” style menu, the Sony KDL40V4000 instead features elegant menus which resemble a slightly cut-down version of the premium “Xross Media Bar” design, which incidentally leaves out the Xross Media Bar in favour of a standard list. Whilst accessing menus, the entire screen is covered in transparent blue. Upon making a picture adjustment, the transparent blue gives way to reveal the TV picture below, allowing the user to see the effects of the change.

The top-level adjustment is the [Picture Mode], which can be set to either [Vivid], [Standard], or [Cinema]. The former two present a bright, blue-tinted, sharpened image, whilst the latter is more subdued and as such, was the basis for our evaluation and further tweaking.

From here, control is given over all the standard adjustments, including the important control over the Backlight. There’s also a traditional [Noise Reduction] control, which combines both temporal and spatial NR methods to clean up pictures, and an [MPEG Noise Reduction] mode which was surprisingly useful for Digital TV broadcasts.

The [Advanced Settings] menu is much less crowded than on other BRAVIA TVs, but this is no loss because most of these features were best left off, anyway. All that remains here are the [Advanced Contrast Enhancer] and the [Live Colour] controls, both of which we disabled.

There are picture-altering settings scattered around the other menus, too. The [Features] menu includes a [Power Saving] function which decreases the backlight brightness further, and a [Film Mode] option which can be set to either detect and compensate for film cadences (”Auto”) or force video deinterlacing mode (”Off”). Meanwhile, [Set-up] > [Screen Settings] houses control over the amount of Overscan applied to the picture (the setting is called [Display Area]). When the Sony KDL40V4000 LCD HDTV is fed a 1080i or 1080p source, this control lets you enable the 1:1 mapping mode (Sony call this [Full Pixel]).

Even although the “Warm2″ greyscale preset isn’t too offensively jaundiced, it’s disappointing that Sony do not provide a user accessible greyscale adjustment (or a colour management system) to allow easy refinement of these features.

EPG (Electronic Programme Guide)

Sony’s EPG design does not appear to have undergone any radical changes since the previous models, but this isn’t a problem, because it’s easy on the eyes, suitably responsive, and easy to use. The information banner is nice and small, and appears momentarily at the top of the screen after changing channels.

Remote Control

We’re delighted to see that after losing their way slightly a few years ago, Sony have began reintroducing thin, sleek remote control designs to the BRAVIA range: the black and silver remote looks and feels gorgeous. It has a grooved back and a recessed grip for easy handling, the buttons are laid out logically, and certain locations on the remote feature a tactile dot, making it a breeze to quickly learn and use. The remote control design also makes extensive use of icons, which adds extra appeal over designs which clutter remotes up with cryptic abbreviations.

Calibration

Greyscale

[Colour Temp] “Warm 2″ CCT

[Colour Temp] “Warm 2″ RGB Tracking

As is often the case, the “Warm2″ colour temperature preset gave the most accurate greyscale reproduction. Red remained too high consistently, with blue too high particularly in the lower tones. The end result is surprisingly non-offensive to a pair of eyes which is used to calibrated displays, but all the same, we have to ask why there’s no user-accessible option to refine this further.

If you have the nerves for it (and/or a “procured” copy of the engineer’s manual), then the Service Menu reportedly allows for Greyscale calibration, but this isn’t for the faint of heart.

Colour

CIE chart with reference to HD Rec. 709

Colour accuracy was decent on the KDL40V4000. There were no dramatic shifts in hue, but Green, as usual, was the worst-affected colour. None of these slight inaccuracies proved to be distracting. Again, there’s no Colour Management System to further fine-tune the colour reproduction.

Benchmark Test Results

Dead pixels	None
Screen uniformity	Excellent
Overscanning on HDMI	0% with [Display Area] set to “Full Pixel“
Blacker than black	Passed
Black level	Excellent
Black level retention	Stable if [Adv Contrast Enhancer] off
Primary chromaticity	Good with [Colour Space] “Standard“
Scaling	Good
Video mode deinterlacing	Average; limited jaggies reduction
Film mode deinterlacing	Poor; Failed 3:2/ 2:2 cadences in 480i/ 576i
Viewing angle	Good for an LCD TV (90°)
Motion resolution	250-300
Digital noise reduction	Acceptable at baseline
Sharpness	Undefeatable edge enhancement on 1080i/1080p
1080p/24 capability (PS3)	Accepts 1080p/24 video signal; no telecine judder
Input lag	0-10ms, very little

Power Consumption

Default	235 watts ["Shop"], 196 watts ["Home"] *
Calibrated	88 watts
Standby	1 watt

* the KDL40V4000 asks the user to choose the “Shop” or “Home” setting upon first power-up. These apply the either the [Vivid] or [Standard] picture mode respectively.

Black Level

The blacks produced by the Sony KDL40V4000 are gorgeous. Of course, they’re not about to beat the lastest Pioneer KURO plasmas, but they are nevertheless an example of just how far LCD technology has come. Post-calibration black level measured 0.05cd/m2, an impressively low figure which was achieved by lowering the backlight setting to 2 and enabling “Reduced Power” mode under the [Features] menu. At the other end of the brightness scale (100 IRE - that’s full white), brightness was still 118.96cd/m2, so peak luminance was not sacrificed in order to bring this impressive result. This was the closest we could come to our desired 103cd/m2 with the Backlight control alone, but we met our target by lowering the contrast slightly.

Detail & Resolution

Over HDMI, and with the [Full Pixel] mode turned on, the Sony KDL40V4000 successfully resolved each nuance of the horizontal and vertical 1920×1080 line patterns.

Motion Resolution

Chapter 31 of our handy FPD Benchmark Blu-ray Disc revealed that the Sony KDL40V4000’s motion resolution was around 250-300 lines, in other words, completely within our expectations for an LCD TV without a 100hz system. Very subtle green trails were visible in some areas, but these were not visible during real-world content and were far less distracting than the green phosphor trails exhibited on certain Plasma displays.

Video Processing

The Sony KDL40V4000’s standard-def video processing is average. At first, we were about to say that this television featured the worst standard definition scaling (upconversion) we’d ever seen, but fortunately, this turned out to be a bug. An explanation: when the TV is fed with 480i, 480p, 576i, or 576p video, and Sharpness is set to “Minimum”, the TV actually applies the maximum amount of sharpening, resulting in a very poor quality picture with a huge amount of ringing.

Stepping [Sharpness] up to 1 completely removes this ugly look, leaving us with a slightly soft, but beautifully clean picture. Compensating for the softness with just a little bit of the [Sharpness] setting resulted in pleasing SD scaling - what a relief! Just in case it wasn’t clear, we’ll repeat: if you use any sort of standard-definition video device with this TV connected via HDMI, be sure the Sharpness setting is set to 1 instead of “Min”! This bug does not extend to the built-in Freeview tuner, nor the other video inputs, which probably explains why it’s snuck through.

With this behind us, we moved on to the Silicon Optix HQV Diagonal Filtering test, being piped in from a DVD player outputting 576i over HDMI. This tests how effectively the television’s video processor can reduce the appearance of jaggies, which result from Interlaced material. Here, the Sony KDL40V4000 failed the test, producing jagged edges at almost all angles, suggesting that no Directional Interpolation is being used at all. How much or not this will matter in the real world, though, is debatable, as the majority of sources don’t feature enough detail to really highlight this shortcoming.

The Film Cadence tests fared just as poorly, with the PAL (2:2) cadence failing, and the NTSC (3:2) cadence and Detail Test being a hit and miss affair. As a result of this rather uninspiring performance, the old adage of bringing your own video processing, in the form of a high quality upconverting DVD player (or video processor), is more true than ever. That won’t save TV broadcasts viewed on the Sony KDL40V4000’s built-in Digital TV tuner, though, but to be fair, these broadcasts have so many other inherent problems anyway, so a lack of cadence detection or diagonal interpolation may mean little for some viewers.

Picture Quality

High Definition (Blu-ray)

For testing the 1080p performance of the Sony KDL40V4000 LCD television, I picked out Resident Evil: Extinction, a video transfer which looks beautiful from start to finish (yes, even during the scenes of zombie splattering). The superb contrast being offered by the LCD panel rendered a dark scene near the end in a particularly stunning fashion. On other displays, particularly those that share the same S-PVA panel type (which can suffer from response time issues when not carefully implemented), the shadows around Milla Jovovich drag and blend into her face noticeably as she walks around, but the effect was absolutely minimal here.

Camera pans were also smooth and judder-free, as the 24p input signal was handled and displayed correctly. Lastly, the film’s natural grain texture was reproduced beautifully without any behind-your-back processing. All of this meant that the film looked like a film, rather than a very well shot amateur video, as is the case on some displays.

The small amount of non-defeatable edge enhancement introduced by the video processor did not visibly harm the picture for video content, but all the same, we’d really rather it wasn’t here, because there is no need for it on a 1080p HD signal. It is noticeable when using a PC with the display, however.

Standard Definition (Freeview Digital TV)

The current Beijing Olympic Games on BBC One provided fantastic test material for the Sony KDL40V4000’s digital TV performance. Even at this channel’s fixed bit rate of 6mbps, we weren’t sure whether or not we were supposed to be watching atheletes or compression blocks, but of course, this is the fault of the source, and not the television. Engaging the [MPEG Noise Reduction] feature was effective in reducing the obvious compression grid structure without killing detail, and sitting back further of course helped make things much more tolerable.

Console Gaming

With my Xbox 360 away for costly repairs (again), I instead used downloaded Playstation 3 game demos to test HD gaming performance (I use the system as a Blu-ray player and don’t actually own any games for it). I could detect no input lag at all, and input lag tests confirmed that there was between 0ms and 10ms present. This is an excellent result, and as such, the Sony KDL40V4000 should present no gaming problems at all.

Conclusion

Pros

• SPVA panel and Backlight control allow for deep black level
• Exquisite high-definition detail from “Full Pixel” 1:1 pixel mapping
• Handles 1080p/24 video signal correctly without telecine judder
• Scaling of standard-def input is clean, without ringing
• Solid connectivity
• Settings can be saved independently per input
• Speedy and responsive EPG and channel navigation
• Table-top stand swivels and easy to set up
• Colour accuracy is relatively good
• TV menus and fast, and remote is easy to use
• Panel uniformity (in our test sample) was excellent, with almost no clouding/unevenness

Cons

• No white balance control in user menu for greyscale calibration
• Motion resolution not as good as on HDTVs equipped with MCFI/100Hz technology
• Fails to apply 3:2/2:2 pulldown compensation to 480i/576i film-based content even with [Film Mode] set to “Auto”
• Doesn’t smooth jaggies from Interlaced content effectively
• Small amount of non-defeatable edge enhancement visible on 1080i/1080p input, which is unnecessary

Summary

The Sony KDL40V4000 is an aesthetically pleasing, affordable HDTV which puts out a very pleasing image, due largely in part to its fantastic calibrated black level. Colours are relatively accurate, and although it wasn’t possible to fully calibrate the display, the “Warm2″ greyscale preset will still please many. Gaming, too, was fantastic fun, thanks to the almost non-existent input lag.

A very slight forced sharpening of 1920×1080 feeds, underwhelming standard-def video processing, and a lack of user-accessible Greyscale control were a touch disappointing, but at the end of the day, the Sony KDL40V4000 ticks the most important boxes for High-Def users. It doesn’t redefine what we’ll all expect from a mid-range display, but on the whole it’s a solid, good-looking, affordable choice.

Samsung LE32A656 Review

Here at HDTVTest, we’ve already reviewed the 40-inch HDTV from Samsung’s Series 6 range – the LE40A656. A combination of superior panel performance, video processing, usability and similarly great connectivity meant that this display received a “Highly Recommended” award.

For the benefit of those who can’t make room (or don’t want to make room) for a 40″ display, we’ve taken a brief look at the 32″ version – the Samsung LE32A656 LCD television (also available as LE32A656A or LE32A656A1… essentially the same model). Aside from the obvious difference in screen size, the 32″ model lacks the 100hz motion technology presented on the 40″ and larger models, suggesting that other differences may lurk under the hood.

Design

Samsung’s “touch of red” design is, unsurprisingly, consistent with the other models from Series 6. As a result, we won’t have any revelations regarding it here, but this reviewer can offer his own individual opinion and say that it looks fantastic on the Samsung LE32A656 LCD TV.

The subtle champagne-coloured red tinge around the edges of the bezel creates a look that’s classy without being distracting, and the centimetre or so of transparent glass-like material that lies beyond seals the deal: the Samsung LE32A656 is an HDTV that looks far pricier than it really is, perhaps as a result of its own merits, but perhaps also because it seems reminiscent of Sony’s premium X-Series BRAVIAs. Looking at standard bezels after this will feel like a real step down.

The Samsung LE32A656 LCD television rests on top of the supplied (but not pre-fitted) table-top stand, which is finished in gloss black. The LCD panel can swivel left and right on this stand, should you wish to angle it away from a window on a sunny day, or simply get a better look at the action.

Connections

Samsung provides ample connectivity options on the LE32A656 HDTV. There are no less than four HDMI inputs (three of which can be found on the back), as well as two SCART terminals for backwards compatibility. One of these is RGB capable, whilst the other is capable of Composite video only and should be avoided. There’s the obligatory Component video input (only one, but this is becoming less of a problem), a VGA PC input, and on the side, a shared block of S-Video, Composite Video and Stereo Audio jacks, handy if you have a standard definition camcorder, for instance.

Rear: 3 x HDMI, VGA, component, 2 x Scarts, aerial, analogue & digital audio outputs

This side panel also houses the fourth HDMI input, as well as Samsung’s USB input (branded “WISELINK”), which lets you connect a USB storage device to play JPEG and MP3 files on the TV.

Operation

One of the first things to hit you once you start configuring the Samsung LE32A656 is its speed. Jumping around menus and selecting options is lightning fast, making the display a real joy to quickly set up and use.

The standard on-screen menu is split into five usable segments (there’s a sixth icon showing a satellite dish, but was greyed out at all times for us). That leaves the [Picture], [Sound], [Setup], [Input], and Digital TV Setup pages.

Samsung provide an extensive array of picture setup options within these menus. As well as standard adjustments, the [Picture] menu allows adjustment of the Backlight intensity, which is a step above some other manufacturers. There are even more tweaks hidden within the [Detailed Settings] and [Picture Options] submenus, the most important ones allowing you to disable the [Dynamic Contrast] system, adjust [Gamma] for a very slight accuracy improvement, and user accessible control over the [White Balance], which is excellent.

As the Samsung LE32A656 doesn’t feature 100hz technology, there’s a feature called [Movie Plus] to be found in its place. This is still a motion interpolation algorithm, albeit one which won’t give you any increase in motion resolution. Instead, it’s here for the benefit of those who don’t enjoy the natural look of film material, and prefer to give films and high-budget programmes more of an “amateur video” look.

EPG (Electronic Programme Guide)

Samsung’s EPG is brimming with thoughtful design features. This one screen houses a preview window, programme description, time progress bar, and still has room to display the contents of six channels. Scheduling a reminder for a programme is as easy as highlighting it and pressing the middle remote control button – there are no unnecessary “Are you sure?” screens. The blue button on the remote jumps forward 24 hours on the programme grid – very handy if you’ve just seen an advert for a programme that’s showing the next night. Pressing the channel – and + buttons on the remote jump up and down a page, allowing you to navigate the wealth of services available with ease.

The only slight down-side is that the EPG is a tiny bit slow to respond when compared with the rest of the LCD TV’s menus, but this really is a minor complaint given how fast these are.

Remote Control

Samsung’s remote control design appears to have been designed with accessibility in mind: its large buttons and bold, clear text may not be the most visually appealing combination around, but they do mean that super-precise eyesight won’t be necessary to quickly identify the buttons. If you like to watch in a dark room, you’ll appreciate the fact that the keys are lit up by an appealing orange backlight (which you can easily disable to conserve battery power).

Everything is well positioned, too, with the Menu, directional pad, and AV Input keys are located nearby, as are the Volume and Channel rocker buttons. The satisfying feel of the buttons rounds off this well-designed remote.

Calibration

Greyscale

Pre-calibration CCT with [Picture Mode] “Movie” & [Colour Tone] “Warm2″

Pre-calibration RGB tracking and delta errors (dEs)

As evidenced by the pre-calibration chart, the Samsung LE32A656’s out-of-the-box “Warm2” greyscale preset (unlocked by setting the Picture [Mode] option to “Movie”) is relatively close to the D65 standard to begin with. Of course, Samsung provide an easily accessible adjustment which allows this to be refined even further, which we naturally took advantage of to achieve the following – a much better result:

CCT after greyscale calibration in “Movie” [Picture Mode]

RGB tracking and delta errors (dEs) after greyscale calibration

Colour

Although the Samsung LE32A656’s colour accuracy is good overall, there was still some desaturation, particularly in the greens, after calibration. This is almost certainly superior to too much saturation, however.

[Colour Space] “Auto” CIE Chart

CIE chart with reference to HD Rec. 709 after calibration with HD source

Benchmark Test Results

Dead pixels	None
Screen uniformity	Clouding reducible to negligible levels
Overscanning on HDMI	0% with [Size] set to “Just Scan“
Blacker than black	Passed
Black level	Excellent
Black level retention	Stable
Primary chromaticity	Good after calibration with “Custom” [Colour Space]
Scaling	Above average
Video mode deinterlacing	Very good; effective jaggies reduction
Film mode deinterlacing	Passed 3:2 and 2:2 cadences in all resolutions
Viewing angle	Good for an LCD TV (90°)
Static resolution	Fully resolved 1920×1080 over HDMI & component
Motion resolution	250
Digital noise reduction	Acceptable at baseline
Sharpness	Defeatable edge enhancement
1080p/24 capability (PS3)	Accepts 1080p/24 video signal; no telecine judder
Input lag (rel. to Samsung F96)	On par in [Game] mode or over VGA; 0-20ms slower otherwise

Power Consumption

Default	196 watts
Calibrated	71 watts
Standby	1 watt

Black Level

Fitted with an SPVA panel, the Samsung LE32A656 is off to a great start as far as black level is concerned. Adding to the effect is Samsung’s “Ultra Clear Panel” finish, a reflective treatment which helps give the image the illusion of more depth (albeit with some potentially irritating reflections).

This impressive panel, coupled with the fact that Samsung allows us to adjust the backlight level, mean that the Samsung LE32A656’s post-calibration black level was a suitably inky 0.06 cd/m2.

Screen/ Backlight Uniformity

As with any LCD display, unevenness was visible prior to calibration. Toning down the frankly insane out-of-the-box backlight intensity during the calibration process made this unevenness essentially invisible, except under the darkest room conditions.

Static Resolution

Thanks to the Samsung LE32A656’s “Just Scan” mode, it was possible to resolve all 1920×1080 pixels of a 1920×1080 source for perfect clarity.

Motion Resolution

Our usual test from the FPD Benchmark Blu-ray Disc allowed us to measure the motion resolution at around 250 lines.

Video Processing

In this department, the Samsung LE32A656 LCD HDTV performed identically to its bigger 40″ brother. In other words, it effectively smoothed jaggies for video material, engaged the effective processing to resolve maximum detail from interlaced film sources, and scaled lower resolution images suitably well.

The Samsung LE32A656’s film deinterlacing mode is automatic – there is no option to force Video deinterlacing. This isn’t a huge loss, but we did notice that the video processor would sometimes get confused when content transitioned between film and video (video credits at the end of a film-based programme, for example). Control over this functionality would be a bonus.

Picture Quality

High Definition (Blu-ray)

There’s little else to say in this department, other than performance was hard to fault. The superior black levels, correct handling of 24p input material, 1:1 mapping, and relatively accurate post-calibration greyscale all added up to create incredibly pleasing image quality. The only slight annoyance was related to the LCD panel’s response time: jet-black objects sometimes produced noticeable motion trails, especially when viewed against a white background.

Standard Definition (Freeview Digital TV)

There are no problems with Samsung’s implementation of the digital TV tuner. What’s being beamed over the air by broadcasters will still look ropey, but the Samsung LE32A656 does not indulge in any half-baked attempts to “enhance” the picture. As a result, Freeview looks as good as can be expected.

HD Console Gaming (Xbox 360)

This category was difficult to test, not because of any fault of the Samsung LE32A656, but because my Xbox 360 has now died for a second time and is currently in transit back to Microsoft for repairs (for the bargain price of £60, no less!) Fortunately, unlike Microsoft’s, Samsung’s hardware is well designed, so assuming your games console works in the first place, the LE32A656 LCD television will prove a brilliant screen for gaming. We measured the input lag at between 0 and 20ms relative to the Samsung F96, which is one of the reasons why gaming was such great fun on this TV. The psychological effects of input lag are incredibly interesting, because I found myself enjoying games that I’d previously tired of on my own (laggy) set.

However, Samsung have included one very questionable design element with this LCD television. Although the LE32A656 does include a “Game Mode” (accessed by pressing E.MODE on the remote), this is effectively useless because it forces retina-burning brightness and greyscale options on the viewer, and locks out even the most basic of picture options. It’s fortunate indeed that the gaming performance is so good on its own.

Conclusion

Pros

• Excellent black level with decent shadow detail
• “Ultra Clear Panel” increases perceived depth, but reflects ambient light (see Cons)
• Good SD video processing
• Comprehensive set of picture adjustment controls available in user menu (including white balance and a rudimentary colour management system)
• “Just Scan” allows for exceptional detail from 1:1 pixel mapping
• Displays 1080p/24 video signal without exhibiting telecine judder
• Generous connectivity with 4 HDMI 1.3 input, USB port, etc.
• Settings can be stored independently for each input
• Can accept and display 1920×1080 progressive video signal over VGA
• User menu and EPG navigation incredibly responsive

Cons

• Shiny “Ultra Clear Panel” reflects ambient light and causes glare
• Mild input lag (except in “Game” mode or over VGA) may affect sensitive gamers
• Some clouding and backlight unevenness (though reduced to unobtrusive levels after calibration)

Summary

Samsung’s displays have come a long way in recent years. It would appear that the huge Korean manufacturer has learned how to pair their excellent LCD technology with video processing that, for the most part, does it justice. If you’re looking out for a modestly sized 1080p display and can position it in a way which prevents the reflective screen surface from becoming a problem, then the Samsung LE32A656 presents exceptional value for money.

Sony KDL40W4500, KDL40X4500 Announced

Update 16 November 2008: We have now completed a full review of the Sony KDL-40W4500.

Sony has issued a press release today which introduces the forthcoming W4500 and X4500 series of Bravia LCD HDTVs, all of which will feature their proprietary Motionflow 100Hz motion-compensated frame interpolation (MCFI) technology in one form or another. Here we outline the differences between the new and the existing models.

Sony KDL40W4500

The Sony KDL40W4500 is the next step up from their current multi-award-winning KDL40W4000 LCD television. The Sony W4500 range will offer the following extras over the W4000:

• Motionflow 100Hz technology
• Image Blur Reduction technology (probably frame interpolation with some algorithmic tweaks)
• Higher dynamic contrast ratio of 50,000:1 vs 33,000:1… hopefully this will translate into an even deeper black level than the already superb W4000
• DNLA media streaming capabilities, allowing you to view photos and listen to music from compatible networked devices
• Classier design: the linking bits from which the bottom speaker bar hangs seem to blend with the bezel more seamlessly

The Sony W4500 series will also be available in 46″ (KDL46W4500) and 52″ (KDL52W4500) screen sizes.

Sony KDL40X4500

A direct replacement for the outgoing X3500, the X4500 series will become the flagship range of Sony Bravia LCD TVs. The smallest one in the range, the Sony KDL40X4500, is actually inferiorly-specced compared to its larger siblings, but still offers the following advantages over the X3500:

• Hopefully better video processing (Bravia Engine 2 Pro vs Bravia Engine Pro)
• One extra HDMI port (four vs three)
• DLNA media streaming

Sony KDL46X4500

Here is where things really get interesting. The Sony KDL46X4500 and KDL55X4500 will be driven by RGB LED backlight, which – just like the Samsung F96 we reviewed last year – can dim down the light leakage from darker portions of the picture. This theoretically can allow the Sony KDL46X4500 and KDL55X4500 to achieve 0 cd/m2 true blacks… it’s no wonder that the dynamic contrast ratio for these LCD HDTVs has been quoted at an astounding 1,000,000:1.

The Sony KDL46X4500 and KDL55X4500 will also feature Motionflow PRO 100Hz technology (likely improved MCFI algorithm) and “backlight blinking” which is probably similar to Sharp’s [Action Mode] and Philips’ [Clear LCD] scanning backlight systems meant to reduce motion blur.

KDL46X4500 vs KDL40X4500 vs KDL40W4500

Here’s a table listing the key differences between these new models:

Feature	X4500 (46″ & 52″)	40X4500	W4500
Screen Size (inch)	46, 55	40	40, 46, 52
Bravia Engine	BE 2 PRO	BE 2 PRO	BE 2
RGB LED Backlight	Yes	No	No
Dynamic Contrast Ratio	1,000,000:1	50,000:1	50,000:1
Deep Colour	Yes	Yes	No
MotionFlow	PRO 100Hz	100Hz	100Hz
HDMI Inputs	4	4	3
Assist Woofer	Yes (only 46″)	Yes	No

Exact pricing details remain unknown, although they should start appearing on the UK market from September onwards.