Product Description

For consumers who want an HDTV that keeps pace with fast-action movies, sports, and game play, Sony BRAVIA V-Series Flat Panel HDTVs combine Full HD 1080p performance and Motionflow 120Hz technology for an amazing viewing experience. Motionflow 120Hz takes both high-definition and standard programming a step further by increasing sharpness and detail in fast-moving images for more fluid, natural motion. In addition, BRAVIA V-Series HDTVs use proprietary Image Blur Reduction technology to further enhance the picture for even better performance. The HDTVs also feature BRAVIA Engine 2 technology, which uses exclusive Sony algorithms to reduce visual noise and sharpen and enhance an already-striking dynamic contrast ratio. Additionally, they include seven versatile HD connections to ensure you get impressive image quality from all your HD components. Take advantage of four HDMI inputs, component and composite inputs, and a PC input, as well as a USB input that lets you play audio files from USB storage devices, or connect a compatible camera to your HDTV for a quick and easy slide show. Sony knows your home theater set-up doesn't stop with your HDTV, which is why the BRAVIA V-Series HDTVs are compatible with BRAVIA Link Modules -- including the BRAVIA Wireless Link, BRAVIA DVD Link, and BRAVIA Input Link Modules (all sold separately). The HDTVs also support BRAVIA SyncTM technology so you can control all of your compatible devices with a single remote. And all BRAVIA HDTVs exceed ENERGY STAR 3.0 requirements for in-use and stand-by power consumption, meaning you don't need a lot of power to get a lot of performance.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #990 in Consumer Electronics
• Color: Black
• Brand: Sony
• Model: KDL-40V5100
• Dimensions: 25.12" h x 3.75" w x 38.87" l, 37.30 pounds
• Native resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Display size: 40

Features

• 16:9 Full HD 1080P Resolution Panel
• Dynamic Contrast
• Bravia Engine 2 Fully Digital Video
• Bravia Link Compatibility
• Motionflow 120Hz Technology

Review from Home Theater Magazine

Review from HomeTheaterMag.com: Sony Bravia KDL-40V5100 LCD HDTV

The Sony came in a close second in the judging. Two members of the five-judge panel voted it first overall, and two rated it second. No one really disliked it. I can't say how I might have voted had I been participating blind, but I like to think I would have placed it on top, given my partiality to serious viewing in a darkened room and the resulting need for great black levels. As I noted earlier, the Sony also won raves for its performance with the lights on--although that was a very short part of the test and not included in the scoring. Read the full review at HomeTheaterMag.com.

Visit HomeTheaterMag.com for more product news and reviews

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Customer Reviews

Excellent TV, Auto contrast can now be turned off!
First things first, THEY FIXED THE AUTO-CONTRAST! I have nothing but good things to say about this TV. Do not be fooled by the 1 star ratings. All those 1 star ratings complain about the auto contrast/brightness feature which could not be turned off, but Sony FIXED IT ALREADY in the newer units or a software update via Sony.com will add the controls to turn the function off.

With that biggest gripe fixed, this TV has outstanding visual clarity and the color saturation is beautiful. Black levels are excellent on this non glossy screen. You can't go wrong with a Sony and the software update shows they are listening to their customer base. No dead/stuck pixel, great viewing angles, 120hz refresh is great for sports, but in my opinion, not for movies. Excellent TV, I would buy another one of these without hesitation, superior when compared to the other brands that offer the same features. The Bravia V series lives up to the Sony name and quality standards you would expect. Deserves all 5 of the stars it's rated.

Excellent TV
Update May 3, 2009:

My original review of the TV was negative due to a problem of dimming during dark scenes. But few days ago Sony released a software patch to correct the problem and it worked for me. Now, the auto dimming can be turned off by setting the "Adv. Contrast Enhancer" to Off. Also, even when it's turned On, it doesn't behave like it did pre- patch, it now dims gradually rather than abruptly and it doesn't dim as much as it did before. Thank you very much Sony, I'm updating my rating to 5-star.

I'm very happy with the TV now that the auto dim is fixed. If you own the TV and having problems with the dimming, go to the support section of Sony's site to download the patch and the instructions on how to apply it. You will need a USB thumb drive formatted in FAT32, but if you don't have it, Sony will mail you one if you call their customer support.

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Original review:
Date: April 8, 2009
Rating: 2 stars

When I purchased this TV few days ago, there were no reviews here since it's just been recently released into the market. I, however, looked at the reviews of the previous model (KDL-40V4100) and didn't find any serious complaints so I went ahead and purchased this TV. I regret my purchase and will explain why.

This is my third LCD TV -- the others are early generations LCDs from Sharp and Sony and they are still working great, but they are no match for the picture quality of this new Sony. There are a lot of good things about this TV and I would have given it 5 stars if not for one serious flaw.

The TV dims during dark scenes. And sadly it doesn't do it gradually, it happens abruptly 6 seconds after the start of a dark scene and it returns to normal lighting abruptly about 0.35 seconds after end of a dark scene. It seems to happen regardless of the source of input (I tested it with composite, and HDMI) and it happens on broadcast channels and cable and regardless of the "picture mode" and other video settings. There is no way to disable it. If you're watching a movie with lots of dark scenes, it's going to be a very annoying experience.

Take this example, while watching a documentary on first gulf war, there was a lot of night vision camera scenes and the TV keeps dimming during the lengthy dark scenes and when it does that, you can barely make out any details even with Gamma set at max. The dimmer kicking in and out is annoying by itself, much less the picture quality when it dims.

I contacted Sony support and they seemed clueless and recommended I initiate a repair request. I did an internet search only to discover many Bravia models suffer this problem. I initially thought I had a defective unit, but now I think it was intentionally designed like this.

Best in class image quality
I chose this TV after spending about an hour in each of two different Best Buy stores, comparing the image quality on different TV sets with different in-store HDTV feed. It is my firm opinion that this TV is best-in-class among non-LED unit; I am particularly impressed with the contrast and color balance.

The only competitor is Samsung series-5 or series-6 HDTV. However, after comparing the Samsung and Sony for two hours, I found that both are very close in terms of contrast (and very impressive), but there is one important point where Sony was ahead: I found the skin tones to look much more natural on the Sony. If you watch a lot of movies like I do, this makes a big difference. Samsung series-6 had terribly over-saturated colors in store, worse than series-5. Now, of course this could be due to poor setting on the Samsung TVs, but I did go to two different stores, and results were the same. Also, the Samsung had severe motion artifacts on high-contrast material. To be fair though, some W-series Bravia had monstrous motion artifacts on low-res feed, but this V-series model seemed to be the best (better than the more expensive Sony models).

The contrast is so good the objects look almost 3D (same with the Samsung, which is excellent as well). The menu system on the Sony is great, easy to navigate. Can't compare other features, since I don't own a Samsung set.

There are a couple weaknesses, which may or may not be attributable to the set itself:

1) Switching between HD and non-HD TV channels sometimes takes a couple seconds; sometimes the switch does not occur, requiring to turn either the cable box or TV off and back on

2) If I route the sound from the DVD players into the TV via HDMI, and back from TV to the amp via RCA interconnect, audio disappears sometimes, I have to pause the movie off and back on. This could be the fault of the DVD player - I have no clue.

3) With completely black screen input to the TV, the lack of complete low-luminance uniformity across the screen becomes noticeable. Then again, why would I care?

Summary:

Pros: impeccable contrast, color balance and image quality. None of the more expensive units had better balanced color. Perfect on-screen menu navigation.

Cons: strange channel switching problems between HD and non-HD channels - could be the cable box problem. DVD audio occasionally disappears if piped through the TV set via HDMI (could be the DVD player issue, but it appeared with two different Panasonic DVD players).