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- 40-inch LCD HDTV with full HD 1080p resolution lets you take full advantage of HD sources like a Blu-ray Disc Player or PlayStation3 gaming console
- Ambient Sensor and LightSensor technologies automatically adjust the color and backlight based on a room's lighting
- USB port for photos, music and video playback; Wi-Fi adapter ready; BRAVIA Sync controls compatible devices with one remote
- Inputs: 4 HDMI, 2 component, 2 composite, 1 PC, 1 USB, 1 optical digital audio output
- Includes removable stand; measures 39.13 x 25 x 9.875 inches with stand
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Product Description:
Experience Full HD 1080p, incredible contrast and sharp, vibrant images with the Sony BRAVIA EX400-Series HDTV. Available in a variety of sizes, this great HDTV features Ambient Sensor and LightSensor Technology that automatically adjust the color and backlight based on a room's lighting. Connect a USB drive and share your favorite photos and music with family and friends. | | | | |
Average Rating : 
Rating :  - An outstanding set, especially for TV viewers and gamers
Sony has long been one of the better TV makers, going back to the Trinitron and later the WEGA. The Bravia series has remained high quality machines, boasting great pictures, not to mention some of the lowest repair rates in the industry. The 40EX400 lives up to that billing, sporting a terrific picture and some solid features at an astonishingly low price.
It's tough cutting through a lot of the mire -- LCD vs. LED vs. plasma, 60Hz vs. 120Hz -- but this TV will prove to be more than adequate for the vast majority of owners. The LCD image is eye-popping, with good contrast and vibrant images. (While there is no substitute for professional calibration, drawing from the calibration settings available from reviewers here and elsewhere will yield really rich color.) The screen diffuses glare very well, unlike the glass screens on some plasmas, so it is a good TV for those who deal with a lot of light.
Some people are liable to wonder if they should go for this 60Hz or "upgrade" to 120Hz, but for most functions this TV works just as well, and for a lot less cost. For one, virtually all TV (including sports) and video games both refresh at 30 or 60 frames per second, which is perfect for this TV, since 60Hz equates to 60 refreshes per second. Football and baseball alike look great on this TV, and video games run like silk. Gamers will also appreciate the brisk input response time, which makes playing first person shooters and other action games very satisfying; Sony clearly wanted to make sure their PS3 crowd would be at home in front of this TV. The one Achilles Heel of 60Hz TVs - 24fps Blu-ray movies - still run well on this set thanks to the Cinemotion "pulldown" technique, and only the most visually trained will notice any motion stutter.
The TV has a few other features worth noting. The system boasts a generous collection of inputs, including 4 HDMI inputs and a USB port for playing music and movies. The digital tuner works quite well, pulling in HD programming over the air with no trouble and even displaying the resolution of each channel. (It actually did better in this way than the vaunted Zenith DTT901 Digital TV Tuner Converter Box.) The calibration menus are very specific and allow for a lot of adjustments and customization, even allowing for different configurations across inputs.
Of course, no TV is perfect, and this one has a few drawbacks. There is no online connectivity, unlike a lot of other TVs out there today. The digital antenna tuner pulls signals fine and will offer descriptions of current programming, but it has no functionality to display upcoming programming, something even cheap digital converter boxes do. The sound is adequate but not extraordinary, although I wager most buyers will attach the set to a stereo or surround system. Last but not least is the infamous grey bar along the bottom of the TV paneling; to be honest, I hardly notice it anymore and it's not as bad in person as it might seem, but some may still question Sony's tastes and prefer a more unified black look.
Those nitpicks aside, it's really hard not to like this TV: at the time of this review the set goes for a little over six hundred bucks, which is extraordinary considering what a TV of these specs would have gone for just a few years back. It's not a top-end TV but it's a darn good one and for the vast majority of viewers, especially if they care less about the particularities of Blu-ray and more about TV/cable/satellite and video gaming. Highly recommended.
Customer Review : | |
