Sony LCD TV.

Sony LCD TV.

It’s a Sony. Isn’t it always? Actually, it’s tough to say, as we are reviewing a Sony LCD after many months. Sony is either selling too many pieces to spare one for a demo, or maybe the company has a different approach to the media.

Nevertheless, I love Sony devices, and its TVs need no introduction. There's a wide variety to cater to all market segments, and technology-wise the company keeps coming up with cool stuff. What we have for review is a 46-incher from Sony's W series; which sits right next to the high-end X series.

Design and Features
Sony TVs have a typical design that gives them a certain level of distinction. It’s not the best design; it’s just different. The stand is what I check these days to see the peculiarities of the design: this one has a very hard-edged, fixed stand that's rectangular from the front, and semicircular from the back.

The TV has a black bezel all over except a dark grey strip around the side. I like this aspect, which exudes simplicity and confidence. On the contrary, the left part of the frame bears a stream of logos on a sticker, which I feel doesn’t need to be there.

The connections at the back face you in a vertically arranged array, which is good for lazy people who don’t like to bend over. I also truly appreciate the 3 HDMI inputs, which means no running to switch cables between gaming and watching. That apart, you have two components, composites and an S-video and PC input each.

This TV sports some of Sony’s proprietary features like ACE (Advanced Contrast Enhancer) which, if I remember correctly in my last Sony checkup, was better left turned off. We will see what this model can do, but a few more points need to be mentioned – such as a speaker loaded on the bottom panel that boasts surround-sound capabilities.

Another important feature is the 24p true cinema mode feature, one in which the TV claims to add film grain... though I’m sure it performs some important technical tasks, like 3:2 drop-down detection. Let's see; we have our DVE as gauge.

Then there's 10 bit color, full HD panel, 8ms response time, 500cd/m2 brightness, and how can we forget, 1800:1 onscreen contrast? Forget what dynamic contrast ratings are stated, they can be quite misleading these days. I do feel 8ms is a little dated; I’m sure Sony is working on improving it.