Sony Bravia KDL-40W5500 Reviews: Bravia, 40" Screen LCD Full HD 1080p TV

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Product Features

Screen Size in Inches	40
Screen size is measured diagonally from corner to corner.
Type of Screen	LCD
Most small flatscreen TVs have LCD screens. Some larger TVs have plasma screens. Some very new TVs have LED screens. Traditional TVs are called Standard or CRT.
HD TV	Full HD 1080p
‘HD Ready’ is a Europe-wide standard designed to made HD technology less confusing. HD Ready TVs must have • Minimum vertical resolution of 750 pixels (in widescreen format) • Ability to display 720p and 1080i formats • An HDMI or Digital Video Interface (DVI interface) Full HD is a higher standard. Full HD TVs have screen resolutions of 1080p and can output at least 24 frames per second. Full HD is becoming common, but you won’t see Full HD on normal TV channels for a long time, so it remains optional for many people.
Freeview or Freesat Tuner	Freeview
Freeview is free digital terrestrial TV. FreeSat is a free digital satellite TV service, which gives you HD programming from people like the BBC without having to pay for a subscription to a service like Sky. You need a dish to receive Freesat but not Freeview. For more information see the Freeview site or the Freesat site.
Built-in Disc Player	No
Some products come with built-in DVD players or Blu Ray players.
HDMI Interface	4
Like a scart interface but capable of carrying HD signals from or to other devices. You’ll need these to link your Playstation 3 or your Blu-ray player to your HD-ready TV.
Number of Scart Interfaces	2
Scart sockets are places where you can connect other devices to your TV. If you already have a DVD player, a VCR and a Playstation you might want to make sure your new TV has enough Scart interfaces so you don’t have to keep crawling round the back of the TV.
Frequency (Hz)	100
A TV’s frequency is how often the picture is updated per second, and is measured in Hertz (Hz). A higher frequency, such as 100 Hz, means that a TV is more likely to show fast-moving images with high detail.
Contrast Ratio (X:1)	100000
This figure is designed to tell you how much difference there is between dark and light colours on the TV. It is quoted as a ratio, between the brightest white and the darkest black. 500:1 means the brightest white is 500 times more bright than the darkest black. Plasma screens have historically boasted better contrast ratios than LCD screens.
Screen Resolution (pixels)	1080p
The number of pixels the screen has. The more you have, the more detail the screen can display, given a high quality source. A breakdown of resolutions can be found on Wikipedia here
Response Time in ms	6
Reflection Angle	178
Also known as the viewing angle, it’s a measure of how good the picture looks when you are not face on to the screen. Higher is better.
Screen Format	16:9
This is a ratio of the horizontal to the vertical size of the screen. 16:9 is standard widescreen format for TVs, replacing the older 4:3 format.
PC Interface	Yes
If you’d like to use your TV as a PC monitor you’ll need to make sure it has a port to allow you to connect it. This is usually a VGA port, but some TVs include a newer DVI port. Adaptors are availible to allow VGA to DVI and vice versa.
USB Port	Yes
Socket for connecting devices such as a computers and other components
Electronic Program Guide (EPG)	Yes
TVs with this feature have an on-screen guide to all the programmes that are currently showing or coming up, so you can find your way around all the extra digital channels easily.
Picture in Picture (PIP)	Yes
TVs with this feature are able to display a preview of another channel while you are watching your current channel.
Energy Savings Trust Feature	Yes
A Yes means this this product has been rated as being energy-efficient by the Energy Savings Trust. Good for the environment and good for your electricity bill!
Weight (kg)	1.8
Height in mm	638
Width in mm	987
Depth in mm	93
Freeview	Yes
Freeview is free digital terrestrial TV. Many newer TVs have Freeview built in. For other TVs you will need a separate Freeview set-top box.
FreeSat Tuner	No
FreeSat is a free digital satellite TV service. The main benefit is that you can get HD programming from people like the BBC without having to pay for a subscription to a service like Sky. You’ll need a dish to recieve the signals though.
Sound System	Dolby Digital
Colour	Multi
The main colour of the product.

Also known as: Sony KDL-40W5500, Sony KDL-40W5500U, Sony DL-40W5500

A BRAVIA LCD TV is no ordinary television. Design is sleeker, pictures are brighter, details clearer. All BRAVIA televisions are HD Ready as a minimum, with up to 4 HDMI connections, and come with an integrated digital tuner so there is no need for a set-top box to view Freeview TV and radio channels. Most of the BRAVIA LCD TVs feature BRAVIA Sync technology, it takes just one button to turn on your entire Sony home entertainment system, while XrossMediaBar helps you navigate your TV easily with its best-in-class menu screen. After all advanced technology should simply mean technology that does more for you.

The BRAVIA W5500 has all the Sony technology you need to experience a new level of entertainment. BRAVIA ENGINE 3 digital processing delivers a depth, richness and clarity that will take your breath away. Motionflow 100Hz technology keeps fast-moving sports and action crisp and clear. You can connect it to your home network using DLNA and enjoy music, video and pictures from other compatible devices on your TV. Plus you can use the AppliCast™ feature to check on-screen RSS feeds of news and other information while you’re watching your favourite programmes.
Savour every moment with all-action Motionflow 100Hz
Motionflow 100Hz for super-smooth, ultra-realistic sport and action scenes

Motionflow 100Hz for super-smooth,
ultra-realistic sport and action scenes

Motionflow 100Hz lets you see fast-moving sports and action scenes like never before by unlocking the amazing detail they contain. This blur reduction technology produces super-smooth, ultra-realistic viewing by doubling the conventional number of frames in a sequence. After every frame it creates an additional unique frame before the next one, based on key factors in the preceding and following images. While similar technologies simply duplicate frames, Motionflow 100Hz intelligently applies information to make movement appear even smoother.
BRAVIA ENGINE 3 for the ultimate HD experience
The unique technology of BRAVIA ENGINE 3 optimises the quality of every single scene

The unique technology of BRAVIA ENGINE 3
optimises the quality of every single scene

An LCD television creates pictures by switching millions of pixels on and off. In the W5500 this process is controlled by the BRAVIA ENGINE 3, the latest version of Sony’s advanced digital processing technology. Using a collection of unique Sony algorithms it applies a digital perfecting process to reduce noise and produce cleaner images, higher contrast and smoother motion sequences, resulting in enhanced overall performance regardless of source.

Specifically, it analyses each individual scene, controlling the peak brightness level to generate advanced colour and brightness, and optimising the noise level. It also detects and adjusts the overall colour distribution of each frame and smoothes diagonal lines of pixels in fast-moving pictures to prevent jagged edges and bleeding colours.

In short, it delivers exceptional performance in every single scene.
Connect your home with DLNA
Create an entertainment network in your home with DLNA

Create an entertainment network
in your home with DLNA

The BRAVIA W5500 means you can finally create an easy-to-use home network that lets you share music, video and pictures from around the house on your TV. As part of the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), Sony has adopted a universal standard for connectivity that enables your electronic devices, regardless of brand, to ‘talk’ to one another. So now it’s easy to move files between your TV, PC, printer, music player, phone, camera and more, wherever they are in the home. By integrating your TV into a home network, either wirelessly or via a cable, you can use your BRAVIA remote to find photos on the DLNA-enabled laptop in your bedroom and call them up to your living room TV screen. If you want hard copies, just send them to print on the colour printer in your spare room.

As well as BRAVIA TVs, Sony offers a range of DLNA Certified™ devices such as VAIO notebooks, the Sony Ericsson mobile phone, the PLAYSTATION®3 and the GigaJuke hard-disc drive music system.
AppliCast™ brings live internet feeds to your screen while you watch TV

AppliCast™ brings live internet feeds to
your screen while you watch TV
AppliCast™ keeps you in touch while you watch

AppliCast™ lets you see internet information on your BRAVIA TV while you’re watching television. You don’t have to switch on your PC – just call up widgets onto the TV screen. Three widgets, including a clock and calendar, are already installed on the on-screen XrossMediaBar and you can add RSS feeds of news, weather and more by connecting your TV to the internet via the Ethernet port at the back. Just select the information you want with your BRAVIA remote and it’s right there whenever you need it.

• More info at Sony's website