Review: Sony Bravia KDL-46V3000 LCD TV

Review: Sony Bravia KDL-46V3000 LCD TV

March 2008 By Marshal M. Rosenthal

singlepage

My first color TV was a Trinitron, and I spent the extra money because I knew the Sony name meant quality.

Those days might be ancient history, but this Bravia 46” LCD just might revive brand loyalty. Because it’s really, really good. And that goes for what’s on the outside - an attractive black panel with a high gloss sheen - as well as the technology packed inside putting out a high-resolution, 1080p image.

A small grouping of controls can be found on top, but you’ll mostly do things through the remote. The connections in the back don’t surprise: I opted for the two HDMI inputs to send both video and audio to the display from my Dish HD satellite receiver and Playstation 3 (for viewing Blu-ray). Of course there’s Component, S-Video and composite should you need them along with a PC input, analog RCA audio inputs and analog and an optical audio out. There’s also a composite video and stereo RCA inputs on the side for quick use with a game console, camcorder, etc.

The XrossMediaBar menu system is designed very differently than what you’d find in other TVs—in fact it follows the same format as Sony’s video game consoles. Instead of navigating a text menu that then takes you to another screen, here you find a set of simple category icons running horizontally across a single screen. You select an icon and then push down to highlight additional icons that allow for changes to the color or the aspect ratio of the display, etc. It’s actually very easy to navigate in this fashion, because you are always able to see all of the other menus.

And to make this even simpler, a “Home” button on the remote (which is otherwise unremarkable) immediately takes you back to the XrossMediaBar menu. I was able to quickly set all of the controls at zero/neutral and then fine-tune them based on my preference (as I later discovered, increasing the black level a bit made for a better picture overall). Standard TV looks good for the most part, although some channels really go soft and are filled with interference. That isn’t the fault of the display, and tweaking noise reduction can help a bit. Also, I don’t bother with stretching the image to simulate widescreen, although some might find this useful. But switching to HD really makes this display sing: watch the Discovery Channel or any nature feature to see just how vivid and detailed a picture can look - even with the slightly compressed signal coming off of satellite or cable. And keeping with the Sony theme, I played the animated “Paprika” Blu-ray disc to discover brilliant and colorful images with a real depth to their intensity. On the more human side of things, the set performed flawlessly as I watched the BD of Con Air; with fast moving action that was sharp and never blurry, characters popping out from the backgrounds - nah...it’s all about how great those explosions and gunfights look! Cycling through the Picture modes using the remote, I stuck with Standard since I found it perfectly acceptable - although if I were keeping this set I would create my own Custom mode to use as well.

Audio on the whole is reasonably clear, and using the Sound Booster function does seem to increase the overall ambiance a bit, especially if used with the virtual surround. It’s fine for use in bedrooms where there’s no speaker system.

This display can also accept the optional Internet Video Link. It plugs into the back of the set and uses a broadband connection to stream online content. I didn’t have one to try out but have seen it demonstrated, and the setup is pretty hassle-free.

LCD displays have been edging up to Plasma, and this Bravia doesn’t need to apologize for its performance to anyone. Looks like Sony’s back. yy

• MORE ON
• HDTV