Sony Bravia KDL-40V3000 40″ 1080p LCD HDTV
Sony is a less popular manufacturer of HDTV sets but although the lower market share they still make good HD products. One of the 1080p series is the Bravia KDL-40V3000 an 40 inch LCD HDTV which is available in bargains nowadays, such as $1,499.99 with free shipping (some places sell it for about $400 greater price).
This is the usual 1080p screen with 1920×1080 resolution, so user can connect Blu-ray (HD DVD is passe right now) and watche the movies in the way the should be watched. Every signal with lower quality (like 720p one or the standard TV) will be unconverted to the 1080p standard and displayed with only some small pixelizations, this is the result of using the new BRAVIA Engine plus processing unit. More over the HDTV is capable of not only processing but also displaying colors in 10 bits, usual is 8 bits, so one will see 25% better color accuracy. It is visible when there are some subtle color changes on the screen (like gradients).
Although contrast ratio is only 1,800 to 1, but it’s the real contrast not the dynamic that other producers show, and the screen looks almost as good as on those 5,000 to 1 screens.
Interesting feature of Bravia KDL-40V3000 is the 24p True Cinema. It is basically an ability for the HDTV to read a source that has 24 frames per second. Why would one bother with it? Because most of the movies at cinemas are using it, and large part of studios produce Blu-rays with exactly the same frame rate, so TV sets not used to 24 will sometimes flicker every some seconds, it might be not visible for most of us but it will make eyes hurt after watching a full movie.
Sony added also a BRAVIA Theatre Sync to this model. This system allows with one press of a button to turn on the TV, Surround System and play the DVD/Blu-ray, with other button turn everything off, with another change from surround system to other speakers. Very useful feature if one has a lot of devices that should be controlled. Of course all the devices should be Theatre Sync enabled to perform those task.
KDL-40V3000 is equipped with 3 HDMI connectors (for connecting e.g. a DVD) and a PC connector to allow using the TV as a computer monitor. And there is also an integrated ATSC tuner, so one doesn’t have to buy a set top box.
The surround system of Sony is somehow unique it should produce 3D sound regardless of the size of the room, so the sound doesn’t have to bounce from the walls to be heard in the back.
If one wants to buy a HDTV other than every neighbor has (those popular Samsungs and Panasonics) and still have a great viewing experience then should find something more about Bravia KDL-40V3000.
