| Brand: | Sony | ||
| Average Rating |
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Sony’s S-series TVs put amazing picture quality and stunning dynamic contrast in reach for value-oriented consumers who want to step up into the Sony Full HD 1080p experience. These TVs represent the entry-level models in Sony’s large screen offerings in 2009 and offer the superior resolution and contrast, advanced image processing features, and variety of HD input options available on high-end BRAVIA HDTVs — all in an affordable package. With three HDMI connections, you can hook up a Sony PlayStation3 entertainment system, Blu-ray Disc player, or any other HDMI-capable equipment and get uncompressed digital video and multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. You also have numerous other HD connection options, including YPbPr Component inputs as well as a PC input for using your laptop or desktop PC with your big-screen HDTV. No matter which HD source you use, the exclusive Sony BRAVIA Engine 2 fully digital video processor ensures that images look sharp and brilliant. With BRAVIA Link compatibility, you can easily expand your high-resolution home theater set-up with optional BRAVIA Wireless Link, BRAVIA DVD Link, or BRAVIA Input Link Modules. And BRAVIA Sync makes controlling everything a snap. Additionally, BRAVIA S-Series HDTVs exceed Energy Star 3.0 requirements by incorporating advanced power saving features, such as Light Sensor technology that adjusts backlight intensity based on ambient room lighting conditions and Dynamic Backlight Control that adjusts backlight intensity based on the brightness of the image on the screen. Utilizing these features can reduce power consumption by up to 60% in a typical home theater environment. more info
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Great value!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve always been a Sony fan, and this is our 4th set. Amazon had the lowest price, and the delivery was prompt and professional. Our TV arrived as promised, on schedule, undamaged. The wait was only a few days, and we saved over $200.
Sony almost has it right
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I enjoy this HDTV very much and the picture is 1st class. My only issue deals with the sound quality. I find it is necessary to turn the volume up quite a bit to understand what being said on TV. There is a setting “clear voice” which eliminates this problem but you must turn off the simulated theater stereo/5.1 setting. In a nut shell if you want to understand conversation on TV at a normal volume you need to listen in mono. I am looking to purchase a theater system to hopefully correct the problem.
Great TV, Great Price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is my first HDTV purchase, and I’m quite content with everything about the set. The picture is great, there are ample inputs, and the setup was very easy. There are perhaps not as many picture tweaks available as on higher-end Sonys and Samsungs, but you are still getting a Bravia Engine 2 video processor in this set, and the price is really hard to beat. The only thing I’d like to point out is that one of the component inputs doubles as a composite, and you have to set which it is in the menu. This is not readily apparent in the manual and I found out by accident. Overall, I highly recommend this product.
Strong value; not perfect, but nothing is
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Great, sharp picture. Easy set up. Extra points for the intuitive, well-guided controls for adjusting options for picture, sound, etc. I usually will not even hit a TV’s “menu” button for fear of never finding my way out. The sound is very good, no “tinny” quality as noted by some but the TV is in an entertainment center and maybe it being in an enclosed space helps.
I did end up turning off the auto-contrast control which tends to freak out when a DVD has dark scenes like night, in caves – any of the Underworld movies, Beowolf, others. Even on the lowest setting, it kicked down the contrast/brightness (making it even harder to see what’s going on as well distracting) repeatedly over short periods of time.
The ultra-gloss black plastic screen frame reflects light far too well and the reflections can be distracting but are less intrusive if I’m engaged in a show. The screen itself is fine for not reflecting in most cases, but if there’s a window opposite the screen, daytime viewing is less than optimal.
All that said, it’s a great value for price/features/performance and I seem to have gotten it at the lowest possible price.
STOP! STOP! STOP! Serious Audio Issues. Recall?
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I love Sony TV’s. They have always had a superior product but this time, this set is highly flawed and Sony is doing its best to still sell the inventory left at lower prices leaving you with an item to return or to tolerate.
The audio is DEFECTIVE on units dated thru AUG 2009. The sound bar on the screen will reflect this distortion on level 1-3. Beyond 3 and up, the louder audio mixes in with the distoration so that you hear less of it. It’s ultra annoying at lower sound settings.
I went into the menu trying various sound settings but was not unable to correct. I then called Sony who said they would make a case number and that a Sony repair agent would have to insert a USB correction device. Wait time was 2 months!
I took mine back to Best Buy and the manager at the store said he could give me another set but that all of them were being returned with sound issues. He said that Sony was almost ignoring the issue trying to avoid a recall.
Another feature missing was a zero 5.1 set up and only 1 HDMI on the rear JACKPACK. One terminal for HDMI is insane in design but Sony does add two more HDMI inputs on the side of the TV for camera or camcorder connections. You could use those if you didn’t mind the wires.
Avoid this Sony.
Sony BRAVIA 32″ HDTV 1080p
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
As usual, great service from AMAZON with shipment on time as promised. BRAVIA providing marvelous pictures both from station transmission and DVD/VCR playback. A great product at a great price!!!
2 Replacements, Various Critical Problems
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
(I urge you to read this review before making a purchase, I know I wrote a lot, but they outline some very critical deal-breaking issues.)
My first HDtv, a Sylvania broke about after 2 years, and I decided to get this Sony after doing a bunch of HDtv research. I’m using the HD capabilities for gaming (Playstation 3 at 1080p, Wii at 480p) and just getting a regular coaxial cable signal for my TV shows.
1) First, as can be seen in various reviews for this TV, there are some sound issues. The one I experienced was that, sometimes, the speakers would get very pop/crackling sounding and also have an echo on top of that. This issue happened when you changed channels. You’d land on a channel, and the issue would begin and would not go away unless you changed channels (I left it on for a couple hours just for testing purposes). However, this TV has a new firmware on Sony’s support site which apparently directly addresses this issue. The first iteration of this model had the sound issue, but I got it before the new firmware came out, so I sent the first model back, and received the second one. The second one came with the new firmware and there was no more sound issue as far as I could tell.
2) This one bothered me more than the sound issue, as the sound issue only happened about once every 20-50 channel changes, and you could simply remove the echo sound just by changing channels. It’s a visual issue that was not fixed between my first set and the replacement one. It’s hard to describe; when a color would transition from a light color to a dark color in an image, you could see the actual separation lines of each gradient change, rather than just seeing a smooth transition of, for example, light blue to dark blue. It looked sort of like when you throw a stone into a pond, and the water ripples out in a circle from where the stone landed in the water–so the outer ripple would be dark blue, the next inner ripple would be a lighter blue, the inner ripple after that would be an even lighter blue, and so on. I thought maybe it was my PS3, my Wii, or possibly the HDMI/component cables I use for them, so I brought all of my equipment over to a couple friends’ houses and tested my stuff on their Sharp HDtv and a different model Sony Bravia–the issue was not present on my friends’ TVs. However, the issue is present on both KDL-32S5100 sets I had. This issue became very obnoxious when gaming, because it was very noticeable and pretty abundant. It would appear in skies (drastically in skies for some reason), smoke, floors, walls, etc–anything that’s mostly comprised of a solid color that has gradient changes–however, it does not appear on a static image (such as a wallpaper), only something animated. It also appeared when using composite cables, and appeared on every display signal (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p).
) but said he wasn’t sure what was causing it, or even how to fix it. He did confirm, almost immediately, that this is a problem and shouldn’t be happening. Considering this happened on both sets of this model I received, it’s either a) a problem inherent in this model, b) a problem inherent in a certain batch of this model, or c) I’m ridiculously unlucky to get two brand new sets of this model and have the same issue in a row, which is unlikely.
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If you have a PS3 and this model TV, change your system theme to “Original” then change the color to blue–this is a pretty easy way to notice the gradient issue. Generally on the blue color, the bottom left hand corner starts out dark blue, then going to the top right, it changes to a light blue. Around the bottom left hand corner when everything is dark blue, the gradient issue is very noticeable. I asked my friends and family to see if they noticed anything, without telling them what the problem was, and every single one of them (even non-gamers who have no idea what the PS3′s original theme or games’ skies should look like) noticed the issue right away. On any other HDtv I’ve ever seen, this issue is not present. It may not be a big issue for some, but if you’re getting an HDtv, it’s probably because you care about the quality of your display, and you won’t be getting decent quality with this issue present.
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I had a Sony tech guy come out to look at the issue, and he said he’s never seen the issue before (what a Sony rep would say anyway, whether or not he has seen this issue before
3) After all of this, last night the TV stopped being able to receive signals from all 3 of its HDMI ports. It was very, very odd. My friend and I were playing around on the PS3 and everything was fine (not counting issue 2 described above). We finished, shut the PS3/TV off normally and went to get some coffee. Twenty minutes later we came back and turned on the PS3/TV, except the TV said it wasn’t getting a signal. So, everything was fine->we leave->we come back 20 minutes later->all 3 HDMI ports stopped working. The composite ports work fine as do the component ports. We had 2 different PS3s with 3 different HDMI cables to test out, and none of them worked on this TV, but they both worked on a friend’s Sharp directly after. Totally ridiculous.
I’ll update if I decide to give this model one last try and get yet another replacement, but right now, I’m looking into other brands.
32″ Sony Bravia TV
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I ordered this tv a couple of weeks ago and am very pleased with it and the speed with which it arrived. I am not a techie and just wanted a good flat screen for my den. I don’t know what the other reviewers mean when they talk about a blurring of faces or things when there is fast movement. I have never experienced anything like that on any of my tv’s. I also own an LG 50 ” plasma and never had that problem on it. The sound on this tv is fine for me and have no problems. It was fairly easy to set up the colors to my satisfaction. Something that I still haven’t gotten right on my LG. Overall I am very happy with the tv and with the service from Amazon.
Glare is intolerable
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
A major disappointment is the reflective quality of the screen. Our room has high amount of light due to a wall of windows, but the JVC this tv is replacing did not have this issue. After an afternoon of getting it hooked up, it is going back in the box for a return.
Update: I did return this model and replaced it with the more expensive XBR model which, despite what a Sony Corp rep told me over the phone, is a different screen and is NOT reflective. Love the upgraded model and would recommend it to others with bright ambient lighted rooms.
Unhappy with sound
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I had the exact same problem as Vinnie A. I had the KDL-32S5100 in my bedroom and the sound at low levels on this TV is horrible. Multiple inputs HDMI, DVD player and Fios all sounded great on other TVs but this set made low level sound full of static. I replaced my TV with Sony support and the same exact problem! I now have 2 TVs to return that has become a major pain because sony doesn’t want return TVs they want to exchange for refurbished TVs. I have spent 8-10 hours on this problem and now I am very frustrated with the set and customer service. Bottom line is if you don’t use the speakers on this set then it is great 4 stars for picture (would be 5 but the DVD player only looks good if the total size of the picture is made to fit a 4:3 aspect ratio otherwise the TV stretches or zooms the image and distorts the picture). HDMI picture is great off a PS3 blue ray. Remember the sound is the problem for this set: You have been warned by 2 reviews that say this is a problem at low levels. FYI I am trying to return the sets and look into other brands because Sony has lost their touch, which is sad because my house looks like a sony store.
Great TV
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Delivered by Amazon as promised. TV works great! All we have is Sony’s in our house, all purchased from Amazon & never have had a problem. I recommend this TV to everyone!
No Dolby Digital 5.1 audio ouput
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Picture wise, this TV has been good/great. I’ve had it now for a week and the picture is superbly better than the two year old Samsung 32″ LCD it replaced. I did update the firmware but I still notice the contrast shift at times. However, the one glaring issue with this TV (and all Sony KDL-xxS5100 sets as I’ve found) is the lack of Dolby Digital 5.1 audio output.
Yes, the TV has an Optical Digital output that the manual states will output PCM audio. However, it does not list that it is limited to only 2 channel linear PCM audio (which I later found listed under the HDMI input specs on the unit). A call to Sony confirmed the flaw, and that it is intentionally done (though I am waiting to hear from a Sony engineer as to why this is). Frankly, I never considered that an ATSC/QAM tuner would not output 5.1 digital audio since it is part of the signal. And isn’t HDTV all about high definition video and audio?
This probably isn’t a problem for most people unless they don’t have a digital cable box and have surround sound, but either way, I’m not sure this can be legal. And like I didn’t have enough criteria when I was buying a TV before, but now I have to ask whether it outputs Dolby Digital 5.1??
I’ll update if/when I hear back from Sony. In the mean time, I am returning the TV and getting the Panasonic 37″ 1080p (which outputs 5.1 and fits in my entertainment cabinet).
great tv
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this tv for my dorm and it is awesome everything looks so nice. Great tv ands the price makes it even better.
Sony Bravia sound quality
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I like the TV, but I wish I would have saved for a bigger one. Also, sometimes when I am watching television, the sound just goes out on me and it’s not muted. I hope the speakers are not going bad! It is supposed to be brand new. I’ve considering sending it back for a refund.
It’s Beautiful
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve spent the greater part of three months reviewing everything on the market. But I always came back to the Sony full HD S series 32″. I have cable with no HD set-up as yet. I was hoping the Sony would give me a much sharper picture even without the HD. (HD is coming to my area) And it did that Big Time. I plan on buying a Blueray next week with the Sony Soundbar System. The Piano Black Laqure finish is beautiful. It’s surpassed all my expectations and blew by all the nay sayers and boy critics. It simply doesn’t get any better for the money.