Sony KDL-55V5100

The biggest and perhaps the most important component of any home entertainment system is the TV. It is important to get an LCD TV that is rich in features to make sure that the TV can fully utilize the advanced features that other components of the home theater system has. For instance, people that own Blu-ray players should get a large screen display with Full HD. Sony has plenty of advanced models that are Full HD and greater than 50 inches, but not all can make the budget as most of the advanced units cost above $3000. But the reason why these TVs cost so much is because of the extra features like Internet connectivity. If those aren’t important, the Sony KDL-55V5100 could be a rather solid choice.

Technical Features

Since this particular 55-inch model is in the V series, the technical features and technologies aren’t that much compared to the ZBR, Z, and W series. But the good news is that it still manages to display images in Full HD 1080p and the dynamic contrast ratio is just half of the higher models at 50,000:1 which is actually not so bad especially when the Advanced Contrast Enhancer with dynamic backlight control is utilized.

The Advanced Contrast Enhancer makes use of the backlight to adjust the brightness of the image in hopes of optimizing it so that darker shots can be more noticeable. At the same time, this feature can also aid in reducing the power consumption. Gamers and movie lovers need not shy away from playing and watching their favorite high-definition 3-D games and Blu-ray titles respectively.

Technologies

Additional power is saved through a special technology called the Light Sensor which once again adjusts the backlight, but this time in accordance to the ambient lighting of the room. It basically complements the Dynamic Backlight Control which is why the Sony KDL-55V5100 meets the Energy Star 3.0 certifications. The KDL-55V5100 also falls in the classification of green HDTVs because of the use of recycled plastics in its packaging.

The entire display is also powered by the BRAVIA Engine 2 which is a digital video processor that uses all sorts of technologies to reduce noise during playback and increase the image detail overall. This results to sharper images and vivid colors without the complexities of fine-tuning the image. It is not as powerful as the BRAVIA Engine 3 found in higher-end models, but it is still a great balance that contributes in keeping the price lower than other 55-inch displays.

The BRAVIA Engine 2 isn’t the only strong point of the KDL-55V5100 because the Motionflow 120Hz technology makes the entire experience even better by smoothening the frames resulting in a more fluid experience when watching fast-action sports, action movies, and high-speed 3-D games. In fact those that are fond of watching movies and playing video games will see a noticeable improvement to their experience because the KDL-55V5100 uses the 24p True Cinema technology which is a mode that provides a connection to the 24p sources without conversions. Films are made for viewing at 24 frames per second and the KDL-55V5100 makes it possible to view those titles in their intended fps. Owners of the Playstation 3 console will enjoy their games more as well.

Actual user review:
“I love this unit over the 40″ Samsung and 42″ LG. The black is as black as Samsung, which is well known for the black level. The blue is somewhat more vibrant than Samsung but somewhat lighter. This may be because the higher contrast level with today’s units compared with 2 year old designs. The adjustments in Sony is very versatile and should have no problem to tune it to a picture to your liking. One complaint I have, is that it places too many connections on the side. However, I use it as a desktop so I would prefer to have one component, one HDMI and the USB on the side like the other two units. I particularly like the tool button which let you go to some menu quicker. I particularly like the favorites with the graphics/icons rather than strictly texts as in my LG or Samsung. An icon that has your most recently watched channels pops up when you press favorite button. This is a great feature. You can also type in nine letter station identification for every channel so that you do not have to figure out what channel is 122-1101. The channel identifications show up in the favorite toolbar, channel editing and channel list. This beats my Samsung and LG as they lack these features. However, they are 2 year old so they may not be representative of today’s Korean units. The 55″ screen is great, giving you a better feel of being in the theatre. “ – Double T (VA,USA)

 

Extra Features

While the networking features are absent, it is still possible to take advantage of the BRAVIA Link compatibility if an optional wireless link is purchased. This wireless link can transmit video and audio in their HD quality wirelessly or allow wireless interaction with a DVD player.

There is still a USB port that makes it possible to plug in a camera to make the images show up on the screen or an mp3 player to play music using the TV speakers. Any USB storage device can be used as well and may contain a combination of images and audio files for usage. Sony devices can be plugged in to make use of the BRAVIA Sync feature to allow these devices to be conveniently controlled from the remote.

Bottom Line

The KDL-55V5100 may not be the most powerful 55-inch TV in the Sony lineup, but there are still enough decent features for the average home user to enjoy and the big 55-inch display looks stylish and beautiful. On top of that, the price is exceptional and people that don’t expect networking features shouldn’t be disappointed.

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