Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
 Sony KDL-42V4100 January 9, 2009
I have one word: "WOW!" This is my first HDTV and I am somewhat unusual since I refuse to use cable or dish so i am one of those relics still on an antenna. Before the TV arrived, I bought a great digital antenna (from Amazon) and installed it following directions given. We hooked up the tv last night and I could not believe my eyes! The picture, even off of an antenna, is unreal! The options for picture brightness selection are very helpful and the TV Guide feature is going to help as well. It was very easy to set up and I only had to use the antenna cable and the Hdmi and power cables to power it up. I am using it in conjunction with a Sony Blue-ray player and a Sony receiver so i expect fantastic results from the whole system. You cannot go wrong with Sony quality and with the low prices offered at Amazon, its a winning combination. Go for it!!
 Consider the 120Hz Bravia Instead January 7, 2009
I purchased this unit along with the Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-Ray DVD player. Together, they make awesome combination with ultra sharp Blu-Ray video, enhanced regular DVD video, and great sound. I am extremely happy with my purchase. However, my only complaint is the noticeable jitter when the scene slowly pans. You have to be somewhat close to the unit to see it, but it makes me wonder if I would've been better off with the newer 120Hz units. They're more expensive, but you may want to consider sacrificing a little screen size for better performance. The 120Hz units are not only made to reduce this jitter, but the Bravia units include increased color definition for an even better looking display.
Crisp HD, no troubles with the set January 2, 2009
The TV came, the delivery guys set it up, and it almost worked perfectly. The picture was great, but there was no sound from the TV speakers! The problem wasn't with the TV, it was with the cable box. Amazingly, I had to click "Use HDMI audio" for the audio to work with the HDMI cable. There were two troubleshooting guides with the TV, but only one of them mentioned that particular possible problem.
Once you get the idea behind their setup menus, they're easy to use. I set the color to normal and the picture width to standard and haven't fiddled with it much since. Mostly we use the cable remote, which controls volume and allows the TV input to be selected. There are plenty of inputs for us: we have the cable box, a DVD player and a VCR. We use component interfaces for all of them (You can get true 1080p HD from an RGB cable set.) because the TV cable box seems to switch faster using a component interface.
The only problem with the set is that the channels don't seem to switch very fast. That might be a cable box problem.
This set has a 60Hz refresh rate. I haven't noticed any jitter, so it seems to work OK in that respect.
Brilliant picture. Sony beats the competition. How to pick your HDTV. December 29, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
If you're buying your first HDTV or are moving up from an existing 720p/i HDTV to a 1080p, definitely look at the Sony V series and up. Sony simply destroys the competition.
1. Spent 3 hours at a retail store looking at all TVs from 720p to 1080p. Sony was easily better than all other brands - Samsung, Toshiba, LG and others. The sharpness and delineation in landscape with both darks and lights - as in cliffs by the ocean or a snowy area - are crisper on the Sonys.
2. My budget was $1000. Ordered the Bravia 42V4100 for $1042 from Amazon (minus $75 coupons) for what I would have paid for a 40" at the store, on Saturday Dec 20.
3. ETA was Dec 30. Arrived ahead of time through CEVA. I tracked the package online and as soon as it arrived in L.A. on Dec 24, I called CEVA. The polite lady scheduled delivery for Friday 26th. The CEVA driver called at 11 am and said he was arriving at my house. He did a white glove delivery - arrived on schedule, was courteous, carried the TV carton on his shoulder to my bedroom, and installed the TV on its stand with a philips screwdriver.
4. I hooked the TV to my Time Warner HDTV cable box via component cables.
5. The picture blew me away. Make sure 'Picture' is set to Vivid. I cycled through all of TimeWarner's 40 available HD channels and saved them to a favorites folder so I wouldn't have to look at non HD channels.
6. The picture is vibrant, bright, crystal clear sharp. Skin and hair are outstanding in texture. Text is simply breathtaking. You will not want to look at non HD channels at all since they appear archaic and pixelated. The TV itself is sexy - excellent quality of material and looks. The factory presets are very good. HD broadcasts will automatically play in the 'Full' wide setting.
7. Best channels to evaluate the clarity and sharpness are HD Theater and Food Network HD, owing to closeups, and ESPNHD and DiscoveryHD for motion.
8. The sound is surprisingly good on it's own, though I hooked the TV to my 650W mini component sterero system. (If like me you don't have a home theater audio system, it's really simple to play your TV through your stereo. Use an RCA audio cable - 2 pins on either end - and connect the TV's Audio Out L and R terminals to your stereo's Aux/CDR IN L and R terminals. Then power on your stereo with the Aux button on the stereo remote. This setup totally enhances the listening experience and you catch nuances which you would otherwise miss).
9. My HDMI cables arrived the next day and I connected the HDMI Out on the cable box to the HDMI In on the Bravia. I left the component cables connected to compare with the HDMI quality. Both are exactly identical in picture quality to the naked eye, though sound may be just a little better through the HDMI connection. You can cycle between Component and HDMI using the Input button on the TV's remote.
10. DVDs look great on this TV even though they are usually 4:3 and 480p recordings. For such DVDs set the Wide setting on the TV to Wide Zoom. 16:9 DVDs should be seen in the Wide Zoom or Full setting.
11. There are plenty of input and output terminals at the back and side, so all your other gadgets including a computer will easily connect to this TV without having to switch one out for the other.
What Bravia series should you buy?
This TV has a 60Hz refresh rate as compared to 120 Hz on the W, Z and XBR series and 240 Hz on the just released ones. If you are very particular about absolute motion clarity, you may notice some blurring on camera pans or in fast motion in sports and wildlife on this TV. I'm a videographer and editor, so I notice these things. Most people won't, or won't care. If money is no bar, get the 120 Hz or 240 Hz Bravias.
What size should you buy?
My bedroom is 15X15 and the 42" is just right. If you're buying for a larger bedroom or a living room, go with 46" and up. Again if money is no bar, get the biggest you can.
If money is a constraint, remember this:
- You may pay a little bit more for a Sony or for a 52"/46"/42" vs a 37"/32"/27", but this is a longish term investment.
- Do not buy a 720p/i since cable and sat transmissions are in 1080i. Buy a 1080p and the largest size you can get, and cut back on food, coffee, and gasoline for a few weeks.
- If in a quandry, go this route: You're way better off buying a smaller 1080p TV than a large 720p TV. 1080p is a must. The rest is up to you.
- Technology is changing very fast and prices keep falling. You might be better off saving on size and Hz but getting a 1080p. If like me you get a 42" 1080p 60Hz TV for a grand, you'll feel less guilty upgrading in the future than if you had spent $2000 or more on a 55" 1080p 120Hz TV. Very soon 120Hz TVs will pale in comparison to newer faster TVs.
So, for this TV: The theater like experience is hypnotic, especially when watching stuff like Planet Earth. Feels like one's in the Serengeti or inside an aquarium. Sports, cars, concerts, and beautiful women (people) are great to watch. I never used to watch the Food Network, but on this TV food looks exquisite. My DVDs also look great on this TV. My DVD player is a Sony as well (DVP-NC800H) and it upconverts 420p DVDs to 1080p.
Good luck!
Lovely TV at a thrifty price! December 28, 2008
This television is very user friendly. If using the stand, it's very easy to assemble - my 13 yr old son and I had it up and running within 15 minutes. I expected the stand to be a bit more aesthetically pleasing and not quite so rectangular, but that's just a minor gripe since I can always mount it. Anyway, the picture is crisp, and when combined with a ps3, the graphics are absolutely stunning. I'm not sure I care for the integrated tv guide since I already have that with my cable provider, but for those without, it would definitely be a nice feature.
Oh, and just remember that because of its size, this item is delivered by freight, not by ups or fedex, so make sure you give your cell phone number or a number that you can be easily reached at to arrange delivery!
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