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Hardware Forum - Sony Bravia 40W5500 review after a few months - Page 1
Daughters of Darkness
Review by David Beckett
The Lawnmower Man: 2-Disc Director's Cut
Review by Jitendar Canth
The Burmese Harp: The Masters of Cinema Series
Review by David Beckett
Inferno
Review by David Beckett
Evening folks 
Having used the 40w5500 for a fair few months now I think it is about time I added to my earlier post on the set.
In all aspects we, my good lady and I , are extremely happy with the performace of the set.
Colour definition on standard broadcasts are exceptionally clear and well defined.
Colour definition on Sky HD broadcasts, Nat Geo/ Sky Sports and Discovery is absolutely breathtaking 
The set has no dead pixels at all, good fortune or merely an indication of how good the product is and how reliable the product is also.
I remember Bowfer mentioning that some sets had a problem with backlight bleed ( Think that is what Bowfer and others referred to ) . Well in all honesty I have seen no evidence of this in all the time, few months so far, that we have used it.
The sound quality is as good as I can imagine is possible from the usual two speaker setup which is the standard on LCD's and is easily customised to suit. By that I mean sports/ movies and other presets are available which set the sound and picture up to the optimum (In Sonys opinion anyway) settings to obtain the best picture/sound combination.
The inbuilt freeview tuner is quite good as well. It is far better when you use the standard EPG and not the Digi+ EPG. The standard EPG is far easier to use and is more pleasing to the eye
I know many seem to be steering away from the "Piano black" body, reflection problems I guess, but I think the set looks absolutely wonderful (As long as you keep dusting it) Jeez it is like a scheitty dust magnet
Anywhoo the multiple connections, 3 HDMI/ 2 Scart/ PC/ and loads others makes it easy to connect other equipment to the set.
Playing Counter Strike Source or Left 4 Dead on the set with all the lights out in the room is truly fantastic experience. Scheitte at both games but hey, still a great picture.
Well folks, that is about all I can think of to add however if I can think of anything else I will post it
Choagy FFCUK The SPL
posted by bowfer on Monday, 19th October 2009, 09:58
I thought it was a W4500 you had, Choagy?
I thought you'd had your new TV too long for it to be a W5500?
I've just (Friday) bought a 40W5500, after it was suddenly reduced to £580.00 by the likes of Argos and everyone else.
Literally an overnight plummet in price, but stock was hard to find ( I was lucky to find one left in a store 20 miles away).
Absolute steal at that price.
It was my third choice TV, but at that money I'll live with it, as it's half the price of my second choice TV, and close to a third of the price of my first choice! 
Yet to get it up and running, no decent stands available locally.
posted by alfie noakes on Monday, 19th October 2009, 15:34
I'm about to dive into the 'what tv to buy' maelstrom. Do you guys have any tv review sites that you'd recommend? There's just way too much choice...
---
posted by bowfer on Monday, 19th October 2009, 16:48
I like www.hdtvtest.co.uk because they really go into detail.
Failing that, there's always the magazine type sites, like What hi-fi sound and vision.
I tend to go for TV's that get a good reports from as many sources as possible.
That way, it alleviates any possibility of bias.
This item was edited on Monday, 19th October 2009, 16:49
posted by Ben Franklin on Monday, 19th October 2009, 16:57
I've always liked Sony, even if you do pay a premium.
I've arranged with John Lewis for them to repair my 3 year old LG Plasma, and I'm praying they will tell me that it's cheaper to replace it so I can get a brand spanking new set. Fingers crossed!
-------------------------------------
"Why should YOU go to jail for a crime someone else noticed?" - Bob Loblaw
posted by bowfer on Monday, 19th October 2009, 17:04
Quote:
even if you do pay a premium.
Not in my case, see above. 
My choice wasn't driven by price, I was days away from ordering a £1350 Philips.
But when a TV with the generally favourably reviewed quality of the KDL40W5500 comes up for under £600, I can't ignore it.
If nothing else, spending £750 less means I can upgrade this one even sooner.
Even the wife said "Oh well, I won't mind you getting rid in two years"
That, I can assure you, is unheard of. 
This item was edited on Monday, 19th October 2009, 17:04
posted by Choagy on Monday, 19th October 2009, 18:19
Quote:
I thought it was a W4500 you had, Choagy?
FFS and I try to post a review on the picture quality and I cannnot even get the model number right
Choagy FFCUK The SPL Were Doomed I Tells Ye
PS It is the 5500, Stella and Morphine might help my back but does not aid vision
This item was edited on Tuesday, 20th October 2009, 09:58
posted by bowfer on Tuesday, 20th October 2009, 09:02
Quote:
FFS and I try to post a review on the picture quality and I cannnot even get the model number right
Time you upgraded.
posted by bowfer on Monday, 2nd November 2009, 11:02
Surprise, surprise, terrible backlight bleed on my W5500.
Ho hum.
Only really annoys in a completely darkened room when watching 'letterbox' movies, so not enough to warrant me sending it back.
I can see why some people freak at Sony for this though.
posted by Neiliboy on Monday, 2nd November 2009, 11:39
my dad bought this two weeks ago.i think the PQ is terrible.
Watching Sky + SD through RGB Scart. He cant be arsed to upgrade to HD or change the box etc. Tried every combination of settings
I was pretty shocked when i saw how rubbish the picture quality was - really unimpressed. Thankfully argos have a 30 day money back guarantee.
Gonna order a panasonic G10 off amazon after reading rave reviews for £720 odd and see if that fares better.
