Sony Bravia V-Series KDL-40V2500 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
by Sony
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List Price: Category: Home Theater See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony Bravia V-Series KDL-40V2500 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Customer Review: Best LCD TV in 40" Category
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this TV two weeks ago after a month of research and after watching the price come down, down, down since its release in September. At under 2K, this LCD TV is a great value. Sure, you can find one the same size a little cheaper but I can assure anyone that this TV is top-of-the-line in its category.
I narrowed down my possible choices to the Samsung 4095, the Sharp 40" Aquos, and this one because I really wanted 1080p resolution for the PS3 and Blueray. If you are not going to watch Blueray, HD-DVD, or game then don't waste your money on 1080p because it will be years before there is programming at that resolution. After reading on Amazon, AVS Forums and CNET reviews; and going local stores numerous times; I eventually decided on this one. Needless to say, I had heard about all the issues that sometimes happen with LCD TV's and this model in particular faced "cloudiness" on some forums. However, if you look at any LCD TV forum they all have some issues. 1 out of every 100 or so TV's is going to have a problem and it doesn't matter what brand. This TV seems to have the least complaints and the cloudiness was reported on only a few cases vs. the Picture quality issues with the Samsung and Sharp.
Bottom line, I have enjoyed this TV since the moment I set-it up. The settings are not going to be correct right out of the box but the setup is easy using the Sony menus and remote control. I highly recommend reading the calibration threads on AVS because they have some goods settings which I found to be better than the normal, plus, disabling some of the defaults helps picture quality immensely. On poor sources I can sometimes see occasional pixilation and blurring, but I know that it is not the TV because I can switch to another HD program and it is amazing. The sound is average but with a TV this nice you should really invest in a better sound system. The remote is simple to use and setup is easy. Playstation and Blueray are absolutely stunning on the TV, but use a HDMI cable over component cables for the best quality. Please don't waste your money on expensive HDMI cables (i.e. Monster cables)! Low price cables are just as good.
You will not find better picture quality in a LCD TV under 2K than this one.
Customer Review: Amazing 1080p LCD HDTV for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had a 32" WEGA for the past 7 years and it is still going strong. But with Madden 08 coming out on the PS3, I made the decision back in July that I needed to upgrade my TV to an HDTV. After much research between the different brands and LCD vs. Plasma, I made the decision to go with the Sony KDL-40V2500. And it has been an absolute bargain.
If you want full 1080p HD, this TV gets a lot of bang for the buck. The picture is stunning and when I watched my first Blu-Ray movie, The Pirates of the Carribean Dead Man's Chest, my jaw dropped and I have been hooked on Blu-Ray Discs ever since. The fight scene on the beach is drop dead gorgeous on this TV.
The reason I decided to go with the LCD is because I would also being using the TV for gaming. I was worried about the reports I've read online regarding screen burn in or ghost images with the Plasma. And this was a major factor in my decision. No problems in this department after a month with the PS3 and Madden. Though I have read that Plasma has made significant improvement in this area.
The reason I bring this up is the one drawback that seems to haunt LCD TVs, and that is the pixelation that appears when there is a lot of fast action on the TV. This is readily apparent when there is fast action with a dark background. It seems the LCDs cannot refresh fast enough to keep up. But this is not a problem with Plasmas from what I've read.
It is not too bad on this TV but it is noticeable. I love watching movies and always want a perfect picture. So when this pixelation happens, it's a little disappointing to my eyes but perfectly acceptable considering the multi-purpose use I make of the TV.
I also got the DirecTV HD hooked up and this TV performs beautiful. Watching the premeire of Heroes Season 2 last night in HD was stunning. The colors were vibrant and really makes a huge difference in the TV experience. I'm hooked watching the HD Channels as well.
If you are looking for a 1080p HDTV that will do it all for you at an amazing price, look no further than this one. In fact since I purchased this TV in August, the price has steadily decreased. Even better for you.
Bad for me. Still worth every penny!
Customer Review: 40V beats the XBR for the $$
Summary: 5 Stars
Before buying this TV, I had repeatedly seen Sony LCDs at the top of the charts in Consumer Reports. But like a lot of people, I wanted to see for myself. So, I went to the stores to take a look.
In my opinion, after looking at the Sony displays next to the others in the stores, there is no comparison. Hands down, the Sony: 1) had a clearer picture; 2) had better contrast (darker blacks and lighter lights); and 3) had more accurate color.
In the end, my choice came down to this TV (KDL-40V2500) and the KDL-40XBR2/3. My Dad came with me to the store to look at them basically side by side. Both of us agreed there was virtually no difference when watching the HD programming that was on. Maybe there was a slight difference in favor of the XBR, but not $400-500 worth of difference. So unless you don't mind blowing an extra $400, go with the 40V2500.
So, I went with this TV and couldn't be happier. I have owned it for one month. HD looks great, and now I know why everyone has been talking about HD being such an improvement. Sports, movies, and nature shows (e.g. Discovery Channel) are where I have seen the greatest difference, and frankly it's spectacular!
As for buying it on Amazon: I was nervous about buying such a huge thing online, despite my long years of devotion to Amazon. Buying a DVD or book is very different from buying a $1600 40" widescreen. Neverthless, I overcame my worries, and bought it on Amazon for a few hundred dollars less than at any retail store. The delivery was great and on time. The TV arrived in great shape, and I was up and running right away.
One other thing to consider is the price of the warranty. I went with the 4 year on-site warranty. It cost me $279, about $120 less than a similar warranty at a retail store. I think it was well worth the peace of mind.
Price adjustments: Make sure to check the cost of the unit for 30 days after you buy it. If it goes down, contact customer service and they will refund you the difference. Today is the last day that I could check back, and I was refunded $121 (from $1719 to $1598).
Happy Watching!
Customer Review: Sony KDL40V2500
Summary: 5 Stars
I owned a Samsung DLP. I paid $3000 for it three years ago and due to design flaws - too much heat and a poorly designed color wheel - the TV is broken, the guts are damaged by excessive heat to the point you can't even repair it because everything crumbles inside. It's sitting in my garage. (It's hard to throw out $3000!) Don't waste your money on a company that can't back up their product - unless you can afford it! (Back then, the extended warranty was $500 bucks)
I decided to buy the best this time. (Plasma's were a no-go due to very distracting glass reflection) The SONY 40V2500 is beautiful. It was easily the best LCD for the money. AMAZON had the best all-around deal. I shopped the usual retail stores and they were a few hundred above and would not beat AMAZON's price. Their loss! My win! I took the money I saved and purchased an upconverting Panasonic DVD player and two sets of HDMI cables! Oh, I called the other on-line companies and yeah I could have saved a few dollars more but after reading some customer nightmares and actually talking to these e-line company reps...forget it!
The SONY was delivered almost a week sooner than promised - a major plus! It was factory sealed, undamaged and unpacked quickly. Set-up took 10 minutes - was a breeze. The HD picture is the best or equal to the best of all the TV's I spent hours viewing -some costing up to nearly $8,000K.
The remote is as easy to use as any other. Plenty of connectivity for the future. The sound is great - even without the A/V receiver. DVD's are awesome! Regular TV is so-so with regular non-HiDef channels but, it's like that with ALL DLPs, Plasmas or LCDs! My wife, who really doesn't care much whether she watches CRT,DLP,LCD...said she loves the SONY too.
Oh, extended warranty? Buy the TV on your VISA/MC Platinum or Gold card, then call Visa/MC Enhancement Service Dept. at 1-800-847-2911, register your purchase and get your one year factory warranty extended to 2 years for FREE! If you want, you have the option of buying three additional years (total of 5)for $190.00! Hope this helps!
Customer Review: Great TV, terrible shipping
Summary: 5 Stars
Love the TV but getting it is another story. I placed my order and received an e-mail the next day that the item was shipped with an estimated delivery date and that Eagle USA would contact me to schedule delivery when it arrived.
On the estimated delivery date I tracked the package online and saw that it had arrived in Dallas 3 days prior but had not been scanned out. I contacted Amazon and was told Eagle had tried to contact me but couldn't get through and was given a 1-800 number to call Eagle. I spoke with an operator and was transferred to the residential delivery section and promptly was connected to an answering machine. I left 3 messages over the next 2 days and was never contacted.
I finally got through to a person on the 3rd day and was told that the Dallas office did not handle residential deliveries for Louisiana. I was put on hold for about 10 minutes and was about to hang up, call Amazon, and cancel the order when a very nice lady from Eagle got on the line. She put me on conference and started making calls to try and figure out where the TV ended up.
She was able to trace it to Shreveport where it was being transferred to a different delivery company because Eagle does not service my address. She contacted the other company and they said it would have to go to Lafeyette La for delivery to my address (I live between Shreveport and Lafeyette).
Needless to say I ended up having to wait another 4 days for delivery while this package made it's way around the state of La. Other than the pick-up and arrival in Dallas no tracking info was ever updated on the Eagle website and if not for a helpful representative making a lot of phone calls I'm not sure I would have a TV yet.
Total time from pick-up to delivery was 21 days. If your order confirmation says that your package is being shipped through Eagle USA prepare to wait and don't expect anyone to know where your order is. I've been satisfied with Amazon for years but if they try to ship me anything else through Eagle I will cancel the order.