Sony KDL-32V4000 LCD TV Review

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Sony has been the manufacturer of reassuringly expensive electronic equipment for decades now, and since TVs have moved from big, heavy CRT displays to the ultra thin, ultra large Plasma and LCD display panels Sony has arguably retained the crown of the best manufacturer of televisions in the world.

The Sony KDL-32V4000 is part of one of the latest range of the BRAVIA line up that aims to combine design and styling with functionality to create the ultimate media hub for the modern, connected home, and in many ways the KDL-32V4000 achieves this goal admirably. If that sounds like marketing speak from Sony, it is. So let’s find out what the KDL-32V4000 is really like then.

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Sony KDL-32V4000 Key Screen Features

The KDL-32V4000 is a 32 inch widescreen TV with Sony’s BRAVIA engine, which uses LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) technology to produce an image. Sony attaches the BRAVIA tag (which stands for ‘Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture’) to its top of the range televisions, and the BRAVIA engine has evolved over the year to create some of the most impressive visuals from an LCD screen that you will ever have seen.

The engine is essentially a complex tuning and noise reduction system which modulates the signal inputs so that the best quality image is reproduced on screen, increasing contrast, deepening and heightening colour and thoroughly processing the blues, greens and whites for every single frame that is passed through the panel. What this means in practice is that any source which you display on the KDL-32V4000 will be improved greatly, even your old home videos and VHS tapes will look richer and crisper when connected to the KDL-32V4000.

The KDL-32V4000 has an incredible dynamic contrast ratio of 30000:1 which intelligently reacts to the image it is displaying, and this ratio trumps pretty much every other LCD TV out there. It also has a viewing angle of 178 degrees, meaning you could sit nearly side on to the screen and not experience any image distortion, which is great if you’re going to have large groups of people gathered around your KDL-32V4000.

The KDL-32V4000 is of course HD ready, and capable of displaying HD sources at all of the standards of HD resolution right up to 720p and 1080i, as well as being able to display standard definition signals. It may not go up to the ‘full HD’ resolution of 1080p that other screens advertise, but on a 32 inch screen it doesn’t matter, and it is equal to similar sized screens from its competitors in this respect.

Sony KDL-32V4000 Key Functions

The KDL-32V4000 is a very versatile display because it has so many inputs that can handle a variety of sources. First of all it features 3 HDMI ports which is the standard connection used by high definition sources like Blu-Ray HD disk players and the current generation of games consoles which can output an HD signal. Though you may not have 3 HDMI compatible devices at the moment, there is no doubt that in the future more and more devices will be equipped with an HDMI out, so you’ll be prepared for that with the KDL-32V4000.

Its other HD inputs include a component video in and a PC input via a D-SUB connection which means you can use your KDL-32V4000 as a PC monitor if you so choose, to hook up your laptop or media centre PC and watch movies and listen to music straight from your hard drive. It also features an RF input and a digital terrestrial TV decoder which allows you to watch Freeview channels and digital radio stations for free, without the need for an additional decoder box which would take up space and use up electricity. By 2012 the entire country is going to be using exclusively digitally broadcast programming so the KDL-32V4000 will help you prepare yourself for the digital switch. For connecting all of your older players there are 2 SCART inputs and an S-Video, and the inputs are rounded off by a composite video input.

Sony KDL-32V4000 Audio Specs

The two ten watt speakers located on the KDL-32V4000 are really rather impressive, giving good performance across the audio spectrum, and Virtual Dolby Surround Sound is included which is able to imitate a surround sound experience just using the stereo speakers on the TV. There is a headphone output jack and RCA audio out which allows you to hook the KDL-32V4000 up to your home cinema system or watch programs without disturbing others, so you’re not just stuck with the standard speakers.

Conclusion – Sony KDL-32V4000

All in all the KDL-32V4000 is a great screen that will fit nicely into any living room thanks to its Piano Black styling, and is impressively feature rich compared to similarly sized screens. Although you will feel like you are paying more for a Sony product when you see the KDL-32V4000 in action you’ll definitely know that it was money well spent.

Click Here for More Information or Buy this LCD TV

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