Friday, October 30, 2009
Sony KDL-52Z5100 Dazzled!
I couldn't be more pleased with this purchase. With an excellent picture and sound, it's everything I expected and more. Amazon's television delivery service is outstanding. The packaging and television arrived in perfect condition and the delivery people could not have been more accommodating to my needs.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sony KDL-52Z5100 Excellent!
Removed it from the box, plugged it in, set it up and works great! Amazon is great! Ordered it Sunday and was watching it Friday!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Sony KDL-52Z5100 I LOVE THIS LCD TV!
The 52" Sony 1280P, 240Hz LCD HDTV replaces my 50" Panasonic 1280I Plasma HDTV monitor, and is everything I wanted in a new big screen TV. The Plasma had a great picture in most conitions, but required a dimly lit room for best viewing, was prone to screen "sparkle" distortion in the blades of grass of football fields & herring bone/tight patterened clothing, and would blur high speed images watching sports. The Sony is far brighter, displays no "sparkle effect", and is crysal clear no matter what you are watching. Skin colors - especially skin tones - are as good as it gets. The matt screen surface is a huge improvement from background reflections that plauged the shinny surface of the Panasonic. I still prefer to have the blinds drawn & lights dimmed to limit screen reflection, but at least I now the picture is watchable in daylight even with the blinds open. I leave the auto-dimming mode OFF even at night, cuz I prefer the bright "clear as if you are there" image over the "faded/washed out" look when using the auto screen dimmer in darkened rooms.
I bought the 240 Hz version of the Sony Bravia from Amazon.com because it was NOT avaliable at [...], SAMS CLUB, or Wallmart stores - or their on-line websites. Only the 120 Hz version of the Sony Bravia was available, but all 120 Hz LCD HDTV sets are being phased out (to be replaced by 240+ Hz LCD/LED machines). After taxes, it would have cost me as much I paid for the 240Hz version!
I bought the Panasonic thru Amazon.com about 4 years ago and was very pleased with the price I paid ($1800), no taxes, and free shipping, no hassles. It was in the top two HDTVs' for picture quality at the time. In both cases the items shipped safely from the East Coast to San Diego in about a week. It may be faster & more convienient to buy a HDTV locally (if you could even find one you want), but you will pay a high premium in local taxes and/or shipping charges. In this case the 240Hz version was NOT avaliable from the big box discounters. I shopped around & did my homework. I trust Amazon.com, got a great price, and highly recommend buying high buck electronics from them.
I bought the 240 Hz version of the Sony Bravia from Amazon.com because it was NOT avaliable at [...], SAMS CLUB, or Wallmart stores - or their on-line websites. Only the 120 Hz version of the Sony Bravia was available, but all 120 Hz LCD HDTV sets are being phased out (to be replaced by 240+ Hz LCD/LED machines). After taxes, it would have cost me as much I paid for the 240Hz version!
I bought the Panasonic thru Amazon.com about 4 years ago and was very pleased with the price I paid ($1800), no taxes, and free shipping, no hassles. It was in the top two HDTVs' for picture quality at the time. In both cases the items shipped safely from the East Coast to San Diego in about a week. It may be faster & more convienient to buy a HDTV locally (if you could even find one you want), but you will pay a high premium in local taxes and/or shipping charges. In this case the 240Hz version was NOT avaliable from the big box discounters. I shopped around & did my homework. I trust Amazon.com, got a great price, and highly recommend buying high buck electronics from them.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Sony KDL-52Z5100 Best in Class
Great Picture quality and nice looking set. Better than any TV I have seen in the stores. Easily beats Samsung, since no reflection screen really matters in well lid room. Has many option that you can set up to your taste, even Internet using wireless bridge device that is sold separately. The only negative is no sleep button on the remote and menus are difficult to browse.
I just uncovered a problem with features that are described in the Instruction manual, but TV doesn't have them. Advanced setting for picture adjustment "wide color" item is missing so is the "live color" don't show up in the menu options, see page 154 in the on line manual in pdf format. I placed a call to Sony, spent 3 hours on the phone with highest level engineering and they were puzzled them self.
Now I am waiting for the engineer to call me back with some kind of explanation. Engineer admitted that the unit they have in the lab doesn't have this feature also. Wide color, in my opinion, is the color space your TV is set for and it is very important for the unit performance. I keep you posted on the further developments.
I just uncovered a problem with features that are described in the Instruction manual, but TV doesn't have them. Advanced setting for picture adjustment "wide color" item is missing so is the "live color" don't show up in the menu options, see page 154 in the on line manual in pdf format. I placed a call to Sony, spent 3 hours on the phone with highest level engineering and they were puzzled them self.
Now I am waiting for the engineer to call me back with some kind of explanation. Engineer admitted that the unit they have in the lab doesn't have this feature also. Wide color, in my opinion, is the color space your TV is set for and it is very important for the unit performance. I keep you posted on the further developments.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Sony KDL-52Z5100 LCD
I'll keep it simple as many others have done the technical details already. My husband and I have been closely following the plasma and LCD tv models for the past many years, looking but never justifying the splurge. (Tightwads) We narrowed it down to Sony, Samsung and Sharp Aquus. We finally took the plunge and bought the Sony for my 50th b'day in June. We could not tell the difference between the Sony Z series and the XBR series, so saved many hundreds buying the Z. Also, we got the tv at the BB big box store, where they matched the Amazon price, and then 3 weeks later they refunded the difference as their own store price dropped another $345!It absolutely blows away any tv we have ever seen. The picture quality is phenominal, especially with the HD channels. Holy smokes! You will love watching shows on this screen. We are in awe watching HD Discovery, Food Network, Nat'l Geo, CNBC, CNN etc....The next tv in our house that dies will be replaced with a smaller version of the Sony Z series.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Sony KDL-52Z5100 Fantastic Picture and Sound
We have an older version of the 52 inch Bravia, and this one is even better! The 240hz does make a difference for fast moving objects like Hockey and quick camera pans. The TV was easy to setup and comes with loads of cool extras. It even sounds good with its built-in speakers (a lot of other brands sound horrible!). Can't recommend it enough, and Amazon had the lowest price by about $300!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Sony KDL-52Z5100 Amazon Customer Service is Outstanding!
I received the Sony Bravia KDL-52Z5100 a couple of weeks ago, and soon discovered a bad pixel in the center of the screen. I called Amazon and the customer service rep was excellent. She handled my problem expeditiously, ordered a new TV, and arranged for the old one to be picked up.
The TV is top of the line. Features are easy to use. Picture is crystal clear. Sound is very good. No glare from screen.
Watching Wimbleton tennis was great with 240hz. Can't wait for the Baseball playoffs and football season.
I will continue to buy from Amazon because of low prices and high customer service.
The TV is top of the line. Features are easy to use. Picture is crystal clear. Sound is very good. No glare from screen.
Watching Wimbleton tennis was great with 240hz. Can't wait for the Baseball playoffs and football season.
I will continue to buy from Amazon because of low prices and high customer service.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Sony KDL-52Z5100 Awesome picture quality
My wife and I just moved into a new house and we a new television for my "Man Room". I shopped around for months, checked out all brands and many different sizes. The Sony BRAVIA Z-Series 52inch 240hz LCD TV was the one that I chose. In the past I've had excellent luck with Sony products. They last forever!
When I took this one out of the box and hooked it up to my Verizon FiOS, I was absolutely floored at how awesome the picture quality was with the HD channels. I flipped through all the different sports channels and the picture quality is clean and crisp. I also hooked this TV up to a Sony Blue Ray player and the movies on here are amazing.
The one thing I got caught off guard with this product was the sound quality from the built in TV speakers. I have a home theater system which is on its way out, so I didn't have it hooked up to the TV yet. In watching the Blue Ray discs or sports with this TV, I'm absolutely floored at how good the sound is from this product.
Bottom line is that you pay a little more for the Sony products, but in the long run they are workhorses and will last you a long time. I can't wait for the upcoming NFL season on this TV. It is an awesome buy!
When I took this one out of the box and hooked it up to my Verizon FiOS, I was absolutely floored at how awesome the picture quality was with the HD channels. I flipped through all the different sports channels and the picture quality is clean and crisp. I also hooked this TV up to a Sony Blue Ray player and the movies on here are amazing.
The one thing I got caught off guard with this product was the sound quality from the built in TV speakers. I have a home theater system which is on its way out, so I didn't have it hooked up to the TV yet. In watching the Blue Ray discs or sports with this TV, I'm absolutely floored at how good the sound is from this product.
Bottom line is that you pay a little more for the Sony products, but in the long run they are workhorses and will last you a long time. I can't wait for the upcoming NFL season on this TV. It is an awesome buy!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Sony KDL-52Z5100 Awesome TV
I got this model after some serious research on SonyStyle and reading some reviews here on Amazon. It is indeed true that this model is almost EXACTLY the same as the higher-priced XBR9. In fact I was looking at the XBR9 until I found out about this model.
I've had this TV for about 3 weeks and I am happy with my purchase. The quality is awesome, but admittedly I'm not a tech-freak so I don't have gobs of HDTV experience to compare it to.
Also, the built-in speakers are rather dull, but when you invest in this sort of TV you are expected to buy a speaker system to compliment it, so this is really a moot point.
If you want to save $500 while getting an awesome model of a Sony TV, this is the model to get.
I've had this TV for about 3 weeks and I am happy with my purchase. The quality is awesome, but admittedly I'm not a tech-freak so I don't have gobs of HDTV experience to compare it to.
Also, the built-in speakers are rather dull, but when you invest in this sort of TV you are expected to buy a speaker system to compliment it, so this is really a moot point.
If you want to save $500 while getting an awesome model of a Sony TV, this is the model to get.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Sony KDL-52Z5100 Great HD Picture w/o Glossy Screen Reflections
Love the HD picture quality (PQ) of the Samsung 52B750, but don't watch TV in cave and don't want to deal with all those reflections off a glossy screen? Well, the Sony 52Z5100 is the answer. HD PQ with the Z5100 is excellent with great black levels, but without the "shaving mirror" reflectivity of the screen during dark or black scenes. We were looking at the 52B750, based on reviews and seeing it at UE, but after testing our viewing room at various times of day with a glass picture frame and our "bright screen" LCD notebook, it was obvious that the reflections would drive us crazy over the life of the TV. We have two older HDTVs, both with matte screen and we don't miss the reflective glass screens of the old CRT TVs. The 52Z5100's screen is best described as semi-matte. Un-powered, the screen is reflective though dull. Power it up and there are essentially zero reflections, even with very dark scenes. What ever Sony has done to defeat reflectivity and minimize glare, it works very well.
As to performance, PQ with HD sources (OTA DTV and Dish HD) is as good as it gets, absolutely excellent and easily equal to the Samsung B750 (we viewed the Z5100 side-by-side with the B750 and the XBR9 at UE and couldn't discern any difference in HD PQ). Blacks are excellent and shadow detail is the best I've seen on a TV. No flashlights, clouding, or uneven lighting across the screen. Color realism and saturation are excellent. Viewing angle is average or typical of CCFL LCDs, which is about 45 degrees off center. Not bad and much better than the LED LCDs, which could be important if you plan to show off your new HDTV with a Super Bowl party next February (not everyone can sit right in front of the TV to see great PQ, like they have to with the LED LCDs).
We're just thrilled watching Starz and Cinemax HD movies, prime-time HD drama on the major networks, any live HD broadcasts, and especially any live HD sporting even broadcasts. The WOW factor is back! Can't wait for the NFL season to start. We watched the men's and women's French Open finals via live, OTA, HD DTV, with the Scene setting set to "Sports (MotionFlow on High, 240 Hz) and it was like we were standing behind Roger Federer on the court. BTW, the on-board ATSC digital tuner in the Z5100 is excellent. It is obviously of the latest generation as it is the most sensitive and most stable of any of our DTV tuners, including the Zenith CECBs we bought for our old, remaining CRT TVs. If you buy the 52Z5100, try hooking up an antenna to it and see what you can get. The uncompressed live HD from an OTA antenna is something to behold.
PQ from non-BD DVDs is excellent. Upscaled DVD movies on my Sony 1080p upscaling DVD player look as good as many of the HD movies on the pay HD movie channels. I don't have a BD player yet and with the PQ of my upscaled DVDs, I probably won't get one until the price drops substantially.
PQ from SD sources is a mixed bag. It really depends on the source. Decent 480i stuff comes across excellent, but some older video and movies look pretty bad and the MPEG Filter and CineMotion filter don't do much to help regardless of which setting you use. I'd give this set Average to a little above average on SD PQ. Using the MPEG filter set to Medium or Low improves bad SD video over no filter at all.
I'd rate the on-board sound system as above average for flat panel HDTV sound systems, even though I typically us the sound from my DD7.1 sound system. I don't do games, so I can't comment on that.
As for the internet connectivity, I'm not impressed. I've surfed through most of what is offered and it isn't worth much. A nice universal remote comes with the set. On-screen menu is poorly arranged (not intuitive, not logical, redundant in places).
Overall, I can't see anyone being disappointed if they buy this LCD HDTV and your friends will be impressed as well.
As to performance, PQ with HD sources (OTA DTV and Dish HD) is as good as it gets, absolutely excellent and easily equal to the Samsung B750 (we viewed the Z5100 side-by-side with the B750 and the XBR9 at UE and couldn't discern any difference in HD PQ). Blacks are excellent and shadow detail is the best I've seen on a TV. No flashlights, clouding, or uneven lighting across the screen. Color realism and saturation are excellent. Viewing angle is average or typical of CCFL LCDs, which is about 45 degrees off center. Not bad and much better than the LED LCDs, which could be important if you plan to show off your new HDTV with a Super Bowl party next February (not everyone can sit right in front of the TV to see great PQ, like they have to with the LED LCDs).
We're just thrilled watching Starz and Cinemax HD movies, prime-time HD drama on the major networks, any live HD broadcasts, and especially any live HD sporting even broadcasts. The WOW factor is back! Can't wait for the NFL season to start. We watched the men's and women's French Open finals via live, OTA, HD DTV, with the Scene setting set to "Sports (MotionFlow on High, 240 Hz) and it was like we were standing behind Roger Federer on the court. BTW, the on-board ATSC digital tuner in the Z5100 is excellent. It is obviously of the latest generation as it is the most sensitive and most stable of any of our DTV tuners, including the Zenith CECBs we bought for our old, remaining CRT TVs. If you buy the 52Z5100, try hooking up an antenna to it and see what you can get. The uncompressed live HD from an OTA antenna is something to behold.
PQ from non-BD DVDs is excellent. Upscaled DVD movies on my Sony 1080p upscaling DVD player look as good as many of the HD movies on the pay HD movie channels. I don't have a BD player yet and with the PQ of my upscaled DVDs, I probably won't get one until the price drops substantially.
PQ from SD sources is a mixed bag. It really depends on the source. Decent 480i stuff comes across excellent, but some older video and movies look pretty bad and the MPEG Filter and CineMotion filter don't do much to help regardless of which setting you use. I'd give this set Average to a little above average on SD PQ. Using the MPEG filter set to Medium or Low improves bad SD video over no filter at all.
I'd rate the on-board sound system as above average for flat panel HDTV sound systems, even though I typically us the sound from my DD7.1 sound system. I don't do games, so I can't comment on that.
As for the internet connectivity, I'm not impressed. I've surfed through most of what is offered and it isn't worth much. A nice universal remote comes with the set. On-screen menu is poorly arranged (not intuitive, not logical, redundant in places).
Overall, I can't see anyone being disappointed if they buy this LCD HDTV and your friends will be impressed as well.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Sony KDL-52Z5100 Review
From the Manufacturer
Manufacturer's Review
Featuring narrow bezels and thin cabinet depths, BRAVIA Z Series HDTVs deliver an impressive list of features wrapped up into a thin and stylish design, including Full HD 1080p and Motionflow 240Hz refresh rate technology for maximum motion detail and clarity. The KDL-52Z5100 also has internet connectivity with built-in BRAVIA internet video capabilities that let you view select on-demand movies and TV shows, listen to music and more. You can even personalize your entertainment experience by selecting and positioning widgets containing the latest news, weather, sports and more directly on your TV screen. In addition to 7 HD inputs, the BRAVIA Z has a 100,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio which yields deep blacks in darker scenes.
Manufacturer's Review
Featuring narrow bezels and thin cabinet depths, BRAVIA Z Series HDTVs deliver an impressive list of features wrapped up into a thin and stylish design, including Full HD 1080p and Motionflow 240Hz refresh rate technology for maximum motion detail and clarity. The KDL-52Z5100 also has internet connectivity with built-in BRAVIA internet video capabilities that let you view select on-demand movies and TV shows, listen to music and more. You can even personalize your entertainment experience by selecting and positioning widgets containing the latest news, weather, sports and more directly on your TV screen. In addition to 7 HD inputs, the BRAVIA Z has a 100,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio which yields deep blacks in darker scenes.
Sony KDL-52Z5100 Features
Features
- 16:9 Full HD 1080p Resolution Panel (1920x1080)
- BRAVIA Engine 3 fully digital video processor
- Motionflow 240Hz
- BRAVIA Internet Video/Widgets
- XMB w/ enhanced 3D Favorites Menu
Sony KDL-52Z5100 Product Details
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #844 in Consumer Electronics
- Color: Black
- Brand: Sony
- Model: KDL-52Z5100
- Dimensions: 30.87" h x 3.37" w x 49.00" l, 57.50 pounds
- Display size: 52
Sony BRAVIA Z Series KDL-52Z5100 52-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV
Product DescriptionEnjoy the latest in HDTV performance with the Sony BRAVIA Z-Series, featuring Motionflow 240Hz technology for maximum motion detail and clarity, plus broadband internet connectivity with built-in BRAVIA Internet Video capabilities, that let you view select on-demand movies and TV shows and listen to music and more, and even lets you personalize your entertainment experience by selecting and positioning widgets containing the latest news, weather, sports and more directly on your TV screen.
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