Sony KDL-40V3000 Review

40in LCD

Picture
Sound
Features
Usability
Value

Another excellent mid-range LCD from Sony.

HD Ready:

yes

Resolution:

1920 x 1080

Rating:

87%

Reviewed: 13 November 2007

Design

With a glossy black frame, the KDL-40V3000 may not be to Sony traditionalists tastes. What is not in doubt however is the superb build quality and finish we have come to expect from Sony, which places it ahead of the pack in this respect.

Features

As part of their mid-range series of LCD TV's, the KDL-40V3000 sits below the top of the range 'X' and next step down 'W' series. As such, it retains Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution, but loses Live Colour Creation and x.v.Colour technology, the 10-bit panel and 'Bravia Engine EX' (W)/'Bravia Engine Pro' (X) picture processing engine. It also loses Sony's Motionflow +100Hz and the USB photo viewer found on the higher spec machines.

Screen: 40in 16:9

Tuner: Digital

Sound System: Nicam

Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Contrast Ratio: 1800:1 (16,000 dynamic)

Brightness: 500cd/m2

Other Features: Full HD (1920 x 1080), BRAVIA Engine, Live Colour Creation, 24p True Cinema, BRAVIA Theatre Sync.

Sockets: 3 HDMI, 2 SCART, Component Video, Composite Video, PC input.

The 'Full HD' (1,920 x 1,080) resolution of the Sony KDL-40V3000 can potentially give a marked improvement in the display of sources such as Sky Tv (1080i). The 1080 lines of resolution match the resolution of the screen negating the need for any picture scaling to fit.

The Sony KDL-40V3000 is also equipped with '24p True Cinema' which enables the panel to display films at their intended 24fps (frames per second) rather than the standard (for tv) of 25fps.

With 24p True Cinema technology on board the KDL-40V3000 does not need to speed up the film to reach 25fps. Alongside 24p True Cinema is Sony's 'Theatre Mode' technology which adjusts colour, contrast and brightness settings to makes movies look as authentic as the original.

Theatre Sync, which is Sony's name for CEC (Consumer Electronic Control), is a control standard that functions over HDMI 1.3. The technology facilitates one-touch control over compatible devices and in practice means that if you fire up your compatible DVD player, the all connected devices such as your LCD TV will also spring into life.

Sonically, the KDL-40V3000 comes equipped with Sony's S-Force Front Surround which is their latest virtual surround sound technology.

Performance

Sony have pretty much got the price/features equations spot on with their current range of LCD TV's. What this means in our opinion is that if you buy the 'V' series rather than the 'W' for example, the money saved is largely commensurate with the features you lose.

The most impressive aspect of the KDL-40V300's performance is demonstrated by the screens ability to handle colour. While not displaying the depth of colour on higher spec screens equipped with 10-bit panels, this is still one of the finest LCD panels to date for accurate colour reproduction and shows just how far Sony have progressed from some of their 'over-saturated' LCD's of the past.

Again, with its black level performance, benchmarks have been raised. While still not quite on par with the best Plasma's, the gap has been closed to the extent that it should not be a deciding factor when choosing between the two technologies. Shadow detailing is excellent and makes viewing 'Darker' films, for once on an LCD, a real pleasure.

The KDL-40V3000 is an excellent High Definition (HD) performer, achieving well above average levels of detail and sharpness. Again, without the 10-bit panel, colour re-production is not quite on par with higher spec Sony's, but you have to look hard to spot the difference.

With Standard Definition (SD) material, the KDL-40V3000 is a very good rather than a spectacular performer. The excellent colour handling capabilities and black levels translate into a more than competent SD performance. If it wasn't for the great strides made in this area recently by plasma technology from the likes of Pioneer and Panasonic we would have considered the SD capabilities of the KDL-40V3000 to be amongst the best of any flat panel display.

Where the Sony KDL-40V3000 disappoints slightly as an SD performer, with a noticeable 'jaggedness' to pictures, is when switching from Sky SD/cable to terrestrial Freeview. However, there were no significant problems with video noise/grain etc with the KDL-40V3000 performing well in this respect, and SD problems are relatively minor compared to lesser LCD TV's

The lack of Motionflow +100Hz certainly makes a difference in our opinion, not a great difference, but just enough to make faster sporting and movie action a little more imprecise, and as a result a little less enjoyable to watch.

Conclusion

The Sony KDL-40V3000 is an excellent mid-range performer, with a price/spec ratio which simplifies the decision making buying process - in a nutshell, if you decide to go for a higher spec machine, you know that the money will be well spent. Conversely, a lower spec machine's lack of features will be perfectly reflected in the lower price.