BRAVIA Full HD VPL-VW40 Projector

BRAVIA Full HD VPL-VW40 Home Theatre Projector Brings you Superb Cinematic Picture Quality. Last week Sony added the final piece of the Jigsaw to its range of Home Theatre Projectors with the launch of the VPL-VW40. The BRAVIA badged VPL-VW40 is capable of 1080p Full HD and uses Sony SXRD™ technology to re-create the original cinematic viewing experience as closely as possible at home. Read more

Sony KDL-32D3000 Review

Over the last two years it can be said that Sony have set the benchmark when it comes to LCD screens, indeed their Bravia Engine is probably the most easily recognised LCD TV brand currently available, couple this with their unflinching dedication to build quality and the aggressive marketing of the full HD 1080p technology it is clear that they could easily monopolise this area should they choose to. So what stops them? Well put simply, they can be a bit pricey. Which gives their rivals some leverage, and allows them to follow up this equally good, if not more impressive screens 6 months downs the line at a significantly reduced price - case in point the Sony KDL40W2000 debuted at a staggering £2000, only for its nearest Rival, the Samsung LE40M86DB so sneak in a few months later at half the price. So what do we have in the KDL-32D3000? Well it would appear to be a similar story. Launched in June 2007 with a price tag around £800, which can be considered expensive for a 32 inch screen, however we do have a set that is choc full of loveliness.

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Its list of features include:

• 32inch Widescreen LCD Panel
• HD Ready
• 1366×768 Screen Resolution
• Dynamic Contrast: 8000:1
• Brightness: 450cd/m2
• Response Time: 8ms
• Viewing Angle 178 degrees
• Freeview / analogue tuner
• Picture In Picture (PIP)
• Remote Control
• Teletext
• 2 x 10W Integrated Stereo Speakers

Connections

• Digital Audio Output (optical)
• 3 x HDMI
• 1 x PC Input (15pin D-Sub) + Audio In
• 1 x Component
• 1 x 4 Pin (Y/C) In
• 1 x 3.5mm headphone MiniJack
• 1 x PCMCIA Card Slot
• 1 x RCA Audio Out
• 1 x RCA AV Input
• 1 x RF In
• 2 x Scart

Other

• Dimensions WxHxD: 790×581x214mm
• Weight: 17.5kg
• Warranty: 1 year onsite warranty

If you bothered to read through the above list, one thing may have stood out. Yup, the screen resolution. 1366 x 678 it isnt a full HD screen. However, 1080p images are supported but they are down-converted to 720p. Fortunately if you own this TV then you probably wont really notice, not least because on a 32 inch screen it can be argued that 1080p doesn’t really make that much difference. But mainly because there is so much image processing going on that the resulting picture is damn near perfect. Equipped with ‘24p True Cinema’ the KDL-32D3000 is capable of rendering Hi Definition movie sources at their intended frame frame of 24fps instead of the slightly speeded up 25fps we normally get. Additionally we get ‘Motionflow + 100hz’ which is designed to improve the picture quality of fast moving images by doubling the frame refresh rate. This can be switched off if required. Combine this with the Bravia engine itself and we have improved scaling, vibrant colours, deep black levels, exquisite detail and much much more.

So regardless of price (to be honest its already starting to come down) the SONY KDL-32D3000 is quite simply a stunning 32 inch LCD TV. Highly recommended.

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SONY KDL-40W2000

When the 40 inch SONY KDL-40W2000 debuted in 2006 it came with a price tag of £2000 and with the bold claim the of being the first LCD screen to rival plasma’s of a similar size. Part of Sonys much lauded Bravia Range, this set was, and still is a true winner. Its been said that if James Bond were to buy an LCD TV he would have bought the KDL-40W2000. Not surprising when you take it out of the box to reveal to cool, compact exterior and very stylish design, you could be forgiven for thinking it has leapt straight form the laboratories of Q branch itself. No need to worry though, its doesn’t come with an ejector seat - although that is possibly the only thing thats missing from this wonderful set. And now, a mere 12 months after launch it comes with an added bonus - affordability. Since the turn of 2007 this particular model has dropped from an already reasonable £1400 to todays prices of roughly £899. Boasting both analogue and Freeview tuners, 1080p HD and twin HDMI inputs, the picture quality is still what makes this TV stand out from the crowd. The analogue picture is clear and stable and the Digital Freeview is even better, but undoubtedly this will be affected by the the strength of signal you can receive. However when moving onto to more stable input sources like upscaled DVDs we see this set truly come into its own and is found to compare very favourably with a similarly priced plasma screen with very impressive contrast and black tones throughout and clearly defined lines and edges. And of course HD input is even better, with the imroved source material leading to amazing on screen clarity that simply drops the jaw. Put simply for this price, you cant really go wrong with this TV. Highly Recommended.

Buy your SONY KDL-40W2000 from Amazon today, or Compare Prices of the SONY KDL-40W2000

Sony Invents Television for the Blind

Well, not invents actually, since the television for the blind concept has been around for a couple of years, but the corporation has announced today that all of its Bravia range of televisions will incorporate Audio Description (AD) as standard. AD is similar to subtitles for the hard of hearing except the action is described for the benefit of blind or partially sighted viewers.

“We are all used to seeing and using subtitles on TV, but what many people don’t know is that the technology exists to make a similarly useful service available for the 30 million* or so visually impaired people we have in Europe,” says Andreas Ditter, Vice President TV Operations Europe. “The entire Sony BRAVIA television range now provides access to Audio Description (AD) as standard which, in combination with a commitment to raise awareness of AD, aims to increase the number of programmes, broadcasters and television manufacturers that offer the service.”

Until now Audio Description has only been available to those with a compatible set-top box, but now all Sony BRAVIA televisions will include Integrated Digital Television (IDTV) as standard, and provide access to AD without the need for an additional decoder.