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Comment on UK Sell Sony Bravia KDL40EX503U 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 100Hz LCD Internet TV with Freeview HD Best Price by K. Young

K. Young — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:46:40 +0000

61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

Great TV, 6 Aug 2010

K. Young (London) -

This review is from: Sony Bravia KDL40EX503U 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 100Hz LCD Internet TV with Freeview HD (Electronics)

When you get it set up right, it's a great TV. That said, thereare a few points worth making even if they are not faults in the product.

Firstly, if you are going from a 4:3 CRT to this product, make sure you set all your input devices (e.g. freeview box, VCR, DVD, BluRay, etc) to output to widescreen or 16:9 because otherwise Smart mode will do its best with a 4:3 picture, but you will get tons of nasty stretch effects.

Secondly, because its a big TV you tend to be more conscious of mpeg artifacts that occur within the video production process whether that be from live video cameras, video production or, most commonly, introduced during distribution e.g from the internet or via cable or freeview. There is not much you can do about that. As bandwidths increase the problem should lessen over time.

Finally, Internet TV is weak at the moment. There's not much content. Most of it is Pay-Per-View, advertising or specialist stuff geared to the US market. This will improve when Sony and BBC get their acts together on iPlayer, but we are all still waiting on that (assuming the government doesn't slash funding for BBC internet projects). Same with HD content on FreeView. If you are using cable you may need an upgrade to watch HD content.

Now onto the product. I attached the base on my own. I found it tough balancing the TV, the base, a screw and a screwdriver at the same time, so try to get someone to help you when you do this.

The default colours are a bit too red/warm for my taste, but you can adjust it.

I have never much liked the XMB (cross media bar) interface. Its OK, but a bit disorganised. Having vertical columns representing inputs or settings is OK, but they have now introduced new vertical bars for media types (image, move, sound) which means the same inputs can appear on different bars, but haven't added a vertical bar for network inputs, so the underlying model of the interface is mucked up. Poor interface design causes confusion. Fortunately, humans are intelligent and adapt.

There is no clear explanation of the interaction of the scene buttons and the per-input display and audio settings, so it is a bit of trial and error. Again we adapt, in my case by leaving it alone.

The Home button on the remote is too close to the down button. This sounds picky, but when you are making you fifth attempt at adjusting something only to accidentally hit the home button again, it's frustrating.

Because of this, I'll give it a four out of five, but I mean more 4.8 out of 5 rather than 4.1.

UPDATE: BBC iPlayer now works. The TV automagically updated its sofware (I have it always connected to the internet). It's currently a Beta version. The menus are a bit slow, but it's very good all the same.

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Comment on UK Sell Sony Bravia KDL40EX503U 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 100Hz LCD Internet TV with Freeview HD Best Price by A. J. Parkes "sekrapa"

A. J. Parkes "sekrapa" — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:13:18 +0000

119 of 122 people found the following review helpful:

Fantastic TV, crisp colours and excellent all round, 10 May 2010

A. J. Parkes "sekrapa" (Dudley, UK) -

This review is from: Sony Bravia KDL40EX503U 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 100Hz LCD Internet TV with Freeview HD (Electronics)

I got this TV to replace a 6 year old Samsung 32" for the main TV. I was going for another Samsung, but the new ones appear to only have 1 scart. This is great if you only have 1 item that needs scart, but I have my Sky+ and a DVD/HD recorder, so reluctantly, had to discard the idea of Samsung.

After much deliberation between plasma and lcd, I finally stayed with lcd, as the power consumption was better and the clarity seems to be similar. As I also did not want to keep upgrading, I thought it best to get a TV that was full HD, 100 Hz for smooth scrolling of fast moving images and freeview hd. After much searching and reading reviews, finally settled on this model.

After the initial easy setup for searching the channels with the digital and analog tuners, you can start watching straight away. I must confess that the clarity of the pictures far exceeded my expectations. It could be a natural progression of the technology since my last purchase, but what a difference in detail. Sky seems to be clearer, the normal channels seem more defined and the 3 freeview hd channels are amazing. It depends upon what is being transmitted on the freeview hd, but the nature programs are amazing to see, the detail and clarity is superb. I have played normal DVD's through the scart connection, and again, cannot fault the picture. I was apprehensive as a larger screen means more chance of pixilation, but have not seen it as I though I would. I have connected me xbox via component and the gameplay is just as smooth as to be expected. Ramped the settings on the console to 1080p instead of 720p, and with motion flow on, the gameplay is smooth. To be honest, cannot see that great a difference between 720p and 1080p on gameplay, but it could be the games as not all are 1080p encoded.

This TV is internet ready, so you can connect direct to a router through the ethernet port, which is what I have done. You can then access youtube, 5 on demand, lovefilm (which you need a subscription) and other channels. You can also connect wirelessly, but you will have to purchase a Sony USB wifi dongle at extra cost. Its a shame that this function was not built in. Why advertise it as a selling point only to be informed you have to buy the extra piece to make it work? Searching youtube can take time, as you enter the search parameters using the remote, which can take time.

There are several scene modes, like movie, sport, standard, game, which change the settings of the contrast, brightness, colour etc, but generally keep it on standard.

I have not tried surround, as I have no surround system. The sound on the TV is loud enough for me, and find that normal viewing the volume is on 20-25, just about a quarter way up. There is a great option than normalises sound, so all the channels are output at the same sound level. No more loud adverts, as the volume stays the same throughout.

The menu is easy, and is designed around the Playstaion 3 menu system, so users of the PS3 will feel at home.

All in all, a great purchase that seems to be more future proof than others, producing vivid crisp displays and smooth scrolling. Very happy with the purchase and highly recommend it,.

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2010

I got a SanDisk Cruzer Blade USB Flash Drive 16GB and put about 20 avi movie files on. Just plug it in the TV and go to the menu and select movie menu, scroll to the usb and they are there. Highlight the film and press enter and you can watch your movies on the TV without streaming. Not all avi files work, but the most popular ones are supported as well as mp4 format. Now with iplayer also available this machine has got better.

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Comment on UK Sell Sony Bravia KDL40EX503U 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 100Hz LCD Internet TV with Freeview HD Best Price by Daniel O'DONOGHUE

Daniel O'DONOGHUE — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:16:56 +0000

195 of 198 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent picture and sound but why not fully Wi-Fi ready?, 12 April 2010

Daniel O'DONOGHUE (Essex, UK) -

This review is from: Sony Bravia KDL40EX503U 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 100Hz LCD Internet TV with Freeview HD (Electronics)

I bought this TV a few days ago and so far have been very pleased with it. The stand was easy to assemble and the TV itself very easy to set up - just follow the on-screen commands, and it is ready within 5 minutes or so. The Freeview HD signal, which is available in my area, tuned in perfectly - and the picture is noticeably better than the standard freeview signal. Shame there aren't a few more freeview HD channels yet but, of course, that isn't Sony's problem.

Overall the picture quality is excellent, with vibrant colours (a bit too much with the standard settings?), good contrast and dark blacks, and the sound very clear for built-in speakers. Controls and menus all fairly intuitive - so no need to look at the manual (which is built-in to the set and accessed via menus).

Connectivity is good: including 4 x HDMIs, 2 SCART, + Ethernet and 1 USB. The one niggle is the lack of an included wi-fi antenna to access Internet content. This requires purchase of a separate Sony Wi Fi dongle (which I haven't done yet) if you don't want to run an ethernet cable from your router. This sort of corner-cutting irritates me - if Sony can, for example, include full wi-fi accessibility in a PSP, why do they have to make this an optional extra in a television costing much more?

Update

I have now fitted the wi fi dongle to the TV. Initially, the internet functionality didn't work very well - the picture would freeze, or a message would pop up saying that the network was down (it wasn't). I figured my old wi fi router might be the problem - so I upgraded this to a good quality "N" router. This did the trick, and the TV streams video from the internet superbly. Using BBC i-player the picture is just as smooth as watching a normal TV programme. No problem streaming HD video either. Of course, as a result of using i-player, I received a message from my ISP saying I was exceeding my download limit - so I've had to upgrade my broadband package, but I can't blame Sony for that!

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Comment on UK Cheap Toshiba 37RV753B 37-inch Widescreen Digital LCD TV with Full HD 1080p and Freeview HD Deal by Paul Sharp

Paul Sharp — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:54:53 +0000

135 of 137 people found the following review helpful:

5 Stars - Highly recommended, 22 Sep 2010

Paul Sharp (London, UK) -

This review is from: Toshiba 37RV753B 37-inch Widescreen Digital LCD TV with Full HD 1080p and Freeview HD (Electronics)

Having owned this few a few weeks I though I would share my impressions. When I initially set the TV up I was blown away at the difference between my old 32" LCD and this, what struck me the most was that the colours were very natural and not over saturated, blacks were deep but retained detail and definition and motion tracking was very clear showing no signs of jittering or blurring moving images (in particular football).

Well a month later and the 37RV is still bringing a smile to my face. The AutoView technology automatically adjusts picture settings depending on room lighting and the light sensor constantly adjusts the backlight giving a constant image depending on varying light conditions.

One of the main reasons I settled on this model was the built-in Freeview HD tuner. I wasn't disappointed - the high definition broadcasts on BBC HD, ITV1 HD & Channel 4 HD all look great, with nice, vibrant colours, deep blacks, and great picture clarity. The TV does an excellent job of up scaling the non HD channels.

Having looked at many makes other than Toshiba I am extremely happy with this purchase as the design and technology offered by my TV is far in advance of the very competitive price that I paid for it.

I'd highly recommend this TV to anyone.

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Comment on UK Cheap Toshiba 37RV753B 37-inch Widescreen Digital LCD TV with Full HD 1080p and Freeview HD Deal by P J

P J — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:22:18 +0000

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

Great Full HD TV at a bargain Price, 18 Oct 2010

P J (UK) -

This review is from: Toshiba 37RV753B 37-inch Widescreen Digital LCD TV with Full HD 1080p and Freeview HD (Electronics)

Where to start?

I did my research - every review I could find as well as every price I could find for HD ready and full HD Televisions as well as feature comparisons, etc. Yes, its enough to drive you to the point where you want to give up and leave it for the moment. I also compared feature set and pricing amongst a range of TV's that are available both on line, and from supermarkets and other retailers.

I think the bottom line with these sorts of items is that you have to be guided by what you are looking for, what you want a TV to be used for and obviously your budget. Sounds like common sense but all too often you can find conflicting reviews or opinions about almost anything that you may decide to take the plunge and buy.

Eventually, after alot of toing and froing looking at this and that, I decided to purchase the 32 inch version of this model but at the time I was about to place my order I discovered that Amazon were offering the 37 inch version with a hundred pounds off plus an additional £20 off making it better value than its 32inch cousin (in all it cost [...] at the time of purchase)and Amazon soon ran at that price and I am not surprised.

The item arrived well packaged with a good instruction manual, better specs than anything else I could find for the price and a range of connectivity options that I couldn't fault. I found the instruction manual easy to work through, the remote is responsive, the menu system for me easy to navigate and the television a joy to connect to and set up. Picture quality is amazing though I have yet to make use of the Freeview HD built in tuner as I need an aerial upgrade first but the set is connected to cable and even the standard picture quality is far better than anything I have seen to date. Picture quality and game play from a PS3 is amazing.

All in all, and for the "bargain" price I paid at the time of purchase, I am, to coin a phrase, over the moon with this item and you may have guessed I am hard pushed to find any negative to report with it.

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Comment on UK Cheap Toshiba 37RV753B 37-inch Widescreen Digital LCD TV with Full HD 1080p and Freeview HD Deal by Mr P Marshall

Mr P Marshall — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:59:08 +0000

141 of 142 people found the following review helpful:

Fantastic Toshiba, 23 Sep 2010

Mr P Marshall (FARNBOROUGH, Hampshire United Kingdom) -

This review is from: Toshiba 37RV753B 37-inch Widescreen Digital LCD TV with Full HD 1080p and Freeview HD (Electronics)

After looking at the many 5 star reviews on the smaller 32RV753 I decided to buy this larger TV from Amazon.
The picture on this television is fantastic. I was persuaded to go down the route of Freeview HD and I'm not disappointed. Picture quality for the price is outstanding. The colours are amazing and the clarity even in SD looks great. When you combine this with HD then sports, DVDs and video games have never looked better.
The Freeview HD means those not wishing to pay Sky or Virgin subscriptions can still watch BBC HD channel, ITV HD and Channel 4HD (with more to follow) in stunning High Definition.
The HD picture from the internal Freeview HD tuner is amazing. The standard definition is good, but the TV does a fantastic job of getting the best out of what is provided.
The sound is fine for every day use, but like most I run through a surround sound system which adds another dimension. The menu system is logical and is very easy to set-up out of the box.
My parents have bought many Toshiba products in the past and have always rated the quality and this product looks to continue with great features at a great price.

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Comment on UK Sell Samsung LE32C580 32-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p Allshare LCD TV with Freeview HD In Stock by Robert Evans

Robert Evans — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:38:06 +0000

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

Samsung 32 TV, 23 Aug 2010

Robert Evans (UK) -

This review is from: Samsung LE32C580 32-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p Allshare LCD TV with Freeview HD (Electronics)

I have found this TV excellent considering its cost, it was simple to set up, gives an excellent picture which is capable of being adjusted for all conditions and the sound is more than adequate. I would recomend this TV to anyone wanting a excellent 32" TV for less than £400

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Comment on UK Sell Samsung LE32C580 32-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p Allshare LCD TV with Freeview HD In Stock by Williams86

Williams86 — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:45:43 +0000

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

What a Buy!!!, 17 July 2010

Williams86 -

This review is from: Samsung LE32C580 32-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p Allshare LCD TV with Freeview HD (Electronics)

I love this tv. easy to set up, the picture quality in SD and HD mode is superb, the refresh rate for games consoles is spot on and it looks stylish too. What more could you what for the price your paying!!!

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Comment on UK Sell Samsung LE32C580 32-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p Allshare LCD TV with Freeview HD In Stock by Mr. S. M. Healey

Mr. S. M. Healey — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:01:37 +0000

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

another good set from Sammy, 5 July 2010

Mr. S. M. Healey (leeds uk) -

This review is from: Samsung LE32C580 32-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p Allshare LCD TV with Freeview HD (Electronics)

Another good tv from Samsung, easy to set up, smart as any other out there and very good picture, slight grey in deepest blacks but to be expected for this technology. I do not agree that the tv has poor sound as some have said, it is a nice rounded sound and does have some bass, for a thin tv you cannot expect it to do much more than it does. HD pictures are superb and hardly any of the gremlins that normally exist on freeview transmissions are visible, very good motion tracking, smearing is almost non existant and blocking is not evident, very good tv indeed and at a good price, i really don't think you need all the picture processing that some tv's include if the manufacturer gets the basics right from the off and this tv seems to be one that is just such a set, 100hz is not needed here, have not tried it with blue ray so cannot comment on that but our standard def dvd player looks very good when being used in 1080i only get the ocaissional judder on action moving at speed across the screen but that may even be down to our quite old dvd system. To sum up this tv does a good job on SD material/channels, very very good job on HD material/channels, buy with confidence.

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Comment on UK Bargain Phoenix SV70 1080p Upscaling Multi Regional DVD Player Deal by R. Hornby

R. Hornby — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:52:41 +0000

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

Sumvision Phoenix, 24 Sep 2009

R. Hornby -

This review is from: Phoenix SV70 1080p Upscaling Multi Regional DVD Player (Electronics)

I have a 500GB hard drive and wanted this dvd player so that i would not need to burn disks. Well on the whole seems to do a great job you can filter your search between Films, pictures, music the menues move fast and its quite easy to find what your looking for. Played all my divx and mp3s no problem picture was quite good when upscaled for £30 its a bargain.

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