Sony KDL-40S5100 40" LCD HDTV 40-inch 60Hz 1080p LCD HD Television

This TV is the best I have ever owned. The 2nd best was my old Sony trinitron with picture/picture. Sony is the best.

The new Sony we purchased fulfills or exceeds all our expectations. We have looked at a lot of different LCD-TVs and we found this to have the overall best picture in all different environmental situations. The picture is warm and bright and shows no weaknesses even with fast moving pictures. You can get less expensive LCDs but we find this Sony to be worth its price. I used to have a Samsung LCD back in Europe. This one rocks.

Is this really a Sony product? I've had some excellent TVs over the years from Sony, including a 42" LCD that I purchased in 2008 with great results. However, this set has had issues from the beginning that were not resolved by the patch and numerous calls to Sony's tech help service. The problem with the auto dimming feature only bothers me some of the time but what is perhaps the most irritating is the terrible internal speakers with this unit. It really gets mushy sound performace and I will eventually have to connect it to an outside receiver to get past this issue. After the patch did nothing to correct the problems I had this in a Sony repair facility for two weeks to replace parts and make things right with the picture and the sound. Upon return, it was simply more of the same. I've noticed that Amazon is no longer selling this model. Maybe they've recognized the issues. For those that are getting good performance, you're the lucky ones. This will be the last time that I buy a TV on reputation alone, sight unseen. I really wonder if the apparent lack of quality in this model comes from Sony simply slapping their label on some low-end manufactuers work?

This Sony 40 inch 1080p tv is amazingly beautiful. I had a Panasonic 52" 1080i rear projection lcd for years that I thought looked pretty good, until it died. I set a budget of $1000 to get a replacement, and came home with this Sony. The 1080p picture immedietly blew me away. Though slightly smaller than my old hd tv, the clarity and vibrant imagry more than make up the difference. I watched an hd feed of "Quantum of Solace" and was amazed at the detail and the crisp picture, no matter how fast the action on screen. No hint of the auto-dim feature from earlier models that bothered so many. I work in the movie industry and a fiend for detail and picture quality; this Sony Bravia has proven itself to be professional grade in every way.

The picture is almost perfect, but the sound is not as clear as what I have from Nakamichi Soundspace 1. Therefore I am using the Soundspace 1 as the temporary speaker system. But it is still highly recommended, especially because the smooth motion picture with great detail and very natural processing of my Time Warner calbe programs.

I bought this tv a few months ago because I have always been happy with Sony. I also thought that it would match well with my ps3. Everything was fine, picture was great, then out of nowhere, the TV and PS3 are no longer compatible through the HDMI. I have replaced the HDMI cord, tried all three HDMI ports and all I get is a blank screen. I have hooked up other gaming systems and they work fine. Sony says that they may send a tech out so we shall see. I can use the ps3 with the rca cables that came with it, but what is the use of having a great blu-ray player if you can't watch anything in 1080? You would think Sony would have a fix for this as well.

I LOVE this TV. I held out for years before buying any HDTV and I'm glad I did! This is a great TV especially for the price. Buy it - the others just don't measure up to a Sony. AND free shipping!

Love the Sony actually this is my second one, bought one around Christmas last year. love love love them.

The sound isn't great. The picture is pretty good. The menu is easy to use. I probably would not buy this TV twice.

I purchased this TV from Best Buy during an instore unadvertised special at $599.00.
After the purchase, I checked the date of manufacture and noted it was April of 2009.
I then updated the software to fix the dimming issue. This was easy and I accomplished it with
a standard 4Gig Sandisk USB card. So far, the picture is perfect, the sound is perfect and I couldn't be happier with the appearance.
I picked this model as the bottom is flat and I have it sitting on a shelf without the stand. The speakers are not covered when it is on the shelf, unlike many other brands where the speakers come out of the bottom of the TV.

I may have been lucky, but the sound is great and I have no complaints. Very pleased.

Just bought this Sony TV from BestBuy at an incredible price of $597.99. Couldn't discern any difference in quality between this and other expensive (120Hz, higher dynamic contrast ratio) models in the store and at $600, didn't feel need to go for the generic brands.... The setup was breeze - the remote is intuitive to be used without refering to manual. I am still waiting to get my Sony Blu ray player from Amazon so have not tested that video functionality yet. Was really surprised by the picture quality from the standard def DVD from SD home theater (w/o upconvert feature) connected via S-video cable. The night/dark scenes were really dark and overall picture qaulity was excellent. Can't wait to see how better the blu ray picture would be. Another note on picture quality - the TV is in a room where there is sunlight. When the TV is on there is no reflection seen on the LCD itself while the bevel surface surface does show reflection. The TV display somehow gets rid of all the sunlight reflection - really impressed by this. Also, no issues with the auto dim feature - have not changed any default settings so may be it's true new models have the problem fixed. For the movie I am using home theater sound system but found the sound quality to be very good for the TV channels, unlike the experience of some reviewers here. May be just lucky ... Very happy with the purchase!

Very high opinion of this HDTV, and it's picture, however when I hooked it up to my stereo receiver for great sound from two very large Klipsch speakers, I lost the ability to mute by the remote, or change the volume, and must use the stereo receiver, which is not nearby to do those functions. I have only had this set operational for two weeks, so I cannot comment on reliability, altho I've heard Sony is a well respected manufacturer.

Purchased Sony TV , shipped immediatly and received in 3 days , very good
1, after 2 days noticed vertical purple line on screen , called sony trouble shouting and they worked with me on the phone but no result . I was very angry and suggested sony has to come in my home and correct or take it back .sony gave me a link and I scheduled at home service .
2, At same time I contacted amazon and requested to return the TV , Amazone responded positivly and scheduled for return the TV and refund my money.
3, Sony technician called and arranged appointment , arrived on time with one box brand new Flat panel . after 3 hours work he replaced the panel with new one and the line was gone . Also he reset TV for me . I was very happy .
4, I called and canceled the Amazon return shipping .
Overall I am very saticfy from Sony's respnse and their Technician
Also very happy of Amazon response , speed of response .
I will buy from amazone again .
Hope this TV will work fine in future too .
Manu

I was quite unsatisfied after about 2 weeks of having this TV. At first I was blown away by the picture quality, and the sound was much crisper when using the HDMI output from my satellite receiver and using the optical output from the TV into my surround sound, than it was running the optical output directly from the satellite receiver to the surround sound.

But then I noticed problems with the notorious "Auto Dimming" feature. Sony, this is your worst idea yet! In addition there was frequent audio loss through the HDMI connection, and wouldn't correct itself until rewinding either on the DVR or DVD.

Sony fixed all this with the firmware update. The link for the update is here: [...]

After running the update, the audio was fixed, but I was still having problems with the auto dim feature. I read a little more, and found this article:
[...]

I really wanted to give this TV 5 stars, especially since I found it at Best Buy for $599. The only thing that kept me from giving this 5 stars is the problems with the TV prior to the update. If the TV would have never had these problems, it would be an easy 5 stars.

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I have got a fairly small TV, the 26" since it's in my bedroom and beside my bed. I am one of the last converts to HD. I, having an emotional attachment to an old RCA 13" that is 25 yrs old and still works, have an older 2001 Sony in my living room. The picture on that is the best I've ever seen. Therefore, this purchase was a Sony and I'm amazed at the picture quality. I hooked it up myself initially and no problems at all with the operation. Simple to operate, no problems with any dimming. I would highly recommend this TV. I only hope it lasts half as long as the old RCA but I doubt they make them like that anymore. I will purchase another Sony Bravia at this point for my living room. Trying to determine the size.

I am comparing the sony to a JVC that was about the same price. I am by no means an expert when it comes to flat panel TV's.

I did not buy from this site. One of the national clubs has a better return policy. I purchased this TV and a 42 inch JVC. I am returning the JVC. The Sony controls and remote (although not multifunction)are superior in most aspects. I purchased both the JVC and Sony at the same time.

Most of what I have to say are based on using QAM on Comcast (no cable box). With the switch to all digital I found that Comcast in my area (northern suburb of Chicago) has put the digital starter stations on QAM. This means if you have a QAM digital tuner on the TV you can get these stations. Almost all large screen TV's have QAM.

The Sony found the stations (about 100 of them) and put them in a fairly logical order. I had to go through each QAM station and label them through "managing stations". I will have to make a cheat sheet showing which station is which. I have not seen any reviews that address the time it takes to change stations. The Sony changes stations much faster than the JVC.

It appears to be viewable in a brightly lit room. At night it is very bright. I have not modified any of the settings - yet.

I have not yet noticed the problems with the dimmer function that a lot of people have complained about, perhaps I have the update.

It does not in my opinion manage the switching between wide screen and 4:3 very well. It seems like I am always changing the settings depending on what I am watching. The JVC did a better job.

The JVC had an Ipod dock. My teenage sons really like this they were disappointed when I told them I was returning it.

If I was only using the tv through a cable box I don't know that wouldn't be more favorable toward the JVC. It is a larger screen for the same amount of money.

I purchased this TV only a week ago. It was manufactured recently, having been delivered to the local store I bought it from in December 2009 (per the box it arrived in). I haven't had any issue with the Autodimmer feature. Perhaps the newer units have the necessary software, as another reviewer mentioned. Having paid only $599 for it, I am very pleased with the picture. I also liked the intuitive setup features and the simple remote control. I should mention that I'm not a TV-geek ... other reviewers are far more knowledgeable about details of HD TVs than I am.

I've had this Sony Tv now for a month and feel I can give an adequate review. This series of Sony HDTV is the "S" series which is Sony's lower end model (they have a "V" and "W" also). For the price-point (under six fifty) the pic quality is not bad. The sound using HDMI is also fine as far as volume goes. Granted, the tone quality (richness) is not very good but none of the speakers on these HDTV's are. Contrary to other reviews, I found the speakers to be above average.

However, I really can't recommend this tv because the update (fix) did not fix anything for me. The color shifting remains after the update and I have tried 2 of these tvs now. Sony support has been fairly good but in the end they haven't fixed anything yet. If you are considering this tv, please read online for complaints for the S and V series. People mention the color shift and noise poping even after the updates so while the update may work for some people, clearly it is is not for others. I really have spent much too much time on this. I really wish I had just purchased a different TV even if it meant doing so at a higher cost. If you do decide to get this tv, make sure you get a really good price on it!!

Finally, the picture on this tv is pretty good and I don't doubt that the software fix work for some people. If it had worked for me I would have given this tv 4 stars. The fact that I've had this problem with 2 Sony's now just makes me question this model (also, I didn't mention that I have tried different hdmi cable as well as swapped out my cable box thinking these might be the cause).

All I am saying is do your research and "buyer be informed."

One last thing I will mention, because I haven't seen it mentioned in any of the other reviews is about the Sony recommended memory cards for the update. Even if you don't have a card on their list try the one you have BUT MAKE SURE you format it first as suggested in their instructions (FAT32). I only had a 128mb card (not on their list) and it didn't work. I noticed the Fat32 instructions and tried that and the update ran perfectly.

I hope this has been helpful.

I bought this TV as a Christmas present for myself. I got it at a great price through Amazon. It was $100 lower than the nearest local source. Free shipping too! I have satellite TV and the picture looks great. The sound is a little disappointing at low levels. I plan to install a stereo amplifier and larger speakers which will solve that problem. The initial setup was a bit tricky but I was able to complete it without extra help. Generally, I am a happy camper with this purchase.