Sony KDL-40Z5100 40" LCD HDTV 40-inch 240Hz 1080p LCD HD Television

I purchased this TV for a friend of mine after spending a few hours viewing the Samsung and LG LED's. I hooked it up for him and spent a few hours viewing and tweeking and generally getting him comfortable with the operation of the set. I am a fan of the Samsung LED tvs but to my eyes the Sonys colors looked a tad deeper and the depth of field also looked deeper and devoid of video noise and artifacts. I also noticed on the Samsung there were some strange artifacts on the outside edges, kinda looked like a very translucent ribbon about an inch wide, running from top to bottom. These are very minor quibbles but I thought the Sony was a bit more refined. I can tell you that this TV looks absolutely stunning on Bluray (Sony BD560) and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. Once again, I really like the Samsung but I thought the Sony was a much better value. Just my 2 Cents worth... Dave

Terrific picture, especially on the HDTV channels. Controls, etc., are straightforward and intuitive. Sound is just a tad softer than I'd prefer, but it's not bad. Could easily hook a secondary sound system to it, but haven't bothered. My previous TV, an Olevia 32", was the same width, but with side-by speakers it lost a full 8" of screen size. The Bravia is exactly the same width, only a couple of inches taller, and delivers a 25% larger screen. The 240hz upgrade is definitely noticeable. If you're on HD, it's the only way to fly. Plan to hook it to my laptop and take advantage of online TV-movie selections. This set also connects to the Internet, if you have the correct cables or signal devices. That's on the agenda, too.

Don't fear the delivery service, my experience was excellent: They arrived when promised, brought it upstairs, unpacked it, hooked it up, and carted away all the trash. Buying via Amazon beats going to a big-box store and having to do all that yourself -- and the price I paid was more than $200 *below* my local big-box store for the same TV. Free delivery, too. Couldn't be happier.

Recently purchased this TV from Amazon / One Call, the purchasing process went very smoothly. The TV was deliver when promised and arrived in excellent shape, thanks FedEx. As for the TV performance it is a Sony, works great, just like the old Sony that it replaced.

After several days of becoming familiar with significant HDTV terms and relevance to a positive TV viewing experience I settled on the Bravia 40 inch 5100 "Z series" LCD. Since I typically keep electronics for 5-8 years I usually opt toward the higher end of the market, and the "Z series" was not offered by local retailers. This is my first HDTV, and I'm very pleased. Amazon price was great (within $200 of the lesser Sony models), and the delivery experience flawless. Great job Sony and Amazon.com!

After performing extensive research on all brands, including plasma, LCD and LED technologies, I settled in on this KDL-40Z5100 from Sony. I'm pleased from all angles, including the physical appearance of the television, the video quality and sound performance. I also debated purchasing the Sony XBR9, but found that the upgraded video features couldn't be taken advantage of with today's video feeds, such as Blu-ray and cable.

Overall, I'd purchase this again in a heart beat.

Product was delivered as scheduled, no problems at all with that.
Excellent picture quality, very easy to use (x-cross media bar looks almost the same as the one in the playstation 3 system) and light enough to hang it on the wall by myself (wall stand purchased separately).

Widgets and online video capabilities are great. Having the possibility to check the weather while watching TV is very helpful (no need to stand up and check in the computer or swith to Weather Channel). Youtube in the TV is great. Very easy and intuitive to use, even kids can control it by their own.

I have no opinion regarding sound quality, since I use it connected to a Home theater.

I really recommend this TV, it's just great and I love it. For about $1,200-1,300 is the best choice by far. Go for it.

This TV replaced a 34" Sony CRT HD set. I was concerned about a strong "backlight" situation in our viewing room, but this set performs every bit as well as a strong CRT model as far as brightness.

The Bravia features are great and really demonstrate the power of new capabilities like Internet, Photos, video streaming, and music. I was thinking of putting in a PC in my media room, but this set performs all the functions I was going to use the PC for. Not to mention the user interface is super easy.

Resolution and color is fantastic, and the set performs extremely well with my home theatre.

I went to Best Buy and looked at the 100 TVs on the wall. The Sony has the best picture, period. Of course I got a much better deal here on Amazon when I bought it. The only criticism I have is the remote control, not the best I have used. But the picture is so great, it still gets 5 stars from me.

Got it delivered last week. I waited a bit for the price to come down and I'm very happy. Sleek design and awesome picture quality. I still have to explore all the features. It talks to my blu ray (a Panasonic product) via HDMI. I haven't tried the internet features yet.

Originally purchased the eco VE5 series Sony. Stay away from that model. Left speaker vibrates out of box. Should have read more reviews before the purchase. Returned that for this z5100 series.

We are thrilled! The cabinet is sleeker and better looking. The sound is awesome! The picture color and refresh rate, contrast etc. cannot compare to the lesser Sony models. This model is one step below the XBR series and at it's price point and features is it well worth the money. I would recommend that anyone looking for a LCD make sure you get the 240Hz and a 10 bit panel and processor.

We have had this TV for 11/2 days and are in love with it. Haven't hooked up to the internet yet, but might somewhere down the line.

I am very happy with this purchase. The image quality is amazing, and was very easy to set up. Amazon delivered on time and as promised (once more). I was about to buy a Samsung series 650 or 700's, but took my time to compare and discovered that the historic price differential beetween Samsung and Sony is gone; actually, this Sony TV set was even cheaper !!

I have no complaints about this TV. The picture is awesome, great contrast and no motion blurring. There are plenty of inputs. I connected it via Ethernet to the Internet and watch youtube, Amazon and Netflix videos (there are other apps as well). Menus are easy to use and comprehensive. Got it for around a grand which is comparable if not better than what Samsung model prices with this feature set.

I was looking at purchasing a new tv for about 4 months. I was not really concerned with the extra features like ethernet because i already had a PS3. Was looking into buying the new Toshiba Regza 40xv648u to replace my regza 32hl67u because i was really satisfied with some of the extra features toshiba had embedded in there tv's. After months of looking at prices it was between the samsung LNB640 and the Sony VE5 or W5100, those were my choices even though i was eyeing the Z5100 or the XBR9 but the price was too high. Just by luck i was able to get the Z5100 from sony through my job benefits for less than $1000 total with a 3 year warranty.
I must say i kinda new what to expect but boy was i amazed with all the stuff this TV can do. The picture quality is excellent and the sound is superb, you can actually go into the sound menu and enhance the voice over the soundtracks in movies so you will not miss any of the dialogue. The internet conncetion is really good though i must say that while watching netflix it keeps having to buffer every 10 mins comaperd to my PS3 which is wireless which might only do it once every other movie
My only complaint is that sony could have made the settings more detailed.
1: Motionflow should say - 60Hz, 120Hz or 240Hz and not Off, Standard or High.How is anyone supposed to know which is which
2: Power Options need some clarification
3: The special buttons like SCENE,VIDEO,WIDGETS need to function independant of which device you or using, rather than having to always select the tv button.

All in all this Tv is one of the best i have seen unless you buy one of the new 2010 sony models

I have never seen a more Vivid display with such richness and fluidity of motion than on the Sony Bravia Z Series 40". I bought this TV for my bedroom, and I have fallen in love almost immediately. I am considering putting this TV in the living room, and moving the less impressive Panasonic in the bedroom. I use Cablevision, and I just got a new HD Box and Monster HDMI cables (must have HDMI cables for best picture). The picture is absolutely beautiful, what else can I say? I watched an episode of Law and Order, one that I have already seen, and the show looked like it was being filmed live. I'm not sure what each feature in the Sony TV does or how it compares to other TVs in the same category, but there is such a stand out difference between this 40" LCD and my 42" Panasonic Plasma. The motion displayed on the screen makes the images appear to jump out, almost like 3D. On the Vivid setting, the colors can be so bright, that it looks like a painting. This is my 4 HDTV, and it is in a class by itself. I have bought only Panasonic in the past. Not any more. I am hooked on Sony for life. If you are in the market for a new TV, and you must have quality, then buy a Bravia. You will be happy.

I bought this TV after reading a number of reviews... all very positive.... I concur... Quality of the picture is outstanding and very easy to set-up and use... with or without an AVR....

netflix, youtube, and so much more is built into this tv! the tv guide built in is also outstanding.... these are things that should be mentioned. when i bought this tv, i bought it for the pricetag, and the specs... but i had no clue it had all these features. i just read it has sony's stupid little widgets. but i have a hard time not sitting around all day watching movies when its so easy to access with netflix being built right in. this tv is well worth the price. I payed $1,200 for mine, and it has been well worth the money.

Six weeks ago, I purchased a KDL-40W5100. When using it with a Wii, I noticed that the white background wasn't uniformly white. At the edges of the screen the white turned to gray, with the most variation at the left and right sides of the screen.

I created full-screen (1920 x 1080) images of various colors (red, blue, green, white, mid gray, and black) and copied them to a thumb drive. Then I used the built-in picture viewer to view the jpg files via the USB port. Sure enough, the edges of the screen were darker when any color (other than black) was displayed. I called Sony and they promptly sent out a replacement TV. It had the same problem, plus a new one. Now the black wasn't uniform. It showed a bright spot at one corner.

So I called again and worked my way through their awful phone support. The response was to send me a third W-series TV, but I figured this was some sort of systemic problem, so I escalated the case. Finally, a product support specialist confirmed my suspicion, saying that the LCD panel is too thin. I asked if the KDL-40Z5100 has the same design flaw. He told me it doesn't, so I worked with Sony to get a Z-series.

The Z-series TV finally arrived and it has the same problems. If you care about image quality, don't buy one of these TVs.

I purchased this TV a few weeks ago and I am so happy I did! I spent months researching [online and in-store] LCD TVs for my bedroom and let me save you any more time and stress. Just buy this TV! You definitely won't regret it. In April 2009, I purchased the Samsung LN52A750 for my living room and I personally find the picture quality on this TV even better. Watching the 2010 Olympics on this TV has been oustanding!

I was looking for a TV for the bedroom and I figured I would spend the extra cash on a "smaller" TV because this is truly where we watch the majoriy of our television, anyway. Love this Sony, man! I read all the reviews for all the other mods and I'm really blown away by the quality of this model. It's a perfect fit for my bedroom. It's about 8' from headboard to TV and the picture is just absolutely perfect. The sound quality is phenomenal. This was important to me because I wasn't about to go and hook up yet another surround system, especially not in my bedroom (the wife won't let me :) ). If you have a DVR box (I have the HD/DVR box from Comcast), then the PIP still functions.

I hooked it up to a blu-ray player and needless to say....it's just awesome. I purchased the "Mediabridge Ultra Series - 6ft High Speed HDMI Cable - Version 1.3 Category 2 Certified - 1080p - Blu-Ray - PS3" cables from Amazon.com for $9.99, as I had for my 52" Samsung", and the quality is great. I suggest buying those cables, as well.

I decide to post this review because I rely heavily on user reviews (mainly Amazon and TripAdvisor) so I figured I would return the favor. I'm one of those guys that stresses about new big purchases, wants to make sure I'm getting the right and best product, etc. This is the one. I am so pleased I decided to pull the trigger on this TV set.

My biggest concern before buying this LCD for my bedroom was all the other channels that are not available in HD that we watch. Compared to my 52" Samsung, the quality of the non-HD channels on this TV is far superior. Of course, they're not going to be as great as HD or as clear perhaps on a tube TV, but the quality of even those non-HD Channels has truly impressed me.

On a side note - my wife and I happen to find the SONY-lit logo pretty cool (even though it can be disabled). I think it adds to the flavor of the TV. I'm a proud Sony owner and I want to show it off :).

Just recieved my TV a few hours ago. Took me about ten minutes to setup with help from my uncle and arrived in perfect condition. Has way better picture quality then the lg 32lg30 I replaced. Way deeper blacks and you can only notice that the edge of the tv is slightly brighter on the corners if you really try looking for it but it doesnt really bother me. Its not as bad as my friends Samsung 7000. I use this TV mostly for gaming and although it took me 30 minutes to find game mode it made a big difference when playing my Xbox 360. Theirs no need to worry about input lag on this set. I was going to get a samsung 40 B750 until I read a couple of reviews saying that it`s game mode isnt that great and you cant adjust the picture as much when game mode is on. Which turned out to be true when I checked out my friends Samsung 7000. Iam very happy with this purchase and I give this TV 5 stars!!

The picture color, quality and contrast cannot be beaten! I am thrilled with the purchase!

Just finished one month using many hours of DirecTV viewing on HD channels and DVD usage (no BluRay yet) and just love this TV. Colors are very natural without any over-saturation, not too bright like some other brands have to be to get a decent picture or heavy blue/green bias. Its just plain Sony quality in my opinion. My last Sony TV was a KV-25XBR one of the first XBR CRT's they made back in 1984 and it still has that Sony quality picture after 26 years.
I can now understand what others have said about SD channels on this or any HD TV...they just don't do it any justice. I won't say anything about viewing BluRay disks as I haven't seen any yet but for just your standard DVD you get from Netflix or the local rental store they really look nice on my set. Sports and specials like the Winter Olympics just look like your there! Now that the set/panel has almost 200 hours on it, I'll be adjusting some the picture settings as this TV is really a tweeker's delight. In all fairness, the picture does look fantastic right out of the box. The first thing I did was update the FW using a USB thumb drive with the latest firmware version from the Sony website. So far have not had any picture problems or issues with flashlighting or clouding as others have reported. Blacks are really black...like in dark black with a fair amount of detail if you keep the blacklight setting down around 3 or 4. Also glad that when I ordered this set, the price was a lot less than what their going for now so glad I took the plunge and not looking back.

Don't know how good the 2010 Sony sets are going to be but if you look at the consistent 5 stars that this particular model has going, get off the fence and go for it before there gone.

I spent weeks trying to decide between the Samsung LN40B750 and the Sony KDL-40Z5100. At the time that I purchased the Sony KDL-40Z5100 for $999, the Samsung LN40B750 was selling for $1299. The $300 price difference proved to be one of many deciding factors. I preferred the look of the Sony to the Samsung, but the Samsung seemed to be the better performer according to various reviews I read. My main concern with the Sony was screen uniformity and other LCD defects that many people complained about on online forums. Looking at the 2 TVs at a local electronics retailer, I preferred the Samsung's picture quality to that of the Sony's, although they were both impressive. A final deciding factor was the Sony's ability to stream Netflix content, a feature that the Samsung did not offer.

For $999 I am very happy with my Sony KDL-40Z5100. If I had paid more for the TV I don't know if I would be as content with my purchase. Although the TV produces a excellent image (contrast, color, sharpness, etc.) it does suffer from compromised screen uniformity as the reviews I read warned about. In dark screens the top corners of the TV are slightly brighter than the rest of the screen. There is also an area to the left of the center of the screen that suffers from a similar issue, although not as pronounced. I must confess that my wife does not notice any of these issues, so whether or not this will be a problem for you is completely subjective. Again, for $999 I love this TV despite a few issues. The TV's picture quality is fantastic, and having Netflix streaming built in is amazing.

Hugh

For years I had been checking out flat screens and waiting until I felt that they had evolved to point that I would be satisfied. I made sure that not only blacks were deep black but also different shades of black, I waited until fast motion in the picture were was no longer a blur or that the picture frame didn't break apart. I was leaning toward the Samsung line, the 6 series and up when I came upon reviews for the Sony Z series. I took a chance without seeing the flat screen and going by the reviews of other salespeople who had seen it and I wasn't disappointed. The picture is so good that you could almost tell that the only thing better was going to be the next great thing in evolution would be 3D. The picture is so clear and seems so accurate in High Def. that you couldn't want for much more. The Sony Z series is an LCD TV, I just didn't feel comfortable with the LED's just yet the colors seem untrue but I'm sure in time they will become great but for now I couldn't ask for better. This TV lives up to and exceeds my expectations. Live sporting events feel as if you are there and HD movies are great though there seems to be some differences in the quality of the film picture which you probably wouldn't pick up on if you were viewing a tube TV, which I don't believe is the Z series fault it is more of a testament to how good it is. If you buy this TV you will not be dissappointed. I would also like to point out that while I went on Amazon.com they directed me to another vendor which had this TV for less. Kudos to Amazon.com for their openness.

Cool look, slight down side is that many cable connectors such as HDMI 2, 3 and 4 are on the side at height, making them hard to hide from some angles. Good multi purpose remote and the picture/sound are pretty good. Excellent for HD sports. As it is dual voltage it is ideal for peopel who travel outside Europe.

The biggest TV screen I had until I bought this TV was 20". When I got the Sony 40Z5100 it was like another world. I didn't see Avatar at the theater, stupidly, so when I saw it on this 40" TV I was blown away. I very well may have been extremely happy with any TV of this size after having just a 20" for so long, but this Sony is great and HD was made for baseball. I just have cable, will never go back to DirecTV because they lied to me, but even with cable this has been a fun experience and I'm glad I waited for the price to go down. People shouldn't give anything a low rating because they aren't happy with their buying experience. It's not the TVs fault.

Best picture quality I have ever seen! Awesome vivid colors! 240mhz refresh rate rocks ! Speakers so-so. Hook up to surround sound system higly recommened for home teathre experience. Sony blue ray hook-up awesome. I highly suggest all hook-ups to use monster HDMI cable. Unit has five HDMI ports. Monster HTS 350 good idea to protect 3,125 joules protection. PS. Newegg best price.

As many other reviewers have stated, this is an excellent LCD television. The picture and sound quality are outstanding, set up is straightforward, even when connecting the television to the Internet for use with services such as Netflix. When combined with a Bluray player, A/V receiver, and some good speakers you have a top of the line home theatre setup.

However, the high quality of the television is marred by the fact that Sony has chosen to put most of the HDMI ports on the side of the television and HAS REVERSED THE ORIENTATION OF THE HDMI PLUGS. The orientation of the plugs mean that they are only compatible with upward oriented right angle HDMI adapters. Consequently you either have cabling sticking out from the side of the television or you must buy Sony's overpriced HDMI cabling, as the orientation of the plugs makes them incompatible with virtually all right angle HDMI adapters as they are DOWNWARD oriented. Even the flat right angle adapters will not work, as they will mask some of the HDMI ports. Additionally, using a regular cable in the side ports and tying the cable back will result in stress on both the port and cable, leading to one or the other breaking.

It is a shame that Sony's incompetence in handling design details (or their desire to sell customers overpriced HDMI cables) has marred an otherwise fine television.