Sony KDL-46V5100 46" LCD HDTV 46-inch 120Hz 1080p LCD HD Television

The TV is great and all the features are great,but the HDMI has a control feature that will cause a little conflict with function. I just turned the control off and all is well. I would recommend this TV.

Almost purchased a Samsung LED TV from BB until I saw this set next to the Samsung. For $500 less, the picture quatily was identical. Found it even cheaper at Amazon, with free shipping. The picture quality is incredible. I have it paired with a PS3 as well as the Sony HDX-589 home theater system. No blurring while playing the PS3 or watching high speed sports. The software update was simple to install, and I've had no problems with the picture. Would buy this TV again.

I was planning to buy a LCD for so long (almost 6 months), and then after a lot of research I bought this TV 2 months back and since then have started watching TV a lot. Truly a great buy !! The football games on Sunday could not have been better. With a 46" screen and amazing picture quality in HD, and to that when you the loud sound (considering that I had an older TV before), watching Sunday games becomes awesome.

I am thinking of getting another Sony this holiday season, as we have only one TV and I want another one in my GAME room.

A great TV for a great price.

There's nothing more than I can say, other than that this TV is awesome. Love the picture. It absolutely blows my mind. I have a sony bravia surround 7.1 setup for it, and I will never have to go to the movies, since the movies are playing in my living room. Take that Barry Obama, you can try to take away my healthcare, but you can't take away my blu-ray.

This is the best TV. Easy to set up, pull it out of the box-the directions are right at the top of the box on how to set it up-place it on the stand, screw in 4 screws, turn it on, it programs itself and PRESTO! We were watching TV in less than 15 minutes. The sound is excellent, the speakers are on the front. The picture is wonderful, even though I do not have HD on my satellite-do not want to pay for it-the size is perfect for my living area (the helpful size chart on the Amazon.com website was a life saver). My living area has south facing windows and there is no glare on the screen. My kids used to close the curtains to watch TV (drove me crazy)and they have not done that since this TV arrived. I went to my parents' house this weekend and noticed my dad had the same TV in a 52 inch size. When I saw that, I felt confident that I had picked the correct TV since my dad is a huge techno freak and always orders the best of everything. I bought this TV as a "I got laid off" present to myself and have not regretted it.

I ordered this as a replacement to my other Sony 42" A10 series that had an optical block problem, lucky i got the extended warranty. I got this set being the Sony fanboy i have always been from Amazon's Warehouse Deals as an opened box unit, and it was absolutely flawless, paid $1025. The PQ on this set is far better than my older one but with some slight quirks due to this technology. One of them is a "flashlight" effect in the corners and around the screen edges during a dark or black scene, happens on all of these types of sets to some degree, but not really a problem for me. There is also some slight color shifting called "redshifting" on skintones during some scenes, but not really noticable unless you're a true A/V freak like myself. Sony is aware of this issue and is working on it, but i still don't see it as a big deal and it is only very slight if at all. It's like the color on someones face will vary a little like it can't lock onto the right color, but again hardly noticable.

I would recommend this set but that would be biased because in my eyes Sony can do no wrong, well almost. I like it and that's all that matters.

The audio output on my KDL46V5100 is FIXED. Unlike the earlier KDL series, which have variable output, this model is fixed. If you use an external amp and speakers you won't be able to use the TV remote to conrtol the volume.

Overall, the picture quality is good, as only Sony TV's seem to deliver and the audio sounds great even though the speakers are small. However, the manufacture quality is not up to my expectations when it comes to spending extra money for the Sony brand. This is my 2nd 46v5100 as the first one was problematic and updating the firmware didn't help. There was intermittent loss of audio, there was terrible flashlighting in 3 of the corners, especially in the upper left corner, there was clouding in the bottom half of screen, and finally there appeared to a dimple behind the LCD. Amazon's policy on defective TV's requires that the buyer contact Sony to get a case #. Well, discussing to troubleshoot the problem with Sony was a real pain. (The Sony rep believed that resetting the TV could fix the clouding and flashlighting!) The replacement TV has manufacture date of August 2009 so it had the latest firmware. Fortunately, the 2nd set didn't have the audio problem and had considerably less clouding, however it still has flashlighting in the upper left corner. I'll probably just keep this set as Amazon's return/exchange policy for LCD TV's is a hassle. (Or at least, I was hassled by two Amazon reps). Now, I'm looking to get a second LCD TV for bedroom but I'm looking at other brands. I gave this TV only 3 stars because it seems average even though it is a Sony... It's tough to enjoy this TV's feature set when there are backlighting issues that is so visible every time I watch TV.

After bringing this unit home, I now have true HD at an affordable price.
The motion control that is configurable for each input is excellent.
I have dish network HD and I let my Sony do the decoding of the video and sound and get the best results.

Dave

TV-great - just to bad that we saw the same TV on your website the week after we brought this one for $150.00 cheaper.

My brother-in-law, who has been into home theater etc. for 20 + years, told me that Sony is the best in electronics. So I have had a Sony DVD player and a Sony Surround Sound unit for many years. But I had always purchased another brand TV. Well, we finally elected to get rid of our old "entertainment center" furniture because we were the last people we knew who didn't have a wide-screen HDTV. I shopped at Best Buy and nearly bought a Toshiba, but I felt like they were jacking me around over $50, so I walked away. When I got on Amazon, I found the Bravias priced just a little more than the other brands. So I read all the reviews and bought the Sony Bravia. No regrets! Now, I have the best TV picture of all our friends! The TV setup was a breeze. I would recommend you shop online for your HDMI cable(s). I found cables for $4, whereas the retail stores like Best Buy have them starting at $39. Don't be ripped off on these cables. As far as I know, they all work and deliver 1080. But be sure to order them about the time you order your TV, because you will want that HD picture as soon as you get this TV.

I'll start off with the good stuff with this TV, excellent sound and great picture (except for really high motion which i'll get to later). The sound on this TV exceeded my expectations by a large margin as the sound quality is really crisp and clear. Sony got the sound on this TV right, and i don't think it could get better from just having a standalone TV set. One note: My cablebox makes a poping sound when switching channels - Sony has noted that this is a problem from the cablebox on their website.

The picture is really great once you get the correct settings put in as well (do a google search for best settings). Only use HDMI cables unless your cable box or other device doesn't have an HDMI port for the best picture. One thing you will notice if this is your first dip into HDTV waters is that not all HDTV broadcasts are going to be in true HD quality. Some stations stretch the picture which looks terrible. It's not the Tv's fault however, it's the stations that are broadcasting. Some are good, some are bad, and some are just plain ugly.

Where i knock this down 1 star is for fast motion. Sorry Nascar fans, im talking fast zoomed in motion - mostly football. Most sights that tell you how to calibrate your TV will tell you to turn the "Motionflow" portion of your settings off. I tried it and can say for me personally i can't watch the TV like that because the motion isn't smooth. If i put "Motionflow" on standard it looks better but i wish there was a setting between off and standard, like low for example. Getting back to my point though, i do not recommend this TV for viewing spaces UNDER 10 feet. Pixelazation starts to show up alot at the under 10 feet distance - especially in fast camera moments like football. Over 10 feet in your viewing area and i would probably give this TV 5 stars and not 4. Putting "Motionflow" on standard helps, but it doesn't cure it, and the level above standard is just silly because everything looks really fake. Would a TV at 240hz do a better job of making the motion blur go away? It may, but from what i have been reading on the internet the motion blur is from the TV stations broadcast itself. I don't have a 240hz TV right now (they are a little too expensive) to compare, but i have a feeling that you would still have some of the motion blur. Im just not sure at this point if the motion blur comes from the TV itself or from the HD broadcasts, it's there nonetheless even with HDMI cables and thats why i knock it down to 4 stars.

As a side note i want to add that you should get a Blu-ray player if you like to watch movies. Most DVD's i own (around 500) look pretty bad on the new HDTV set's. Even with upconverting, the quality does not hold. Can you watch it - yes. Does it look good - sometimes depending on the encoding. Does it look great - no, only blu-ray will look great from now on if you purchase any HDTV set. It sucks, but it's the truth.

I purchased this TV direct from Sony under a promotion that included a Sony Blu-ray DVD player. Total with tax was just over $1200.00 It all arrived in less than a week which was a pleasant surprise. It took more time to get into the box than it did to set up the system. It works perfectly with my Dish Network HD receiver and a 27 year old Channel Master attic antenna. I could not be more pleased with the picture I get. This set replaced a 42" Plasma TV that was three years old. It was moved to another room because it is still in perfect working condition. The Sony KDL46V5100 does have some features that are less than perfect. I expected that when I bought it. Overall, the set is more than adequate. I have read some reviews on this TV that makes it sound like a problem child. Anything is a problem if it does not work right. We still have lemons in all products we purchase. Some of us get the good ones and some of us get the lemons. And if it comes out of China, it is very lemon prone because of their lack of quality comtrol...maybe I should say their non-existant quality control.

I have found no problems with this set and it has a beautiful picture. The sound quality could be better but it is adequate. Connection to a home theater system requires one with a volume control because the audio output is a fixed level...no big deal. The power cord is permanatly attached to the set unlike most others that have a detachable cord. The inputs are located on the side and hiding the cables is a little difficult. Better design could have helped this minor inconvenience. The unit has four HDMI inputs which is a definite plus, but don't expect to get an HDMI cable with the set. You have to buy your own...and they ain't cheap. A six foot gold Phillips is $34.00 at Walmart. Overall, this set is well worth the money we paid for it and the Blu-ray Disc player. If you are looking for a good buy, I highly recommend the KDL46V5100. If I have problems, you can bet I'll be back here adding them to this review.

I will preface this by admitting that I'm not the largest audiophile or TV fanatic, just a guy who enjoys watching a game or 2 on the weekends and maybe a movie with the wife when the kids finally get to sleep.
After a few trips to the standard national electronics store and digging around for online reviews, it became very clear that any LCD you purchase must have 1080p and 120mhz as a minimum.
Bottom line, I've had this TV for about a week and the picture quality is great, sound is OK (great through AV Reciever) and it's an attractive addition to my family room. The key for me was price, my budget was $1000 and it turns out the week that I was ready to pull the trigger the price dropped from $1388 to $900 so it was a no brainer. I'm sure I would have been equally happy with any of he major brands in the $1000-$1300 price range (Samsung, Vizio, Toshiba, Sharp) but I'm glad I was able to get this one under my original budget. Good luck shopping!

This is our first HDTV - I did research for few months and going back and forth to the store to do comparison before finally pulling the trigger on this one when Amazon had a bundle deal with bluplayer BDP-N460 for $ 865 using our amazon card. The package was delivered by PILOT, the guy set it up and made sure it work fine. Impressive customer support ! The TV looks sleek, quality of picture was just mind blowing - our first movie, Star Trek, looks very much alive on this... !!! Sound quality is fine, though not the best - but it does not matter, we use additional speakers. It also picks up more channels than my old TV did (we live in rural area far from TV stations, and we have no cable). The DVD works seamlessly with it, we can make do with just one remote. I still need to find wireless adapter to go with it. Finally we are enjoying our living room to the fullest. I can't be happier... and happy wife means happy household.... !

I ordered this set on a Friday afternoon and it was delivered the next Wednesday! Service that good is hard to find. And the shipping was free as well! The set is great--clear, crisp picture with great color and sound--everything you would expect from a Sony. Amazon is a great place to i-shop.

I am very pleased with my purchase. Picture is even better than I expected. Feel like I got a great deal!

This TV does have a great picture, is well priced and has nice features. The problem is that there are two major defects with this series that Sony has refused to admit to. I have this TV and when watching movies at night, from all four corners of the screen there is clouding (like someone came and squeezed the corners) which I cannot get rid of. After noticing this I did my research and found out that this is a major issue with this TV set which Sony has claimed, not a common issue. Google it yourself before buying this TV. All you have to do is google "46V5100 clouding" and you'll be flooding with reported problems.

There is also another red light flashing issue with red scenes. I cannot recommend this set, due to these issues. Given that Sony has refused to admit there is an issue, I'm not sure if I would recommend ANY Sony at this time as their support has been very poor. I'm going to return this TV and hope the next one does not have the same issues this one does, however its 50/50 at this point given the large number of complaints I see.

I reseached HD TVs and narrowed it down to Samasung or Sony 42 - 46 LCD for my living room. I did not like the glossy Samsung Screen but liked vivid color in the store.

I chose Sony because Best Buy had and awesome deal (I believe December 5th). I got a Sony kdl46v5100 TV, Sony PS3, Blue Ray Movie and PS3 game for $950 and 4 yr extended waranty for under $200.

The color was excellent and 120Hz is a lot better than 60HZ models

Digital tuner works great with indoor Terk antenna ( I live in a hilly, wooded, remote area).

Blue Ray movies and PS3 games picture quality is amazing in all lighting situations.

I bought a Panasonic HD digital camcorder that shoots in Cinema mode and the play back quality using HDMI cable to this TV is amazing compared to standard LCD TV a few years older!

The TV sound is OK by itself ,but sounds great playing thru a home theater system

I bought this T.V. from Best Buy. They had in my opinion a super deal that I could not pass up.
Buy the T.V. get a Sony Play Station 3 Slim model 80GB HD with 1 Game and 1 Blue Ray Movie and free delivery and set up.
I got the Little Big planet game which has to be the most adorable game I have ever played.
I got Year One which I have not watched yet.
The delivery men came at 7:00am Sunday morning to deliver the T.V. I just had them just plug it into the wall connect the Coaxial cable and that's all I wanted them to do. Remember these delivery people are not employees of Best Buy they are subcontracted out.
They set the T.V. to scan the channels and it was done in like 20mins.
Best Buy in all their upsalesmenship wanted me to buy extended warranty and an HDMI cable to watch Blue Ray movies but everything has a manufactures warranty for 1 year and I could get the cable cheaper someplace else, which I did.

The first Movie I happened to watch was Jeremiah Johnson, I have watched that movie countless times and consider it to be my favorite, what a treat that it was on the evening I was channel surfing. Of course it was not broadcast in HD ;)
The first Blue Ray movie I watched was Star Trek by J.J. Abrams. WOW! now that was incredible! what detail!

Since this is my First LCD T.V. I can't compare it to any other LCD that I have owned except for my Samsung LCD computer monitors which I just love.
The T.V. does what it's supposed to. I see T.V. shows in regular broadcast and in some cases H.D. which look supper!
The Sony Play Station plays Blue Ray movies and so far I am blown away by the format.
The PS3 plays the games in HD and again I am blown away by these programmers' details.
The sound is impressive and I have never relied on a T.V. to give me superior sound anyway; aren't most people going to hook this up to a surround system anyway?
If you are looking for great sound from this T.V. you won't be disappointed in fact I was pleasantly surprised.

There was a review I read that if you watched the T.V. from an angle the beauty of the picture was distorted. I have no idea what angle he was referring to because the T.V. looks great at 35 degrees. I don't think there is any T.V. nor would you want to watch it from an extreme angle.

The only thing I can say that I have noticed from this T.V. that Is most annoying is when there is a commercial break or any time the screen goes completely black is the corners show some sort of a white glow, like sunshine is trying to pierce a black curtain and there is light coming from the edges. It doesn't concern me because I don't notice it in any programs.

I highly recommended this T.V. if you are on the fence about getting your first LCD. In 3 years you will most likely replace it with an LED T.V. and if you are fortunate enough to get the Best Buy T.V, PS3, 1 movie and 1 game deal I would jump on that. It's like everyone in the family gets a Christmas Present.

If you are some techno head who likes to overanalyze every Hz and THD then you are best served by reading the specs yourself and coming to your own mathematical formula of Nirvana.

Buy the wall mount from some online dealer they are way cheaper online than in store. Seems like a 200% markup in the stores.
The same goes for an HDMI cable. The difference between the Platinum platted $150 monster cable and the $15 one is the price and the packaging.

my husband got this tv black friday weekend from sony outlet a wonderful deal at less than 1000 with free play station 3.

What an awesome Television. Bought ours from Amazon about a month before Christmas. The Family loves it. I would recommend surround sound to get the full effect of this investment.

Amazon offered a great deal just after Thanksgiving - it was a Sony Bravia V series tv and blu ray player combo. Everything was great until I started watching TV. Skin tones would change from normal to reddish/pink and then switch back. This was more apparent on close up views of people on TV. I'm an NCIS fan and it's really apparent during that show. When you pay $1000 for a product, you don't expect it to be defective...etc. I also have a stuck pixel near the center of the screen - which Sony says they can't really do anything about it and also says it's part of their manufacturing process that they can't guarantee no dead or stuck pixels. 1 bad pixel is acceptable when you are talking millions of pixels...from a manufacturing standpoint - yes...from a consumer standpoint - no. I'll say that the features, look, and picture quality are good except for the red flashing problem. Apparently there is a problem with the V series and I was not aware of that before I bought it - so beware. Just type in bravia red flashing on a google search or a yahoo search...etc and you'll see tons of postings regarding it. It's unfortunate that information like that or other reviews didn't point that out. Now those reviews are popping up everywhere but Sony denies it's problems. That's just bad business. I've been a Sony fan for years and I have things like DVD players, TVs, theatre systems...etc from them but this is a problem they should correct - otherwise they may lose loyal consumers of their brand. If you don't notice the red flashing - then it's a great TV - but if you can notice it - it's very annoying and you feel that you bought an inferior product but almost paid top dollar for it. I could have bought a sharp for a couple hundred dollars less and yet I don't see any problems with Sharp LCDs on forums anywhere.

This TV is very basic. It doesn't have any features like - usb movie playback, streaming from yahoo or netflix. But what it does, it does well. I wanted 120hz and 1080p capability. HD content - 1080p and 720 is very crisp and clear. DVD (with upsampling) looks very good too. Over the air channels also look very good - even 480i ones. This is a good buy for less than $1000.

We got this TV just before Thanksgiving @ Best Buy with a free Blue Ray player for a great price. I didn't know they would be offering the same deal but with a PS3 instead or I would have gone for that. Still we've been enjoying the Blue Ray player and will probably keep it even if we get a PS3 later.
The TV is an excellent value and while I have heard of the issues with 'red flashing' or 'clouding' we have only seen a slight color shift once or twice and no clouding at all. I guess we got lucky and got one of the good ones. I've calibrated the set using a calibration disc and now the colors are exceptionally vivid. It comes out of the box set up for showroom display, which is not the optimal setting for a home environment. Calibrate it using one of the fine calibration discs or look for others settings posted online to get the best picture. You won't be disappointed.
We've been watching some racing and nature shows in HD and it's just amazing. I can't comment on the sound as I have a surround sound system, although I can't imagine spending this much on the display then just listening to the tiny speakers.

I got an absolute steal on this TV (from SonyStle's retail store) and picked this up in Nov '09. This is almost a perfect product - it's small speakers are better than most HDTVs, it's picture is stunning, very easy to use, etc. However, there is an occasional 'red flash' that is very real and apparently very common. I love Amazon's ranking features, but I'm not sure why more people haven't commented on this issue yet. avsforum is a much more thorough site devoted to audio/video products, and there are 83 pages on this thread (with maybe 20 comments per page?) and the red flashing is by far the most pervasive subject talked about.

I am not even close to a movie snob and both my wife and I noticed this red flashing immediately. It is obvious on the standard def shots that prominently display flesh tones, but it's still there on DVDs. Very slight on BD, but I can notice it. We watched Ken Burns "The War" on DVD, and it happened on almost every interview.

I am a bit confused as to why more people haven't voted this product's ranking downward. This is an obvious defect and it's significantly distracting. This is also not the '1 in a million' defect either, as I stopped reading the other sites that had nonstop complaints about this.

To be fair, when there is no red flashing, the TV looks fantastic. If Sony fixes this, I will revise my rating to a perfect 5/5.

TV has a problem with its video projector where on shows, the skin tone of people flashes redish to pinkish. A lot of people say it's worth overlooking, but for those who zone in on things, I would say away from this set. Other than that, the picture quality is good. Sony has not come up with any solutions to this red flashing issue. Unless you get a really good deal on this TV, like I did, I'd buy another model or brand for the normal price.

I actually went through two V5100s and returned both; surprisingly both had the same set of problems. After being shocked in the quality that I was seeing with Sony's latest products, I went over to AVS Forum ([...]) and found that many others are having the exact same issues that I experienced with 2 separate V5100 sets.

These are the following serious problems that I experienced:
- Red Flashing (causes flesh tones to flash between various colors of red)
- Clouding in the backlight
- Flashlight effects in corners (causes corners to too bright)
- Static noise (coming from speakers at all volume levels; especially bad at low volume)
- Audio Dropouts (over HDMI)

When I returned the TV, I instead got an XBR9 instead and it has been a little bit better but I'm still having problems with the XBR9's backlight. I may end up waiting for a 2010 XBR11/12 that is LED backlit if I'm not happy with my replacement XBR9 that is on the way.

This is an excellent and easy to use product. I put it on the stand, connected the cables and it started working right away. Sony has great TVs and this is my 3rd Sony TV, and love it. The video quality is excellent. The picture is crisp. Colors are great and well balanced. The sound quality is acceptable for a TV in this price range. While Sony and other manufacturers have TVs well over $2500, the difference in video and audio quality is not worth the money in my opinion. I do not sit in front of the TV and evaluate every pixel. If you want perfection in every pixel, then you can spend 4 times the money, but this TV is a very good value for the money and it will not disappoint most users.

As others have mentioned, this tv has a very annoying red flashing problems. Peoples faces change from red to pale and back to red again often enough that it is very distracting while watching. Nice picture otherwise, but this will drive you crazy!!

I would not recommend!!

Purchased this in May '09. The picture is phenomenal once you figure out the right settings, but getting there is a chore and Sony's tech support is useless ...unless you want to talk to someone who will simply read debug steps from the Troubleshooting Guide or read to you verbatim from the User's Guide.

There were several bugs that Sony has fixed, but several more that Sony has claimed to have fixed in the Aug '09 firmware update but are still there. I won't list all the bugs, I'm just mentioning two that are the most annoying.

The worst bug is the random dropouts of audio over the HDMI interface. You'll be watching something and all of a sudden the audio will start to stutter and then drop out altogether. Sony says they fixed this but it's still there. To clear it you have to change inputs, change channels on the cable box (same thing since the signal drops out briefly and then comes back when changing the channel) or cycle the power.

Another bug is a loud popping sound when switching between signals in different formats (like changing between a 480i channel and a 1080i channel).

Also, beware that firmware updates don't go according to plan or according to the instructions given by Sony. You'll probably have to attempt the firmware update more than once to get it to "take". I thought my TV was broken after the first attempt and was at the point where Sony told me to send it back. So I figured I had nothing to lose to pull the plug and try again. After another unsuccessful attempt the firmware updated on the third try.

The audio is OK, but the either the speakers are undersized or in my unit not mounted properly because there's a lot of bass vibration/distortion when I turn it up above 50 (the volume goes 0-100).

This could have been a good TV, and still could be, so I give it 3 stars. Maybe I'll have to come back and revise this to 4 or 5 if Sony ever fixes the bugs (although I've been waiting 4 months now).

There is no other TV on the market that can match its picture quality features in this price range. All TV's under 1000 will have quirks. I've never had anyone notice anything but amazement when watching this set.

If you want a videophile quality television, sorry but you need to pony up and spend more than $1000 for a 120hz, 52" tv.

If this is a problem I'm sure there are many 42" that fit your needs and match this feature-set at $1000.

The free PS3 was the icing on the cake.

I could not ask for more at this price range and am extremely satisfied with my purchase.

I do recommend that you properly calibrate the TV. If your settings show overlight bright colors then things such as the ever so slight "red flashing" will be more apparent to you.

Pony up or quit whining

Have owned this TV since May and it is an amazingly super picture except for one flaw. There is some sort of color shifting that sometimes occurs. It seems to annoy the heck out of some people. It doesn't bother me as it doesn't happen that often. People should know that Sony was told about this problem in May of 2009 and to this date refuse to acknowledge that there's a problem. That does not speak well for them.

The main issue I have with this TV is the sound. Sometimes there is a very annoying loud "pop" when changing channels from a HD image to a SD image. Not good. Again, Sony's response was non-existant as they have ignored fixing it even with two firmware updates. I guess these issues cannot be corrected or they would have.

Aside from those issues the picture is stunning. I've not seen a better sharp clear picture on any TV. It's like the picture jumps out of the screen into your living room. So, should you buy it? Yes, but be prepared to return the TV if you cannot live with the occasional color flash or sound pop.

This is a really fantastic LCD TV with one glaring fault. The LCD TV looks great with OTA HDTV using cheap rabbit ear antennas and non-HD TV looks as good as my old CRT. DVDs look great on this and the PS3 game we got with the deal looks amazing.

The Bravia sync feature also saved us from having to buy yet another remote to manage the DVD/Blu-ray controls on the PS3. You can't turn on the PS3 with Bravia sync but you can stop/play/pause/ff/rw and turn off the PS3 which makes it a reasonable (low cost) solution.

The one glaring issue that offsets for us all the greatness of this LCD TV is the red flashing we see when watching HDTV, DVDs, and Netflix streamed from PS3. The red flash happens when the focus is on a person's face in certain backgrounds. We've seen the red flashes on Judge Judy (OTA), Jackie Brown streamed on Netflix, and other shows through other video inputs (DVDs). Two calls to Sony support have not solved the problem and now we have to call a Sony tech but am hoping for a firmware fix since the latest firmware we have on the set does not fix it.

Unless they fix the red flash issue which other folks have talked about, we cannot recommend this to others.

I upgraded the firmware but I still have audio drop outs as other users mentioned. Overall audio quality is not great either. Can't complain about picture as so far there is no issue. Won't buy for $1000+ but a 46" for less than $700 is a sizeable saving.

Same issue with the clouding/flashlighting in 1-3 of the corners for me as well. On my second one from Best Buy and will be returning it for possibly a different brand of TV all together. At first I was wondering if I was being over critical, then I realized how much money I was spending and that my 32" Sharp that this replaced had no such issue.

Working in the tech industry for over three years, I'm aware of "acceptable tolerances" of LCD panels, but this is just too much to be acceptable in my opinion when you're watching a dark screen or a letterboxed DVD and there are spotlights in the corners, or clouding in other parts of the screen.

Hopefully whatever I decide to go with doesn't have the same LCD panels in it, even though I know there aren't many manufacturers.

Shame, love the features and aesthetics of the unit.

My Sony 46" Bravia was delivered on time in perfect condition. I received it for a very fair price I can't find a thing wrong with it. Set up was quick and simple and should be able to be completed by virtually anyone.

We like our tv a lot. Tough to order one online when spending this much, but it really does cost less to do it this way, and the money you save in not paying tax alone is worth it. Go to a store and find the tv you want, then come home and buy it online for much less. That's what I say.

No complains on this TV. The picture is awesome. Amazon service is #1. Will recommend this TV. As noted in some other reviews, its not the super slim. But the picture is beautiful. All my Sony components work nicely. Connecting the wires is painful after mounting it - but I don't think there is an easy solution to that.

Very good TV I have no regrets about buying this one. I got mine with the Sony blue ray player free. Very bright picture and outstanding colors. I would recommend this TV to anyone. Very easy to set up and use and very thin, could be installed on any wall.

Bought this product two months back and since then I am happy with the product.

I purchased this model back in August from Best Buy, and since realizing that it is a lemon, I'm trying to leave as many reviews as I can on the net to steer people away from the V5100 model. Both the S & V5100 models utilize the Bravia 2 engine, which is the main culprit of the issue. If you look at other reviews on here you'll notice many that discuss something known as the red flash issue. What happens is there is an unwanted color intensity shift during scenes with red and blue backgrounds. So if watching an interview on Colbert Report, the guest will be seating in front of a red background, and as the guest talks and uses his hands to gesture, all the main colors on the screen increase and decrease in intensity and saturation. It can be very annoying and noticeable. Sony cannot fix this problem and refuses to admit it. Many owners have had technician after technician come out, replacing the front panel and motherboard, all to no avail. They might even tell you to update the firmware, but at this point, this model should come loaded with the newest version, and that doesn't help.

Stay away and do not give Sony your money. Buy a Samsung or LG. I wish I had. Now I'm in a nightmare scenario where I have to deal with Sony customer relations, who are a bunch of monkeys to begin with. All they can do is read off scripts. It's a headache you don't need, especially before super bowl sunday and march madness.

Once again I have put my faith in Amazon thanks to all the information in the reviews on HDTV's. I have looked at a lot of tv's and read a books worth of product reviews and customer reviews. When I decided on the TV the entire sale thru Amazon was flawless. I purchased a Sony Bravia V-series 46 inch from Crutchfield. The service and the delivery was right on time. The delivery man put the TV in the house , attached the base and placed the unit on the cabinet. He checked the unit for damage and plugged the unit on to see if it worked. This is service!!! I have purchased many items from Amazon and will continue to use Amazon for all my needs, they are winners.

Robert S.

I've had this TV for about three months and I am experiencing the same issues as everybody else: Red flashing and sound disappearing. I have to say I am extremely disappointed.

Picked up this TV with a bundled N460 Blu-Ray. I would consider myself a demanding user, but not an audio/videophile. I feel as though the picture quality is excellent. I use an HDMI cable to a Blu-ray player, Blu-ray quality is excellent, DVD's also look ver good, HD Football over cable was also excellent. I sit approximately 10' from the TV and have it on a 24" tall TV stand and the viewing is excellent. Making picture adjustments is easy, the menus are simple to navigate. The Bravia Sync feature is very handy- for example, I insert a Blu-ray disc and it is smart enough to then turn on the TV & select the proper input. Also very handy to be able to use any remote for any device. For the price, I believe this is a good purchase. I chose this over the other Bravia 46" newer model because the newer model has an "eye" that senses for motion in the room and then turns off the TV if it doesn't sense motion. Sounded annyoing to me and I didn't want to chance if it could be disabled or not. Definitely pleased with my purchase and I have renewed faith in Sony quality.

Almost forgot to mention- these are the settings I'm using that I found posted online- Seem to be working out excellent for all-around viewing of both HD Cable sports as well as Blu-ray & DVDs. I haven't played any console games, nor do I plan to. Thanks to whoever posted these originally:

Picture Mode : Standard (**Note each setting (Vivid, Standard, Cinema, Custom) are slightly different by default.)
Backlight: 6 (really turns this into an impressive display. its just right)
Picture: 95 (there really isnt a reason to have it lower or higher)
Brightness : 52 ( 52 hits the mark for no loss of shadow detail)
Color : 49
Hue : 0
Color Temperature : Neutral
Sharpness : 6 (perfect. i believe its the lower the better here. Please only increase this if you are fairly far away from your set. But 6 gives very eye pleasing results without the ugly super sharp image)
Noise Reduction : Off
MPEG NR : Off
Advanced Settings
Black Corrector : OFF (causes black crush)
Advanced CE : OFF (I used to be a fan but ive realized ACE dims whites and alters skin tones to almost pale)
Gamma : OFF (do not touch this)
Clear White : OFF (not really needed after all)
Live Color : off
White Balance : Factory default (all zero)
Motion Enhancer : STANDARD (games and blu rays. THIS is key to having WOW picture too. No lag at all.)
Cinemotion : Auto2 (Auto2 for Blu-rays -OFF for games)
Game Mode : Off. (gives a less smooth image but also a sharper one. Keep that Motion Enhancer ON.)
Video/Photo Optimizer: Video-A

Good color, refresh rate is fantastic and advanced color setting allow experienced users to dial color to perfection.

Overall i am not satisfied with this product, not too long after buying i started having issues with the audio cutting out on my hdmi inputs, sometimes for as long as 10 Seconds, now the hdmi inputs wont detect any signal from either my XBOX 360 or Sony Blu Ray, i had to unplug the power cord in order to get it back to normal.
Sony has let us all down and its not what it used to be, i would not recomend this product, i've owned a Vizio for over three years now, and no problems whatsoever.

Over the last few months, two different Sony service techs have replaced the motherboard on my Sony KDL-46V5100 to fix the intermittent color fluctuation called "red flashing." The red flashing also affects blues and other colors too, but it's most evident on red. Both times it did not work.

Following the second tech firm visit in early January, the tech firm forwarded a detailed email from me to Sony America explaining the issue. Later, Sony called and asked if I was willing to use my Sony KDL-46V5100 to test a prototype firmware patch. I agreed. After I installed it, all the programs that had the intermittent color fluctuation no longer did it! The picture is still outstanding but now without the annoying intermittent color fluctuations.

Bottom Line: To fix the red flash you will need to call Sony Customer Support and request the "December 2009 firmware USB patch." Sony told me this patch would NOT be available on the Sony eSupport website because the update resets the TV to factory default.

If you purchased a Sony Bravia KDL-##V5100 during the clearance sales of late, you likely have the red flash but just haven't noticed it yet. This firmware update may also apply to the similar color fluctuation issues reported in the S5100 and VE5 series.

I bought this TV a couple of weeks ago after about a month of research, reading others reviews and reading the ratings in Consumer Reports. Whether in HD or standard picture the quality is excellent. Many other reviewers complained of the sound but for me the sound is great. Can turn it up high and I do not get any distortion. Was easy to hook up to my DVD player and cable and the set up and adjustments using the TV menu was very easy. I have always had Sony products and actually considered another brand at first but at the last minute changed my mind and was glad I did. I also got a great price on the TV purchasing right before the Superbowl. I am not a gamer nor do I use the internet through my TV so I cannot comment on that. I also have a window facing the TV and there is absolutely no glare. Overall, I am very pleased with this TV.

The Sony Bravia is a great television and I bought it at an incredible price. Very happy.

Great picture quality. Very pleased with our purchase of the Sony Bravia 46" LCD/HDTV. We also switched to AT&T U-Verse -- with the superb connection (after several tech visits to the outside of the house to re-run the line) there is a distinct increase in the quality on our small TV as well.

I've had 2 of these TVs since december 2009. One of the tv had the HDMI input fail and not knowing there was a firmware update, had it returned and bestbuy replaced it with the kdl-46ex500. Essential the same TV just updated for 2010 with a swivel base, a detachable power cord and more jpeg, mp4, mp3 (etc..) support. But, it lacks a clock. Now the second tv's HDMI's input failed and after an hour of trouble shooting, I unplugged the tv and then plugged it back it and it basically rebooted tv and cleared the issue. After some research, I see there is a firmware update available from sony. You can call and have them send it to you or download it and do it yourself. The customer support rep also mentioned that there is another update beyond that (E3 version) but only if the current update fails to correct your issues. Check sonystyle, Here's the link [...] Other than this, great TV for the price got it black friday from sonystyle with a 120gb ps3 for $1000

We purchased this TV in Nov, 2009 and hooked it up using the HDMI cables. The set worked great for a few days and then starting losing the sound and picture. Assuming it was our local cable companies issue we contacted them. Five months and six cable boxes later the cable company informed us there was nothing more they could do and to contact Sony which we did. Sony immediately set up an in home service call. The repair tech called to confirm and told us they are aware of the problem and know exactly what's causing it. A BM3? board has been ordered. Why hasn't Sony contacted the consumer about the issue? In the meatime the set is hooked up to component cables, 5 cables total, just to view the TV in HD and it works fine. One of the reasons we purchased it was for the HDMI advantage and Sony's reputaion. Be very careful when purchasing this product. We are extremely dissappointed.

i own this lcd since december 2009. the picture quality is great but i hate the audio output because it's fixed audio, not variable. i have a klipsch promedia 2.1 hooked up to it, i can't adjust the volume with the sony remote. i have to physically walk up to my speakers to change the audio. i also lost steady sound option, so the volume dynamic is pretty annoying. i am never buying sony tv again. buy samsung instead! they're tv is better in every respect.