Sony KDL-46W5100 46" LCD HDTV 46-inch 120Hz 1080p LCD HD Television

Once properly setup, this TV has the best picture quality I have seen on an LCD.

Pros:
- Picture quality with HD sources is fantastic. SD is adequate, but don't expect miracles.
- Black level is the best I have seen on an LCD so far. Pretty close to plasma quality.
- Colors are great once properly calibrated.
- 120Hz + MotionFlow makes a noticeable difference for video-based material (especially sports).

Cons:
- The instruction manual is a waste of paper. It doesn't bother to explain any of the advanced options (CineMotion, MotionFlow, etc.)
- The colors are not calibrated out of the box: too saturated, too much green.
- 3 out of 4 HDMI inputs are on the side. Cables connected to those ports stick out.
- SD upscaling is good but not great.

Pros:


+ Solid picture Quality
+ Probably the best image processing available in the market
(Anti-aliasing, sharpness, noise reduction - performances are so good when compared to all its competitors. You can compare the quality to XBR9 and you wouldn't feel any difference. The Bravia 3 Engine has got its own algorithm - none can match)
+ Very Good black level
+ Very less reflection on the screen
+ Good off angle viewing
+ Simple/Easy remote. If the Bravia Sync is excluded it would have been even better
+ The scene select is a cool feature (Try the 'Cinema' setting while watching Blu-ray movies)
+ The menu is stylish and Easy to use - very similar to PS3's
+ Variety of internet video option
* Lots of HD trailers, music videos
* Slacker Radio
* You have to upgrade the firmware before enjoying these
+ If you are a great fan of Widgets, you'll love this too

Cons:

- Simple design
- No option to pan/tilt the screen
- Not the best of sounds, if you have a AV receiver, then you should be good
- Lil Expensive :(
- Not very impressed with SD rendering
- The USB is very slow (is that 2.0?)


Questions:

? I could not able to use Amazon On-demand. I tried registering, but it is rejecting the serial#. I don't know what I am doing wrong
? TV Guide is not giving any channel info. I don't know if there is a incompatibility with my cable provider
? Is there any way I can use the Bravia Sync feature to control my Onkyo AV receiver?
? When listening to music (say from slacker) how do you turn off the screen?

Would I Recommend to a Friend? Yes
How long do I Own: 2 Weeks only
Other options I had: Samsung ln46a650 | UN46B6000, Sharp 46LE700UN, Sony kdl46v5100


I don't really want to brag about the product I have. It is been only 2 weeks, the product hasn't annoyed me yet. I will update this in a month if it does. I didn't try all its features - may be you can get more info from cnet. But this TV impressed me more than the other options I had.

Besides the very low price for this HDTV being a bonus, the video quality is exceptional with picture definition, detail, color and performance etc all exceeding expectations. As if that wasn't enough, the audio produced by the on board speaker system is also exceptional. Thank you Sony for a great product! Thank you Amazon for a great value!

I bought this TV about a month ago, and found out when I set it up that Comcast had given me an out of date HD box with no HDMI connection capability (I got it with a triple play pkg before I had this HDTV). Had to get them over to replace the box. I also noticed the TV was slightly tilted down on the left, so I need to try and see if the base bracket on the stand can be adjusted. If not, I need to call Sony. Once set up, the picture on HD channels is fantastic, and the surround sound seemed awesome.....until the speakers just started making a vibrating, tinty noise. So I need Sony tech to come out after only having the TV for one month. Hopefully none of this is significant, because like I said, the HD picture is awesome. Regular channels are not as good as the 36" Sony Wega tube TV I had for the past 10 yrs, but as more TV becomes HD, we'll have less reason to watch any regular digital channels. Haven't watched any blu-ray DVD's yet, can't wait.

I'm interested in buying this set but am concerned about the width. I've found that advertised dimensions are not always accurate. Could someone use a tape measure and let me know the exact width of this TV? Thanks

I'm just amazed at the quality of the picture in HD.
The color and the picture is so rich and vibrant you don't even want to watch the regular channels.
Even the picture in SD is sharp. Better than I expected.
The sound is excellent from it's four speakers and 20 watts of power.
The border around the TV is slim and sleek, so when it's hanging on the wall it doesn't distract your eyes from the picture.
When you decide to buy this TV, make sure you purchase a Blu-ray player. The picture and sound will just blow you away.
Thanks Sony for making such a great product.
I'm very pleased with my purchase from Amazon.
I would recommend this TV to any one.
Thanks Amazon for a spectacular price.
Your competition couldn't even come close.

After waiting for a few years for a great deal, I finally punched the 'Buy' button and am I glad...:)

This was my list of 'Must Have'
1. Less than $1000 (total cost inclusive of tax and shipping). Got a sweet deal for $1288 inclusive free shipping, no tax, blue ray player and a home theater ($450 promotion which I later sold..nice! ).
2. 46 inch
3. 120 Hz and high contrast ratio. Yes 120 Hz and 100,000 dynamic contrast ratio
4. High reviews
5. Matt finish. Yes it has a matt finish
6. Internet Connectivity, DLNA and USB plus HDMI in the front


Amazon is the BEST when it comes to price, delivery and customer service. The TV was delivered in less than a week although initially it showed delivery after a month.

The picture quality is exquisite, colors are unbelievable and the aesthetics of the product design excellent. Watching HD quality videos, channels was an amazing experience in itself. Having a red eye in the morning is a given side effect !

Ethernet connectivity and Streaming videos is the future and I really like the fact I don't need another device to watch videos. Amazon on Demand, Netflix and most importantly Youtube takes care of most of my need. Now only if it could have a browser built in and an ability to connect a blue tooth keyboard, it would make it a complete package.

Streaming thru a media server is easy, so is connecting thru the USB. Having access to HDMI makes it a breeze to connect and remove accessories.

This is a great product!

BTW, if someone is looking for measurements for this TV ...

Weights and Measurements
Dimensions (Approx.) : 43 x 28 5/8 x 13 in (1091 x 725 x 330mm) with pedestal; 43 x 26 1/2 x 3 1/2 in (1091 x 672 x 86mm) without pedestal
Packaging (Approx.) : 53 x 32 5/8 x 8 3/8 in (1346 x 827 x 211mm)
Weight (Approx.) : 52.5 lbs. (23.8kg) with pedestal; 45.2 lbs. (20.5kg) without pedestal

[...]


RECOMMENDED SETTINGS
Go right to the Custom picture mode and in an instant the Sony configures itself to deliver top notch picture performance. Do trim down the backlighting (the default is too bright) and also scale back the color saturation a few notches to tame some over-richness.
§ Color: 45
§ Tint: 0
§ Sharpness: Min
§ Picture Mode: Custom
§ HD size (pixel-to-pixel): Full Pixel
§ Color Temperature: Warm 2
§ NR: Off
§ Gamma: 0 (2.4 result)
§ MPEG NR: Off
§ Motionflow: Standard
§ Cinemotion: Auto 1
§ Black Corrector: Off
§ Adv. Contrast Enhancer: Off
§ Auto Light Limiter: Off
§ Clear White: Off
§ Live Color: Off

I will preface my remark by saying that I've only had this set a short time as of this writing, so the reader can qualify accordingly. Coming off a plasma 42" from a different manufacturer that died unceremoniously after 3 years, the Bravia 46" is a wonderful blend of design, features, and functionality (and hopefully, reliability!). I especially liked the side panel connectivity ports, and the fact that there are ample HDMI imputs. Picture issues of earlier LCDs, such as blue tinted blacks, off center viewing clarity, appear to have been successfully addressed, and the picture is absolutely beautiful....stunning when watching a 'Blu-ray' DVD. Picture was easily fine tuned to preference, as are all other settings. One weak point, noted by others as well, is the sound quality, which is adequate, but lacks horsepower. I would imagine the manufacturers assume most people so concerned will use the set in conjunction with a stand alone sound system, but I feel the set's sound should be beefier. I am overall very impressed thusfar, and 'Amazon' was great to deal with, as usual.

I was looking for a flat screen TV for an affordable price which was possible through Amazon...

I was thinking of going either for a Samsung/Sony brand or with any other TV.

I think I made the right choice with this TV... I am very happy with this purchase... Easy to install, It has all features available as of today... plenty of widgets... easy to connect with Amazon movies/Netflix... cool widgets, 120Hz + MotionFlow.

Promotional price was awesome (less than 1000)...

I would recommend this TV for all...

This is our first LCD TV and we love it with very sharp picture in HD compare to our 15 years old Sony 29" CRT. Even we need to get a HDMI cable box with $10 dollars more monthly charge from Comcast but it is well worth.

The built-in Internet connection allow us go to lots of Internet video website is another big plus.

The side pannel allow us easily connect to camcorder and PC so is a nice design.

We have the TV for about a month and love it very much.

I studied all the options for months before buying a new 46 TV. It came down to either Sony or Samsung for best picture quality. I found the Sony 46W5100 more attractive and had a slimmer bezel, plus was not shiny black or reflective. This model has all the most up to the minute Sony technical features and a superb picture. Sound quality is perfectly fine despite some reviews. I picked the W series because of the internet connectivity and TV Guide on screen, since I use an antenna for over the air channels. Really neat features like streaming video movies from Netflix and Amazon, YouTube and CBS. Some are free, some you have to rent of course. Just plug in an ethernet cable from your router. You need at least 1.5M speed DSL. Got a great buy from Amazon, it was delivered 5 days after I placed the order. Took about 10 minutes to unpack and set up, and it worked just great right out of the box. Remote is uncomplicated and easy to use. I am very pleased with this TV and will highly recommend it to anyone. However if you are not interested in connecting it to the internet or using TV Guide On Screen, then consider the Sony V series for a hundred and fifty bucks less, although it has the Bravia 2 processor (vs Bravia 3 in the W5100) and has slightly lower contrast ratio. Also the W has a more attractive bezel design.

I've only had this for a few days now and I am so impressed I can't believe I was nervous about buying it! Sometimes you don't know exactly what you're getting but this out performs any of my expectations! The picture is great, the sound is fine (I'm not quite sure what the people who said it was bad are talking about! Plus your not going to get cinema surround sound from a TV with hidden speakers!), and the internet connectivity is just a bonus on all of that! It uses the XMB interface for menus so if you have a psp/ps3 you already know where things are. I have absolutely no complaints about this TV or the quality of it. Like the title says "This TV is AWESOME!". BTW so you have a reference: I'm a bit of a technophile, I work in the computer industry and have been called a nerd or a geek many, many, times so I have a pretty good idea of what is out there and the best of it. I researched TVs for 3 months before committing to this one. I went with this over the samsungs because of the matte finish, other than that they're very comparable to each other. Also you can find a pretty good deal if you wait for the right time. I paid $1020 with free shipping and no tax.

I have had this for a week now. Bought it as a package with a free Blu-Ray player with free shipping. I had a 27" CRT earlier and this was a big step up. The picture is totally amazing and the sound is not bad for a small sized home. The clarity of Sony is, as always, perfect. Watched couple of Blu-Ray Planet Earth DVDs and it was a WOW experience. It was well worth the money at slightly less than $1100

Summary: The KDL-46W5100 is a great TV for the price. The picture quality along with the internet features make for a great TV.

Long Version:

Picture Quality: I bought the KDL-46W5100 4 days ago. There was a very noticable difference between the 40 inch Samsung LNR408DX that I replaced. After watching football for the first time I can say that the 120 MHz refresh rate makes a big difference. The picture quality is terrific in low light and with bright sun in the room.

PC Connectivity: It was simple to connect our PC and use the KDL-46W5100 as a monitor. Sony placed the PC video input on the left side of the TV so I don't need to reach around the back to make the connection.

USB Connectivity: I connected our digital camera to the USB port, changed the TV's input to USB and right away our pictures began a slideshow. There is a 2 or 3 second delay between photos. I've noticed other people complain about this. I would say the delay makes this feature worthless. A PC does a much faster slideshow.

Internet Connectivity:

The bad: There is a lot of internet content available with this TV. For me 90% of it is utterly useless. I have no desire to watch old episodes of What's Happening or Godzilla vs Mothra. Even YouTube was a let down. I expected to see videos take up the entire screen and look good. Instead you get an 8 inch square to watch grainy video. There's FearNet, Blip.tv, Crackle and many more worthless content providers.

The Good: Then there's Amazon on Demand and Netflix. As for Amazon on Demand I would never pay 2 bucks to watch a single episode of the Office when Netflix or NBC.com will show it to me for free. And 5 bucks for a newly released HD movie is again more than I'm willing to spend. However, if you find these prices agreeable then AoD will be terrific for you. There's plenty of content and very nicely organized.

Netflix: Having the ability to stream Netflix on demand content directly to the TV was worth the extra 150 bucks over the KDL-46V5100 model for me. You activate your Sony TV with Netflix online. Go to Netflix and add titles to your Watch Instantly queue. Then you can start watching those titles directly from your TV.

Online Music: There are some good music choices but it's not like the cable company's Music Choice. With the KDL-46W5100 you select a music type then an album and it starts playing. So it's not a random selection of songs like a radio station. So I would rate this feature as nuetral, not worthless but not worth any extra cost either.

Internet Widgets: I have no need to add a weather or stock ticker to my television screen. There are cable channels that provide the same information. The Flickr widget can be integrated with your Flickr account, but I have not tried this feature yet. There's a Twitter widget, but I haven't tried it yet. Overall I'd say the Widgets have potential but I'm not using them yet so the jury is still out on this one.

Price: Under 1000 bucks along with 50% of a PS3, a free PS3 game and a free crappy BluRay movie. This Best Buy offer ends next week. Overall, I'd say the price was terrific.

Others: The power cord doesn't have a ground prong. Almost all expensive gadgets these days have a ground prong, but the KDL-46W5100 does not.

There is a clicking sound which you can google if you'd like. The manual says that this clicking sound is occurs durring the download of updates and the TV Guide on Screen feature. It's the same click sound that you hear when you turn the TV on. It occurs about every 4 or 5 minutes when the TV is off. This is a non-factor for me, but if this was a bedroom TV it would be a deal breaker.

The Wii Sensor Bar will not rest on top of the TV due to its sloped edges.

PIP works but I'm not sure if this is a function of the TV or the cable box.

1. crisp image with blue ray content.....hd/dvd looks so so...you can see the pixelation on dvd content...(my blue ray player is ps3 so it does the upscaling)..
2. Great value for 1230 i managed to get this tv + ps3 from best buy.
3. Great online services
4. DO NOT UPGRADE TO LATEST SOFTWARE. The latest software is crap. It will break your DLNA setup. Before I upgraded my tv it was working fine. After upgrade tough luck. I rely more on DLNA then on cable so a dealbreaker for me. I will probably wait for another 2 weeks before taking any step. If they come up with solution I would redo the rating.

I am shocked! I have had the product less than a month and got home tonight and wanted to watch a video from Netflix. I got an error message: "The process was not completed and has timed out."

The information I got from Sony Support was that:

Me> Every internet function on my TV results in a message: "The process was not completed and has timed out."
CSR> I am really sorry. The Sony Bravia Internet Video Server for connecting the TV to the Internet is under maintenance.
CSR> Please try connecting the TV to the Internet later (after approximately 12 hours)
Me> So, the problem is not at my end?
CSR> The issue is not with the TV.


So, that said, I'm shocked. In order for my Internet enabled TV to play video from Netflix there is a server that Sony runs that must be available at all times otherwise my TV is only good for broadcast. Seems like a MAJOR design flaw especially when SONY can't keep their servers up and running!

I'd comment on the other product attributes, but its hard to see past this major product flaw which doesn't seem to be disclosed anywhere other than in a cryptic error message. As a side note, this is causing the Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Yahoo Video, Podcasts, Slacker Radio and every other Internet based function except Yahoo Widgets for some reason. At least the TV broadcast tuner still works!

I've had this TV for three weeks now. Setup was easy, no issues. Picture quality is great, was able to download the software update and all applications worked very well, including the one I really wanted, Netflix.

Today, however, all network activity came to a halt. Network status indicated that the local connection was good, but that it couldn't reach the Internet. Spent an hour debugging it, figuring it was probably an issue with the wireless bridge. Went online to Sony tv support as well to see if they had anything to recommend.

Finally called customer service - Cheap Sony, by 8:30 pm on a Friday night had suspended their 800 number and redirected it to 239 768 7602. Called that line and after 10 minutes on my own dime, they finally came back indicating that their internet host is down. Looks like the Sony TVs go through some kind of host at Sony which is down. This is pretty poor design ofcourse as it's a single point of failure, as is the case right now.

Also, no visual indication of this anywhere, not on the TV, not on the Sony site, no where. I sincerely hope they address this in a future patch.

wanted to get the xbr9, then downgraded to z5100, then finally got this new at a local best buy for 1079. unfortunately the ps3 bundles were sold out so i just got the tv alone. price for TV is still the best (lower than amazon's lowest). because the w5100 had the Bravia Engine version 3 (same as xbr and the z5100), i'm willing to pay a lower price and forgo the other features on the higher priced models (240hz, 10-bit processor, more speakers).

needless to say, picture's great. i don't think the sound is as bad as others have pointed out. i would say the volume is about 10 notches lower than a normal tv... so i just turn up the volume 10 steps higher and all is equal. for the same reason, the audio output is also low, so you have to turn up the volume on your receiver to hear the sounds from your external speakers. took me awhile to figure it out and thought the tv was defective initially.

yes, for those interested, i did notice the slight light bleed on the top corners of the tv. i happen to see it
because the dvd player was on screen saver. in any case, doesn't bother me.

haven't updated the tv for latest software/firmware since i haven't mess around with the online features.

I have this TV for a month already. I ordered on sale just before Black Friday 2009, combo deal with Blu-Ray player BRP-S508. The W model is the minimum to get the Bravia 3 processor, and honestly, this processor makes huge difference compared to older or lower models

Pros:

1.Bravia 3 processor - it gives LAN and Internet capabilities, excellent picture quality and excellent video up-scaling. Standard definition video looks almost like HDTV
2.Elegant design - thin glossy frame
3.Mat screen - doesn't reflect much
4.Intuitive Playstation style menu
5.Internet streaming of Netflix, Youtube, radios, etc.
6.Sony keeps on updating the firmware
7.HDMI connectors on the side - easy to connect new devices, don't interfere with back mounting plate of the stand. Some people don't like it, but this is huge functionality advantage. I have mine mounted on a stand with back plate, and the plate covers partially the back panel. I imagine how this can be an issue, if all the ports were mounted on the back
8.120 Hz screen refresh - smoothing action. Once adjusted, the picture looks very cinematic. With external video player /I have WD TV/ or BluRay, the movie look like in cinema theater.
9.Pretty decent sound - loud enough with good bass and high frequencies, clear sound
10.Swing pedestal - turns left/right
11.A lot of picture controls available to user

Cons:

1.Uneven back light - I see back light in the corners and especially the lower right corner
2.No DivX, mkv, etc video decoding - Samsung 6 series and above is updated and plays DivX directly through the Usb. Sony should update this, the processor is definitely capable of decoding video.
3.Assigning dynamic IP addresses is somehow an issue - it messes the network, the router disconnects. I know there should be a workaround, so this is a minor issue; I have to learn how to fix it

In general, this is very nice TV. I compared with Samsung B630/650 and decided on Sony. This particular model has good clean design, many capabilities. The only lack is video decoding through USB of DivX, mkv, which would've made this the perfect TV. Also, the back lighting in the lower right corner is annoying. It is visible only at extreme angles, not an issue if you watch upfront. Large LCD panels all have lighting issue anyway, but I didn't want glossy screen to offset this. Glossy surface would have even worse negative of reflecting everything.

Will update, if something comes up

Excellent TV. Amazon delivered TV on time with free installation. Now, I'm watching HD contents from Youtube, Netflix directly through Ethernet and the quality is amazing!!!

Picture quality is superb. I have friends who purchased the S Series and the V Series. I really do not see a difference in picture quality between them and the W-Series. The W-Series has three extra features. You would be pleased with any of their televisions. There is no glare. Picture is great at any angle. I would never purchase anything but a Sony.

Amazon's customer service, as usual, was great. They delivered in record time although I was not supposed to receive it for weeks.

The television came and works fine. A good picture and decent sound. I do have one question, however. When turned on, why does the television have a "720p" sign in the upper right hand corner?

Bought it from Amazon and arrived on 2nd day (even with standard shipping). Scheduled delivery was very satisfactory. I don't have cable/dish so had to tune all over the air channels. Tuner actually brought more channels than my older Vizio. Happy with the results on NBC, CBS and FOX regional hi-def channels.

Hookup: Had to hookup only 2 cables, HDMI out from Onkyo 706 A/V receiver and Optical out from TV to Onkyo.
There is no standard co-axial digital sound output from the TV. That broke my AirTunes setup as I had to give up 1 of the 2 optical sound ports on my receiver. The other one is dedicated for my Mac Mini.
Other things I don't like about the hookup is that 3 out of 4 HDMI inputs are on the side of the TV. Even PC input is on the side. Cables are visible from an angle.

Picture Quality: This is by far the best trait in this TV. Well its a TV. I can't dwell too much into blacks and whites in Sony vs Samsung and/or LCDs vs Plasmas but the fact is I like the picture very much on the TV. Out of the box, the quality is stunning and has deep blacks and pleasant whites. This goes for both over the air TV and blue-ray/DVD. I played around with picture controls and got the picture quality to my liking. The TV lives up to the high contrast ratio specs.

Sound Quality: Poor. Nothing much to say here. The sound is like a mono player. There is no bass and clarity is virtually non existent. I have a good A/V receiver but at times I want to keep it turned off (in the night). The TV sound does not help.

Internet/DLNA/Widgets: Got the Sony recommended Ethernet Bridge from Linksys, since my router is nowhere close to the TV. Got the refurbed one and saved some serious money. Setup was quick and TV was hooked up to internet. Immediately firmware update message popped up and the TV automatically took care of it. No need of USB drive for firmware updt. After the update, a bunch of content appeared in picture, music and video sections in the menu. Most importantly is Netflix and Youtube. I am not able to setup Netflix but youtube was great. No need to turn my Mac Mini on for casual Youtub'ing. There is a bunch of other stuff like internet radio and widgets that you can configure. I don't like widgets idea although Weather one is useful. All that works but don't expect the TV to be as responsive as a computer when it comes to internet. There is a good 1-5 seconds delay(at least) in everything you do.
I like DLNA. Its still premature but viewing lots of content(present on your laptops/desktops) without wires and with TV remote is a good idea. My windows 7 laptop appeared quickly in the menu. I had to change few settings in the control panel of Windows 7 and my library folder appeared on TV. I could play mp3 songs and few short videos on TV. I have not tried anything Hi-Def over DLNA. Lets see how it goes.

PC Input: I love PC input. I am using Mac Mini as my digital hub with multiple USB drives connected. It downloads torrents, streams Hi-Def from various sources and I am also using Boxee. The TV display is fantastic (full resolution 1920x1080) even with RGB (I am not yet using DVI-HDMI cable). Front row looks stunning when it displays Photos and Videos(as long as quality is good) on the Sony.

I have seen other reviews and found that some of them got good deals on this TV and got bundled BD Player and Home Theater. I missed out on that :(. No problems you win some and lose some.

is a nice tv have best picture and ssound quality
with easy to use remote control

I bought this TV during ThanksGiving Sale as a bundle with Blueray player(BDP S560) and paid 1077 for both. I felt like a great deal. Even though they have mentioned it would take 1 month to ship they had arrived in just 1 wk.

So far i tried following and need to explore more:
1)Picture Quality for HD Channels is unbelievable.
2)Watching pictures thru USB port is piece of cake but it worked with only one port in the side panel, other USB port in the back didnt recognize the flash drive.
3)Connected laptop to TV thru S-Video cable and picture quality is good.

So far i have found everything working and easy to connect. I own this TV for 1 month now. Hope it would continue to give same quality pictures.

upgraded from an older grand wega lcd projection and we cant believe the picture quality improvement. Could not beat the package deal for black friday and had to get it

This TV's picture is very nice! The colors are great and the picture is perfect. I did have some confusion with the motionflow/cinimaflow features. When connected to my xbox 360 I experienced both hyper vision (picture moving to fast) and slow vision (where you were moving at 1/2 speed) both in halo 3. After turning motionflow off it seemed to correct the issue. I still need to do more research to completely correct the issue.

Up until I purchased this LCD TV (SONY BRAVIA 46W5100), I have studied all the options for months before buying this 46 inch TV.
It came down to three manufacturers LCD TV's: SONY, SHARP or Samsung for best picture quality, design and sound.
Conclusion: SONY BRAVIA is the BEST and superior in quality!!! (Although SHARP should get all the credits for developing LCD TVs all together, but seemed to slow down in further developing the technology. On the other hand, Samsung keeps copying everything what SONY and SHARP have done to LCD TVs, Samsung is STILL few years behind in technologies to SONY and SHARP manufacturers.) While Samsung is only interested in thinning down the flat screen TVs, all other manufacturers are directing their technologies in advancing the picture quality and sound. I personally do not care about thinner LCD/LED TV, but better picture quality and sound. I think Samsung's R & R Division should better reconsider the direction they are going.

I found the Sony 46W5100 more attractive in design and had a slimmer bezel, plus was not shiny black or reflective like the one with Samsung. This model has all the most up to the minute Sony technical features and a superb picture. Sound quality is perfectly fine despite some reviews. I picked the W series because of the internet connectivity and TV Guide on screen, since I use an antenna for over the air channels. Really neat features like streaming video movies from Netflix and Amazon, YouTube and CBS.
Some are free, some you have to rent of course. Just plug in an ethernet cable from your router. You need at least 1.5M speed DSL. Got a great buy from Amazon, it was delivered in 7 days after I placed the order. Took about 10 minutes to unpack and set it up, and it worked just great right out of the box. Remote is uncomplicated and easy to use. I am very pleased with this TV and will highly recommend it to anyone. However if you are not interested in connecting it to the internet or using TV Guide On Screen, then consider the Sony V series for a few hundred dollars less, although it has the Bravia 2 processor (vs Bravia 3 in the W5100) and has slightly lower contrast ratio. Also the W has a more attractive bezel design.

I bought the product in Dec 2009 and noticed that creepy noise on the first day after hooking the telivision.I thought it may be temporary,but realized that it is very much noticiable at nights when it is quite.It was very annoying and it was a great disappointment.I walked in to the store and explained the situation,they told me that the TV is not in stock and asked to come back after 2 weeks.I went to the store and they told me that there is only one piece left out.Took my set and the techs checked the TV by hooking, in less than the time I expected they told that there is a grounding problem for the speakers and they replace the TV.

Its just a day again and I will observe.For now the new set is working fine.

For activating enhanced features it asked me to update the software.After updating to the latest software I cleary observerd the difference in sound(The output of the sound became low).I have no idea for now what made this.
I am going to contact Sony.The only reason for buying the Sony product is that standard of the quality.It can not beat my old Panasonic TV(Bulky CRT TV).

Also I agree with other reviewers,the home page for activating the internet link is crappy,I wonder why they can not spend a small amount of money for maintaining a good site.

Picture and sound are excellent. I had a Samsung before I got the Sony and you see the quality difference between the two. I would recommend this TV to anyone out there.

Initially got the 40 inch but returned for the 46 inch (wife's idea even). Both were very nice, but of course we love the 46 inch size and picture quality. got a great deal that included a PS3 player. Blue-ray videos pop.

Hooked up the internet via cat5 cable and signed up for Netflix. We have not had one issue with streaming the video from Netflix - very smooth and already have 47 movies in our streaming queue!

Not too excited about the widgets at this time. Selection and usefulness is limited.

This is a great TV. I got this with a Blu-Ray player for pretty cheap and it was definitely worth it. the picture is so much better than my old TV. The only thing I don't like about the TV is the inputs on the side, there is only 1 HDMI on the back, and 3 on the side. I really think that should be opposite. Other than that this TV is awesome!

I couldn't be happier with this TV. I held out on buying a TV for a long time, but I'm glad I pulled the trigger when I did. This thing looks beautiful both when it's turned on and when it's off. The picture quality is great, the built-in speakers sound pretty darn good and can get nice and loud. I have an XBOX 360 hooked up to it via HDMI and also an Over The Air antenna.

I have to say the 'internet' features built into the TV are a little weak. I presume whatever CPU chip they have in there is pretty slow, because navigating the internet features is sluggish. Not an issue though if you have other internet devices hooked up to it that you use instead (like an Xbox).

Delivery went really smoothly. I live in downtown Washington, DC and the delivery guy parked his truck on my street and wheeled the TV down the sidewalk on a cart, and then helped me carry it up three floors to my bedroom and helped me set it up on the stand. Very nice!

You won't regret picking up this TV.

Ok, so I take my time when buying big-ticket items, and I bought my 46W5100 from Amazon on a deal that matched the price point and feature targets I wanted. Even as of today, in April 2010, some six months after my original purchase the deal I got is still a good deal.

First let me say that I love this Sony TV, the KDL46W5100 its a keeper, even though there are some things I don't like, it does "bring it" where it counts.

PROS: Picture quality, connectivity, internet features, they are all there. The built-in Netflix-streaming widget is awesome and I almost use that more than DVD's anymore.

Picture quality is something to behold, especially when watching Blu-Ray content, spectacular, Sony nailed it here. Connectivity, this unit has lots of HDMI jacks, 100Mbit ethernet, digital audio, line-out audio, etc, etc, Sony nailed it here. Internet Widgets, Sony did a good job here but there are some disappointments, the DLNA connectivity is weak, more on this later.

CONS: Speaker Rattle, DLNA connectivity, and some of the user interface is annoying.

Speaker rattle is caused by bass sounds in movies, its probably common to all large HDTV's the solution? Hook your TV to an external amp + speakers. The user interface makes it unnecessarily hard to toggle the TV speakers on or off, no biggie, but annoying.

I bought this TV during the Thanksgiving day sale...for a total of $1073 including the Blue Ray player, delivery and setup. To this day, I have not seen a better deal on this combo. The delivery and setup was impeccable.

This is my first LCD TV and did a lot of research. Finally, it was between Samsumg and Sony. The two things that tipped in favor of the Sony was the matte finish screen and the sound quality (that I tested at my local Best Buy). We have a very bright living room and the matte finish makes a difference.

I was not too thrilled with the sound. While it was better than the Samsumg, at higher volume I could hear the speakers jarring. So, finally I bought a Sony Sound Bar to get around the issue.Sony HTCT100 Sound Bar with Subwoofer - Black

Picture quality is excellent. I wondered if the 46" was going to be too big since my previous TV was a 27"...but it suited our living room perfectly. I love it's looks. However, I do wish it had a swivel stand. It would have made it easier when I had to reach around the back.

I did not have a wired internet connection to test the internet features. Just last week, I hooked up a wireless ethernet bridge Cisco-Linksys WET610N Wireless-N Bridge to finally start using the internet features. I am not too excited about the internet features...it works well, but just because there's not enough internet content that I like.

Overall, a great TV.