Sony KDL-52Z5100 52" LCD HDTV 52-inch 240Hz 1080p LCD HD Television

Removed it from the box, plugged it in, set it up and works great! Amazon is great! Ordered it Sunday and was watching it Friday!

my house got broken into and my 52v4100 was stolen. so i bought 52z5100. everything works perfectly except the audio. i can only listen to tv speakers or audio system. it cannot be both. my dad has hearing problems. he wants to keep the volume at a comfortable level for our family so that he normally uses wireless headset to listen to. He was able to do it on the old TV 52V4100 but not this Z5100. who is the engineer who could have thought about this STUPID idea and sony even adopted it.

other than that, it is a good TV, as always.

I couldn't be more pleased with this purchase. With an excellent picture and sound, it's everything I expected and more. Amazon's television delivery service is outstanding. The packaging and television arrived in perfect condition and the delivery people could not have been more accommodating to my needs.

I got this Tv last week from Amazon. Was delivered 2 days before prommised on web time. Chicago area driver was great. Set up tv for us and made sure IT WORKED RIGHT. He was even careful that bottom of box(didn't look dirty to me) didn't soil my carpet.

I don't have The HD connection from Direct Tv yet and this Tv still looks good. We have many large windows in our room and there is very little refection on the screen. Lots on trim around edges.

Don't wait just push the submit order and enjoy .

The 52" Sony 1280P, 240Hz LCD HDTV replaces my 50" Panasonic 1280I Plasma HDTV monitor, and is everything I wanted in a new big screen TV. The Plasma had a great picture in most conitions, but required a dimly lit room for best viewing, was prone to screen "sparkle" distortion in the blades of grass of football fields & herring bone/tight patterened clothing, and would blur high speed images watching sports. The Sony is far brighter, displays no "sparkle effect", and is crysal clear no matter what you are watching. Skin colors - especially skin tones - are as good as it gets. The matt screen surface is a huge improvement from background reflections that plauged the shinny surface of the Panasonic. I still prefer to have the blinds drawn & lights dimmed to limit screen reflection, but at least I now the picture is watchable in daylight even with the blinds open. I leave the auto-dimming mode OFF even at night, cuz I prefer the bright "clear as if you are there" image over the "faded/washed out" look when using the auto screen dimmer in darkened rooms.

I bought the 240 Hz version of the Sony Bravia from Amazon.com because it was NOT avaliable at [...], SAMS CLUB, or Wallmart stores - or their on-line websites. Only the 120 Hz version of the Sony Bravia was available, but all 120 Hz LCD HDTV sets are being phased out (to be replaced by 240+ Hz LCD/LED machines). After taxes, it would have cost me as much I paid for the 240Hz version!

I bought the Panasonic thru Amazon.com about 4 years ago and was very pleased with the price I paid ($1800), no taxes, and free shipping, no hassles. It was in the top two HDTVs' for picture quality at the time. In both cases the items shipped safely from the East Coast to San Diego in about a week. It may be faster & more convienient to buy a HDTV locally (if you could even find one you want), but you will pay a high premium in local taxes and/or shipping charges. In this case the 240Hz version was NOT avaliable from the big box discounters. I shopped around & did my homework. I trust Amazon.com, got a great price, and highly recommend buying high buck electronics from them.

We're definitely not experts on HDTV, but this Bravia is easy to get along with. It's our first HDTV, the setup was very easy and smooth. We quickly had a HDMI cable connected between our cable box and the set, and really like the HD channels. We fooled around with tapping directly into the cable feed (without the box), and there were plenty of HD channels that way too. We also plugged the Bravia into our router, and that went real smooth and some of the Internet content is pretty interesting. The NetFlix piece isn't working yet, but NetFlix says it's coming soon. So, the short story is that we are happy with the purchase. We bought our Bravia from Amazon, and the transaction went very well, and the delivery folks were accomodating too. There are several Sony models, so do a bit of homework before you make your selection (not hard, and it should not take long). In our case, we wanted the 1080p stuff, and also were intrigued by the Internet content. Should also mention that the picture is real good, sound is real good too, it's all working great and we like this TV a lot.

Bought from Amazon(not sub vendor) on Oct 12 and received on the 19th. Delivery service unboxed the tv and powered it up to ensure there were no dead pixels. I mounted it on the wall and hooked up my HD satellite service. Picture looks great out of the box. You'll have to adjust the settings a bit for your preference. One of the previous posts mentioned they were not able to use both TV and external speakers. You can do it two ways - either you can hook up "just" external speakers and use those or you can hook your TV up to a stereo and use both the TV & the Stereo speakers. Make sure you go into the sound settings and select "Fixed" for the external speaker output though.
I also bought a Linksys WET-610N wireless bridge to use the internet Widgets capability of the the TV. The whole interface was the most difficult part to set up. I started out with my old wireless G router and had an issue hooking up the bridge. I ended up upgrading the router also in order to get the "N" capability to hook up between the bridge and the router. After that, I could get the TV to download the "second to the latest" Firmware update which installed correctly. The TV was still not able to update the video content from the web after that. It kept giving a <5006> error. I checked out Sony's web site for TV support and found there was a newer Firmware update, but the TV didn't recognize it through the internet connection. I downloaded it on my laptop and transferred it to a thumb drive. From there, plug it up to the TV USB side port, turn on the TV and in a minute it will recognize the update, install it, turn the TV off, then back on. All this still didn't fix the <5006> error. I've been talking with Sony tech support for a couple of hours and reached their 3rd tier support. I searched the web on AVS forums and found that a few people have had this error. I called Sony back and talked to them about MAC addresses for TV's and the Sony server that handles authentication and download. This tech asked if I had reset the TV after the updates. I told her no, but I was willing to give it a try. Turn the TV on, hold the "up" arrow on the remote for 10 seconds, then press the power button on the side of the TV and the TV does a "reset" Off, then on. I tested the video update feature and now it works! I like the Widgets and now have signed up for Amazon's instant video feature. You can instantly watch a move now for $1.99. Netflix is suppose be available sometime this fall. I already have an account with them so hopefully there will be no additional charge. I have 3.5 Mb/sec internet connection and wireless streaming video and the movie played with the equivalent of standard tv. Not too bad for on-demand.

I have had this TV for about 2 months now, and I absolutely love it. First off, the video quality is marvelous and I also like the sound from the TV speakers. I have the TV in a bright room, and it handles the bright conditions about as well as can be expected. I have used a 2-year old Bravia model, and I am impressed with the usability improvements that Sony has made for switching TV inputs and for knowing if your TV is turned on or off and for navigating the settings menus. We recently bought a Pioneer Elite A/V receiver and hooked that up, and without any setup whatsoever, the TV volume and power automatically deals with our A/V receiver as well. Highly recommend.

This LCD with 240HZ refreshing rate is a must for any sport & action movie fans, unless you are contented with pixelated pictures on fast moving objects!
The build-in speakers are decent for the kids just watching HD TV movies. We use our A/V 7.1 surround sound only to enhance experience of the blue-ray movies and sports.
There is not much to setup. Right out of the box, the TV works just fine. But, being a techno that I am, I explore all possible settings the TV offered; and, there are quite a lot of them.
The contrast, hue, black/white background color is reproducing quite excellent. My whole family just drop our jaws when we first turn on the TV with the blue-ray player playing the Mission Impossible III. Prior to that, we watch the same movie (dvd version of course) on the DVD player connected to our old Sony projector TV for the last time. What a difference!
I have Sony blue-ray player and Sony A/V components connected. This TV can control these devices using the TV remote control, an added convenience.
You can't go wrong with this TV. Especially for the 240HZ refreshing rate and Sony quality. Oh, of course, the free delivery won't set you back $180.00 :). Highly recommended.

This purchase has been excellent. Everything that is advertised is legit. Great sound, quality motion flow and vivid colors. The theater mode is very convenient. This is one of the best purchases I've made.

I considered purchasing the Sony XBR which is rated a better TV, but I am so satisfied with the picture quality of my Z series Bravia. Also the sound is even better than I expected from 10 watt speakers that I almost decided not to buy the Sony surround sound system. I have other TV's in my home, a Sony W series and a Samsung 650 series and neither are as clear in detail or picture quality as my Z series. The 240hz speed is noticeably better than my older 60hz TV's.

I looked at Samsung and Sony LCD's, but decided to go with the Sony Z series b/c of the deal I got at Bestbuy. For $100 more, I got the 52" Sony 240hz over a 52" Samsung 120hz. I'm glad I did...man, got it home and hooked it and without changing any settings, the picture looked great. Now after a week, I'm still amazed at the picture quality and sharpness. Internet feature is nice too. Sound is very good. This is my 3rd Sony TV that I have owned and they do make great quality TV's. This TV replaces my 2001 Sony 36" Wega, which was still working great but just took too much floor space. I highly recommend this TV.

Bought TV at best buy last week hooked it up through hdmi and was stunned at the picture quality not only in hd but everything. Sound is good not great but what do you expect its not surround. better and cheaper than the xbr. Internet featues are great just waiting for the netflix feature to go live

I did plenty of store visits and research before replacing my old 480p Plasma TV. I did no wrong on taking the plunge and working extra hours for the impressive LCD.

It ships on Huge Box, intimidating look and full of features that I won't bore you to with.

The Image quality is absurdly out of this world. That is the true HD experience I was looking for.

The on boxing was a breeze, the setup was even better. You will need at least two people to lifting and position.
I have this beautify plugs into a Motorola HD Box, and a SONY BDV-E500W 5.1-Channel Blu-ray Disc Home Theater System delivering an enhanced quality of sound.

What impressed me most was XMB Operating system; it is a beauty of integration along peripherals.

I really enjoy the web like experience and even better now with the new XMB update featuring the Netflix Video Streaming and many Yahoo Widgets like Flickr, News, Weather and Twitter. I'm very impressed with the network capabilities of this tv, I think it was one of the most important selling points. I would expect building wireless capabilities for the price, but after considering, a direct Ethernet port ensures you a high-speed without possibilities of interference, it is a high demanding feature now new on tv's to stream video from services. I currently have it plugged into a Linksys PLTE200 Powerline Network Adapter to reach out to my router on another room.

I will recommend planning your network beforehand, specially your bandwidth needs.

Sony has nailed with the network feature allowing the TV alert you when a new update is available.

I have definitely enjoyed this product so far and looking forward to many years more.

Cheers!

Excellent picture and tuner and features. Good sound. Little or no glare in a bright room - the matte screen is MUCH better than any glossy screen in our viewing area.

Internet connectivity is nice. I have initially set up my laptop to bridge a wireless connection to the TV, but will probably hard wire it later so the connection is always available. (The bridged connection works fine when the laptop is turned on, though.) It is very easy to upgrade firmware through the internet connection. This internet upgradeablity makes it easy for Sony to supply the user with bug fixes and additional features, kind of like they do for the PS/3. Today (11/15/2009) I was informed that another upgrade was available - #aa0143pn. It took a couple minutes to apply. Through various upgrades over the last month, the TV now supports all kinds of additional internet based services that it did not before. Many of these are free. Netflix streaming is even available if you have a Netflix account. Some of the free "internet widgets" are a little buggy/hard to configure at first. It would be nice if a full featured web browser was included along with a keyboard interface. I can always use my laptop for browsing, I guess, since my docking station video out is plugged into one of the HDMI inputs on the set.

I recommend this set, which I got for under $1700 delivered, particularly to those who are a little "tech savvy". It was a great value compared to other choices at the time I bought it. It has all of the features I need and then some....

Just a beautiful picture on this TV!! Easy to set up, no professional help required.
Lots of menus to page through and adjustments to make if you so wish... I just put it on the "Auto" scene and everything looks great...(If it aint broke, dont fix it).
The sound isnt the greatest, but on the other hand, its fine for regular tv viewing.
I run movies through my stereo (a home theater system would be much better, but I really cant afford one right now)
Also bought a Sony blu-ray player (BDP-S360), and blu-ray movies are just drop dead gorgeous.
The blu-ray player also does a fine job of up-converting regular DVD's...
Also, for the most part, standard def. TV channels look decent enough if you're not right on top of the tv.. just sit back a little.
If you're looking for a larger HDTV, this one is great, go for it!!!

After weeks of deliberation on which TV to purchase, I finally decided on this TV. I did tons of research and read probably close to 100 reviews on this model; and I couldn't be happier. Everything about it is completely awesome. I use a PS3 for Bluray movies and a DirecTV HD DVR for regular TV viewing, and both components deliver to their fullest with this set (obviously moreso with the PS3---1080p vs. 1080i and 720p#.
My previous TV could be more described as a tank than a television- a Mitsubishi 1080i rear projection with the giant speakers on the bottom. Anyway, even compared to new TVs, this one is a cut above. It has the same specs as the more expensive XBR9 for a few hundred dollars less. So this purchase was a no-brainer.
The colors are awesome, the black levels are incredible, blah, blah, blah. When you buy this TV #and you should if you want the right one), make sure you don't cheap out on your HDMI cables... very important if you want the best picture. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. And of course, if you want the best experience, buy a good surround system because the sound on the TV alone just doesn't cut it.
So in case you didn't get the gist of this review, I LOVE THIS TELEVISION. Buy it.

It's a good TV. Thin, relatively light weight, mounted and hung relatively easily. I am not an LED vs LCD vs Plasma expert. I went cross eyed and got a headache trying to educate myself on all the related issues to this debate. In the end I was familiar with Sony, had owned them in the past and had read some good reviews of this particular model. So far I'm pleased. The picture looks good in a lit or dark room. It's vibrant and crisp as well. The blacks seem deep and rich enough for me. Then again I'm a sixties child who grew up initially watching test patterns on a b/w console tube Saturday mornings before The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show came on, so maybe I'm too easily pleased? Bottom line, I like it and can still afford to send my child to school next year...

TV arrived as promised in great shape.Set up purchased disapointing but product is true to life feels like you are in scenes.Highly recommend product & price.

After the panel in my 3-year old Samsung plasma mysteriously burned out and was deemed un-repairable, I was more than a little upset, but then if that hadn't happened, it would have been years until I upgraded and wow LCD has come a long way in 3 years.

I HATED the mirror-like reflections in my old plasma, and unless you have a windowless, light-less room in which you do your TV watching, you'll also find it annoying, which is why one of the pleasures of this Sony is the matte, anti-reflective screen. We have 2 windows directly opposite the TV, yet even during the day the reflections are so minor compared to our old plasma.

The picture quality from both TV (through Cox cable HD), regular DVD, and Blu-ray through a PS3 are fantastic. And to my surprise, also stunning is the HD picture through Netflix movies streamed directly to the TV through its built-in Ethernet connection. Literally no setup, just buy an Ethernet switch (the Trendnet on Amazon at [...] will suffice) to split your broadband internet connection) and plug it into the back of the TV and you've got Netflix for a wide selction of HD movies on demand, Amazon for video-on-demand in HD of such TV shows as Mad Men and House, and Yahoo News and weather widgets--I love it all!

Also a benefit for those inserting their TV into a media niche, this is the only 52" TV that is under 49" in total width, that is, the bezal/cabinet is very thin--only about an inch on either side and the rest is all screen. This TV also puts out WAY less heat than our old plasma. I do recommend calibrating the TV using the blu-ray version of DVD Essentials, available here on Amazon at [...] , and I waited 2 weeks for this model to be available from Amazon directly as opposed to one of the 3rd party sellers that are probably OK but which I just don't trust as much. Delivery was great--on time, they took it out of the box, set it on my shelf, and hooked it up (but be sure to have all your connections/cables ready to go BEFORE the delivery guys arrive, more as a courtesy to them).

Buy this TV!!

I bought this TV from Amazon due to the prices found here. I did my research and chose SONY for the quality, name, appearance, and features this TV offers. I came close to purchasing a SAMSUNG of equal quality, but the downside to the Samsung screens is the glare that occurs on their glossy screens in highly lit rooms. Knowing I would use my TV during the day and at night in a naturally and man-made lit room, I wanted a low-glare TV. My research showed that SONY scored well in this category.

Best Buy sales reps at the store here down-played Sony, and preferred Samsung. But I didn't like their reasoning, and I couldn't get THIS TV at Best Buy, with the Z-series features.

I also chose the Z-series verses the XBR because I've read that the only difference between the 2 is the speaker quality/sound. I have a stereo I play the sound through, so I was more concerned about the picture anyways. But actually the sound isn't bad, and just fine for normal volumes for daily TV. Movies need a separate sound system.

Hope this helps.

I have had this TV for 3 weeks now. I waited for a while to write this review. I upgraded from a 23" CRT to a 52" HDTV. This TV has lot of cool features with Internet accessibility. Lot of folks have written on the features of the TV. I would like to focus on the Internet part.

After connecting the patch (Ethernet) cable to the router you can connect to the Internet, as I live in an apartment and have the router next to it, this has been easy. There is a USB port, I did not use it to check if a wireless USB drive will take care of not using the cable to connect to the Internet.

Now once you try to use the internet features to watch videos on this TV, the remote has to be used to surf the web. This is a pain. If I had to type a video name on Youtube search box, I have to type each alphabet using the remote and this is painful. You get an idea if you try to surf the net using your keypad of your cell phone. Sony should come up with a wireless keyboard facility in future software releases for this.

Secondly, one should be able to go add new Internet content on their own. For example, if I wanted to add Hulu as this is currently not available on this TV or other Internet content, I should be able to add it on the Sonystyle website after I register my product and this should be available to me on the TV for viewing.

The non-availability to add wireless keyboard feature and add Internet content content has forced me to give it a 3. Else, it would have been a 5. I hope Sony is reading this and fixing these features as these are only software upgrades.

That's correct. I bought this set back on august 26 2009. I waited till now to tell you how good this Sony is. My old Zenith of 23 years died ( that was my 3rd Tv after 45 years of owning Tv's). I always bought the top of the line Zenith's years ago , and they lasted many years without repairs. Don't forget every tv company makes good, better , best models. Today it is the same. I bought Sony because they in my opinion have been almost as long as Zenith been making Tv's of good quality. Since now Zenith only exists in name (LG bought them out)their quality went straight to hell. Sony has quality through the years , as long as you by the top of the line model Sony .This model at this time is one step below the top model. (4 speakers instead of 2, and a few little other things you can live without). Always try for the best picture and this Z model delivers.So remember top of the line means to me less trips to the repair man. Good luck Retired Early.

This is our 6th large screen purchase in 3 years so we have some experience at this. We keep two very active surround sound in-home movie HDTV setups in our homes. This year we looked extensively at LED lit displays, including the much heralded Samsung 55" LED 8000 series.

Frankly, looking at the Bravia X (Sony's best) series, and the next best, the Bravia Z series, we could not tell the difference in the picture at all (same Bravia engine, same light matte screen, same 240 refresh rate). So we decided on the Z, as compared to the Sony X because of the considerable price difference.

The next question was LED (Samsung) or not? Well, here is what we found out in our investigations this year for whatever it is worth to you:

- The Sony Z picture was very close to the quality (black values) of the Samsung 8000 in real world watching. Color, and contrast too were very close to the Samsung 8000, although admittedly the Samsung was the best of the two in terms of picture quality and appearance when idle.

- The Sony Z picture was far better at eliminating reflections (light matte screen) because the Samsung had a glossy screen (which might explain the better color rendition) but also had an ANNOYING 4 corner "flashlight" glow image that appeared from time to time. Flashlight corners from time to time is a Major Flaw in the Samsung.

- The Sony Z (KDL52Z5100) was 1/2 the price of the Samsung 8000. (Amazon cuts dollar prices from these reviews, lets just say we bought this from Amazon at 400 less than a ton while the Samsung was a ton and a half)

- The next BIG THING in HDTV will be OLED displays, probably in 2011, wait for those to spend your big bucks, AMAZING CLARITY. We saw a small Sony 10" OLED display and it is stunning. Much better than even the Samsung 8000 LED.

Hope this helps, BTW, Sony has just lately increased prices for whatever the reason, so the comparisons may need to be revisited. Glad we bought ours when we did in November.

This tv looks amazing.


But after i TURN OFF the tv it will make a popping sound every time after like 20 seconds.

Anyone else have this?

I bought the KDL-52v5100 first and i do like it... Till I bought a new KDL-52Z5100. Wow what a difference... The colors are much deeper and rich looking. The V series does not provide such warm and bright colors as the Z...

If you can spend a little more money it's worth it!!! Very happy with the Sony Z Series.

This is the third TV I have purchased from Amazon, and the third time I'm completely satisfied with my purchase. This TV in particular is the best to date though because of the speed in which the TV reacts to the feeds coming in. The picture moves so fast, it looks like a soap opera the way the camera moves to keep up with the motion. I cant really describe the picture clarity but it will freak you out when you see it, just make sure to adjust the motionflow to highest from the home menu.

First, I will say that I gave this product 4 stars instead of 5 because of the fact that the picture quality is honestly not as good as the best LED local dimming TV on the market (not naming names). That said, for the price this is the best thing on the market in my opinion. Here's why I chose this TV instead of the seemingly endless others - you can definitely go into choice overload when trying to buy one of these.

1) I considered the ambient light in my room and how far from the TV my couch and other chairs are. My room has a lot of light from windows, so that eliminates the Samsung products, which have too much glare. With guests, viewers would be at the side so a good side angle was important. Also, I didn't want to go any bigger than 55" because of the size of the room and where the TV would be. Make sure to measure that but don't be too shy with the size because you will get used to a larger TV after a day or so.

2) I considered refresh rates and the type (plasma vs LCD). We have only owned LCD TVs, so I must say that I don't have any real reason to prefer LCDs now that plasma TVs handle burn-in better than they used to. But we have owned LCDs and the depth of the blacks has improved over the years, so we stuck with the LCD. The last TV I bought had a serious jerking problem when 1080p content had a quick pan to the side, which annoyed me. With that in mind, I wanted to go for the 240 Hz refresh rate in the hopes of avoiding that problem. If you can look at standard definition content on the TV in the store, do so. But, keep in mind that you are buying it for the high def performance.

3) Next was price. More expensive TVs have diminishing returns in my opinion because the price of these things are just dropping so dramatically. My target price was around $1500 to $1800. The local dimming LED LCD TVs that have decent processors are just way too expensive for me at this point (in the $4000 range). They do look the best, but you can get something that is really good for much less.

4) Features. I really wanted internet connectivity. I use Netflix and I wanted a TV that I could stream Netflix directly without using any intermediate equipment. This is a feature that is becoming popular, so more TVs have this.

After considering these, my search was narrowed to 3 choices - the Sony Bravia XBR, the Bravia Z-series, and the Bravia W-series. They also have an eco-friendly series that is useful if you have a habit of leaving the TV on when you aren't in the room, but I don't do that so I didn't really take a hard look at them. Sony has a very helpful website that lets you compare the different types to see exactly what the differences are. Armed with the knowledge of what the technical differences were, I went to a local store to take a look at them. I didn't find the W-series, so I can't comment on that one. I found one store that had the Z-series and the XBR right next to each other. The technical difference from the Sony website is that the XBR is capable of showing a larger percentage of the color spectrum. The price difference was $300. I honestly could not tell the difference when looking at them side-by-side. So, we happily purchased the Z-series and kept that $300.

TV set-up was a breeze. Controls are very intuitive. Happily streaming Netflix with no issues and using other cool internet features like radio streaming. We are really happy with this TV. The only problem was that it's so big that standard definition DVDs look pretty bad. So, we upgraded to a blu-ray player and were back to happy viewing once again.

This is a great TV, I would definitely buy it again. The internet feature works great and is very cool!

I very much think the PQ on Blu-Ray discs is the best I've owned. I am disappointed to report, however, the PQ depends greatly on which specific Movie you are watching. For example, I put in ST:TMP (BD) and the quality is great... yet, The (BD) Wrath of Khan is great in many sections of the film, but not all. - Further, when I tried to watch my Babylon 5 (regular)DVD movie "In the Beginning", the quality was very poor! Star Wars 1: The Phantom Menace regular dvd was tolerable, but no where near as great looking as it was on my Sampo 42in. plasma regular def tv. --- So, I am very happy with the Blu-Ray PQ, but I am dreading having to now re-purchase all my favorite movies on Blu-Ray format... ouch, we are talking some real money here! And my fav Babylon 5 isn't even available on Blu-Ray and who knows if it ever will be. - So, bottom line... after an initial high due to the PQ on Blu-Ray discs, I am now all depressed and well and truly pissed at all the sales people who say upscaling is as good as Blu-Ray... Boy, are they full of it!

Pros: Superb picture quality, non-reflective screen, easy menu system.

Cons: None of any consequence. If using more than one HDMI connection there's only one on the back and the rest are on the side so the wires are visible unless using a port saver.

Summary: After comparing about a dozen high def televisions the Sony Bravia series stood out. We needed a non-reflective screen, which eliminated all plasma's and most Samsungs. But even compared to the Samsungs, this television was as good or better.

In the stores we couldn't tell any difference between the lower priced Bravia V and the XBR, which has the same "engine" as the Z. Through Amazon, we couldn't pass up a deal on the Z and it exceeds our expectations.

On its own, the sound is passable, but using 5.1 surround it's outstanding, although no credit to the television. Never having owned a flat screen before, we're pleased friends and family who do praise the picture quality.

Navigating the bells and whistles can be a bit confusing but it's pretty user friendly, and the manual is helpful.

Please refer to CNET's review of the XBR for a more technical description of this set (they're essentially the same in many respects) and other user reviews do a better job than me in this area.

Bottom line is that after two months it's still a pleasure, sometimes exciting to watch this set. HDTV pops, especially sports, and movies are sometimes breathtaking in their clarity and color representation.

Well I've owned several TV's before this one but I always wanted the "gilded" Sony Brand TV so I decided to take the plunge and buy a Z-Series. The Z-Series was supposed to be their highest end model outside of the XBR series and it had all the latest bells and whistles. The new features are GREAT. I love Amazon and Netflix being right there native to my television but many of the other channels offer very little content and Netflix still has problems, often dropping connection or telling me that I do not have the rights to view the content even though it's playing fine on all my other devices.

Now to the most important part, While the Bravia Engine 3 offers a beautiful picture this set had very uneven backlighting and from what I've read from other customers this seems to be a common problem. The corner of the screen has a significant backlight bleed and it's especially noticeable during dark scenes. There is also some cloudiness of backlight bleed in other parts of the picture. I was very dissappointed about this considering this is a Sony flagship TV. If I had bought a Sanyo or an Insignia for a discount price it would be one thing but this is supposed to be the big cheese. It's a good TV and I am not returning it but it's still a little dissapointing that I paid a 5 star price and got a 4 star product. If Sony would fix the backlight issue this would be a 5 star review, but alas I am giving it a 4 for this reason alone considering the Netflix feature was added after I made the purchase, so I can't really complain about a complimentary feature.

Generally, I am happy with the product.
I like its online connectivity features.
But dark scenes are really bad,
especially while watching online content.
And sometimes picture flashes randomly.
If you are really detail oriented, this might not be for you.

I won't go in depth on this review, just a few things we noticed when setting it up today:

1) the "standard" signal upgrade is not very good -- the images are blurry. We have a Series 2 Tivo & I think we'll have to upgrade to their new Premier because I can see getting headaches watching our shows with the standard signal. Our Mitsubishi 52525 DLP we purchased in 2005 was much better at the standard signal upgrade.

2) Apparently we had a mis-understanding. I spoke with a local sales person about this TV before purchasing it from Amazon & I thought it was wi-fi ready -- it is NOT. One of the main reasons we purchased this TV was to use the Netflix downloads, but now we have to go buy an expensive adaptor/router to get the wi-fi signal to the TV (we cannot just use a cord as the router is in a completely different area of the house).

I'm pretty sure we'll keep the TV (we popped in The Dark Knight on Blu-Ray & it looked incredible), it is just a disappointment that we'll have to shell out several hundred more dollars to take full advantage of the features this TV offers.

Arrived quickly and intact! Was apprehensive about orderign a large tv online but the price savings were worth the potential headache. No problems with unit, and the picture is amazing. Takes a min to find the sweet spot for settings but worth it!

Great tv great price!

Game mode is a bonus!

This tv has an excellent picture and looks great on the wall. The sound is good but not great but we intend to add a sound system soon so it isn't a real concern for us. The remote is quite large and programming it was a little difficult for me. I still haven't got all the features programmed i'd like but we use it with our cable remote and it works well. I would highly recommend this tv to anyone so far.

Impressive and stunning! I purchased new for $1599 and you can't find one now for less than $1899.

Excellent TV, I got it for a great deal at Best Buy during Thanksgiving'2009 for $1599, with a PS3-120gb, PS3 game, Blue Ray movie.
I am a Sony fan, no one TV is 100% perfect. But this is surely definitely worth it. My little annoyance is with the 2 tiny keys on the remote (mute and jump), they could have made it a little bigger and easy to use. Also, it was hard to imagine that such a high price tag TV doesn't have a built-in wireless like PS3? I had to run a Ethernet cable directly from router/repeater to the TV to Internet videos working. Also, the interface is more intuitive for people who already own PSP or PS3.

I looked carefully at the Sony set--I have owned Sony computers and TVs for years--excellent is the best way to describe this set--Consumers report will give you a fair description and you will be ready to decide--I could not be happier---