Sony decided they wouldn’t bother with plasma TVs any more, instead opting to concentrate on LCD TVs.
The result is the BRAVIA range of LCD Televisions. Initially you had the three main ranges: the entry level Sony BRAVIA S-Series, the Sony BRAVIA V-Series and the Sony BRAVIA X-Series.
There are very subtle differences between the models, which Sony says is updated every year. All three models have the BRAVIA Engine technology that provides vivid and high contrast images while reducing picture noise. They also all use Sony’s 7th generation LCD panel which is a large sheet of glass that provides a clearer image (without getting technical, the larger the glass the better quality the end image).
All the Sony BRAVIA range also have Super Patterned Vertical Alignment (S-PVA) LCD panel technology which produces a wider viewing angle of 178 degrees, so no matter where you are in the room, the colour and contrast will be maintained. Sony has also put in their LCD TVs a super-fast 8ms response time which means pin-sharp, smoothly moving pictures, even on high-speed movies without the ghosting you might otherwise get.
The newest Sony LCD TV's are the S-3000 series and D-3000 series.
The D-3000 range includes the fantastic one-touch Home Theatre control feature. Hook up all of your HD equipment, e.g. Blu-Ray Disc Player, HD DVD Player or Playstation 3 via the 3 HDMI connectors and operate them all in one go with a single press of the power button on the Bravia Theatre Sync remote. This will also turn down the TV sound and allow the Home Theatre audio take over.
The 24p True Cinema feature will display movies played through either a Blu-Ray player or HD DVD player, at the original 24 frames per second that they we originally captured in, resulting in the perfect image and sound you could possibly expect.
Another important factor in displaying the perfect image is the refresh rate and the D-3000 series doubles the standard refresh rate from 50Hz to 100Hz by using Motionflow +100 technology. This superbly intelligent image function allows the human eye to visualise image motion much smoother and more realistic than an image without the technology.
A new Sony range of HD LCD TV’s would not be complete without an enhanced colour reproduction system and with the D-3000 range a 10bit panel has been included compared to the 8bit panel that is usually offered. Thus resulting in 1024 shades of gradation so real life colours and textures really will show and therefore taking TV and Movie watching into a whole new level.
The S-3000 series releases a new range of high definition ready LCD TV’s which are to feature the ‘Bravia’ Theatre Sync system which send signals through the HDMI ports enabling the home entertainment to be controlled by a single button press. This also results in the LCD TV itself being switched on as well as audio equipment and the Blu-Ray Disc player, DVD player or HD DVD player that is connected. This new range has 3 HDMI connectors for the ultimate in connectivity and through these connectors signals will be sent via all hardware and will power them up or switch them off with one button on the Bravia Theatre Sync remote.
The BRAVIA S-3000 series will be available in 30, 40 and 46 inch models and the D-3000 series will be available in 46inch.
The BRAVIA S-Series comes in 26inch, 32-inch, 40-inch and 46-inch HD LCD screen sizes has a contrast ratio of 1300:1 and a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Obviously the S-Series is HD ready and while it’s 720p it can also accept 1080i HD signals. And as well as an integrated Digital TV tuner it also has an HDMI port.
The Sony BRAVIA S-Series also uses fully digital amplification for a low-noise, hiss-free output through its integrated stereo speakers thanks to SRS TruSurround XT technology.
The Sony BRAVIA V-Series have a few extras not found in the S-Series, and hence costs a little more. The Sony V-Series uses Sony Live Colour Creation technology which gives a boosted spectrum of colour providing truer reds and greens.
It also has Wide Colour Gamut (WCG) CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) which as well as being a mouthful is an exclusive Sony design employing improved light-emitting phosphors which completely transforms the characteristics of the screen.
The Sony BRAVIA V-Series models are available in 32-inch, 40-inch and 46-inch screens.
This Sony proudly says is the first true HD1080 LCD TV. That means it’s the first Sony HD TV capable of displaying high definition on a 1920 x 1080 LCD Panel. So while the S and V series will squash 1080 images to fit a 720 screen, this has enough room to give you the full experience.
The Sony BRAVIA X-Series and BRAVIA W-Series use a BRAVIA ENGINE EX, an upgrade that increases the resolution by a factor of up to four, doubling the number of vertical lines and horizontal pixels. What this does is give an image with an unprecedented degree of detail and clarity, which raises SDTV to a completely new level. Sony calls this process “Digital Reality Creation”.
The Sony BRAVIA X Series and BRAVIA X-Series also come with twin HDMI inputs and integrated Digital tuner and three Scart and two Component interfaces and the sound quality has been improved on by using powerful integrated speakers and Dolby Pro Logic II Virtual Surround digital signal processing and BBE Digital technology.
Sony has also increased the size of screens with the introduction of the R2000 series. This is a huge 70 inch LCD with everything the X and W series has. And the A2000 series will again be similar but available in a 55 and 70 inch screen size.
So now you know what you get with the BRAVIA series but what do all those numbers mean at the end of the products?
Sony says that anything with KDL means BRAVIA LCD. The two digit number next to it is the size of the screen, and the letter following it is the series type. The final four numbers are the year the TV came out and are put there to aid manufactures rather than the consumer.
Like everything models come and models go.
So the Sony KDL 42X2000U is the X series Sony Bravia TV with a 42 inch screen.
The KDF range that you might see is Sony’s Rear Projection TVs. If you’re looking for a high definition television with a large screen but can’t afford an LCD, read projection TVs are bigger and bulkier but cheaper.
Sony newest range of TVs:
Sony Bravia KDL-46D3000
Sony Bravia KDL-32S3000
Sony Bravia KDL-40S3000
Sony Bravia KDL-46S3000
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