 Best in it's class |
| Review Date: October 12, 2008 |
| Reviewer: HookEmHorns, Austin, TX |
I have had a Westinghouse 1080p 42inch monitor for a few years and have really been pleased with it. However, with the new features on the market (120hz, 24p, etc) I was ready to upgrade. I initially ordered a Samsung LN46A550 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV. The picture was actually really good on this set, but the glare on the case was VERY annoying. It also lacked the features I was looking for in a new set, but I tried it out because the price was so good. The glare was too much to put up with, so I sent it back and started to research Sony's since they are one of the few sets on the market that you can still get without a glossy case.
I sure am glad that I found Bravia Z series! WIthout going up to an XBR, the Z series is the way to go. If you look at the specs - most of the high end features offered by the XBR are already in the Z series, so it is a really good value when viewed that way. It makes sense why the Z is not offered in a 52 inch size - it would probably really impact sales of the XBR. What a great looking TV (both the picture and the case). I have been extremely impressed with both the blacks on this LCD as well as the vivid colors it produces. The amount of picture calibration offered on this setup is remarkable - especially compared to my old Westinghouse. I find the 24p mode on Blue Ray disk to be quite impressive - it really adds a whole new level of enjoyment to watching Blue Ray movies. The 120hz mode is also wonderful when watching football. I really cannot say enough good things about this TV - spend the extra money that the Sony brand demands, and you get what you pay for.
Although I did not have the issue with this TV, there is a lot of discussion around the Internet about a sparkle issue that this TV has. Be advised that this was an issue, but Sony has released a firmware update that resolves the problem. I have done the update and everything is running great.
If you are on the fence between this and the Samsung LN46A650 (which is in the same feature class as the Sony), be aware that the Samsung has a very glossy screen - not to mention a sure to be dated red outline on the case. This really kills one of the great features of LCD's! The only Samsung I would even consider against this Sony is the Samsung LN46A550 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV, but it lacks 120hz, 24p, and has that hideous glossy case. It seems to me that there is no viable competitor to the Sony Bravia Z-Series KDL-46Z4100!
Another side note... When my TV was delivered they also picked up the Samsung for return. The delivery guys were telling me that they have to pickup Samsungs EVERY day because people are returning them. He said they have never had to pickup a Sony. This is proved if you look at the used/new link under the Samsung and Sony's - you will see tons of open box Amazon Warehouse Deals on the Samsungs - but none on the Sony's! |
Awesome PQ and no glare!
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| Review Date: June 23, 2008 |
| Reviewer: John, Long Island |
I decide on the 46z4100S for the following reasons;
a) No glossy screen glare or bezel glare!
b) small bezel, allowing larger screen on wall space
c) 3" depth on "in-wall mount"
d) 1080P/120HZ/motion control
The Picture Quality is so crystal clear......... just great! Bright, vivid colors are awesome! There are so many features and very easy to set-up.
My wife loves the brushed metal and says, "it doesn't have glare, doesn't look like those 'black plastic' frames". She's candid(LOL) and loves the amazing PQ, when watching her baseball games.
I'm using an in-wall mount and the 3" depth makes it look like a picture on the wall. The "46Z" is perfect from a viewing distance of 9-11 ft. Friends all love it!
I'm still making the viewing adjustment from a 27"CRT floor console. My eyes do more tracking on this larger screen.
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Sony KDL-46Z4100
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| Review Date: December 18, 2008 |
| Reviewer: John, Virginia |
| I purchased this TV with the silver bezel from Amazon and have had it for a few days now. I looked at various LCDs from Sony, Samsung and Sharp and decided on the Sony based on the picture quality and also the design (I also read many reviews online especially at Amazon). The picture is great so far, watched NFL this past weekend and felt like I was sitting in the stands. The design with the small silver bezel is what really attracted me to the TV much nicer than the shiny black or even reddish colored bezels from Samsung (that is just my personal opinion). The small bezel does not attract away from the picture while watching the TV I found this was not the case with the Samsungs which had very nice pictures but tended to reflect light and glare from the bezels. The price and service from Amazon were very good took about a week to get once it shipped and I was able to track it. The shipping co. was very good with delivery, scheduling and carrying into the house. So I definately recommend this TV and Amazon as well. |
Excellent clear picture, vibrant colors
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| Review Date: January 21, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Michele S. Roda, Nevada |
The Television:
The settings are easy to use. The picture is crystal clear. HD channels are perfect. Blu-Ray is expectacular. Blacks are black and whites are blindingly white. Vivid selection is on most of the time and easy to adjust to anyone's taste. No bleeding colors or bands or any dead pixels.
The Presidential Inaguration looked fabulous in HD.
Local channels are annoying, there seems to be face movement within the faces and maybe the firmware will resolve that since it is the same on the 60hz tv as on the 120hz. I'll update as soon as Sony sends them.
The looks of the tv are very pleasing, we ordered the silver because the black one was not available at time of ordering. The Silver frame surprised us by how great it looks and it does not shine like the black bezel on the other tv. Also, by sheer coincidence, it just happens to match the brushed metal pulls of the furniture surrounding it, so it makes the room look very pulled together.
Remote:
Clunky and large. However, I read in another review that this is a universal control. I have not tried it all yet, but if that is the case, I'll gladly put up with clunky to get rid of 3 other remotes.
The Stand:
Stand on tv tilts forward and does not hold the tv upright. Design flaw on Sony's part. See Amazon forums regarding this if you experience the same problem.
Customer Service:
Amazon customer service rocks by taking over Sony's dissapointing and aggravating customer service. For future reference, her name is Mary Ann and she contacted Sony for me as well and she resolved everything expectacularly well and I now don't have to worry about the tv falling over the kid's heads. Thank you MaryAnn.
Delivery:
We got the same great delivery we got the last time, including the setup of the tv. However, both times CEVA only sends one man to deliver and this time, the box opened while he was taking it out of the truck and the t.v. dropped to the ground. 2 days later, one of my neighbors wanted to know if there had been damage since she had seen it drop from the truck.
The tv had no damage and it works fine.
Bottom line: We are happy with the tv and delighted with Amazon Customer service.
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great HDTV
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| Review Date: January 12, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Henry Z. Tzeng, |
The TV was great, originally I didn't believe the hype about Z sereies Bravia, but it feels it's well put together. It's sleek, It didn't have the gaudy glass panel like the XBR, or big wide.... really wide screen frame border like the w series. The start-up instruction was clear, and only issue it took a while to register all the TV channels. The I just follow the recommended HDTV set-up/optimization recommendation on CNET to optimize the image. The control is relatively straight forward and easy to use(if you've a PS3, it's same media xbar). The picture is clear and crisp. Good contrast in both bright & low ambient surrounding light. Low resolution inputs with compensation look pretty good too. The only major "flaw" is component in, it had a hard time picking up the component input video signals, but S-video input from my old DVD(480i) looked really good. Great value, great buy!
As for the delivery service...
The delivery was prompt, even though I bought during the black Friday mad rush. They showed up at my door step at pre-arranged time. They opened the box and placed on the pedestal, was done over with in a few. |
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