Hands-on Review: Sony Bravia KDL46Z4100 Network TV

Publie le 16 decembre 2008 (marketnews.com)

Colours were generally very natural, though Smith's red Mustang didn't have quite the pop it had on other displays I have reviewed.

PLUS

* Excellent HDTV pictures
* Really nifty Internet option
* Clever Xross Media Bar interface

MINUS

* Blacks are a bit milky and slightly crushed

Sony's Bravia Z-series LCD televisions are three inches deep, making them some of the slimmest TVs on the market (though thicker than the sub-two-inch models reviewed elsewhere in this issue). They're also very svelte when viewed from front, as the bezel surrounding the screen is unusually thin. The 46-inch model reviewed here sells for $3,000; there's also a similar 40-incher for $2,600.

Sony supplied a silver model for me to review, but Z-series TVs are also available in black. On the bottom, between the screen and bezel, is a thin black strip with a Sony logo, which illuminates when the TV is on. For shelf mounting, the TV sits on a supplied rectangular pedestal. The whole package is very attractive in an understated way.

Besides the usual array of input and output jacks, there's an Ethernet networking port and a jack that Sony calls "Digital Media Extender" (Dmex).

On the Net: The Ethernet port lets you connect the Bravia TV to your home network, and browse photos and music stored on networked PCs. But the TV itself doesn't offer Internet connectivity. To get on the Net, you have to add a small component called the "Bravia Internet Video Link (BIVL)." The $300 device can be attached to the side of the Z-series Bravia TV.

Following the wonderfully clear instructions in the manual, I connected the BIVL to my home network, via the SlingLink Turbo Powerline adapter, and to the DMex port and an HDMI connector on the Sony TV. Everything worked perfectly, without any hassle at all.

The BIVL's functions are beautifully integrated into Sony's Xross Media Bar (XMB), the colourful user interface that lets viewers choose sources, adjust settings etc. This is TV for the Internet generation; the remote even has a button for Favourites, giving you quick access to your preferred channels and sources. Scroll to the Internet Video icon on the XMB, and you can choose from a large assortment of Internet video channels.

The most familiar, and for most viewers the most appealing, is YouTube. You use the number keys on the remote control, entering letters cell-phone-style, to search for YouTube videos. It's cludgier than using a PC keyboard to be sure, but texters will be right at home. Text entry isn't as responsive as a phone keypad; you have to wait a little between keystrokes for your entry to register. When you've completed your search and chosen a video, it starts playing in a window on the right of the screen.

There are lots of other choices, including blip.tv, where I found some ineresting low-budget documentaries on Iraq; Minisodes, where I found episodes of old TV shows like The Jeffersons and Dilbert; the Epicurious cooking channel; style.com, a fashion channel.

On the Network menu, there's a My Page area, where you can view local news and weather from Yahoo! (a traffic service is not yet operational in Canada).

While content has a long way to go, the Bravia Internet Video Link provides a very solid platform for getting the Net to the home theatre.

Settings: This Bravia