[HMV]

Hi Guys

Does anyone own or has seen a Sony KDL 40Z4500 (40", 200 Hz, expensive LCD) out of the showroom? I'm in the market for a 40" set mainly for Blue Ray viewing, connecting to my Humax Free Sat PVR and use as a entertainment pc monitor.

The Sony KDL40W4500 is considerably cheaper and has had great reviews - is the 40Z4500 worth the extra? I'd appreciate any comments from anyone who has seen or used either of these two TVs.

Cheers

Julian

[boxrick]

IMHO it is *not* worth the extra.... why? 200hz is a gimmick, 100hz is bad enough, if you like fake sped up fast motion enhancement then great 100hz / 200hz are for you..

If you want a natural looking flowing picture then most people just turn these off, but 100hz and 200hz make everything look like its recorded with a personal video camera and the framerate is far too high to be real. 200hz is barely any different from 100hz....

I wish this technology had a proper name such as "motion enhancement or motion smoothing" because 100hz and 200hz is a just not true, the sets still run at 50/60 hz with fake interpolated frames in between.

[boxrick]

Sony KDL40Z4500 / KDL-40Z4500 Review: Bravia 200Hz LCD TV

Although the dynamic contrast of the Sony KDL40Z4500 was quoted at 80,000:1 (vs. the 50,000:1 of W4500), the native contrast of the LCD panel actually measured marginally lower.

The Sony KDL40Z4500’s edge in screen uniformity was also maintained off-axis, though it must be pointed out that its contrast and colour washed out slightly earlier than the W4000 and W4500 when viewed from an angle.

though to be honest we struggled to see any significant advantage over the 100Hz Motionflow on the W4500 series

So while the Sony KDL40Z4500 holds the current record for the highest motion resolution we have measured on an LCD TV so far, pound-for-pound we think that the Sony KDL40W4500 (equipped with 100Hz Motionflow) represents better value-for-money.

Kind of speaks for itself.... not worth it for the additional price of the w4500. On my experience in real life i would echo this... the z4500 is not worth the extra.

[ChrisGgr]

Well from my experience of Z4500 after excessive testing,I came to the conclusion that in many cases the 200Hz provided nothing ,these few scenes though that 200Hz benefit make any other tv looking worse than Z4500 in the motion department.And I am speaking not by just seeing at the store but I have home tested it with both SD and HD and now that W4500 stock is poor and price is up the Z4500 is IMO a better choice

[HMV]

Thanks for the opinions guys - after a lot more reading of reviews I've still decided to go for KDL 40Z4500 - will let you know how I find it once it arrives.

Thanks again

Julian

[Jochie]

I had a hard time choosing between the 2.
In the end I went for the Z.
I paid 650gbp more for it than the W but also came with a S550 Bluray player.
The Z will probably never beat the W bang for buck but the difference was acceptable to me also taking into account the nicer design/finish and the better standard speakers since I dont have it hooked up to a sound system.

I mainly watch tv for movies and motorsports which is where it should shine most.

I havent been able to test it at home properly due to several circumstances.
Got the S550 today (they were on backorder) but waiting for the hdmi cables now.

What I can say is the remote and menu are quite rubbish.
Ignoring the lack of quality feel to it, the ergonomic alien that decided the volume and channel buttons should be at the far bottom of the remote can be boiled afaiac.

[HMV]

Hi Jochie
I've now gone for the 40Z4500 as well and am well pleased with it. Had a birthday party at my place this weekend and everyone was impressed including the gamers - I've put the sensor for my Wii below the screen and behind the perspex panel that supports the speakers where it is practically invisible but works well.

I've got Freesat through a Humax Foxsat-HDR and the quality of the BBC and ITV HD programmes is just stunning!

Funnily enough I love the layout of the remote control - I hold remotes at the end so having the most used buttons (channel change, volume etc) right by my thumb works really well for me. Also the TV remote has been really easy to set up as a universal remote to control the sound system, the Blu-Ray player and the DVD/VHS deck though I haven't yet found the control code for the Foxsat-HDR.

All in all, I'm very pleased with my decision!

Cheers

Julian

[Jochie]

Thanks for the wii sensor tip Julian, will give that a try when I move it.

Also planning for Humax HDD shortly to enjoy Freesat in Germany.

Finally managed to collect the cables and planning to watch first bluray movies on Friday