Sony Bravia KDL-40R450 Owners Thread

Why2Jay

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Just bought this t.v. a couple days ago, very happy with it. Haven't had much success online finding a thread for this particular set though, i am interested in seeing other's picture settings and thoughts on it...

So i started one!
 
Congrats and what's the overall picture like, on SD HD and gaming??
 
Looks good overall (im not an expert by any means) i've watched Blu-Rays on it, the blacks are black and the color pops.

SD is "meh", but thats expected.

Gaming is nice on it, clear crisp picture...would look even better if Ps3 had a better upscaler (definitely no Xbox) lol.
 
I am considering this TV in 46". What are the blacks like on a dark movie or game in a fully dark room?
 
Also interested to know whether there is any clouding or bleed on dark scenes in a dark room. Uniformity issues are my bug bear, but this is back-lit so may be better?!?!?
 
I've only had the 46" version for a short while - but here are my thoughts (so far):

Panel is probably a Chi Mei Innolux - PSA or maybe MVA? It's quite a good picture, but not eye-poppingly outstanding. It doesn't behave like a Samsung panel or have a Samsung SPVA model number.

There's no clouding, hot corners or bleed - a very even picture - but black levels are average - on dark films in a dark room the blacks behave like an 2010 CCFL LCD TV or Panasonic LED - slightly grey.

TV itself is very lightweight (lightest Sony I've ever owned). Stand appears to aluminium but feels more like plastic. Stand fixes to TV with two screws, but is quite tight. Back of TV is made of lightweight plastic. Sony logo is just printed on, not embossed. It's still classed as a Bravia, but the picture processing chip is not by Sony or X-Reality branded (it's an off-the-shelf MediaTek SOC design).

Remote control is very simple but well built and functions well, although not as solid as 2011 Sony TVs controls.

Sound quality is outstanding - much better than 2011/12 Sony TVs, much more like "classic" CRT TV sound.

Functions are basic but provide enough scope for average adjustments. Plays a lot of USB formats and recognises things quickly.

Menu system is more like 2010 Bravias than anything from 2011 onwards. Simple and straightforward but no flashy graphics. Does still match other Sony equipment, though.

Picture quality on broadcast TV is very good, no motion blur (didn't notice any), good colours but slightly low black levels.

Viewing angles are poor if you stand up but average from side to side (contrast washout and blacks become very blue, artefacting visible).

This is a budget TV and performs well for the price. I think it would do well for an average TV viewer. Movie buffs might be disappointed with the acceptable but not astounding blacks. Sound quality stands out as does ease of use, panel uniformity and simplicity. Worst parts are viewing angles and blacks.

I'm also going to try a Toshiba WL863 (direct LED/local dimming with AUO MVA panel) in a few days and will see which is better.
 
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Thanks for the report (and PM), sounds promising, though given the picture quality and grey blacks, I'll probably only buy if I get sick of the premium value units not living up to expectation.
 
Glad to be of help. I still believe that the last great Sony's were in 2010, with the EX series with they grey and silver stripe at the bottom of the frame. Those were the last ones made by Sony before they outsourced production.

I don't think this is ideal for a main TV, for sure.
 
Update: TV is going back. Viewing angles are rubbish and contrast is seriously lacking. It's one of Sony's flimsiest TVs. An overpriced supermarket TV? Reminds me of those BX series Bravias that did the round of the supermarkets...
 
Check out digitaltrends dot com review.

It seems undefeatable motion interpolaration and very narrow viewing angles are the major problems of this TV.
 
Check out digitaltrends dot com review.

It seems undefeatable motion interpolaration and very narrow viewing angles are the major problems of this TV.

The UK model doesn't have undefeatable motion interpolaration but sucks in every other way (apart from sound, but who cares when the picture's crap?!).
 
I got my 40R450 a week ago and i'm ok with it considering that it's a low budget tv.
But I have 3 main issues so far to mention.

1. Very slightly underlighted top corners (or maybe it's just me) but not disturbing.

2. The tv isn't even 100Hz. Almost all shops and dealers
have it with specification "100Hz", when I found that it's actually 60Hz.
Even I saw it playing before buying it, I could't notice something disturbing, but trust me
when I took it home, it was a huge difference compared to my other sony 42" 200Hz smart tv.
It's enough to mention that if you have a scroling text at the botom it's a strugle to read.

3. As always with sony you never know when you're to get the surprise!
After watching for 2 hours, I noticed a small bug on the screen (wasn't the first time),
as I had the tv playing at my yard but only for those 2 hours, normally I have it indoors.
Well, I went close to dust the little bug off aaandd.... I was stunned.. the little bug was loughing at me in HD 1080i!!! Yeap, the bug was litterally walking on the panel from behind the surface and it was crystal clear visible except when I turned off the tv.
I mean, how the panel is so unprotected inside, that such a thing can happen?!
I turned it off all night to cool down and prayed that the bug walks out of the panel and doesn't dies on the spot leaving a permanent mark!! Fortunately the next morning the bug was gone and I hope to never see it again!

..sony ..never ceases to surprise people..
 

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