Sony Bravia EX700 Series 52-Inch LED HDTV, Black
| Sony Bravia EX700 Series 52-Inch LED HDTV, Black Other products by Sony Ratting 5.0 Out of 5.0 Special Offer Total New 21 Use |
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Enjoy Full HD 1080p, incredible contrast and smooth motion performance with the slim Edge LED backlit Sony BRAVIA EX700-Series LCD HDTV. Connect to the internet and instantly stream a wide variety of movies, TV shows, videos and music using apps from Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube, Slacker and more
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Details
- Full HD 1080p Resolution
- Bravia Internet Video
- USB Input
- Edge LED backlight
- Wi-Fi Adapter Ready
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“great buy” 2010-07-16
By premiummember (USA)
Hi there! After long research I picked this TV and am absolutely happy about it. Viewing experience is amazing, and sound is great – you don’t even need home theater (unless you really want). Main reason i picked this TV is because the screen is matte. Shiny screen of Samsung LEDs was killing my eyes. I haven’t connected this TV to internet yet, but i am sure it’ll be nice and simple.
“Sony KDL-52EX700 Review from LCD TV Buying Guide” 2010-05-28
By LCDTVBuyingGuide (Atlanta, GA)
The Sony KDL-52EX700 has its own private display in some prominent retail stores. It’s got the thin good looks Sony is counting on to impress with its great brightness on the showroom floor. In this review we delve deeply into the inner beauty of the TV as well to evaluate whether the internal processing and output match the aesthetics. The EX700 series ranks right in the middle of the pack in Sony’s 2010 lineup in terms of feature offerings and price.
HD Picture Quality: Image edges from HD content were crisp, clean and detailed. The LED backlight and intense black level seem to help images in 3 dimensional effect. Shadow detail is excellent with HD content as well. Regardless what content is displayed there is quick degradation of black levels and contrast from side viewing angles starting at 15 degrees. Color information was rich but no overpowering with HD content. I enjoyed the picture very much from front and center and was unable to pick up the processing problems the TV displayed in HQV testing.
Black Level/Contrast/Contrast Ratio: Black levels were stout and measured .026 to .029 on the IRE scale giving the TV a high post calibration contrast ratio of 1570:1. The black levels carried through to scenes from both HD and 480i content. As mentioned below, side angle viewing will diminish contrast appearance.
Dark Shadow Detail: Fantastic shadow detail is a winning characteristic of the EX700. The TV showed tremendous definition in dark areas of suits, clothing, and in all dimly lit scenes.
Color Rendition/Color Accuracy: Color rendition is a strength of this Sony display. Colors pop off of deep black levels without being oversaturated.
LED Back Light: With a static gray screen displayed there was obvious horizontal light banding from the edge lit LED back lights. The irregularities in back lighting revealed themselves from time to time when viewing content as well.
Motion Lag: There was some jerkiness and judder effect in scenes panning side to side even with the 120Hz rate Motionflow feature on standard setting.
HQV Processor Testing: After watching a few brief video content highlights we thought the processor was going to pass our tests without a hitch. Turns out the brightness and nice color rendition of the picture fooled us. Overall, the EX700 performed poorly in video processor testing. I guess they saved the best stuff for their higher end TVs such as the HX900. Obvious jaggies, moire’, shimmy effects, judder, and dithering were apparent on many tests – all signs of a struggling processing engine. The one exceptional performance was in the video resolution loss test. Interestingly though Sony has named the video chip sets for this TV the new Bravia Engine 3, we decided that the video processor in the EX700 must at least be the same as the XBR9, since the testing was identical with weaknesses and strengths in exactly the same areas.
Calibration: The EX700 series has a strict governor on brightness. This prevents the average user from hurting their picture quality by poorly calibrating their TV. The EX700 calibrated fairly easily to D6500K. Gamma tracking was excellent and one of the best tested.
Calibration Settings
Picture Mode: Custom
Backlight: 4
Picture: 96
Brightness: 52
Color: 49
Hue: G4
Color Temp Warm: 2
Sharpness: MIN
MotionFlow: Standard
Cinemotion: OFF
Advanced Settings
Gamma: 0
White Balance
R-Gain: 0
G-Gain: -16
B-Gain: -7
R-Bias: -6
G-Bias: 0
B-Bias: -4
Features: As mentioned above use the Motionflow feature on Standard but do not use the Cinemotion feature in conjunction unless you want to add lots of jerkiness and a nasty background effect to the picture.
120Hz Rate Feature Evaluation: Overall this feature is viable on the EX700 series. While this feature detracts from the picture quality with most TVs in the market, it enhances PQ in the EX700. The feature does not introduce unwelcome video background noise as with most others. We recommend the Standard setting. Extra points to Sony for coming up with a Hz rate feature that actually improves the picture even during film. There was still judder occurrence, but the feature reduced it.
Aesthetic Considerations: The EX700 is a nice looking TV with the super thin 2.25″ depth and an included side to side swivel table stand. The 2″ wide gloss black bezel framing the screen could be thinner to suit my tastes. There is a classy looking charcoal gray strip on the bottom of the TV.
Audio Output: Sound output from the 10W X 10W speakers was weak with many sources. The audio output often had a hollow, tinny non-quality with which we were not impressed. There was an absence of virtual surround effect. ClearVoice is a Sony Bravia feature we have recommended in the past and is included on this TV. It enhances voice sound level somewhat effectively.
See the full review at LCD TV Buying Guide
“A Versatile Performer With Only Minor Drawbacks” 2010-05-27
By Matthew T. Weflen (Chicago, IL)
I chose this television as an exchange for a defective Sony rear projection unit, the KDS-50A2000. This was an LCoS (or in Sony parlance, SXRD) set from 2006 that, until its malfunction, provided a wonderful 1080p image with good contrast, great color, and nice detail. So I am comparing the 52EX700 to my former set.
That said, what are the criteria for a great TV? In my opinion, the criteria can be broken into 5 areas, weighted equally:
1. Black & White. How dark is the baseline black level of the set? How bright is the brightest white? What is the contrast ratio? How well do the two interact on normal viewing material?
2. Color. How accurate is the color? Is it vibrant but not cartoonish? How adjustable is it?
3. Processing. How well does the television handle fast motion? Is there a lot of video noise? Are detrimental picture “enhancements” defeatable? Is there a sharpness setting that reveals maximum detail without edge halos or other artifacts? Are there jagged edges or moire effects on challenging material?
4. Build Quality. Is the screen reflective or matte? Does the screen have uniform lighting? What sort of viewing angle does the set have? Is the cabinet sturdy? Is the remote ergonomic? How much power does the TV consume? How much heat does it generate? Is the unit reliable overall?
5. Feature Set. How many and what kinds of connections does the set have? Does the TV have internet connectivity? How comprehensive is the user menu? Is there Picture in Picture? What other sorts of convenience features are present?
I will rate this set on a ten point scale in each of the 5 categories. There are two categories specifically in picture quality, which means that the picture is the most heavily weighted feature. A perfect set (whatever that is) would rate a 50. An average store-brand cheapie set from a big box retailer would probably rate in the 30s.
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Black & White = 9
The 52EX700 is capable of displaying a very dark black. Blacks which are too bright can wash out an image, making it seem grayish and foggy. This is most definitely NOT the case with the EX700. Blacks are darker than my previous 2006 model television, and at least as dark as the best LCD sets from last year. Some professional reviewers (such as CNET) have said it is not as dark as some of the current competition. Frankly, I have a hard time seeing how. In daylight, the black areas of the screen are completely black. In a darkened room, if you’re watching a black screen, sure, a tiny bit of light is evident. But who besides a professional TV reviewer sits in a darkened room watching a black screen? To the human eye, on any real program material, the blacks are effectively at zero light output. On the other end of the spectrum, this set gets very bright, once you turn off the “ambient sensor” and take full control of the backlight. At half backlight, the set is quite bright. At full, it’s as eye-searing as a rear projection model with a bright lamp. Blacks remain inky and deep at any backlight setting, but of course are deeper the lower you go. Any way you slice it, this set was more than bright enough to watch during the day, and it was more than dark enough for the black level not to be an issue at night. The contrast ratio is quite high, and the image has a lot of “pop.”
Color = 9
Colors are vibrant but not cartoonish. It was easy to get them dialed in to a pleasing, natural looking palette by changing the “temperature” to its warmest setting. White Balance controls afford more chances to tweak the color. Sometimes, the darkest areas of broadcast HD seemed to tint a little green or blue, but this was likely the source, since this flaw was not evident in Blu-Ray material.
Processing = 8
Overall, processing was good. I never noticed even one instance of motion blur, whether I was watching sports, drama, or action-packed Blu-Ray movies. There is no video lag, regardless of picture settings, which is very important for video gaming (some sets make you turn off all processing in order to eliminate lag, which can lead to a diminished picture). Detail can be very strong even at lower “Sharpness” settings (mainly, sharpness puts artificial enhancements around the edges of objects on the screen, so the lower the better). This picture is a bit noisier in dark areas than my SXRD set close up, but this noise is invisible at normal viewing distances. I noticed a few jagged edges in nearly horizontal lines on Blu-Rays (grates and fences can be torture tests for digital televisions). This is a 120hz television, affording the opportunity for Sony’s “Motion Flow” setting, which interpolates frames to smooth out “juddering” on video (60hz) and film (24hz) sources, giving everything a very non-juddering smooth kind of motion. This was OK on TV programs, but was distracting on movies (which are filmed at 24fps). I generally left it off. 120hz is an even multiple of 24, however, and this set is able to decode 24fps video (such as Blu-Ray) with no artificial frame interpolation (i.e. frames created by the TV that aren’t actually in the image source) or processing. This leads to an extremely stable and sharp picture on movies without any additional and artificial “enhancement” such as Motion Flow. In the end, 60 vs. 120 vs. 240hz processing isn’t nearly as important as black level and color. Most 60hz sets look fine regardless of source, and many would say that frame interpolation modes lead to unnatural-looking images. 480p DVD looks fine. 480i broadcast standard definition performance is not going to win any awards, but it is perfectly acceptable. Just remember, garbage in=garbage out. You can only polish a turd so much, as they say. Speaking of OTA, the on-board HD tuner is very strong – it pulls in channels very stably even at 60-70% signal.
Build Quality = 7
The cabinet is understated and stylish, with a thin “metallized” gray strip below a shiny black bezel. The set is impressively thin, but not so thin that jacks are laid out in a less easy-to-access sideways orientation. I wish the input jacks had been closer to the center of the rear, but they are laid out nicely. The included stand swivels, and keeps the television stable. The screen is a matte finish (thank goodness), and does a decent job of attenuating reflections from the room. The LED edge-lighting does lead to a small bit of “flash light effect” near the edges of the screen, but it is not really noticeable on normal material, and it is not as bad as competing edge-lit sets. The “Achilles Heel” of this set is viewing angle – the image washes out a fair amount more than 45 degrees to either side of center (90 degrees total), and more than 30 degrees vertically (60 degrees total). This is, however, pretty common for LCD sets. It is neither the best or worst in this regard. There are still plenty of great seats for this set in an average living room. The remote control is average – it could have used a few more shortcut buttons, and the D-pad could have been made more ergonomic (it’s a little shallow).
Feature Set = 10
Until “Google TV” equipped sets come out next year, the EX700 is tops in terms of internet features. Netflix, Amazon VOD, and Youtube streaming are the stars, and they all work well. Picture Quality on these is decent to very good, but set-top devices perform better, since the TV seems more sensitive to connection speed. Entering your login info for these services lets you access their respective queues, right on the TV. A plethora of other, smaller internet features offers podcasts, videos, music, and other things. The haphazard organization of these is not ideal, however, and typing in search queries with the remote is cumbersome. Also extremely impressive is the implementation of TV Guide for over-the-air HD signals. The TV downloaded listings based on Zip Code, and only displayed a schedule for channels I had selected as “Shown.” The user menu is modeled after the XMB menu of the PS3 – both a blessing and a curse, because so much information is contained in it, one can easily get lost. A “Favorites” button lets you bookmark favored inputs, channels, or internet features. The VGA PC input works perfectly, and the image is automatically scaled to fit the screen perfectly, with no overscan or loss of fidelity with text. Power saving is another big feather in this set’s cap – the LED light source is already very efficient, generating almost no heat and using about half of what a normal CCFL LCD set does, but you can also shave power use further with the “Eco settings,” and the “Presence Sensor,” which turns off the screen (but keeps the audio on) when you leave the room. The only feature that really fails to impress is Picture-in-Picture, as it is limited to PCs (which must always be the main screen, and there is no swapping), broadcast TV, and component input devices (like older DVD players). It is by no means the full-featured and flexible PIP that sets used to have, and is only marginally useful.
A note on 3-D: This set is not 3-D ready. I, however, am of the opinion that 3-D in the home is a flash in the pan, and will always be, until consumers are not required to buy $150 glasses for each family member in order to view it. Also, there is currently no media to play on such a set. Therefore, I will not dock points for lacking this “feature.”
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All told, this set rates a 43 on my scale of 50. While this might sound like it’s low or disappointing, it isn’t. My dad has a Samsung UN55B8000, a very comparable edge-lit LED set, which performs similarly, but offers fewer features. I would rate that set 9/9/8/8/7, for a total of 41. My 50A2000, a rear projection SXRD set, would rate 9/10/9/5/6, for a 39 (the 5 is for its unreliability and the irritation of replacing lamps). The Insignia set I helped my grandmother purchase for her kitchen would rate 7/6/6/8/6 for a 33. I imagine the absolute premium today (which I haven’t seen) wouldn’t go much above 46 or 47. So anything over 40 is very likely a solid all-around performer with good features.
Thus, I rate this a 5-star set on Amazon’s scale, especially given its price point in the current marketplace. You’re getting a large, efficient LED edge-lit set with top-flight internet features and very good picture performance for under $2k. I am thrilled with the performance this set offers and consider it an upgrade in nearly every way over my previous 2006-model set (with the exception of viewing angles). It should be on the short list of anyone searching for a high-quality, full-featured set that can handle both home theater and HD cable/broadcast television chores. It may not be at the top of the roost this year, but for the money it is probably as good as anything out there.
Given the CNET review of this set, I was not expecting to like it as much as I did, and I was prepared for some compromises. Well, I guess pleasant surprises come in slim packages. This is an uncompromisingly good television with only a few minor flaws, most of which are endemic to LCD televisions. Its greatest strengths are its robust online offerings and its extremely punchy contrast ratio.
“Great TV” 2010-05-04
By Aaron Chenoweth (Chicago, IL USA)
Just a quick review after I upgraded from my old LCD Projection 50″ 1080i TV to this new Sony LED model 3 weeks ago. Just for the fun of it; before I switched them out I left them side by side just to do some comparisons (I just put a new lamp in my old TV so it was at it brightest in years). When I switched to TV mode on both using my HDTV AT&T UVerse 1080i cable, the comparison was interesting. Overall the Sony LED TV had a sharper and brighter image but there were a few channels where I just didn’t see a difference. This I blame on the cable being 1080i and possible some channels using inferior HD Cameras??? Then I played a DVD on each TV and the Sony defiantly had the brighter sharper image. Lastly I threw in a Blue Ray, and this is where this new Sony LED TV blew away my old TV. My first words were “Wow that looks great”. I also just downloaded a 1080p movie and got the same “Wow” result while watching it.
I did tell myself that if I didn’t notice a large enough difference I would be returning this TV and waiting another year for newer models (Since I just bought a new lamp for my old TV). Well after 3 weeks my old TV is now sitting in the basement waiting for someone to watch it, and I think it’s going to be a long time. So, overall after 3 weeks I am extremely happy with this Sony TV.
Anything I didn’t like? Just 2 minor things: there are 4 HDMI cable connections but only 2 in back – the other 2 are on the side. It’s not a big deal but if you have your Cable box, Blue Ray Player and your Video Game Console all hooked up with HDMI cables; one of those cables is going to be sticking out of the side of your TV at all time – you can bend the cable back so it’s not sticking out that much. But, as a person who wants all his cables hidden – this is a little annoying. The second and very minor; the stand is little blah, not a big deal but I would think they could come up with something better on their 2010 models since the rest of this TV looks so great.
Update #1:I saw someone asked about how many Watts this TV used. So I brought home my Watt Meter from work and did some testing. This new LED TV used 75 Watts on average when on. I also hooked up my old LCD Projection TV and it used around 195 when on. Pretty big difference.
Update #2: After 2 months of watching things like the Stanley Cup, World Cup Soccer plus a few other movies at different places; I have to say this TV has the best picture of the lot. Especially when compared to older models from a few years ago. But, once again some channels just don’t look as good as others. The World Cup soccer games looked incredible, a friend even asked if this was a new 3D TV he thought the picture was so good. Then watching Shrek on TNT HD looked subpar when compared to the lowly DVD version I own (probably considerably worse then the Blue-ray version). Guess the point is make sure your HD Signal is good if you want the best HD picture on this TV, you can really see the difference between a bad HD channel and a good HD channel.
“Beautiful Picture” 2010-03-17
By Samuel Barton (California)
I have had this TV for about 2 weeks and am still stunned by its beautiful picture. The colors are rich and deep and in HD everything is so crisp. This TV is in my Family Room Set-up which includes Pioneer Elite SC-25 receiver, LG Blu-Ray, Boston Accoustics center and surround speakers.
Pros:
1. Picture (as mentioned above). Although it is close, the picture is better than my 46″ Samsung LED-LCD that I have in the bedroom. Colors are warmer and image is just as crisp if not more so even though the screen is bigger. Images from the Blu-Ray are truly stunning
2. Network connectivity. A wireless dongle was included with my set. However, I have hardwired to my LAN so I can’t comment on the wireless capabilities. Hooking up to the network was seemless and streaming from a computer on my network was effortless with no hiccups. I haven’t streamed HD video yet, so I can’t comment.
3. Cabinet. The screen is surrounded by a beautiful high gloss black cabinet. Probably will be a fingerprint and dust magnet. But the design is great.
4. Low energy consumption that all LED’s enjoy
Cons:
1. Base. I really didn’t care for the base. So much so that I mounted instead my media center so I wouldn’t have to use it.
2. Slow to reflect channel changes when the next channel had a different resolution. Was able to fix to setting cable box to 1080i output only. Channel delay down to less than half a second vs. 2-3 seconds when changing from a 720p channel to a 1080i channel.
3. SD picture nothing to write home about.
I am very pleased with this purchase and highly recommend this set.
