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Sony KDL-46W4100 Review
The Sony KDL-46W4100
The Sony Bravia line continues to be at the forefront of producing cutting-edge LCDs that are top-notch in both design and technology. For this year, the middle-range W4100 series – which includes the stylish KDL-46W4100 – succeeds last year’s highly popular W3000 series, and sports new enhancements that were only recently exclusive only to the high-end Bravias.
Design
The elegant design of the KDL-46W4100 consists of a uniformly thick glossy black frame surrounding the screen, highlighted by a see-through window below the bottom frame, just above the silver perforated grille that hides the speakers. The clear and attractive window affords a view of the black and silver pedestal and whatever else is at the back of the TV, making it blend perfectly well in home interiors.
The revamped remote for the KDL-46W4100 has a nice feel. It lacks backlighting, but with the buttons neatly arranged, one can easily select keys even by touch. It also doesn’t have the capability to control other devices attached to the TV, but generally, we believe it’s a good clicker. We’ve continuously griped about the XMB menu system copied from the PS3 and even the changes implemented in the menu of the KDL-46W4100 aren’t enough to stop our ranting. We welcome the grouping of picture controls under one heading, but generally, we remain adamant that the option-filled Cross Media Bar menu is quite cumbersome.
Screen/picture clarity
The KDL-W4100 delivers inky blacks that are just a tad lighter than those found in the high-end plasmas. The deep blacks made shadows more detailed and colours much more vivid. The KDL-W4100 also gives accurate primary colours, with just the secondary cyan colour found to be less than accurate. Decoding of red is also a bit off, but a little tweaking would make the images seem more natural. However, the backlight appears to fluctuate specially when the screen turns in a bright-dark-bright sequence – the subtle changes in the blacks and shadows even without changes in the picture are unnatural and quite distracting.
Sony’s 120hz, MotionFlow processing in the KDL-W4100 is better than last year’s version, resulting in less noticeable smoothing that in turn makes movies more realistic.
We noted uneven screen brightness, with some areas noticeably brighter than the rest of the screen. On off-angle viewing, the uneven brightness as well as colour washout is too remarkable to be ignored.
Features
The 1080p full HD resolution KDL-46W4100 offers four independently-adjustable picture presets; white balance controls; four aspect ratios; and a Game mode that removes video processing during games. Other convenient features include the electronic TV Guide; limited picture-in-picture, and two-step power saving mode. Connectivity of this set is rich: four HDMI inputs, VGA-style PC input, and a slew of component audio/video input/output at the back and side panels.
Sony continues to widen its reach in the HDTV market by offering premium features in lower-priced LCDs such as the KDL-46W4100. For buyers who are after excellent performance without breaking the bank, this may just be the TV that will fit the tab.
<< Click HERE to Read The Latest Sony KDL-46W4100 User Reviews >>
I am very impressed with the clarity of the picture. The colors are absolutely brilliant. Very happy with purchase.
I owned a plasma for 4 years (zenith 42″ edtv) and I loved it… looked great, sounded great, etc. I tried for the past couple of years to upgrade to full hd to no avail. I tried a 50″ samsung (terrible color, horrific sound) and a 50″ philips (decent, but not “great”). This sony BLEW MY MIND. Great picture, great sound, great build quality. You can’t go wrong. JUST BUY IT
Great picture on this Bravia TV, colors are very natural and pop. Black and white levels are very good as well. I never liked the cartoonish colors and gloss on the Samsungs (although I have not seen this years models). In recent years, Ive bought and helped others buy a few Samsung LCDs ranging from 20″ to 40″ and none of them looks as good as the W4100. The built in speakers are also much better than the Samsungs, very usable for dialog and movies with less action scenes. Something to consider if you do not have an audio setup. I also compared this to a 42″ LG70 bought a month before the Sony and again, the Sony had the slightly better, more natural picture. Of course the XBR is better but you pay a high premium for it. Unless you are a videophile or have a nice chunk of change in your pocket I think the W series is more realistic and a good compromise.
Wonderful Picture…Good Sound – The Sony Bravia KDL-46W4100 is one very nice HDTV. I’m writing this review because one reviewer wrote that the picture looses intensity unless you are sitting at a 90 degree angle to the screen. NOT TRUE. After setting up the image to your liking, this model r-e-a-l-l-y delivers with a great picture from any angle. It has eye popping color that leaves you with almost a 3-D effect. We are very pleased with this TV that we’ve had for about a month now.
I recommended my friend this product. The clarity was very good. Definitely a better option to go for if you spend your leisure in time n watching TV to have agreat enjoyment.
This television is the biggest piece of garbage. I paid 1800 dollars for this hunk of junk. I have only had it for 6 months and it already broke. I realized that there was a long vertical line along the edge. I called Sony and had a repair shop take it. It has been a month and I have yet to get my tv back due to a part that was backordered that has yet to ship. I was lied to by customer support telling me that the part should have been shipped last week but they don’t know why. I am calling the BBB tomorrow if anyone knows where else to complain please let me know! I will never buy Sony again, everyone I know thta has a Samsung has had it for 2 and 3 years with no problems. Sony USED to be good, it sickens me that an international company like them can make such a crappy product.
I ordered and received this item after Thanksgiving. The white glove delivery was great. The picture is great and all was well for a few weeks. Then the audio went out when viewing from a cable box or Sony Blu-ray player, both with HDMI cables from Amazon. If I change channel, rewind the DVR or pause/rewind the DVD the audio comes right back. There is no pattern for the audio going out. I’m going to try regular RCA cables to see if the problem is related the HDMI connections. I have seen the same problem on other review sites regarding this audio problem with the 46W4100. I’ll be contacting Sony regarding warranty, but based on what I have read, looks more like a design problem as swapped out units produce the same results of the audio going in and out.
Sony BRAVIA W-Series KDL-46W4100 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTVThis SONY 46″ HDTV has a better picture than I expected based on sets I saw in stores. I get a perfect picture on all the channels that I receive via my old VHS antenna. It is much easier to use the remote than I was led to expect by some of the Amazon reviews. Reviews that I read comparing the Samsung equivalent of this set were especially useful in making my decision to buy the SONY.
This television is everything we wanted in an upgrade of our “old” SONY television. We purchased a home theater surround sound system to enhance our time in front of the tv. “Let it snow, let it snow…let it snow!”
Had this tv 18 months and now there are vertical lines on the screen. Been researching and this seems to be a common issue with other folks that have bought this tv around the same time I did. Called Sony and they are no help at all. Have checked into having tv fixed, and price quotes are in the $1,500 range….That is horrible,,,I could buy a new one for less!!! Very upset and filing a complaint with the BBB.
Oh NO, my beautiful SONY, true branded SONY… big black line down the screen. Oh the horror and dismay! I received this LCD TV in October 2008 as a 10 year anniversary present. We bought it from Amazon Warehouse Deals. I had to kick in some of my own money to up the brand to a Sony. After a little over 1 year, it developed a big black line down from the top to the bottom of the screen in the RED spectrum only. Green and Blue are fine. But when red shows up on the TV, a big black “burned out pixel line” shows very prominently. So I thought, well, there goes the $1400 we spent on this TV. NOT MY BEAUTIFUL SONY! But alas, after all I could do, no fixing the black line. The Sony authorized service folks told me the LCD panel would need to be replaced and that cost more than to just go buy a new TV. I also called Sony and they told me I would be on my own to get it repaired (again told that the cost of repairs is more than the cost of the TV brand new).
So, $1400 for 14 months of Sony TV use… amounts to $100 a month rental fee and Mother Earth and the trash dump takes one on the chin for another disposable piece of electronic wizardry.
Yes the TV still works, yes one could live with the black line down the TV side but for me every time I watch TV, that line stares at me and I think about nothing but “Dang, this was supposed to be a SONY!”
So, I cannot recommend this product even though for the 1 year it looked beautiful. Unless you buy an GIANT extended warranty, it is wicked to buy a TV and have it last only 1 to 3 years. My 1991 Sony Trinitron still works perfect. My how the brand has suffered over the years. So sad and disappointing.
On the plus side, now I have an excuse to go get a much bigger TV. Maybe this time I will try Samsung… with a MASSIVE extended warranty!
I bought this Sony LCD TV set at 2008 Christmas. It was excellent in picture and sound, seemed to be better than Samsung LCD TV. Meanwhile, just 2-3 months after the one year warranty, it was found that there was a 2-or-3-pixel-wide vertical line, about 2 inches from the left brim, and from the top to bottom brim, presenting in the screen when watching TV programs, DVD, and BlueRay, which were suspected to be dead pixels. The software was updated to sony_dtv_package206r.p08 but the line was still there. SONY support office told me that this might be caused by TV brocasters! And I need to bring it to repair if it presists after hiding “broadcaster noise” attempts, while the cost won’t be covered by SONY as the warranty has expired.
In brief, if you want to watch the TV just for one year, then buy it. Otherwise, think twice!
We purchased a 46″ Sony HDTV, $2,500.00 , 18 months ago and I’ve got the same vertical, black line as mentioned in previous e-mails. I wish we had bought a Samsung. The people I know, that have them, have had no problems. This is the last Sony product we will ever buy.
I bought the KDL 46W4100 March 2009, was a great tv for four months, then the back light started to appear on dark movie scenes video games etc, booo I found out that they would not do anything about this and said it was normal. April 2010 lines started to appear on the top left of my screen, oh boy sony strikes again!! I call a sony dealer he say’s nothing they can do it is a month passed my warranty, now my sony is almost unwatchable lines everywhere, top left right, bottom left and right. If you are going to build and sell electronics for this price, maby you should back them up! It would be a different story if I only paid $200.00 for it and only expected to have it for one year, but $1800.00 a year is alot for one quik year of TV. I am never going back to SONY!!! back to Samsung for me!