Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony Bravia M-Series KDL-26M4000 26-Inch 720p LCD HDTV

I just bought this model, and I also own a Sony 40" S model. I was tempted to get Sony's S model in this size, but the M is a newer model, and $50-$80 cheaper. Picture quality is, overall, equal to my larger set, (though fleshtones are more natural on the "S") which cost twice as much. However, I was surprised that it does not come with the stand attached. Not a big deal, but I've never seen this practice before. Also, unlike the S series classy flat black matte finish, this M model has the "Samsungy" glossy piano black finish. Again,not a big deal..but still. Anyway, despite all my nitpicking, it is the picture that really matters, and in that area, this set delivers in Sony tradition..excellent. For the money, a great set, a great value, but it will remind you it is entry level, something the S models did not do...of course, Sony's least, is still better than it's competitors best.

I had been researching lcd tv's for quite a while (months). I had narrowed it down to Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, and Sharp. What finally pushed me over into the Sony M-4000 corner is that it has a 178 degree vertical and horizontal viewing range, decent contrast, and the Sony Bravia Engine 2.

The tv is connected to basic cable and I have found the ghosting to be minimal and the hd stations are satisfying to watch.

PC input is excellent...dual monitors is new for me, and it's great for watching online shows, esp. when having pc audio linked to the tv.

The speakers work for me, our tv viewing is limited to when our son is asleep, so no need for thunderous booms, etc.

All in all, it has the features I thought important at a reasonable price. Channel switching is fast; the most often used functions are a button away. I'm content.

I received my Sony Bravia KDL-26M4000 a few days ago.

Picture quality is excellent. Rich colors, high contrast, & a nicely sharp picture. It was correctly adjusted at the factory. It appears to offer a good range of custom picture adjustment, which I haven't explored yet. Viewing angle makes little difference, as long as you're somewhere in front of it.

Sound quality is good, not great. Small tv speakers are never going to produce great sound, but it's definitely listenable. I plan to connect it to some stereo speakers, but haven't done that yet.

The set appears to be very well built. I'm using the included stand, which seems plenty sturdy. It was easy to attach the screen to the stand.

I found the initial setup a nuisance, because it took a very long time to scan for channels - however, I use a cable box, so there's only the one channel for it to receive. Scanning for other channels was a total waste of time. I don't mark that against the tv, since it only happens once. But it does seem to me that a more intelligent setup process would be helpful. A person can't really hold that against the tv, it's a decision by the designers.

I intend to try it as a second monitor for my laptop computer, but I can't comment on that now, since I don't have the hookup cable yet.

(Edited to add -- I got the cable, to use this Sony with my Powerbook G4, and it works fine. Also, I discovered it works with my little old 12" iBook, that I've kept as a backup laptop. The iBook is limited in its ability to handle this Sony as a display, but it does work.)

In sum, I'm glad I bought this Sony, and I do recommend it. At the current price, especially, I think it's an outstanding buy.

I just bought this TV and am very happy with my decision. The picture is sharp and contrasty (though component input isn't perfect), sound quality is OK and features are more than plenty for my purpose. I especially like the selection of inputs and the ability to relay audio out to my stereo. But the clincher for me was the viewing angle: It is much better than the Samsung 26A450, which is the main competitor in terms of image quality (face-on the Samsung seems a little better). We have the TV set on a shelf, higher than the seating position, and there is literally no difference in picture for a large range in vertical (and horizontal) viewing angles. There is no discernible color shift or shadow loss, both of which are clearly visible for most of the competition. This suggests to me that this TV is using a high quality S-IPS panel, though it might be hard to believe at this price point.

At first, I was shopping for a cheap 32" HDTV for my bedroom. After getting burned by two straight bad 32" HDTVs from other brands, not wanting to spend more money for the more expensive 32" sets, and seeing that a 32" screen is a little too big for my small bedroom, I decided to look one size smaller and get a good 26" television at the same price range.

I singled out this Sony model out of the other 26" televisions because it was the only 26" television that actually had a vertical viewing angle. The pictures on the rest of the 26" televisions turn white when viewed from above and turn purple and green when viewed from below. This Sony model does not have this problem.

The picture is great for an LCD. There are settings to improve the levels of black and white. Picture from the component connections look good. Analog channels have a bit of static in some colors.

EDIT

I can confirm with another reviewer that a 1080i source over HDMI produces a line of static at the top of the screen. This does not happen if either the source is 720p over HDMI or 1080i over component. A 1080p source results in an "Unknown Format" error.

The television's audio is good when it's loud, but not good when it is set low. My television had a low-volume hiss in the built-in speakers and is noticeable in low volume levels. There are stereo RCA and digital coaxial audio outputs for external speakers.

This television forces the user to run a 30+ minute auto program to detect all of the channels. There is no way to manually add or remove channels from the television without running the auto programmer first. Thankfully, the auto programmer found all of the analog and clear unscrambled cable channels and didn't add any scrambled channels.

The biggest turnoff of this television is its selling price. Depending on the sales price, you can get a low-to-mid range 32" HDTV for the same price.

If you just care about screen size, then those 32" HDTVs might be for you. If you want quality for about the same price and don't mind a smaller size, check out this Sony while shopping around. It's not the best TV out there, but it's in the top five of 26" HDTVs out there.

edit: if you do get this model or any other Sony LCD television, immediately shut off "Noise Reduction" in the Advanced Options of the Picture menu. Noise Reduction introduces ghosting into the picture and most video modes have it on by default.