Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony BRAVIA V-Series KDL-46V5100 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Black

I just received this television. My first impression is great. I've been investigating diffrent brands and different models of LCD TV's for a while. Here is the conclusion I reached and the reasons for purchasing this TV:

* Sony has great models for over $2500. They have great picture but not great enough to compensate for the couple of thousand extra dollars paid. I saw 46XBR6 and 46V5100 next to each other in BB and did not see a significant difference except the price.
* Samsungs have great LCD TVs. But glossy screen would not work for me at all. I have a bright living room where my TV is located. So, if you will have your TV in a bright room, you probably would like to avoid glossy screens like Samsung has. It really reflects a lot almost like a mirror. This was a big deal for me.

Now, my experice with KDL46V5100 is as follows:
It has great picture quality. I did not expect it to be so good at even SD. It is very easy to use. We plugged the TV and started to use it right away. Even user's manual is just a few pages. Before buying the TV I paid extra attention to the wide angle performance. This TV has about the same view from front and from sides: no changes in color or image quality with angle that I recognized.

I am extremely satisfied with the Amazon delivery. They brought the TV, unpacked it and installed the TV on the stand.

Good TV for good price and good service from Amazon...

I recently purchased the Sony Bravia 46V5100, and wow is all i can say. This is my first HD anything purchase, although i did a ton of research for over a year, im glad i chose this Sony. I also promptly purchased the playstation 3 for the games and blu-ray, along with the HD package from the cable company, and it blows me away. The picture never blurs or anything like that, im a huge NASCAR fan and there is no blurring, no skipping and you never miss a bit of the action, and of course its the fastest sport on TV. With all the HDMI inputs, i dont know what else i can put in there to make it better, theres more than enough room for all the accessories. The screen is what made the difference for me between this Sony and the Samsung of the equivilant. The screen is not as glossy as the samsung, although the bezel is as shiny as the rest, you hardly notice it. The white glove delivery was great, i was notified of every step of the journey for my TV, the delivery guys unloaded it, ops checked it and explained some of the features. The only problem was a "feature" that came with the TV that darkens the screen during dark scenes on a movie or TV show, this problem has been fixed by a software update, found on the Sony support web site. its a very easy fix, just requiring an USB memory stick, or if you dont have one the Sony people will send you one. The update just takes minutes and makes a world of difference. I was a bit nervous about buying a TV online, but i went and checked it out at best buy, and it was about $400 less at amazon than at best buy, so my decision was made for me. Over all its a great tv, and a great price for the size of the TV. Thanks

Overall, the picture quality is good, as only Sony TV's seem to deliver and the audio sounds great even though the speakers are small. However, the manufacture quality is not up to my expectations when it comes to spending extra money for the Sony brand. This is my 2nd 46v5100 as the first one was problematic and updating the firmware didn't help. There was intermittent loss of audio, there was terrible flashlighting in 3 of the corners, especially in the upper left corner, there was clouding in the bottom half of screen, and finally there appeared to a dimple behind the LCD. Amazon's policy on defective TV's requires that the buyer contact Sony to get a case #. Well, discussing to troubleshoot the problem with Sony was a real pain. (The Sony rep believed that resetting the TV could fix the clouding and flashlighting!) The replacement TV has manufacture date of August 2009 so it had the latest firmware. Fortunately, the 2nd set didn't have the audio problem and had considerably less clouding, however it still has flashlighting in the upper left corner. I'll probably just keep this set as Amazon's return/exchange policy for LCD TV's is a hassle. (Or at least, I was hassled by two Amazon reps). Now, I'm looking to get a second LCD TV for bedroom but I'm looking at other brands. I gave this TV only 3 stars because it seems average even though it is a Sony... It's tough to enjoy this TV's feature set when there are backlighting issues that is so visible every time I watch TV.

I researched 46 inch lcd tv's for months, and every site recommended the Samsung 550, so I bought it. I'm not a techie, so I'll just say this: the speakers on all Samsungs are on the bottom of the set, so unless you know how to hook it up to an external sound system, every show will sound like you're inside a tin can with the lid closed. I sent it back and got the Sony, which is a VAST improvement; the speakers are on the front of the set, where they belong. The picture is sharp, colors saturated and beautiful, it's easy to navigate. It's a great TV. Unlike the Samsung, which is incredibly shiny and reflective, the Sony even looks great in my living room. I love it!

Standing in front of a wall of TV's, BB showing a advertising disc with maybe 480p content on it this Sony caught my eye! I looked at the Sammy LED but it wasn't what I expected (I know its the first model) The brightness was just over the top, whites actually looked to bright over everything else.

Needless to say I picked up the Sony Bravia 46" V5100! This is a replacement for a 32" in my bedroom, so I hurried home to make the swap!

Out of the box this TV looks amazing even off! I love the black, not a big fan of these new sets with "color" but that's just me!

I pulled this beast out of the box and mounted the wall bracket hardware to the back. Hoisted it up onto the wall and made the connections (Xbox 360/HDMI)

I pressed the power button and WOW! The colors on even the initial screen were just gorgeous! I went thru a few settings but mainly just wanted to see what she could do. I fired up Finding Nemo, and was blown away, the colors are just insane...literally they pop off the screen. I followed this up with a quick game of COD4 which also to no surprise looked amazing!

Everything is razor sharp right out of the box, hopefully tonight I'll get a chance to run a good calibration and setup but I'm really amazed at the quality of this TV!

I cant wait to see a Blu Ray player connected to this set...I can only imagine how beautiful it will be (I was tempted to pull the one out of the living room but it was getting late)

The sound is well...TV sound, and I never buy a new TV based on its speakers. For normal everyday listening they do sound pretty nice, even at higher levels...in fact the simulated surround sound is pretty good on HD broadcasts (over air) I did notice it doesn't handle the surround sound on movies and games as well but that's to be expected!

If your looking for an excellent TV at an excellent price this is the way to go! I'm gonna post any problems here after tonight's setup and more in depth use...somehow I don't think ill have much to type!