Sony Bravia S-Series KDL-32S5100 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV, Black

I AM UNABLE TO EDIT MY STAR RATING OR I WOULD DOWNGRADE IT TO TWO, MAYBE THREE STARS!!!

I bought this for my bedroom last week and am pretty happy with it. I have a 40″ XBR2 in the family room and this model’s picture is surprisingly comparable. I bought it through Amazon for MUCH less than BB or Sears. I do have a couple issues that prevent me from giving it five stars: first, it takes quite a long time for the picture to appear when you turn it on and switching inputs takes even longer than my XBR2. The other peave I have is setting the sleep timer; on most TV’s there’s a dedicated ‘Sleep’ button on the remote. On the S5100 you have to hit the ‘Tools’ button on the remote, select ‘Clock/Timers’, select your sleep time, then press the ‘Menu’ button to clear the on-screen menu. Wow! All-in-all, neither of those are that big of a deal, but the next issue is the one that’s provoking me to call Sony Customer Service. There is a significant amount of noise in the TV’s audio output — especially at low volume. It sounds like the signal is over-modulated, but at higher volume levels it’s not as noticable. I haven’t tried a set of external speakers to see if the noise is still there, but I have tried component, composite, and HDMI inputs all with the same results. Perhaps I’ll update this review with the results of my call to Sony.

UPDATE 5/1: I called Sony about the audio issue; they wanted to send out a technician. I opted to have J&R swap out the TV but the same exact problem exists on the replacement. I guess I’m going to take Sony up on their offer to send someone out. I can’t tolerate this problem considering it is our bedroom TV and is often used at low volume levels.

UPDATE 5/19: I just finished packing up the unit to return to J&R, who have been great BTW! The Sony tech acknowledged the problem and said that Sony tech support would probably tell him to replace the digital audio board, but unless the board has been redesigned he didn’t think it would resolve the problem. Sony Customer Service refused to help in any way; I asked for a refurbished XBR6 (last year’s only 32″ 1080p model) to replace this unit, and they said no. I asked for a discount on a new XBR9, and they said no. As the owner of several Sony products, including a 40″ XBR2 and a 36″ Wega, I am really quite surprised by Sony’s unwillingness to help resolve this issue. My brand loyalty has been shaken, and I will think twice before I buy another Sony product. BTW, I’m looking at the Panasonic and Samsung 1080 32″ models as a replacement.

Picture wise, this TV has been good/great. I’ve had it now for a week and the picture is superbly better than the two year old Samsung 32″ LCD it replaced. I did update the firmware but I still notice the contrast shift at times. However, the one glaring issue with this TV (and all Sony KDL-xxS5100 sets as I’ve found) is the lack of Dolby Digital 5.1 audio output.

Yes, the TV has an Optical Digital output that the manual states will output PCM audio. However, it does not list that it is limited to only 2 channel linear PCM audio (which I later found listed under the HDMI input specs on the unit). A call to Sony confirmed the flaw, and that it is intentionally done (though I am waiting to hear from a Sony engineer as to why this is). Frankly, I never considered that an ATSC/QAM tuner would not output 5.1 digital audio since it is part of the signal. And isn’t HDTV all about high definition video and audio?

This probably isn’t a problem for most people unless they don’t have a digital cable box and have surround sound, but either way, I’m not sure this can be legal. And like I didn’t have enough criteria when I was buying a TV before, but now I have to ask whether it outputs Dolby Digital 5.1??

I’ll update if/when I hear back from Sony. In the mean time, I am returning the TV and getting the Panasonic 37″ 1080p (which outputs 5.1 and fits in my entertainment cabinet).

“I will rate this product on three parameters:

1. How you use the product: From the outer looks at a first glance you may not like that much. As compared to other makers and even other lower model from Sony, this one looks much dull. I like the grill design of even the lower model 32L4000. Glossy touch on the outer frame adds a little shine to the frame, other wise it would have been the worst look-feel compared to the latest models of Sony LCD.
I like the remote a lot. Allways feel like holding it, its so light and sleak, it works a little slower though, but thats not any problem.

2. Things that are great about it: Good clear and sharp image. Good 1080P LCD for a decent price.

First attahed this tv to my upconvertible dvd player with component cable. This setting gave good image quality, but nothing that i was expecting from a LCD. Then i replaced component with HDMI. This gave 1080i and i could see good improvement in the picture quality. I believe with blu ray player and blue ray disk with HDMI cable, the pictures should be excellent.

3. Things that aren’t so great about it: Poor looks. Brightness decreases when dark scene comes. It looks like you are watching a scene, and some one came and reduced the brightness for no reason and then in 2 to 3 seconds, again increased the brightness. Its really annoying. Many a times i have seen ghost images too. I complained Sony and it looks like these 2 problems are with most of the S5100 series of any size. They have a software upgrade released on 04/28, one can download it too, and they are sending that via mail. I have to see once it comes and that corrects these issues or not.

Over all I would suggest you to buy from Sony but not at least this 32S5100 series.

Accessories I Recommend: Blu ray player, HDMI cable”

The previously reported audio issues are easily solved by simply installing a firmware update using a standard USB stick. Just google for “KDL-32S5100 firmware update” and go to the [...] site listed to download the update.

After carefully scouring review upon review and then spending hours at various shops staring at the comparable 32″ models from Samsung, LG, and Vizio, we decided upon the Sony. The Sony had all the right features at the right price. We’ve since streamed both Netflix and Hulu (have to use a PC and its VGA connection, along with a standard stereo jack – more on this in a moment), and Blu-Ray looks fantastic. Others have complained about the picture quality of this model, that it was somehow duller than others. Before I purchased this model, I compared a Samsung right next to this one in the shop. The picture was nearly identical. Each had its own unique saturation levels (adjustable on the Sony), and I would have been satisfied with the picture quality of either. The Sony won because of the red accents on the Samsung, which would have driven me up the wall. Not to mention it was cheaper.

The only thing I could complain about with this TV is the sound quality. The speakers produce quite a bit of high end and low end, without much in the middle. Of course, once it’s hooked through our stereo system, that problem goes away, but for everyday TV watching, the sound is not as good as the last CRT flat panel we had. Further, streaming Hulu or Netflix sounds especially muddy with low end extremes and not much in the middle. Even after adjustments. Anyway, best to hook this puppy through a surround system.

I gave it mediocre marks for channel surfing (which frankly I don’t do too much) because it is slow to change channels.

Overall I am very satisfied with this TV. I would recommend this to anyone purchasing their first high def set. It’s a good bargain with fantastic picture quality and plenty of new fangled and old school hook ups. It does everything we expected and wanted it to do, plus a bit extra.

Great, sharp picture. Easy set up. Extra points for the intuitive, well-guided controls for adjusting options for picture, sound, etc. I usually will not even hit a TV’s “menu” button for fear of never finding my way out. The sound is very good, no “tinny” quality as noted by some but the TV is in an entertainment center and maybe it being in an enclosed space helps.

I did end up turning off the auto-contrast control which tends to freak out when a DVD has dark scenes like night, in caves – any of the Underworld movies, Beowolf, others. Even on the lowest setting, it kicked down the contrast/brightness (making it even harder to see what’s going on as well distracting) repeatedly over short periods of time.

The ultra-gloss black plastic screen frame reflects light far too well and the reflections can be distracting but are less intrusive if I’m engaged in a show. The screen itself is fine for not reflecting in most cases, but if there’s a window opposite the screen, daytime viewing is less than optimal.

All that said, it’s a great value for price/features/performance and I seem to have gotten it at the lowest possible price.