Product Listing

Sony BRAVIA KDL-40EX520 - LED the Right One In

By Andy Sim - 17 Mar 2011
Launch SRP: S$1599

Introduction

Sizing Sony's Middle Class

Observably, the EX520 was already available for retail during the time of Sony's official announcement made two weeks ago. And speaking of launches, Sony's recent update boasts numerous BRAVIA models which can be confounding to those unschooled in the Japanese TV maker's LCD offerings. To sum up their new HDTV range, the EX420 is almost a clone of the EX520 series, but note that the EX420 only goes up to 720p compared to the 1080p EX520. There are also the 3D-capable EX720 and NX720 stacked at the higher end of Sony's BRAVIA scale. On the contrary, the entry-level BX420 and BX320 are powered by traditional CCFL backlights, unlike the LED-based EX and NX suite.

 Sony's BRAVIA EX520 possesses a raw charm of its own, credit to a Full-HD panel and edge-lit LED lighting. In addition, the EX520 is complemented by Sony's BRAVIA Internet Video widgets for access to entertainment sites such as Blip.tv and Style.com.

The 40-inch BRAVIA EX520, in particular, offers healthy merits as a two-dimensional LCD TV. Engineered in 32, 40 and 46-inch iterations, the EX520 is driven by Sony's new X-Reality video engine, with features such as Adaptive Dot Noise reduction to remove dot crawls associated with composite or upscaled video sources. Notably, the EX-series also comes with characteristics typical of mid-range BRAVIA units, such as edge-lit LEDs (without local dimming), DLNA, and Sony's Internet platform dubbed as BRAVIA Internet and Video widgets. A new feature from Sony would have to be the Remote Keyboard application, which enables you to control the TV or input text with a VAIO notebook. Sadly, the update isn't available till April. What the EX520 lacks, however, is the OptiContrast panel and MotionFlow XR (frame interpolation and backlight scanning) perks brandished by the HX and NX series. Anyhow, let's see what this BRAVIA can do.

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8.5
  • Design 8.5
  • HD Performance 8.5
  • SD Performance 9
  • Features 9
  • Value 8.5
The Good
Natural Colors
Internet and Video Streaming Features
Laudable Detailing
The Bad
Wobbly Pedestal Construction
Average Motion Processing
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