Sony's Budget Onslaught
To begin with, our HDTV review has nothing to do with King Arthur's trusty blade explicitly. If you were wondering, we thought the title was apt since the EX400 carries the same prefix as the mystical sword plucked from an unyielding stone. Question is, does this TV has what it takes to carve an impression like the legendary blade did? Or is it another one of those forgettable HDTV displays that's better off as a myth? We'll find out soon enough. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's look at the BRAVIA proper.
Mention BRAVIA, and you'd probably think of over the top prices. Well, not anymore if Sony can help it. The Full-HD EX400 is slated as one of the more affordable entries under the EX umbrella with a bunch of wholesome features. A 32-inch offering is also available for those who want a smaller screen.
Sony has since unshackled the expensive and unattainable grip wrapped around their BRAVIA namesake. Launched in February this year, the 40-inch EX400 took to retail shelves together with the likes of its premium siblings such as the flagship NX series and the very affordable BX series. The EX range sits somewhere in between, and you can say that it contains all the right ingredients to make this display a worthy one. With an SRP of S$1,299, the humble price tag might probably come as a surprise to many. Don't be fooled by its inexpensive numbers though. This BRAVIA LCD TV packs a Full-HD panel along with basic features such as BRAVIA Sync, Ambient Sensor, Live Color and a Picture Frame mode. We'll elaborate more on these perks over at the next page.
For now, we'd like to add that the EX400 is powered by none other than Sony's BRAVIA Engine 3 image processor. According to the Japanese, their video engine is programmed with a proprietary color histogram technology to optimize the color distribution of each video frame. Of course, you won't find any online entertainment features (think BRAVIA Internet Video) or sexy Monolithic Designs like the NX800. However, we believe many consumers should be able to appreciate this lower-end BRAVIA for all that its worth, if it manages to prove its visual facilities. Let's not wait. It's about time we placed the EX400 under the knife.
Design
For starters, basic assembly is needed should you wish to mount the BRAVIA EX400 on its table-top stand. However, you shouldn't take more than ten minutes to piece the parts together if you are handling the job alone. The plastic base feels cheap, then again, we shouldn't expect too much from a HDTV just past the one grand mark, should we? Unfortunately, the joints do not too, so you'll have to align the entire display to a preferred angle if need be. At 100mm thick , this bulky set is a far cry from premium offerings in the market who boast of slim and svelte figures. Then again, we are willing to be kind to its ungainly girth since the panel is powered by CCFL backlights after all. Generally, the BRAVIA's overall looks is nondescript, fashioned with a plain and glossy black bezel joined by a lower strip of grey. On the other hand, the panel does exude a handsome charm of its own with its clean looks and smart corners. Moving on, a bunch of LED indicators and sensors are located at the far left, whilst a quick peek to its right revealed a set of hardware controls. The buttons are rather chunky, in our opinion, but the reality is hardly anyone touches them as long as the remote control is alive and well.
Get your cross-tip screwdriver ready if you wish to attach the panel to its base. Some assembly is required which involves a table-top stand and steel spinal plate. To wall mount the BRAVIA, seek out the optional SU-WL500 or SU-WL50B brackets from Sony.
With a girth of 100mm, it is apparent a slim form factor isn't part of Sony's grand design here. The EX400 depends on CCFL backlights which also explains why it is less sexy than its NX700 comrades blessed with Edge LED backlighting.
Framed with a simple black bezel and a lower strip of grey, Sony's 40-inch offering should blend in well with most modern decor. As usual, a commanding BRAVIA tag can be found at the top left corner. The panel wears a matte coat which makes it less reflective than glossy alternatives.
Don't expect to find touch-sensitive controls with the EX400, although these hardware buttons should come in handy should your wife (or other half) confiscate your most beloved stick. By that, we meant remote stick.
Speaking of which, we noticed the remote is slightly different from standard fare. The wand is sculpted in a slightly concave body such that it feels a little more ergonomic in our hands compared to flat or unwieldy sticks. It is also lighter than most remotes we've handled. If you need to access the TV's menu, hit the "Home" button to call up Sony's familiar XMB interface. Let's go back to the BRAVIA. Ports wise, there was plenty to go around. The EX400 has two HDMI jacks, plus two component and a single composite connector at its back, whilst another composite port and additional two HDMI connectors can be found at the side panel. How about that? You'll also find a USB port which reads video formats such as MPEG4, AVCHD and DivX. Take note though. Although the BRAVIA managed to read most of the clips we've tested, it was a definite no-go with MOV, WMV and high-definition DivX files. To tap the TV's audio, simply connect an optical cable from the TV's digital output (located behind) to your AV receiver. Let's dig into its features to see what else the EX400 has to offer. Before we do so, however, here are more pictures for you to savor.
Sony's remote is one of the less cluttered ones we've seen. It might not offer a whole lot of buttons at your disposal, but it has just enough controls for fuss-free navigation. A dedicated "Home" button is highlighted in blue below its directional pad, whilst controls for other AV peripherals (linked by BRAVIA Sync) are positioned on top.
It might be a budget display, but this HDTV has almost all the necessary connectors to please the AV junkie. Apart from a VGA input, you'll also discover two HDMI and two component ports behind.
We seldom come across a side panel with two HDMI ports, but this BRAVIA begs to differ. There's also a composite port available for Wii fans, and a USB slot for your external drives. It's intelligent enough to read basic JPEG files as well as video formats such as AVCHD and DivX. You can forget about WMV and MOV containers though.
Features
As mentioned, clicking on that "Home" button would fire up the XMB (Xross Media Bar) menu; an interface you should be familiar with if you're into Sony PlayStation consoles. Since this TV comes with both analogue and digtal (DVB-T) tuners, it's nice to know that Sony has created a special tab for digital tunings as well. Still on its menu, a quick glance revealed some other core features such as "Eco" mode, which reduces or increases the backlights' intensity depending on the ambient lighting, and a "Live Color" option which supposedly optimizes the display's colors. The EX400 might not offer too many advanced settings, but it has just enough to set your TV right, such as a Black Corrector and White Balance adjustments. More importantly, this TV is smart enough to detect active inputs for your AV consoles. In simple terms, you don't have to trawl through every single AV connector to find that active connection. One aspect struck us a little odd though. Sony has decided to place the 8 picture presets under the Settings tab rather than its Display header. To turn your TV into a huge photo frame, simply engage the BRAVIA's Picture Frame mode to view high resolution images in all their glory. Now you can tell your guests that you own the largest photo frame, ever.
You don't have to toggle through every external AV input to find that active connection. The BRAVIA is intelligent enough to tell you which AV connection is used. To navigate the XMB interface, scroll left or right for Photo or Video options. Basic selections such as System Settings can be found at the extreme left.
Picture presets normally fall under the Picture or Display settings for most HDTVs, but not with this BRAVIA though. Hit the System Settings option to locate the various presets available. You'll find them under the "Scene Select" sub-tab.
Green is the word. If you don't mind dimmer attributes on your display, turn on the EX400's Power Saving mode to save you some pennies. Basically, what it does is to reduce the backlight illumination levels depending on your room's lighting conditions.
No, we aren't showing off another one of our inspirational holiday shots. You can transform the EX400 into a 40-inch photo frame with Sony's Picture Frame Mode to woo the party guests.
Calibration - Spyder3TV Report
To maintain a standard across our review units, we calibrated the BRAVIA EX400 with the Spyder3TV Home Theater Color Calibration kit prior to our display tests. This is to ensure we assess the HDTV based on optimal display settings, and not purely on visual estimation alone. At this point, we've also disabled all the necessary bells and whistles such as color and edge enhancement features. After the calibration process, optimized values were as given as such: Brightness at 26, Contrast at 98 and Color at 53. Additionally, black and white luminance readings were measured at 0.184 and 177.905 cd/m2 respectively, which indicates satisfactory black levels as well. Note that calibration was performed based on the TV's "Standard" preset.
The BRAVIA's calibrated settings didn't yield any offbeat results. Final values given were more or less in line with regular figures. Black and white luminance readings were given as 0.184 and 177.905 cd/m2.
DisplayMate Tests
DisplayMate is an application which generates a sequence of test patterns to determine the capabilities of imaging devices like color and gray-scale accuracies for example. For our tests, we've hooked up the EX400 to our display test-bed PC via its HDMI connection. To be fair across the board, we have also disabled all visual enhancements on the TV in order to reduce the variables involved. Here are some findings based on the relevant and critical test patterns:-
Screen Uniformity
The BRAVIA's CCFL backlights didn't deter the panel from acing this test. We didn't detect any unnatural hues at the edges, and the display's color uniformity was surprisingly even. Using the red palette as an example, we didn't notice any color shifts till the we varied our viewing angle past the 70 degree angle off the center axis.
Dark Gray Scale
It's uncommon to find an LCD panel with noteworthy blacks, but it so happens the EX400 is one of the rare few. The only downside is we had to jack the brightness settings up to "35" in order to discern the darker blocks on the black and gray test pattern.
Color Scales
Here's another one in the bag for Sony. The BRAVIA produced excellent color representations and smooth gradations across the test colors. One observation we had, however, was that primary colors (RGB) tend to fade to black just before the secondary ones.
256-Intensity Level Color Ramp
Pristine whites were delivered, along with similar results as the Color Scales test. Natural color gradients were achieved mostly, except for slight compression artifacts which were more visible on the green band than the rest of three hues.
Color Scales Test - The BRAVIA EX400 offered very pristine whites and comfortable color gradations. It might not be too apparent here, but the primary colors have a tendency to fade to black before the secondary colors. Compare the red and magenta strips.
IDT HQV Tests
IDT's HQV Tests are designed to assess image quality and the handling of digital displays and players through a variety of video signal processing tasks which includes decoding, de-interlacing, motion correction, noise reduction and film cadence detection. We've programmed the Blu-ray player to playback in 1080i in order to stress the TV's video processor. This compels the processor to convert interlaced signals into progressive to accommodate the HDTV's panel. Here are the results we noted on two of the most crucial tests:-
Digital Noise Filtering
It looks like this TV is pretty dependent on its noise filters for digital sources. High noise levels were apparent before we enabled any features. On the upside, noise grains were largely removed after we pumped its MPEG Noise Reduction to "High". Downside is a small level of image details were sacrificed in return.
Diagonal Filter Test
The BRAVIA was more than capable in de-interlacing the moving 1080i image. Smooth revolutions and minimal "jaggies" were observed on the rotating bar. There's only a hint of slight feathering as the bar crossed the 10-degree angle.
Film Resolution Loss Test
Inverse cadence decoding of a 1080p24 source isn't every TV's cup of tea . Still, the affordable EX400 managed to reap the right results with the Film Resolution Loss test. To do so, engaging the BRAVIA's 24p True Cinema feature is a must.
Image details were sacrificed when we bumped up the noise filters to the max. Conversely, it's good to know Sony's noise filtering algorithms were also capable in removing noise levels despite the minor trade off.
High Definition Tests
You know a television is worth its weight in gold when you don't have to reach for its advanced settings to obtain a decent picture. We dared the BRAVIA to take on the "darker" Blu-ray titles such as Corpse Bride and Batman Begins, and it promptly answered that call with little trepidation. First, a few observations. Contrast levels were exemplary, and the BRAVIA Engine 3 really flexed its muscle (with little cramps) when handling rapid scenes. That's two thumbs up for Sony's video processor. However, let's revisit our calibrated settings with a brightness value of 26. Such numbers can only mean one thing. The TV would crunch deep black levels but sacrificed picture details in return. Similarly, given that Corpse Bride is a relatively "dark" animated film, black levels were astounding for an LCD set, we have to give it that, but finer details were lost with almost every scene. Likewise, we more or less experienced the same with Batman Begins. Skin tones were natural, and even the Dark Knight's pointy ears appeared clean and sharp. The only caveat is, we had to push the brightness levels up to 35 in order to enjoy the movie without missing out on the action. Honestly, this simple tweak is sufficient. On the other hand, if you want a near perfect picture, then it's time to reach for that "Advanced Settings" tab. Use our calibrated settings with an alternate brightness value of 35; set "Advanced Contrast Enhancer" to Medium and "Live Color" to Low. Once done, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
Darker details are easily obscured if the TV isn't adept in balancing black levels and picture quality. Thankfully, all that was required from the EX400 was a slight bump in brightness settings. Backlight uniformity is another one of this BRAVIA's traits.
On the contrary, things were quite different with Vantage Point. Having tackled the darker minions, this 'brighter' Blu-ray film didn't really require the TV's fancy features. Naturally, we went back to our original settings by disabling the contrast enhancer and Live Color perks. When a colleague started mistaking this TV for an LED-backlit offering, you know you've struck gold. Again, we were awed by the EX400's motion handling. Even with True Cinema (24p) enabled, we didn't perceive any crappy artifacts with the whizzing subjects. We were very happy with the colors rendered, since marking up the Live Color feature would only bring forth saturated results. Audio wise, the dual 10-watt drivers delivered sufficient punch if you are relying on the speakers without the aid of an AV receiver or amplifier. In addition, although Sony's S-Force surround feature did provide a hint of wide spatial effects, we'd rather stick with its punchier standard audio preset.
Here's one of the more colorful scenes from Vantage Point. See that red carpet? This picture was taken with the Live Color setting tuned to "Low". Push it any higher and colors might be drenched with an unnatural hue. On another note, although this TV doesn't demand too many tweaks, you can adjust its RGB values if required.
A crisp Full-HD display with a convincing color reproduction. Skin tones were also healthy and natural. Besides that, and most of all, this BRAVIA HDTV's motion handling really deserves a pat on its back.
Standard Definition Test
Some of you might have caught X-Men: The Last Stand on Channel 5 recently. Well, here we are again with the mutants, but we'll be partying with a DVD disc instead. As usual, we've downscaled the Blu-ray's output to 480i to simulate a non up-converting DVD player. We'll give you the bad news first. Noise reduction is obligatory with DVD playback. We recommend a medium setting if you'd like to avoid any pesky noise grains, enhanced subsequently with upscaled content. Now, the good news. Jean Grey's hair is as red and fiery as ever, and the video processor didn't flinch as we watched Scott Summers throttle by in his Harley. That's right, we didn't spot any unnatural motion judder. If you want to toy with the BRAVIA's features, we'd advise you to set "Noise Reduction" to Medium, and "Advanced Contrast Enhancer" to Low. That should smarten things up a notch.
Upscaled DVDs tend to produce a terrible amount of noise and motion-tearing on a 1080p screen. Fortunately, we only had to massage the BRAVIA's noise filtering algorithms and contrast enhancers for a decent picture.
Our Final Word
All things considered, Sony's BRAVIA EX series has much to cheer for. True, the EX400's outfit might not scream of a state-of-the-art design, but it is handsome enough for your cabinets and shelves in our opinion. The panel's thickness might be a put off, but we think it's frontal view is rather sexy, in all honesty. Sony has incorporated an ambient sensor as well, mainly to save the earth and to save you from a heart-stopping utility bill. That is, if you don't mind the varying display intensities that comes with the Eco settings. On top of that, this TV also carts a USB port which provides basic access to some of your multimedia files. Sure, it does not do DivX HD like LG does, but we guess it's only a matter of time before Sony catches up with the Koreans. Of course, you shouldn't expect all the delicious toppings with the BRAVIA's entry-level price. It does not grant you any Internet video offerings. And it does require some minor adjustments to produce the right picture. But when put to the sword, this Full-HD baby gets the job done in many ways, like its exemplary motion handling prowess, for example. The panel's colors were truthful mostly, and there's little to complain about its crisp high-definition production as well. The XMB interface is easy to use once you get the hang of it, and best of all, this TV comes with a DVB-T tuner if you think terrestrial HD broadcasts are worth going for.
Some TVs love to produce saturated colors, while others love to deliver ridiculously intense contrast levels. Sony's BRAVIA EX400 isn't perfect in every sense, but it is a reliable and efficient panel worthy of a clap and a hearty pat.
In retrospect, the EX400 is a dependable HDTV if we had to name one. It is a pity Sony isn't offering more colors for the 40-inch iteration, although the 32-inch variant does come in three different shades. Should you yearn for a more expensive LED alternative, there's always Sony's EX600 or EX700 series. As a final word, and with dipping LCD prices and mounting competition from the rest of the TV titans such as Samsung, LG and Panasonic, we are certain Sony won't be reaping much of a profit margin from budget offerings such as the EX400. But if quantity can make up for it, perhaps we might see more affordable panels surfacing in the near future with more delectable prices. More Exacliburs please.
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