Due to the success of my piece about Samsung's 2008 A-range of LCD HDTVs for the UK and by popular request from my bosses I have been encouraged to look at Sony's 2008 4000 range of LCD HDTVs for the UK. As before the aim is to highlight the critical differences in the specifications between the different ranges. It looks like I may be doing this for some other 2008 ranges later so if you have any preferences about which TV manufacturers you think I should look at next, or anything else I could do to improve the format, please leave a comment. I will update the article as other series appear or if I discover that I left out some important differential feature.

One difference between Sony and Samsung that I noticed is that Sony continue to actively market some of last years products (the 3000 range)  whereas Samsung have completely overhauled their entire range. The older Sony sets are now priced lower and are worth looking at if you dont want the very best set with all the latest features. Nevertheless I am only going to list this year's models here.

The B4000 series consists of just two small sets with the most basic features. The V4000 series covers a large range of sizes from 26 to 52 inch in paino black with 40 inch and above being FullHD resolution. The smaller sizes also come in a newer V4500 range with the main added feature being 24p true cinema. 

The E4000 series is available in sizes up to 40 inches but is styled in a range of colour combinations based on pearly white. The W4000 is very similar to the E4000 except that the colour is midnight sky and the range covers the larger sizes up to 52 inches. The larger E4000 and W4000 over 40 inches improves on the V4000 by adding features such as the improved panel with Wide Colour Gamut (WCG-CCFL) backlight and 10bit colour depth. 

The newer W4500 has improved contrast ratios over the W4000 and adds interpolated frames to give the 100Hz frame rate. That is doubled by the Z4500 sets which are the first to appear on the market with 200Hz frame rates for super smooth motion. In the new technology class Sony now also have the X4500 range that uses RGB LED backlights with local dimming for the 46 and 55 inch sizes. However the 46X4500 just has the WCG flourescent backlight and so it is similar to the W4500 except for a better processor engine and more inputs. The W4500, X4500 and Z4500 also have DNLA for improved multimedia connectivity.

Sony have also released some experimental super-slim LCD sets with EX1 and ZX1 model numbers. These are an incredibly thin 1cm thick over much of the panel but this has only been acheived at cost to the dynamic contrast ratios which only manage to attain a 3000:1 figure. The ZX1 does include the LED backlight but without local dimming.

Still confused? Hopefully this table will clear up any lingering doubts.

• BE2 = Bravia Engine 2
• BE2P = Bravia Engine 2 Pro
• 24p = 24p True Cinema. When viewing films on blu-ray the film can be output at the rate of 24 frames per second. This is the native rate at which films are usually shot. TVs with 24p True cinema will then display at a frame rate that is a multiple of this frequency to ensure that the action is as smooth as at the cinema. Without this feature the film will be converted to 60Hz using an uneven 3:2 pulldown that can lead to judder. 
• WCG = Wide Colour Gamut Fluorescent backlight. The WCG Fluorescent backlights have a wider coolour spectrum than the standard CCFL. This means you get better colour reproduction of the image.
• 10bit = 10bit colour depth panel. LCD panels often use just 8 bits per primary colour to control the brightness. When you view an image with an area of gradually changing shade such as sky you may see bands with obvious lines of transition between the colour levels. A 10 bit panel provides four times as many shade levels and is usually enough to eliminate the unwanted effect entirely.
• 100Hz = 100Hz Motion Flow. This feature effectively doubles the frame rate of video at 50hz by using motion interpolation to generate an extra frame between each one from the source.
• 200Hz = 200Hz Motion Flow. With this feature Sony are the first to use motion interpolation to quadruple the frame rate for super smooth motion.
• LED = LED backlight
• DNLA = Digital Living Network Alliance connectivity
• slim = Ultra-slim build

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Posted by ZettaVolt on 11 September 2008 09:47:00 BST #