Refine search for TVs

Sony Bravia KDL-46W4500 46in LCD TV Review

Author	John Archer
Published	28th Oct 2008
Manufacturer	Sony
Price	£1,043.37 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£1,199.88 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price	Click here

Design
Features
Image Quality
Sound Quality
Value
Overall

10 comments

Email this to a friend

TrustedReviews Newsletters

As if all this wasn't depressing enough, it also seemed to me as if the 46W4500's pictures weren't as sharp as those of the 52W4500, thanks to the way motion seems more prone to smearing.

Perhaps because of this, the MotionFlow system doesn't seem quite as sure-footed as it was on the 52W4500 either, seemingly producing more glitches as it goes about its motion-smoothing business.

The motion and black level issues inevitably don't do Freeview standard definition services many favours. But the Bravia Engine 2 processing system does at least mean that bright, high quality standard definition sources are upscaled to the screen's Full HD resolution with less noise and more colour integrity than is common with many Full HD TVs.

Other good points about the 46W4500, as I strive to hit an upbeat note, include its extreme brightness; its impressively detailed HD reproduction so long as there's not much motion going on; the fact that its black levels are actually ironically very good in the bits of the picture not affected by the light spillage flaw; and some pretty potent audio.

But in the end it's the aggressive nature of the 46W4500's bizarre light spillage problems that not only sticks in the memory once you've turned the TV off, but also sticks in the craw whenever you're actually watching it.

Verdict

After the ‘warning shot' of the 52W4500, the smaller 46W4500 seems to suffer even more distractingly with the picture-ruining light pooling problem that troubled us on the large model. Seriously, the problem is so aggravating this time out that it's hard to believe these TVs are getting through Sony's quality control systems. In fact, if I hadn't now seen the problem on two separate W4500 TVs I might have suspected the 46W4500 was faulty.

Basically, someone at Sony needs to get to the bottom of what's gone wrong with the W4500 range fast, or the brand's already dwindling profits this year could be in for even more of a hammering.

Latest 4 of 10 Comments

Have your say: Leave a comment below about this article.

Lew said on 29th October 2008

John,...HELLO, anyone looking to buy a sony tv would have noticed alot of confusing moves on sony's part regarding HDTVs in the 4 months, eg;

1. canellation of ... more

Lew said on 29th October 2008

David ,...HELLO, anyone looking to buy a sony tv now, would have noticed alot of confusing moves on sony's part regarding HDTVs in the 4 months, eg;

1. canellat... more

jose said on 27th November 2008

See the pictures of the cloudind on my tv http://whathifi.com/forums/1/144898/ShowThread.aspx
is really very annoying....

adamuchan said on 16th December 2008

This is a very interesting article indeed, our house was burgled 2 weeks ago, they stole our plasma from our room but left the Sony Bravia 46 in V series tv in the lounge. With my... more

See all 10 comments on this article.

Add your comment

You must be logged in to comment. Login or register here.