Review: Sony Bravia KDL-40V2000 LCD TV

Call us demanding, but we haven’t been entirely blown away by Sony’s flat TVs just lately. They’ve certainly not been awful, but they’ve failed to lead the way as we might have hoped from the world’s most trusted electronics brand.

However, if the amount of sheer innovation it carries is anything to go by, then Sony’s Bravia KDL-40V2000 could be about to change all that.

At 40in, it’s Sony’s second-biggest LCD TV in the V series, but it wears its size extremely well, combining a robust build quality with a stylish black finish.

Considering the V series is in the middle of Sony’s latest range, though, it’s a shame we find one rather than two HDMI inputs, and two rather than three Scarts. You do get an analogue PC jack and HD-capable component video inputs, though.

The 40V2000’s features are dominated by those innovations we mentioned at the start.

Up first there’s a new Live Colour Creation system, comprising a new backlight system that emits light more efficiently and enjoys improved phosphor design, and a new colour processing engine. LCC apparently allows the set to reproduce about 25 per cent more of the visible colour spectrum.

The processing part of Live Colour Creation is part of a wider new Sony image-processing system dubbed Bravia Engine. This is the first image-processing suite Sony has designed exclusively for LCD TVs, and it offers such tricks as adding more fine detail, souping up colours, and applying a host of sophisticated noise-reduction techniques.

The last big innovation of the 40V2000 is Super Vertical Pattern Alignment, a new construction technique that uses subdivisions inside each pixel to refract backlight over a wider area.

Also worth mentioning is a fully featured digital tuner, gamma correction, an option for reducing Mpeg blocking noise found on some digital broadcasts, contrast enhancement, and the facility to perk up bright whites.

After witnessing the 40V2000 in action, we’re happy to report that its various new features aren’t just clever marketing spin. Immediately striking, for instance, is how sharp the picture is.

Every last dot of HD image information is gloriously rendered, giving HD pictures superb texture and an exceptional sense of depth. But standard definition reaps the benefits of the Bravia Engine, too, as detail levels are enhanced with few, if any, processing side effects.

The 40V2000 also portrays deeper and more believable black levels than not only any previous Sony LCD, but also most large-screen LCD TVs full stop.

As for Live Colour Creation, it helps this set produce colours that combine the sort of extreme vibrancy we know LCD can deliver, with a tonal range that’s unusual for both its breadth and its naturalism.

The Super Vertical Pattern Alignment earns its corn, too, as pictures watched from even extreme angles retain far more colour and contrast than normal.

For all Sony’s efforts, though, the 40V2000’s pictures aren’t perfect. Even Live Colour Creation can’t stop some deep reds looking orangey. Also, boldly contrasting edges look overstressed at times, and motion is fractionally susceptible to LCD’s response time smearing.

But, in the great scheme of things, picture quality really is first class.

It’s not just the pictures that do the business either, as raucous action scenes find the set’s speakers combining raw power and deep bass handling with the sorts of treble delicacy usually only found with a separates system. Outstanding!

With the 40V2000, Sony has delivered an LCD that sets a benchmark for its rivals. And although Sony gave us a list price of £2,000, we found it for a lot less online.

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