Sony KDL-52V5100 review – Budget TV

Pros:

• Black level production is relatively deep
• In the bright areas, color is accurate
• Standard mode has good dejudder processing
• Lots of picture controls
• Plenty of options for connectivity – 4 HDMI, 1 VGA, 2 component video

Cons:

• Areas which are dark tinge bluish
• To enable the antiblur, dejudder must be engaged

Bottom Line:

This is an entry level TV from Sony and we thought the picture quality was quite commendable. Buy this if you are on a stiff budget.

Manufacturer’s specifications:

Sony KDL-52V5100 is a 52 inch TV. Panel without stand – 38.9 inches x 3.7 inches x 25.1 inches and weighs 37.3 lbs. The resolution is 1920×1080 pixels, LCD refresh rate is 120 HZ, image aspect ratio is 16:9, image contrast ratio is 5000:1 (dynamic contrast ratio 50000:1), viewing angle (horizontal/vertical) is 178 degrees, input video formats – 1080/60p, 1080/60i, 1080/24p, 720/60p, 480/60p, 480/60i

Speaker output is 2×10 watts. Connectors include – USB 2.0 – Side, S-Video input ( 4 pin mini-DIN ) – Side, Audio line-in ( Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ) – Side, VGA input ( 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) ) – Side, 3 x HDMI input ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) – Rear, Digital audio output (optical) – Rear, Composite video input ( RCA phono ) – Side, Composite video input ( RCA phono ) – Rear, 2 x Component video input ( RCA phono x 3 ) – Rear, Audio line-out ( RCA phono x 2 ) – Rear, 2 x Audio line-in ( RCA phono x 2 ) – Side, 3 x Audio line-in ( RCA phono x 2 ) – Rear.  Supported formats – MP3 and JPG. The TV comes with one year warranty.

Design:

Sony KDL-52V5100 has a squared off and chunky design. The speakers are not hidden and we thought the aesthetics were a bit ruined due to this.

Inside Dope:

The largest size in this series is 52 inch, and you also get this TV in 40 and 46 inch mode. This review will apply to all three of them. Sony KDL-52V5100 belongs to the entry level line up, it is the least expensive model and comes with a 120 HZ processing. The inexpensive TV is characterized by the below par looks. The screen is surrounded by a frame that is glossy black and on the bottom; there is a thicker slab which houses the perforated visible speakers. The stand too is glossy and doesn’t allow the panel to swivel.

The menu system too is basic, since this is a low end TV. Lack of advanced controls means that everything is present on one screen but there is no fancy graphics or anything like that. Various items are given text explanations and you don’t have to scroll loads since everything is pretty much covered in one screen. The menu system is inspired by the Sony Playstation 3, it has the similar cross media bar. All important categories like setup and picture are located on the left and they are always there no matter where you move around in the menu.

Connectivity on the Sony KDL-52V5100 is pretty thorough; you get one HDMI and two component video inputs along with a few analog inputs. The side panel has an impressive collection of connectivity options; you get three HDMI jacks with a VGA port for connecting a computer to the TV. Lots of HDMI jacks on the back make lets you connect a lot of different items temporarily.

The highlight of this TV is the 120 Hz dejudder processing which lets the TV to instigate the dejudder processing. We liked the Sony’s dejudder better than a lot of the other manufacturers but we had a different opinion about this. This dejudder made the video look less natural and smooths out the image a bit. On the bright side, it makes the picture make less blurry but it is difficult to see the anit-blur technology in action on this TV.

Speaking of other details, the black levels are pretty good, it is deeper than we’d expect in an entry level TV. Color representation is also accurate and there are adequate settings inside to play around with it. If you know how to fiddle with it, the results will look when you are done.

Sony KDL-52V5100 comes with a smaller remote and it is actually better than those given on the high end models. The cursor in the center is prominent and it is surrounded by 4 buttons which you won’t get confused with. On the top of the remote, there is a cluster of keys which let you control other gear but it has to be compatible with HDMI CEC control over HDMI scheme. You can’t use the clicker to control other gear through infrared.

Apart from the three presets for color temperature, there is also the control for full white balance which help you in grayscale customization. If you are looking for advanced controls, there are the gamma and game mode for disabling the video processing and there are also goodies like Advanced Contrast Enhancer, Clear White, and Live Color but we turned all this off in our labs while testing.

There are options for four aspect ratios and it includes something called Full Pixel, which correctly scales 1080p and 1080i sources for fitting on the screen. There are no extras like picture in picture option which is ubiquitous in higher end models but we liked the fact that the support screen gives helpline number.

We connected the Sony KDL-52V5100 to a computer and were surprised to the see that it couldn’t resolve all the details of 1920×1080 full HD resolution through both VGA and HDMI. It failed to give full vertical resolution. Pictures still looked great but they were no where close to step up models like XBR09. When tested for SD performance, it was average. Every DVD source detail was resolved and the picture was sharp enough. When put in bright lighting, this TV was one of the best we have ever seen. It could handle the reflections from lights and windows quite well and it was better than other displays that we have seen in our labs.