Aug 27, 2010 06:25 PM
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I have owned the Sony Bravia KLV-32V550 32 inch LCD TV for only a week or so but wanted to write the review now so that if anyone is thinking of buying one while there are such good deals on this review might help them!
I have never had a flat screen TV before and was actually on the look out for a 26 or 28 inch one at the most as I thought 32 inch would be too big as I only have a small lounge area in my flat. I researched them for a few days but was really just looking at price rather than any technical matters particularly. There were some cheapish own brand or unheard of brands in Asda and Tesco for around this price or a little more - in the end I took the advice of a friend who knows his media technology and decided to go for a brand name like Sony or Samsung.
This Sony TV first jumped out at me on the Argos website - where it was on offer for (apparently down from thought whether they sold many at that high price I don't know). However I then started reading the money saving expert forums and people had found this TV at from Richer Sounds and then on Boxing day evening it appeared on the John Lewis website for including a 5 year guarantee so I snapped it up! I am very glad I did as the very next morning it was out of stock and hasn't appeared back at that price yet. However if you can find this TV for I would still recommend it as an excellent buy.
It was very easy to set up. Although I had mine delivered a benefit of LCD TV's is that they are light enough to pick up from the shop and even carry home on public transport (if you want to risk having it stolen!!) as I've seen some people do. The TV came with a small desktop size stand that you need to screw to the TV - that is really the only bit of set up needed. It just takes 3 screws which are provided and then is very sturdy once its on the stand and it can be swivelled to any angle you like.
This TV comes with inbuilt Freeview. I had a Freeview box already so wasn't too fussed by this however now I have it within the TV I have been able to get rid of my Freeview box and free up some space around the TV with one less bit of kit hanging around. It is also much better than my cheapy Freeview box that I had before as it has a proper EPG (Electronic programme guide) and if you have a hard disk recorder I believe that can be linked up very easily as there are options on the EPG to just press record on a certain programme.
The picture is very clear, the colours are good and I can view the screen at most angles and see a clear picture. The benefit of having a small studio flat and a large TV I have discovered is that I can watch the TV from the lounge - or twist it round and watch it from the bedroom area or keep my kitchen door open and watch it from the kitchen without having to squint at a tiny TV!
I think this is probably discontinued stock or will be very soon as although I don't understand these things too well I have been told it is HD ready but is not as good as some HD TV's out there. As I don't intend to watch HD TV or buy a blue ray player or basically anything high definition then this doesn't' bother me in the slightest however for those that are interested in these things then you should maybe look at a higher spec TV.
There are two scart sockets in the back and I'm pretty sure I read that it can be hooked up to a PC to be used as the PC screen though I haven't attempted this yet since I've only had the TV for a week. If this is possible though (and I haven't just read that somewhere else!) then I think it would be quite good to try even if just to view my photos that are on my PC on a large screen.
So I realise this review isn't highly detailed or technical - however if you are like me and just wanted a good, reliable, brand name , flat screen TV then I would thoroughly recommend the Sony Bravia KLV-32V550
