Sony Bravia KDL-46W5500

This is very practical. You don't lose time looking for the damn manual but can access it directly on screen. And the last major innovation is the Applicast . This is Sony's reply to Samsung's Infolive. Connected to the net, the Applicast displays windows with very varied RSS flow content that users can define themselves. This means the manufacturer's own flow of information is no longer imposed on us and we get the information that interests us.


All this works of course through the PS3 XrossMediaBar menu navigation system. Practical, nice to look at, intuitive and fast. Most of the settings we're accustomed to on Sony TVs are there, plus several extras. The image settings options remain extensive with the addition of a precise colour temperature setting across all levels. You really need to be an enthusiast and well set up in terms of test equipment to attack this kind of setting; especially (see below) as the presets are not bad at all.


In terms of connectivity it has an aerial socket, two scarts, a YUV, two HDMIs and a VGA on the back panel. There is also an analogue audio in and out as well as a digital optic audio out. The jack means you can put sound through the VGA socket.
Sony has chosen to place the HDMI sockets on the lefthand side. They are next to the USB socket, the composite and the analogue audio ins, as well as the headphone socket. Although these connections are intelligently placed on the side of the screen for rapid access, we are more sceptical about the Ethernet socket. Once it has been plugged in, you don't usually remove this type of cable very often and it would have been more logical to put it on the back panel.


In any case this is a very well-equipped TV, with perhaps just a backlit remote and detachable speakers missing. The backlit remote is restricted to the Z4500 and X4500 and, as yet, speakers remain very much attached to all Sony TVs.

Image quality: excellent but with a narrow viewing angle

The default image delivered by the W5500 is very nice indeed and will satisfy most viewers. It does not denature films too much and changes small details to give the illusion of a "really nifty" display. But our demanding standards require that we cut these effects that disturb the viewing experience with the goal of returning to the original image quality of what we watch.
And this can be done without too much degradation of the artificially good readings that we took at default settings. The contrast, that was for example 3136:1 at default - with a very bright (even too bright) image - remains at 2753:1 after calibrating the brightness. We gained in black levels, these going from a good 0.10 cd/m² to an excellent 0.07 cd/m² (and almost 0.06 cd/m²).
The gamma curve is pretty good. We even succeeded in almost obtaining perfection by pushing contrast out but this was to the detriment of the colours. With a DeltaE of 3.4, colour quality is pretty good and without any major problems as long as the contast remains between 75 and 90.

Our settings

As is often the case with Sony TVs, we started with the Expert settings - which replace Cinema mode on older generations - to obtain the best default results.


In this mode, all filters are deactivated and only the details need tweaking:

• Check that the brightness sensor is deactivated

• Go into the all pixel image format to avoid any reframing

• Check that the colour temp is on 2 for warmth, reduce contrast to 88 and the backlighting to 4. This is for a darkened room. You'll need to up the backlighting in a well-lit room.

These are the settings for which we got the best results in our tests. Moving on to 100 Hz Motionflow, it is well set by default. If you want fluidity at any price, push it right out - you'll get a few faults on rapid scenes - and if you think the image too artificial, then cut it altogether. Note that there are only three levels now (off, standard, and high) With all these settings, the HD image is simply fantastic. Of course you'll need good quality encoding to make the most of the details that are available.

The SD is a bit blurry and lacks detail when it comes to upscaling on a PS3. This should be nuanced as we always calibrate our TVs in such a way as the image sharpness is not artificially improved. As an experiment we did try and push the sharpness beyond its normal level - namely 0. The image remains fine up to 10 and the upscaling could be described by some as much better. We wouldn't go this far as it is the result of an artificial illusion, but we do recommend it be used for SD sources only.

A DVD (SD) source displayed on the 46W5500: 1. upscale 1080p by a PS3, 2. upscale 1080p by the TV, 3. upscale 1080p by the TV with sharpness at 10. 

Coupled to a PC, the 46W5500 behaves like a good desktop monitor. There is no loss on the side of the image or lack or legibility of characters. There is a noticeable display delay however, oscillating between two and four images in comparison to a tube monitor with the same video signal.

You will have noted that we haven't mentioned the Bravia Engine that is in version 3 here, as against version 2 for the W4500. This is simply due to the fact that we have noted no real difference with the new motor in terms of handling of video, the improvement in contrast being due directly to the panel.

The Mura effect, clouding: a touchy subject

This is a topic that has been filling up the inches on the forums: clouding. For those who don't know what we're talking about, clouding is a slight leak of light to some zones on the panel that should usually be black. What seem to be bluish clouds appear. Note that we called on three different individuals in the editorial team to get a good cross section of opinion.
The outcome is unanimous: the panel is perfectly black when you are opposite the screen. You can't legitimately say then that the W5500 suffers from clouding.
However, once you move to the side slightly, the blacks do get lighter. The colours don't vary but also get lighter. The closer you are to the panel then, the fewer the number of viewers that get high image quality. At a distance of 3 m, two to three people can watch an ideal image at the same time. The next two (4th and 5th) will start to see zones where the blacks are less than optimal. This might look light clouding but isn't in fact, as you don't get the effect when you are directly in front of the screen. One thing is sure: the W5500 doesn't have a wide angle of vision.

Sound quality: neither good nor bad

The sound from the speakers is fairly close to what you get on the W4500. Clear and with numerous settings that allow you to adapt it to your taste, there is a severe lack of bass. As it is on the very good side of average, we'll give it 4 stars but it is far from getting 5... like the vast majority of today's TVs.

Energy consumption

With a consumption of just 0.1 watts after a few minutes on standby, the W5500 uses the strict minimum. Turned on, it functions at 201 watts by default and only 128 watts once it has been calibrated at 180 cd/m²; a very good score for a 46 inch TV. You can get a lower score by activating various functions designed to minimise energy consumption... to the detriment of image quality. Because you have to understand: economising watts means reducing brightness and therefore, contrast. And it is only on this parameter that energy economy of the W5500 (or any other model) functions. A television consumes a certain quantity of electricity depending on the technology it uses. This quantity of energy varies according to the settings that are applied to it. But these settings will have a direct incidence on image quality. We will explore this subject in more depth when we test the WE5: a W5500 with a new backlighting system using economy tubes.

Conclusion

After the 5 star W4500, it would seem logical for the the W5500 to gain the same distinction. It has all the qualities of its predecessor plus an HDMI socket, network video playback, DLNA, Applicast for displaying internet widgets on-screen, an improved menu and settings, a user manual you can consult on screen and improved contrast.

So is it the ultimate television?

No; first of all because of its reduced angle of vision meaning you quickly lose depth in blacks. This fault was not far from removing one of its five stars.
What's more there is very light ghosting particularly with horizontal movements. This is more or less comparable to what you find with the competition on panels of equivalent quality. Only 200 Hz Motionflow, which is uniquely available on the Z4500, could have improved on this.

Should you buy a W5500 or a Z4500?

Sony Bravia KDL-46Z4500

We don't have a readymade answer to this question. The Z4500 has a backlit remote, 200 Hz Motionflow and much better sound quality. This last argument will not be taken into account by those who have a real Home Cinema setup. The remote is a little bit of a bonus, so there remains the 200 Hz Motionflow of the Z4500 in opposition to the improved contrast of the W5500 (around 1600:1 for the first, against 2700:1 for the second). Of course we have to relativise these figures. The Z4500 has less ghosting on images in movement (sport - particularly football, rugby, F1 - and scenes with tracking shots). The W5500 has much more dense blacks with equal luminosity. This is of less interest when you watch TV in a well lit room. Depending on your needs, you'll go for the model that suits you. Of course the 300 to 500 euros difference in price between the two rival brothers may well constitute an argument in favour of the W5500.