Buy Low Price From Here Now
Enjoy the latest in HDTV performance with the Sony BRAVIA Z-Series, featuring Motionflow 240Hz technology for maximum motion detail and clarity, plus broadband internet connectivity with built-in BRAVIA Internet Video capabilities, that let you view select on-demand movies and TV shows and listen to music and more, and even lets you personalize your entertainment experience by selecting and positioning widgets containing the latest news, weather, sports and more directly on your TV screen.
Readmore
Technical Details
- 16:9 Full HD 1080p Resolution Panel (1920x1080)- BRAVIA Engine 3 fully digital video processor
- Motionflow 240Hz
- BRAVIA Internet Video/Widgets
- XMB w/ enhanced 3D Favorites Menu
See more technical details
By A. Snow
We bought this TV from Amazon in October of 2009 and just four months later the color drained from the picture, faded to black and shut it self off. We turned it off, unplugged and plugged it back in, nothing worked. Amazon refused to replace the defective product. Amazon told us they have a 30 day policy and just couldn't or wouldn't help. We called Sony the technician who ran us through a bunch of steps and then decided to send us to a service center. Although it is still under warranty, the service center estimated a 2 month turn around. On top of that, the service center needs a Sony case number, something the technician failed to give us. Now we have to call again and get one. When you spend this much on a product you expect a little better service. Don't buy this TV and don't expect any customer service from Amazon or Sony if you have problems.
By Craig Weiss
Pros: Superb picture quality, non-reflective screen, easy menu system.
Cons: None of any consequence. If using more than one HDMI connection there's only one on the back and the rest are on the side so the wires are visible unless using a port saver.
Summary: After comparing about a dozen high def televisions the Sony Bravia series stood out. We needed a non-reflective screen, which eliminated all plasma's and most Samsungs. But even compared to the Samsungs, this television was as good or better.
In the stores we couldn't tell any difference between the lower priced Bravia V and the XBR, which has the same "engine" as the Z. Through Amazon, we couldn't pass up a deal on the Z and it exceeds our expectations.
On its own, the sound is passable, but using 5.1 surround it's outstanding, although no credit to the television. Never having owned a flat screen before, we're pleased friends and family who do praise the picture quality.
Navigating the bells and whistles can be a bit confusing but it's pretty user friendly, and the manual is helpful.
Please refer to CNET's review of the XBR for a more technical description of this set (they're essentially the same in many respects) and other user reviews do a better job than me in this area.
Bottom line is that after two months it's still a pleasure, sometimes exciting to watch this set. HDTV pops, especially sports, and movies are sometimes breathtaking in their clarity and color representation.
By Ms. Patricia J. Adams (California)
I very much think the PQ on Blu-Ray discs is the best I've owned. I am disappointed to report, however, the PQ depends greatly on which specific Movie you are watching. For example, I put in ST:TMP (BD) and the quality is great... yet, The (BD) Wrath of Khan is great in many sections of the film, but not all. - Further, when I tried to watch my Babylon 5 (regular)DVD movie "In the Beginning", the quality was very poor! Star Wars 1: The Phantom Menace regular dvd was tolerable, but no where near as great looking as it was on my Sampo 42in. plasma regular def tv. --- So, I am very happy with the Blu-Ray PQ, but I am dreading having to now re-purchase all my favorite movies on Blu-Ray format... ouch, we are talking some real money here! And my fav Babylon 5 isn't even available on Blu-Ray and who knows if it ever will be. - So, bottom line... after an initial high due to the PQ on Blu-Ray discs, I am now all depressed and well and truly pissed at all the sales people who say upscaling is as good as Blu-Ray... Boy, are they full of it!
By D. Wieties (Memphis, TN)
This is a great TV, I would definitely buy it again. The internet feature works great and is very cool!
By Dice Ecco
First, I will say that I gave this product 4 stars instead of 5 because of the fact that the picture quality is honestly not as good as the best LED local dimming TV on the market (not naming names). That said, for the price this is the best thing on the market in my opinion. Here's why I chose this TV instead of the seemingly endless others - you can definitely go into choice overload when trying to buy one of these.
1) I considered the ambient light in my room and how far from the TV my couch and other chairs are. My room has a lot of light from windows, so that eliminates the Samsung products, which have too much glare. With guests, viewers would be at the side so a good side angle was important. Also, I didn't want to go any bigger than 55" because of the size of the room and where the TV would be. Make sure to measure that but don't be too shy with the size because you will get used to a larger TV after a day or so.
2) I considered refresh rates and the type (plasma vs LCD). We have only owned LCD TVs, so I must say that I don't have any real reason to prefer LCDs now that plasma TVs handle burn-in better than they used to. But we have owned LCDs and the depth of the blacks has improved over the years, so we stuck with the LCD. The last TV I bought had a serious jerking problem when 1080p content had a quick pan to the side, which annoyed me. With that in mind, I wanted to go for the 240 Hz refresh rate in the hopes of avoiding that problem. If you can look at standard definition content on the TV in the store, do so. But, keep in mind that you are buying it for the high def performance.
3) Next was price. More expensive TVs have diminishing returns in my opinion because the price of these things are just dropping so dramatically. My target price was around $1500 to $1800. The local dimming LED LCD TVs that have decent processors are just way too expensive for me at this point (in the $4000 range). They do look the best, but you can get something that is really good for much less.
4) Features. I really wanted internet connectivity. I use Netflix and I wanted a TV that I could stream Netflix directly without using any intermediate equipment. This is a feature that is becoming popular, so more TVs have this.
After considering these, my search was narrowed to 3 choices - the Sony Bravia XBR, the Bravia Z-series, and the Bravia W-series. They also have an eco-friendly series that is useful if you have a habit of leaving the TV on when you aren't in the room, but I don't do that so I didn't really take a hard look at them. Sony has a very helpful website that lets you compare the different types to see exactly what the differences are. Armed with the knowledge of what the technical differences were, I went to a local store to take a look at them. I didn't find the W-series, so I can't comment on that one. I found one store that had the Z-series and the XBR right next to each other. The technical difference from the Sony website is that the XBR is capable of showing a larger percentage of the color spectrum. The price difference was $300. I honestly could not tell the difference when looking at them side-by-side. So, we happily purchased the Z-series and kept that $300.
TV set-up was a breeze. Controls are very intuitive. Happily streaming Netflix with no issues and using other cool internet features like radio streaming. We are really happy with this TV. The only problem was that it's so big that standard definition DVDs look pretty bad. So, we upgraded to a blu-ray player and were back to happy viewing once again.
Images Product
Buy Sony BRAVIA Z Series KDL-52Z5100 52-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV Now
