Summary: This TV is available at Amazon and Vanns for only $1499.00 with no tax and free shipping. It's a great deal. This TV had a retail value of $2,600.00 in October when it was released. I ordered one a week ago.
I've had this TV for a few weeks now and would like to update my initial review.
I received the 40S2400 from Amazon, shipped via Eagle, in about 9-days after I ordered. Price was $1499.00 with no tax and free shipping. Since then, the price at Amazon has increased to $1799.00. However, I think it's still available at Vanns.com (excellent on-line co.) for $1499.00 with a free Harmony remote ($150.00 value). The TV arrived in perfect condition and I am totally satisfied with Amazon and Eagle (as usual).
I bought this 40" TV for a bedroom, so the size is perfect. It has a matte black finish and looks great in the room.
It has very good connectivity with 7-inputs. However, it only has one HDMI input, but you can easily work around that. I have a Comcast digital cable box that has both DVI and component outputs. I have a Sony HT-DDW900 AV surround sound receiver that has two HDMI inputs. I have a Sony H75 DVD player that also has an HDMI output that is required for upconverting DVD's. Therefore, I connected the cable box to the receiver using a DVI/HDMI cable and the DVD player to the receiver using a HDMI cable. Then I connected the receiver to the TV HDMI input using the HDMI TV/Monitor output on the receiver. I also connected to the TV using the component connection on the digital cable box and also an HDTV antenna in case the cable goes out. These connections are quite simple and took about ten minutes.
I decided to buy this TV versus the Sony KDL-40S2500, since I don't have any 1080p signal sources except for an Xbox360 and I don't think there would be much difference in a 40" screen anyway. It's also $700.00 cheaper.
The picture quality (PQ)on this TV in HD is incredible. Everyone that see's it is amazed by the PQ. I was even surprised by the over-the-air (OTA) PQ. On some stations, the OTA PQ exceeds the PQ from the cable box. Sports are fantastic, no blurring (GO BEARS!/GO BULLS!/GO WHITESOX!). SD is okay, but what do you expect when the signal is upconverted from 480i to 1080i.
The TV comes out of the box with three available setting Vivid, Standard, and Custom (adjustable). Do not bother with the Vivid setting, it's totally overblown (used for in-store display only). The Standard setting is very good, but I configured it on the custom settings for the best picture (6350K) as follows:
Picture Mode: Custom
Backlight: 7
Picture: 85
Brightness: 45
Color: 47
Hue: R4
Sharpness: 15
Color Temperature: Warm2
Noise Reduction: Off
Advanced Settings: All off, except for ACE @ Medium
If you have this TV or the S2000 series try these settings
and I'm sure you'll find that the picture is much improved.
This TV will allow you to zoom regardless of the signal. That was my biggest gripe with the S2000 series. It would not zoom if the signal source was 720p/1080i, I guess Sony fixed that problem on this new model. I'm not a big videofile and I hate watching movies with pillar bars or horizontal bars. I would rather distort the picture (wide-zoom) a little to get a full screen.
The sound is also very good, but HDTV is best when using surround sound. Try "War of the World's" using DTS and it will blow you out of your chair (just like the old JBL ads).
I didn't bother with the extended warranty since this TV does not have a replaceable bulb like a projection TV. It comes with a 1-year warranty and my charge card will extend that to two years, so why pay more. If something bad is going to happen, then it usually occurs in the first two years anyway.
Conclusion: If you're in the market for a 40" LCD, then this is a steal @ $1499.00. Why buy a cheap Visio or Westinghouse when you can get Sony PQ and QC for a few bucks more. I absolutely love this TV; no regrets or buyers remorse. !
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1499.00
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