Sony Bravia KDL-40E4000 review

Sony Bravia KDL-40E4000 Review

Reviewed by: Ian Morris

Reviewed on: 10 November 2008

It's claimed that Henry Ford said, as a joke, that you could have his 'Model T' motorcar in any colour you liked, as long as it was black. In fact, even the Model T was available in other colours. TV manufacturers, on the other hand, seem to have decided that you can only have your TV in one colour. Of course there are exceptions, such as Samsung's 'Rose Black' finish and the more playful colours that appear on many smaller TVs, but mostly it's just black, black and more black.

So with its E4000, Sony has clearly attempted to appeal to people who tired of seeing that big slab of black plastic in the corner of their living room. This TV certainly looks different with its white frame and black trim -- but does it have more to offer than unconventional looks?

Design
What makes the Sony E4000 so remarkable is simply the bold white bezel that surrounds the screen. A black border around the outer edge serves to exentuate the white, and it does its job well. The Sony logo, illuminated from behind with a rectangle of light, sits at the bottom of the screen -- this looks slightly odd to us, but the light can be disabled if you wish.

Other than that, the front of the TV is fairly simple, and leaves you alone to enjoy the strange aesthetic. Of course there's a speaker grille, but even that doesn't distract from the unusual design ethos of the TV.

At the back you'll find a pair of HDMI inputs with a third on the side. For a modern TV of this size, we think Sony should have at least four HDMI sockets -- after all, HDMI is getting more prevalent, not less. There are also two Scart sockets, component and VGA inputs as well as optical audio out, for connecting the TV to a speaker system of some kind.

The remote control is also finished in white, matching prettily with the TV. It's also very simple to use, as the number of buttons have been reduced to make it more friendly to people who don't live for technology.

Features
Sony is now including its clumsily named XrossMediaBar, or XMB, on its TVs, which is an interesting feature if you can get over that travesty of the English language. If you've ever seen the PlayStation 3 user interface you'll be familiar with the concept. Basically, it's divided up into two axes -- on the horizontal axis you get options such as Digital Channels, Analogue Channels, Settings and Inputs; and on the vertical axis you get sub-options that are context sensitive. So for instance you could choose Digital Channels on the horizontal bar and then see all those channels appear on the vertical bar; or you could choose Settings on the horizontal bar and then see all of its relevant sub-options appear on the vertical bar. Despite a name that will make Shakespeare spin in his grave, it's a useful feature.

Of course 24hz playback for Blu-ray movies is included, which should make HD viewing a more fluid, enjoyable experience. The TV can also accept 1080p video and display it natively, which means you'll get the best out of Blu-ray movies and games on a PS3.

As we've mentioned, photo viewing is a key part of this TV's raison d'être, so Sony provides a USB memory stick reader. That's not uncommon these days, but Sony has increased its value by providing picture processing designed to optimise still images.

Performance
We've seen the Sony E4000 at a number of press events, but curiously the only material we've ever seen it displaying have been works of art, which Sony includes in the TV's internal memory. Frankly, the fact that the company only demonstrates this aspect of the TV's functionality had us concerned that it wasn't a strong performer with moving video. It would be understandable if this was a £100 photo frame, but it isn't -- it's a £1,000 LCD TV.