Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have had my Sony KDL46NX810 for about a month. I have the 3D accessories, a Sony PlayStation 3 and a computer hooked to the TV. Most of the content I watch is on the internet over the computer, streaming Netflix, and Amazon Video on Demand. The 3D effect is a novelty. Once the new wears off I will put the 3D glasses in a draw and forget about them. I wish I purchased a less expensive TV that does not have 3D. Other than my disappointment with 3D, I am quite happy with the TV.
CONNECTIONS: My computer and PlayStation are both connected to the TV with 12' long inexpensive HDMI cables purchased from Harbor Freight (seller of cheap tools). The 3D starter pack I purchased came with a "High-speed HDMI cable..... (for the) transfer of both 3D video and audio signals". So far the inexpensive HDMI cable seems to work fine even with 3D content. The TV is also connected to the internet with a cat 5 cable. It has WiFi but I didn't need it (or try it). I have high speed internet access through the local cable provider. I have experienced no trouble streaming content.
ANTENNA: I get the same number of channels over the air as I did when I had a 7 year old generic HD TV. There is an onscreen program guide. During setup the TV asked if I wanted the programming guide from the internet or from over-the-air. I chose the internet option. On the TV guide channel I can see what will be on hours from now.
LOOK: The TV looks great. The Sony emblem lights up when you turn on the TV. You can turn that feature off if you want. I have the TV mounted on the wall. The monolithic design was great. I say was because the IR emitter that is required for 3D makes the TV not so monolithic any more. The emitter is the bunny-ears of the 3D television age. It should have been built in to the TV. It's not that bad but it does not add to the look and Sony is selling the "Monolithic Design".
ACCESSORIES : The remote control seems rather long and has many buttons. When I first got the TV I tried to learn the remote and how to get from thing to thing. After a day or two I navigated the options of the TV through the Home Menu. The Home Menu is easy to navigate and is very similar to the PS3 menu organization. Everything is easy to find and the TV is easy to navigate. The stations that I get over the aerial all have their own icon in the menu. There is also a description of what is on now. Everything the TV can do is available through the graphical menu.
The remote control also will navigate the PS3 menus and control video play back on the PS3. Play, Stop, Fast Forward, and Next all work as expected from the TV remote controlling the PS3. The cross button in the center of the remote is the same as the x button on the PS3 controller. The back button will move you back towards the main menu. I am very happy with the way the TV remote controls the PS3. I tried to use the TV remote as a controller for a game but there is no Start button so I could not start the game. There would be no advantage to the remote as a controller for PS3 games but I thought I would try anyway. I can't turn the PS3 on with the TV remote. I have the impression that the TV remote can turn on the PS3 but I have not figured that out yet.
DIGITAL VIDEO CONTENT: To make many of these features work it is helpful to have both a separate computer and the TV connected to the internet. When I first tried to register the TV, I was using the TV as the monitor to the computer. I could not register the computer until I was using a computer that did not need the TV as a monitor. Other then needing both the TV and the computer at the same time, the registering process was easy. There were a lot of steps. You register the TV with Sony then Netflix then Amazon Video on Demand, then what ever else.
Accessible through the TV are Qriocity video on demand, Amazon, Hulu +, Netfix, YouTube, Crackle, an RSS feed (Not a fully functional RSS feed) and a bunch of other stuff. Let's start with the bunch of other stuff. It is mostly internet shorts. I have a friend with a Roku and it is similar to the things that he watches on his Roku. Roku has much more content of the internet short variety. Someone will like some of these channels, I don't bother with them.
There is a RSS feed but you can't add anything to it or delete anything from it. It's an RSS feed that you don't have any control over. That said, it has episodes of Meet The Press an, the Nightly News and other things. I have not used it but on occasion I do like to watch Meet The Press. It's nice to know it's there.
Crackle is full of things that Sony owns. That you can watch at any time. There are 4 episodes of each of the following TV shows on Crackle ; Barney miller, Dilbert News radio, I dream of Jeannie, 10 items or less, the Jackie Chan Adventures, Vip and Bewitched in their TV episodes folder. There are also 8 movies. I have not watched any of this content. I don't know if this content changes over time. The list of shows available was from November 2010.
YouTube is surprisingly easy to use on the TV. If you want to search for anything you have to use an onscreen keyboard. That's laborious so I never do it. It does connect to my YouTube account. I can bring up my favorites or subscriptions very easily. I don't use this much because I have a computer connected to the TV but it's easy to use.
You need a Netflix account to use Netflix. I have not had any problems with streaming content through Netflix. I use this feature often. At the moment, you can only watch the content that is in your instant cue. Netflix on the PS3 has a much better interface. I imagine that there will be a software update that allows you to do more than just watch what is in your cue. That said it's easy enough to put things in your Netflix cue if you have a computer nearby.
I don't use Hulu+ because I have a computer connected to the TV. Regular Hulu through the computer and displayed on the TV works fine.
I have been very happy with Amazon Video on Demand. You can rent or purchases new and old movies and TV shows through this service and stream them to the TV. You can typically choose between HD and standard definition.I have used this service for years. I don't use cable so if there is a show I want to see that is not available on the internet I have to wait for it to come out on Netflix or purchase it episode by episode on Amazon.
I don't use Qriocity but it seems like a competitor to Amazon Video on demand. I haven't used this service. I looked at their pricing and it was the same as Amazon for everything I looked at.
DIGITAL AUDIO CONTENT: The TV has Slacker, Pandora, Berliner Philharmoniker, and NPR. The menu also has a Lollapalooza station but it is just a standard Slacker radio station. Slacker and Pandora are services that stream music. They have many built in stations. One can make a customized station simply by typing a name of a band or song and the service will build a radio station around that song or band. Slacker works well on the TV. You can turn the screen off while Slacker is playing or display album art. I have used Slacker for years. I was very pleased that it was on the TV at first but I don't use it because I have other speakers when I play it on my computer that are much better. I don't use Pandora but I imagine it works in roughly the same way on the TV.
The only thing I know about Berliner Philharmoniker is that you have to pay for the service. I don't even know exactly what the service is even though I tried to figure it out by registering on their website. Slacker has classical music and so does Pandora.
NPR on the TV was a big letdown. You have access to podcasts and program s on NPR through the TV. The interface was much easier to navigate and find things then the NPR website. I like to listen to the Planet Money Podcast and they have it. The disappointment came when I realized that all the content that I looked at was a couple months old. Perhaps at some point it will be updated regularly but as of Nov 2010 it is not.
AUDIO: The TV doses not sound great. My understanding is that there is not enough room for base speakers in flat screen TVs. The computer sounds particularly bad when played through the TV. The computer sounds fine with different speakers. I think there might be some equalizer settings that could make the computer sound better. The TV needs a base speaker. Sony does not sell a separate base speaker for this TV. It doses sell a stand with built in speakers and a couple of sound bars with sub-woofers. It needs something.
3D: You must buy a 3D sink transmitter and 3D glasses to make this TV into a 3D TV. There is no good place to put the 3D sink transmitter. It is the bunny-ears of 3D televisions. I purchased the Alice in Wonderland 3D starter kit. The sink transmitter has a cord that is a meter long or more and plugs into the back of the TV. I have never seen the kind of connector that is used for the sink transmitter any were else. If you wanted an extension for the 3D transmitter I suspect you would have a hard time finding one. That said it must be located near the TV. The instructions say either at the top or bottom of the TV.
My TV came with a "gift" for registering. This is separate from the registering the TV so it would function with the digital content. For filling out a second product registry form on the internet they are sending me through the mail the "Bolt" in 3D and "This is it" with 10 minutes of 3D content. I have not received these movies yet.
It also comes with a voucher code for four 3D...Read more›
Click Here to see more reviews about: Sony BRAVIA KDL46NX810 46-Inch 1080p 240 Hz 3D-Ready LED HDTV, Black
Designed to deliver dazzling Full HD 1080p resolution, this 46-inch BRAVIA NX810 Series HDTV (model KDL46NX810) features advanced dynamic LED backlighting technology for incredibly high contrast levels, deep blacks and bright whites. And get ready for a three-dimensional revolution in your living room with the NX810's 3D capabilities. Just add the optional Sony sync transmitter and active glasses to experience movies and video games in 3D like never before Full HD 1080p, or convert 2D to 3D with a push of a button on your remote.
Bravia Engine 3 (on right) produces a sharp, vibrant picture.
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