Sony Bravia EX700 Series 60-Inch LED HDTV (KDL-60EX700)

Review by Felipe for Sony Bravia EX700 Series 60-Inch LED HDTV (KDL-60EX700)
Rating:
Purchased this Sony HDTV almost a month ago to replace the 42″ LCD in the Man Cave…so far, so good. I actually purchased the KDL60EX701 model…from what I can tell, there are no differences between this model and the KDL60EX700. So, here are my observations…

Setup – Easy. I have a single HDMI cable coming from the A/V receiver that plugs into the back of the HDTV, so it doesn’t get any simpler than that. When you turn on the HDTV for the first time, you will be prompted to enter some basic settings…it’s pretty straightforward and only takes a few minutes to complete. The menu setup is easy to navigate through…those of you who have PS3s & PSPs will find it really easy, as the menu system is identical to the ones found on those devices.

Performance – Excellent. Watching anything in HD on this TV is incredible. Everything comes at you in crisp and vivid detail. There are numerous settings you can go through to get the “perfect” picture…fortunately, I didn’t have to change too many of the default settings to get the picture I wanted. I’ve watched Avatar a few times already and spotted something new I didn’t notice from before! Sporting events show up great with very little or no blurring, which is always a good thing for a sports nut like me. SD broadcasts and DVDs aren’t quite as crisp-looking as their HD and Blu-Ray counterparts, but that’s to be expected of 480i/p. The only issue I have is that the colors tend to fade when viewing from a severe angle. However, the screen is so freakin’ large…chances are you won’t be watching TV from a severe angle on this thing.

Sound – Good. HDTVs like this are meant for home theaters, not stand-alone setups! However, I did play a couple of MP3 files from a USB drive just to hear the audio quality from the built-in speakers, and it was decent.

Extras – Excellent. The USB port is convenient for showing pictures and playing music from a flash drive. I have yet to use any of the Internet streaming features (Netflix, Amazon VOD,…) as I have been too lazy to connect it to my home network. It does come with a separate wireless adapter and a built-in LAN port for your convenience.

Overall – Excellent. The picture quality is just as good if not better than most of the other HDTVs currently available. I considered getting the 240Hz version of this HDTV, but there is no discernible difference in picture quality when watching sports or action movies (at least not for me). Bottom line…if you’re not in any hurry to get a 3-D HDTV, or if you aren’t finicky enough to want a full back-lit LED LCD, then I recommend getting this HDTV.

Review by Ithaca Chasma for Sony Bravia EX700 Series 60-Inch LED HDTV (KDL-60EX700)
Rating:
I purchased the KDL 60ex700 from Amazon in July of 2010. It was delievered via CEVA and their “white glove” installation of the TV and BDI Deploy Max 9649 stand exceeded my expectations. The CEVA folks actually built the stand in my home and indicated that was included in the “white glove” delivery. There is an abundance of material written about the picture/sound of this TV, so I will focus upon something else, the Internet capability. It took me a couple of days to secure a five-bar signal strength from my home router (90 feet away through four interior walls)to the SONY UWA-BR100 network adapter. I discovered that four or five bars are required to ensure continuous video operation for most internet applications. To get such a strong signal so far from the router I installed an Apple AirPort Express to boost the transmissions from an AirPort Extreme router. This setup works quite well and I recommend a signal booster, unless your router is within 30 feet of the TV.

I was pleased by the initial Internet offerings which include You Tube and many other content-based sites along with Sony’s Michael Jackson catalog. The Internet videos load quickly and the quality can easily rival cable content. It seems evident that Internet access for television will soon bring real competition to cable and satellite providers. By combining Internet TV with more traditional delivery systems (cable/satellite), access to content is a bit more complex, but Sony’s remote make the transitions quick and easy. However, entering text for searches is a bit like using a 60″ cell phone. Sony would have done well to copy what Apple has incorporated into the iPad for such searching.

The TV also includes some unexpected features, like the ability to automatically power-down whe viewers leave the room and a nice “picture frame” set of photographs which permit the TV to appear like a work of art for hours at a time.

Review by Ralfo for Sony Bravia EX700 Series 60-Inch LED HDTV (KDL-60EX700)
Rating:
Delivery was within the time frame. Two gents brought it in. opened the box, plugged it in, fired it up & the Sony experience began. I graduated from an eight-month, five days a week TV repair course @ Mass Trades Shops school in 1950. Believe me when I say that we’ve come a long way since then. No doubt there is a long road ahead for improvements in TV land but this is the best TV on the market today. 3D TV is available but I’ll wait ’til it is viewable to the bare eye. I’m sure that it not going to reach that landmark for the foreseeable future so I’m going to be seated in my recliner, ingesting ice-cream & enjoying the programs in HTDV on this truly-awesome 2D TV for more than a few years.