Sony KDL-32W650A 32-Inch 60Hz 1080p Internet LED HDTV (Black)

This tv is a beauty to look at. You can tell it is built with greater quality and better materials than other 32 inch televisions, as well as other tvs in this price range. The bezel is small, and made of metal. It forms a nice border for the screen. There is only the faint BRAVIA lettering on the left top corner. There is an energy star label in the lower right corner which can be peeled off. A small silver module at the front has the SONY logo with led lighting. It is a very minimalistic and modern looking television from the front view. At the back of the television it is thin from the top (only 0.5 inches thick), but at the bottom where the power unit and other electronic components are located it has a depth of 2.5 inches. The thin stainless steel is beautiful as it is functional. The tv sits rock solid and feels very secure. The stand has a foot print of 8 inches deep by 16 inches wide.

So the main question is how is the picture quality? Well I am pleased to say that the picture quality is excellent! Blacks look truly black. THe color palette is pleasant and have a nice pop. The picture look more realistic compared to a 32 inch Samsung I demoed in store. The Samsung appeared over-saturated and images appear burnt out. THe Sony did a better job of showing a more even, realistic, and detailed image.

I do not know if this is an IPS screen. Even if it wasn’t the viewing angles are quite good. I had no issues with sitting off centre. Contrast and brightness are slightly decreased, but still fine. I was happy to note there was no brightness variations across the screen. The lighting is very even on my unit. The screen is somewhere between matte and gloss, so while glare is there it is not disturbing. Further because it is not as matte, as my previous Samsung monitor, the picture appears vibrant.

The remote is nice to hold. It has a good feel, and the layout is nicely thought out. There are shortcut buttons to Netflix, the Sony Entertainment Network (SEN) hub, and Home. I would have liked it to have backlighting. I also wished it had a touch panel too.

The Smart features are nice. Like I said already, this tv can connect to Netflix, and SEN. In the SEN screen you have an app for Youtube, NHL Game Center, Crackle, Picassa, etc to name a few. I noticed it was missing HULU which would have been nice to include. Connection to my wireless network was simple and quick. Accessing the apps were slighly sluggish at times. I had to wait for them to load, and some may find the few seconds frustrating. Generally browsing the apps was not such a painless endeavour, but neither is it too painful. I wished the speed was better. The tv has an internet browser. The problem is with trying to navigate web pages. Because it’s all from the basic remote, and not a touch pad, it slows what is an easy task performed on a tablet or on a computer. You can connect to the tv with your tablet or smartphone to help with navigation in the Youtube app which makes searching or browsing for videos a whole lot faster.

There are only two HDMI ports, and one USB port which is limiting. To connect to your stereo system you would need to use an optical digital audio cable. Or you can use a 3.5mm plug to RCA cable. There are no standard RCA outputs. The sound quality of the tv speaker is not bad. I just prefer to connect it to my Energy speakers, which sounds much better.

I haven’t tried much gaming with this tv. The motion is fine as far as I can tell. Didn’t notice much issue with lag.

There are lots of customizations for picture. There are several scene modes. You can also customize picture quality to the way you like with white balance, hues, saturation, brightness, and more. There are various picture enhancements in the menu which works well.

The 32W650A is probably one of the best 32 inch television out there, although there is a small list to chose from. Most manufacturers are not interested in making 32 inch televisions these days, and instead focusing on larger tv displays. I heartily recommend it.

Here’s the basics on what you need to know about this TV. First the picture quality in HD is among the best based on personal experience and the reviews I’ve read online. I did research on this TV and bought it according to reviews from credible sources and not just customer reviews. In the picture quality department it exceeded way beyond my expectations but the sound quality is something left to be desired which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars. In the end I ended up buying a separate sound bar for better quality sound. One other drawback is the lack of inputs. There are only two hdmi inputs, one composite and one av. It also has an optical input, LAN for internet, one usb, one audio out and cable input. Menu interface is user friendly, easy to understand with the help of the tutorial and I have nothing negative to say about it. If picture quality is important to you you can’t go wrong with this TV but lack of quality sound and inputs is what’s holding back a perfect score for this TV.