[samsung/sony lcd 성능비교] Samsung LE40A656 40” LCD TV/Sony Bravia KDL-40W4000 40” LCD TV

Hold your breath and get ready to witness a tough and exciting “Tug of War” between 2 leading LCD TVs ruling the market today. On one side we have the king of home entertainment -the Samsung LE40A656 40” LCD TV and on the other side we have its really tough competitior -the Sony Bravia KDL-40W4000 40” LCD TV . Both brands have already established themselves as pioneers in developing home theatre systems, thus making the tug-of-war really interesting to the on-lookers.

These 40” LCD TVs are both Full HD televisions with resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels each. Being widescreen LCDs, both have an Image Aspect Ratio of 16:9. A screen brightness of  500 cd/m2 is offered by both. They also come with integrated digital and analogue tuners. Can you feel the  heat of the competition already penting up!!!

Samsung LE40A656 offers four v1.3 HDMI inputs with CEC functionality and deep colour compatibility while Sony Bravia KDL-40W4000 offers only three of them, which are equally good.   The dynamic contrast ratio presented by Samsung LE40A656 is 50,000:1 while that offered by Sony Bravia KDL-40W4000 is 33000:1. Do you think Samsung LE40A656 scores some extra points here?

Coming to the audio specifications of the LCD TVs, the Samsung LE40A656 has 2 NICAM, optical, digital stereo speakers of 10W output power each, with SRS Trusurround sound effect system. On the other hand, Sony Bravia KDL-40W4000 comes equipped with 2 NICAM, Virtual Dolby Surround, BBE ViVA, digital audio output speakers, also having 10W output power each.  Moving to the power consumptions of the TVs, the Samsung LE40A656 has a runtime power consumption of 240W and a stand-by power consumption  of less than 1W. While the Sony Bravia KDL-40W4000, consumes 176W during runtime and 0.19W in stand-by mode. Does Sony take a lead here?

The connections that come along with Samsung LE40A656 are a Composite signal input, an S-Video input, a USB 2.0 port, a PC D-Sub input, a headphone jack, a Component video input, an RF input and 2 Scart connections, with 1 Scart being RGB capable. While Sony Bravia KDL-40W4000 gives, a Component video input, a Composite input, a USB 2.0 port, a PC D-Sub input with audio input as well, a headphone jack, PCMCIA card slot, RCA audio output, an RF input, 2 Scarts, both being RGB capable and Bravia Sync. The Bravia sync allows you to control many AV devices connected to the TV with the Bravia remote control.

Turning our attention to the physical appearence of the TVs, we have the Samsung LE40A656 flaunting its majestic Rose-Black crystal design having a black bezel with a deep red tone bordering the black and slowly merging inward into it. The TV measures 998(W) x 638(H) x 83.4(D) mm and weighs about 17kg without its stand. It can be stand mounted or wall mounted. An auto compatible wall bracket comes as part of the accessories with this TV. Standing with equal  elegance and style, the Sony Bravia KDL-40W4000 comes with a Midnight Sky black bezel. A transparent panel sits between this black bezel and a metallic strip that runs along the bottom side of the TV. The dimensions of this TV are 986(W) x 646 (H) x 110(D) mm and it weighs 18.5kg without the stand. This TV too can be mounted on the wall with an adjustable wall bracket which is optional, or mounted on a stand that accompanies the package.

Fasten your seatbelts tighter as we move to the features and performance front of the TVs. The Samsung LE40A656 offers a rich set of features, which include, Picture-In-Picture, Sleep timer, Clock on/off timer, Auto channel search, Auto power off, Auto volume leveller, Teletext TTX Level 2.5, three levels of black level boosting, noise reduction, gamma controls, edge enhancement, colour space adjustment and flesh tone adjustment. The dynamic contrast system feature, enables dimming of the TV’s backlight, to pump up black levels, during dark scenes, thus making contrast jumps very soothing to the eye. The filtering technology on the screen, drastically reduces contrast-spoiling reflections, making viewing the TV, very pleasant. The 100Hz processing technology, which makes motions on the screen look smooth, does a great job with almost no picture quality degradation. The Standard definition performance, just like the HD performance, is excellent, with less noise and natural looking colours and tones.
The Sony Bravia KDL-40W4000 also has a good variety of features to offer, which include Picture-In-Picture, Teletext, variety of menu languages, Clock, Sleeper, Timer, On/Off timer, a Picture Frame Mode, that allows you to display a digital photo of your choice or a set of 6 preset pictures. The TV consumes 35% less power when operated in the Picture Frame mode than in normal viewing mode. The 24p True Cinema mode that is also part of the features of this LCD TV, gives a Blu-ray 1080/24 input, greater smoothness. MPEG and standard noise reduction routines have also been included to enhance the audio quality. The Sony’s Live Colour processing with x.v. Colour, includes a wider range of colours, closer to the real picture and gives splendid images with natural colours. There is also an auto setup feature, to guide you with the features when you first turn on the TV. The Bravia Engine 2 image processing technology handles picture processing in a remarkable way, giving crisp and clear images brimming with detail and quality. The Advanced Contrast Enhancer optimises the contrast, by adjusting the TV’s backlight, so as to produce excellent black levels of the TV during dark scenes, and great stability in brighness jumps. Both HD and SD performances are brilliant on the Sony Bravia KDL-40W4000.

Thus, we have 2 great fighters, the Samsung LE40A656 and the Sony Bravia KDL-40W4000, in the LCD arena, both performing exceptionally well and deliverying great quality pictures, and loads of exciting features.

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