Sony Bravia Z-Series KDL-40Z4100/S 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

Sony Bravia Z-Series KDL-40Z4100/S 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Silver
The Sony BRAVIA KDL-40Z4100 LCD blends Sony's HD expertise combining full 1080p resolution with 120Hz motion for higher performance in a sleek svelte form.

Customer Review: Fantastic LCD TV

I was looking for a 40" LCD and narrowed it down to the Sony 40Z4100, Sony 40XBR4, and Samsung LN40A750... I've previously owned a 46" Samsung LN-T4665F and a Samsung LN-T3253H so naturally I wanted to go back to Samsung. The picture on the 750 is amazing but side by side, in multiple stores, I just couldn't take my eyes off the Sony LCDs. I then was stuck between the Sony 40XBR4 and the 40Z4100...

I had my heart set on the XBR4 since it was Sony's top of the line product last year, but when I saw that this years 40" XBR6 and XBR7 were going to have identical specs to the Z4100, (granted Contrast Ratio will probably be higher on the XBR's,) it came down to the simple question of:
Do I want to spend $2500+ on the new XBR or $1700+ on the Z4100??
I have to say I'm extremely happy with my decision to save a few bucks and go with the Z-series. The picture quality is breathtaking in both HD and Blu-Ray. Standard TV is top notch as well but I'm blown away with the detail, color, and overall picture this TV offers. You really can't lose if you're going with any of these 3 TV's but I'm so glad I went with the Z-series. Its thin frame is hardly seen and the TV is almost 20 lbs lighter than the XBR4... The Sony 40Z4100, is hands down, my choice for a 40" LCD.

Customer Review: Great quality that you'd expect from a Sony set - even if a bit pricier

Was time to replace my 36" Sony XBR tube with a new HDTV set but had a specific space limitation due to the existing TV cabinet - had to fit something inside just over 39". Looked at the Samsung 650 and was leaning heavily that way but was concerned that the size was just too tight for my opening (even with some adjustments) and the glossy screen was a concern given lots of natural light in the room.
Was then looking to the "W" series when I found the "Z" - a bit more, but it was definately smaller (the exact same width as my 36" XBR tube set) and I liked the DLNA options.
The reason for 4 vs 5 stars is the fact that using the DLNA feature has not been easy thus far. There are little to no instructions with the set for this and I've tried three DLNA-compatible Media Servers (four if you count Windows Media Player). I finally was able to access pics from my PC by using the SimpleCenter media center but I've not been able to get the TV to realize that audio is also being shared by SimpleCenter. Sony's on-line & e-mail help were not very helpful so I'm going to have to spend some time on the phone with their support line - hopefully that will prove more helpful and I can get access to my music as well.
I have not experienced the "sparkling" effect mentioned by another reviewer - hopefully that's a limited issue that will not crop up after further burn-in.
Overall the set looks great - the S-Video connection from my non-HD DirecTV receiver looks better than on another smaller HDTV set I have (Insignia - BestBuy's house brand). Interesting the Insignia seemed to do a bit better in pulling in the off-air signal than the Sony (with weaker signals - we live quite a ways away from any transmitters) until I went and purchaed a new antenna signal amplifer (I think the one I had had gone, or was starting to go, bad) but now I get great HDTV picture off the air and when connected to a Sony upconverting DVD player my existing CDs look great.
UPDATE: After no help from Sony Support, I have finally determined / realize that Music/MP3s are not supported over DLNA. To Sony's credit, the manual does not claim music support of MP3 - only refers to photos - but the fact that you can play music from USB seems to be it a bit ambigious - perhaps I just wanted this to funciton like the Samsung 7 series that allows music streaming as well as the RSS feeds and more - oh well.... at least I have pics working - still keeping it at 4 stars due to the poor level of Sony's support in helping me clearly realize this basic fact (after using Chat, e-mail and phone support).
UPDATE 2: Having issues getting the "built-in" TV Guide to let me select channels I want displayed and keep those without it hiding ones I select or adding ones I don't want - once again a couple of rounds with Sony support has not provide much support.... granted these features are the "extras" and don't affect the TV viewing quality - which is excellent - just frustrating things when you purchase something with this bit of a premium against the similar class competitors....