Sony KDL-26EX320 Review

For its size, the Sony KDL-26EX320 is the most full featured televisions available. In case you do not have the time to read all the details, here is a short form report. That can help you make a decision on purchase or no purchase.
Cost wise, the Sony KDL-26EX320 is dear for its size. However, considering all the bells and whistles it has, most people that want this size television will be more than pleased with their purchase. Of course, nothing is perfect. That is from the point of view of a reviewer, not the product design team that put this stunning television together. Obviously, Sony had in mind a great television in this size that could stun customers with its picture quality and sound. As a space saving LED screen, Internet and Skype ready television, this is an amazing package.
Like most Sony televisions, the Sony KDL-26EX320 is very good looking, has great specs and more features than you would expect from a set this size. Bottom line on the plus side, the set is worth the money. Without starting into all the details in this summary, suffice it to say, the Sonny KDL-26X320 has some features not found on other television offerings on the market.
This Sony looks crisp and clean with the trademark deep black glossy finish on the borders of the set. Like other Sony widescreen television sets it looks great in the showroom and even better in your home or flat.
Caveats
Although the picture has amazing visual features, I would make sure you have good lighting control in the room where you will place this television. It is almost as if the marketing department asked the design team to cut the power consumption behind the quality pictures. If that were to be true, it would the reason the set is a little dimmer than I would like. Do not misunderstand this. The picture quality, clearness and colors are amazing, just a little dimmer than I would like.
Special Features That Catch the Eye
It is pretty neat this size Sony TV is Skype ready. I could not find other sets of the same size with Skype capability. Sony says you can use your smart phone as the remote. I have never had much luck with that sort of arrangement but the set comes with its own remote anyway so - no worries.
One nifty feature is the auto presence sensor that changes the power settings on the set to standby if you get up and leave. What it does if another person in the room is not highly active or asleep is a question. The presence control can be set on inactive so this should not be a real problem.
Picture Details
Other than the fact that I like extra bright television screens, the ability of the Sony KDL-26EX320 to provide you with amazing pictures is just that, amazing. The high detail, great color depth and superb motion handling really impressed me the first time I checked out the set. I still feel they are amazing and it has been awhile.
When I put a DVD on or turn on the cable TV, the same program or DVD seen on other sets pale in comparison. This is the main thing that excites me about this Sony. I love side-by-side comparisons and in this test, the KDL-26EX320 excelled. Okay perhaps the other screen was brighter, I like that - remember - but the bright picture means nothing if the quality of the picture is lacking something. The Sony supports a dozen video formats, which will cover most anything content you have.
The great performance in the visual department is partially attributable to the use of the Edge LED system of lighting up the picture. The use of edge lighting allows less power usage in providing a great visual experience.
The sound this Sony produces is going to surprise you. It is unexpected to hear such a powerful sound coming from such a thin set.
Internet Streaming Feature
Sony is rightfully proud of bringing the Internet to such a fine television screen. The Internet streaming feature allows you to see on demand content, music channels and, as mentioned earlier, Skype. If your home or flat has access to the Sony Entertainment Network, you really have a nice package. The combination of the Sony network for content and this television was all part of the plan for Sony.
Surfing the internet on any television is not the same as using your desktop PC or laptop. That is only possible if you have the PC or laptop connect, and that is possible, to the KDL-26EX320. It is just not very comfortable navigating with a remote or smart phone. This problem is not specific to Sony and certainly not to just this set.
So I look at the Internet streaming, Facebook, Twitter and Skype ability as "nice to have" functions but I just don't see myself using the Sony as my main point of Internet access. Maybe that is just me. Any television I review that purports having Internet access gets the same comments from me. At least so far they do.




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Here are some more details on things you can expect from the Sony KDL-26EX320 performance and feature wise.
The high definition detail really does present HD content, games and movies in HD digital quality. Even non-HD content gets an upgrade boost in quality. To me that is just amazing.
Another thing Sony is proud of is offering you a slim set with great power efficiency and an excellent picture all in one set. Sony also loves to put sensors on their sets do save you work and save electricity at the same time. This Sony television automatically corrects the picture to optimize the picture according to the light present in the viewing room. This provides significant energy cost savings.
The Sony KDL-26EX320 has a European Union Power Rating of B. That rating system goes from A through G with A being the best.
You can forget using those nasty messy cables thanks to Sony's built in Wi-Fi and boy do I appreciate that. Sony also put in a content information system. That means you can get specs on music and films at the touch of a button. However, I suspect that is on the Sony Entertainment Network only.
If you are going to wall-mount this television set you will appreciate the 4.2 cm depth dimension. Be informed that using the included tabletop stand does change the effective depth of the unit to 18.2 cm. The set itself remains at 4.2 but the footprint with the stand is deeper.
This Sony has two tilt settings at 0" and 6" back pitch. It is not variably adjustable for tilt between those two positions.
There are more than one dozen picture mode settings to choose from during set up. There are wide mode settings for streaming content and three wide mode settings for a connect desk top PC or laptop.
If you have other DNLA compatible electronic products in your home, you can easily stream content from them to the Sony. This makes use of your older content possible and adds a lot of flexibility to both this Sony television and your existing electronic equipment. You will probably be shocked to find out how many DNLA compatible appliances, audio electronic devices and digital image and video products are in your home already. They are just waiting to share their content with the Sony KDL-26EX320.
Using an external Hard Disk Drive and the USB 2.0 connector, you can record just about whatever content you wish for viewing at a later time. You can use any USB media playback device to provide content to the Sony as well. That opens up a wide range of uncountable content playback options.
If you have other HD devices you can connect them to the Sony via the four HDMI inputs. No other television set this size has that many HDMI inputs.
If your cable system provides digital content, which most do these days, you can access that content without a special set top box from the content provider.
The remote that comes with the Sony 26EX320 can control any Bravia and most other Sony electronic products. That means controlling all your equipment with one remote. To be honest, this is beyond me but that is probably a personal problem on my part.
The sound system speakers are undetectable and have three sound mode settings. There are also three surround sound mode settings. In addition, you will find three different settings for Dolby noise reduction, which is more than usually found on a set this size. There is one USB 2.0 input, an Ethernet input. There are two ways to connect your PC or laptop. Being able to connect both at once might be a question for the support website or user forum.
One feature that comes with all Sony television products is excellent support and a great online support website. On that site you can get at no charge complete set up instructions, manuals and advice on almost any aspect of set up, installation and operating of your Sony television set.
It is not necessary to register to use the Sony support facilities on the Internet. If you do register there are a number of special benefits available for free or greatly reduced prices.
Particularly interesting is a users forum or information exchange where you will find out how other purchasers of the same set are using and enjoying their Sony KDL-26EX320. I see no reason for any prospective customer not to check out that site before they purchase the set. I did just that and found people happy with the product helping each other, in good humour, getting set up in specific and different location conditions.



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