Tech Blog

This is day three of an in-depth look at the 65" Sony KDL65W5100 HDTV.
You can find day one HERE.
You can find day two HERE.


The meat and potatoes of an HDTV can be broken down into a) what are you going to plug into it and b) how's it going to look when you do? Today we're going to take a look at the connections you'll find on the W5100 and the audio and video performance that I witnessed in my testing.

Connections - Inputs
The W5100 isn't a slouch when it comes to connections, it's got a generous helping of both audio, video, digital, and networking options.

HDMI
There are four HDMI ports on the W5100 - one port on the back of the display and three on the left hand side, recessed about three inches behind the edge of the bezel. I tested all four ports, but since I'm connecting the W5100 up to my receiver the only one that I used consistently was the port on the back.

HDMI works as it should - giving me control over my receiver and Blu-ray player, and automatically turning those devices on as I powered the display up. It's this sort of ease of use that I expect out of HDMI and the W5100 delivered. I'm using 10.2GB/s rated HDMI cables and I didn't have any issues at all, the ports on the display felt solid and the cables connected firmly.

Component Video
There are two component video inputs that can be found on the back of the unit. I tested them out with my Xbox 360 and found the colours to be rich and the picture sharp. There is a visible difference between component and HDMI, if only for the enhanced colour space available to the digital connection. Still, if you have older component devices you won't be displeased with the results here. Both component video ports have dedicated analog audio inputs, should you need them.

S-video and composite video
There is one combined S-video/composite A/V port on the side of the unit. I connected up an older video source (in this case my PlayStation 2) and I can verify that both composite video and S-video work. The processing that the BRAVIA® Engine 3 applies to analog sources is impressive: even at 65" the video from these older connections still looks good. Obviously you'll want to use a better connection if you've got it, but for older sources both of these ports do the job.

Computer Connection (VGA)
The W5100 sports a VGA connection and a matching stereo-mini port for audio. I tested this out with my gaming PC; true 1920x1080 visuals were gorgeous in the games and videos I demoed. My Windows 7 experience was greatly improved by increasing the size of fonts and icons - even at 65" the 1920x1080 picture defaulted text and images to a size that was uncomfortable to see at a distance of 3m.

It took some tweaking of my Nvidia drivers to get the best picture, but the instructions in the W5100 manual were a great help.

Coaxial Cable
The Sony sports a coaxial cable connection. I connected my cable straight from the wall and it detected analog and digital signals. Processing all available channels took approximately ten minutes. TV Guide downloaded for this connection overnight and it was accurate.

USB
The USB connection can be used to share pictures, video and music. I tested this out with some JPEG images from my Sony Alpha a350 and some 128kbps MP3s without DRM. Accessing them through the XMB™ interface was simple and worked well. You can set up a slideshow with pictures and music, which is a fun way to add a little background to a small gathering.

Note: the usable USB port is on the side of the display. The port on the back is for firmware updates and service only.

Ethernet
The Ethernet jack fairly simple to operate: connect your Ethernet cable to the port and connect the other end to your network. I tried this with an Apple Airport Express as a wireless bridge and it also worked perfectly. Connecting up to the network took all of two minutes and was fully automatic. I did an extremely fast firmware update immediately after without any issues.

Connections - Outputs
Analog audio out
There are two analog audio outputs. You can output your audio stream as fixed or variable. There are limited uses for these outputs, but they're there if you need them.

Digital optical audio output
This is a really handy output; if you've got a receiver with a limited number of HDMI ports you may find yourself connecting an HDMI device directly to the TV. You can use this digital optical output to stream Dolby Digital or PCM audio out to a receiver and still get surround sound (this worked in my case so I could connect a stand alone Blu-ray player, my PS3, and my Xbox 360 to my receiver with only 2 HDMI ports).

This is also a handy feature if you've got an HDMI source and an older receiver - same deal, route the audio out to the receiver via digital optical. Finally, I tested this with my Shaw HD-PVR and it worked like a charm for channels with digital audio tracks.

Nit picking
Cable depth
One element I'm not too keen on is the depth of the ports on the back of the display; the W5100 is so thin that they protrude back beyond the frame of the TV. It's not really a fault - the stand goes back far further and any wall mount would still give you some wiggle room, but it could be tight depending on the installation. It's an incredibly minor complaint and one I'm sure that will not affect 99% of those looking to own this display.

Audio
The audio performance of the W5100 is excellent, for a flat panel audio system. Obviously it's not going to take the place of a component audio system or a high quality sound bar, but the built in speakers have excellent range and output for their size. You've got a ton of options built into the display for audio control, include sound zoom, volume leveling, and treble/bass control. The W5100 also does a ridiculously good job of making it easy to swap back and forth between internal and external speakers. If you're going to use the sound system built into the W5100 you won't be disappointed.

Video
The most important element is how the display actually performs. I've separated audio performance into its own section as I was focusing mostly on video and, like many consumers who will purchase a 65" display, I have an audio system that the W5100 became a part of. Here are my impressions of video, from lowest resolution/standard definition to high def.

Digital Cable
It's hard to make digital cable alone look good on a high definition display - it's lower resolution, the audio is compressed - put briefly it's not a pleasant picture quality. That said, the W5100 does a great job of making do with what limited quality digital cable can present. The image quality on the W5100 was a great improvement over the existing panels I've tested digital cable with in this location. Sony's BRAVIA® Engine 3 appears to be the factor setting the W5100 apart in this case.

SD Gaming
I tested the W5100 with both a Nintendo Wii and a PlayStation 2 for SD performance, both connected through component video. I tested both systems with progressive scan games. While the image quality is still standard definition, colours really popped and the images were sharp. The 120Hz mode was appreciated here, smoothing out gaming performance without noticeable lag.

DVD
Everything that I currently use to play DVDs offers some sort of DVD upscaling, which made this an interesting exercise. With scaling turned off the image quality from DVD was solid. I tested the system with Sony Pictures Casino Royale and I found that images, while sharp, obviously didn't have the pop of Blu-ray. The black and white section at the beginning of the film was as good as I've ever seen it on DVD, with defined edges and smooth gradations. Turning upscaling on didn't affect the image quality, which leads me to believe that the scaler inside the W5100 was doing the heavy lifting in making the image look good.

HD Cable
If you're investing in a display like the W5100 chances are you're more interested in sources that can really take advantage of the technology inside it. HD cable is a good start; though the image isn't the pinnacle of HD (while I like the picture from Shaw HD, it's still clearly over compressed and nowhere near what it could be). Colours were much richer than SD cable, and the image was much sharper. In comparison to my other displays, HD cable seemed much smoother and felt less digital on the W5100.

The Motionflow 120Hz was an impressive feature for sports; set to highest it provided a sense of hyper-realism that can feel slightly disorienting at first. I don't spend a great deal of time watching sports on TV, but this feature really enhanced the experience for me. In addition to the butter-smooth picture I found the incredible sharpness of the image provided me with an experience that honestly felt like I was looking through a window.  Your mileage will vary on this - a high quality source is essential - but it made a world of difference for me.

HD Gaming
I'm going to be blunt about this: if you're getting a W5100 and you like games then please - PLEASE - pick up an HD gaming console. I tested the unit with both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 and I can't say enough about how disappointed I am that I have to send the W5100 back. I spent most of my time with the PS3, testing out some old favourites ( Uncharted: Drake's Fortune , Batman: Arkham Asylum) as well as some newer material (Demon's Souls, the Uncharted 2 beta, and the MAG beta).

The W5100 is equipped to take advantage of the expanded colour space and white level control provided by HDMI as well as displaying an incredibly pure 1080p signal from the PS3. The picture was stable as a rock with the only frame issues stemming from the games themselves. There was no lag time with Motionflow on, but I didn't find that it made a difference whether it was on or off.

It should be said that gaming on a 65" is a bit of an unfair advantage; playing online against others with a high resolution screen of that size made it easy to see and pick off opponents with ease. I'd love to think that my skills were improving, but I have to give credit where it is due - and this one goes to Sony.

Blu-ray
Like HD gaming, if you're going to spend the money on a W5100 display, please do the right thing for your eyes and buy a Blu-ray player to accompany it. I've spent a great deal of time reviewing Blu-ray players over the past few weeks , so I was becoming inured to the quality that you find on a Blu-ray disc. When the W5100 arrived, I connected the Sony BDP-S760 to it and chose my three favourite demo discs - Casino Royale , The Fifth Element , and Hellboy II: The Golden Army .

The comparison of Casino Royale on Blu-ray to the DVD version I viewed was a great example of why I love Blu-ray. While the opening sequence looked good on DVD, it looks great on Blu-ray. The smooth transition of tones in the black and white sequence is something that's hard for most displays to handle. The W5100 made it look good. I tested it with SuperBit Mapping turned off and on (a BDP-S760 feature) and I did notice that colours were slightly more uniform with it on, but it was only something I could see when the image was paused (not generally how I watch films).

As I've mentioned earlier in the review, I don't like what 120Hz does to films - it's has an artificial feeling that really irks me. The 24p mode, on the other hand, is amazing. There's something that feels incredibly right about viewing a film at the appropriate frame rate. I did a blind test with the assistance of a third party and was able to identify the 24p mode ten times out of ten, which to me indicates that the difference is significant enough to warrant a desire for this feature.

The picture from the W5100 can occupy a colour space far greater than what you may be used to from broadcast television. Colours this rich really enhance the viewing experience - both Hellboy II and The Fifth Element (I have the second, corrected Blu-ray version) showcase incredibly vibrant scenes. All three movies had images that conveyed a sense of depth to the point of feeling almost 3D.

Today's tl;dr
The connections on the W5100 are plentiful, the audio package is great for its class, and the video performance is phenomenal. From a performance standpoint, the W5100 gets and A and can move to the head of the class.

That's the end of today's blog, tomorrow I'll take a look at the bells and whistles that come with the W5100 as we enter the home stretch of this rather in-depth look at a pretty freakin' awesome TV.

This is day three of an in-depth look at the 65" Sony KDL65W5100 HDTV.
You can find day one HERE.
You can find day two HERE.