Originally Posted by
jrasero 
Here is the review I posted on Amazon
The Sony EX400 line is Sony's entry level series. At $650 or under, your getting a large screen and a good amount of features. So you don't get the Bravia 3 engine or 120 hertz refresh rates, but those are all things I can do without, considering to upgrade to the EX500 series is at least another $300+.
Before I bought this TV I was looking at other 40" LCD TVs in the $700 or bellow range. I looked at Samsung, Sharp, and Toshiba. The Toshiba had terrible color accuracy and I got mixed review on the reliability. Some people said it was very reliable and others said they had troubles with theirs. The Sharp had less color problems but I was given poor reviews on Sharp's quality control. Many people said they made a great TV, but many people have received TVs with banding problems and other quality control issues. The Samsung seemed to have one of the best pictures overall but I was turned off by the fact that some consumers have had problems with the red blinking light problem/power supply. I settled on a Sony because of their reliability and their quality.
The TVs styling is like any LCD, with its glossy black bezel and stand. The only styling aspect that stands out is the grey bezel at the bottom. I don't really understand why Sony decided to put this on there. For me, it's not a deal breaker, but I have read how some people find it very ugly.
The picture itself is good-very good. I don't take other peoples's reviews seriously when they say the picture is the best ever! It's far from bad but defiantly not the best picture you can get. Watching HDTV really pops because of the color accuracy. The clarity of the picture is good and the TV has many settings to find the "perfect" picture. What people don't seem to understand about TVs is that the picture quality for HDTV really depends on the source. Most cable providers only broadcast in 720p or 1080i. 720p looks good don't get me wrong, but it can sometimes look a little pixelated on larger screens. Bluray and PS3 playback are great. This is where the TV really shines. When I first got the TV I popped in Planet Earth on Bluray. The picture quality I got out of this was similar to any retail store setup: amazing.
No one has really posted any calibration settings for the ex400 series, so I decided to just use the settings for the EX700 series. I know the EX700 is different from the EX400, but it was the only settings I could find on the net. The EX700 settings I used for my EX400 have created a very satisfactory picture. The picture is more balanced and accurate. I haven't noticed the lack of 120 hertz refresh rate at all. For me 120-240 hertz makes the picture look sped up most of the time. My friends have a 120hertz Sony and they usually turn off this feature.
Here are the EX700 settings:
Picture mode: Custom
Backlight: 5
Picture: 88
Brightness: 56
Color: 50
Hue: 0
Color Temperature: I used Warm 1 but CNET recommends Warm 2
Sharpness: 6
Noise reduction: off
Motionflow: off
Cinemotion: auto1
White Balance Menu
R-Gain -2
G-Gain -3
B-Gain -1
R-Bias -5
G-Bias -5
B-Bias -3
Ambient Sensor: off
They are a mash-up of CNET's and other people's calibration settings I found helpful
If anyone could post their calibration settings that would be great.
Many people have reviewed the speakers as mediocre, but I have found them to be a complete step up form my little Samsung TV. If the speakers really bother you, just use the audio out or optical out for external speakers.
The USB port plays music and allows you to view pictures
