Long-term consumer product review of the 40-inch Smart LED TV Sony Bravia KDL 40WD650
It has been more than 3 years since we bought and use every day our Sony Bravia KDL 40WD650 TV. I want to share with you our impressions, likes and dislikes after using it for this extended period of time.
This is our primary TV so it has been used for multiple hours every day for more than 3 years. In this time we have gathered a lot of impressions and feedback which I want to share with you.
Main likes
- TV size, build and form factor
- Picture quality
- Remote
Main dislikes
- Sound quality
- Ports
- "Light bleeding"
- OS - cannot manage or download apps
First, the price - this TV is somewhat on the budget side. When we bought it was under 500 USD. This is a Sony smart HD 40 inch TV so I believe we got it for a good price. This is a 2016 model so you may find it even cheaper nowadays.
Main TV specifications
- Screen size: 40 inch
- HD specification: Full HD
- TV resolution: 1920x1080
- Optimized frequency: 200 Hz
- Screen shape: Flat
- Smart TV: Yes
Product size and form
In terms of form factor and size, this TV is sleek and thin. The build quality is very good and sturdy. I especially like the Sony stand - very convenient. What I like about it is that it's a central stand, not just legs at the end of the TV. That makes it easier to fit the TV on smaller surfaces.
This is a 40 inch model and it fits perfectly in a medium to small sized living room. Looking back, we could have gone a size up for a 43 inch model, which would have been better for watching movies. But for simply TV watching - 40 inch is a good size for us.
Here I must mention that the TV comes with 2 HDMI ports only. Older Sony models have 4 ports so I was surprised that the Bravia 40WD650 has only 2. I would have liked an additional HDMI port.
Sony 400inch FUll HD TV long-term review - video
The TV's remote is very convenient, no complaints here. I especially like the dedicated Netflix button. Very practical for fast access. I wish I could have a dedicated YouTube button too.
Previous reviews of our Sony Bravia KDL 40WD650:
Picture quality
From the start we really liked the picture quality of this Sony model. To be honest with you.we're Sony fans at home so we may be just a little biased. Although it's a fact that most of Sony's low and high end TVs perform great in terms of picture quality, so that's almost a given.
The colors are crisp, but there is a little bit of place for improvements for the red range. Other than that, the blacks and whites are perfectly adequate. Also I need to mention that the picture and color quality entirely depends on your cable TV signal strength.
When I talk about picture quality, I only compare it when viewing full HD content.
TV issues
Recently I've noticed some backlight bleeding in the bottom right and left corners of the screen.
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| Some noticeable backlight bleeding on this LED panel |
Unlike other TVs, this is actually a bleeding in darker tones, not white light. So it doesn't bother us as much, but it's worth mentioning.
Sound
The sound is something we're not entirely happy with. It's not impressive in terms of both quality and volume. So, we use permanently plugged in external speakers and almost never rely on the TV speakers.
Apps and menus
When navigating the TV menu and apps, I've noticed some slowness in the interface. I cannot blame that entirely on Sony, because the WiFi signal plays a great role here.
However, I would have preferred a bit faster navigation. YouTube sometimes takes a while to load, for example.
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| TV remote control - quite easy and intuitive to work with |
A possible workaround is to open the browser and load your content there. If you don't want to do that you can cast the desired content from another device. We have a Chromecast device for this purpose. If I need to stream content from another service like HBO GO, I stream it from my phone to the TV.
The upside is that the TV comes with YouTube and Netflix already installed so you don't need to worry about those.
Final Feedback
In conclusion I'd like to say that despite a few setbacks, we're really happy with this purchase. The TV quality is great, the picture is very good and I have overall great impressions with the Sony Bravia KDL 40WD650 performance.
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