Introduction

Overall Design

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} is a reasonably attractive TV. The LED lighting allows for a thinner profile than traditional CCFL-lit screens (in addition to power efficiency). The bezel could have been more discreet, but some may consider it stylish nonetheless. The top and sides, as well as the base, are glossy black. The bottom of the bezel fades from black to a silvery finish. There's also a few indicator lights, the ambient light sensor, the Sony logo, and an Energy Star sticker.

Front

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Back

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Sides

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Stand/Mount

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}}'s stand is wide and heavy enough to keep the TV from tipping (barring events like earthquakes or pets knocking them over). It allows the TV panel to swivel about 20 degrees in either direction).

Controls

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has a series of buttons on the back of the TV, discreetly placed but easily reached.

Remote Control

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The remote control that comes with the {{product.name}} is common to many Sonys this year. The button layout is sensible, and after using it for a few minutes you should be able to perform basic functions without even looking down. There's no Exit button for quickly escaping the labyrinthine menu, so you're forced to hit the Return or Home button multiple times until you're free and clear. There's also no backlight on the remote – a luxury on higher-end remotes that we miss.

In the Box

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} ships with the stand, remote control & batteries, the "lite" instruction manual, and assorted documentation.

Black Level

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} produced an incredibly deep black level, reaching as low as 0.04 cd/m². That's about as black as a plasma can get, which is high praise for any LCD television. More on how we test black level.

Peak Brightness

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}}'s peak whites were quite strong. Though the chart below shows the performance trailing behind the three TVs we pulled in for comparison, all are quite good. We're happy to see anything over 200 cd/m² or so. A bright screen can combat itself from strong ambient light that might otherwise wash out contrast ratio. More on how we test peak brightness.

Contrast

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Thanks to the killer black level, the {{product.name}} produced an amazing contrast ratio of 7239:1. That's quite a bit wider than the three TVs in the comparison chart below. As we mentioned earlier, you typically only see black levels this deep in a plasma. However, the whites are far brighter than a plasma. Well done on this one, Sony. More on how we test contrast.

Tunnel Contrast

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} produced a fairly even black level, no matter how much or how little of the screen is displaying black. Usually LCD televisions do fine in this test, but plasmas will produce an increasing bright black level if there's only a little patch of black surrounded by brighter patches. More on how we test tunnel contrast.

White Falloff

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} produces a perfectly level peak brightness in its whites, no matter how little or how much white is on the screen. More on how we test white falloff.

Uniformity

Greyscale Gamma

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} measures how well a TV transitions from black to white within the greyscale. Let's take a look at the chart below. First, we're looking at the smoothness of the line. Those little jagged bits in the lower left portion of the line indicate that the TV might have problems in the shadow details. Fine gradations in the shadows may appear banded. Fortunately, the rest of the line is quite smooth.

We're also looking at the slope of the curve. More on how we test greyscale gamma.

Color Temperature

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} performed extremely well in maintaining a consistent color temperature. As you can see in the chart below, there's a little variance here and there throughout the signal range, but most of the fluctuations are too small for your feeble human eyes to notice. More on how we test color temperature.

RGB Curves

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} produced excellent, smooth color curves. The read, green, and blue channels all moved in a uniform manner, though the blues were a bit dimmer than the rest. There are almost no major bumps in the lines, which would indicate color banding. Well done, Sony. More on how we test RGB curves.

The strips below are digital recreations of the RGB color data results, compared to three similar TVs and an ideal response curve. You can see quite clearly that the Panasonic U30, one of the comparison models, peaked early and lacked the midtone detail of the other TVs.

Motion Performance

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} performed adequately in our motion tests, but it was certainly no superstar. The issues is related to its 60Hz refresh rate, which is considered a bit sluggish by modern standards. Higher-end Sonys are frequently equipped with 120Hz refresh (or higher) and a feature called MotionFlow that creates interpolated frames to smooth out motion. We don't love it for every viewing occasion, but it really helps in these particular tests because the fundamental technology is solid. Alas, the {{product.name}} lacks MotionFlow. The result is motion that produces a fair amount of color trailing, flicker, strobing, and loss of fine detail. It's not bad enough to ruin the overall experience, but it's not the best LED LCD television out there. More on how we test motion performance.

3:2 Pulldown & 24fps

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} had real trouble with native 24fps content (like you might get in a Blu-Ray movie). When we displayed our standard test patterns, the TV choked on high frequency, high contrast patterns. Typically, TVs have a feature buried somewhere in the menu that enables the pulldown processing to aid in the display of 24fps content. No such luck here. There is a feature called CineMotion, but it didn't seem to make any improvements in these particular patterns. It did, however, improve shots with slow camera panning by removing some of the judder. More on how we test 3:2 pulldown and 24fps.

Resolution Scaling

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has a native 1080p (1920 x 1080), but much of the content you'll be watching is of a lower resolution. It's up to the TV's internal processing to upscale that picture to fit the screen. Overall, the TV is quite good at this task. More on how we test resolution scaling.

480p

In 480p mode, the {{product.name}} lost 2% to overscan.

720p

The {{product.name}} showed no overscan problems, but show Moires in high contrast, high frequency patterns.

Formats

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has a native 1080p display but has no problem with standard NTSC formats.

Viewing Angle

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has a narrow viewing angle, typical of most LCD screens. If you look at the chart below, you'll see three other LCD televisions. The LG LV5500 is about as wide as you're going to get in an LCD. The {{product.name}} and Samsung D550 are considerably narrower. Had we added a plasma to the mix, you would have seen a viewing angle about twice as wide.

Video Processing

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} comes equipped with a number of video processing settings. Most of them make the picture worse if you're not careful. Feel free to tinker with them, but we leave ours disabled.

Calibration

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} was extremely easy to calibrate, as putting it in Cinema mode produced very accurate color performance. See the table below for all the changes we made.

[

All of our calibration is done in conjunction with the DisplayMate software.

](http://www.displaymate.com/)

Video Modes

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has a series of video modes in Picture Adjustments part of the menu, then a whole other set of modes called Scene Select. The split is frustrating because they perform the same tasks in the same manner, more or less. It's yet another example of their terrible menu interface.

Connectivity

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Sony has scaled back the analog ports on the {{product.model}} to make way for more modern devices that connect via HDMI. You get two analog ports, one composite and one component, for those pieces of AV equipment you hold on to, and four HDMI ports to support high definition connections to an array of newer technology.

Bolstering the main the connectivity of the {{product.name}} are a VGA connection for computers, a standard cable/antenna connection, and two USB ports. With the USB ports, you can playback pictures from a home camera, movies downloaded from the internet and a list of songs right from TV. Songs can be combined with pictures to create a fancy slideshow within seconds.

The {{product.name}} comes with a few options to connect to the internet. There is a wired connection, via the LAN ethernet port, or you can connect wirelessly as this set comes with WiFi built right in. Once you are online, Sony provides a wide variety of DLNA offerings like streaming video, apps, and games.

{{product.manufacturer_specs['Connectivity Tour Image 3']}}

Placement

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}}'s ports are on the back and side of the TV. The spacing is a bit odd, which might indicate that they're using the same plastic molds for a whole series of other televisions and simply drilled holes for plugs or left the plastic untouched. Note, for instance, the huge space between the two USB ports. Aesthetics aside, everything is easy to reach and clearly labeled. The panel swivels on the base for better access.

Audio Quality

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has a pretty bad set of built-in speakers, not so different from what you might hear in a couple of battery-powered portable speakers that you bring to the beach for your iPod. (Well, maybe a little better than that, but not much.) The mids are thin and the bass response is entirely absent, sounding more like a mechanical crackle. The only element that comes through strong is the vocals, so while it's not as rich as a high-end sound system, the important information is still hitting your ears.

There are plenty of options in the menu to tweak the audio performance. The TV has preset modes (Dynamic, Standard, Clear Voice, and Custom), bass and treble controls, and a surround sound emulator. Note that if you're in a "Scene Mode" (via the Scene Select submenu), some of these options might be absent.

Menu Interface

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Last year, Sony had the best menu interface in the land. In the effort to deliver even more features this year, they redesigned the whole thing. The result is this mess you see before you: submenus upon submenus upon submenus, a miasma of choices arranged in a thoroughly confusing fashion. As far as we can tell, the root of the problem is the manner in which Sony is pushing its online content. Sony offers more feeds to video and music than anyone, but they're not presenting the information in an effective manner. Samsung and LG are so much savvier at this, it's hard to see how Sony fell behind.

Once you're in the picture quality submenus, the interface makes a lot more sense. Options are plainly listed along the left side of the screen. It's easy to guess what navigate. Why couldn't the whole menu have looked like this?

Instruction Manual

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Sony took their same inane logic from the menu interface and applied it to the instruction manual. There are two two separate manuals. One of them covers the physical attributes of the television. A printed copy comes with the TV, and you can download it as an easily searchable PDF from the product page on Sony's website.

The other manual, or i-Manual, covers only the menu features inside the TV. There's an electronic version built into the TV's memory and you can view it online (located in a completely different place on Sony's website). Unfortunately, there's no keyword search in either of these viewing modes, so you have to slog through the whole document to find anything.

Internet Features

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has a huge array of streaming content options, including all the top-tier partners, but sorting out your options is difficult due to the scattershot menu. On the top level of the menu, there are two key items for your attention. First is the Qriocity, Sony's own take on a Netflix or Amazon-like streaming content service. Because it's Sony's baby, it gets a prime spot like this in the menu.

The other submenu is called Internet Content, which contains options for Netflix, Pandora, Slacker, and a few other key players. Presumably, the menu can be updated remotely by Sony to display new significant partnerships. Also here is a box called Bravia Internet Video.

Open the Bravia Internet Video submenu and you're presented with a whole fleet of content. Every Sony content partner is here, starting with the bigger fish like Amazon, Hulu, and YouTube, then continuing from there into smaller players like Wired, Epi, Style.com, and dozens more. From there, it's just more and more descents into submenus. Overall, it's a tedious interface.

Sony continues to innovate, though. The {{product.name}} has a full internet browser, though the TV appears too underpowered to even open the pre-programmed Sony homepage. We'll call that a fail and move on to the TrackID feature that allows you to press a button whenever you hear a song you like and have the TV retrieve the information (similar to Gracenote and Shazam). While this is a great addition to making a "smart TV" even smarter, Sony needs to rethink its whole platform. They can't just keep adding features to this behemoth of an interface. Samsung and LG are way ahead of them in this regard.

Local Media Playback

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has two USB ports for connecting to USB mass storage devices. With these, the TV can play back photos, video, and music. The interface is simple and there are plenty of options in the menu to create custom slideshows and playlists.

Power Consumption

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has an exceptionally power-efficient LED backlighting for its screen that uses less power than the older CCFL bulbs found in other TVs, including the Sony BX series. For testing the picture quality, we turn the backlight all the way up. For the power consumption tests, we also gather the wattage data from a lower backlight setting. Our results are in the chart below.

As you can see in the next chart, the {{product.name}}'s annual of $9.76 is pretty negligible, but most of the LCD TVs here are fairly lightweight.

Blacks & Whites

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has a far wider contrast ratio than any of the TVs here. The LG LV500 was hurt by a poor black level, though the whites were plenty bright.

Color Accuracy

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} and LG LV5500 both had an outstanding color performance. They're almost perfectly matched.

Motion

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The LG LV5500 is capable of significantly better motion performance, if you take advantage of its TruMotion processing system that inserts interpolated frames in between the original frames to smooth motion. It's not desirable for every content type (film, for instance, looks worse with TruMotion enabled) but it sure improved its test performance.

Viewing Effects

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The LG LV5500's viewing angle was much wider than the {{product.name}}, proving that not all LCD televisions fall short in this area. Plasmas will still offer a far superior viewing angle, though.

Connectivity

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has one less composite and component AV input. Beyond that, they're quite evenly matched.

Other Comparisons

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Both TVs offer a wide range of streaming content, but while Sony offers more raw feeds, LG's interface is far preferable.

Blacks & Whites

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Samsung D550 could not match the contrast ratio of the {{product.name}}, as the black level was considerably brighter.

Color Accuracy

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} has superior color performance. While the color temperature and RGB color curve tests are well matched, the Sony adheres far more closely to the rec. 709 color gamut.

Motion

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} only fared a little worse than the Samsung D550 in our motion tests. The Samsung showed the same color trailing and laggy processing.

Viewing Effects

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} and Samsung D550 both have poor viewing angles.

Connectivity

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Samsung D550 offers one additional set of composite and component AV inputs. However, the Samsung lacks the built-in WiFi of the Sony.

Other Comparisons

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Samsung D550 has no internet or streaming content features, while the {{product.name}} has a whole fleet of viewing options.

Blacks & Whites

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} easily outmatched the Panasonic U30, offering a much, much deeper black level. As a result, the Sony's contrast ratio is significantly wider.

Color Accuracy

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} handily beat the color performance of the Panasonic U30, as the latter fell apart in our RGB color curve tests. For whatever reason, we could not squeeze a decent performance from it. The high mids and highlights peaked quite early, ruining detail in bright scenes.

Motion

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

Despite the setbacks in color performance, we did like the motion performance of the Panasonic U30. Thanks to the Motion Picture Pro 4 feature, a lot of the fine detail loss could be recovered, smoothing out objects in motion.

Viewing Effects

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The {{product.name}} could not match the Panasonic U30 for viewing angle.

Connectivity

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Panasonic U30 has several ports missing compared to the {{product.name}}: one less HDMI, one less component AV input, one less composite AV input, and there's no local network or internet connectivity.

Other Comparisons

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Panasonic U30 lacks any options to connect to the internet, streaming content, or a DLNA home network.

Conclusion

The {{product.name}} (${{product.msrp}} MSRP) offers a lot for a TV that's positioned closer to the entry-level end of the spectrum. Along with the EX520 series, the EX523 series is the cheapest LED-edgelit LCD that Sony offers. Yet it packs in built-in WiFi (the key upgrade from the EX520), access to its huge library of streaming content, DLNA support, and an attractive design. That's quite a lot for the money. Many other manufacturers stack several more models in beginning of their line-up until you get to the internet-ready models.

The performance is generally strong. The black levels were nearly as deep as a plasma TV, making the contrast ratio soar. The color performance is outstanding in every regard. While the viewing angle is narrow, it's not that much worse than most LCDs.

The weaknesses are noticeable though. The biggest problem was a luminous striping down the entire screen – 32 distinct columns visible in any dark scene. We assume this is either the LED lighting or the light paths that try and spread the backlighting evenly across the screen. This may not bother some, but it's going to bug cinephiles or those that have a real passion for picture quality. Naturally, we count ourselves among that group.

The other great annoyance was the menu system. Though it's common to all mid and high-end Sonys, up to their most expensive models, the labyrinthine list of submenus and icons is no less frustrating.

Overall, we can recommend the {{product.name}} to those who want a "smart TV" benefits like streaming content and local networking, but also aren't huge sticklers for a perfectly even screen luminance. Is there enough overlap in that Venn diagram to make this a winner for Sony? We'll see.

Model Series Comparison

{{section_header}}{{section.name}}{{/section_header}}

The Sony EX523 series is remarkably similar to the EX520 series, but the WiFi is built into the TV. On the EX520 series, the WiFi is optional but requires you to fork over more money for a USB dongle.

There are three models in the EX523 series, a 32-inch, 40-inch, and 46-inch. The main features of the series are LED edge-lighting and Sony's extensive collection of streaming content. The refresh rate is limited to 60Hz and there's no "Motion Flow" feature for motion smoothing (done by inserting interpolated frames in between the original frames).

If you believe the marketing material, there are other "features" like Light Sensor and Presence Sensor that can read room conditions and adjust picture quality and power efficiency. These are pretty gimmicky, though, and don't add a whole lot of value. Intensely paranoid people are also free to assume that the low-res camera lenses in the TVs are there to allow government spying. Who are we to disagree? The aluminum foil hats help keep our opinions to ourselves.

Photo Gallery

{{photo_gallery "Front Tour Image", "Back Tour Image", "Sides Tour Image", "Stand Photo", "Controls Photo", "Remote Control Photo", "Connectivity Tour Image 1", "Connectivity Tour Image 2", "Connectivity Extra Photo", "Menu Main Photo", "Menu 2 Photo", "Internet Features 1 Photo", "Internet Features 2 Photo", "Internet Features 3 Photo", "Local Media Playback 1 Photo", "Local Media Playback 2 Photo"}}

Ratings & Specs

{{manufacturer_specs_table}}