At just 26in, the KDL-26EX553 looks like
it’s been shrunk in the wash. It perches on Sony’s new easel stand, which gives
the impression of a floating screen. You can lean the set back by six degrees
if the screen sits below eye level, but you can’t rotate it.
Promising specification
The LCD panel has a resolutions of only
1366 x 768-pixels, but this is hardly surprising – the cost of a Full HD screen
at this size would hike the price significantly.
The specs are promising: there’s an
edge-lit backlight and Sony’s X-Reality processing tech to start with. Built-in
wi-fi is a boon and it’s good to see that Sony hasn’t stripped out too many
smart features.
Connections include twin HDMI inputs and a
single USB socket which is compatible with FAT-formatted hard drives, so you
can use an external hard-drive as a PVR or play content through the TV.
Picture quality via the internal Freeview
HD tuner is very good. Standard-def TV looks stable and detailed, and colours
are nicely judged with natural hues preferred over more garish tones.
The
specs are promising: there’s an edge-lit backlight and Sony’s X-Reality
processing tech to start with
With some Olympic action in HD, even though
the screen downscales the picture to match the panel’s lower resolution, the
levels of sharpness and detail are excellent. Motion is handled well
considering the set uses only the most basic version of Sony’s Motionflow tech,
too.
Flip to the Star Trek Blu-ray and the Sony
shows no sign of clouding or patchiness. Blacks are relatively deep and rich,
although whites do lack punch. Textures display a fine sense of realism,
though.
Sound quality is substandard even by the
relatively low standards set by today’s TVs. A bigger hindrance, though, is
that it just doesn’t seem brilliant value, especially given the screen size you
can enjoy if you spend a few pounds more. But this doesn’t take away the fact
that, for a bedroom or kitchen, the Sony is a capable option.
Use it with
Sony Media Remote
This iOS and Android app is a decent
alternative to the supplied remote.
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Details
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Price
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$600
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Ratings
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4/5
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