Pros: Clear picture, user friendly interface.
Cons: Not quite to a plasma level, sub par remote.
The bottom line: Great set, will provide a great picture for the price, the remote is subpar, but a good universal will overcome that.
Sony BRAVIA KDL-32S3000 32 in. LCD HDTV
The adventure of replacing a TV, with what ultimately ended up being the Sony Bravia KDL-32S3000 was a long and confusing road. Many reviews were read, researching was done, a geeky brother in-law was called, and a decision was made.

I did go to the electronics store to see this set side by side along with others. The picture is sharp, the contrast is good, the colors are bright and crisp. For a 32-inch set, this one is a winner. Ultimately I ordered mine off the internet for around $280 cheaper than the electronics store want to charge.

SET UP
The television came out of the box with relative ease, and was not a problem to set up. I will warn that the only cable that comes with this set is the power cord. If you need HDMI, Component or otherwise, pick that up while you’re at the store, because you’re going to need it. As far as cable hookups go, its got plenty of those! On the backside of the set you can find 2 Component, 3 Composite, 2 S-Video, 1 Coaxial and 2 HDMI Inputs. There are no DVI hookups, however it does have a 15-pin D-Sub PC hookup.

MOUNTING
The set itself has a matte black frame which is fingerprint resistant and easily matches most décor. The TV includes a non-adjustable, but removable tabletop stand. The stand raises the TV approximately 2 inches off of the surface where it is places. This set is wall mountable, however as most sets don’t, this set does not include the hardware for this in the box. The set itself weighs 32 lbs, with the stand attached its 37.5 lbs.

SOUND
The sound on this unit has adjustable, bass, treble, balance…. Everything you could think of. The quality of the sound is average. Do not expect high quality sound out of the stock speakers included, however I have not experienced buzzing sounds commonly associated with stock speakers during low bass sounds. If you are looking for premium sound with this set, you may want an aftermarket surround sound system.

PICTURE
This set has a 1366x768 resolution with and is compatible with 480i, 480p, and 720p. The screen has a very wide viewing angle of 178 degrees, and a response time of 8ms / 60hz refresh rate. It has an aspect ratio of 16:9. This set has a dynamic contrast ratio of 8000:1. The colors are bright, edges are crisp and clear contrast. Black colors blend well and do not seem to have borders or waves on the screen. There is very little to no choppiness, blockiness or image smearing unless you are observing the screen from extremely close. When choosing a set, stand at the distance you will be watching it at. You would not view a 50” screen from 3 feet, so don’t evaluate it from 3 feet.

Hooking a PC up to the screen gives for a phenomenal picture whether it is for gaming, working, or whatever you may be doing. I frequently find myself doing this at it’s a heck of a lot more fun to play a game on the 32” screen, rather than the 15” screen of my laptop.

The TV does have an ambient light sensor built in to the front of the set. If you have this feature turned on it will automatically brighten and dim the set depending on the level of light in the room. This is helpful, although you are going to get the most crisp looking picture with the light level turned up, with the ambient light sensor turned off. There is a power saver feature also built in so that you can turn off the ambient light sensor and keep the TV at a lower brightness, therefore using less power. This set is Energy Star compliant, however it still chews up a rated 150 watts of power. Hooking this set up to a meter, the most I have observed it use is an average of 147 watts per hour, and using the power saver on its lowest power consumption rating it still uses about 122 watts per hour. While it is turned off, it does still consume .1 watts per hour. Don’t let the power consumption turn you off, some of the larger sets use 500 watts or more.

Viewing HDTV material is nothing less than spectacular. SDTV in 480i or 480p is not as disappointing as on other HDTV sets. You will view some mild blur and graininess, but again no where near the degree as other sets. The vertical bars are black in color, and the picture can be re-centered.

DVD Viewing
If you are going to view BluRay’s or DVD’s on this set, I would recommend using an HDMI hookup. Standard DVD players provide a decent picture, but you can tell its not near the quality that this set is capable of. If you wish to view standard DVD’s, I would spring a few extra bucks and get an upscaling DVD player. With this it provides nearly the same picture quality of a BluRay player on this set.

REMOTE CONTROL
This is an area that Sony needs to improve on. The remote is basic, primitive, lacks features and design. The remote seems to use batteries more quickly than other remotes do. Honestly I have stopped using the remote that came with the TV and have instead programmed a universal remote to use with it.

OTHER FEATURES:
Theatre Sync. This works well if you have a Sony Surround Sound system. Otherwise it will be of little use to you.
Picture in Picture (PIP). This is a neat feature, to use, but I have not figured out a way to get it to work across different inputs. For example if you have a cable box, or satellite box, you will not be able to use this feature. However if you are watching through a coaxial input, then you will be able to use the PIP feature.
Picture Freeze; I haven’t figured out any usefulness for this feature. It basically pausing the picture on screen while the show continues to run. There is no way to save the picture, or rewind or fast forward from the point in which you have frozen the picture.

OVERALL
This is a great TV for the price. As of the time of this writing (05/28/08) these sets are selling for between $700 and $1,000. Plasma still has the edge, but you’re definitely going to pay for it. If you are looking for a modestly sized set and want HD, this is the set to go with. I would recommend getting a universal remote, or just program your current Cable or Satellite TV remote to work with it. Set up is relatively easy, and at less than 40 pounds, it can be lifted by the average individual. If you are looking for a crystal clear picture and stylish look, than this is the TV for you. You will not be disappointed with this one.