TEST / Review : LCD LED Sony KDL-42W705B, Sony KDL-32W705B, Sony KDL-50W705B, W705B, W706B, W705, W706

[MEGA-TEST 12]

Bottom Line
Sony KDL-42W705B (W705B / W706B) is a very good choise for a biggest part of the market - with nice price we get everything what a decent TV should have : hight contrast, good viewing angles (in its class), good color reproduction and many multimedia features.

---

Entry word

---

Sony KDL-42W705B (W705/706) is a representative of a new W7 series. Basically it aims between W6 and higher W8 series - This product should fills the gap, which remained last year. It is a screen which has something in common with high-end, and also improved media features like for example possibility to work with remote touch , but we have to buy it for our own. When we talk about screen, we surely have to admit that it has video processing known as a X-Reality Pro. You will read about its adavantages later in the text. There is also a Motionflow in XR200 version (50’ is with XR400). This funcionality is responsible for smooth and sharp motion reproduction.

Display has a Full HD panel, what is nothing new in this price range. Forcing to use of 4K panels is not best solution, and I fully agree with producer, who used better quality Full HD panel in that size of TV. For the best effect with HD resolution we should watch TV from less than 2 meters (50” TV). 4K makes sense below that distance, so for 50” TV it is unnecessary (and even more for 42”). 4K supporters should look around for a bigger screen, which can be found in higher Sony ranges.

At the end I would like to tell about underestimated advantage of last year TV’s – input lag, which was incredibly low in 2013 models. It means very low delay between game controller and reaction on a screen. We can just guess, how big improvement was made in that area, in connection with PS4 debut. Is it still unchallenged advantage? Let's move to the test…

---

Design

---

For those who have to deal with W8 range, we explain that pictures above are not mistake – they both look the same. I don’t think that anybody should feel disappointed of that fact, because design of these year Sony TV’s is elegant, in short. There is no staring or modern design, or any other strange effects. TV looks exactly how it should – thin bezel and low- profile stand which brings a sense of lightness. From our point of view there is another advantage of this type of stand – it doesn't fill all the space under TV, like in many other examples. Thanks to this, it may be placed on cupboard which is narrower than himself, without impression that it is the last place where it should be. You also don't have to worry about stability there. What is very interesting, it may be used also when hanging TV on a wall (shown on picture above). Going back to bezel - it is fully made of aluminum, what adds class at general look. In the middle of a bottom frame there is a backlight (under Sony logo), which lights in different colors, depends on what the TV is currently doing.

---

Equipment

---

Tested 42W705B was quite well equipped. It has 4xHDMI, 2xUSB, satellite (display has a built-in satellite decoder).



Standard remote is quite normal, and it doesn't change much till last year. It is made from good materials and buttons are well spaced and marked.

What is new in this year models, is a second remote touch, named One Flick. It also looks good. It connect with TV wireless (Bluetooth) so we don’t have to aim at the screen when we want to choose something from menu. It supports NFC – we can put smartphone on a remote and send for example pictures or music straight to TV screen. In W7 range it is an option, which can be additionally purchased. Only in W9 it is a part of all set.

Remote touch:

---

Picture Quality - 2D

---

Sony 42W705B has a VA display, which means higher contrast and lower ghosting when compared to IPS displays (used mainly by LG, Panasonic). After short look into screen options, we can say that it hasn't changed since last year, though, all the interface has been refreshed. When we want to get better image reproduction – settings are still the same, we can regulate color temperature to “warm colors” position , and disable enchancements in advanced menu. Instead of that you can just change image mode for “Cinema”. You can do this:

Scenes -> Cinema

In "Cinema" mode skin tones look good even with default settings

Initially it may look a little bit blurred and less good, but it is normal after instant image change from overdrawn to more natural, and we guarantee that after few days you won't want old settings back. W7 has got already a quite good reproduction in the default settings. Skin tone is natural, but sometimes becomes a little olive. Screen has got a nice contrast and a good details display in shades. At the first sight, it is hard to see any misstatement, discolorations or any others “cheats”, which are quite common in other producers TV’s, mainly in cheaper models. Most often it is undefeatable noise reduction and undefeatable edge enhancement. In the Sony W7 you won't find any of it. In the result, a picture is as good enough as it has been prepared. After the above description you can think that reproduction in Sony 42W705B is near perfection. Unfortunately, it is not really that's great, so now time has comes to talk about worse side of the color reproduction. There is a lack of saturated blue color, what means that in scenes with deep blue tone for example, cloudless sky, ocean depths , or car painting won’t be as vivid as we would like to see. For sure, it is not best TV for watching Smurfs How it turned out, a little bit olive skin tone is an effect of slight dominant of green color (in all screen). The second problem comes easy to calibrate – after it we can expect more neutral colors. What is interesting, we can achieve even higher contrast!

After calibration, colors in most scenes are reproduced really good - there is nothing in screen to complain about

Default "Cinema" mode	TV after calibration

Measurement

Default "Cinema" mode	TV after calibration

"At the first sight, it is hard to see any misstatement, discolorations or any others “cheats”, which are quite common in other producers TV’s, mainly in cheaper models."

---

Contrast and blacks

---

The tests we've made confirm that over past few years there has been made a progress in contrast, and we have to remember that it is most important feature of image quality. Sony 42W705B is equipped with a new type of panel, with pixel structure that we didn’t see so far in any other displays. It looks like evolution of Samsung’s PSA panel. This type of panel achieved contrast of about 2500:1, two years ago. While Sony W7 achieved level about 3300:1 on factory settings, and over 3600:1 after calibration! That means for it place at the forefront, between LCD TV’s with high contrast. Absence of functionality responsible for dimming black areas is perceptible – it is definitely big advantage of higher level models . It is not black known from plasma TV’s, but surely it will be satisfying during evening sessions.

However, during the day we shouldn’t be surprised that the screen is jet-black. It is a nature of LCD displays – with the surrounded light we can expect great contrast.

Pixel structure in Sony 42W705B. Panel looks like evolution of Samsung's PSA panel

"While Sony W7 achieved level about 3300:1 on factory settings, and over 3600:1 after calibration! That means for it place at the forefront, between LCD TV’s with high contrast

---

Motion

---

How we said at the beginning, W7 range has got a Motionflow system, labeled as XR200 in 42” and XR400 in 50”. From year 2013, such designation (200) doesn’t guarantee full Motionflow functionality, which provides smoother image in movies and sharper in sport transmissions – here we get only basic version of it. Instead of that it has a LED Motion Mode. It works quite cleverly – it is dimming LEDs which backlight display during image reefresh (when new frame is drawn) and it turns them on, just after the image is made. It doesn’t improve smoothness, but it makes a motion image better , to the level even higher than in CRT TV’s. Quality of this effect is dependent on how the function has been implemented to the given model. In W7 it goes too far. Switching into LED Motion Mode actually makes that screen stay sharp, even during the fastest camera moves, but in the same time it turns dark - so dark that it is impossible to watch it even in a dark room. What's more flicker becomes unbearable.

"LED Motion Mode" - this is what comes with XR200

Generally, LED Motion Mode looks more like a interesting addition, than the useful utility. Well-known Motionflow system begins currently in TV’s with XR400 mark, so it can be found in 50” W7 or W8 range.

---

Viewing angles & backlight

---

LCD TV’s with other panels than IPS, are not famous of great viewing angles. Mostly, even a little deviation relative to the axis, causes noticeable change. It is the same with Sony W7, but here remains feeling, that in comparison with other similar devices, image viewed at an angle is more stable. At several degrees from the axis of the screen you won’t see saturation decrease, it will be ok to watch. In that category it can easily compete, for example with Samsung's F8000. However looking from the side will be destructive - you can't have everything in one!

The great thing in it, is backlight uniformity! Black test board was free from discoloration and other stains or clouds. It was similar in the recent year models, but they had frequent problems with backlight uniformity at the screen surface. Sony 42W705B seems to be free from that problem, of course there are some remarks, but after testing many TV’s I can honestly say that W7 is really regular. Well done!

---

Picture Quality - 3D

---

Sony 42W705B is a 2D TV model. However, From year to year I feel bigger and bigger aversion to both – screen producers and movie studios, due to use of 3D technology. Many opinions suggest also small consumers interest of 3D. It looks like it going to be more or less niche technology.

---

Gaming

---

As it was told at the beginning, last year Sony TV’s had a very low input lag. 19.8 msec (Sony905) is a great result. Playing game on a display with so low input lag is a pure pleasure. Every action is immediately reflected on the screen. The result is three times better than any other brand can offer – for example LG LA860V.

What we can expect from 42W705B?

Hats off! It is a new record! So far we didn't notice input lag on this level in any other TV! It means that Sony W7 is best TV for console gamming!

"Hats off! It is a new record! So far we didn't notice input lag on this level in any other TV! It means that Sony W7 is best TV for console gamming!"

---

Smart TV

---

When you turn on the new TV models (it starts very fast, less than 2s), you will see a completely new menu One-Flick Entertainment, adapted for touch remote control use, however still works great with a classic remote. It looks very nice, and what is more important – it works fast and smooth. Like never before, is focused on social aspects, what is nicely catched on movie below. Watching something now? In the same time we can use Skype, write tweets or comments on Facebook. TV becomes a part of our life, not the only device for watching TV programs. We can stay in touch with friends and family. We don’t have to resign from watching our channel, because everything will be shown at the screen in the same time. This is what means Live Chat functionality.

TV’s are really well equipped when talking about apps. Strong social attitude can be seen even on a remote – there is a social view button.

Number of applications for this year is huge

42W705B works very well with smartphones and tablets. With Photo Share function we can send images really fast to TV (for example by NFC), and then even to friend’s smartphone.

There is onboard Internet browser, but it didn’t change much from last year. That means that it is more “emergency” way when we have to check something. Computer mouse will work with the TV, as opposed to the keyboard. The best way of screen control is TV Side View app for Smartphones/tablets. It will provides both – cursor and text writing.

TV SideView app deserves for more than one word. We can surely say that it is one of best dedicated applications for TV on the market. With any smartphone or tablet we can perfectly and fast control our TV. In our opinion it is even better solution than touch remote control. We have everything available at “our finger”. It is really big and an intuitive thing.

At the end let's talk about what can be played by USB. Generally - no big changes from 2013. What more, current software didn't fare so good when working with hard drive full of stuff. Access time was quite long. (Of course NTFS or exFat type are supported). Instead of long access it was not a problem to use most of the files. Every kind of MKV with subtitles (*srt, ass, *ssa, *srt, *sub, *txt, *sub, *smi), images or music. But it is a pity that there is no improvement in that area, this year. Somehow it works, but Korean competition outperforms in this field.

---

TV Menu

---

---

Sound quality

---

TV comes with very good sound reproduction. Proof is on the back – there are mounted a quite good Bass Reflex speakers. In version 50/42” 2x8W (32” – 2x5W). If it will be still not enough…

This year, with every Bravia TV (except lowest R series) you can buy official subwoofer SWF-BR100, which dramatically increase sound quality. It connects with TV wirelessly and can be placed anywhere in a room! Just plug USB transmitter into TV and it will be ready! Device has 200mm speaker and digital 100W amplifier.

In W7 we can find also special Football Mode, which can be enabled directly from a remote - it makes stadium noice more realistic. Of course in a large part it is marketing, but it is worth to try watch match that way.

---

Power Consumption

---

Standard mode 42W

Cinema mode (after calibration) 38W

Stand by <1W

Conclusion

[/td][td]
Sony KDL-42W705B is a very successful display, which gives a quite good quality for a low price. Additionaly it is a best choice for consol gaming. If you are searching for very responsive display with satisfactory image and good multimedia capabilities it is a best product for you!

PROS

• The lowest imput lag measured so far
• High contrast
• More than average vieving angles
• Built-in WiFi
• Low power consumption
• TV SideView app
• Touch remote control (optional)
• Advanced social aspects (all in one screen)
• High quality manufacturing (aluminum housing)
• Very good price/quality value

CONS

• Lack of full version Motionflow (version 42”, version 50” has a full Motionflow)
• Minor shortcomings with color reproduction
• No touch remote control included (need to buy)

[/td]

Ratings

Best default mode:

Colors reproduction

Greyscale

Gamma


TV after calibration:

Colors reproduction

Greyscale

Gamma


Contrast and black level

Motion (sharpness and smooth improvement) (for version 42", 50" gets 10)

Image uniformity

Angle Image degradation

External light resistance

Signal processing (deinterlacing, upscaling)


Obraz 3D:

Crosstalk
-
User experience
-

Other features

Smart TV


Sound quality


Design


Price/quality value

---

Displays featured in our tests are professionally calibrated and prepared by http://skalibrujtv.pl/. This gives us confidence that we used them to the max! How we do calibration? Read the calibration test.
[/td][td] [/td] Edytowane 10 Kwietnia 2014 przez Gmeru