In the recent years, Sony had got itself into a nasty habit of releasing TVs that were not up to the high standard the brand was expected to deliver, and costing an awful lot too. Now, the company has promised a change of direction after a shocking financial result. However, Sony is now determined to prove that it has got what it takes to win over our hearts once again. With its latest Bravia KDL-46NX703 LED TV, Sony promises give your lounge a whole new look, get the picture perfect view, change the way you enjoy internet and get access to free digital HD TV. The NX703 is especially a stylish one and even offers a little more when it comes to features than an average television. This 46” model that we are reviewing here costs around £1,700, though we are sure that the price will drop in future, for now, it is certainly not very cheap. Read on to find out if it does what it says on the tin.
Design:
Truly Monolithic:
Sony has not done anything in its styling to differentiate its range of TVs from anything else on the market in 2009. Most of the time, its displays were pretty mundane. However, this year, the ‘Monolith’ design has made the company proud as a peacock. In the recent Sony TV reviews that boast its monolithic design, we have bemoaned the fact that the potential impact and purity of the design has been reduced by its surprisingly chunky rear ends. The Bravia KDL-46NX703 Full HD LED Television comes in as a breath of fresh air, using as it does edge LED backlighting to be much more slender than the other Sony models we have seen. Remember, we are not talking about Samsung’s level of slenderness here, as the bottom end of the TV sticks out more than 60mm. But, it is slender enough to finally truly deliver a monolithic profile.
Black and white:
The Bravia KDL-46NX703 LED TV model is available in finishing of black and white and the white one is the one, which we found rather very fetching. The Monolith concept is so-called because the single panel makes the TV look like one piece of glass. It is certainly a very smart idea, but it is much more practical when the bezel is black, rather than white. We liked the way the white is offset by the silver enclosure running around the bezel’s extremities. However, personally, we prefer the less ‘fancy’ black version; though obviously it is always nice to have a choice. You will not be disappointed if you stump up some extra cash for Sony’s striking and innovative new silver speaker bar and desktop stand combo, within which you will be able to tilt the display gently back to provide you with extra visual impact and visual pleasure.
Remote control:
The remote included is a handsome one too and it has been very well thought out, and is quite funky too. Its curves give it an unusual but comfortable feel. The heart of the very attractive and comfortable remote control comprises two concentric circles of important, regularly used buttons. The controls work well and there are no issues with the fact that they are rather flat, in a half-moon shaped dip. Sony has seen fit to include a single off switch on the back too. This harks back to when the company used to offer remotes that could be flipped between a simple or more complicated style, but it has taken the idea to a whole new level.
Connectivity and Slots:
The 46NX703 is a part of the Network series of Sony’s new Bravia range, and so, it is no surprise to find it bristling with connections. The connectivity features include four HDMIs: two on the rear, two down the side: lead the way, but there is extensive multimedia support from a D-Sub PC jack, an Ethernet port, and a USB socket. Even better, unlike other recent Sony TVs, the 46NX703 boasts built-in Wi-Fi support rather than forcing you to cough up for an optional extra USB Wi-Fi dongle. This leaves the USB port free to do multimedia duties, playing photo, music and video files from USB storage devices. It also makes the provision of just one USB input easier to take than it has been on Sony sets where you do have to use a Wi-Fi USB dongle. The network connectivity of the TV is there, too, to support its built-in Freeview HD tuner; to access files on DLNA PCs; and to stream video from Sony’s truly impressive ‘Bravia Internet Video’ roster of online content.
However we have a small complaint; some of the sockets at the rear of the TV are a little hard to push cables in to. The HDMI inputs in particular are hidden in a recess, which makes it extremely hard to get a chunkier cable in. Of course, this is not the end of the world, but it might end up causing you issues if you have a lot invested in very sturdy, bulky cables. Other than that, as we just mentioned, the TV has enough connections, although four HDMI inputs are beginning to feel like it might not be enough for today’s world.
Features:
Xross Media Bar:
If you are a Sony fan, you might well be aware of the fact that it does love a Cross Media Bar, or as it calls it, Xross Media Bar. The best thing about this menu system is that, it displays a vast amount of its content and options in an unintimidating way. The main horizontal bar has options for settings, video, audio and channels, with vertical bars leading off them for each option. Anyone who is used to a PlayStation 3 will be familiar with the system, but we assure you that there is no massive learning curve for new users.
Picture processing options:
The Sony KDL46NX703 46-inch LED Screen TV has plenty of picture processing tricks up its sleeve. Particularly noteworthy is its carriage of Motionflow 100Hz, which is something conspicuously absent from 32NX503 Sony Network TV. But you also get Sony’s Live colour system along with Sony’s usually Mr.Dependable Bravia Engine 3 system. When it comes to fine tuning of pictures, we could not help but think that a £1,700 46in TV could have run to a proper colour management system. Especially as this might have enabled Sony to seek an endorsement from the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF); but the 46NX703 is colour management free. Now, everything is not too negative about the options the 46NX703 has to offer, as there are actually some interesting things tucked away in an Advanced Settings submenu, including black boosters, white balance settings, and the facility to adjust the TV’s Motionflow and Film Mode processing.
Fun on the net:
Like most of the modern TVs in today’s market, the NX703 too is Internet-aware. This means Skynet will happily get you movies, on-demand TV and other information from the Internet for you. Highlights include Channel 5’s Demand Five catchup service, Eurosport, YouTube, and best of all, LoveFilm, complete with syncing to your LoveFilm account. Upcoming, too, is the BBC’s fabulous iPlayer. All of this makes your TV one of the most flexible entertainment centres you will be able to buy. Note that, the LoveFilm service is free if you subscribe to any of its ‘unlimited’ packages, however, here is the catch: not all of its titles are available for streaming. In order to set it up, you have to visit the web site and register your device with a short, four-digit PIN. Then, you have to select the movie you want to watch, and off you go. Brilliant! However, the ‘Demand Five’ service requires lesser configuration, and works off the bat with no excessive tweaking. It is quite cool indeed, we just cannot wait to see what other services Sony adds in the future. Suffice it to say that the list of content providers is huge, startlingly – almost eccentrically! – varied, and delivered with both quality and stability for the most part. All of this means, it is certainly ahead of many of its rivals.
Performance:
Standard Definition:
The Sony Bravia KDL-46NX703 is the first mainstream edge LED-lit LCD TV we have seen from Sony, so we could not help but have concerns over how well it might perform. But happily it quickly sets about putting the vast majority of these concerns to bed. Particularly pleasing given some previous Sony failings in that department are the 46NX703’s black levels. The picture quality of Standard-definition is nothing to worry about. The Sony Bravia KDL-46NX703 LED TV is competent enough at delivering a reasonably noise free image. As with most of the Freeview broadcasts, there can be few MPEG blocking, but this is a product of ever-decreasing bit rates, rather than the fault of the TV.
High Definition:
The HD pictures from Freeview’s new high definition services simply look marvellous. We watched some of them and they simply knocked our socks off. Bright colours are nice and good and the definition is excellent too and the TV does a terrific job of balancing everything, so you are never overwhelmed.
Blu-Ray:
Blu-ray is nothing less either, it looks simply superb. The performance on our test disc was top-quality. Smashing job by Sony. The screen can produce one of the deepest black colours we have seen on an edge LED TV, providing a great foundation against which the image’s actually very bright and fully saturated flavour can shine. The KDL-46NX703 makes use of an LED edge light to illuminate its LCD panel. There is not quite as much shadow detail in dark areas as you get with Samsung’s lighter C8000 sets, but then the C8000s can leave black colours looking a little grey. On balance, we felt that we liked the approach of Sony. Light bleed is noticeable on a totally black screen, but is not distracting during normal viewing. A little bleed is inevitable with edge-lit pictures, and the Sony is not ahead of the pack here, but it is not worse than the majority of its competitors either.
Audio:
As is usually the case with very slim TVs, the 46NX703’s audio is not in the same quality league as its pictures. It is open and powerful enough to deliver voices and treble detailing with a degree of authenticity, making it perfectly workable with normal, undemanding TV fare. But bass sounds trapped and unconvincing, leaving busy film soundstages feeling thin and lopsided.
Warranty:
The Sony Bravia KDL-46NX703 LED TV comes with a very attractive 5 year warranty for parts and labour.
Verdict:
With its runway looks, outstanding pictures and exemplary multimedia talents, the 46NX703 is definitely one of Sony’s finest hours. The Internet functionality of this TV makes it a very attractive option for the high-tech crowd. But it has a lot of other features to make it a very decent purchase for anyone looking for a new TV. The inclusion of the Freeview HD is terrific, and we adored both the picture quality and the design. Overall, it is a tidy TV, and is a great step forward from a company that has not exactly thrilled its fans recently. However, we were quite resistant whether to recommend the Sony Bravia 46NX703 because of its rather steep £1,700 price. But then we took into account its 5-year warranty, and the fact that you can knock £150 off the price by trading in any old piece of TV that you might have lying around your house, and thus decided that all was well with the 46NX703’s world after all.
You may also be interested in reviews of Sony KDL-32EX703 LED Television, Sony KDL-46X4500 LED TV.
Sony KDL-46NX703 46? LED TV – Technical Specification Table
576i, 480p, 576p, 1080i, 720p, 1080p and 24p inputNTSC 3.58/4.43 (Video In)PAL
SecamDigital Amplifier
S-Force Front Surround
Power Output (W): 20W (10W x 2)
Steady Sound
Dolby® Digital
Dolby® Digital Plus
5.1 Channel Audio Out
Speaker Off
Surround Mode: Cinema/Music/Sport/Game
Sound Mode: Dynamic/Standard/Clear VoiceMega Dynamic Contrast
Edge LED Backlight
BRAVIA Sync
Advanced Contrast Enhancer
Intelligent Picture
DLNA Photo (JPEG), Music (MP3, LPCM), Video (MPEG2, AVCHD)
MPEG Noise Reduction
Photo MAP
Picture Frame Mode
Photo TV HD
XMB™
Clock
Sleep Timer
On/Off Timer
Tele text (1000 pages)
PAP (Picture And Picture) (1 tuner)
PIP (Picture In Picture) (PC Input)
Swivel / Tilt1 x Digital Audio Output (optical)
4 x HDMI™ Inputs
HDMI™ PC Signal Capability
PC Input (15pin D-Sub) + Audio In
1 x Component Inputs
1 x Composite Video In
1 x USB 2.0 Input
3.5 MiniJack (Head/Earphone)
PCMCIA Card Slot
RCA AV Input
RF In
1 x Scart Inputs (RGB)
BRAVIA Sync
DLNA
DLNA Renderer
DLNA Client
BRAVIA Internet Video
BRAVIA Internet Widgets
Integrated Wireless LANAC Cable
Operating Instructions
VESA Mounting Holes
Table-Top Stand
Wall-Mount Bracket
TV Stand
Speaker barPower Consumption (Standby) (W)
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