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People love the phrase ‘built-in’. It’s right up there with ‘free of charge’ on the list of things we want to hear. So when we tell you that Sony’s KDL-52Z5800 LCD TV comes with built-in Freesat, getting you hi-def channels free of charge, you know this 52-inch set is onto a winner. But is it any good? Read our full Sony KDL-52Z5800 review and we’ll tell you.
By launching a Freesat-equipped TV, Sony is in esteemed company. Panasonic and LG have launched similar sets with great success and it’s not hard to see why they’re proving popular – you cut out the clutter of separate set-top boxes and get true hi-def (in the form of BBC HD and ITV HD) without subscription fees to worry about. Snap one up soon and you’ll even get free installation.
But there’s much more to the KDL-52Z5800 than free HD – it’s positively throbbing with technology. From its Motionflow 200Hz mode with Image Blur Reduction – tackling a long-time bugbear of LCD technology – through to BRAVIA Engine 3, there isn’t a single picture stone left unturned. Sony claims a staggering 100,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and it’s primed to handle 1080/24p pictures from Blu-ray decks. And on the audio side there’s the soundstage-expanding S-Force Front Surround, dialogue-enhancing Voice Zoom and a range of presets to play with.
Read our Sony Bravia KDL-46W550 TV review now
The generous socket line-up includes four HDMI inputs (two on the back, two on the side) and a USB port for playing back music, video and photos. The Ethernet port pings Sony’s AppliCast internet widgets onto your screen, and because the KDL-52Z5800 is DLNA certified you can hook up to a home network and liberate content from its PC prison. As feature lists go, that’s pretty formidable.
In action the KDL-52Z5800’s Xross Media Bar – previously seen on the PS3 and Sony’s Blu-ray decks – makes operation an unmitigated joy, and picture quality knocked us for six. Blu-ray movies and Freesat HD pictures are more colourful than Gordon Ramsay’s language and peppered with profoundly deep blacks, although not as deep as Sony’s LED sets. Detail is so sharp it’ll have someone’s eye out.
Standard def content look a bit smudgy by comparison and contrast is less dramatic, but it still looks great. Sound is the set’s Achilles heel – no matter how much we fiddled around with the settings it never satisfied. But that aside the KDL-52Z5800 is a phenomenal TV, and although it’s not cheap you won’t regret splashing out for a second.
[...] Read our Sony KDL-52Z5800 review now All-round picture quality is strong, if not outstanding. Black levels can be tweaked until they’re very good, but occasionally the picture simply seems dull and a little flat – it’s very dependent on the source. Motion is generally smooth but with very little blurring evident at times, which isn’t all that surprising considering the Sony KDL-32W5810 comes equipped with Motionflow 100Hz. It handles games without any noticeable ghosting or smearing. [...]