Review Sony’s S-series HD TVs are described as "entertainment for everyone" – which is about as close as Sony ever gets to the word ‘cheap’. Priced at £829 when bought direct from Sony’s online store, the KDL-37S5500 is the cheapest 37in set currently available from the Japanese giant, so it’s worth taking a look at if you’re interested in a good entry-level LCD TV.

Sony's Bravia KDL-37S5500: not a fancy design

There’s nothing particularly fancy about the KDL-37S5500. You can forget the super-slimline design of the new ZX1 - or the EX1, which acts like an oversized digital picture frame when you’re not watching The Apprentice. All you get is a straightforward 37in LCD screen with an unadorned 37.5mm black plastic bevel around the edges. However, it looks neat enough and all the basic features you need from an HD set are present and correct.

The KDL-37S5500 provides full HD (1080p) resolution with a 50Hz refresh rate and support for PAL, NTSC and Secam formats. Tucked around the back of the unit are two HDMI ports, two Scarts, component-video inputs, stereo output to connect the TV to an external music system, and VGA and audio ports for connecting a PC.

We were also pleased to see that the KDL-37S5500 has a hybrid analogue/digital TV tuner, allowing you to choose whichever option provides the best reception in your area - at least for as long as the analogue signal lasts.

An additional set of connectors are located on the left-hand edge of the screen for easy access, including the third and final HDMI port; composite-video for connecting a games console, VCR or other device; a headphone socket; a CAM slot for pay-per-view access cards; and a USB port that you can use to play photo slideshows or listen to MP3 music.

Plenty of ports

We were able to hook up a standard TV aerial, Sky+ box, Toshiba HD-DVD player - they gave it to us, OK? - and our beloved Mac Mini media centre with no trouble at all and still have a few ports and connectors left over if we needed them.

If that’s not enough, Sony also offers a model called the 37V5500, which has a fourth HDMI interface and Dolby Digital audio output, all for an extra £100. Add another £100 on top of that and you can get the 37W5500, which steps up to a 100Hz refresh rate too – though you’re obviously no longer in ‘entry-level land’ once you go over the £1000 mark.

Extra, more handy, connectors on the side

We did get off to a slightly rocky start with the KDL-37S5500. It was easy enough to lift the unit out of its box, slide it onto the separate base unit and then screw the two together. However, we were somewhat alarmed to see that the manual also suggests that you actually screw the base of the set into the body of whatever piece of furniture you rest the TV on - and then tie it in place with a ‘strong cord’ in order to prevent the TV from toppling over. We rather thought that was the whole point of the base unit in the first place – not to mention the fact that there’s no way we’re screwing holes in our expensive Habitat TV stand.

To add insult to injury, Sony even tells you to supply your own screw and cord.

Then, when we turned the TV on for the first time, we weren’t presented with the ‘auto start-up’ menu that was indicated in the manual. This was meant to ask for basic information such as our location and preferred language and then automatically start scanning for channels with the tuner.

Unfortunately, this menu didn’t appear, and we weren’t able to figure out the next step from the instructions in the manual or from randomly thumping buttons on the remote control. In the end it took a – thankfully brief – call to Sony’s tech support team before we were able to get the set to scan for digital Freeview channels.

A decent EPG

Fortunately, things picked up after that. The image quality was very good – the colour balance seemed just right, being bright and strong without edging into over-saturation. The 33000:1 contrast ratio isn’t the highest we’ve ever seen, but it was sufficient to produce nice crisp blacks on the HD DVD version of Batman Begins.

SD content looks as good as it ever does on a 1080p screen.

The only thing we didn’t like here was the big grey banner containing programme information that fills the upper third of the screen for about five seconds every time you switch channels using the digital TV tuner.

Irritating channel info banner

Audio quality is perfectly respectable too – nothing particularly outstanding, but the built-in stereo speakers (2x 10W) produce a good solid sound that worked well with the music library we keep on the Mac Mini. We also liked the ability to adjust treble, bass and balance using the on-screen controls.

The remote control was relatively straightforward, but had a few buttons that came in particularlt handy. There’s an option to quickly switch the TV tuner from the current input source straight back to the TV tuner, and an electronic programme guide for digital channels. The ‘Format’ button allows you to quickly adjust the aspect ratio, while the ‘Scene’ button adjusts the image settings for sports programmes, movies, games or even photo slideshows.

The KDL-37S5500 also has a number of 'eco’ options tucked inside the on-screen Tools menu. We like the option to save power by turning off the picture and just listening to the audio, but the main power-saving option isn’t explained properly at all. The manual simply refers to a "Reduce" option that reduces the power consumption from the standard 113W – but doesn’t tell you how great this reduction is, nor does it indicate how this option might affect the image quality.

Power saver

We attempted to get some sort of figure for the power-saving option from Sony but they have – so far at least – been unable to respond, which doesn’t say much for the importance they attach to the TV’s green credentials.

Verdict

The KDL-37S5500 does have its rough edges, and it’s by no means the cheapest 37in Full HD set on the market. However, it’s a solid entry-level set that provides a good set of features and the image quality and build quality that you’d expect from a big-name brand such as Sony. Home cinema buffs might prefer something a little more up-market, but the KDL-37S5500 is a good choice for the ordinary Joe who simply wants a good quality HD TV for less than a grand. ®

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