Sony Bravia KDL-40NX703 review

We really don’t like the white bezel on the Sony KDL-40NX703. It’s a constant distraction from the pictures on the screen itself, while also spoiling the look when the TV is powered off. However, since this TV is also available with a black bezel, we’re not going to let this affect our judgement.

The KDL-40NX703 employs edge LED backlighting, which means that the screen can be very thin. At 64mm, this TV definitely has a slim profile, but we’ve seen thinner TVs. A nice touch is the lack of a bezel in the traditional sense – there’s a single sheet of glass that covers the whole front of the TV.

Setting up the KDL-40NX703 was a breeze, mainly because Sony has the best menu system out there. If you’ve used a Sony PSP or PlayStation 3 you’ll have no problem navigating the menus on the KDL-40NX703, because it uses exactly the same XMB interface. Not only is XMB incredibly easy to navigate, but it’s also very smooth and fast in operation.

Like most other modern TVs, the KDL-40NX703 can be hooked up to your network via its Ethernet port, but it also has integrated Wi-Fi as standard. Setting up a wireless connection took a couple of minutes, and all of Sony’s online services worked flawlessly. There’s a decent array of options including the ubiquitous YouTube client, LoveFilm, DemandFive and Sony’s own repository of video, including the greatest World Cup moments.

As well as the network connections you get four HDMIs, component, composite, a single RGB SCART and a VGA PC input. The TV also had no problems displaying a native 1,920×1,080 image from a computer over both VGA and HDMI.

The KDL-40NX703 doesn’t disappoint when it comes to picture quality either, turning in deep blacks. Firing up Alan Wake on the Xbox 360 showed that the KDL-40NX703 makes a great partner for a games console. With predominantly dark scenes, tempered by high intensity lighting, Alan Wake is a quite a test for any TV, but this model made the game look suitably atmospheric and spooky.

The bright, sun bleached chase scene in Casino Royale looked just as impressive, with colours remaining strong, with no areas washed out. Motion is also handled well, although Sony’s Motion Flow system does have a tendency to make the image look overly sharp.

The integrated Freeview HD tuner means that you’ll be able to watch HD broadcasts without an external box, but the vast majority of the channels are still SD. It’s therefore good news that the TV scales standard definition very well, even with poor quality feeds.

It’s not all good though. Those lovely black levels are, at least in part, due to the high contrast glossy screen. However, that also makes the TV very reflective, which can cause distractions if you have other light sources in the room. On top of that, we couldn’t get the KDL-40NX703 to playback any XviD or DivX content, despite the fact that DivX is supported.

This is a fairly expensive TV, but it goes some way to justifying that price. That said, it doesn’t quite reach the heights of some other models and for the same money you can get better quality.