Sony Bravia KDL-40NX713 review

The sensibly laid-out remote control makes the KDL-40NX713 easy to use. It’s largely unchanged from previous Sony TVs, with the exception of a new blue backlight designed to make it easier to find the right button in the dark. The TV uses the PlayStation 3-style XMB interface, and it’s just as easy to navigate using a remote control as with a game controller.

Image quality was reasonable when watching standard definition Freeview channels; Sony’s Xreality picture engine helped keep noise artefacts to a minimum and even the lower quality channels looked surprisingly detailed. High definition channels looked much crisper, but Blu-ray content is where the KDL-40NX713 really shines.

Films looked fantastic, thanks to even backlighting that showed very little bleed, even during darker scenes. Colour accuracy was also fairly accurate, although slightly muted at the default settings. Like most LCD TVs, it still couldn’t make whites appear brilliantly bright, but it did a much better job than many other sets we’ve seen. Sound quality was also surprisingly good for integrated speakers; four separate drivers helped fill our test room with sound, although it’s still no match for a dedicated speaker set.

Although the KDL-40NX713 is compatible with 3D content, you’ll need to use an external IR emitter to sync the screen with your 3D glasses. Neither is included with the TV, so you’ll have to factor in £49 for the emitter and £99 for the glasses if you want 3D. The standard active shutter glasses aren’t rechargeable but run off a watch battery. There’s less flicker than we’re used to from active shutter glasses when watching in a dark room, and there was a noticeable amount of crosstalk in certain scenes, but for the most part the set coped well with 3D.

It’s difficult not to be impressed with the KDL40NX713’s design and comprehensive online features, but it’s not perfect. 3D video quality was reasonable but we were disappointed with file format support, an important feature for any TV that includes built-in DLNA streaming. It’s reasonably priced for a high-end set, but if you prefer image quality over style, a plasma set such as one from the Panasonic Viera GT30 range will give films more punch for less money.