Buy Sony BRAVIA EX 500 Series 40-Inch LCD TV,

 Sony BRAVIA EX 500 Series 40-Inch LCD TV, Black (Electronics) After pretty much researching TVs to death, we purchased the Sony Bravia EX 500 and couldn't be happier. We wanted a 40" TV because it would fit nicely in our TV Armoire cabinet. I throw value into the equation, so I don't hesitate to give this 5 stars.

Highlights:

1. Crystal clear 1080p HDTV broadcast and BluRay performance.
2. The voice clarity comes through incredibly clear. I used to have to crank up the volume much higher to understand conversations on movies and TV shows.
3. The standard definition comes in much better than our old 720p HDTV, but we spend most of our time on the HDTV channels.
4. You'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between this TV and those costing twice as much for the same size.

Lowlights:

1. This is minor, but I'll keep it honest. Jutter is noticeable in faster moving camera pans and action, but hardly on BluRay which has me wondering how much has to do with the frequency of the broadcast vs. the TV. We watched "Iron Man" on the BluRay and it looked great.
2. It's rated at 150k:1 contrast ratio which pales in comparison to the 2MM:1 and higher on LEDs and Plasmas.

In summary, we're very happy with the performance of the Sony Bravia EX 500. At present, I don't know if there's a better combination of price and performance. We're value conscious, so we're extremely satisfied with this purchase.