Len had to be really good to get a 40 in. Sony HDTV this year.

What do you get the husband for Christmas that has everything? Every year we have the same problem and end up buying a gift we can share.

For the past 2 or 3 years we have been waiting for our 16 & 20 year old televisions to break down or have a problem so we could buy one of the thin LCD or plasma televisions. Our RCA 35 inch television still had an amazing picture and sound but it was time to say bye bye to it.

We looked in the Sunday papers about 3 weeks ago and decided on a Panasonic 32 inch LCD television. We purchased it from Circuit City for $999 and brought it home. We phoned Bright house, our local digital cable company, so we could upgrade from the digital box to the H.D. DVR box. They couldn't get someone in our area out until the Thursday of that week. Thursday finally came and we were all set up. This television was excellent but after 3 or 4 days we found it just too small. To cut a long story short we exchanged it for a 42-inch plasma television that we couldn't get into our S.U.V. so had to leave it at the store. After reading reports on the Philips one we chose we decided that there were too many bad reports on it. My husband got our money back and went to Sears, who had the Sony Bravia KLV 40U100M 40-inch LCD HDTV-ready LCD television on for $1,299 plus sales tax.

He brought it home while I was working and set it up for us. The Sony KLV 40U100M comes with a Quick Setup Guide. It has the check list, which is, the remote control, 2 AA batteries, AC power cord, HD15-HD15 cable, support belt, securing screw, wood screw, operating instruction, quick setup guide, leaflet for installing the wall-mount bracket, and the warranty card.

It explains how to insert the batteries into the remote control.

Then it had diagrams A - F explaining all the cables and where they go. We didn't have to purchase any extra cables because they were provided by Bright house for us. Len did say that the cables went into different jacks, on this television, but the instructions were so easy that he didn't have any problems in connecting them.

He connected the H.D. DVR box, the DVD, and the surround sound. We decided to use the small stand that came with it rather than mounting it on a wall. The stand is about 18 inches in length. Then we put it on the television cabinet that our old bulky television sat on. After Christmas we will go out and purchase a sleek modern one.

The television itself is silver gray and looks very elegant. It has the Bravia logo on the left top corner of the unit. Along the bottom it has the speakers. Looking from the side it is about 2 inches wide and when you get to the center of the back approximately 5 inches wide. I just love how sleek it is.

We have to turn the television on from the remote, then the H.D. box from another one, and our surround sound from a third remote. When we are watching a DVD we have to use that remote as well so four are lined up by our reclining sofa.

Was there a big difference from a regular television?

You bet. It was just amazing. The picture is so vibrant that you could be at the cinema. I had to smile to myself because I figure that the movie stars and show hosts etc. are cursing because we can now see their wrinkles. Even Oprah's skin isn't perfect. You can see every crease or crows feet that the celebrities may have.

The modes of the television are great. You can have it on normal, or it will stretch to fit the screen, then there are zoom 1, and zoom 2. We hardly ever have it on normal because you have 2 black lines either side. When it stretches to the screen it does make the people a little fatter but it hardly notices. We love zoom 1 when we are watching something like the animal channel. I can see the lions and tigers really close up and it is fantastic. With a film it may take the top of peoples heads off. With survivor we tried it and the people were talking quietly. They had the writing on the bottom of the screen so we couldn't see it. We went back to stretching it to the size of the screen.

With our old television we had the surround sound on 5. With this baby we only need it on 2 to get the same volume. We rarely go to the movies and I had forgotten the feeling of almost being there with them.

With our cable company the normal channels are from 1 upwards. However, once we hit the 600 and up we get the channels in H.D. So channel 8 is 608, channel 13 is 613 to make it easy on us.

We love to watch B.B.C. America and that is channel 123. That is not a H.D. channel but I have to say that the picture is so much better than our old set and so is the sound.

We have played D.V.D.'s and really enjoyed the experience on the Sony KLV40U100M.

Four times a week we get Eastender's, an English program that we really love, downloaded onto my laptop. Previously we had just watched it on my screen or Len's computer. We now download it and use just one plug into the back of my laptop and we can play the episode on the 40-inch screen. Of course it is not perfect but a darn sight better than before. Unfortunately Len wasn't able to get the sound through the surround sound, but now I feel as if I am sitting in England watching my soap, as I did back in the 80's.

A little more about the television:

There is also a 32-inch model.
It is a LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel system.
The display resolutions are 1,366 dots x 768 lines.
Speaker: Full range: 4 x 20 cm by 2.
Speaker output is 10W 10W.
Power consumption: In use 150W and on standby less than 1W.
Dimensions: 39 x 25 3/4 x 5 inches.
With stand 39 x 27 x 10 ¾ inches.

If the remote control gets lost you can use the manual buttons on top of the television, menu, input, menu left and right buttons, volume, and power. There is also a headphone jack, if you purchase headphones separately. On the front right is the pic off/timer led, standby led, power led, and infrared receiver.

The remote has, muting, display, sound, picture, input, volume +/-, power saving, the 4 way cursor to select an item, freeze, power, menu, and sleep. There are several pages in the operating instructions book explaining how they all work.

I have mastered all the basics with this television and can't speak highly enough of it. After having the 32-inch television for a few days I can say how much nicer it is to have the 40-inch screen. When our television gives up in our playroom downstairs we plan on purchasing another LCD television. However, this is a huge room so we will go for one 50 - 60 inches. Perhaps a present for next year?

This television comes with a 1 year limited warranty. We did think about purchasing a further 2 years but that would have been around $300. We decided against it.

For further information you can check the Sony website at www.sony.com or phone 1-800-222-7669. If I can be of any help with you making a decision to buy this television, please leave a comment or email me.

Susie.