Sony Bravia KDL-46Z5100 LCD HDTV Review - Formats & Media

Formats & Media Summary
• Capable of full 1080p. • Photo, music, and video playback.
	Audio & Menus	Page 12 of 18	Power Consumption

Formats (10.0)

The Sony KDL-46Z5100 can display HD in full 1080p. This is the highest HD format currently avaialable, and will allow you to enjoy Blu-ray in all its splendor. The TV can also play back 1080i, 720p and 480p content.

Photo Playback (2.5)

The KDL-46Z5100 can play back photos, providing you supply a thumb drive with images on it. The photo player is very basic, but will get the job done. In the menu, you can select the photos submenu, then the USB drive. From here you navigate through the drive's folder hierarchy. Photos are displayed as thumbnails and selecting them will blow them up to full-screen size. Pictures take quite some time to load, however. Also, the feature itself is very bare bones, with virtually no options at all. While great for utilitarians, if you're looking for sophisticated slideshow features, the KDL-46Z5100 isn't going to satisfy you.

Music & Video Playback (4.0)

Music and video operate much like the photo playback feature. One nice touch is that, when media is playing, the menu button will return you to the folder your media was in. Typically the menu doesn't remember where your cursor was last. The TV also seemed to recognize some album art, displaying it when the song was playing.

Streaming Playback (10.4)

The KDL-46Z5100 has some incredible streaming playback options. Your internet connection will give you content from the following providers:

In addition to the above, there's a good selection of podcasts to check out, but you can't subscribe to an RSS feed of your own. With the exception of Amazon Unbox, this content is all free. You can also buy premium Sony content.

Further, the LAN provides you with access to Yahoo! widgets. There are currently only a three widgets currently available: weather, finances, and news.

Other Media (0.0)

The TV has no other media playback features, such as an integrated DVD or Blu-ray player.