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Sony Bravia KDL-52EX700

HDTV Review
April 16, 2010 By David Kender 0 Comments (add your own)

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Audio & Menus

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Power Consumption
Page 10

Multimedia & Internet

Sony has the best streaming content features of any manufacturer. WiFi adapter sold separately.

Internet Features (11.00)

The streaming content features of the Sony KDL-52EX700, along with all the 2010 Sonys that include internet, is the best in the business. So far, no TV manufacturer is even coming close to the breadth of Sony’s content partnerships, or the clean interface in which they’re displayed. The complete list of channels (or apps, whatever you want to call them) is listed below. Highlights include Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube, NPR, Wired, and more. There’s also the new Sony-owned Qriocity app, which has yet to make its debut. We can only imagine that it’s a service aspiring towards Netflix, drawing on the huge bank of entertainment from Sony Pictures. Four months into 2010, and we’re still not sure.

Service Our Description
Qriocity This is Sony’s soon-to-be-released streaming video service meant to compete with Netflix. Not available at time of review.
Michael Jackson No joke. There’s a Michael Jackson app on this TV. It includes 10 music videos, plus the trailer for This Is It and that video with the Filipino prisoners dancing to Thriller that everyone has seen a hundred times.
Netflix The gold standard of streaming video. The library isn’t quite perfect yet, but it’s generally considered the best and new movies are added regularly.
Amazon on Demand Another top-tier streaming video service, Amazon works on a pay-per-view basis rather than Netflix’s subscription service. A large library of movies and TV shows.
YouTube Do we really need to explain YouTube? Repository of tears and scars for the look-at-me generation.
Yahoo Yahoo is like the America Online of internet video. They would call it ‘edited.’ We call sanitized
Blip.tv Mostly quality, recurring series of internet ‘TV’ shows.
Crackle What a completely random collection of content! It’s like your uncle’s DVD collection collided with your nephew’s YouTube Favorites page. Dozens of episodes of original web programming, then full episodes of three TV series (What’s Happening, Fantasy Island, and Action: The Series) and nine movies. Plus trailers for Sony movies.
FEARnet A lackluster collection of ‘scary’ content.
Wired Wired magazine generally has cool content. This is a collection of video. No, you can’t read articles on your TV.
Epicurious Food tips. This would be more useful if they organized it like an actual cookbook (sauces, meat, fish, etc) than this randomized order.
Concierge.com Travel ‘tips.’ The average clip length is 48 seconds, including titles. This is completely useless content for the average traveler.
Style.com You like fashion? Here you go.
Sony Digital Cinema Concert Series Either someone at Sony loves irony, or they have some serious 90s nostalgia. This feature has concert footage from just three bands, but it’s ok because it’s the most amazing line-up of all time: ThirdEyeBlind, Creed, and Chickenfoot. We can only hope Sony expands this app later.
MyPlay Music Network Music videos from acts likely signed with Sony music.
Inside Sony Pictures Completely self-serving ‘backstage pass’ content from Sony Motion Pictures features. Note to Sony: a movie trailer is not really ‘backstage pass’ material.
Ford Models The big name in modeling has its own channel. Light on content, heavy on branding.
DailyMotion There are over 28,000 video in the non-HD category, and unlike the YouTube app, you can’t type in text for keywords and titles. Just use your computer and don’t bother with this.
Howcast.com How to clean an iron. How to hold a baby. How to get someone to kiss you. Yes, all of life’s mysteries answered here.
On Networks Three random series of videos: Beautiful places in HD, Play Value (video game culture), and Golf Tips
GolfLinks.com More golf stuff. Actually, it’s well organized by topic. Epicurious would do well to take a look at this.
Livestrong.com Physical health, mental health, and… beginner’s guide to marriage?
eHow.com Have a question you’d normally type into Google, like ‘How to Remove Car Wax’ or ‘How do I choose my first stock.’ Skip Google and choose this awkward, cursory series of instructionals instead.
Video Detective Movie trailers, and not just Sony Pictures.
Singing Fool Music videos.
Podcasts A bunch of popular video podcasts, you can’t add your own favorites to the list.
Videocast.com More podcasts.
CBS Do you like shows on CBS? Do you like to watch tiny clips from those shows rather than the whole episode? You’ll love this brand-heavy, content-poor app.
Slacker Streaming music service. Sort by genre then listen to whatever songs the service chooses to put on that channel. Great liner notes on each track, btw, if you’re a music fact junkie.
National Public Radio Tons of content from one of the great news organizations, but the organization here is scattershot.

Local Media Playback (7.00)

Photo Playback (3.0)

If you insert a thumb drive into the USB port, the Sony KDL-52EX700 can play back your photos with a built-in reader. The interface is not exactly simple enough to use, but it’s not rocket science, either. You have to tangle with the menus (Home Menu > Photo > USB) to access photos, rather than playback starting up when you insert the drive. It would have been simpler if the ‘USB’ submenu popped up that listed all the contents.

There are plenty of playback options, such as creating slideshows, adding music, using transition effects, and more.

Music & Video Playback (4.0)

Like the photo playback, music and audio clip playback is done using a thumb drive and the USB port. Again, you’ll find the media under submenu appropriate to the content (i.e. Music or Video), rather than the directory (i.e. USB drive). With the audio clips, you can create a music play list.

Local Media Playback 1 Photo

Other Media (0.00)

The Sony KDL-52EX700 has no other media options.

Other Models in the KDL-xxEX700 Series
For more information on other models in this series, check our Series Comparison Page.


Sony Bravia KDL-32EX700
32 in.


Sony Bravia KDL-40EX700
40 in.


Sony Bravia KDL-46EX700
46 in.


Sony Bravia KDL-60EX700
60 in.
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Sony KDL-52EX700 Manual

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Sony Bravia KDL-52EX700
HDTV Review
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