The only thing stopping us whooping for joy about the £2,200 KDL-46S2010, in fact, is our concern about what the £2,000 price reduction from its predecessor translates into lost performance. The 46S2010 doesn't deliver the same aesthetic impact as its illustrious X-Series big brother, and actually looks a tad drab with its plasticky, deep grey finish. On the plus side the set rotates on its desktop pedestal - an unusually user-friendly touch for such a large screen.
Connectivity is a harsh reminder that aside from its X range, Sony hasn't gone overboard with sockets on its latest Bravias. There's only one HDMI, for instance, when surely a set of this size should have at least two. And there are only two Scarts when three would be far preferable. But in every other way there's nothing much to gripe about, as you do get an analogue PC port, component video inputs, and a CI slot that immediately alerts us to the presence of a digital tuner.
In terms of screen specification, it's no surprise to find the resolution dropping to 1,366x768 from the 1,920x1,080 heights of the 46X2000. The 46S2010 also lacks the Wide Colour Gamut (WCG) technology used to provide a wider, more natural colour range that is found on both Sony's X- and V-Series models.
The 46S2010 is, though, the beneficiary of two key portions of Sony's latest LCD technology. Most significantly, it sports the new Bravia Engine image-processing system - Sony's first to be developed solely for use with LCD technology, and thus, so Sony claims, the first to contain no compromises for other screen technologies. Bravia Engine's antics include enhanced colour processing, multiple noise reduction systems, a contrast booster and all-digital image scaling.
The other new Sony trick enjoyed by the 46S2010 is Super Vertical Pattern Alignment (SPVA) technology, which allows you to watch from a much wider viewing angle without the customary LCD drop off in colour and contrast.
Impressive here, impressive there
The 46S2010's impressive onscreen menus, predictably, contain all manner of handy features. We can't cover them all, but the highlight options include backlight adjustment, noise reduction, horizontal and vertical shift for some sources, black correction, contrast enhancement, gamma adjustment, and MPEG noise reduction.
