After a couple of generations in the relative wilderness, Sony has finally got the hang of this LCD TV business with its latest Bravia range. Every recent Bravia set we've tested has emerged from our labs with praise ringing in its ears. But today we're going to find out just how far Sony's talents really stretch, as we get up close and personal with the biggest Bravia set we've seen to date - the 46in 46V2000.

Looks & features

Getting up close and personal to a TV is far from a hardship when that TV is as good looking as the 46V2000. Its matt black livery with silver trim and highlights looks sophisticated and chic, while the unusual slenderness of the screen frame makes it far less dominant a presence in your living room than you might expect for a 46-incher.

There's an early disappointment in store with its connections though in the form of the single HDMI input. This is depressingly limiting for a TV with so much home cinema potential. There are also only two Scarts - although thankfully both of those are RGB.

At least there's some good news in the shape of a D-Sub PC socket, the must-have component video input (which is, after all, part of the HD Ready requirements), and a CI slot for adding subscription channels to what's obviously a built-in digital tuner.

The 'V' in the 46V2000's name signifies that it belongs to Sony's step-up range, lying between the entry-level S series and the X series high-end offerings. This means it gains a feature over the S series in the form of Wide Colour Gamut (WCG) technology, but lacks the full HD 1,920 x 1,080 resolution and enhanced Bravia Engine EX processing of the X series.

The WCG system we mentioned is a radically redesigned, new backlight system that employs improved light-emitting phosphors to deliver, reckons Sony, 127 per cent more of the PAL EBU colour range than Sony's previous sets. Hopefully this will be particularly noticeable in the reds and greens that are the perennial weak points of flat TV.