Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9415 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Sony
• Model: KDL22S5500U
• Released on: 2009-03-18
• Dimensions: 13.45 pounds

Manufacturer's Description

HD Ready 720p resolution for detail way ahead of standard definition; Integrated Digital Tuner to give access to a wide range of digital radio and TV channels; Dynamic Contrast of 8,000:1 to provide greater detail in darker scenes; BRAVIA Engine 2 enhances the picture quality regardless of the quality of the source; USB connectivity to playback your photos and music through your TV.

A BRAVIA LCD TV is no ordinary television. Design is sleeker, pictures are brighter, details clearer. All BRAVIA televisions are HD Ready with 2 HDMI connections as a minimum and come with an integrated digital tuner so there is no need for a set-top box to view Freeview TV and radio channels. After all advanced technology should simply mean technology that does more for you.

The stunningly designed S5500 LCD TVs are HD Ready, so you can experience a new standard in high resolution images while enjoying a new world of entertainment. Integrated Freeview gives you dozens of fantastic digital terrestrial TV channels with no need to buy extra boxes or cables. Powered by the BRAVIA Engine 2 processor, it delivers superb picture quality with vivid colours and sharp edges, while Dynamic Contrast of up to 25,000:1 (8,000:1 on 22” model) gives the picture incredible depth and detail.

HD1080 - Gives you the ultimate standard of high definition

Enjoy a new level of home entertainment with HD ready technology. With more pixels than traditional televisions, it displays high resolution images that are clearer and sharper than you could imagine. The versatile S5500 can display High Definition content in both 720p and 1080i formats and features HDMI™ connectivity. It also includes an analogue component video input, making it compatible with analogue HD sources.

Integrated Freeview - Enjoy a world of entertainment

You can enjoy a new world of TV entertainment with the S5500’s Integrated Freeview service. Just set up your television, plug in your aerial and as well as the usual terrestrial channels you can start enjoying up to 48 digital TV channels and 24 radio stations, with no subscriptions or extra hardware to buy. Get leading films, drama, documentaries and entertainment from channels like BBC3, BBC4, E4, More4, Film4, Dave and Virgin; stay up to date with BBC News and Sky News; and treat the children to CBBC and CBeebies.

BRAVIA ENGINE 2 – Every picture is put through a digital perfecting process

An LCD television creates pictures by switching millions of pixels on and off. In the S5500 this is driven by BRAVIA ENGINE 2, Sony’s fully digital video processor that uses a collection of unique technologies to produce clear, vibrant, lifelike images, regardless of their source. For example, it reproduces black just as it appears in the real world to depict objects with impressive depth and realism. BRAVIA ENGINE 2 technology also significantly reduces the visual noise that can lead to blurring.

To ensure consistently amazing picture quality, Dynamic Contrast up to 25,000:1 (8,000:1 on 22” model) ensures all shades between the brightest white and the darkest blacks are maintained, giving the image so much depth and detail that you’ll be drawn into the screen. It works by enabling the backlight brightness to adjust according to the brightness of the scene.

Box Contents

• Remote Control
• 2 x AA Batteries
• Power Cord
• Operating Instructions
• Warranty Card
• Table Top Stand

Customer Reviews

22" Sony TV KDL-22S5500
I have been in the market for a 22" TV/Monitor for several months now, and have been doing a lot of research into my various options, I decided a high-end TV with a VA or IPS type panel would best suit my needs, and so I took the plunge with the Sony's only 'current' 22" TV, namely based on specs and my experience with the rest of the Bravia range - as there were no written reviews at the time of purchase!

Initial impressions:
When the box arrived I was quite surprised at its size, It was far closer to that of the 32" Sony V4000 than the other 22" TV's I had seen before, but all this meant was more polystyrene padding which I can't complain with! The pedestal stand and remote are both of good quality and aesthetically pleasing. whilst the TV itself is beautifully designed. I was a little concerned with the thickness of the bezel apparent on the pictures provided by Sony, it seemed quite chunky compared to many other modern day rivals, but it really adds something to the TV thats difficult to explain, namely of all the contrasting textures: A glossy piano black of the outer bezel with a matte black forming the main, inner bezel! This to me is perfect, as I like piano black but i find it distracting because of glare close to the screen from external light sources - in the Sony however this is eliminated.

In traditional Sony practicality some common connections and controls can be found on the sides of the set, something which should be completely standard by now. To run through there are 2 HDMI's, one of which has a dedicated audio in (3.5mm jack) for PC connectivity at the back of the TV, the other is on the side. One set of RGB connectors, a headphone socket and a USB port are also on the side. Moving to back we have 2 scarts, 1 component and a 15 pin D-Sub (with dedicated audio in 3.5mm jack socket) as well as a phono audio out.

General usage:
Straight out of the box I connected freeview, and was pleased, if not thrilled at the picture quality, but my external aerial has been split 4 times, making it difficult to judge its true ability, it is safe to say however it is by far the best freeview picture i have received, even if that is not so great. I am, however, thrilled with the sound quality, which is the best on any of the 22" TV's I've heard to date, reminding me of the good old CRT's and their large deep speakers.

I then connected my PS3, and instantly knew something was a miss, a quick check of the picture settings and I discovered that contrast, brightness, backlight and sharpness were almost all set at max, destroying black levels and overall image quality, so with the above settings turned right down I retried with the PS3 and was amazed at the level of detail, depths of the blacks, the natural but vibrant colours and again the sound quality - topping once again every other 22" i've seen so far, and thanks to the VA (I think) panel viewing angles are good whilst colour is brilliant (but also note that this means response time may not be as good as some TN panels. although I've not noticed anything significant).

As a monitor it continues to be just as fantastic, being the only TV i've ever connected my Mac to not to give a horrible blue or yellow overtone. but instead it remained true to OS X's intended colours - but note that sharpness and backlight are best turned down, otherwise text can look way-off, once this is done however, the results are spectacular.

My biggest gripe is in the operation and control of the TV, it takes forever to turn on, switch between inputs and change channel, and the remote control can feel buggy and twitchy on occasion. Certainly not deal breakers, but for a TV much more expensive than competition, its something you'd expect to be sorted. Also, the Photo/mp3 feature is useless, excruciatingly slow to navigate and lack of image scaling means your better off connecting your PC/Mac/Camera directly. Another issue is that this TV is excluded from Sony's 3 year guarantee scheme, despite the fact that the larger TV's in the same model series (xS5500) qualify.

Overall, whilst this TV has its flaws, this doesn't take away from what really matters - image & sound quality, and this TV performs in this area like no other (get it) small 'bedroom' TV i've ever used, I would fully recommend this to anyone willing to pay that bit extra for the best there is.

Does the job well!
Looking for second tv and this was the perfect size. So easy to navigate all the features. Picture superb as long as you are far enough away (5-6ft). Would have got 5 stars if it had a swivel base.

Sony Bravia KDL225S5500 22in widescreen LCD TV
An excellent product that more than lived up to the other reviews on this site. Typical Amazon efficiency in processing the sale / despatch.