Tour & Design
Sony went with a classic design for the front of this LCD HDTV: the panel is surrounded by a shiny plastic bezel with a Sony logo below. At the bottom left corner of the display body are three status lights.
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Back**
We were not able to get a shot of the back of this display, because the demo unit we looked at was bolted to the wall and refused to move. Since TelevisionInfo.com prides its editorial staff on being the strongest in history, this failure was quite a blow to our collective sense of self.
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Sides**
As you can see from the shots below, the KDL-32EX308 is not a thin display: it is around 3 inches thick. On the left side of the display are a number of ports and sockets for connecting devices such as camcorders and digital cameras. The controls for this device are on the right side.
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Stand/Mount**
The demo unit that was on show at the CES 2010 show was wall mounted, so we were not able to look at the stand. Sony also did not provide any photos of the display on its stand, so we are left guessing as to how the stand will look. However, we would presume that the stand will look something like the one from the KDL-32BX300.
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Aesthetics**
The KDL-32BX308 won't win awards for aesthetic innovation, but it is a simple, functional design that does the job. We do wish the bezel and Sony logo were a little smaller.
Performance Features
Display Size & Technology
This display is built around an LCD panel with a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels, making it a 720p display. The backlight of this panel is a CCFL (Cold Cathode FlourescentLight).
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Formats & Resolution**
The 1366 by 768 resolution of the panel means that this display can show every pixel of a 720p signal, but not of the higher resolution 1080i and 1080p signals. If a device insists on sending it one of these types, the display will scale them down to fit the screen.
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Brightness, Blacks and Contrast Ratio**
We were unable to test this display at CES, but our informal observations revealed mixed results: the blacks were decent, but the whites were not especially bright. We'll have to wait to get a review unit in before we draw any real conclusions, though.
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Color**
The colors on the screen of the demo unit at the show looked good: we saw vivid color and no obvious loss of detail in high or lowlights. However, all manufacturers use footage that makes their displays look as good as possible at shows like CES; we'll wait until we get a review unit before we give a final verdict.
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Motion & Refresh Rate**
The KDL-32EX308 offers a 120Hz refers rate, produced by Sony's own Motionflow processing. An increasing number of smaller, cheaper displays like this are starting to be offered with this type of processing, while their more expensive cousins move up to the faster 240 or 480Hz processing speed.
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Viewing Angle**
After some informal tests on the show floor, we thought the KDL-32BX308 had a decent viewing angle. We did notice the whites got very pale beyond 50 degrees. Once again, though, we will have to wait until we can take a closer look in our testing labs, under our controlled testing conditions.
Connectivity & Media
Audio & Video Ports
The Sony KDL-32BX308 has a moderate number of inputs and outputs: 3 HDMI, 2 component and 1 composite video inputs. There is also a VGA input, 1 analog audio input and 1 digital audio outputs. We were not able to get a photo of the ports on the side or back of this display, though; the mounting of the display did not allow it. **
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Media & Other Connectivity**
The KDL-32BX308 includes an adapter that connects the display to a wireless network. That's pretty unusual for a small, low-cost display like this; most just offer this as an additional cost option, if at all. This wireless network support allows you to connect this display to your wireless home network, and through that to the big wide world of the internet. From this, the display can play back streaming audio and video, either from a DLNA server on your home network, or from internet streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon Video. Widgets (small programs that run on the display) also allow you to display information such as Twitter feeds and stock prices. **
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Placement**
The ports of this display are located in two places: a panel on the back of the display and in a small recessed bay on the left side of the display body. These side ports are well located, making it easy to plug in and remove devices such as camcorders and digital cameras. **
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Audio**
The KDL-32BX308 includes two small built-in speakers placed at the bottom of the case. We were not able to test these as Sony's CES 2010 booth was noisy enough already.
Controls, Menu & Remote
Remote
The remote of this display was not available to test.
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Controls**
The controls for this display are located on the right side of the display, in a slightly recessed display. These controls are a good size and should be easy to find. After a couple of tries, you would probably be able to find and use them by touch alone and would not need to lean around to find the buttons.
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Menu**
We were not able to test the menu of this display.
Conclusion
Series Comparison
KDL-EX308 Series
The EX308 display has just two models in it, at 22 and 32 inch sizes.
Meet the tester
Richard Baguley is a veteran writer who has written about technology ranging from Alphabet to Zip file utilities. He has contributed to pretty much every major tech publication, including Amiga Format Magazine, PC World, Wired, CNET, Toms Guide, Forbes, and many others. He lives in the Boston metro area with his wife, dog, and an indeterminate number of cats.
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