Review: Sony NSX-32GT1

Rickaren · Jan 4, 2011

Sony NSX-32GT1 (Google TV)

12/28/2010

When Sony's Internet TV Blu-ray Player ($399.99, 4 stars) hit the labs last month, we gave it props for its slick Google TV user interface and overall bang for the buck. With the Sony NSX-32GT1 ($799.99 list), you get the same Google-powered interface built into a 32-inch LCD HDTV; all you have to do is provide an internet connection to take advantage of this unique system. However, this set is not without its flaws; the LED-backlit panel suffers from uneven screen uniformity, and it produces a fair amount of noise while displaying standard definition content.

Design
As with the Sharp Aquos LC-52LE820UN ($2,999.99, 3 stars), the NSX-32GT1 looks more like a desktop monitor than an HDTV. Its rounded edges and glossy white cabinet are right out of Apple's design book, as is the thin metal stand. The panel is framed by shiny black bezels and covered edge-to-edge in glass that gives the set a slick look, but makes the screen a bit reflective. The stand, while sturdy, does not provide any sort of adjustability (not even swivel), so keep that in mind when determining where to place the TV.

Google TV, for the uninitiated, rounds up all of your media into one easy-to-search user interface. Well-designed with fluid graphics, it consists of a menu on the left-hand panel of your television with various choices: Bookmarks, Applications, Spotlight, Most Visited, Queue, What's On, Sony Recommends, and (if you have DISH Network service) DISH Cinema. The Sony Internet TV interface comes with preloaded apps, but once the App market is available to Google TV later in the year, you will be able to customize your app selection. One of Sony's preloaded apps, Qriocity, offers pay-on-demand content and looks identical to another app on the menu, Sony Recommends.
Google's Chrome browser offers a different web experience than a traditional browser. It keeps track of sites you visit most and presents them to you as "live" icons. If you click on them, you are immediately taken to the site, like a quicker, icon-based bookmark. If you plan on sharing access to the Google TV interface with others, just remember: anyone see what you were perusing on the Internet, so sign out of your email, at the very least. Annoyingly, there is no way to have separate password-protected "accounts" so different family members can surf without everyone seeing what everyone else was looking at. Since the icons are ordered in terms of how often the sites they represent are visited, more than privacy is at stake hereyour browser will mix in your popular sites with your housemates', as well, making the Chrome experience a bit less streamlined than it would be on a computer that only you have access to. One positive aspect of Chrome: it offers full Flash support, so you can access video and animated content that an iPhone or iPad might have issues with (assuming the video isn't blocked based on the device, an issue with many television networks' web sites).

Armed with a QWERTY keyboard, the remote almost resembles a white Playstation game controller. The great thing about having a plethora of buttons and options on a remote is that you can do or control virtually anything on the device. Unfortunately, it also means the remote can get crowded with vaguely-differentiated buttons. There are two click-wheel-esque sections, for instance; the left-hand set of buttons has Up/Down and Left/Right navigation controls surrounding an Enter button in the circle's center. The right-hand set is laid out similarly, but the surrounding buttons are Home, Window Minimize (so you..........
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Review: Sony NSX-32GT1

Rickaren New Member Staff Member

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