Sony KDL – 32W600D Review: Old TV with Decent Performance

Sony KDL – 32W600D: At First Glance

Sony has been around for a really long time, and we all know that. Additionally, Sony is well-known for manufacturing high-quality televisions with brilliant picture quality.

Unfortunately, I can’t say that when referring to the Sony KDL – 32W600D. The Sony KDL – 32W600D doesn’t seem like a television manufactured by Sony because its picture quality isn’t Sony-like. 

I am not saying the picture quality is particularly bad, but it is not something one would expect from Sony. On a positive note, the Sony KDL – 32W600D has impressive sound quality.

Moreover, the Sony KDL – 32W600D is also really affordable, with a price tag of only $248.88. This price was valid as of November 2021, when I wrote this review.

However, would this affordable price tag be enough for buyers to overlook the television’s major flaws? Let find out!

Sony KDL – 32W600D: Design, Dimension and Weight

The Sony KDL – 32W600D does not boast a premium design like high-end Sony televisions. This television has somewhat large plastic bezels that border its display screen.

The only little flair on the front of the television is the “Sony” logo located in the center of the bottom bezel. Asides from that, the Sony KDL – 32W600D is pretty much basic with an unattractive design.

That is not to say the television looks really unappealing though; it just won’t give you goosebumps. Furthermore, the Sony KDL – 32W600D is supported by a fairly bulky stand.

Moreover, this stand is also made of plastic just like the television’s bezels. However, the stand is pretty sturdy and holds the television intact.

Moving on, turning the Sony KDL – 32W600D around to the back, you will be greeted by a bulky plastic panel. This plastic back panel houses the television’s ports.

Moreover, these ports on the back of the television are separated into three sets. One set of ports is left-facing, another is directly on the back, while the last set of ports is down-facing.

It is really thoughtful of Sony to include some left-facing ports on the Sony KDL – 32W600D. This is because left-facing ports can be easily accessed if the television is wall-mounted.

Speaking of wall-mounting, the Sony KDL – 32W600D will look odd if wall-mounted because of its thick back panel.

Moving on, despite having so much thick parts, the Sony KDL – 32W600D isn’t particularly heavy. To be more specific, the Sony KDL – 32W600D measures 735 x 66 x 446 mm and weighs 4900 g.

Comparatively, the Sony KDL – 32W600D is lighter than the VIZIO D-Series 32-Inch Smart TV, which weighs 5297.9 g. However, when compared to the Hisense 32H4F, which weighs only 3810.1 g, the Sony KDL – 32W600D is pretty heavy.

In conclusion, the Sony KDL – 32W600D isn’t big of a deal when it comes to appearance. Almost every area of the television is bulky/thick.

Therefore, I will rate the Sony KDL – 32W600D a seven out of ten in this design review section.

Sony KDL – 32W600D: Display Features

The picture quality on the Sony KDL – 32W600D is not really impressive, but guess it should be manageable. Specifically, this television features a 32-inch LCD display that has HD (1366 x 768) resolution.

The contrast ratio of this 32-inch LCD HD display is very poor. To be more specific, the display has a 955:1 contrast ratio.

However, I know most of us may not understand what I mean by contrast ratio. Let me explain further.

The contrast ratio of a display is the proportion between the brightest white and darkest black the display can produce. Essentially, a contrast ratio is the most essential factor in determining how deep a display can produce black.

Therefore, with such a poor contrast ratio, the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s display won’t be able to produce deep black. In other words, blacks on this TV’s display will look grayish.

Therefore, viewing movies with many dark scenes or shadowy scenes on the Sony KDL – 32W600D isn’t a good idea. Moreover, a poor contrast ratio also affects how bright a display can be.

As a result, the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s display isn’t really bright. Specifically, the maximum brightness of this display is just 199 cd/m².

The features I know that can improve the contrast ratio of a display are either HDR or Local dimming features. Unfortunately, the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s display doesn’t support either of them.

On a positive note, the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s display has wide viewing angles. Therefore, when the display is viewed from the side or anywhere off-center, the picture quality will stay intact.

Furthermore, as an HD display, the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s display should be able to deliver clearer pictures than low-resolution displays. This is due to the fact that high-resolution (HD) displays have a higher pixel density per inch.

Therefore, because the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels, pictures with a high pixel density are crisper and clearer. However, an HD display isn’t as sharp as an FHD display or a 4K UHD display.

Furthermore, color production is somewhat average on the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s display. Specifically, the display can only produce 54.88% of the Rec 2020 xy color gamut.

However, the display is capable of producing all the colors in the Rec. 709 color gamut, just like most displays. Therefore, the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s display should be able to produce a wide range of colors, but not as wide as high-end displays.

Moving on, the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s display comes with the typical 60 Hz refresh rate. The refresh rate of a display refers to how fast the display can generate a new image.

Furthermore, for casual content viewing, a 60 Hz refresh rate is adequate. For gaming, however, a higher refresh rate of at least 120 Hz would have been preferable.

However, refresh rate isn’t the only consideration when deciding whether or not a display is suitable for gaming. Factors like response time and input lag are much more essential in determining a display’s gaming capabilities.

Thankfully, the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s display excels in both aspects. Specifically, the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s display has an ideal response time of 5.1 milliseconds.

The time it takes for a display to switch from one color to the other is known as response time. Moreover, good response time means there won’t be much blur added on fast-motion content like video games or sport.

Furthermore, the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s display has a moderately low input lag of 26 milliseconds. The time it takes for a display to detect an input either from a gamepad or remote control is known as input lag.

Therefore, it is easier to say the Sony KDL – 32W600D is an ideal television for gamers.

In conclusion, the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s display isn’t bright and it has a disappointing contrast ratio. These factors are essential for an excellent viewing experience, but the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s lacks them.

Therefore, I will rate the Sony KDL – 32W600D a seven in this display review section.

Sony KDL – 32W600D: Sound Features

The Sony KDL – 32W600D’s performance has been pretty disappointing from the start of this review. However, the television redeems itself in this section with its impressive sound system.

Specifically, the Sony KDL – 32W600D comes with 5W + 5W down-firing speakers. These speakers are decently loud and produce high-quality sound.

Furthermore, these down-firing speakers are supported by an inbuilt Open Baffle Speaker. An Open baffle speaker is a type of loudspeaker placed on a flat board then mounted onto an open baffle.

Therefore, the baffle acts as the speaker’s front face as well as the speaker’s mounting surface. Moreover, the open baffle not only allows the loudspeaker to be mounted and protected but also improves its performance.

Therefore, with the combination of the 5W + 5W down-firing speakers and the Open Baffle Speaker, the Sony KDL – 32W600D should be able to cover a large room with sound.

However, there will be apparent sound compression and pumping noise at higher volumes. On a positive note, the bass the Sony KDL – 32W600D generates is pretty decent.

Furthermore, the distortion performance of this TV is absolutely remarkable. Even at the maximum volume, the sound distortion this television produces is really minimal.

This was proven through a THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) test. Specifically, the Sony KDL – 32W600D’s sound system got a score of 0.021% on the THD test.

THD test is a measurement that measures the amount of distortion a sound system or speaker can produce. Additionally, if a sound system’s THD test score is below 1%, distortion will be less audible.

In other words, the lower the THD score, the less the distortion produced. Therefore, with a THD score of just 0.021%, distortion will be inaudible on the Sony KDL – 32W600D.

In summary, the sound performance of the Sony KDL – 32W600D is remarkable. Additionally, considering its low price, the lack of distortion on the Sony KDL – 32W600D is really impressive.

Hence, the Sony KDL – 32W600D deserves a nine in this sound features review section.

Sony KDL – 32W600D: Ports and Connectivity Features

Unfortunately, the Sony KDL – 32W600D lacks the number of ports seen on more expensive Sony TVs such as the Sony XBR – 55X900F. However, this is expected because you don’t expect Sony to include the same amount of ports on both its low-cost and expensive televisions.

Regardless, it would have been nice if Sony included a sufficient amount of ports on the Sony KDL – 32W600D. To be specific, the Sony KDL – 32W600D has only two HDMI ports.

In my personal opinion, the Sony KDL – 32W600D having just two HDMI ports is a poor thing from Sony. This is because most inexpensive television I have reviewed in the past features at least three HDMI ports.

Moreover, both of these HDMI ports are on the rear of the Sony KDL – 32W600D. However, one of the HDMI ports, as well as two USB ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack are left-facing on the rear.

The other HDMI port, on the other hand, is directly on the back of the television. Moreover, this HDMI port is accompanied by an optical audio out.

Furthermore, there are also some ports that are down-facing on the back of the Sony KDL – 32W600D. These ports include an Ethernet port, RF port for antenna connection, and a composite audio/video input.

For wireless connectivity, the Sony KDL – 32W600D only features a built-in 802.11 b/g/n WIFI. Therefore, it lacks Bluetooth.

Moving on, the Sony KDL – 32W600D comes with a remote control, as one would expect. This remote control is pretty much similar to other Sony remotes.

However, unlike high-end Sony remotes, this remote control doesn’t support voice commands. Furthermore, this remote control is fairly long and basic, but it is functional.

The remote has a circular navigation button in the center. Additionally, slightly above the circular navigation button is a dedicated button for quick access to Netflix.

Furthermore, below the circular navigation button, you will find the channel and volume rockers. Also, the remote features media playback buttons below the channel and volume rockers.

Moreover, the remote also has a full number pad. In addition to that, there is a “Sony” logo at the bottom of the remote control.

In conclusion, port selection on the Sony KDL – 32W600D may be disappointing – however, considering the television’s price, I think the port selection is fair enough.

Therefore, the Sony KDL – 32W600D gets a seven out of ten rating in this port and connectivity review section.  

Sony KDL – 32W600D Smart Features

Surprisingly, the Sony KDL – 32W600D doesn’t feature the Android TV operating system, that comes with most Sony televisions. Probably Sony didn’t include the Android TV OS on the Sony KDL – 32W600D because it is an old model.

As you may know, Sony made the KDL – 32W600D in 2016. Therefore, the TV is was 5 years old as of 2021 when I wrote this review.

Now, back to the operating system. I previously mentioned that the Sony KDL – 32W600D doesn’t feature the Android TV operating system.

Instead, the Sony KDL – 32W600D comes with Linux operating system. The user interface of this operating system is basic but functional.

However, applications and streaming services are limited on this operating system, unlike OS such as ROKU TV or Android TV. There are only two major streaming services on this Linux operating system.

These streaming services include Netflix and YouTube. Therefore, users who wish for more streaming services should consider getting a Chromecast.

On a positive note, the Linux operating system supports Miracast (Screen mirroring). Therefore, you should be able to stream your favorite content from your mobile device or computer to the Sony KDL – 32W600D.

In summary, this Sony TV features an OS with limited streaming services. Hence, I will rate the Sony KDL – 32W600D a seven out of ten in this smart features review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

At first sight or usage, one might not know the Sony KDL – 32W600D is actually a Sony television. This is due to the television’s bulkiness, not-so-good picture quality, and lack of Google’s Android TV OS.

However, on using the television for a little longer, you will find out that it has a good sound system. Additionally, gamers would love this television due to its impressive response time and low input lag.

Personally, I think the television’s biggest selling point is its affordability. Sony isn’t used to making affordable television, but the Sony KDL – 32W600D is one of the most affordable 32-inch television available.

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