HDTV Reviews Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Sony Bravia Xbr’

Sony BRAVIA XBR KDL 32XBR9 32 Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

Experience the beauty of Full HD 1080p with the 32″ Class XBR9 HDTV. Perfect for your bedroom, office or kitchen, this flat panel has a 40,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, which produces deep blacks in darker scenes. Motionflow 120Hz refresh rate technology delivers crisp, clear images while gaming or watching sports and fast-action movies. Additionally, you can connect your camera or USB-enabled MP3 player and view photos or listen to your favorite MP3s. The 32″ Class XBR9 incorporates advanced power saving features and comes with 7 HD inputs (4 HDMI, 2 component and 1 PC) so you can take full advantage of all your HD components. USB – connect your camera, USB-enabled MP3 player, or USB storage device directly to your HDTV’s USB input to view photos on the big screen or listen to your MP3’s BRAVIA Link compatibility expands your HDTV’s capabilities by letting you connect optional BRAVIA Link modules, including the BRAVIA DVD Link, BRAVIA Wireless Link, and BRAVIA Input Link (not included) BRAVIA Sync capability combines the one-touch access and control functionality of BRAVIA Theatre Sync with the ability to control CEC-enabled Sony Handycam(R) camcorders and Cyber-shot(R) digital still cameras using the TV’s remote and an on-screen display 24p True Cinema mode provides a direct connection to 24p video sources, avoiding conversions and allowing you to enjoy films at their intended 24 fps (frames per second) cinematic picture quality In the box – Remote Control Batteries (Type AA x2) AC Power Cord 4 Screws Operating Instructions Quick Setup Guide Warranty Card (limited 1-year parts & labor, Manufacturer) Table Top Stand (separate, pre-assembled) Tuner (Terrestrial) – ATSC Tuner, NTSC Tuner VESA Hole Pitch – 200X200 M6/12-16MM Speakers – 20W (10W X 2) Unit Dimensions – 31 1/2 x 23 x 9 in (798 x 584 x 227mm), 31 1/2 x 21 1/4 x 3 5/8 in (798 x 537 x 89mm) without pedestal

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Sony Is Great But Now Looking For Large Plasma…
The Sony KDL-32XBR9 purchased from Amazon is excellent and so was the cost, but now looking for a large screen Plasma for Basement Family Room. Anyone have any suggestions, like Samsung or Panasonic and which model?

5 Stars Great LCD TV!
I recently upgraded from my old CRT TV and have been completely satisfied with my purchase. We did compare LCD TVs in a showroom and the Sony Bravia clearly had the best picture. It had sharp detail and the best blacks of all the brands. The only weakness is the sound because of the small speakers but there is an output so I can use my stereo system and it sounds great. If you have home theatre system that will work as well.

5 Stars Beautiful and High Quality
I love this TV. I’m sure I would feel differently had I not updated the firmware before I even tried to use it, but since I did — I LOVE THIS TV! I am going to try to put the link for the update at the bottom of this review, but Amazon may have a policy to delete links in reviews. If this happens, then go to [...] and follow the links for this model. You’ll eventually find the update. Download it to a jump drive and plug it into the service port (the only one that’ll take USB) with the TV off, then turn the TV on and things will take care of themselves.

[...]

UPDATE

Okay, so Amazon did delete everything. That’s okay — you know Sony has a website.

5 Stars Finally Got it…Love it!
So I finally got this TV for a multi reason based using. I just replaced my G5 with a Mac Pro and got a PS3 slim for the bed room as well while the older PS3 is hooked up to our 60″ Sony SXRD. I needed a larger monitor for my Mac Pro, but also wanted a TV for the room and we were originally going to go with the 24″ Cinema display from Apple. Amazing unit but is only for the computer and that is it. With that said, I turned to Sony.

The XBR9 does a great job with blacks and colors so when my Mac is running and im in Final Cut or iPhoto, the picture quality is great (I went DVI to HDMI) and when I switch the input over to the PS3 (HDMI), everything continues to look fantastic. So Games/Blu-ray and TV are great.

Again, I have to stress though like other reviewers, the XBR9 does not look as good as the XBR8 because its lower in the series! I mean look at the price difference for the love of god. So please, dont think that somehow Sony has gone back in their mindset. Just 2 different series.

5 Stars sony lcd tv
Great product, I really love hd. Spend the extra money for top of the line you won’t be disapointed. Works perfect with my over the air antenna, if not better than direct tv. Save 30% from retail. Shipping was to my door, open box and plug in for free, beat that. I will trade with them again.

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Sony BRAVIA XBR Series KDL 40XBR9 40 Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV Black

Powerful performance and superior design come together with the stunning 40″ BRAVIA XBR9 HDTV. This flat panel TV features Motionflow 240Hz refresh rate technology for maximum motion detail and clarity. There’s also broadband Internet connectivity with built-in BRAVIA Internet video capabilities that let you view select on-demand movies, TV shows, music and more. You can even personalize your entertainment experience by selecting and positioning widgets containing the latest news, weather, sports and more directly on your TV screen. In addition to BRAVIA Engine 3 digital video processor, the 40″ XBR9 incorporates advanced power saving features and comes with 7 HD inputs.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars High style and high performance
I will admit up front that I am a complete HDTV newbie. I hung on to a 20 year old, 22 inch CRT color “monitor television” for far too long, in part because I do not watch much television programming (a bit of baseball, PBS, occaisional Law & Order reruns, that sort of thing) and in part because the whole HDTV techno nerd thing was too intimidating. After much online research and a few surreptitious visits to Big Box electronics stores, I finally settled on the 40XBR9 and bought it from an Amazon seller — and could not be more pleased with my selection. The picture quality is simply riveting. The menus are reasonably user friendly and I have not found it all that difficult to calibrate for optimum results in a softly lighted room. With minor tweaking, the factory defaults work well for most cable television programming. I used the CNET suggested calibration for movies on the 52XBR9, and it works very well on this 40 inch unit.

This is a beautiful television. The bezel is as slim as they come and is an unadorned, moderately glossy black. While it is not a small television, it is not too overbearing for a medium sized bedroom or office. Considering its slender bezel, and the fact that there are no visible speakers, the sound is more than adequate for watching most TV programming. I purchased a ZVOX 525 sound base and an OPPO blu ray player to go with it. I have yet to watch a blu ray disc, but upscaled DVDs like Ratatouille and Wall-E, with sound from the ZVOX, are incredibly crisp, vivid and detailed, with wonderfully natural color, deep, pure blacks and brilliant whites and grey tones.

The one down side is that the XBR9 is not very forgiving of poor quality source material. My local cable provider still offers a limited selection of true HD content. SD television does not fare well on this set, although with some tweaks you can get acceptable picture quality — ratchet down the sharpness so the poor resolution is not obvious, use a 4:3 aspect ratio rather than ’stretch’ the image to fill the screen, so the perspective is not distorted, turn down the brightness and restrict the color range to avoid the exaggerated and artificial hues that seem to be part and parcel of SD TV, and you get a reasonable picture on par with a decent CRT. But once you’ve seen good quality 16:9 HDTV content, you will be somewhat disappointed with SD sources.

This competes head to head with the high end LCD and “LED” TVs from Samsung. I think it beats them for at least two reasons. First, the Samsung models have a very glossy, “wet look” screen, which is really a distraction. Under some conditions, it gives the picture more “pop,” but except in a darkened room, the glare problem is insurmountable. Second, the comparable Samsung televisions have wider and more obtrusive bezels with a brilliant piano black finish, which is made even more garish by Samsung’s somewhat ludicrous red “Touch of Color” gimmickry. The Samsung design is like over the top prom wear. The 40XBR9 is the electronics version of the perfect, simple and refined little black dress.

Prices seem to fluctuate wildly — the prices quoted on the date of this review are about 15% higher than they were when I made my purchase ten days ago. You may want to keep an eye on the market and catch the next wave of “sales.” But you won’t buy this TV because it is an inexpensive “bargain” — you may buy it because dollar for dollar, it will give you the most pleasure during the years it will be in service.

5 Stars Simply Amazing
In searching for a HDTV for our new videoconference set up I had many options and many vendors but by far this was the best TV at an amazing price. I will definitely be returning to Amazon.com for future TV purchases.

5 Stars Great TV – Worth the Money
While this TV costs a bit more than your Vizio or some other Sam’s Club special it is well worth it. I bought it about a month ago and have loved it ever since I first hooked it up.

I have it hooked up to a Sony Blue-Ray BDPS360 player as well as my Bose Lifestyle V30 Surround Sound and various other equipment. The extra HDMIs are really nice and the ethernet capability is easy to set-up and use. It saw my Buffalo LinkStation Media Server without any problems and streams music perfectly. I look forward to streaming movies later this fall from Netflix. I was really impressed with the audio output as whenever you stream anything into it, the quality is nearly identical to if I hook my ipod up directly to my surround system.

I also have a friend that has the 52″ XBR9 and we both enthusiastically recommend any xbr9 Sony product.

The only problem I had was the first update that I needed to make on it, I had to use a USB flash drive instead of just using the network. After that though, I was able to make the next update over the LAN.

Please note while I have not tried it with this TV, my 32″ XBR 9 is not able to see my ipod when directly hooked up to the USB. I think Sony has a cradle you have to buy. Maybe this will change with future firmware updates.

5 Stars Beautiful!
I appreciated how easy it was to schedule the delivery – however the delivery itself was a little rough. Item was scheduled to arrive between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., when I called at 11 to check the status the driver hadn’t checked the paperwork and was back at the facility for ‘a meeting’. Still – he was back on the road and had delivered the telly by 11:45, not too bad.

Delivery aside, the product is great. Crisp and clear, and the perfect size for the room. I haven’t used all the bells and whistles yet, but so far the Sony Bravia and Verizon Fios are providing enough entertainment!

5 Stars Sony Bravia xbr9
From the day we received this tv we have loved it. We did a lot of research and felt that the natural colors, the very fast and smooth motion flow and the crisp picture would be just right for us and we’ve not been disappointed at all.

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Sony BRAVIA XBR Series KDL 52XBR9 52 Inch 1080p 240 Hz LCD HDTV Black

Powerful performance and superior design come together with the stunning 52″ BRAVIA XBR9 HDTV. This flat panel TV features Motionflow 240Hz refresh rate technology for maximum motion detail and clarity. There’s also broadband Internet connectivity with built-in BRAVIA Internet video capabilities that let you view select on-demand movies, TV shows, music and more. You can even personalize your entertainment experience by selecting and positioning widgets containing the latest news, weather, sports and more directly on your TV screen. In addition to BRAVIA Engine 3 digital video processor, the 52″ XBR9 incorporates advanced power saving features and comes with 7 HD inputs.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars AWESOME TV!!!
This TV is more than I ever expected. It was a great purchase at a great price.

5 Stars I can see clearly now!
Picture is bigger than my 46 inch SONY, but just as clear with even better color. With all the XBR features offered, it’s a great bargain.

5 Stars A top tier TV with gorgeous picture and plenty of sweet features.
This TV was a recent upgrade for me from my Toshiba 42LZ196. It was a 2 and a half yr old TV which is still good looking and still treated me well but seeing this TV at the display really convince me that the 2099 price tag was well worth it. There were several features that I was looking forward to, mainly the Motionflow 240Hz and the 3800:1 contrast ratio compared to my previous set. I was honestly pleasantly surprised by the myriad of features that this set is packed with.

First off, this 52 in beauty was a little bit thinner than my previous set. The number of connections for external devices was also great. 4 HDMI connectors and even several different inputs for additional devices. This works great for someone like me. I have a X360, PS3, and Wii, along with my cable box and there’s still plenty of other connectors for other devices. I can even hook up a PC for anything else. Not only is this TV functional but operationally well designed as well. For PS3 owners, you’ll notice that the main menu will resemble the XMB interface just like a PS3/PSP. Most features are easy to find and also customizable. There are plenty of features to excite advanced users, but it’s still simple enough that most novices should be able to figure the main functions out. My only real issue was having problems connecting this TV to the internet. Unfortunately, my network was not DLNA compatible so I have not had the change to try the advanced features like internet video and widgets. I’m hoping to find a work around soon. I wouldn’t really penalize this TV for this because those features are just icing on the cake. Even without them, the TV still has plenty of options and functionality for the geeks to enjoy.

Now, for the main part. The video playback is absolutely gorgeous. I have the HDDVD addon for my X360 and my PS3’s BluRay also and the playback is just amazing. I have One Six Right, a flight documentary and it looks absolutely amazing. You can see the little details in the parts of the aircraft, see the indivitual rivets on the bodies and really appreciate the beauty of the landscape as the some of the planes make some quick manuevers around the screen. The colors are just amazing. From watching sunrises to the camera panning around a particular environment. One really important part of this TV was how the games looked. I’m a big gamer the playback is just very eye pleasing especially with the 240Hz refresh rate. Ninja Gaiden II look amazing, considering how much activity and motion is going on in the screen. To the detail in the bumpmapping and textures in the characters and environment. I will say that I did see a few splotches that appear to be darkness irregularities in the screen where some areas look brighter and some darks but this really only happens when the screen is blank. You never notice it on regular playback. I’ve seen plenty of TV’s in the past several months and this has to be one best displays for the LCD market. My father’s Sony Bravia 40V2500 and my previous Toshiba HD TV’s are definitely not slouches, they were really good TV’s for the price and even now, they still look great, but you can definitely see how these XBR TV’s are a cut above the rest. It’s like almost looking out a window. They make the eye candy in games and movies that much sweeter.

Even the sound is great for TV speakers, good volume output and good clarity. You can hear some of the little details such as the sound engines revving or swords clashing with each other, even the little clicks in the X360 NXB are vibrant. There’s even a demo piano track that showcase the sharpness and clarity that can be produced for built in TV speakers. Definitely not the same as separate sound setup but still great sound for built in speakers.

My final thoughts on this product is that this is definitely one of the best sets that I’ve see with the current round of tech that we have for TV’s. The 2099 price tag is well worth it not only for all that this TV can do feature wise, but most of all, the picture quality, it top notch. As of now, this is as good as LCD gets.

5 Stars SONY NO BALONEY !!!
SONY NO BALONEY !!! if you remeber that line, you are showing your age. GREAT TV. Nice that it is 95% screen and not a lot of trim, Picture quality is great and it has so many geek gadgets.

5 Stars Sony Bravia Review
Great TV! Arrived in perfect condition and delivery was as we arranged. HD picture quality is great. So easy to hang on the wall that my wife and I were able to do it.

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Sony BRAVIA XBR Series KDL 46XBR9 46 Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV Black

Powerful performance and superior design come together with the stunning 46″ BRAVIA XBR9 HDTV. This flat panel TV features Motionflow 240Hz refresh rate technology for maximum motion detail and clarity. There’s also broadband Internet connectivity with built-in BRAVIA Internet video capabilities that let you view select on-demand movies, TV shows, music and more. You can even personalize your entertainment experience by selecting and positioning widgets containing the latest news, weather, sports and more directly on your TV screen. In addition to BRAVIA Engine 3 digital video processor, the 46″ XBR9 incorporates advanced power saving features and comes with 7 HD inputs.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Sony Bravia HDTV
After researching flat screen LCD’s we decided on this one. There is a learning curve and it’s worth it to take the time. Not just with sony but in general with HD’s. We were sold on Amazon because of no sales tax and free shipping. Delivery was fast and efficient. The only dissatisfier to date is the mute button on the remote which is too small. Otherwise, we can use the Directv remote in combination. There are many nice features on the sony remote and I like the compatibility with my other sony devices.

The picture is so clear, we really love it.

4 Stars Great picture but the sound needs improving
I’ve done my research and I’ve asked around to those who had the products I was looking at. In the end I chose the SONY Bravia XBR. My brother gave it great reviews and I liked what I saw on his. He has the 40 inch and I’ve purchased the 46inch. Hooking it up was fairly easy for a woman who lives alone. The picture quality for HD is great. I love it. However, the sound quality is not as I had hoped. Some shows come in loud and clear while others, you have to put the volume up all the way and sit closer just to hear it well. I’ve gotten the home theater hooked up to it, as well, and that helps when watching DVD’s. All in all, it’s not a bad tv and I would recommend it to others. If SONY can improve on the sound quality this will be one supurb buy!

4 Stars XBR Owner
I purchased this product about a month ago for an amazing price which was the main con from CNET. I have cable programming so the signal is usually good. Here are my thoughts;

Pros:

Looks great

Price (Better than any place I visited and all competitors)

HD programming is amazing, Sports are fantastic

Scene and angle selections are fun and allow you to customize quickly

Fast shipping, no damage anywhere

Plenty of input options

Regular sound is good

Wireless and computer features are fun

Cons:

Regular programming is not very good in most cases

Overall, I would recommend this TV to anybody but always do the research and know what you are getting. I had a get together soon after I bought it and the guys just sat around and starred at it for a few hours. Great purchase before football season.

2 Stars close caption problems
CLOSE CAPTION PROBLEMS – this sony model will not show close caption on high definition channels or ANY channel if you use a HDMI CABLE. So if you use close caption, this is not the set for you.

1 Star Died after 17 months!!! I’m TICKED!!!
Bought it in Feb 2008. Worked great until about a month ago when the right half of the screen goes dark. I bought it from Vanns. They tell me I’m SOL (my words)

I’m outside of the warrante. I think this TV would make a heck of a door stop!

Caveat emptor!!!!

Mark MD

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