Great review, but people like LCD TV’s for lots of reasons. Brighter picture? how about more flexibility? The evolution of LCD TV is truly amazing. Give it 3 stars of you feel it deserves 3, but don’t penalize it because it’s an LCD.

Perhaps the HD Guru was not clear enough regarding his reasoning. This Sony raises the bar for LCD flat panels, but in terms of overall performance, especially motion resolution,  the best LCDs still don’t  measure up to the best plasmas (or microdisplays in terms of motion). If the Sony was given four hearts instead of three it may have misled readers to believe it is just as good as the best plasma in terms of overall performance.  I felt I needed to make the comparison against all HDTVs Thanks for the input.

The HD Guru 

But you would rather your readers put up with the burn in problem on plasmas you were so obviously concerned about in your article about black stripes on DirectTv receivers.You say it’s not much of a problem anymore? Just like you don’t say that the OLD problems with LCD is not a problem any more. Never mine the fact that many people report buzzing sounds from their plasma in high altitudes. Never mind the fact that some plasmas still leak. This reader has first hand experience. Never mind the fact that plasmas are generally more expensive then lcd’s,consume more power,heavier,more fragile and only perform better in low light conditions. Never mine that manufactures have dropped plasmas from their lineup.

You keep talking about degradation on viewing angles. In the real world,I simply don’t see it. My set is only rated for 160 degree viewing angle. The latest sets have 178 degree viewing angle. The motion blur,again I don’t see it. Maybe I’m not as sophisticated as you or don’t have a trained eye. I simply don’t see motion blur.

Many plasma’s have reflective glass screens which causes havoc with viewing in real world conditions. I never hear you talking about that.

If LCD’s are inferior,why did the motion picture academy award Sharp Aquos with a academy award for superior technology? Why is NBC using a Sharp Aquos 65 inch LCD in their Today Television broadcasts? Why during last years academy awards show were their two Sharp Aqous 65 inch LCD’s flanking the stage? Why is CNN using LCD in their broadcasts? NBC Sunday Night football uses large screen LCD’s in portrait mode,admittedly secondary to 103 inch Panasonic plasma.

I travel the world,in most hotel rooms,you will find LCD.

Plasma’s only have slightly better blacks and contrast ratio. LCD’s will soon surpass with new technology such as local dimming led back lighting. Home Theater magazine just tested the latest generation Sharp Aqous 52 inch panel and reports deeper blacks then most plasma’s they tested.

I’m tired of LCD’s getting a bad rap. You are obviously slanted to plasma and you keep reporting on old LCD problems which have been overcome. Plasma was first out the gate,but now LCD has overtaken and the sales figures bear that out world wide. It is not just me.

Plasma is old technology,fighting to compete with LCD.

The best news of all? OLED will eventually overtake LCD and plasma.

After this,you will probably ban me. Readers,I have been involved with consumer electronics since the 1950’s when I built crystal radios and helped “wire” my old neighborhood with intercoms. I have owned most of all the older technologies leading up today’s products.

Whenever LCDs produce CRT level blacks I will feel more comfortable. I hate seeing leaking light and glowing black backgrounds in LCDs, it is very distracting. Although with plasma I still can’t get the thought of image retention/burn in. In time I guess things will get better.

Great review! I can’t wait for you to put the Samsung 81s through its paces. You do a great service for the community. When I finally do buy my ultimate ‘high end’ LCD, I’m going to use your review as the gold standard before spending a penny.

Thanks for all your hard work. I appreciate the information. Keep up the great work.

I’m a guy in my fifties still “selling” my wife on the concept of High-Def.

Thanks for the XBR4 review; I almost pre-ordered one, based on the stated specs – but what *are* these top of the line plasmas you speak of?

Frankly, I’d love a persistent link that lists your top three for best plasma, best LCD, best DLP/microdisplay, and best “bang for the buck”. Then you could just point me there.

Courageous … insightful review.

SONYSTYLE INFO -On or Off the Web- CAN BE CONFUSING
***************************************************
Sonystyle employess have to be very, very ambitious to understand and accurately promote the wide range of LCD-TV’s that they sell.

However, in my dealings, they have tended to skip over a range of important technical issues, saying: “… just pick the picture you like the best…”. On that basis, their best, non-XBR picture these days is their W3000 series. All the others look “underexposed and over saturated”.

So too, Sony staff have stressed to me that their set-ups are out-of-the box factory settings. While this may imply an unbiased, arms length approach to product-demos, it can — as we see in this review — under represent a product’s in-the-home potential.

CONCLUSION
Sony’s marketing managers should all be asked to read your review as part of a case-study workig session. That session should begin with a prodct demo by a randomly selected sales staff, and end with a product demo by he HD GURU.

Have a great day.

Critique.
You did not seem to test the 120 hz in motion testing very much…where this should have been the main part of the test.
Its good to know that Custom enables more features…thanks for that…the most important thing in this review.

I understand you need to write this for newbie users, but most people understand how to tweak settings. Many of those settings are for sub par signals.

You did not seem to test the TV on sports broadcasts…a major failure.

You did not seem to watch a blue ray movie and comment on what you saw.

I come away not convinced you tested the 24fps features.

Each feature has a help feature on the TV…who needs the manual. Most these things you tweak out.

Since most people use standard as you say…it makes sense to have that feature avoid side of screen artifacts at all costs. Anyone understanding them….will also understand how to tweak their own settings….hence they use custom.

Plamas are fragile…can have burn in…which will cause major family strife if Junior kills Dads TV with his Wii. Plasma are reflective and suck in the majority of living rooms during the day.

If you have a walled off dark room for movies fine….but most people enjoy watching TV during the day too.

Bottomline….talk much more about tests that people can see on their own sets. Comment on HD sources like the Tonight Show…which everyone gets….watch some sports and comment.
Watch a specific movie and comment.

Right now the 300 is like the offical DVD tester of choice. To a lesser degree the last Bond movie.

Thank you for the review….it was useful

No mention of viewing angles and/or mura defects (clouds) that have plagued previous XBRs

I’ve appreciated your reviews for several years now [Digital TV and Sound Mag. etc], and am very familiar with pro/cons of both LCDs and plasmas, and the fact that over 80% of all TV displays are released to the marketplace without superior video processing chips that can “pass” the film-signal 1080i deinterlacing tests [although most pass the video-signal tests].

It frustrates me that these major electronic companies will charge a premium for their technology [although prices are finally moving down in some areas], yet fail to include the quality processing chips, like the HQV chip, and others from Broadcom, Faroudja etc.

In fact, Panasonic, Sony, Sharp, Samsung, etc never ever mention in promotional material the name of their processing chips! Yes, their sets provide a generally good picture, but it still comes up short of “FULLY PROCESSED” (and accurate) HDTV.

As far as I know, the only manufacture that consistently provides quality displays, with video processing that “passes” the deinterlacing and scaling tests, is PIONEER (plasma), but who else?

I’m keeping my eye on the forthcoming JVC premium 888 series 120hz LCDs (arriving next month), as I believe JVC is the only company using a 32-bit chip for processing(?), and their displays have always looked excellent in store displays [very good image quality]. Perhaps you can review one of the new sets.

I appreciate plasma quality, but I can live with less black level quality of an LCD if it also can provide accurate and fully processing of the 1080i HD signals, from HD DVD, Blu-ray, upconverted DVD, cable/satellite boxes etc.

The HD Guru’s alter ego Gary Merson has tested 74 2007 HDTVs for deinterlacing and accurate 3:2 pulldown. This is the largest test ever conducted by a reviewer. More will be revealed in an post later this week.

The HD Guru  

I have a Sony KDL-46XBR2 set up for OTA and 15 ft away a Sony 25″ CRT Trinitron.I have been viewing the same analog channel on both sets simultaneously since Thanksgiving 2006. My observations say this:
1…The blacks are better on the LCD
2…The contrast has far more range on the LCD
3…The contrast is much greater on the LCD
4…The brightness is much greater on the LCD
5…The LCD will spiderweb the HD graphics (sometimes) and the SD text most of the time
6…Banding on the CRT analog will also show on the LCD digital if viewing the same channel in digital or analog.
7…Network broadcasters will “slow focus” changes (HD) from local to network sources by about a 1/4 second some times, not all the time
8…The LCD will make tiny focus changes with objects moving slowly on the screen—news anchor moving his head making wiskers go in and out of focus on both 720P and 1080i channels. This is not the fast motion blur which the LCD does have.
9…Even then the LCD is about a zillion percent sharper than the CRT.
10…The LCD has zero linearity distortion whereas the CRT is not even in the ballpark
11…The LCD according to my AVIA test DVD is set to 2.5 percent overscan whereas the CRT is about 10 to 20 percent.
12…The CRT has an obvious blue color cast whereas the LCD is perfect according to the AVIA disc and my eyes.
13…The LCD has many more controls and input adjustments.
14…The LCD has no bad pixels, banding, or ghosting.
15…Settings on LCD:
Picture mode———standard
Backlight————2
Picture————–74
Brightness———–55
Color—————-50
Hue——————0
Color temp———–Nuetral
Sharpness————55
Noise reduction——auto
DRC mode————-1
DRC pallette———Custom
Reality————–50
Clarity————–50
Widemode————-full
Autowide————-on
4.3 default———-normal
Display area———normal
Horizontal center—-0
While there is motion blur on the LCD I am really happy with its performance inspite of the overall not too good SD performance. In my opinion the CRT is dead and the Plasma is not far behind.
JJK

If you would like to double the vertical resolution of 1080i sources may I suggest you change the “picture mode” setting from standard to cinema or custom. The “Standard” and “Vivid” modes Bob from one 540 line field to the next, with the display doubling up each line to fill the 1080 line screen, resulting in a whopping 50% loss in image resolution. This is what I mean by not properly deinterlacing. You will need to change many of the users settings after you chose one of the picture two modes that properly deinterlace.

HD Guru 

Rusty Pelican;
Sony is licensed to use Faroudja technology. You will usually see a tag somewhere on the back of their sets.

Sony quietly downplays,when they use some other technology not made by them.

I don’t like Plasmas picture. Too grainy. I prefer the detail of the LCD. Brighter? I didn’t like the Plasma bright or dark. I didn’t like the LCD on dark. Why would I?

I prefer a mid-level brightness settings for the LCD while still maintaining the detail over the Plasmas at any setting.

What’s funny is that every time I step into a show room. Guess which HDTV looks the brightest? The Plasmas. Yes, they turn both the Plasma and LCDs really high on their brightness settings (”Vivid?”). Yet, I still choose the LCDs after tinkering with the settings (which includes TURNING DOWN THE BRIGHTNESS).

This is the first time I have read someone refer to plasma as grainy. Grainy images can be attributed to video noise and image artifacts though I don’t know if you are commenting on the pixel structure or  source image defects. The former is highly dependent on the native resolution and viewing distance to the panel and the latter are dependent on user settings and the input signal.

HD Guru 

Any information on whether these setting recommendations would also apply to the KDL-46XBR2?

Informative review. I really appreciate the actual tests done as opposed to the overly subjective reviews. I have mostly been considering LCD for now, due to concern over image retention from games. It is the only significant thing pushing me to LCD over Plasma. I have been reading several recent accounts of plasma image retention from gamers who might have a 3-4 hour session gaming, and then be irritated over the retained menus showing up in the movie they are watching afterwards.

I have one question however on LCDs. I am assuming that these issues of poor interlacing are tied to the image processor on the panel. If I was to use my AV receiver to do that for my instead, upscaling images to 1080p, to sent to an LCD that accepts 1080p input, would that take care of that issue?

Depends on the quality of the scaler within the SS receiver 

Also, how would that work with a 24fps source? Does the panel have to do the 3:2 pull down, or can/should the AVR do that for it as well? (and the 120hz sets seem more confusing on how they handle that, as none seem to yet do 5:5 pulldown.

Didn’t test with 24 fps, if you feed it the 1080p 60 signal receiver would be handling the 3:2 conversion 

And I’ll second RUSTY PELICAN’s hope for a review of JVC’s upcoming 120hz LCDs. Though I think the series is LT-37X898/LT-42X898/LT-47X898, not 888. Those can do 120hz, and have a second generation motion blur reduction technique being advertised.

The best tv right now

The bottom line: The Pioneer PDP-5080HD produces the deepest shade of black–and thus one of the best pictures–we’ve ever tested.

http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-and-plasma/pioneer-pdp-5080hd/4505-6482_7-32476901.html?tag=bubbl_4

Where can I buy blu-ray FPD Benchmark test disc.

The FPD disc is currently only available to the trade. Perhaps they will make it available to consumers soon. The Silicon Optix Blur-ay and HD-DVD are available to the public.

The HD Guru 

Hey all,
I just got the XBR4 40 inch but I have a major problem. Whenever I push the DISPLAY button on the controller, it shows that the TV is only in 1080i mode. I thought it would always upconverts to 1080p. I have never seen the display read 1080p…no matter what HD channel. Is there something I need to do to get it to display 1080P?

Marc

“Display” shows input signal not output.

The HD Guru 

Thanks for the objective review! I have a 40XBR4 on order and am currently using a PS3 for my DVD/Blu-ray player. Thanks for the tip on the “custom” mode – that should take care of that issue. The 3:2 pulldown issue is still confusing to me. If I feed the set a 1080p signal no pulldown is necessary – correct? If I feed the set a 24fps or 60fps signal no pulldown is necessary (becasue of the even multiple of 120) – correct? I thought the whole benefit of the 120hz panels was to bypass 3:2 pulldown for all sources. Please try to put this into laymans terms if you can. Thanks!

I agree with you this is confusing. First lets get 120 Hz off the table, because it is the Sony LCD TV that internally converts to 120 Hz from 60 Hz by doing a frame interpolation of the 60 Hz content. You only need to be concerned about how content gets converted  to 1080p/60Hz (within the source or the Sony LCD).

Your best bet is to use a Blu-ray player that will convert its native film based content from 1080p/24 to 1080p/60 by accurately achieving  3:2  conversion (I have not tested the  PS3 but others have).  When the 3:2 is done within the player it is not needed to be done within the TV, working around Sony’s inabilitiy  to properly do 3:2 pulldown . The TV will simply take the 60 frame content and convert it to display @120HZ leaving the proper cadence intact.

You can use the Silicon Optix Blu-ray test disc to make sure your player is doing 3:2 properly.

  There will be a special offer soon for the HD Guru’s disciples (I mean readers)  to purchase  the HQV HD discs at a substantial discount.

The HD Guru     

I’m a little confused by the reply above. You mention you haven’t tested it with 1080p/24 input, yet you say the TV converts 60Hz to 120Hz internally. How can you be sure that the TV cannot take 1080p/24 and display each frame 5 times to achieve 120Hz?

I have a PS3 which can output 1080p/24 and reducing 3:2 pulldown judder (will be 6:4 on a 120Hz panel) is the highest importance to me.

Thanks for your review.

Gandalf

None of the 120 HZ TV convert directly to 120Hz. I know because I have asked all the  120 HZ LCD vendors. To know you achieve proper 3:2 pulldown, get a Blur-ay or HD DVD player that will send a 1080p/60 signal that is properly decoded. I have confirmed the Samsung BDP-1200 (Blu-ray) and the Toshiba HD-XA2  (HD-DVD) do this. Both use the Silicon Optix Reon chip.

HD Guru  

This is sort of an aside to your review, which I hope is okay, as you seem to invite comments about LCDs broadly. I have heard that the limited edition 70″ Sony Bravia LCD uses LED BL, the so-called Triluminous system first developed for the now defunct Qualia line. Samsung has the new 81 series LCD that uses LED BL. What’s your take on what improvements LED BL will bring to top-end LCDs?

Samsung uses white LEDs while Sony used red, green and blue LEDs in the quaila, which consumed a lot of power. We s
will have to wait and see, however the Sony retails for $30000.

The hd guru

1.We hear the LCD VS Plasma thing alot but what about rear projection LCD. Alot of people say to get the full benefit of 1080p go to 60″
So I was thinking of the new Sony KDS-60A3000.
How do you think a tv like this will compare to the LCD 52″ XBR4. Who has the better picture quality LCD or Rear Projection LCD. I know the benefit of LCD is the fact you can hang it on the wall, but i dont care about that. I just care about picture quality. Thank you for your help. I’m really stuck between these two tvs.
2. I saw the XBR4 @ best buy and they showed a clip of “House” and “Pirates” and it looked weird. It looked like it was shot by a different camara. It looked more raw. More like an amateur camara. It made the image look super sharp though, but i couldnt get used to it
Any idea why?

Hard to say, however it may have been the sets default setting is in the Vivid mode. According to my tests, this mode cuts the vertical resolution up 50% (using 1080i source) and cuts the horizontal to as low as 450 lines due to motion blur and poor processing. Perhaps you need to change the viewing mode out of vivid or standard (Nothing is definitive since I can’t see the same demo you are seeing)

The HD Guru

“So why are consumers passing on better performing plasma TVs and spending more money (per inch screen size) for poorer performing large screen LCDs?”

Just like in buying speakers, satisfaction is highly subjective.

Until recently, plasma wasn’t offering 1080p native; that was a clincher for me. All the REcomputation that has to go on in the background defeats the purpose of HD. Additionally, the newest plasma sets gin’d up to display 1080p can consume nearly twice the power as a comparably sized LCD. Those that study specs are certainly making educated decisions; I found one of the newest Panasonic 50″ plasma units is rated at a skosh above 700 watts ~ that’s ridiculous. And to think folks have the nerve to get their undies in twist over global warming and replacing bulbs with CFL’s. LMAO

At the end of the day, HD display technology has come so far in recent years that the generation to generation gains are really quite small…it’s all about diminishing returns (on the dollars spent) on a technology that has really reached the apex. All that’s left now is PRICE POINT in order to convert/saturate the masses.

Just my 3 cents…

Plasmas are dynamic devices while most LCDs are still static as far as power consumption goes meaning plasmas fluctuate power consupmtion with image brightness while many LCDs do not.  According to the HD Guru’s tests Plasmas have a slight (about 5%) advantage over similar size LCD using factory default showroom settings.  Both have a long way to go in effecientcy, but currently there is no advantage in LCD over plasma for power consumption, plasma in real viewingsettings uses a little less power. 

The HD Guru   

Hi,

I was in Circuit City and was very impressed on the whole by the 46XBR4, bnut I do have two questions that I hope you can answer ASAP because I am thinking about getting it or the Sony 46W3000 this Labor Day weekend. The W3000 is being reduced for the Labor Day holiday from $2999 to $2599, and the XBR4 from $3599 to $3230.

The store was using the Fantastic Four Blu-ray disc and it looked excellent, except the salesperson (who doesn’t work on commidsion, it seems) siad he and other staff, and some customers have noticed a possible motion glith caused by the 120. He said sometimes in a quick moment a character will by moving quicker or slightly slower than norman. He said they have only noticed it on the 46BRX2, and the cause is the Motionflow 120Hz. Have you see that?

2. After watching the screen from a distance of about 9 feet or so for about 20 minutes, I noticed I felt a slight bit of a headache. Has anyone else devloped a headache from an LCD screen like that? I hope that’s not the case.

Currently, I have an Optoma HD72 projector and I love the huge image, but I do worry about the lamp burning out, and I miss the inner brightness of the screen from my regular TV. Plus the room has to be totally dark to get the full benefit of the HD72.

Many movies are filmed at 24 frames per second (fps) and prime time TV programs are recorded at 24p. Seizing on an opportunity, some studios are taking a purist approach and encoding high definition video content such as Blu-ray Disc™ in 24p. Sony wisely takes advantage of this by including 24p output capability on our Blu-ray Disc™ players as well as including 24p input capability select 2007 BRAVIA TVs. The benefit? Images are smooth and natural looking. Once you experience 24p video it will be hard to view video without it.

What would you advise?

Re-evaluate the sets out of the factory default mode picture  “Vivid” and into  cinema or custom mode and adjust the user controls till dark areas are not below black (brightness) and light areas are not pushed into white (contrast+ backlight). According to a seminar I attended the other day in Berlin Germany by Philips. if you input 24 hertz to an LCD and it has 5-5 pulldown (repeats the frame five times in US) you will eliminate judder (herky jerky side motion in pans) but loes the faster response time of Motion flow, thereby seeing “motion blur” in fast scenes.  Perhaps the motion flow contol at the current circuits settings you have it at does not provide a smooth flow .

The HD Guru

This sounds kind of dumb but what kind of HDTV would be more suitable for playing video game. I looked at Plasma vs LCD vs rear projection each has its own issues. I am leaning away from rear projection because of the light bulb and the color wheel issues. That leaves me between plasma and LCD, searching around the web I found out that Plasma is not suited for gaming. Since as a percentage of usage, gaming is very higher than viewing. The persistent image is an issue with plasma (???, HD Guru help me here) and also I have brightly lit living room (west facing and way too many windows), so glare is an issue which I see it in currently in the CRT TV. This narrows my choice to LCD and waiting for 120Hz with price reduction during the shopping season.

My choice right now is either 46XBR4 or Samsung 46 inch 81series. I mainly play PS3, so what would be better choice? Does 120Hz help the gaming experience? I compared the demo unit of 81series and sharp, IMHO 81series seemed better to me and there was no XBR4 to compare. And my wife wants to do a photo slide show in the TV.

HD Guru what would be your advise/suggestion? Do I need to look at plasma or rear projection (LCos/DLP)?

I have ask an industry person to write an article regarding HD gaming. Should be up soon.

The HD Guru 

HD Guru, I’m really torn here and not sure what to do. Is there really much difference b/n the 52xbr3 and 52xbr4 to justify the extra $$? Also, I can get the Panasonic 58″ top of the line plasma for only $3600 brand new (supplier discount ), but when I saw it in the store compared to the xbr3 and xbr4, the picture quality was terrible. It just didn’t pop with color or brightness-could have been the settings, but I was not impressed.

I know you love plasmas, but if price were equal would you by the xbr or panasonic plasma? Thanks for your input!!!!

HD Guru,

If you were to spend you money, what 46″ hdtv would you buy. I ahve gone back and forth between the samsung 4665 and the sony 46w3000. Thanks so much.

HD Guru. I have been looking at buying a 50+ flat panel TV for some time, and have narrowed it down to:

Panasonic TH-50PZ700U
Sony KDL-52XBR4

I have heard all the relative scare stories

Sony LCD Backers
- Plasmas will burn in when you are watching sports with the scores and tickers
- Plasmas are too reflective when placed in your family room
- Not bright enough

Panasonic Plasma Backers
- Poor black/color reproduction
- Poor handling of fast action sports (Hockey, Baseball, Tennis…)
- Poor viewing at angles….

Yesterday I had the chance to view side by side. I was watching US Open tennis both in SD and HD.

- The Sony was brighter, and the purple-blue US Open background was BRIGHTER (maybe more pleasant) but less realistic color when compared the Panasonic. The tennis balls didn’t significantly (I couldn’t see any diff) produce more trail or blur on the Sony versus the Panasonic.

- In the store setting the Panasonic didn’t have too much trouble with reflection.

I am purchasing the TV for a family room, that is moderately bright during the day (my current 36″ SD CRT has some trouble with reflection). We will of course watch as much HD content as possible. Currently we watch your standard TV programs most of the time, and 1 or 2 DVD Movies a week….
My 9 year old also plays some GameCube (soon to be Wii) games.

Given our viewing habits, and the general family room location would the Plasma still be the better choice? The price difference and better blacks\colors are hard to dismiss. My wife does like the overall look of the XBR4 more (even when turned off….)

Your opinion would be very much appreciated. Thanks,

I have the Sony 40″ xbr2 in my basement, not a lot of light there. What do you suggest the custom settings be put on? I am a first time reader and your information is highly technical, but extremely insightful. Thanks for the help.

I would like to echo the question on comparing the XBR4 to the Panasonic. I have not been able to see them side by side but am really curious what someone with a trained eye (like, I assume, the Guru), would say. Or should I just wait for the new Pioneer?! thx

Thanks everyone for your insight and comments. It is helping me in my decision making as well – itching to buy for first time in 18 years and I just did though all your comments are confusing me – which one did I buy? more on that below.
However, let’s refrain from foul words, it is unbecoming. I mean for the most part, I sense that HDGuru is being both objective and subjective. He sounds human to me, just like you and me.
I sense he likes the Plasmas more and there are some good reasons. As well, there are good reasons to like LCD’s.
This week, I had the privilege of viewing Pioneer TV’s (Elite and Non-Elite beside new Samsung 1080P Plasma and LNT4665 LCD, Hitachi Plasma, Sharp 82 series LCD, SONY LCD W2000 from a short distance away in the same room, but unfortunately not the new Panasonics or new SONY XBR4/5. The facilitator swears that he calibrated all TV’s properly. He had a SONY 300 series Blu-ray playing new Superman movie and some test discs and also showed a Satellite HDTV 1080i signal (i.e. PBS HD).
I soon realized specs weren’t everything.
For the most realistic picture, the Pioneer won, everytime. Simply, the picture was a step above compared to others present. Picture meaning the colour accuracy, the whites were whiter, blacks were BLACK. Even when paused, flower contours were sharper and you know what, the model I’m referring to was not their 1080P model, although they had one there too. That’s right ! I heard Pioneer pulled this non-1080P model trick in Toronto, Canada a few months back when showing Distributor Reps, but now I’ve seen it for myself. Quite the feat. I guess that’s what you get when you have the smarts and control/ownership of manufacturing the entire TV as Pioneer does.
However, I can’t stand Piano Black bezels (too reflective & distracting – beautiful looking but not functional) when images are mirroring in it. As well, I noticed lots of reflection in most all the Plasmas screens compared with LCD screens. So for any backlight or sunlight hours watching (my TV room has Sun coming in most of the day – faces N.W., LCD is the winner. I heard the new XBR4 is even better at this.
As for motion blur, I couldn’t see a real difference between Plasmas or LCD’s – I probably would have to stand there longer than the 2 hour visit I made during this viewing.

best regards to all shoppers.
Anticipating new Pioneer models, but also LED backlight LCD’s and XBR4 models.

Oh yes, which did I buy. Well, I just bought a new 46″ XBR4. I haven’t calibrated it yet. Got employee pricing from a friend and the deal was sweet. The next day, I left and am still in Northern Canada (Ft.McMurray – Oil Sands area) and am coming home Friday to my new baby (TV). Will be looking for glare on the screen, will try to critique the blacks some more and watch for motion blur once I set it up and watch a Blu-ray movie or sports (Hockey, other game). I look forward to providing my comments later.

How does the 10-bit processor compare with the 32-bit processing capability of, say, JVC?

Does a higher bit-speed processor allow compensation for some of the same issues that 120 Hz is addressing?

HD Guru,

Can you post the before and after calibration reports.Include Color Point Accuracy, Color Decoder Error,Uniformity,Color temperature.

At a high end electronics store, I was able to view 52xbr2 v. 50pz700u…. the sony lcd had excellent colors…. but the motion blur is such a turn off. It irratates the heck out of me, I will be watching a lot of HD sports, and I would not be able to tolerate motion blur after having spent $4k on a tv…. that being said, the 50pz700u is not as bright as the sony, but motion blur was not noticable, the image was crisp and it stood out on a wall of many tv’s as the best picture…. i ended up going with a 58pz700u

If someone id going to invest over $10,000 on their video/audio system, what type of TV will they buy: plasma, front projector or LCD?

All I can say is “WOW”! What a nice TV (KDL-46XBR4)! Yeah, it did cost me big bucks but I feel it was well worth the investment.
Black levels are excellent, motion blur is not an issue and focus and clarity are very good, (images are clear and well separated). Very good in standard def as well. Haven’t hooked up a Blueray or DVD HD yet, (will have to wait for Christmas), but am looking forward to picture quality with a 1080P input.
If you want a very good performer and are willing to shell out the big bucks, this is the TV for you!

It seems that Mitusbishi especially with their new 244 series Diamond models is trying to join the top quality LCD’s club. Did you have a look at them in Denver? Any reviews forthcoming?
At least to my taste the thin bezel make them visually appealing, but I haven’t seen the screen image.
They are big bucks and just wondered if they’re worth it.

Your description of how the XBR4 handles 1080p/24 Hz was intriguing. Do you think the proper handling of 1080P/24 will always be handled by the Blue/Ray or HD/DVD player? Will any TVs do the proper conversion itself? Can the Players output unconverted signals for the TV to decode?

So have they discontinued the silver bezel from the XBR2? That would be very unfortunate since I’ve got a (miserable performance but really cool looking) Platinum Dream HTIB system with the same floating glass and brushed metal look. Can you confirm that they aren’t offering the brushed metal on the 4 or 5, or even on the replacement bezels?

I changed the setting from warm2 to cool and it seems to have fixed the orange tint on the red color.

Is the motion blur on LCD’s any less distracting at home then it is at the stores? I sat for 3 hours at circuit city and best buy, trying to convince myself that every time a pass was thrown during a fb game, that i wasnt having brainfreeze. i watch a lot of hockey, so until the motion blur is eliminated, i just cant trust putting big $’s to an lcd.

My sony 46″ rear projection has served me well, but i need a new tv. I do worry about burn-in, since my kids decided a nice nickelodeon bug was just what i wanted to have perminantly burned-in.

I was ready to put down $3k on the new pioneer 5080, but would really like to save $1500 and just get a panasonic TH-50PX75U, fits my needs maybe, i could then buy my wife a new dishwasher..

Hey az! You should check out the 46XBR4! I’m so pleased with mine! Looks like the extra specs have given this TV none to very little motion blur. (Not enough to really notice).
I watch a lot of NASCAR and NFL Football and am very pleased with the way the TV handles fast motion.

I don’t want to beat this 24fps 3:2 pulldown thing to death, but according to the quote below from the Sony website for this exact TV, the Sony does not do any 3:2 with 24fps content. And since the ps3 and some other high def DVD players output at true 24fps (no 3:2), then this TV should be doing 5:5. Here’s the quote:

Motionflow™ 120 Hz with Full HD high frame rate capability

Taking motion performance to the next level requires innovation and expertise. Enter Sony’s Motionflow™ High Frame Rate technology. Motionflow™ detects the incoming video signal and applies the appropriate processing for optimum motion reproduction. Taking full advantage of film sourced 24fps encoded content available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, Motionflow™ eliminates the need for 3:2 pulldown and delivers smooth, judder free video, faithfully preserving the integrity of the original film. When 60fps content is detected, Motionflow™ doubles the amount of frames and uses real-time calculation to create a new level of natural motion reproduction. You’ll experience movies and sports with a greater sense of realism than ever before.

Very much appreciate the thorough review and commentary.

After much research I finally broke down and purchased the 46XBR4.

Overall i had been happy with the TV but started to grow concerned that the picture wasn’t quite as sharp as i had hoped. I decided to buy a blu-ray player and do my own testing to see if the lack of clarity was due to the tv or due to the source (mostly 1080i content) that was being sent to the tv. WOW! What a difference. The blu-ray content was truly stunning with 1080p output directly to the tv. Even still, i did notice some motion issues (see Peter’s comment back on Sept 1st) during fast scenes. After many hours of playing with the different settings i isolated the source. In the picture settings menu there’s a setting for “Cinemotion” that’s supposed to “enhance” the quality of film based content. This Cinemotion setting defaults to “Auto 1″ for all inputs. I played with the setting and “Auto 2″ fixed the issue. I now have “Auto 2″ set for all of my inputs and its made all the difference.

As the HDGuru said in his review, this TV has a dizzying array of settings/options. After many hours of playing with these settings i have fin-tuned the tv and I must say that I’m truly happy with my choice. Picture quality is stunning and the overall design/quality of the tv is remarkable. Hope this commentary helps other owners fine-tune their XBR4.

im alittle confused abotu what HD Guru is sayign about acceptign 24p signals and 120hz stuff. Sony says there TVs accept 1080/24p and display them the CORRECT way WITHOUTany covnersions. this to me soudsn like the 24p signals that come into the TVS will not need a reverse 3:2 pulldown on them.

Hello,

You mention you can’t understand why people would pay more for LCD when plasma gives a better picture, except in bright light situations.

I think perhaps you may under estimate the number of people who have a less than ideal environment where a plasma would reflect so much that it would only be watchable at night. The larger the TV the larger the problem.

I have 25′ of glass overlooking the SF Bay which I can watch the sunset over the city. For me, I need a TV which works with my “million dollar view” and not one which I have to cover it up just to watch TV.

regarding James posting of 8/22, I have an 46xrb5
is it possible to give all the settings with the picture mode in Cinema or custom??????

I also notice that you haven’t focused on the 120hz motion. Sure it may up the lines of resolution for motion but it makes the image look terrible. I work in a retail store and both the samsung 71 and sony xbr make you want to barf when you turn on this feature. It takes away any good cinematic effect and makes the image look like it was filmed to be a documentary. It also makes the motion move too fast. Mouths don’t sync up with audio. It’s simply terrible. Maybe it would be good for watching football. We even put in the standard def Pirates bonus disc that comes with the Blu-ray movie. With the 120 on the video was almost a full second ahead of the audio. It was like watching a bad pirated movie on a computer. Im sorry but I would never spend an extra $1000 for one of these lcd over a plasma. For all you people who say lcd is cheaper look again. 52 inch lcds will retail for $3500 while a 50 inch plasma will be $2500-$3000. I say anyone buying a tv needs to actually look around with their eyes open before shelling out extra money.

I am about to pull the trigger on this set as well. Great tips on setup. But much like Dominion the room this is going in is a two story great room with a wall of windows. The set I purchase must handle a lot of sunlight coming from the south and west onto the screen. If anyone can definitely state that Plasma and / or DLP screens can handle the sunlight without washing out I would be more than happy to pursue them as I will usually be able to find more screen for the $$$. Again great setup tips! About the only thing I am able to actually check in the big box store environment are viewing angle and a little on the screeen glare by checking how bright the store’s lights reflect back – a bad omen for my situation. Are there any plasma or DLPs that can handle the sunlight?

First, let me start by saying I understand some of your concepts but in regards to displaying 24fps and 3:2 pulldowns I’m lost.

I have a Sony 52″ xbr3 and a Sony Blu-ray S300. I’m trying to get a 24p signal. I’m using a Monster HDMI cable for the connection.

I’m not getting a picture but instead displays this message.

“Unsupported Signal – Check your device output”

Is my TV not 24p capable?

First, let me start by saying I understand some of your concepts but in regards to displaying 24fps and 3:2 pulldowns I’m lost.

I have a Sony 52″ xbr3 and a Sony Blu-ray S300. I’m trying to get a 24p signal. I’m using a Monster HDMI cable for the connection.

I’m not getting a picture but instead displays this message.

“Unsupported Signal – Check your device output”

Is my TV not 24p capable?

Jose,

That problem is reported on Sony’s website for the 46XBR4 here’s the link:

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/news-item.pl?mdl=KDL46XBR4&news_id=194

There is a solution at the bottom of the screen.

I purchased the 46XBR4 recently from CC. I did not read that report first, would it have changed my mind, no because I haven’t had that problem, luckly. The picture quality is superior.

What is this nonsense about 50% resolution in Vivid and Standard mode, did it ever occur to you to try changing picture settings in those modes? How about turning OFF DRC? I have the TV and believe that is what made the difference between proper and proper deinterlacing…just turn DRC off for high-def channels and you should have all the lines resolved.

Also to those users that compained about the unnatural motion in movies…it has to do with the CineMotion feature which is in addition to the 120HZ processing. Leave the 120HZ in standard and Turn OFF CineMotion and that will keep the default 24 frame rate on movies and still give you the benefit of reducing motion blur.

CineMotion deals specificly with converting the frame rate which makes the movies seem unnatural.

Just read the full review and CNET.com and you will see the difference between a truly professional review and one made by HD Guru.

Thanks

[...] wishbone clover added an interesting post today on Comment on Exclusive: First Review of the Sony KDL-46XBR4 by Dgden [...]

[...] wishbone clover added an interesting post on Comment on Exclusive: First Review of the Sony KDL-46XBR4 by Comment… [...]

Eric, with reference to your posting on Oct 5, can you please publish your settings so that we all can benefit from your hard work?

Sony Bravia KDL-46W3000 while watching standard tv having problem with green tint. made many adjustments nothing seems to help. any suggestions?

What are the main differences between XBR & non-XBR models of Sony? Appreciate your inputs.

Here’s the thing – even if the best plasma tvs put out a picture that looked like an IMAX movie under perfect conditions, that wouldn’t work for me because in my living room with 7 windows, I’d see my neighbor’s red honda accord in every shot. This is the major advantage for me personally in LCDs. If I had a dedicated home theater, I’d probably be looking at plasmas, but as such – LCD is the way to go. I think you would avoid some of the criticism you get by acknowledging the fact that LCD simply is a better choice for very common conditions. You don’t have to live “in a retail showroom or has set up an ultra-bright, high ambient light viewing environment that mimics a showroom” to appreciate having a non-reflective screen. You just have to be an average american with a TV set up in a living room with natural light.

Thanks for the review – sounds like it will be an awesome TV.

Mine went out 13 days after buying it.

Great analysis.
Any chance you will do an equivalent one for the Mitsubishi 46244? There are a fair number of reviews out there (uneven quality…) on Sony’s XBR and Samsung’s 71/81 but very few, to none, for Mitsubishi 244: any reason for that?

Al McInnis, I am choosing between the same too sets. Since its been more than three months since your post, I assume that you have made your purchase by now. Which set did you pick and why?

Thanks for getting back to me.

ToLawyer

Toronto, Canada

Let me first say thank you to all that write in, I have used your knowledge to help me in deciding on two sony xbr 4 (40in and 46) lcd. I just got the tv’s home and set up to io cable using a hdmi . Can anyone help me to adjust the proper settings? I like that 3d look that i get on some hd channels but not all. I have used some of the setting that people write in but feel that the ones i have used look muted i dont get that” fall out of the screen picture” I would appreciate any help because i am a beginer to this all. Also does anyone know the proper settings for the cable box? should i be receiving all 480, 720 and 1080 signals or just the 1080 setting? thanks again

Hello,
THis is Pioneer Engineer, nice to seet you.
I’m very intresting ”FPD Benchmark Software For Professional”.
Could you send it for me

I second JohnM8114, gaming and fear of image retention drove me to LCD. As I only watched DVDs, I settled on the bargain Sharp LC-32D40U (720p).

…then I bought a PS3, and am loving the hi-def gaming (50% of use) and blu-ray/upscaling (50% of use). I do not watch televised broadcasts.

My dilemma: is it worth the money in terms of improved experience to upgrade to the Sony KL-40XBR4? This would not be a budget buster, but I would like to justify this switch. Any snap judgments, HDGuru?

Hi, after reading your comment in regards to plasma, I came to this conclusion.

Even though plasma have better red and black colour, they don’t produce the overall colours as accurately as the latest generation X series from Sony, especially the white.

So in my book lcd is still better. Because most of the time I watch broadcasted program rather than DVD.

re: Vinny’s request on 11/29

Here are the settings I use for my 46XBR4. Remember that the settings are stored by input so you’ll need to change these for each input source you have. BTW – If this is helpful, I have a Motorola digital cable box and a PS3 both connected to the TV via HDMI. I’ve kept my settings the same for both sources.

In the Picture settings:
Backlight = 4
Picture = 80
Brightness = 55
Color = 45
Hue = 0
Color Temp = Prefer Neutral but Warm 1 is nice also
Sharpness = 80
Noise Reduction = Off, although I had to turn this on while watching Planet Earth on Blu-Ray for some reason. I was getting bad flashing of light in a couple of scenes and turning this on High cured it. For everything else though I’ve left it off b/c I’ve noticed some ghosting in dark scenes with this on. I’d leave it off for most HD programming.
MPEG Noise Reduction = Off
DRC Mode = Off
DRC Pallette = Off
Under Advanced Settings; Gamma=Medium, Color Space=Standard, all others are Off

Under the Video Options Menu:
Motion Enhancer – High
Cinemotion – Auto 2, as I mentioned in my 10/5/07 posting Auto 1 did some funky things to the image.

Hope this is helpful for you. Happy New Year everyone!

I recently bought a Sony 46″ XBR4 and an Onkyo SD-TR705 A/V receiver. For $300, Best Buy says they will come out and tweek the picture and it will supposedly be far better than the standard settings. Has anyone had this service done? Is it worth the $300? Any feedback would be apprreciated.

Mike, personally I would save the $300. There are some simple things you can do yourself that will likely yield the same or better results than what BB or CC could do.

First, as HDGuru noted in his initial review I’d make your picture setting changes in either the Cinema or Custom mode, so flip to one of these before doing anything. [Also, keep in mind you'll need to change your new settings for each input you use e.g. HDMI 1, Component 1, etc.]

Second, find a DVD that has a THX video optimizer. All of the recent Disney-Pixar movies (e.g. Cars) have one under Setup in the disc’s main menu. I think all THX-certified DVD’s have the optimizer. This has a really simple user interface that walks you through 5-6 screens to adjust brightness, contrast, color levels, etc. Here’s a CNET article on the optimizer http://www.cnet.com.au/dvdpvr/dvdrecorders/0,239035839,240056302,00.htm. There are more advanced tools out there but this has worked really well for me – its free and it only takes 5-10 minutes.

Third, take a look at my posting from this morning, 1/1/08, above. These are the settings I’ve settled on AFTER going through the THX Optimizer and based on my own personal preferences for color/tonality, brightness, etc.

I honestly don’t think you’ll get more than this from BB or CC. Their technicians will likely use a similar tool but they won’t be as familiar with this particular TV. I have spent hours (my wife would say days) over the last three months fine-tuning settings and viewing various different reference material and i’m very pleased with my 46XBR4.

Best of luck! P.S. When I say “save” the $300 I really mean invest it in a Blu-Ray player instead . Feel free to write back with questions.

I upgrade from a 42″ panny plasma to a 52″ xbr4. The reason I chose LCD over plasma this time around is because my 42″ plasma exhibited plasma buzz which could not be remedied. It was really noticeable during scenes with little or no sound and was really annoying. I sit about 8 feet away from the screen. The TV sits about 1 foot away from the wall.

When I was at the showroom looking at 50″ TV’s, I listened to all the plasma’s (panasonic, hitachi, Pioneer, and Toshiba) and they all had the plasma buzz at varying levels… probably not as loud as the one I had, but still, under ambient conditions, would be noticeable at 8 feet distance. I’ve also found that the plasma’s run hotter than the equiv. sized lcd. I put my hand over the top vents and I can really feel the heat. That’s not to say that the LCD doesn’t heat up, it does, but not as much as plasmas. My 42″ panny does a good job as a secondary heater for my room as well.

I just wanted to point out that for those of us who don’t scrutinize every frame displayed on the screen for accuracy and consistency, there is really no huge difference in what you see on an LCD vs. what is shown on a plasma. Sure, if you compare side-by-side the very best properly calibrated plasma vs. the very best properly calibrated LCD and you stared at the screen long enough, you would notice differences, but they are not showstoppers.

For these reasons, I chose LCD.

I want to buy a full 1080p set. I read several reviews on Sony’s 52 xbr5 and 46 xbr4. As usual, Sony gets very good reviews. The problem is that they all say that the sets have BELOW average upconversion. One review alludes to this being resolved by a professional who know hao to calibrate it and set it up properly. Is this true?!

anybody getting a thin green bar on the right side of the screen in full pixel mode i have a kdl-40xbr4 anyone have any answers thanks

Hey! I just got a KDL-46XBR4 yesterday, haven’t really had a chance to mess with the settings too much. I use my PS3 as a DVD/Blu-ray Player, are there any settings besides the “Motion Enhancer” to High settings that I need to change to get the full 120Hz Motionflow effect on Blu-ray? This is my first LCD TV and I want to try to get the most out of it! Also, when I play games on the PS3, does it really matter if I change the settings to “game” (I think thats what its called) I noticed that it just changed the brightness of the picture. Thank you!

Hi Gary.

Can you tell me how to obtain this FPD Benchmark disc?

HD Guru, \

Got a question for you

just bought a new sony bravia xbr4 from sears. They dropped the price to 1899.00 (over 600.00 price drop could’t resist it). They say sony discontinue the xbr4 and is moving ahead with the xbr5 which is 500.00 dollars more for a black piano finish. Other than that, the internal workings are the same can’t see paying 500.00 more for a black shining piano finish. Love the sony I think it is great.

However, I have notice that three bad pixels have shown up – not to bad – two in corner one just off center. Bothers me when I’m on the computer mostly. Annoying more than anything. Sears said they would take it back for exchange no problem as long as it is within the 30 days which it is I bought it on feb 6. Thinking of returning it but don’t like the hassel of taking it all down off the wall mount etc. I tried to push on the dead pixels to revive them – this worked for me on my laptop and fixed the problem. However, no luck with the sony xbr4 they are still there.

Do you know of anything else I can try to fix the 3 dead pixels problem? Or should I just return it for another one? Time is ticking away. Thanks in advance.

John Monaco
Lmonaco@nycap.rr.com

rosicky7, since the HD Guru hasn’t reponded to your post, I can only say that when you are watching images from a Sony S300 Blu-ray player or satellite HD signals, try having your TV image set to Vivid. I’ve watched certain Blu-ray discs and it is almost 3D-like in the extra depth and vibrancy. I’ve watched some where I feel like I am right there watching it being filmed, it is that amazing!

I bought a 46XBR4 last September. It’s in a finished basement and doesn’t get used much. It’s hooked to Charter Cable thru their DVR. There is infrequent random audio popping and much more frequent random audio outage as well as picture breakup. I know the audio outage and picture breakup are cable problems because we get them with smaller regular CRT TV’s in the house. My concern is the occasional random popping noise, which could also be called a sharp crack. What is the likely source of the popping noise?

I have owned a 52Xbr5 for one week. I have the same problem as Jim (random clicks and pops from my TV). Actually these clicks are most noticeable when turning my set on and off. But I also hear the occasional click while watching my TV (could be once an hour could be less in frequency) but the clicks are noticeable.

Has the cause been determined? Is it fixable?

Thanks for your response(s).

ToLawyer

I just purchased a Sony 40″ XBR4 LCD with 120 Hz @ Best Buy and imported into my home in Mexico last week, also purchased the Samsung DUO BD-UP5000 (coz I was left with a big library of HD-DVD movies), I already own in my house a Samsung 42″ Plasma 1080i, a Mitsubishi 73″ DLP 1080p (in my custom made home theater) and 2 other LCD’s 20″ as well as old 21″ CRT in my kitchen, ……. I have to say of all of my tv’s, the XBR4 is by far the best tv I have ever owned, I hanged it on my bedroom wall, my prior bedroom tv was also an XBR but was CRT and I had owned it for 14 years. The video quality from either HD-DVD or Blu-ray content is AWSOME, BEUTIFUL, AMAZING, on the other hand, the XBR’s ability to upconvert 480p content to near HD is AMAZING, see, in Mexico we have no aray of HD channles to choose from, we have at most 3 over the air channels, but when using cable the most we can get is possibly 480p and the XBR does a marvelous job upconverting the signal to near HD, …. on the XBR defence Vs Plasma, I would have to say that the BIGGEST ADVANTAGE Vs other Plasmas would have to be the SOUND, audio from this particular TV is extreemly good, the other day I was watching a movie and my wife thought the sound was coming out of my custom made home theater where I have an Onkyo receiver with 7.1 channels feeding 7 speakers + the subwoofer, but I was in my bedroom with my XBR, …. sound is by far better than any other TV I currently have and that I have seen out in the market, …. so future LCD buyers, look for XBR’s, they give EXCEPTIONAL Audio and Excellent Video quality

My experience with Sony LCD’s has not been good.

REcently upgraded to a Samsung from my old LG 32 inch. Much better performance

I recently bought a Sony KDL-46XBR4. Due to a bright room (5 Windows), we like the Vivid setting. However, I set the picture to Custom and Cinema after reading your review, but the picture looks dull or washed out. Can you offer some settings that would brighten the picture in Custom or Cinema so we get a simular picture to Vivid, and get the benefit of the full resolution? Thanks

friends,

I wonder if this loss of resolution in default mode is the case with all Sony Bravia TVs?
Because I have a W3000.

Thanks for your review. It was very fair and you did a professional job.

I have a KDL-46W3000 just notice a red line on the right side of the screen 4 or 5 in. from the side running top to bottom.My tv is 45 days out of warrenty. Is there any ajustment that I can do to avoid a service charge? Also does it hurt the tv to run in vivid mode I like the brightness?

Sony BDP-S550 Blu-ray and 46XBR2. Whats the best setting to view blue rays.

KDL-46XBR4 died after 15 months – 3 months beyond warranty. It costs more to repair than to replace. LCD panel color/power is dark and motion is gone on right 2/3 of display. Chatting with the service tech I learned that 50% of his calls are for bad panels. Don’t buy a Sony XBR unless you also pony up for an extended warranty to cover their shoddy workmanship!!