Sony Bravia XBR
KDL-52XBR4 Wins Our Best 'High End' LCD Award
written March 2008
Quality is important to
you. The extra investment required to secure a top of the
line viewing experience is money well spent. But how can
you know that you’re getting what you paid for? With
slick and glossy marketing campaigns, it can be quite the
chore to see through the hype to find the real
performers.
You’re in luck today. This past week was set
aside for a review of high end and high performance LCD
televisions. We walked right past all the bargain sets,
mid range and all arounders… This was the week where we
were searching for the best of the best. Needless to say,
we were excited… After much research, we came to the
conclusion that the Sony Bravia XBR KDL-52XBR4 deserves
this title. Here's why:
What's Good
The Sony KDL-52XBR4 is definitely a
powerhouse of a set. While there are some television sets
on the market that could be considered a step forward in
LCD technology, this Sony Bravia would have to be
considered a giant leap by comparison. Here’s a snapshot
of some of the more desirable
features:
-
52 inch screen
-
Full 1080p display
-
Has 120Hz technology
-
Deep Blacks
-
BRAVIA Theatre Sync
With a generous 52 inch screen, this Sony Bravia
offers a full 1080p resolution (Screen displays 2,000,000
pixels) as you’d expect in this price-range. What you may
not have expected though, is the 120Hz operating speed.
One of the weaknesses of LCD televisions has been the
relatively slow 60Hz operating speed.
Sony has labeled this feature as “Motionflow.”
As movie scenes or videogames hit the higher paced action
packed scenes, you will notice a significant improvement
in the televisions performance. No more blurry, artifact
plagued scenes. Once you’ve seen the performance of a
120Hz set, you’ll find it difficult to go
back.
In order to illustrate how much of an
improvement this feature is over previous LCD
televisions; a friend of mine who viewed this television
told me the next day he was having daydreams of this
television… I truly felt for him. Imagine closing your
eyes and seeing the words “Sony 52XBR4 buy” scrolling
inside your head. Yes, if you’re a big fan of excellent
picture quality, and the thought of crystal clear viewing
pleasure really gets you going, then you will be a fan of
this TV very soon as well.
It shouldn’t take you but a few moments of
viewing this television set to find that the picture
quality is among the best on the market. In fact, despite
the fact that LCD technology has been known to have
trouble reproducing the color black at the same level of
a plasma, the Sony Bravia XBR KDL-52XBR4 easily dishes
out a gorgeous, deep, and convincing black that is rarely
seen on an LCD. This definitely scored a few extra
brownie points with us.
No mater how great your TV screen looks, there
is nothing more annoying than searching endlessly in vain
for that ever elusive remote that never seems to be
around when you need it. Sony has come up with a great
feature known as Theatre Sync which allows the remote to
control multiple components via HDMI. If your other
components have Sony HDMI control capability, then you’ll
find this feature a refreshing alternative to crawling
around reaching under the sofa searching for missing
remotes.
What's Bad
It’s tough to find anything to dislike with the
Sony Bravia as it is an excellent television set. However,
as with anything, if you look hard enough, you can find
some negative things. Here’s what we
uncovered.
Limited
viewing angle – From some
angles, the picture does diminish.
Greens and
blues – Despite the brilliant
image, you may occasionally notice a small bit of blue in
the greens and reds. Barely noticeable, but it is still
present.
Out of the
box settings – When first
taken out of the box, the initial factory settings may be a
bit too overwhelming for some (Brightness settings are quite
high), and you may spend some time fiddling with the remote
to find the setting that is just right for
you
What Others
Had To Say:
Sony
Bravia KDL-52XBR4 Reviews from the
Web
As of March 27th,
2008
Consumer Reports
recommends this set and rates it "among our
top-scoring models." Below you will also notice how the Sony
52XBR4 is highly rated among actual owners of this great
TV:
 
Our Overall Rating:
9.5
There’s certainly a lot to love here. I must
admit that I was often tempted to buy Sony 52XBR4 for
myself. Assuming I could explain that one to the
significant other, I just may have. Considering the
great picture and sound quality of this set and all the
great consumer reviews, we can without
hesitation rate the Sony KDL-52XBR4 a
9.5/10.
Where to
Buy:
So now that we know this great LCD set is worth
the investment, how can you find a Sony 52XBR4 for the
best price? We’ve found the average price range to be
$3,000 - $3,500. While it’s certainly not the cheapest
set you can find, if you are looking for quality,
features, and ground-breaking performance then the Sony
Bravia 52XBR4 delivers in spades.
Click here to search for your
Sony 52XBR4 best price .
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