Although CNET did not review the 52-inch Sony KDL-52XBR4, we did review the 46-inch Sony KDL-46XBR4. Judging from their spec sheets, the two Sony flat-panel LCD HDTVs are identical but for screen size, so we expect the picture quality of the 46-inch model to provide a good indication of how the 52-incher will perform. For more information, check out the full review of the Sony KDL-46XBR4. For additional details on Sony's other lines of LCD HDTVs, check out our Down the Line coverage.
Intro:
The Sony Bravia KDL-52XBR4 is a 52-inch, liquid crystal display television.Compared to other liquid crystal display TVs on the market, it is expensive at around $3,205.This TV is an LCD display, which is generally the best kind of flat-panel screen for viewing in brightly-lit rooms.
Noteworthy Features:
Has a 52-inch screen size.This is larger than the average TV on the market today, but is to be expected for a TV of this price.This set can display images that are sharper and more realistic than analog television when connected to a high definition signal.The 3:2 pulldown feature of this TV reduces artifacts that can occur when motion pictures are transferred to a digital format such as DVD.
Weaker Features:
Has only a rear connector location.
Suitability:
Built for those who want to enjoy an ultra-sharp picture from an ultra-thin TV.In general, a wide aspect display such as this one is well suited for DVD movies recorded in the popular 16:9 format, as well as high definition programming.
Value:
In general, this TV's price seems a bit steep, with respect to its features.On the other hand, you would typically pay about 20% more to get a liquid crystal display TV having roughly the same viewable size.
Suggestions:
(1) For assistance in shopping for a new HDTV, read CNET editors' Ultimate HDTV Buying Guide.(2) If donating or repurposing your old TV is not a viable option, CNET encourages households to recycle their electronics.Please explore the following website to find a recycling center in your area Electronics Take Back Coalition.
Receiving HDTV broadcast:
The three common methods to receive HDTV broadcasts are via satellite-TV set-top box, cable system set-top box, and over-the-air reception from a digital HDTV broadcast station.
True HDTV:
True HDTV programming is now available in three resolutions: 720p, 1080i, or 1080p.
Tuner options:
An HDTV-ready satellite or cable box will act as an outboard HDTV tuner for your digital TV set that lacks a built-in HD tuner.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Been studying and waiting for 2 months....absolutely worth the wait!
I have been studying and waiting...seemingly forever for the right HDTV. Over time, I settled on an LCD because ...
I have been studying and waiting...seemingly forever for the right HDTV. Over time, I settled on an LCD because I am worried about glare, and I want a wide viewing angle. I had my decision narrowed down to Sony, Sharp, and Samsung. I sought opinions from "experts" and from friends that know a good deal about AV equipment. Obviously, there were many supporters for each of these televisions, and I was seriously leaning toward the Samsung. It is certainly NOT true that money was no object when I bought this TV, but I did make the decision that I was going to pay what I needed to in order to get the best television. After the XBR4 finally arrived in Boston, I went to do the side-by-side comparision for the 3. Maybe not the smartest thing...but I went with the "eyeball test" to make the final decision. In my opinion, there was NO comparison. This TV (52" XBR4) is the best. As I said above, it is beautiful on its own, but the picture quality for HD channels (comcast digital cable) is superb. I really can't tell yet if the Motionflow is going to make that much of a difference, but I did watch a baseball game and a football game in HD, and I really didn't notice ANY blur...(if that changes, I'll update...). Also, bought my first bluray movie (300) and watched via my PS3...I honestly was amazed at how wonderful it was. I may never go to a theater again (IF BluRay survives).
I haven't "tweaked" the settings yet, but even still, the picture quality is out of this world. The speakers on the TV itself are above average, but to be fair, they are not excellent. In all honesty, though, if you are going to pay this much money for a TV, you should really (if possible) spend the extra money in order to enjoy the surround sound that comes with HD.
Admittedly, I was a little hesitant to buy such a new TV before I read any reviews, but the smaller versions of the XBR4 have been reviewed in other forums and performed quite well. There is also the issue of the price. I am NOT a rich man, so my hands were trembling a bit when I prepared to fork over 2 house payments for a television...but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the store I was at had dropped the price an ADDITIONAL $450. I think that is about as low as the price will go for a while (the demand seems to be high already....I got the last XBR4 in the store, and I was the 4th to purchase one that day). The unexpected price cut made the whole thing more palatable for me, and I (logically) assumed it was a sign from above.
Bottom line, I have only had it for about 24 hours, but I think I may be in love already. If I come across any problems, I WILL edit or re-post, but for now, this thing is GREAT!!!
(*side note: I gave a 10/10 for the customer support section of this review, mostly because the documentation, etc that I do have is easy to use and interpret. I have NOT called customer support, and I hope I won't have to.)
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by rtlancaster (see profile) -
September 3, 2007
7 out of 10 - Very good Big screen shows how bad is your source!
Like all of you, I studied a while before spending the 3K+. Having 4 windows arround the TV wall forced ...
Like all of you, I studied a while before spending the 3K+. Having 4 windows arround the TV wall forced me to an LCD, and glossy screen was a must. Initialy I liked Sharp, but bad reviews about inconsistent bands made me look at Toshiba 167,Samsung 61, and Sony XBR4 series. Toshiba went down fast, once I could see the green color inaccuracy, while watching Pirates of Caraibean trails in the store. The battle was between Sony and Samsung, especially that they use same LCD. Color wise, I chose Sony as the winner. Once was installed on the wall, the frustration came when I realized how noisy my Comcast STD signal is. Changing the cable box to a High Def box, with HDMI output helped, but the MPEG2 encoding junk is visible on a screen this size. When they made this MPEG2 standard, they did not consider screens larger than 20 inch. So I played with the MPEG filters setting, and noticed a big improvement for the STD signal. Just when I thought I fixed it with the High setting, I noticed, when watching HD content, that the image had ghosting effects, even when someone would move his head, or hand fast. There is no separate setting for same input, based on the signal type, so I have to change this setting every time I switch content. Since my cable box has only one HDMI output, I am thinking to use the Component input for watching the STD signal, because is easier to switch between sources, than going to the filter menu. Just I didn't make the wall holle large enough for the extra cable, so be aware. Maybe I will go back to the store and try to see when using a dish signal is any better, it could be just Comcast compression junk. Otherwise, is a great looking TV, with a great picture.
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by istul (see profile) -
January 10, 2008
8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
5 out of 10 - Average The clarity of the standard defintion channels is not clear
I was looking so forward to the purchase of my new HD TV. I set up my new Sony TV, ...
I was looking so forward to the purchase of my new HD TV. I set up my new Sony TV, I upgraded my cable service to HD digital, I even added the Sony surround sound to the equation, so I was ready for the best of the best! I had ready all the specs and even comments here on cnet and thought certainly that I had made the right choice. Unfortunately there are very few HD channels and I still watch many programs on that Standard Defintion. The picture is what I would call grainy or smeared, definately not the crystal clear picture that Sony describes in their specs about their DRC-MF feature that increases the processing power and provides a sharp, crystal clear image with both 480i and 480p standard defintion. (exact quote). I absolutely did not expect these results, so I had thrown the boxes away so now I am "stuck" with this tv and it's poor picture on Standard Def. I sure wish someone would have had this review out that I am writing. Hopefully I am saving someone out there from making such a purchase. Also I know it is not the cable service because I even had a tech come out to check my lines and the signal is perfect. If there is anyone out there that did not have this problem please respond. Maybe there is hope for me yet.
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by marpole10 (see profile) -
January 14, 2008
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Best lcd on the market
I've enjoyed the kdl52xbr4 for a couple weeks now. After about a years search, this tv is the one ...
I've enjoyed the kdl52xbr4 for a couple weeks now. After about a years search, this tv is the one to have. I narrowed it down to a samsung (also with the 120 refresh rate), and the sony. The screen on the samsung was just shiny for my great room. It was almost like a plasma. The sony has no such problems. Several things stand out. The default settings give a tremendous picture. I did some tweaking, and these caused an improvement, but for many people, I'm sure the defaults will be perfect. In reality, I watch most tv in standard def. That is the most impressive area of this set. The standard def is just awesome. Not to short the hd, which is beyond belief, but the std def quality makes this , in my view, the best all around package. I don't have a ps3 yet, but all the old ps2 games take on a new life. Particularly, Castlevania Curse of Darkness and Lament of Innocence just gave me chills. They were spectacular on the 36" jvc, but they just blow you away on the xbr4. In particular, the castle sequences with the stained glass windows in the hallways are almost like a religious experience. Thanks Sony. All old games become new again. I haven't tried the blu ray movies or ps3 games yet, but I'm not a big movie guy either. The speakers are adequate. I was used to a pair of large pioneer speakers for sound, but need smaller ones now. Whatever...they are the next replacement. Another neat feature is the sound and picture tweaks for each input. This may be standard for this type of tv, I don't know, but a nice touch. I was watching the nbc evening news last night in hd. I messed with the sound ssettings, and experienced an echo in some of them. I reset to the defaults, and tweaked up from there and made the echo go away, so thats probably not a big deal. Two final observations: I got this tv from circuit city. Before I bought it, I checked their web site, and found that the web had free set up and delivery for large screen tvs. I told the salesman this, and he readily extended this to my instore purchase. That saved $150 bucks. I also got interest free payments till 2010. During set up, the tv scans for your cable channels. It picked up 12 digital channels that I didn't have before, as well as my cable co's hd local content; an added bonus. Maybe mums the word on that one! In any event, this tv was worth every penney. If you have been waiting for the right lcd tv, this is the one. Go get it! ps: I'm rating this as a 9, but in reality, it's more like a 9.9. Seems like a 10 is a no no around here!
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by roadguy2005 (see profile) -
September 20, 2007
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Absolutely Fabulous!
I studied and reviewed HDTV for about a year and finally settled on the Sony 52" XBR4. In the showroom ...
I studied and reviewed HDTV for about a year and finally settled on the Sony 52" XBR4. In the showroom the Sony picture and color looked superior to other brands. I knew that retailers tried to wow customers by playing Blu-Ray discs and setting the picture mode to Vivid and was willing to accept a somewhat lesser picture in my own home. Boy, was I wrong! The clarity and color reproduction in HD through my cable is fabulous. My house is THE place to watch football games now. I also thought that the 52" might be too big. Because of the clarity of HD there's no such thing as too big. This set has surpassed what I thought was possible. I can't imagine a better picture even with Blu-Ray. Although Sony is priced a little higher you'll be getting a quality product. My other Sony TV's have lasted at least 20 years. You can tweak and calibrate the picture to you heart's content on this model with all of the controls. Out of the box the Standard setting was an outstanding picture but I have tweaked the other three picture modes to my liking. If you are on the fence, jump off and get this set. I only rated it a 9 because it is a little pricey.
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by terpitude (see profile) -
January 4, 2008
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Can't beat this tv
First off, don't believe the display at the store. I got mine at Best Buy (only because it was ...
First off, don't believe the display at the store. I got mine at Best Buy (only because it was the last one in town and nobody knew when they were going to get any more) and on the shelf it looked pretty bad. I actually had second thoughts about spending that much money for it, but once I got it home and hooked up I was absolutely amazed. The difference was unbelievable. I've had everyone I know come over and not a single person has been able to think of anything bad to say about it. Compared to all of my friends "TV's," wait, they can't be compared because this one is on a whole different level. The picture is way better, from analog to digital to HD. So if you are having second thoughts like I was, don't. You will not be disappointed. And like others, I gave it a 9 because nothing is perfect.
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by bigrupp (see profile) -
October 21, 2007
2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular BEST LCD OUT THERE!!!
Sony continues to blow me away with their television technology. The XBR4 is plain and simply an amazing television. I ...
Sony continues to blow me away with their television technology. The XBR4 is plain and simply an amazing television. I just smile when I see the little Sony Emblem light up everytime I turn on this TV. You will not be disappointed at all with this TV.
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by krugs246 (see profile) -
September 15, 2007
2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Awesome TV!
I owned an XBR2 and promptly sold it after viewing a couple of these TV's set up at various ...
I owned an XBR2 and promptly sold it after viewing a couple of these TV's set up at various retailers. Right out of the box this set outperformed the XBR2. The HD picture from Directv is stunning. SD picture quality is very much improved. I have an Onkyo TX-NR905 receiver with the HQV Reon video processor that I used to process the XBR2 to improve picture quality. I plan to pass through the HD content untouched by the Reon. That's how good the HD processor is in the XBR4. Sony did a good job with this newest version of an already wonderful set. I am very happy thus far and I highly recommend this set. The HD picture is startlingly life like. The improvement in SD quality over the XBR2 is very good. Congratulations Sony, you have not let me down. I would like to rate this set a perfect 10, but I wont. I was upset to see that someone that doesn't even own this set submitted a review and gave this set a very unfair rating of 6.
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by hifitvguy (see profile) -
September 13, 2007
2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 out of 10 - Perfect Spectacular
This is a great TV, that can be used from regular TV watching to playing your PS3/Xbox 360. The ...
This is a great TV, that can be used from regular TV watching to playing your PS3/Xbox 360. The price is a bit high, but this is the best LCD you can ask for. If you watch standard def tv, the picture quality won't be the best, but it IS worth buying.
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by BlitzBoy1120 (see profile) -
June 15, 2008
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular Love it Hate it the finest set currently available
I first looked at this set when it hit the stores and was in awe of the picture quality. "No ...
I first looked at this set when it hit the stores and was in awe of the picture quality. "No friggin way was I gonna pay 5K for a TV". I told myself if the price dropped below 3K I'm in. Well good ole Circuit City justed happened to have a big sale right before the superbowl, and to sweeten the deal, they gave me another 10% off. ($2699.00) I have the cheapie sony BD-S300 and was stunned how good the picture was. Even my wife, who could care less was amazed. Nothing comes close to this set, with the exception of the 52" sammie, but the sony still smokes it. (not by much) The Bad: Standard Def is WAY bad, I mean almost to the point of not watching it. I have Dish Network with the old VOOM (R.I.P.) high def package and even the 1080i stuff is nothing to write home about. So, feed this thing 1080p and it has no equal, until the broadcast technology catches up with the TV, (1080p)I'll have to live with it. My blu-ray collection will have to get me by.
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by Desert Bum (see profile) -
February 4, 2008
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