Sony Bravia XBR-52HX909

• Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 11 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 10 stars

  I thought I was going to buy a Samsung

  by zgerdoc on November 28, 2010

  Pros: Incredibly deep plasma like blacks

  Cons: No built in WI-fi

  Summary: I recently decided I was going to purchase a new TV. I went online and spent a lot of time researching everything. It seemed like the Samsung UNC8000 was a ...

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  Summary: I recently decided I was going to purchase a new TV. I went online and spent a lot of time researching everything. It seemed like the Samsung UNC8000 was a well liked set by most reviewers. It is a edge lit LED set with the added feature of local backlight control.
  
  So I go to BB to look at this set. I'm in a relatively bright area and I see flashlights in the bottom corners. No guessing where the light source is located. I think to myself, "self, how terrible will this look in lower light?" So I go into the Magnolia room and spot the Samsung UNC9000, the flagship. Really beautiful looking set. Turn it on and it is flashlighting also. I ask the guy to turn on the other TV in the room. We are watching Beowolf and the scene goes black. The Samsung turns dark gray with corner flashlights and the other TV goes pitch black. I can't tell the bezel apart from the screen. "Oh my God!", I said, asking what TV I was looking at. Turns out it was the Sony HX909. I didn't remember reading much about it. More about the PQ. Gorgeous is all I can say. The colors were dead on. The trumpet in Beowulf was gold like a trumpet should be. Turn around and it is dull yellow on the Samsung. The dark blacks of the Sony create so much contrast that all you can say is Wow! I really tried to get the Samsung to match the Sony. I lowered the backlighting, made sure it was in cinema mode and that it had its backlight control on. It still looked terrible compared to the Sony. I then tried to make the Sony look bad. I put it in torch mode and there was no flashlighting and it was still pretty impressive.
  
  So I knew I needed to research a little more. Turns out what separates this set from the masses is its full array back lighting. Said another way, Most sets use LED lighting along the sides. This allows for cheaper manufacturing costs and thinner profiles with the downside of poor screen uniformity and annoying flashlights and waterfalls of bright light on a dark screen. The backlit sets puts the LEDs in the back behind the display. This adds the benefit of a more uniform appearance and much better black levels. The only downside I have heard of with these is the cost and halos around bright objects on dark backgrounds. Last year several manufacturers made full array sets. Samsung made the UNB8500, which cnet rated as one of the best sets they ever tested. Now all they make are edgelits. It seems that Sony, LG, and Vizio are the only makers left. Rumor has it that Sony is getting out of the game. Having seen the two technologies side by side, The full arrays are worth every penny. Better get one while you can as it looks like the manufacturers are taking a step backwards in PQ and focusing more on thinner, gadgets, and 3D. I guess that they are too expensive to make and thus hard to market and sell.
  
  I have not seen the Vizio. The LG 9500 IMO is a really nice set but did not have as nice of blacks as the Sony. For the Sony...Televisioninfo.com rates this TV very highly except for its MSRP of $3,500. Cnet also rated it very good, criticizing it for some blue tones on black and also for its price. My set is calibrated (You can get very good settings for free off of AVS forums) and I see no blue tones on black. If you look around you can find this set for $2,300 online, which in my opinion makes the best LED out there at a good value.

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  3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Outstanding picture

  by truthcounts2 on September 25, 2010

  Pros: TV has outstanding picture colors are true and deep blacks with excellent contrast, good internet interface and selection. Slick monolith design.

  Cons: The remote has normal universal functions to be used on a BD or DVR except there is no "pause" function. Why bother putting DVR and BD functions on a remote if you can not pause? Isn't that the most used dvr button?

  Summary: Great TV picture and features and a remote that is simple and easy to use but missing the most common button that most people look for.

  Summary: Great TV picture and features and a remote that is simple and easy to use but missing the most common button that most people look for.

  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 10 stars

  Brilliant display of colors. Top Quality

  by vipulsea on July 13, 2010

  Pros: The colors were dynamic, especially the ability to distinguish from the black and partition the black colors from the other colors. They are running a special right now where you can get 2 glasses for free together with the 3D transmitter.

  Cons: The price is on the high side, but after considering he quality of the sony name versus say a samsung, where customer service is non-existent, I would go with Sony every time.

  Summary: This is my first purchase of a Sony product and given that they are pioneers in 3D, it is better to go with the company that is pioneering 3D content ...

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  Summary: This is my first purchase of a Sony product and given that they are pioneers in 3D, it is better to go with the company that is pioneering 3D content and making sure that the 3D elements in the TV work well with the 3D content that is coming soon. Is 3D a gimmick or real - I think it is the real thing - with the expansion of 3D in the movie theaters and the emergence of so many upcoming events in 3D - the world cup soccer tournament, the upcoming NFL season - it behooves me to assume that 3D is the real thing and Sony is going to lead the charge. I like their maintenance plan - $289 for a 5 year plan and furthermore, they are supposedly well known for their service repair in case if I run into problems. Apart from that, I am not really into getting the most intricate thing out of the TV and so I am lacking on the technical side. But I love the TV and the picture.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  Best LED TV on the market; true color representation

  by hulago2 on August 30, 2011

  Pros: Design and Picture quality in 2D and 3D( limited viewing angle)
  PS3 on it is great.

  Cons: Speakers are okay but not great. Especially if you have a big room.
  Internet Browser weak. Sony need to transition to a qwerty layout.
  3D not so great when viewed from a sharp angle or if you are too close to edge

  Summary: It took me months of research to educate myself on the latest TV technology. Trying to understand the difference between edge lit LED/ Dynamic edge lit LED/ Full Array LED ...

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  Summary: It took me months of research to educate myself on the latest TV technology. Trying to understand the difference between edge lit LED/ Dynamic edge lit LED/ Full Array LED w local dimming/ refresh rate 480Hz vs 960Hz vs 600Hz for Plasma/ Gorilla glass...ETC. At the end it came down to two TVs: the Pioneer VT30 ( best plasma TV on the market) and the Sony HX929 ( best LED TV on Market). I felt that the xbr produced a clearer image, more brilliant/brighter colors and the image was less grainy than a plasma TV. I finally bought the HX 929 and will definitely recommend it to all my family/friends.

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• 1 stars

  Disagree with Sony quality

  by avoidsony on June 22, 2011

  Pros: Picture quality

  Cons: Cost and durability

  Summary: I too thought Sony is a pioneer and paid more for the Sony name. My LCD panel did not last and Sony customer service refuses to help in any way. ...

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  Summary: I too thought Sony is a pioneer and paid more for the Sony name. My LCD panel did not last and Sony customer service refuses to help in any way. Sony TVs provide a great picture when they work. If they don't, you are out the money and a TV. After 2.5 years, my Sony sits in the corner and I need a new TV. I will never pay a premium for a Sony product again.

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• 8 stars

  Really enjoyed the product only complaint is durability

  by mclauchk on March 7, 2011

  Pros: Great picture, lived up to the sony brand name.

  Cons: Had an issue with replacement lamp.

  Summary: Really enjoyed this television as it definitely lived up to the Sony brand name. Myself and my friend purchased one and were absolutely blown away at the picture quality and ...

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  Summary: Really enjoyed this television as it definitely lived up to the Sony brand name. Myself and my friend purchased one and were absolutely blown away at the picture quality and sound quality, so much that we recommended it to a couple other friends. My only complaint was concerning the <a href="http://www.xl2400.org">replacement lamp</a>, as it gave out pretty quickly. I was given a new one for free and the installation was very simple, stupid. If anyone is looking to purchase a new television and has a bit of extra money to spend this is a great choice and you won't be disappointed.

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• 10 stars

  Absolutely stunning TV !! Compared with all other TVs

  by shyabhar3 on November 17, 2010

  Pros: Brilliant picture !, awesome color depth, first time great 3d experience after ridiculous experience with samsung and lg 3d processing ( hurts eyes and will cause headache after 10 mins!!).Plethora of internet content at excellent quality.

  Cons: Was really heavy compared to other tvs I had in past ! ( fully array of led does this). Generally expensive unless you get a deal like me :). Remote still looks old school (samsung's remote is super nice with lcd in remote !!), Sound could be better

  Summary: First of all ! I got it for really really great price .. I paid $2399 for the xbrHX909 + Free 3d BD Player, + 2 Free glassses + 3d Transmitter !!! from frys. You have ...

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  Summary: First of all ! I got it for really really great price .. I paid $2399 for the xbrHX909 + Free 3d BD Player, + 2 Free glassses + 3d Transmitter !!! from frys. You have to go instore as website prices are $3600!!!! ( like everywhere). I went even further I took a quote from frys and took it to sony style as I could get great in home service plan (5 yrs ) for just $249 !!! on TV. They price matched it :). I can bet you cannot ever get the same price anywhere.
  
  Boasting apart, The tv is nothing less than great !!. Honestly I would have got home the Samsung 8000 series I would have been equally excited about the picture as I dont have anything to compare with like in showrooms but turns out I could ask one of the frys to actually put both samsung 8000 and sony xbr 909 next to eachother and play same content. Sony was beating the crap out of ultra vibrant samsung in monsters VS Alien Blue ray. Colors were great. Then I turned it to SD from tv source and Sony was as clean as DVD while samsung just crapped out with crazy looking pixels everywhere.
  Lastly 3d ... If you havent seen 3d in Sony you havent seen the power of Sony 3d period. Try looking at 3d samsung tv for 10 min and everytime there is whites you will see fluttering of screen and it will drive you crazy !! same with panasonic and LG.
  
  Sony went and did extra processing and is literally the only tv right now with full 1080p in both eyes while 3d and fills in a extra frame of just black screen in between 2 eyes and hence you can see the picture so so much cleaner no strain at all. Besides everything about it you get 3 movies for free !!!! and damn I have PS3 and got 4 games for free and games will just blow your mind out ..my gf who never enjoyed games is so hooked on 3d games since we got TV .. now I dont need to explain why guys love gaming so much :)
  
  Internet apps ... I dont have move from my sofa at all and I get to see great quality netflix video which is better than app on PS3 as it starts with great quality instead like on PS3 where it starts with crappy quality and gradually increases the quality depending on buffering speed. Pandora !! flickr !! you name it and its there. I could not even finish using 20% of apps in 3 weeks of my TV.
  
  If you are going to buy a TV just go to sony style and look at the demo of this TV and if you think anything less than great ! dont buy it... I can assure you you will not be disappointed specially if you are street smart enough to price match and getting instore deals etc. serious $2399!!! for the whole bundle !!
  
  If you want more details on how I got the deal email me at shyamal.b.patel@gmail.com Ill be happy to guide you ..including some quote or receipt scans if you want from Sony Style.

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• 9 stars

  Super Dynamic...

  by jessiethe3rd on October 20, 2010

  Pros: * Full Array with Local Dimming LED (not EDGE LIT means DEEPER BLACKS!)
  * Pretty solid 3D (definitely better then Samsung and LG)
  * Beautiful Design (looks very minimalistic on the wall)
  * Decent Network Services
  * Sharp as a tack - very good colors

  Cons: * Firmware fiasco for Canada (no Netflix!)
  * Pricey

  Summary: I see many Samsung owners and LG owners getting bent out of shape about this LED LCD, "claiming" that the panels are the same... yes, the HX909 incorporates a Hitachi ...

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  Summary: I see many Samsung owners and LG owners getting bent out of shape about this LED LCD, "claiming" that the panels are the same... yes, the HX909 incorporates a Hitachi panel, however, the implementation is nothing short of breathtaking. There is no LED on the market currently that offers full backlighting and 3D (this as as of October 2010.) Blacks are BLACK with VERY little blooming (which can be dialed out completely with some patience.) Watching white text scrolling on a black background gives you very little halo. No noticeable black crush... the skin tones are awesome. I wish this used Triluminous LEDs but seriously the colour is superb even without.
  
  Networking services have been okay - been a bit disappointed with the lack of Netflix App in Canada (even though we have launched here about a month ago...) 3D is astounding... Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs looks really fab. I'm going to pick up Monster House 3D - people thinking 3D without glasses is coming along soon enough (even in the next 2-5 years) really have no idea how long it's going to take. The 3D glasses solve the problem of having more then ONE person viewing the 3D content from a different position.
  
  Back to the TV... the price is stupid expensive but in my opinion it is the BEST 3D / 2D hybrid picture combo out there right now. There is better 3D (Panasonic)... and maybe better 2D (LG in a dark room maybe? Light room nope!) but quite honestly there is not a unit that has great balance.
  
  FYI - the Ambient Light Sensor is a beautiful thing... no more adjusting dark... light... dark... light... fantastic stuff.
  
  HIGHLY Recommended.

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• 1 stars

  SONY WHAT A PIECE OF JUNK

  by robertmowat on December 5, 2010

  Pros: CNET would like at least 10 characters input for this review category. Sorry, I couldn't think of 10 chatacters of pro for this unit.

  Cons: LCD screen failed on 52" Sony Bravia TV within 11 months. Sony tech response was/is abysmal. We've been waiting two and one half months. Sony is having a terrible problems with panels. Other reviews confirm this. Never buy a Sony LCD panel period.

  Summary: When you write a really negative revew, i think it's best not to remain anonymous so I've posted my real name above. This is not some random rant ...

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  Summary: When you write a really negative revew, i think it's best not to remain anonymous so I've posted my real name above. This is not some random rant against Sony. It's just that (and we as a family) have had several Sony products go south quickly. Some are inexpensive, around $100.00 and you just replace them. Others like our TV are more expensive and you want the warranty to back up their defective products. We purchased a Sony 52" Bravia TV from Costco 11months prior to it failing. The screen has gone white blank with ghostly moving colors and random images floating across the screen. I called Sony Tech support only to be strung along for 2 months and counting. I even called Sony tech support back in the Phillipines. Their response: nothing we can do. Coincidentally, my Sony Vaio laptop screen panel went out with the same issue. NEVER BUY A SONY TV or COMPUTER. I'm done.

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  0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 7 stars

  Sony Bravia is amazing.

  by dipalia123 on September 2, 2010

  Pros: Nice black levels.awsome picture quality.

  Cons: Price is too high.

  Summary: awsome picture quality.
  
  Updated on Sep 3, 2010

  Good Sound.

  Summary: awsome picture quality.
  
  Updated on Sep 3, 2010

  Good Sound.

  0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

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