- Technical Details
10-bit 16:9 Full HD 1080p Panel (1920x1080)
Motionflow™ with FHD 120 Hz high frame rate capability
BRAVIA Engine™ PRO & Live Color Creation™ system
1080p Inputs: HDMI™ (x3), YPbPr (x2), PC
RS-232 Control capabilities - Product Description
- Product Description
Over the years XBR has stood for the best consumer TV s Sony has to offer and this year’s line up is no exception. The XBR line of Full HD 1080p televisions includes all of our latest technologies amid at providing the best in pictures performance. Features like Motionflow™ 120Hz for smoother motion when viewing movies or fast action sports. And BRAVIA Engine PRO with Digital reality Creation which up converts all interlaced and progressive video signals including HD signals directly to 1080p for amazing detail and sharpness. Wrap all this performance in a timeless piano black finish with Sony’s unique Floating Glass design, few if any Full HD 1080p LCD televisions measure up to XBR LCD televisions; the pinnacle of Sony performance and design.
XBR series televisions represent the very best Sony has to offer in high definition viewing.The XBR line of Full HD 1080p televisions incorporates all of Sony's latest technologies (including HDMI v1.3 features such as x.v.Color and Deep Color). Additional features like Motionflow 120Hz enable smoother motion when viewing movies or fast-action sports. BRAVIA Engine PRO with Digital Reality Creation upconverts all interlaced and progressive video signals including HD signals directly to 1080p for amazing detail and sharpness. And it's only fitting that your XBR make a statement not only through breathtaking picture quality, but by taking your breath away with optional color bezels. Now your LCD TV can be as distinct as your own personal style.
- Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Shockingly Good Picture Quality
After almost a year of doing research on all 52 inch LCD's, my wife and I finally took the plunge and bought the XBR5. We already had a Samsung 32 inch HI DEF with great picture quality, and, the Samsung 71 and 81F's were in the running; but, as with a good portion of reviewers on Amazon, we, too, found the glare of the Samsungs a big negative. We checked out both the XBR5 and the 71F side by side at a closeby TV warehouse, and glare issues on the SAMMY finally eliminated it from the list. True, the Samsung's picture was stunning, but the screen picked up just about every available light source in the store and threw it back out at the viewer. It's too bad Samsung is so set on the glass. It really is a huge problem. Now, onto the SONY XBR5. The side speakers are more than adequate for the average viewer; however, if you're an audiophile, a good sound system would be recommended down the road after the TV is paid off. I was pleasantly surprised, though, with the quality of the internal speakers. The picture on this TV is outstanding; superb, actually. After spending some time with the video settings, I found that the VIVID mode was the absolute best for our viewing, as long as the color was also backed down to about 70 percent, the brightness to about 30 percent and contrast to 60 percent or so. The tint was fine at the 0 level. It's truly amazing that a screen of this size shows virtually NO pixels at a normal viewing distance. The video in HI DEF looks as crisp and clean as a movie screen. The standard analog programming just pales in comparison. We found it a bit "fuzzy", but with a screen this size, it's to be expected. To really appreciate this TV, one MUST have a HI DEF cable box or go satellite. I couldn't say how over the air HD looks, since we have cable. We are extremely happy with our purchase. The 120hz motion settings come in OFF, STANDARD and HIGH. I've found STANDARD is probably best for sports programming. It does an adequate job. As for looks, the glass around the screen with chrome stripping is a nice touch. It sets the look off with an "upscale" design, befitting the quality of the TV. We would highly recommend this model to anyone wanting a beautiful, perfect 52 inch HI DEF. The blacks are very black, the colors are incredible, the lines and clarity in HI DEF are just breathtaking. It's expensive, but, if it's the main TV in any household and gets watched every day, it's worth the extra money. SONY'S attention to LCD exclusively now, having dropped Plasma a few years back, shows in the extreme brilliance and unbelievable perfection of the picture. Get this one! It's the best LCD 52 inch on the market. One caveat, SONY recently announced that they're discontinuing their association with Samsung and going with Sharp, possibly as soon as April. Sharp has been known for banding issues and problems with uniformity in their LCD screens, so, unless they've worked out the problems, it might be a good idea to grab one of these sets while they still have Samsung blood running through them. For my money, Samsung and SONY are neck and neck as far as LCD technology.
With many choices in HDTV, the Sony is geared toward those who don't want to compromise. As the owner of two HDTVs, I put off replacing my primary TV until I could find one that would be good enough to last a while and would not be a compromise. Sony has done an excellent job of producing a product that allows me to achieve that goal. But they met that goal in a limited fashion. HDTVs took a while to mature. Standards changed, LCDs improved, and more choices in resolution became available. This is not my first 1080p, but it does give the best picture of any set I've used. The picture is clear and sharp, the TV does a good job of video processing and does not compromise the way other TVs do with many sources. The problem I have is that a good picture alone is not enough. I wanted something that integrates well into my home, allows for good sound, and allows easy connections to other components. In that respect, Sony missed the mark. The sound quality is not bad. I didn't expect great sound from the built in speakers, and realistically, people who buy this are likely to have a home theater system anyway. But the built in sound is adequate as far as built in sound goes. The problem is getting to to other equipment. Sony provides an optical out that sends Dolby Digital/PCM to your home theater system. But although it works great when sending sound from the tuner, it sends only the PCM component when the source is HDMI. Yes, there are ways around that, such as extra cables or different wiring, but for $4,300 is it really asking for too much for this thing to work as many users expect? It's not as if I'm asking for a built in home theater system. I'm just asking for a jack that works in a useful way, as other manufacturers already provide. I could get around the problem by using the digital out directly from my DVD player instead. My Sony DVD player from last year had two digital audio outputs. One was coax and the other was optical. Sony's DVP-NS77H DVD player now sells for $89.99, up converts to 1080p, and even it has two digital audio outputs. Why did they leave the coax output off the $4300 HDTV? If they could afford it on this year's low end HDMI DVD player, it's not as if it would have been a bank breaker. With a missing output on this TV, I can either get a new AV preamp, or run more cables. But should I have to do that with such an expensive TV? And if I did get a new AV preamp, would the Sony make good use of it? Not Quite. The TV is also missing a video output. Many home theater systems can make use of one for monitoring, and it would also have allowed me to use my VCR to record, since the VCR has no digital tuner. Was it left out because VCRs are supposedly obsolete, or was it left out because the TV is considered too low end to have the features expected by a high end AV preamp? Either way, the circuitry involved is a mere fraction of what's already on their cheapest DVD players: something to take a digital signal, and output it to HDMI, S-VHS, component video, and composite. I'd settle for even one of them if I hadn't already settled for less. Sony still sells things such as PS2 video consoles. Indeed many game manufacturers sell things with composite-only video outputs. Yet this TV, while able to accept three HDMI inputs, can accept only one S-VHS input, and none on the side connector. If you use the rear S-VHS connector for a VCR, that leaves one composite input, plus one on the side. And if I want to use the S-VHS connector for my relatively recent vintage Sony camcorder, I'd have to get behind my wall mounted TV to unplug the VCR each time. And since Sony camcorders have a special connector, the cable can't be shared as an alternative. My kids got a Wii recently. It's neither Sony nor obsolete equipment. But it does have composite outputs. I don't think it's asking for too much to be able to use things like that or my relatively new Sony camcorder without juggling wires. I think for something as expensive as this TV, it's not asking for too much for it to be able to handle basic connectivity with commonly used household AV equipment. It's not asking too much for it to have things that they are willing to put on even the cheapest DVD players. With equipment that it was designed to work with, it does a great job. It's nice to be able to press "play" on my Sony DVD player, have it turn on, have it turn on the TV, switch its input to DVD, and just work. It's also nice that it will turn off my DVD player if I turn off the TV. And perhaps if I had an all Sony AV system, that would integrate well too. But it's arrogant to think that customers should use only Sony equipment. The remote control is adequate, but they could have done a better job of allowing it to integrate with other components. Even with their own DVD player, the TV remote has ALMOST all the buttons I would need. And it requires pressing a button to let the remote know if I am intending the next button presses to be for the DVD or the TV. That's to be expected in some cases, but in situations where it's unambiguous, it should figure it out for me. Prior to buying this, I came close to getting a Samsung. The Samsung has a very impressive picture quality and I probably would not have felt short changed. The Samsung has a glossy screen surface, which can be a problem in certain living conditions, and I've had that issue with an older Pioneer Elite. I would not have considered that last point to be a show stopper, and the Samsungs still give you more on a dollar for dollar basis. But I'd still give the edge to the Sony for picture quality. The deciding factor for me, though, was Sony's manufacturing quality. If something goes wrong with this set, I feel comfortable that Sony will stand behind me. With the Samsung, if I were among the unfortunate few who have problems, I'd be cursing myself for buying it. I might have spent more for the Sony, and will have to spend even more for the overall system to do everything I want, but I did get a good HDTV. I just can't give it 5 stars given the features for the price.
Panasonic TH-50PZ850U 50" VIERA® 1080p plasma HDTV
