Sony KDL-52XBR9

Many people that have the necessary space to store a huge widescreen TV end up being torn on the exact size to get. There are 40-inch TV displays that are pretty much big enough to serve as the finishing touch for any theater and there are much bigger models from 55 inches and upwards. For a nice balance, a 52-inch model like the Sony KDL-52XBR9 should serve as a great balance of cost and size. But Sony offers other models that cost a bit less, but are 52 inches as well. The real difference here is the fact that this 52-inch model is in the XBR9 series which is where all the most powerful TVs are featured. The features, technologies, and other extras really make this 52-inch display one of a kind.

Technical Features

First of all, the design departs from the older XBR models that faced some criticism on how the screen real estate wasn’t utilized. This is fortunately fixed in the XBR9 with the screen being much thinner and the speakers concealed without sacrificing any audio quality. As a result, this 52-inch display may seem larger than the other TVs that are advertised to be 52 inches.

As far as the display goes, the KDL-52XBR9 displays images and video at top quality utilizing the Full HD 1080p power that the BRAVIA Engine 3 supplies. Viewing HD channels looks great, the experience in watching Blu-ray movies and playing video games is great especially if the “Scene Select” feature is utilized which contains various audio and video configuration profiles to correctly set the options based on the type of program. It does this while exceeding the Energy Star 3.0 requirements making this a great power saving TV as well.

Actual user review:
“I replaced my 42″ XBR Plasma Wega with this new model and believe me when I say that I LOVED my Plasma but it cannot hold a candle to the new XBR 9. The picture quality from any source just looks great. From cable shows to movies played on my PS3 the images just pop out of the screen. I did have my doubts about how well the XBR 9 would handle the fast action of sports or fast moving images but its just truly amazing how crisp the action looks with none of the ’smear’ that I expected from a LCD TV.” – Luna (USA)

 

Technologies

The KDL-52XBR9 is filled with goodies starting with the BRAVIA Engine 3 that is common with the midrange and high-end models. Comparing the image quality against other TVs, the BRAVIA Engine really shows its true colors with great sharpness and detail. It is further enhanced by an improved version of the popular Motionflow technology that makes high-speed segments smoother without the unwanted blurriness. Rather than having it at 120Hz, the KDL-52XBR9 manages to double the smoothness at 240Hz.

It is also combined with an exclusive XBR9 feature known as the Live Color Creation technology. This technology works through the use of a Wide Color Gamut – Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (WCG-CCFL backlight) to achieve even more vivid colors. This means that it can not only reproduce deep blacks, but also deep reds and other colors.

Extra Features

The Sony KDL-52XBR9 is further backed by live multimedia features where home Internet users can get a real kick out of their TV. By plugging in an Ethernet port, users can access several video services such as YouTube and Amazon Video On Demand along with over 20 other entertaining services just in case there is nothing good on TV.

If that service won’t be used often, the Internet can still be used to power any of the BRAVIA widgets included. These widgets can be freely placed onto the screen and include updates to weather and news along with stock information and other widgets.

Users without an Internet connection will still benefit greatly from this TV because of its DLNA label indicating that it can freely share with other DLNA-approved devices. This makes file sharing much easier to understand. If photos, music, and video cannot be shared or if the device isn’t DLNA compliant, the same types of media can be stored In an USB device which can then be plugged into the USB port for reading. The same USB port can also be used to plug in cameras and Sony-branded camcorders. Thanks to the x.v.Color Technology, colors of the videos played back from cameras are richer.

Bottom Line

The Sony KDL-52XBR9 rightfully falls under the next big thing in the XBR series and is looking superior when compared to the other 52-inch displays. There are plenty of ports to plug virtually all your stuff to including 4 HDMI ports and a number of older ports. The Sony KDL-52XBR9 may be expensive, but the advanced power features will help greatly in reducing electricity bills while delivering the best features that are present in most midrange and high-end displays.

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