Big Picture Big Sound

Onward Liquid Crystal Soldier!

With all the brouhaha around the Blu-Ray Disc vs. HD-DVD format war, another battle has been quietly simmering in the HDTV marketplace. With the sad but inevitable demise of CRT technology, now direct view HDTV buyers have a single technological choice: Plasma vs. LCD. And while some manufacturers such as LG and Samsung still straddle the fence with both LCD and plasma models, Sony has made its choice: Liquid Crystal Display (aka. LCD).

Up until recently, the technology choice had been clear... at least for me. The best plasma televisions have always outperformed LCD technology in terms of the ability to reproduce blacks, fast-moving images and natural well-saturated colors. And it used to be that LCD TVs in the larger screen sizes were prohibitively expensive.


But recent price drops and technological advances have led to LCD flat panel models that can challenge plasma for picture performance at a competitive price. The most impressive of these are the new suite of Full HD 1080p LCD models, such as the Sony Bravia KDL-46XBR2 LCD HDTV, up for review this month. Is this set a plasma-killer? Read on to find out.

The Numbers Game

The most impressive spec of the current XBR2 line of Bravia LCD TVs has to be the native panel resolution: Full High Definition 1080P, that is to say 1920x1080 pixels. That's over 2 million pixels -- twice what most comparably sized plasmas can put out at 1366x768. It also meets the highest specification among the ATSC (Advanced Television Standards Committee) standards. It's as High Def as High Def gets.

But this isn't the only specification or measurement that matters, in terms of picture quality. Sure, having plenty of detail is important, but how does the set do with reproducing colors? And how does it handle typically difficult content such as sports and other fast-moving images? And can it reproduce black and shadow details so that subtle textures and facial expressions can be represented even in darkly lit scenes? These are the challenges that face the XBR2 in the Big Picture Big Sound labs.

Features, Styling and Ergonomics

It would be difficult to surpass the styling of the XBR2 and XBR3 line of Sony's Bravia TVs. The ultra-cool floating glass design gives the set - even a large set like this at 46 inches diagonal - a kind of airy lightness. This elegant technological specimen insinuates itself nicely into almost any decor. Also, if the standard silver bezel doesn't match your drapes, you can choose from 5 different optional bezel colors to find a more desirable hue.


The remote control is full-functioned and easy to operate, but lacks backlighting and direct input switches. These omissions make life a little difficult when switching between sources in the dark. However the set's menus are pretty straightforward, and the set includes the ability to suppress unused inputs from showing up in the list of sources.

With nine inputs, it would be painful to have to step through all nine sources when switching between say, the internal ATSC tuner and a DVD player. But if you only have 2 or 3 sources connected, then you can disable the rest of the inputs from the menu, making source selection a breeze. Also, like the Pioneer PDP-4270HD plasma HDTV we recently reviewed, the Sony will automatically switch over to the internal tuner if you hit the "channel up" or "channel down" buttons on the remote or on the set itself. This makes it very easy to switch from any external source to the set's internal HD tuner.

The TV's weight is about par as comparably sized flat panels go, weighing in at just over 90 pounds. I was able to unpack and lift the set onto a stand myself, which is something I cannot say about our reference Loewe 38-inch CRT set which tips the scales at well over 200 pounds. But because of the Sony set's size, I would recommend having a spotter or helper available when you unpack the set and move it into position.

In terms of features, the KDL-46XBR2 has it all. It offers 3 HDMI and 2 component video inputs, composite and S-video inputs as well as a VGA computer input. One of the HDMI inputs is on the side, which makes it a great fit for a Sony PS3, or a digital camcorder with HDMI output.

Outputs include standard RCA stereo output, monitor video output, a subwoofer output and a digital audio output so you can connect the TV's built-in tuner to your surround sound system for discrete 5.1-channel surround (when the content supports it, of course).

The set also includes built-in digital and analog tuners - NTSC, ATSC and QAM - so it can tune in local channels via an antenna or digital cable feeds. The set lacks CableCard support (currently only Sony's SXRD RPTVs offer this feature), so if you subscribe to premium channels, you'll need to use your cable provider's set-top box.

Adding digital channels via the internal QAM and ATSC digital tuners presented a slightly discouraging message: "Please Allow 50+ minutes for completion." Zoinks! In actuality, adding digital cable channels took nearly 35 minutes, but adding OTA (antenna) channels took under 4 minutes. This is not a big deal in any case as the channel set-up should be a one time procedure (or a "no-time" procedure if you get your High Def from a Cable or Satellite Set Top Box).

Viewing and Listening Impressions

For most of our evaluation, I kept the noise reduction and picture processing circuitry on low or off, but I did experiment a bit with these settings. The Black Corrector and Advanced Contrast Enhancer did enhance the black levels, but darkened low light scenes to the point of being nearly invisible and crushed the whites at the highest settings. A noise reduction setting of "Low" did a nice job of softening overly grainy SD content. Standard definition DVDs such as "Superman Returns" looked great on the set, if lacking in detail and with some slightly muted colors, when compared to high definition content. In fact, the set's treatment of standard definition material is among the best we've seen on an integrated set (without using an external processor).

But once you see a high definition image on this set, you won't want to go back to SD - sharp vivid detail combined with bright beautiful colors elevate your viewing experience from simply watching TV to something much more compelling - a near cinematic viewing experience, at least on certain content.

The best video source we were able to test with the set was 1080i -- a Toshiba HD-DVD player, ironically enough. We're still waiting for a review sample of a 1080p-enabled Blu-Ray Disc player. Using the HDMI input, both HD sources and SD sources looked very good to excellent, except during scenes with very low lighting or very fast-moving bright images on a dark background. Images such as the Universal logo at the beginning of that studio's HD-DVD titles looked stunning, with the logo floating in three-dimensional space apart from the background of stars. High Definition movie content on reference HD-DVDs such as "Unforgiven" and "Serenity" delivered eye-popping detail, excellent color saturation. And in fairly dim (but not pitch black) room lighting, the lack of deep black was not all that distracting.

While watching the local PBS-HD channel on the set's integrated ATSC tuner, "Digital TV - a Cringely Crash Course" came on. It's a primer on digital and high definition television technology -- how a propos! Although made in 1998, the show gets most of the details right, like the 1920x1080 pixel resolution capability - embodied by this very set. But some of the more advanced interactive and value-added content potential of digital television has yet to be realized, lo these nine years later. But the show's bright colorful widescreen cinematography and slow lingering pans really highlighted the set's strengths in detail and color reproduction.

On other, more demanding fast-moving material, the set did exhibit some motion trails, which are commonly associated with LCD technology. After calibration with SpyderTV Pro, these artifacts were reduced though not entirely eliminated.


Picture settings for each input are independent, so the calibration settings for the HDMI input did not carry over automatically to the ATSC tuner input. This is actually a nice feature as sometimes different sources require different calibration settings for the most accurate picture.

Our SpyderTV Pro calibration software suggested setting the color to 57, picture (contrast) to 98 and brightness to 50 on the HDMI input. With these settings, and the color temperature set to "Warm 2" mode, the set's colors looked natural, the picture was bright and punchy, and a pure white test signal measured about as close to NTSC standard 6500° as I've ever seen. There was a slight blue push evident in the "Grey Low" test pattern in SpyderTV Pro, which was not possible to fully correct in the RGB Bias settings in the Sony's Advanced Settings menu, but this did not noticeably detract from perceived color accuracy.

I found I had to reduce the color levels and picture levels considerably on the tuner input (vs. the HDMI input), in order to get an enjoyable accurate picture. After manually tweaking the settings, skin tones on HD and SD over-the-air channels were realistic but ever so slighted muted, but at least they did not bloom or bleed as they had with the color level boosted.


Using the torture test "HQV benchmark" DVD, fed to the XBR2 at 480i resolution, the set exhibited some limitations in its processing. The XBR2 passed the "jaggies" tests but not with flying colors. It did a reasonably good job de-interlacing the moving diagonal lines without introducing too many jagged edges, except at the steeper line angles. The set also took some time to lock into film content with its built-in 2:3 frame converter presenting significant artifacts in the grandstand in the car racing sequence. But the Sony performed admirably in the mixed video/film footage test, faithfully reproducing a crawling video title sequence overlaid on film content in the background.

As a computer monitor, the XBR2 was exceptionally good. I connected my laptop to the set using the VGA input, set my PC resolution to 1920X1080p output and downloaded some sample 1080p HD content from Microsoft's web site. These nature films, aviation clips and movie trailers produced crisp images, rich with detail and vibrant color. Text and still images were also crisp and sharp with excellent color reproduction and depth of field.

The sound quality of the integrated speakers was actually quite listenable - certainly better than the average flat panel television. I spent an hour or so just kicking back and watching music videos on "The Tube" channel listening to the internal speakers. The bass was solid but not very extended, vocals were clearly intelligible and the instruments were reasonably well articulated in the mix. The set includes some very useful audio features such as Steady Sound™ which minimizes the volume differences between different channels and between TV shows and commercials (using compression) as well as TruSurroundXT which gives you a slightly more expansive soundstage. As usual, we'd recommend matching this set up with a good quality home theater audio system - a picture this good deserves sound to match. But for casual TV watching the internal sound system will get you by.

Final Thoughts

There is a lot to like about the Sony KDL-46XBR2. Spot-on color temperature and realistic color reproduction when calibrated. Plus that mouth-watering detail -- 2 million pixels of it. It really can look breathtaking on certain high definition material, and does a good job enhancing standard definition content as well. As far as LCD TVs go, I have a new favorite and this is it.

But it is, after all, still an LCD TV - a slight haze permeates scenes with solid color swatches, like sky and water scenes, and motion trails still accompany fast or even medium fast moving images. And then there's those blacks which never really make it past very dark gray. The KDL-46XBR2 does represent a large step forward over virtually all LCD televisions previously on the market, but it clearly has not reached the potential that I believe can one day be achieved by the technology. And it falls slightly short of the performance of the very best plasma sets on the market, including 1080p models by Pioneer and Panasonic, some of which are just becoming available now and all of which are still priced well above the cost of the Sony set.

Fans of LCD technology's bright, detailed picture, and high native panel resolution will not be disappointed by the Sony KDL-46XBR2. Its unique, elegant style, vivid detail and accurate colors certainly make an impression. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to the day when LCD makes its next leap forward and expect Sony to lead the charge.

Where to Buy:

• Sony 46" BRAVIA KDL-46XBR2 LCD Flat Panel HDTV on SonyStyle.com
• Sony KDL-46XBR2 on Amazon.com
• Sony KDL-46XBR2 on OneCall.com

Features and Specifications from the Manufacturer:

General
• Screen Size (diagonal): 46 inches
• MSRP: $3799.99

Video
• Native Panel Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Backlight Type: WCG-CCFL (Wide Color Gamut - CCFL)
• Panel Type: 178° wide viewing angle LCD display panel
• 7000:1 dynamic contrast ratio with ACE (Advanced Contrast Enhancement) 1300:1 static contrast ratio
• Video Processing: BRAVIA Engine PRO
• DRC® MultiFunction Circuitry: Version 2.5
• Comb Filter: 3D
• Picture Modes: Vivid/Standard/Custom
• Wide Modes: Wide Zoom/Normal/Full/Zoom
• Light Sensor: Yes
• Noise Reduction: Variable
• Game Mode: Yes

Audio
• Sound Modes: Dynamic/Standard/Custom
• SRS® TruSurround® XT Audio Effect
• Digital Amplifier 22W (11 Watts X 2 channels)
• Dolby® Digital Output
• A/V Synch
• Steady Sound® Automatic Volume Control
• MTS Stereo Decoder

Inputs and Outputs
• Composite Video Input(s): 3 (1 Side /2 Rear)
• S-Video Input(s): 1 (Rear)
• Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr ) Input(s): 2 (Rear)
• Audio In: 5 (1 Side /4 Rear)
• Audio Out (Variable/Fixed): 1 (Rear)
• Digital Audio Output(s): 1 (Rear)
• Headphone Output(s): 1 (Side)
• PC Input(s): 1 (Rear) S-Sub 15
• HDMI™ Connection(s): 3 (1 Side/ 2 Rear) - 1 rear input has L/R audio inputs

Convenience Features
• Picture Freeze
• Favorite Channel
• Channel Skip/Add
• Parental Control (V-Chip)
• Input Skip
• Power Save Mode
• Integrated Clock and Sleep Timer
• Timer Events: Yes
• Video Label
• Closed Caption (CC)
• ID1 Detection
• Speed Surf™ Channel Selection

Power
• Power Consumption (in Operation): 227W
• Power Consumption (in Standby): Less than 0.5W

Weights and Measurements
• Width: 49.69" (1262mm) with pedestal; 49.69" (1262mm) without pedestal
• Height: 31.3" (795mm) with pedestal; 28.89" (734mm) without pedestal
• Depth: 12.68" (322mm) with pedestal; 4.76" (121mm) without pedestal
• Weight: 90.4 lbs (41 Kg) with pedestal; 79.4 lbs (36 Kg) without pedestal
• Packaging: 54.49" x 35.75 x 14.8" (1384 x 908 x 376mm); 112.44lbs. (51kg)

Regulation and Standard Compliance
• VESA
• Energy Star® Compliant

What's In the Box:
• KDL-46XBR2 LCD HDTV
• Coax Cable
• Remote Control (RM-YD010)
• Battery (AA x2)
• HD-15 to HD15 Cable
• Operating Instructions
• Quick Setup Guide
• Pedestal Stand

Optional Accessories
• CRU46X1W (Color Bezel - Artic White)
• CRU46X1B (Color Bezel - Velvet Black)
• CRU46X1R (Color Bezel - Scarlet Red)
• CRU46X1L (Color Bezel - Pacific Blue)
• CRU46X1T (Color Bezel - Sienna Brown)
• Wall Mount Bracket (SU-WL51)

Manufacturer's Contact Information:

Sony Electronics, Inc.
16450 W. Bernardo Drive
San Diego, CA 92127

Phone: 858-942-4700
Toll Free: 800-222-SONY(7669)

Web: SonyStyle.com, www.Sony.com