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Sony BRAVIA KDL-52XBR4 52" LCD TV - 16:9

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31 User Reviews

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• Reviewed by: Phill

  Updated: 06-16-08

  Overall Rating: 4 Star Review

  Duration of ownership:6 Months

  Strengths: amazing picture quality

  Weaknesses: I have had my Bravia for 6 months. I now have a major problem. It has what I belive is a dead spot or a bad pixel. It shows up as a black spot on the screen about the size of a peanut m&m and about the same shape. I have looked it up and it looks like it is non-repairable. I will have to deal with Sony. it is under the one year limited warr. I hope they will do something for me.

  Overall Evaluation: with the exception of the pixel issue, it is excellent. but you may want to consider the extended warranty for a year, at least.

• Reviewed by: XJay100

  Updated: 11-29-07

  Overall Rating: 5 Star Review

  Duration of ownership:1 Months

  Strengths: color accuracy, brightness, image quality in brightly lite room

  Weaknesses: some artifacts in high-speed movement

  Overall Evaluation: This unit is a replacemnt for a 50" SXRD that I previously thought to be the best set in the world. The SXRD died a painful death. The 52XBR4 apepars to keep almost all of the positives of the SXRD, but the picture is a bit birther yet, and the depth of the set enables wall mount - a BIG PLUS! All in all, this may be the best that I have seen - period. Summary - a bit pricy, a bit heavy for a LCD flat panel, a bit slow in input switching, BUT still a most excellent set. BTW - the digital tuner works excellent with Verizon FIOS.

• Reviewed by: Lesnmark

  Updated: 06-29-08

  Overall Rating: 5 Star Review

  Duration of ownership:1 Months

  Strengths: Sony Quality , Picture , Color Depth , Styling

  Weaknesses: None

  Overall Evaluation: Great TV - XBR 5's are out now so you can get a decent deal on this set - I have been a Sony Fan for many years - integrated this set with a Sony AV 5.1 Surround receiver with a Standard Def Sony DVD player - Picture is awesome , can only imagine what it will be with my future Blue Ray Player - Only hooked up to standard Def Comcast for now and have no complaints . Looking forward to many years of enjoyment out of this 52 " set - Makes the living room better than the movie theater .

• Reviewed by: ssubs

  Updated: 03-21-08

  Overall Rating: 5 Star Review

  Duration of ownership:

  Strengths: 120Hz refresh, terrific picture and sound clarity, excellent finish, and the glass frame!

  Weaknesses: High selling price, artifacts produced on screen depending on type of input.

  Overall Evaluation: I originally planned to buy a big-screen LCD or plasma TV with a budget of about $1500. When I researched the available products and their offerings, I found out rather quickly that the ones available for the price I had in mind were very low-end models and did not have the features I was looking for.After much research into the available features, I decided on getting a TV that meets the following requirements: * Future proof - * 120Hz refresh rate, * 1080P capability, * 2 or more HDMI inputs, * LCD preferred over plasma (no burn-in). * 50" or larger, * Sleek and space-saving design (easier to move, if required).The ones that were available in the market were Samsung, Sony, Philips, Toshiba and Mitsubishi. I excluded the ones with DLP and rear-projection televisions. Visually comparing a LCD with a DLP television, I could not tell any noticeable difference, but I did not have choices with manufacturers of DLP televisions. Rear-projections were a big no-no as they were heavy and difficult to move, if necessary.Comparing the Samsung, Sony and Philips in LCD 1080P, the feature offerings were similar, but the one that immediately captured my attention was the XBR4/XBR5 series from Sony. The 52" ones looked much bigger (due to the glass frame and the attached speakers) and looked stunning.With my attention fixed on the XBR series, I compared this with the features on the new Samsung 71/81 series. While Samsung promised 120Hz on the 71 and 81 series, the local store had some 71 series TVs with only 60Hz. The price difference between the Samsungs and the Sonys were about $300, with the Sonys being more expensive.After a lot of hunting and deciding, I ended up getting the Sony XBR4. Once it was delivered, I tried many different inputs - the composites, S-Video and HDMI. The sources I used were my laptop (S-Video and composite), a Motorola HD set-top box (resolution up to 1080i) and a Philips up-converting DVD player (resolution up to 1080P).The DVD player up-converted a home-made video and I could see the results of a 480i input up-converted to 1080p. While the overall picture was smooth, one could especially make out the pixel blocks over the eyes on the video.I streamed a south-asian TV channel to my PC using Windows Media Player, and moved this to the XBR4 over composite cables. With a high bit-rate stream, I could not tell the difference between an over-the-air standard transmission, and this video stream. The results were stunningly clear watching the feed on the 52" television from a distance of about 8 feet.With HD input from the Motorola set-top-box at 1080i, I could make out a number of artifacts with fast-paced action or very slow movements. To a certain extent, turning down or switching off motion-flow on the TV reduced this, but could not remove it completely. I came across online forums where people discuss this in extent, and concluded that this is an issue a lot of people are facing.I paid more than I had originally budgeted, but I am sure I am going to use this tv for a number of years to come. As with all electronics, the price of this TV will drop when newer models come out, and when it gets phased out.

• Reviewed by: PGTimbo

  Updated: 03-08-08

  Overall Rating: 5 Star Review

  Duration of ownership:

  Strengths: Amazing picture. Because it's an LCD - it does not suffer from glare or room brightness issues.

  Weaknesses: Pricey and the settings out of the box need adjusted for best viewing.

  Overall Evaluation: So far, I love this TV. If you get this TV make sure you change the default settings so that you get the best picture! I used the settings/calibrations provided in the avsforum and am very happy. LINK: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=893076 Many sales people tried to push me to plasmas that were similar sized and similar priced - but for me the glare on plasmas (even plasmas that are supposed to not have much glare) pushed me back to LCD. If you can get this TV for low 3k or under - there is no comparison.

• Reviewed by: nuck44

  Updated: 02-24-08

  Overall Rating: 5 Star Review

  Duration of ownership:

  Strengths: Incredible Picture Quality (HD and SD), Picture & Picture, All the ports you need, Intuitive Menu, Great Design

  Weaknesses: Menu could be faster

  Overall Evaluation: This TV is incredible! I have seen numerous HDTVs and the picture quality on this one blows all the others out of the water. The non-HD material looks really good as well. I have never seen an HDTV to rival a regular TV at displaying 480i (regular cable) signals but this one does it!It has numerous connections and includes features that make it futureproof for many years (such as 1080p/24 and some color features that only the PS3 can currently support)Bottom line: The pinnacle of television viewing

• Reviewed by: meachamrt

  Updated: 02-22-08

  Overall Rating: 5 Star Review

  Duration of ownership:2 Days

  Strengths: Quality design and features such as ample HDMI and Composite connections.

  Weaknesses: A little pricy but if you shop around you can find some good deals.

  Overall Evaluation: I purchased this TV from LCD TVs after shopping around for about a month. Had one of the best prices at the time, free shipping and some good reviews. I received the TV in an amazing two days in perfect condition from a friendly delivery man. This is highly unusual as it is normally 5 - 10 working days unless you want to pay more. I received a phone call within 24 hours and a confirmation email almost immediately. They of course tried to sell me some accessories like an extended warranty, cables and wall mount but where not push about it. I had already purchased these products from other sites as I am a little picky in what I buy. Overall I was surprisingly impressed with the whole ordeal.

• Reviewed by: neilapril

  Updated: 02-12-08

  Overall Rating: 5 Star Review

  Duration of ownership:21 Days

  Strengths: uniform backlighting, Style, Rich color, 3 HDMI ports,BIG BIG

  Weaknesses: Not a Plasma, and new LCDs are going to be coming along very soon.

  Overall Evaluation: If you want to get a great LCD TV you can't go wrong with this one. I can't say for sure that this is the BEST LCD on the market, but it must be in the top two. After just coming off a bad experience with the sharp 64U family of LCDs this Sony is a dream. The picture and colors are outstanding, and the black level is soooo good for a LCD. There is a saying out here on the net about the size of your TV. It goes something like this, "whatever size TV you think you want, go with one size larger." This is not true. It should go something like this, "Whatever size TV you think you want, @#$& it, get as big as you can afford." These TV are only about 6 inchs thick and don't take up any usable space in your rooms. You just sit them as close to the wall and they look great. The whole Plasma vs LCD thing is over blown. Here is the score card I used to evaluate the panisonic 700 plasma family against the xbr4 1. Blacks --- Panny 2. Colors --- Sony 3. Style --- Sony 4. Power use- Sony 5. Gaming --- Sony yes for the movie purest the pioneer Plasma is the way to go, and if I had the extra $2,000 I would have got one. I did a whole lot of research on the TVs and the XBR4 is my choice for bang for the buck!

• Reviewed by: tsrj007

  Updated: 02-09-08

  Overall Rating: 5 Star Review

  Duration of ownership:36 Days

  Strengths: Big yet compact

  Weaknesses: Pirce

  Overall Evaluation: The Sony BRAVIA XBR KDL-52XBR4 52-inch 1080p LCD Flat Panel HDTV continues Sony's tradition of making outstanding televisions, and with a 52-inch screen, you'll be the envy of all your neighbors. Sony does not hold back with any technologies, and the XBR series is its flagship line--so with the XBR, you know you'll get the best quality home theater experience available.

• Reviewed by: diamantj

  Updated: 02-04-08

  Overall Rating: 5 Star Review

  Duration of ownership:4 Days

  Strengths: This set has absolutely the BEST panel/picture available on the market!!!

  Weaknesses: VERY wide (my old plasma was MUCH sleaker)

  Overall Evaluation: We have had this set for a few days now, and I must say all the leg-work I did in picking out the "perfect LCD" really paid off. I looked at all the specs and talked everyone's ears off on which sets they preferred and why... EVERYONE said SONY had the absolute BEST picture! And, they were all right!Downsides? Well, the tv was a bit costly (if you wait a few more months it will surely come down some). I wish some of the "obvious settings" (like setting the motion flow option) were factory defaults... since we thought MAYBE something was wrong when we popped it out of the box. But once we got lots of individual settings tweaked to us... seems fine. Also, this TV is VERY think... much thinker than our first HD set/Panasonic plamsa. I also feel that added width to the screen/TV caused by the attached speakers is UNFORTUNATE! Think of it... if you spend this kind of money on a set, don't you think MOST PEOPLE have it hooked up to a fairly decent HT? If so, why would I want to play my TV through the factory speakers? Doesn't make sense.Everything said... the picture (especially on the super bowl!!!) is INCREDIBLE! Sometimes it almost looks SOOO real that it appears to be "fake", or like a cartoon drawing... but people are SO lifelike/real that they POP out of the screen... WELL worth the money if looking for the BEST lcd TV on the market!!!

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