Sony Bravia KDL-40XBR2

Price: $ - $

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Finally... an LCD Worth Buying!10/03/06

Pros:

Excellent Picture Quality, Wide Viewing Angle, Deep Blacks

Cons:

Expensive, No Cablecard Support (not a huge loss)

This was the flatpanel TV I've been waiting for. Finally, a company has produced a (relatively) affordable 1080p-compliant LCD panel with an excellent picture, that addresses many of the shortcomings common of LCD. Whereas many LCDs have a narrow optimum viewing angle, the Sony XBR2 claims a 178 degree viewing angle -- and it's true. Stand practically perpendicular to this set and the image is perfectly clear. Another common complaint among LCDs is that black-level is too light to accurately display dark pictures -- another area where this Sony outperforms the competition. A fast refresh rate (less than 8ms) keeps even extremely fast-moving action sequences from experiencing "ghosting" effects. Sound is also excellent, though I'm using my receiver exclusively. The set also accepts up to three HDMI inputs (two in back, one on the side for PC connectivity).


One downside to switching to panels with resolution this high is that regular resolution (non-HD) TV signals will appear to be rather poor in quality -- digital channels fare a bit better, while the HD channels will blow you away (though none are yet even taking advantage of the full HD resolution the Sony XBR2 provides). There is also no cablecard support for this set; however, if you order PPV, Video on Demand or require any two-way communication between your TV and cable/sat provider, you can't use a cablecard (yet) anyway.


All-in-all, a very welcome release from Sony. Full HD-capability that won't make me want to have to upgrade my TV when they finally settle on a standard 1080p content format (Blu-Ray or HD DVD?), in a set that can fit in a normal-sized room without looking ridiculous.