Tag : 1080p lcd, sony kdl, bravia xbr, hdtv, 40xbr2 40″

Company : Sony List Price : $2,499.99 Amazon Price : $1,549.99 Used Price : $1,473.44 Average customer review :

Features

• 16:9 1080p HD Resolution Panel (1920 x 1080)
• BRAVIA Engine PRO Video Processor
• Live Color Creation System featuring WCG-CCFL backlight
• ATSC Digital Tuner with QAM capability
• Three HDMI (1080p) inputs

Product Description

How do you make superb picture quality even better? Add the Live Color Creation backlight system to this 40-inch BRAVIA XBR LCD Flat Panel HDTV. For superior sound, tune into the TruSurround XT??? audio technology, along with digital audio enhancement and amplification. Whether you’re watching sports, movies, TV or even a presentation direct from your PC, make it more dynamic and vibrant with the KDL-40XBR2.

Customer reviews

Sony KDL-40XBR2 40″
We are a Deaf family, visually oriented and totally fussy with colors and overall video quality. We must say, this is the best hdtv we have experienced. We had one, 42″ before this one and we had to send it back.

The other reason why we bought this high ended one, the quality of closed captioning is great. No flitting or funny fonts.

couldn’t be more pleased
I bought my Sony KDL 40 XBR2 approximately one month ago. The delivery was prompt, the communications were good, and I am very satisfied with the product. The TV worked fine right out of the box. I had done significant research on this TV. The reviews that I read were very helpful, that is why I’m writing this review. The picture is top notch, the colors are magnificent and you won’t be dissappointed.

A great tv
The picture is great, and the menus are easy to navigate. If you hook this up to a ps3, or a blue-ray player you will be very happy. The only issue I have is with the remote control. The keypad is higher up then any remote I’ve used since the early 1980’s. Other than that, this tv is worth every penny.

The best TV out there!
This Sony is the best there is out there. I have my cable through a hdmi cable and my PS3 is also hooked up to the TV this way. The picture is unreal. I am mad at myself for not buying it earlier.

Beautiful Television
The Sony KDL-40XBR2 40″ Bravia 1080p LCD HDTV is beautiful. There is no assembly; it comes straight out of the box and Amazon did an excellent job delivering the tv with care. Amazon’s delivery notification was really great and accurate as the tv arrived in accordance with their schedule. Amazon provided free shipping, which is a huge saving because the TV is quite heavy for its thin shape. You definitely need two people to help get it out of the box and onto the tv stand.

Do not confuse this tv with the more recent HDTV that Sony released, which are dark in color and plain. This KDL-40XBR2 model is platinum bright with a glass fixture that frames it as if the TV is a painting itself. This TV goes with any furniture you have in the home and will make you feel like you have plenty of class. It brightens the room, especially with the platinum and glass tv stand (by Bell’O) that I also bought from Amazon for 50″ TVs. You do need to get a 50″ stand for this HDTV because it’s much bigger than the 40″ you think it is supposed to be–the screen is 40″ diagnally, but the actual size of the whole TV is 44″ wide, 28.25″ high, 10.5″ deep for the base stand (if you plan on putting it on a table or TV stand).

Now comes the technology… the resolution is amazing when you’re watching HD channels or DVD movies; and the sound is nice and loud–you can even set it to surround sound with just the speakers from the TV. Be aware though that the TV’s default color hues are a bit off, but you can fix it by doing a “customize” color, which you’ll need to take some time to adjust. For example, you should find a DVD movie with a night sky (such as New York’s skyline), pause it, then “customize” the color until the night sky is actually night/dark and not purplish dark. Having buildings in the picture can also help you make adjustments to make sure that red is actually red and not dark pink. If the complaints about “cloudiness” with its black color is the issue of the default color hues, then those people making the complaints are just too lazy to adjust/customize the colors. It takes about 15 minutes to correct, and a DVD of a movie that has a night sky (ex. The Contract).

Another issue that you should be aware of is that analog channels don’t look so good because the TV’s natural perfection picks up the imperfection of the analog TV shows. Analog shows tend to be a bit pixelated, but that’s understandable because analog shows look better on analog TV and not HDTV. However, keep in mind that the government plans to do away with analog channels in February 2009. By then, all channels will be delivered via HD or high definition frequencies, which this 1080p HDTV will be perfect for your viewing pleasure.

By the way, DVD movies that are not HD-DVD look a bit on this TV like the slightly pixelated movies you see in the movie theatres. This is fine if you want to feel the full theatre effect, but if you want HD clarity in the movie, you’ll need to attach an HD-DVD or Blue-Ray DVD player with the purchase of the respective DVDs.

The back of this TV does provide enough jacks and connection nodes for a normal person. However, if you’re into connecting every possible thing to a TV, then you’ll be a little disappointed by its limited output jacks–only one set for Audio. As per input jacks there are two for each type of connection: Component, HDMI, Blue Ray and RCA (one additional set on the side of the TV–useful for XBox). It also has one S video jack, an RGB jack and audio jack for your computer. It has one cable antenna and one VHF/UHF antenna connections.

The great thing about this HDTV is that you have four size formats to choose from when watching a show or movie. The TV screen is letter-box, so if you want to watch analog TV shows in its natural size, you select “Normal” and you’ll see a 32″ TV screen embedded in your 40″ TV. If you are watching an HD TV show and you want the full experience, select “Full” size. If you want to watch a letter-box movie that was made for your analog TV, then select “Zoom” and your 32″ letter-box will fill up the full 40″ screen. If you want to watch a regular movie that was made naturally for the wide-screen, select “Wide-Zoom” and the movie will fill up the entire screen and you’ll feel like you’re watching a movie in a small theatre (your living room).

Anyway, I pretty much explained everything that I wanted to know when I bought the TV, but had no one who could provide the information. For example, I needed to know the exact measurements, so that I knew how big of a space I needed for the TV. I wanted to know if it requires an additional home theatre sound system to boost the sound as some TVs have really low sound at its maximum level. This HDTV has a pretty good sound system of its own. I needed to know if I can connect all my periferals to the TV, and for the most part I could–just that almost every connection has to be an input to the TV. I also wanted to know if the screens adjusted to the different size formats of movies and shows, and of course this HDTV can adjust to all of them.

I hope you’ll have the privilege of owning this model as it seems that less and less retailers are carrying it. I don’t know why Sony would discontinue its production when it is such a beautiful TV. Maybe Sony is afraid that people won’t buy the other Sony models if they keep manufacturing this one. Enjoy.