Sony BRAVIA XBR Series KDL-46XBR9 46-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV, Black

Review by W. Paulk for Sony BRAVIA XBR Series KDL-46XBR9 46-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV, Black
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I bought this TV because of Sony’s legendary reputation in beautiful pictures and previous experience with the XBR line. As expected, the picture is absolutely great. If you want amazing HDTV, then this set is for you. The TV has a very simple and understated front, which I like a lot. The Amazon delivery was great! Two men brought it into the house, put it where we wanted it, connected it, turned it on and checked the remote for operation. The deliveryman was familiar with the TV and went above and beyond by doing the initial setup, which admittedly was simple, but not something he was required to do. There are only two drawbacks so far. The stand is flimsy feeling and wobbles like a weeble if you bump the set. My XBR4 had a rock solid stand. I just attached a cable to the wall for piece of mind (didn’t want it falling on the grand kids). The second thing is a lack of PIP or P&P, both of which were on my KDL40XBR4. Bottom line–love it so far.

Review by C. WILLIAMS for Sony BRAVIA XBR Series KDL-46XBR9 46-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV, Black
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I got this TV two weeks ago. As an admitted unapologetic Sony “fanboy” I had high expectations. The display is beautiful especially when viewing blu-ray’s or HD sources. However in an extremely dark scene it is evident that LCD’s still have a ways to go when it comes to contrasting blacks. I have played around with settings and even adjusted the custom setting to those recommended in CNet’s review of the TV but it still leaves much to be desired.

Pros:

Excellent response time and display when viewing HD sources.

A lot of options for customizing to fit your personal taste.

A ton of extras (mostly accessed if/when you hook your TV up to your home internet network). The widgets and video on demand are fun features but likely not something that will be for the average user.

Cons: Black contrasts still aren’t near the level displayed in Plasmas and the LED technology also looks to be a major improvement in this area.

Display of SD (standard definition/non HD) content leaves much to be desired. Going from an old Sony 36″ CRT HDTV (HS510) standard definition played extremely well on that model and HD sources looked great also. On this model (like with most LCD’s) the SD sources look worse than they normally do on non HD tubes.

One area that I have yet to decide if it is a pro or a con is the input jacks. The back only has one HDMI input where as the side has 3. I really think Sony should have put two on the back and two on the side but at least the ones on the side are recessed enough to where the wires aren’t visible unless you are standing near the side of the tv.

I have already gotten compliments on the glass bezel that surrounds the screen and this tv definitely passes the “eye test” as far as attractiveness. The SONY logo at the bottom can be dimmed or turned off if you find it distracting (I thought this was a nice touch).

I am happy with the purchase but all-in-all if I had to do it over I might wait for a 240Hz LED model by Sony or opt for a Plasma from a competitor.

Review by David S for Sony BRAVIA XBR Series KDL-46XBR9 46-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV, Black
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Tried the LG 47 inch LH40 and then the Samsung 46 inch LED B6000. Had both for about two weeks before returning them. The Sony not only has more features but has a much better and consistent picture than the previous two. The LG has a major lip synch problem and the Samsung had a great picture as long as you were in front of it. Anything slightly to the side and the picture was unwatchable. The sound on this Tv is great as well. Definately a wonderful TV and I strongly recommend it.

Review by J. Cartledge for Sony BRAVIA XBR Series KDL-46XBR9 46-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV, Black
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Sony BRAVIA XBR Series KDL-46XBR9 46-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV, BlackI did extensive research to determine the best quality TV for my bedroom and settled on Sony’s 46XBR9. The picture is excellent and the built-in internet capability is exceptional. We rent from Amazon movies all the time, which has saved money on our cable bill since we were able to reduce our plan. The other TVs I compared were Samsung’s LED, which is nice and light, but I worry about the reliability now, expecially since the technology is new. I have seen both pictures and the XBR9 compares well with the LED. Sony’s XBR8 has the ultimate picture, but it is pricy and lacks the internet capability. I also have a 52XBR6, which has a very vivid picture and I love it. I haven’t seen much difference with the faster speed of the XBR9, but it’s nice to have it for high-speed action. The price with Amazon was exceptional, and you want to watch prices from day to day because they vary several hundred dollars sometimes. Amazon usually doesn’t adjust the price you paid if a new price goes down in 30 days, but they were nice enough to do it in my case. I also bought surge protectors from Amazon, but bought my heavy duty wall mount from another site. Amazon is excellent and my new Sony was delivered with “white glove” efficiency and care. Great TV and purchase experience.

Review by OZ for Sony BRAVIA EX 500 Series 46-Inch LCD TV, Black
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I did an extensive research for my new TV. I compared consumer reviews, professional reviews and checked couple TV’s picture my self.

My conclusions at the end of research:

1. 3D Samsung – I don’t see this technology is ready for home use. 3D picture cause headache for lots of viewers, 3D effect diminishes a lot if you are watching TV more then 4 feet away from the screen, and who wants to wear this glasses all the time? Another factor is cost. It is high for what you really get. This technology will be much more interesting once it gets mature, but not yet.

2. LED technology – I looked at edge led calibrated display by Samsung and I think it’s not bad, but I see hallow of light at the edge of tv which reduces perceptual contrast. Otherwise edge led looks very similar to regular LCD, such I can’t justify 30% more on average price increase.

3. Samsung reliability vs Sony. Lots of people believe that Samsung is more reliable, but checking forums I discovered that Samsung has number of hardware issues with their tv’s and reliability is not that great. Sony used to be great couple of years ago, then reliability went down and it appears that they are trying to recover their reputation back now. At the end, number of issues between Sony and Samsung is somewhere the same with Samsung having more hardware related issues and Sony has more software bugs. Software is easier to fix with new firmware release. This is based on their older models, since you need some time, year or longer of use to evaluate long term reliability.

I bought this Sony at BJ and calibrated using AVIA HD and Avia Standard definition DVD’s. I use it to play PS3 and my Home Theater PC.

1. Contrast – very good. In dark room I notice a little light leaking in the upper comers of the TV. The picture itself has very deep blacks and excellent whites. So far it’s one of the best results I’ve seen on any LCD.

2. Sharpness – perfect, but watch for setting in video mode. My TV went to overscan with HTPC connected over HDMI. It was easy to fix by changing settings to pixel mapping for HDMI port.

3. Brightness – it’s LCD so it can be very bright. I liked Sony implementation of automatic brightness. It changes brightness based on available light in the room. The result is picture looks more natural to watch when you turn off the lights, and still bright enough picture during sunny day. Note: I calibrated the screen with low lights in the room, it’s how I normally watch movies.

4. Colors – not too bad from manufacture, but definitely improved after calibration. Very lifelike at the end.

Conclusion:

I’m completely satisfied with picture quality of this display and I feel this TV gives you more per dollar then any other.

Review by Big Lou Manno for Sony BRAVIA EX 500 Series 46-Inch LCD TV, Black
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I was looking for am LCD TV for my basement bonus room and found this to be one of the best 46″ LCD’s out there. I also purchased a Sony Receiver and Sony Blu-ray player with this TV. The Video quality is excellent even on standard definition TV. Unlike the 32″ Samsung we have in our living room, this TV will actually auto adjust the screen to fit the signal (I get very tired of changing it manually on the other TV). The Bravia Sync feature between the three Sony components is one of the best I have seen. It sends all control thru HDMI and you can control any of the three components with any of the tree remotes.

Great TV for the price!

Review by D. Knight for Sony BRAVIA EX 500 Series 46-Inch LCD TV, Black
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I’ve owned this TV for about 2 months now, and have watched many different formats on it including DVD’s and Blu-Ray, streaming NetFlix, over-the-air HD local channels, and SD/HD cable. I fall in love with the TV every time I watch something on it. My wife can attest to the constant stream of “wow’s” coming from my mouth while watching HD nature and travel shows. Action flicks? Awesome!

As many of you have done, I researched many different brands and models prior to making this purchase, using the Internet and in-person at local brick-and-mortar shops. I’ve always been a Sony fan, and didn’t hestitate long when I realized that I could have a 120 Hz Sony LDC TV of this size for less than $1000. This is one of the few major purchase that I’ve ever made where there hasn’t been any sort of buyer’s remorse.

The feature set is light compared to some of the newer models out there. It doesn’t have Internet apps built in, it’s 120 Hz versus 240 Hz, and it’s not an LED-LCD. As far as I’m concerned, most of those bells and whistles are unnecessary. I picked up a $160 Sony Blu-Ray player that covers the Internet streaming. I really like the convenience of Bravia Sync integration between my different enabled components. Definitely a cool feature.

This review is for the picture right out of the box. I am intending to calibrate it, and can only imagine that the picture quality will be even better!

One final note…as far as sound goes, I exclusively use external sound through my home theater system, so in comparison, of course the built-in speakers sound really weak. You’ll have to draw your own conclusion in that department.

Cheers!