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Sony's KDL-XBR9 boasts scads of Internet-powered extras.

(Credit: CNET)

Sony has always reserved its XBR moniker for its most expensive HDTVs, and the 2009 KDL-XBR9 lineup is no exception. These sets cost a bundle, and while they deliver plenty of features, including a lot of built-in interactive add-ons, they can't match the video quality of the best plasma and LED-backlit LCDs on the market, nor the ultrathin style of Samsung's edge-lit LED models.

The Sony KDL-XBR9 series exhibited respectable enough performance, to be sure, and we're sure gadget freaks will find a lot to like about its streaming capabilities and its Yahoo Widgets, but if you don't care about those extras, it's hard to justify the high price tag.

Read the full review of the Sony KDL-XBR9 series.

Sony KDL-XBR9 series--photos

Sony Bravia Internet Video--slideshow

The Sony KDL-52XBR7 is the first TV on the market with a 240Hz refresh rate.

(Credit: CNET)

With CES fast approaching in January, and with it a look at all the new TV technology of 2009, we've heard inklings of the next big thing in HDTVs: 240Hz. Sony has beat the other big LCD TV players to the punch, however, with the first 240Hz TV, the KDL-52XBR7.

LCD TVs with a 120Hz refresh rate are common enough these days. They refresh the screen twice as quickly as typical HDTVs, allowing TV makers to add dejudder video processing that smoothes out the picture, reduces blurring in motion, and matches the frame rate of 1080p/24 sources like Blu-ray movies. Of course, dejudder can make film look like video and introduce artifacts, and the benefits of reduced blurring and 1080p/24 compatibility are difficult for average viewers to spot.

Judging from our review of the KDL-52XBR7, the benefits of 240Hz are equally difficult to discern. The set did score higher on motion resolution test patterns, but that didn't readily translate into an obvious difference with regular program material.

What's easy to discern is that the KDL-52XBR7 costs a bundle: about $4,100 list, or currently $1,100 more than its already expensive 120Hz counterpart, the KDL-52XBR6. The 240Hz XBR7 is an excellent-performing TV, it's just too expensive compared to the stiff competition.

Read the full review of the Sony KDL-52XBR7. ... Read more

In addition to producing deep black levels, Sony's KDL-52XBR6 lets you exchange the silver speaker grille for another color.

(Credit: CNET)

In the contest for "best LCD," the main combatants for the last couple of years have been Sony and Samsung. We reviewed Samsung's LN52A650 earlier this year and liked what we saw enough to award it our Editors' Choice. Sony's latest contender for that award is the subject of our latest HDTV review, the KDL-52XBR6.

First things first: this Sony ain't cheap. But its ability to produce a deep shade of black is unmatched in our experience by any non-LED-based LCD or non-Kuro plasma, and many other aspects of its performance, especially its video processing, were definitely impressive. On the other hand, for that much cash we expected better color accuracy and screen uniformity.

Those picture quality issues swayed our decision making enough to keep the EC award in Samsung's camp for this round, although both scored the same overall and the argument can definitely be made that the Sony has the better overall picture, price notwithstanding. If black levels are your bag and you don't want a plasma, you can't do better than the XBR6 without shelling out gobs more money for an LED model.

Read the full review of the Sony Bravia KDL-52XBR6.

The guts of Sony's OLED displays

(Credit: Tweak TV)

Kevin Miller, a contributing editor for CNET, was recently invited to Japan by Sony for a weeklong trip to show off some of the company's new HDTV technology. Among the highlights were Sony's new 4K by 2K projector, the SRX-R220, its new line of Bravia, and the XBR flat panel LCD HDTVs, a new proprietary wireless HDMI technology, called Bravia Wireless Link, and some updates on its new OLED displays.

Sony demonstrated its new Bravia XBR8 series televisions, due stateside this fall, adjacent to Samsung's LN-T4681F and Pioneer's PDP-4280HD from 2007. Kevin said that "the blacks on the new XBR8 series look to be the best of any LCD that I have seen to date by a good margin." Sony chalks up those deep blacks to its Triluminous technology, which utilizes LEDs that can be dimmed independently across the screen, instead of the standard fluorescent backlight that remains constantly turned on. Sony also exhibited what the company calls Motionflow Pro, a step up from its standard MotionFlow technology available on current models like the KDL-46W4100. We expect to review the XBR8 models as soon as they're available.

Coming closer to reducing the tangle of cords often associated with modern home entertainment systems, Sony also showed off its wireless HDMI technology. This will allow users to house their components in a closed cabinet, eliminating the need to run several wires through the wall to the television. The specification currently only supports 1080i though, although Sony is working on a 1080p version.

Lastly and probably the coolest item on Kevin's itinerary was all the OLED goodness. While Sony has a 11-inch model on the market, the XEL-1, priced at a whopping $2,500, it plans to invest $220 million in 2009 to further bring down the price and to develop larger screen sizes. Eventually the company wants to integrate the displays into "rolled goods, like window shades that drop down, covering your window to turn [it] into a TV."

We could see ultrathin OLED displays used in a number of applications. How about animated advertising on the side of skyscrapers, sans the low-res neon light bulbs, similar to what's seen in the movie, Bladerunner? Or what about digital, animated clothing, a built-in monitor for your office desk, or a flexible video-esque newspaper that can be folded and snugged into your pocket?

Clearly the possibilities are endless--but what do you think? Will this technology catch on (if the price comes down) and really revolutionize our lives, or is this just more hype from Sony?

Sony's KDL-XBR8 series LCDs feature LED backlights.

(Credit: Sony)

This spring Sony released its mainstream Bravia LCD models, namely the 15-odd HDTVs announced at CES, and we've already reviewed two of them: the 32-inch KDL-32M4000 and the 46-inch KDL-46W4100. Today the company follows up by announcing the bulk of its high-end XBR-branded sets, which will be more expensive and offer a few key step-up features when they hit stores this fall. The main addition of note is an LED backlight, which is finally trickling down from the company's 2005 Qualia model and the $30K KDL-70XBR3. Below you'll find information on all of the new XBR-branded Bravia sets, from least to most expensive, and before you ask, no, Sony hasn't announced pricing. ... Read more

(Credit: Sony)

If you've got $33,000 earmarked for a new television, then Sony's main CES announcement might pique your interest. If you don't, you'll have to wait until the company's February show to hear anything official about the company's 2007 products. Eschewing CES for significant product news is nothing new for the company, but the price point of its new flagship HDTV still represents a certain kind of bravado. At least Sony knows how to capture headlines from the mainstream press.

The $33,000 KDL-70XBR3 (did I mention it costs $33,000?) happens to be a 70-inch flat-panel LCD HDTV with a laundry list of cutting-edge specs, seemingly all couched in the terminology of Sony trademarks. Topping the list is "x.v. Color," which the company carefully explains is its brand name for xvYCC technology. It allows the KDL-70XBR3 to display a wider color gamut, which should actually improve picture quality, but requires xvYCC-enabled content to take full advantage of. As far as I know there isn't any xvYCC content currently available, but with Sony introducing four new xvYCC camcorders at CES, baby footage utilizing the latest Sony products might be lent whole new realms of realism. Seriously, I've heard the first xvYCC-enabled content will come courtesy of video games, presumably on the PlayStation 3.

Of course, the KDL-70XBR3 has 1080p (1920x1080) native resolution, and it adds a 120Hz refresh rate (a.k.a. "Motionflow"), 10-bit color, and an improved LED backlight ("Triluminos" according to the Sony trademark artists). The high refresh rate could help remove judder and blurring in fast-moving images, while the increased color depth could reduce false contouring if the source is also 10-bit. The three HDMI inputs are version 1.3-compatible.

At the other end of the cost continuum, Sony also announced a "Bravia Internet Video Link that will allow most of its new televisions to access free Internet video content, including high-definition videos, from providers including AOL, Yahoo, and Grouper, as well as Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony BMG Music," according to the press release. The magic comes courtesy of a small module (price, availability not announced) that connects to "most of its new televisions." Hey, at least it's not Sony Connect. No mention is made of the inevitable paid content deals, but I don't expect the company to offer free access to HD-resolution Sony Pictures films anytime soon. The only compatible televisions the company specified are the new S3000 series: the 46-inch KDL-46S3000, the 40-inch KDL-40S3000, and the 32-inch KDL-32S3000, available this spring. I'll scare up details on those sets soon.