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235 of 237 found the following review helpful:
 The best monitor available today. Aug 17, 2007
By J. Donaldson
"Cal-diver"
We purchased an XBR4 and brought it home last night from a brick-and-mortar store. I didn't think they would be available for another month. I've been trying to decide what to purchase for almost 4 months (a common story from what I've read on the internet). Every time I stood in Frys Electronics, or Best Buy, or Circuit City the Sony XBR series would catch my eye. In my opinion they simply are better than all the rest.
I looked briefly at Plasma but our living room has lots of windows so we couldn't tolerate the shiny screens. The latest and greatest Samsung LCDs also have shiny screens so alas they were excluded.
We compared the Sharp Aquos 52d82 with the Sony XBR3 and once again the sharpness and clarity of the Sony outstripped the Sharp. This is all subjective mind you. You might very well be quite satisfied with another brand. For me I would never be happy had I purchased something else, knowing these XBR series were out there.
Last night the Sony 46" XBR4 was sitting between two Plasma TVs in the store. The Sony was sharper and had deeper blacks than the two Plasmas.
I was itching to purchase a Sony but I knew the XBR4 & 5 were coming soon with the 120Hz refresh, 10 bit color, 3 HDMI 1.3 inputs, PC input, 15000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 2000:1 true contrast, and the BLACK bezel. Yes the XBR4 came with the black bezel which I prefer over the silver of the XBR2.
Setup was as easy as the traditional CRT TV the XBR4 replaced in our living room. Plug it in, stick the Playstation 3 HDMI cable into the back, turn it on, select the game input and away we went.
We have a library of over 300 480i DVDs. I was concerned they wouldn't look good. I've read many user reviews about poor quality 480i presentations on the previous XBRs. While they can't hold a candle to the Blu-Ray Planet Earth series the standard DVDs look quite respectable on the XBR4.
The Sony remote is quite long compared to our other remotes. It has single buttons to change the Picture from Wide Zoom, to Normal, Full, and Zoom. You can quickly also select Vivid, Standard, Cinema, or Custom Picture Modes. The remote is a "universal" type that will control a Set Top Box, DVD, Blu Ray disk player, or of course the TV. The remote picked up my Sony DVD player without me having to do anything to set it up. However we have a Logitech Harmony 890 (Amazon has a great price) so won't be using the Sony remote.
There are 10 input selections, TV, Video 1 (which we named DVD), Video 2, Video 3, Component 1, Component 2, HDMI 1 (which we named Game for the Playstation 3), HDMI 2, HDMI 3, and PC. I did hook up my PC which has 1080p capability and surfed the internet for a while. I don't think these big screens make good PC monitors though as you have to sit close enough to read text and at that point they are too large.
There were no dead pixels, and I haven't seen any "clouding" that was the bane of the XBR2&3.
Yes it is pricey but in my opinion it is the best.
September 27, 2007 update
Now that I've had this LCD for over a month I'm very pleased with it. One additional comment is the built in speakers are quite good. I also recently purchased a 34" Sharp with built in speakers and immediately noticed the difference in the poorer sound quality in this Sharp. The Sony sounds so good I haven't spent the time to hook the sound output jacks up to my surround sound system.
Changing channels could be quicker, but my guess is the TV is trying to figure out what kind of signal it has (480i, 720i, 1080i) and make adjustments.
I've had issues with dropping sync with some digital TV channels but I have no way of knowing if it is the TV itself or the quality of my cable. It will lose sync for about 5 seconds then re-sync.
101 of 104 found the following review helpful:
Fantastic once calibrated and having all features turned on. Sep 13, 2007
By zarxs
"zarxs"
HDguru's review of this TV pointed to a problem with the handing of interlaced video and recommended switching from Vivid to Custom (or cinema settings), it does make a difference once you settings on Custom are right. Picture is incredible. With Motion flow turned on and sharpness turned up, contract and back-light turned to max it looks like you are looking through a window. If anyone wants my settings let me know. I am just thrilled with quality. I have a PC-VCR attached to the VGA connector. I have a DVD player connected using HDMI and using the scaler from the TV take it to 1080p. With sharpness turned up motion flow turned on, detail and edge enhancer turned on the DVD's look amazing I can't wait for a Blu-Ray player, can you say PS3?
Weaknesses
1. the out of the box settings seem ok but you get so much more after you tweak it. Which leads me to my only complaint which really isn't one there are so many settings and the manual doesn't do a good enough job explaining what they do (even for a techy).
2. The cost is pretty high but if it's worth it.
Suggestions buy your cables through Amazon it's worth it. The shipping may cost more then the cables but that still 1/3 the price of buying them elsewhere.
79 of 82 found the following review helpful:
Worth the wait Aug 24, 2007
By C. Webster
I was having trouble deciding between an older XBR model (such as the XBR2 or XBR3 ) or waiting for this new model to come out. I decided to wait, and I am very glad I did. The new Xross interface is amazing, as is the picture quality. No "clouds" in the corners like some of the XBR2 and XBR3 models. One thing I must mention that is a real plus is the "Game Mode" option for various inputs. For people familiar with games like Guitar Hero, A/V lag can be a big deal. The game mode on this model works like a charm and removes almost all lag (I didn't even have to "calibrate lag" in the game options). The only negative I have noticed so far is the automatic backlight adjusting. It can be easily put to manual, but on the default automatic setting it seems to overcompensate when credits start to roll, or if something is white on a black background.
Update: November 31, 2007
I have had this TV since the day it was released, and I don't regret purchasing it at all. As some of the other reviewers have mentioned, you really need to take the time and adjust the "Custom" options to your liking, because "Vivid" is a bit over the top. After 3 months though, the TV is still going strong with no dead pixels or clouding or any problems at all. I couldn't be happier.
42 of 42 found the following review helpful:
Awesome TV! Oct 26, 2007
By MK
"MK"
I spent 6 months online and in stores researching LCD TV's. I read reviews on every imaginable website. I even looked at the TV manual on Sony's website, just to see what features it had before I bought it! If you're going to spend this amount of money you want the best. This TV is the best. I ordered it from Amazon because the price was good and I saved around $300 in sales tax. I figured I could easily spend that money on an upconvert DVD player, which you MUST have to view regular DVD's on this TV (with any kind of quality), and HDMI cables. I also bought the Sony upconvert DVD player from Amazon. I have a few tips however to get the best bang for your buck...
First tip: Follow the shipping. Amazon emails you a tracking # which you can then plug into Eagle Freight's web site to track your package. Once it gets to your state, call them and arrange for delivery. Don't wait for them to call you! When it reaches your state another delivery company may be subcontracted to deliver. That's where your proactiveness comes in. By being proactive (and very anxious to receive my new TV), the TV was delivered 3 days early! The guys came in unpacked it and let me plug it in to make sure it worked. I had them leave the box, just in case.
Second tip: Google "XBR4 calibration". You'll find a web-site called AVS. There is a forum on which a bunch of techno geeks discuss how they adjusted this TV. You can then print off settings and see what's best for you. The manual for this TV is not comprehensive enough and doesn't explain well what all the settings do. This website discusses it at length and then some.
Third tip: Direct TV offers the best HD package. They have over 100 channels. Standard TV looks OK, but HD is like looking out a window. So clear...
Where ever you buy this TV, you won't be disappointed. Sony is a leader in electronics, and you get what you pay for.
32 of 32 found the following review helpful:
Sony Delivers Again Nov 25, 2007
By James A. Swartz
"JASwartz"
I want to add my review to all the laudatory reviews so far, admitting that I have been a Sony fan for many years and generally tend to prefer their television products to other manufacturers. The one exception, a 35" RCA tube set purchased in 1995 and a fine tv, was replaced by the XBR4.
This was my first foray into HD. I first went to the brick and mortar stores to compare them in person (I recommend doing this even if you end up buying on line.) I was mainly interested in comparing the Sony with the Sharp Aquos, which a friend had told me was comparable in picture quality but lower in price. It could be my bias, but there was no comparison, the Sony looked much better to me. The blacks were deeper and overall, I thought the color representations on the Sony were richer and truer than on the Sharp Aquos (and comparable Samsung models). Standing in front of the two sets, my eyes were naturally drawn to the Sony picture. I did not compare plasma sets because my gut feeling is that the market is going to LCDs now (much like VHS eventually won over betamax, ironically, Sony's standard).
With that decision made, I ordered on line about a month ago after continued reading of technical reviews. The main issue was whether to buy an XBR3 at a lower price versus the newer XBR4. The deciding factor was the reports of clouding or "mura" in the corners of some XBR3 models and that the XBR4 had reportedly fixed this problem. Spending this much money on a set, I wanted the optimum picture quality and especially good quality for watching Bears and ND football games! So the decision was to spend the extra few hundred and get the XBR4, although my understanding is that these problems with the XBR3 may have been worked out by now.
The set arrived in splendid condition. I am a fan of the hi tech look and aesthetically, this is a beauty with the floating glass surrounding the black matte bevel adding a nice touch. To my surprise, the set fit in the same space occupied by the RCA tube set and was much lighter to lift and position. I even like the small Sony logo that gently lights up at the bottom of the set (you can turn this off in the settings menu if you want.) The jacks in the back are well labeled and easy to connect to the various input devices you might have. You will be most concerned with the HDMI inputs but legacy devices such as VHS and older DVD players also connect easily.
But note that purchasing the set is just the beginning of your expenses to convert to HD: You will need to shell out at least $75 more for an HDMI cable to connect the tv to your cable box. If, like me, you are also a Directv customer, you will pay another $300 for their HR21 HD receiver (no other choices available), $100 or so for the installer to put in a multi-switch and recable your dish (unless you can do this yourself), and a monthly upcharge for the HD signal. Altogether, add another $500 to the cost of the set to fully convert to HD if you have not been receiving HD prior to this.
Once done, the change is amazing and worth it. Hooked to an old receiver prior to installing the HD receiver, the picture was only average and even a little grainier when I applied the "stretch" feature as opposed to cropping the image. I even noticed what looked like clouding around the picture edges. However, these problems disappear once you have an HD receiver installed. Even the stations in regular broadcast are clearer and the HD channels are so vivid, they almost look hyper-real; you actually feel like you are at the game. It is even a pleasure sitting and watching shows you have seen before on regular sets in HD to see all the details you missed; I rewatched the entire past season of Top Chef just to marvel at how pretty Padma Lakshmi really is in HD!
I agree with others that you should change from the default Vivid mode, which is garish and too bright, to Cinema or Standard right away and then explore the many other tweaks you can make (Sony lets you separately adjust the settings for each input so you can have one set of settings for your cable box, another for your DVD player, etc.). However, once I switched to Cinema mode, I left the other settings at default and have been quite happy with these.
The set does hiccup a bit (or perhaps this is the Directv receiver) when switching from HD stations to regular broadcast stations and vice versa, but this is nothing too alarming and will be less of an issue when more stations come on line in HD; right now, many of my favorite stations are in HD on Directv with more planned for next year. I am also trying to figure out how the settings on the XBR4 interact with the settings on the DVR (for example, picture size); this will take some time and has not been a hindrance thus far.
In sum, for other long time Sony fans thinking about going HD, this is the set you want, very highly recommended and a nice Christmas present for you and the whole family. (I believe the XBR5 is exactly the same as the XBR4 save for allowing you to change the color of the bezel from black to something else.) For those not yet Sony fans, this set will convert you.
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