Customer Reviews:
 Breathtaking. November 21, 2008
R. D. Smith
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I actually own one. It is hard to imagine how a picture on a TV based on the current ATSC encoding could look any better. The blacks are "black-black". The colors are intense. The picture is bright. The only limitation I can see has more to do with the source material than with the TV itself. br / br /I have DirectTV HD and Sony blu-ray, I also have rabbit ears for local TV. I will for the purposes of this review, ignore Analog TV and VCR, both of which are beyond obsolete. br / br /With standard 480 source, the mosquito filtering is poor or non-existant. I am not sure if this is because of the TV, because of the upscaling of the DirectTV HD-DVR or because of the original network processing. However with true HD source (either 720P or 1080i), the results are stunning. The 3-D processing (two dimensions of the picture and one dimension of time) to interpolate intermediate frames is just stunning. With any other TV, I have learned how to see the macro blocking when the compression is running at the limit, but this TV does an incredible job of not only smoothing out the inter-frame judder, but it remarkably sharpens the picture for those interpolated frames as well. When I pause a picture with the DVR, you can see macro blocks, but as soon as you press "play", you can actually see the motion processor cutting in. br / br /The results with a good blu-ray disk are, well, get your popcorn and 64 oz cup of soda because it is better than a movie theater since it is brighter. br / br /I have two complaints, both of them "nits". The first is that it takes way too much effort to set the sleep timer. Obviously Sony did not anticipate that a lot of users would use this TV to fall asleep on the couch with. Its not a big deal, but other TVs have a one button sleep button - the height of lazy, I'll admit. The other thing is that the "universal" remote doesn't know how to control the DirectTV HD-DVR. Like all other universal remotes, you still need a remote caddy in your La-Z-Boy to keep all of your other ones... br / br /Of course the obvious down side is the $7,000 price, but YGWYPF.
Top of the line-- any line! October 27, 2008
R. Weeks (Florida)
11 out of 19 found this review helpful
Saw this TV in action when I went to check out my 52W4100. Wish I could afford this one! It was next to the Z4100 which is top of the line before the XBRs. The Tri-Lum LEDs show colors and clarity that isn't even visible on the Z4100--and believe me, the Z4100 is no slouch! br /All that I can say is W O W!!! br /The Sony guy did a demo for me. Put video and then pictures on all the TV screens. One was a panoramic beach picture with green leaves in front, people and water in the middle, and buildings/people all the way out in the background. You could see EACH green leaf on the front, the people's faces in the middle, and the buildings' windows panes in the background. What the hell!?! br /- br /There are LEDs the make each color richer on this thing. It's just ridiculous how clear this stuff is. Clearer than my eyes usually sees stuff, that's for sure (I wouldn't be able to see all that stuff if I was at a beach). br /If you can afford it, buy it. Then again, if you're looking at this you already know about Sony quality. br /- br /It's sad to me that most people don't understand the quality that comes from a Sony (not just the name) and try to compare it with lesser brands and sometimes even store brands because they can get a cheaper price. You get what you pay for. And if you don't know, you don't know. Hey, people buy "luxury" Hyundai's and Kia's now right?
Viewed the new XBR8 today October 24, 2008
S. Clark (Austin, Tx USA)
3 out of 18 found this review helpful
Saw it at the local Sony style store here in Austin this afternoon. br /They were showing the Transformer blue-ray and it was AMAZING looking. br / br /WOW-the best to be sure. Wish I had an extra 7 grand laying around. br /And I just got an XBR4 last year.
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