Best Buy Lcd HDTV Blog

My Three Kings Day
First of all, thanks to everyone who wrote reviews, I found them to be the best source of information on the web. I'm not repeating what others have accurately depicted and I'm sure you have done your physical in store comparisions before or after reading this.

This set has an incredible picture as did some other comparable Samsung units I considered, however the sound on this unit tipped the scale in my favor as I don't plan on feeding it through a sound system all the time. My brother had performed his own independent research and ended up with the 46" version of this set right before the holidays. Actually I'd prefer the touch of color (TOC) Bezel with the Sony sound system although I'm completely satisfied with this unit and the integration of the speaker across the bottom.

I haven't integrate the ethernet port into my home network yet, but did pop a USB stick into it. Viewing high resolution photographs from a professional camera setup is something that puts 10 inch digital picture frames to shame. Navigating through folders in an explorer style point and click with thumbnail images is fast and easy.

I wasn't in a rush to order this and my patience paid off as Amazon ran a Blue Ray combo special after Christmas that saved me an additional four c-notes and this made Amazon the cheapest Web deal by leaps and bounds for me.

Unless you own them, don't forget the HDMI cables. Good cables (V1.3) that also support 1080p data rate start at ten bucks on the same site, so don't get swayed into the big fat expensive ones that only local brick and mortar stores seem to sell.

Lucky for me, the TV, Sony Blue Ray (550) and the cables all arrived the same day despite three different shipping methods for each. This was truly my "Three Kings day".

One further tip, even though I have two High definition Cable DVR Receivers, I wasn't aware they also have a built in picture zoom feature besides the zoom built into these TVs. After a short panic attack almost suspecting a defunct TV and after a few hours of swapping TVs, and cable boxes, did I realize the source of the problem was a ill set cable box. Definitely freshen up on the capabilities of your set top box before slapping these puppies together, especially if times of trouble.

I read the other reviews about shipping and must say I had a positive experience. The web site accurately states tracking info, and I received a phone call the day of delivery informing me they would be a couple hours earlier than expected. Two men carried the units, were professional and courteous. They unboxed it at my request and waited for me to inspect it for damage. I saw them momentarily put the box down in some snow (OMG) while closing up the truck, so a wet and possibly dirty bottom can be expected. Be prepared with some floor/carpet protection if its coming into your O.R.

I've never heard anyone say that set is too big except my wife. Right now, I've been nominated to replace Mel Gibson on the impaling block at the end of Braveheart since our new XBR replaced her fine cabinet hiding our antiquated set.

Wow!
I researched two models the samsung ln52a750 and the sony kdl52xbr6. I went to BB and compared them side by side, looked at consumer reports reviews for the 46 inch models, looked at the cnet reviews for the 46 inch models and checked out the amazon reviews for both. At BB, the samsung model really stood out because of its style and picture. What finally sold me on the KDL52XBR6 was the consumer reports ratings for manufacturing defects of the Samsung models. Sony ranked number 2 in manufacturing defects and samsung was much further down the list. No one who has bought an LCD Tv from Amazon with an extended service plan has had a good turn around time for repair. My choice was based on going with Sony because of the quality of the manufacturing process and near perfect picture. I think that the Samsung model has a slightly better picture and added abilitites to stream network media but for ease of use, ease of setup, and reliability Sony can't be beaten. My point is simply what use is a TV that spends more time in the shop than on your wall.

Sony delivers!
You could not pay me enough to choose a different unit over Sony's XBR lineup. I own a 52" XBR4 (now in the bedroom), and purchased the 52" XBR6 for the living room. Sony's televisions aren't as mainstream popular as Samsung's comparable units, as they are a bit more money, but I'm a buyer who prefers quality over cost, and Sony delivers to A/V enthusiasts who know what they want from a unit. Even the differences between the XBR4 (purchased Feb '08) and the XBR6 (purchased Dec '08) indicate Sony is putting great effort into their R&D to offer the best possible television to the market. Samsung and Sony share an LCD manufacturing plant in Korea; Samsung still makes great televisions, but the gloss screens weren't for me. Sony's matte finish screens and extra video options are great for those who like to tweak, and the Bravia Sync features are very wife and family friendly.

The Jekyll & Hyde of HDTVs
I spent a good 6 months researching HDTVs, reading reviews and visiting local stores to check them out before I decided on the Sony 52XBR6. But now I'm returning it; read on to find out why.

The only reason I went with an LCD instead of a plasma was because of the screen reflection issue. Our TV will be directly across from a large bay window, with our sofa in-between the two. So my wife and I didn't want to constantly have a reflection of the window behind us in the TV screen. So I never even considered plasma for this single reason.

After speaking to local salespeople, they recommended the Sony XBR6 over all other LCDs, including Samsung. They informed me that although Samsung TVs look nice, they have a quality control issue, where they allow an error rate of 8%-9% off the production line, as opposed to Sony who only allows 1%-2%. One store I went to that services the brands they sell said they stopped carrying the Samsung TVs altogether because they were spending too much time fixing them! So I ordered the Sony XBR6 and my wife and I eagerly awaited delivery.

Upon setting it up, the picture was fine: very clear, and HDTV channels looked crazy good. We popped in the Planet Earth Blu-ray disc, and again we were blown away. I also liked the on-screen menus -- very fluid, sorta like the PS3 or an iPhone. We couldn't have been happier. Little did we know that we were seeing the "Dr. Jekyll" side of this TV, and once nightfall came the "Mr. Hyde" side would emerge...

That night, we sat down to watch a movie on Blu-ray. Almost immediately, even before the opening credits came up (while the screen was still dark), I noticed lights shining from the corners and edges across the screen. There were also a couple of cloudy patches. I pointed them out to my wife, and she said "It looks like a marquee sign!"

I played around with the picture settings for a while, but even when I set the backlight to "Min" (the lowest setting) and the power saving mode to "High" (which is supposed to reduce the backlight to save energy), I could still see the lights. Of course, when the movie was playing I rarely saw them because the picture on-screen overwhelmed the flaws in the backlight. But whenever a dark scene came on, or a scene faded to black before the next scene faded in, you could see these lights. I saw the lights no matter what the source: Blu-ray, DVD, cable TV. My stomach sank, because I found it so distracting that I knew I couldn't keep the TV if something couldn't be done.

I contacted Sony tech support through their online chat feature, and after describing the problem and following a few of their troubleshooting tips, the problem remained. That's when the Sony tech support said, and I quote:

"This is the characteristic drawback of LCD technology. If you think that the LCD technology is not acceptable, you may purchase a plasma display to avoid the clouds."

Here's the kicker... Sony doesn't even make plasma TVs! So they were basically telling me to return their TV and buy a competitor's product!

So why am I giving this TV 3 stars instead of 1? Because in all fairness it does produce a great picture when feeding it an HD signal, as long as the picture is relatively bright all across the screen. If you watch mostly sports, sitcoms, and animation, you'll probably never notice the flaws in the backlight. But if you watch a lot of movies or TV dramas with dark scenes in them, you'll find the backlight flaws totally unacceptable. Maybe you'll get lucky and get one without flaws in the backlight, but that's the chance you're taking.

As for me, I'm getting a plasma, reflections be damned. In fact, I took my wife out to see the Panasonic plasmas at the same store where we bought the XBR6, and she said, "THAT'S the reflection you're talking about? That's not bad at all, I can live with that." And besides, that's what curtains are for, right? So it looks like our replacement TV will be a Panasonic plasma.

If you want to see what the leaking backlight looks like, I posted some photos here: www.webapalooza.com/sonyxbr6/

19 days for delivery from Amazon!!!
I ordered Sony Bravia 52XBr6 on Dec 19. Estimated delivery date they posted on site was Dec 30 with wrong Tracking#. Carrier was CEVA. Its Jan 3 today and I haven't got my TV yet. I called carrier CEVA to track the package and they told me that tracking# is wrong. Then, I called Amazon and they are also not sure of the tracking# and whereabout of the package. After making many calls to CEVA and Amazon and having conference calls with them, I came to know that tracking updates on Amazon site was wrong and useless. CEVA finally called me and setup appointment for Jan 7 for delivery. Not sure when CEVA will deliver the package. I would rate Amazon service very poor and suggest that they must change the carrier. I am worried about condition of the TV when it finally arrives and level of service.