Customer Reviews

Sony Bravia XBR-Series KDL-46XBR2 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I previously had a Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD that went bad after just 6 months! I used my service plan and got a full refund since they didn't even want to touch the thing. The only problem i've found that that the prices in 6 months actually increased and suddenly I found that 42" 1080p LCDs were less common.

I first went with the Samsung LN-S4695D. I had some major issues with that so returned it for this. I originally skipped this Sony for the Samsung because it was cheaper.

When I purchased this I knew of the cloud issue and had them deliver it and crossed my fingers. Turned it on and after awhile I noticed clouds. The problem in all honesty does not bother me AT ALL EVER. I think in the 4-5 months i've owned this i've noticed it once or twice. Please note that I almost NEVER watch TV in the dark. If you do, maybe it's more of a problem. Sony's claim that it's "normal" is such a joke. How could you ship out thousands of these LCDs with this issue and knowing it's there? I've knocked off a star due to this. For the price you pay on this thing (it was more expensive when I bought it months ago) you'd expect it to be perfect. My first Sony was. It's not true that there is no PERFECT TV out there. There is.

Anyway, I immediately calibrated this using AVIA and DVE and the picture quality is even better than any previous TV i've owned by far. This thing has so many features in the menu system that you could spend hours just configuring it to get it right. I disliked the menu system on the Samsung and this one is so much better. It's really easy to navigate and not slow.

This also has so many different types of connections. Three HDMI ports. Most people think two is enough, but I don't agree. I currently use all three. Switching inputs on previous Sony televisions was a pain. Now it's a little bit easier. To press a button to display 'external inputs' and switch to the one you want. You can even label the inputs. I have mine set to PC, Wii, PS3, Cable and DVD PLAYER.

Games show no ghosting at all that i've noticed. A couple times i've noticed very slight motion smearing on really low quality cable TV. It's extremely rare and i'm going to blame my cable provider because it never happens on DVDs or anything else.

I don't use the TV speakers but I do when I connect my HD antenna up. That's about once every 2 weeks for NBA games in HD. Some would complain it sounds bad but they've probably never heard sound from other LCDs. My mother's plasma display has such bad sound that it sounds like it's coming from a $2 speaker. Honest. It's impossible to listen to it it's so bad. The sound from the speakers isn't good, but acceptable. My guess is that a large percentage of the people that buy a TV this expensive have a home theater system. I currently use a Yamaha Sound Projector since i'm in an apartment.

The design is much better than my Samsung I previously tried out. The only problem is that it will not tilt/rotate like the Samsung did. Not a big deal for me but it would have been nice. The design on the back is not good. It's hard to access all the HDMI and cable inputs. I'd imagine it's like this due to some people wanting to mount this on a wall? It's nothing that bad.

HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray movies are pretty amazing on this thing. Same goes for Playstation 3 games. DVD movies even look good but it depends on the DVD quality. Old movies don't really look good. I'm mainly talking about DVDs that came out when the players cost a fortune. I've compared the picture quality between an upconverted movie and one that's not and I definitely notice a huge difference.

I will admit though that my Oppo DVD player hates this LCD. It will display dark scenes but they will contain greenish tint/macroblocks etc. I thought it was the LCD but i've tried 5 others and this does not occur. I've tried many ways to fix this with not much luck. I currently use the Denon 575 and so far so good.

Standard "Digital" cable still looks terrible in most cases. I don't have HD cable yet and my cable provider's picture quality is terrible. That's all. It's not the TV's fault. Too bad I can't get Satellite TV out here.

I also was pretty impressed with the results I got when I connected my PC to this. Seeing your desktop at 1080i is pretty nice. I don't really use this feature though much. I've played a game that supports widescreen at that high of resolution (Final Fantasy XI) and it looks pretty good!

Other than the few negatives above, I can't think of many. I've waited months to post a review. I really wanted to give it some time. So far i've not experienced many problems at all.

The cloud issue might make it a risk buying this. Maybe they've fixed the problem already. Even with the cloud issue it's still a good TV. BTW my clouds are nearly impossible to see until I have a completely black screen and my lights are down. I have them on the top left and bottom left. When the actual movie plays they are GONE. Completely unless a scene is completely black, not just a little dark.

If I run into anything bad i'll update this review. So far, so good!

We got this TV about a month or so ago and love it. It really shines displaying HD. Nature shows on HD Discovery are unbelievable with out-of-the-box color calibration seeming very good to my eye. I can still picture the vivid snake scales and close ups of Mantises (Mantisi?) days after watching them on this set.

The only downside is that I notice some macro-blocking if I sit within about 6 feet. Not really a problem though since we usually sit further back. Also, I think this may be an issue with the content encoding rather than the TV itself.

I've read in forums that some people are disappointed in the non-HD performance of the TV. However, while it really does shine in HD, I find it totally acceptable when viewing the occasional non-HD content.

Definitely worth checking out if you are in the market for a high end TV and plan on watching lots of HD. I also can't wait to try this set with an XBOX 360 and/or PS3 :-)

Honestly, this about the best 1080p TV you can buy right now. Everything about it screams quality -- the incredibly vivid image, the absurd amount of inputs, and the striking physical design.

However, if you watch dark films (say, the Godfather, or Underworld: Evolution) in the dark (as in a movie theater), you will quickly be exposed to the set's weakness: the so-called cloudiness defect. On a totally dark image, you will see lighter-than-black patches, which will mean an uneven blackness level, and thus a distracting "cloud" effect when the camera moves through a dark scene. Don't be surprised if you end up feeling very frustrated at this.

I give the set 3/5 stars -- but it would have been 5/5 easily if not for the clouding problem.

The Sony KDL-46XBR2 is perhaps one of the best LCD televisions in the market today. Its features, picture quality, and design make it second to none. Historically, the XBR name has symbolized perfection and top notch quality. Sadly, even with how great these televisions perform with HD content, it would appear that Sony has been bitten by the quality control bug once again (recalled laptop batteries and digital cameras).

It would appear that many LCD panels used in these sets (which are manufactured by Samsung) appear to be defective with a problem technically known as "Mura" defect. It's a common problem in the manufacture of LCDs where the screen shows low contrast patches of non-uniformity. Most people who have seen this problem describe it as "cloudy".

In bright scenes, mura defects are undetectable - however, if you watch movies where there are a lot of dark scenes, like Batman Begins or any of the Alien movies, this defect becomes very apparent and bothersome. It's like you're watching through a smudged screen that can't be cleaned.

Based on unofficial polling of people who have purchased both the 40 and 46 inch XBR2s on the AVS forums as well as my own personal experience with three different KDL-46XBR2 sets I have exchanged, this cloudiness problem appears to be quite prevalent. Based on the poll numbers from AVS (non-scientific and very likely skewed to the defective side) a little under 60% of these sets have been reported as having this problem by people who have purchased this TV.

The stinger in this case is that sets built in July and early August do not appear to exhibit this problem. Sony appears to have cut back on QC starting in late August through October to try and meet expected holiday demand. Sony has yet to officially acknowledge this problem as customer support repeatedly denies that such an issue exists.

It's quite a dilemma for me as I still own a cloudy set even after exchanging this TV back to my retailer three times. I really want to keep this set as it's still the best LCD panel out there IMHO - even with its flaws. But for the price I paid for it, I do expect a certain degree of quality which Sony has really fallen short on as of late.

I have owned a 46xbr3 for over a month now. I would 1st like to say that the image of this TV is awesome. The menu options you have to tweak the look of the image is very very detailed. It helps if you run component and HDMI signals and need to have different tweaked settings to optimize look and reduce pixelization. 1080p with your playstation 3, blu ray or hd dvd players. The tv does not run 1080p component, only hdmi and vga, so your xbox 360 will have to run in 1080i (still looks great). The xbox 360 does run 1080p through vga input on this tv but xbox360 makes the screen look washed out.

Clouding Issue:
There is however a manufacturing defect that is not officially published by sony and no recall is yet in effect. The Sony LCD flatpanels XBR2/XBR3 40"/46"/52" screens have a greater then 50% chance to have a defect nicknamed "clouding". I am one of those unlucky buyers. What "clouding" basically is, is white puffy looking background lighting, when screen is black. This is not to be confused with non uniform lighting often seen in PC lcd panels; This is much worse and much brighter and heavily blotchy. For most people with this problem (including myself) you can only see this clouding during times when the screen goes black. (credits at the end of the movies, transitions between commercials to tv shows, dark parts scenes in movies and shows.) During these dark scenes they stand out like a sore thumb and make viewing distracting; due to the fact they are very bright and whitish. My experience is the longer the TV stays turned on the brighter these clouds get. When you 1st turn on the Tv they are very faint. They also have an odd habit of shifting around the panel very slowly over the course of weeks. (as strange as this may sound) I have found the clouding does not discolor or overbrighten the screen when the TV has full colorful images on it. This is why this problem is tolerable and I did not demand my money back, its still not acceptable though. I have read a few users say their clouding is so bad it effects the colors and makes them washed out. Thankfully I have not seen that.

Please do not take my word for any of this I encourage you to be a critical thinker and go out on google and seek this "sony lcd clouding" issue. I am doing my part for the small community of us who are stuck with this sad problem overshadowing what is otherwise an absolutely great HDTV.

In closing this TV is beautiful looking but when you spend this much money you don't want things like this bringing down your morale over the product. If you buy this TV you could be one of the lucky buyers and get an untainted screen and most stores give you a 30 day return policy. I have also heard (not confirmed) that the newest manufactured models have fixed this issue. I gave the product 5 stars despite the flaw, because even with this flaw I love this TV.

Best of luck with your HDTV purchases. Hope this helps.

I planned to buy a 1080p set for about a year, so did a lot of research. Almost bought a Sony sxrd rptv but the "green blob" problem, that I actually saw in stores after it reportedly had been fixed, put an end to that pursuit.

I bought a KDL-46v2500 (non xbr version of this set) in a local store but was very disapointed with the standard def. picture. It does not have the wide range of adjustments that the xbr has so the images seemed soft and less detailed. I returned the set and ordered the xbr from Amazon. The delivery went very well with "white glove treatment" as promised.

The xbr hd pq is very similar to the v2500 but the sd picture is far superior, if adjusted properly. I'm still playing with adjustments after a month.

The xbr has a variable audio output with the tv speakers on. The v2500 did not have this nor did other brands that I looked at. This allows me to have good sound with a simple external subwoofer without firing up my big stereo system.

In looking at other brands such as Sharp and Samsung I noticed less detail in people's faces, sometimes called "clay face". Xbr, in particular, showed more subtle detail than the others.

I like the appearance of the set since the light colored trim blends with the wall color better than black. The effect is less dominating.

The only disappointments are the viewing angles and black level. I would rate the angles at 60 to 90 degrees not 178. The contrast and color drop off at wider angles (not unique to Sony). I also have an older Sony rptv with dark gray blacks and expected the new sets to be far superior because of the 7000 to 1 contrast ratios. The xbr is better but I am still aware of gray blacks at times, particulary with the room lights low. There are enough settings of the backlight, contrast, etc. to improve this but having to change settings for various light levels is a chore.

I was concerned about clouds and have seen little-to-none with my settings. Occasionally, I think that I see a lighter area in the lower left corner but it seems to depend on the material being viewed. Most of the time I seem no problem.

Overall I am very happy with this set and will keep it for the long term.

UPDATE 6-28-07 I would like to add additional comments after a week or two more of using this set. I have found a backlite setting that works for all room lighting levels and the blacks are now black except under low room light conditions. They are, at worst, very dark gray and very acceptable. The viewing angle is very wide but my comment was that the picture does change with angle somewhat. Useful viewing can be done at very wide angles. Finally, I should comment on the excellent picture in HD. When I originally wrote this I assumed that people had read the good reviews, comparing Sony to other brands, that talk about good shadow detail, high resolution, good colors, lack of banding, nonreflective screen, etc.

I have been through 4 XBR TVs and all of them have had clouding backlight issues - also known as 'mura'. I swapped my first 40XBR2 out for a 46XBR2. The 46XBR2 was the worst of the four I'd had. It came complete with the brightest and most widespread clouding and also one stuck green pixel!

The problem is most visible in low lighting conditions and can be readily seen when watching dark scenes in movies or games. I noticed my first set had clouding when watching Superman Returns. During the scene when Superman flies into outerspace and is kicked back with his cape flowing out behind him, I noticed clouds with him in outerspace. It was impossible to overlook this issue.

Were it not for the superior picture during other conditions (i.e. a lit room showing content that didn't contain a lot of shadows), I'd have given up immediately on the Sony XBR2's. However, I have been through the ringer with buying a set only to have to cart it back to Best Buy the next day.

Sony is also officially not acknowledging this problem. The customer service response for some members of the AVS forum has been alarming. Some have had Sony authorized repair techs come to their house only to be told "this is normal." When I called Sony, they told me to "return it to the store" if I was still within the thirty day period.

I strongly suggest anyone considering this TV to search on Google the following words "Sony XBR clouds." You will find more than a few hits that will lead you to online forums. I particularly recommend AVS forum.

Once Sony fixes this problem, I will be able to recommend this TV and will purchase one for myself again.

I purchased the Sony KDL-46XBR3 (October build date) and was initially amazed at the picture quality. Then after having it on for about 15 minutes I noticed a severe "cloudiness" in the upper left hand corner and the lower right hand corner with a less severe but still apparent blotchiness extending across the entire panel. This is especially noticeable on dark scenes and on blank inputs in the evening. If you purchase this unit do so locally so that you can check it out in advance and take advantage of the return policy. It seems that the majority of sets manufactured after September 2007 have this problem. July/August builds (check rear of your set for date) for the most part seem to be okay. More on this issue can be found in the AVS forum (Official Sony 46" XBR LCD Uneven Backlight/Cloudy Thread). This problem is apparently affecting all Sony 40", 46" and 52" LCD TV screens.

Now comes the worst part, Sony's official stand on this issue is that this is `not' a defect and is not covered by warranty (see above thread for more details). So be absolutely certain that your set does not exhibit this problem as Sony is not offering any recourse at this time. Their official stand is to deny that there is a problem.

This product is not worth the money!!!!! The XBR2 and XBR3 both have clouding, backlight problems. I got one yesterday and the clouding, backlight problems were horrible that after 1 day I returned this TV. My set had a backlight problem in the top left corner...it was so horrible and distracting.....many people have reported on avsforum about this problem ...some say that up to 70% of all XBR2's have this problem...Sorry SONY but the XBR2 and XBR3 needs some major work.

Has anyone obtained satisfaction from SONY over the Mura Defect issue?

SONY seem to be in serious denial mode.

For many, the picture quality is Great .... until they attempt to view it in a darkened room.

Then, in the darker scenes, irregular patches of light cloudy appearance are evident on very many of the LCD screens that have been shipped over the past several months.

My warning to anyone who is contemplating a purchase ..... make sure that where you purchase it from gives you have the option of returning it (without punitive restocking or shipping costs).

For me the Sony KDL-46XBR2 is a major purchase.

I do not want to buy a nightmare.

If you want to learn more about the issue, I suggest that you do a web search on "Sony KDL-46XBR2 mura defect".

All the above are my personal opinions and observations.
Good Luck to all in this Holiday Season.