» Sony Bravia XBR 40 Inch KDL-40XBR3 LCD HDTV TV Review

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Editor's HDTV Pick

HP 47 inch MediaSmart 1080p LCD HDTV "Out of the box" digital media platform. Enjoy videos, pictures and music from home network + digital media delivered over your broadband Internet connection + 3 x HDMI

Sony’s high definition LCD televisions are marketed under the brand name Bravia which is an acronym for “Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture”. They are marketed with the slogan “Color like no other”. Their launch is memorable for the advertisement featuring 250,000 brightly colored rubber balls bouncing down a San Franscio street.

The Sony Bravia KDL-40XBR3 television is a “Full HD” 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels). It’s apparent just how much high definition that is when you consider that there are over 2 million pixels. The KDL-40XBR3 accepts native 1080p signals making it conveniently compatible with high-definition video sources such as Sony’s BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc player which will be retailing soon.

The KDL-40XBR3 looks very stylish with a glossy black bezel framing the screen and covered by a glass sheet which floats out past the black bezel edges. The twin speakers are side mounted.

There is a reasonable range of customization options with the BRAVIA XBR including; picture modes, wide modes, noise reduction, game mode and sound mode. In addition, there are numerous convenience features such as; picture freeze, favorite channel, parental control (V-Chip), power save mode, clock and sleep timer.

BRAVIA Engine

The KDL-40XBR3 display is driven by Sony’s latest and most powerful digital video processor of the BRAVIA range, the BRAVIA Engine PRO. Sony have recently added a picture quality enhancement circuit called Digital Reality Creation Multi-function v2.5. The DRC-MFv2.5 now has the added ability to process interlace and progressive video signals and as it has twice the processing power of previous generation DRC-MF circuits which were originally developed in 1997.

Sony’s unique “DRC” technology is different from the conventional interpolation technology that generates pixels based on the linear interpolation function. The DRC=MFv2.5 can upconvert all lower resolution standard and high definition video sources to 1080p. Naturally, native 1080p input signals are not processed through DRC-MFv2.5. The DRC-MFv2.5 is user adjustable according to the video source.

The KDL-40XBR3 has a respectable response time of 8ms which is the same as quoted for Samsung and Panasonic LCD displays. The Sharp AQUOS does however, lead the pack with a fast 4ms response time.

Contrast Ratio

The KDL-40XBR3 has a dynamic contrast ratio of 7000:1 and a static contrast ratio of 1300:1. To improve contrast Sony uses a dynamic backlighting system called ACE (Advanced Contrast Enhancement) on BRAVIA TVs. Automatically sensing the APL (Average Picture Level) of the video signal it adjusts the intensity of the backlight for improved contrast.

The 7000:1 contrast ratio compares well with other LCD displays. Samsung is actually the closest with a 6,000:1 dynamic contrast ratios with Panasonic and JVC having 3000:1 and 1,000:1 ratios respectively.

Sony use the more conservative ANSI test rather than the Full On/Full Off test which yields higher results. The ANSI test involves the display of 16 black and white rectangles with contrast ratio being the result of dividing the average light output of the white rectangles by the average light output of the black rectangles. It is commonly argued that the ANSI test is more indicative of contrast ratio due to its checkerboard pattern being closer to actual viewing conditions.

There seems to be a lot of competition lately from manufacturers to have the television with the highest contrast ratio. Although important, there are factors such as the amount of ambient light which quickly reduce the difference between televisions with contrast ratios in the order of thousands. For more background see Presentation Technology Reviews technology guide on contrast ratio.

WCG-CCFL Backlight Technology

To achieve a wider color gamut for more natural colors, Sony use a WCG-CCFL ((Wide Color Gamut Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) backlight. As always, because they are backlit, black levels are a weakness for LCD displays. Sony provide a backlight brightness adjustment to help achieve the best black levels for the ambient lighting environment the set is in. If you want to review a television with impressive black levels have a look at Sony’s SXRD rear projection televisions.

Connections

The latest and most desired audio/video interface is HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) which is the first television industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. In fact, the Sony BRAVIA XBR series all come with an above average number (3) of HDMI 1080/60p inputs. Conveniently, PC connectivity (HD-15-pin) has also been included. More supplied connection details are provided in the specification below.

The KDL-52XBR3 has an integrated ATSC high definition tuner so you won’t need an external one.

Sound

As with the rest of the BRAVIA range, to provide an audio experience matching the visual one, the KDL-46XBR3 has audio provided by SRS Lab’s patented SRS TruSurround XT surround sound technology. TruSurround XT is a multi-channel virtualization technology which aims to produce a surround sound effect using only two speakers. It will handle up to seven (6.1) audio channels.

TruSurround XT combines three patented sound processing techniques from SRS Labs:

• Dialog Clarity: Improves intelligibility of dialog
• TruSurround: TruSurround creates multichannel signals in a way that takes advantage of the human hearing system and create a surround sound field. It carries Dolby certification.
• TruBass: TruBass enhances bass performance utilizing proprietary psychoacoustic techniques. Perception of fundamental low frequency tones is restored by dynamically augmenting harmonics.

TruSurround will produce a two channel stereo output from mono, stereo, or multichannel input signals. It is compatible with signals that been decoded by a Dolby Pro Logic or Pro Logic II decoder and signals that have been encoded to stereo with a matrix encoder (e.g. SRS Circle Surround or Dolby Pro Logic).

For more information on the equipment supplied by SRS Labs can be found on their web site.

Warranty

Sony BRAVIA high definition televisions are backed by Sony with an 18-month warranty which is longer than the common twelve months term.

BRAVIA Internet Video Link Module

Sony Electronics has announced that it will soon introduce a BRAVIA Internet Video Link module. When attached to a compatible Sony television, the module will enable access to Internet video programming including high-definition content. Video will be available from internet sources without a PC. The BRAVIA Internet Link module is supported by the XBR, V and S series

Comparison Sony Bravia KDL-40XBR3 vs

The XBR model series of the Bravia HDTV range are what Sony market as their “highest performance, premium design LCD TV”. The Bravia S series is the “entry-level” and the Bravia V series is the “step-up”

While the XBR3 has a glossy black bezel, the XBR2 models have a standard silver bezel which can be replaced by one of five different color bezels (red, white, blue, black, brown) for custom integration with your rooms décor. Other than the replaceable bezels there is no specification difference between the XBR3 and XBR2.

The step-up “V” series has a reduced set of features compared to the XBR series including:

• Standard (not Pro) Bravis Engine
• No floating glass look
• Bottom mounted speakers
• Only 2 HDMI inputs (not 3)

Reduced features on the XBR’s “S” entry series include:

• Lower resolution high definition (1366 x 768 pixels)
• Standard (not Pro) Bravis Engine
• Lower 5,000:1 contrast ratio
• No floating glass look
• Bottom mounted speakers
• Single HDMI input (not 3)

Further Reading

Presentation Technology Reviews recently reviewed the 40 inch Sony BRAVIA KDL-40XBR3 1080p LCD television and 40 inch Sony BRAVIA LN-4096D 1080p LCD television.

Sony have a 46 inch 3LCD HD Rear Projection Television which is worth considering.

Sharp AQUOS has a strong reputation and a 42 inch Sharp AQUOS 1080p LCD TV Review worth comparing.

Presentation Technology Reviews recently looked at newcomer NuVision’s 42 inch 1080p LCD television.

User Reviews and Price Comparisons

Sony KDL-40XBR3 40″ BRAVIA 1080p HDTV LCD Television

Sony BRAVIA XBR KDL-40XBR3 40 LCD TV - 40 - ATSC - 1920 x 1080 - HDTV

Sony Bravia KDL-40XBR3 Specification