Sony XBR2 |Bravia KDL-70XBR2 70 inch 1080p LCD Flat Panel Television Review

Sony Bravia XBR 70 Inch KDL-70XBR2 HD TV LCD Flat Panel Review

The Sony BRAVIA KDL-70XBR3 70-inch flat-panel, high-definition LCD television was announced January 2007 by Sony Electronics at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). It is the largest screen of the Sony BRAVIA LCD TV range. Sony’s HDTV’s brand name BRAVIA is an acronym for “Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture”.

Apart from size, the biggest differences between this and the other BRAVIA LCD models are:

use of a Trilumions LED backlight,
10-bit panel allowing an increase in the television’s gradation level by 64 times from 8-bit panels,
Sony’s new Motionflow 120Hz motion compensation technology which creates 60 unique frames between each of the existing 60 frames, doubling the frames displayed per second for reduction of image blurring and motion artifacts,
compliance with new x.v.Color technology industry standard which was established by the International Electronics Commission in January, 2006.

The x.v.Color technology standard expands the current video color data range by a factor of approximately 1.8 times. This improvement comes from the use of the Trilumions LED backlight powered by Luxeon LEDs manufactured by Philips subsidiary Lumileds Lighting. The Luxeon LED radiates a color gamut which is 105% of the NTSC color space. This is a significant improvement on conventional backlighting technology which can only reproduce 65-75% of the NTSC color space. There is a wider range of available hues and tones available in a wider color gamut allowing more precise color reproduction perceived by the viewer as “more lifelike” screen colors.

The Sony Bravia KDL-70XBR3 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-70XBR3 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-70XBR3 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-70XBR3 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-70XBR3 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-70XBR3 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.

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-70XBR3 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-70XBR3 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)

Sony Bravia KDL-70XBR3 Specification

Video
Resolution:	1920 x 1080
Video Features
Backlight Type:	Trilumions LED backlight
Panel Type:	178° wide viewing angle LCD display panel
Contrast Ratio:	7000:1 dynamic contrast ratio with ACE (Advanced Contrast Enhancement) 1300:1 static contrast ratio
Video Processing:	Yes (BRAVIA Engine PRO)
DRC® MultiFunction Circuitry:	Yes. (Version 2.5)
Comb Filter:	3D
Picture Modes:	Vivid/ Standard/ Custom
Wide Mode:	Wide Zoom/ Normal/ Full/ Zoom
Light Sensor:	Yes
Noise Reduction:	Yes
Game Mode:	Yes
Audio Features
Sound Mode:	Dynamic/ Standard/ Custom
SRS® TruSurround® XT Audio Effect:	Yes
Digital Amplifier:	Yes
Dolby® Digital:	Yes
A/V Synch:	Yes
Audio
Steady Sound® Automatic Volume Control:	Yes
MTS Stereo Decoder:	Yes
Audio Power Output:	22W (11W x2)
Inputs and Outputs
Composite Video Input(s):	3 (1 Side /2 Rear)
S-Video Input(s):	1 (Rear)
Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr ) Input(s):	2 (Rear)
Audio In:	5 (1 Side /4 Rear)
Audio Out (Variable/Fixed):	1 (Rear)
Digital Audio Output(s):	1 (Rear)
Headphone Output(s):	1 (Side)
PC Input(s):	1 (Rear) S-Sub 15
HDMI™ Connection(s):	3 (1 Side/ 2 Rear) - 1 rear input has L/R audio inputs
Convenience Features
Picture Freeze:	Yes
Favorite Channel:	Yes
Channel Skip/Add:	Yes
Parental Control (V-Chip):	Yes
Input Skip:	Yes
Power Save Mode:	Yes
Clock:	Yes
Sleep Timer:	Yes
Timer Events:	Yes
Video Label:	Yes
Closed Caption (CC):	Yes
ID1 Detection:	Yes
Speed Surf™ Channel Selection:	Yes
Power
Power Consumption (in Operation):	227W
Power Consumption (in Standby):	Less than 0.5W
Regulation and Standard Compliance
VESA:	Yes
Energy Star® Compliant:	Yes
Weights and Measurements
Weight:	90.4lbs (41kg) with pedestal; 79.41bs (36.5kg) without pedestal
Dimensions(Width):	49.69″ (1262mm) with pedestal; 49.69″ (1262mm) without pedesta
Dimensions(Height):	31.3″ (795mm) with pedestal; 28.89″ (734mm) without pedestal
Dimensions(Depth):	49.69″ (1262mm) with pedestal; 49.69″ (1262mm) without pedesta
General
Screen Size:	70 inch
Supplied Accessories	Remote Control (RM-YD010) Battery (AA x2) HD-15 to HD15 Cable Operating Instructions Quick Setup Guide Pedestal Stand
Optional Accessories	Wall Mount Bracket (SU-WL51)
Colors	High Gloss Piano Black