Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8

Sony has been making televisions for a long time and has learned a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t. The KDL-55XBR8 is an example of what a TV should be.
The sleek black and silver exterior is easy on the eyes and would compliment any room’s décor. The speakers are mounted on the side and appear to float due to the transparent glass separating them and the TV.

Standout Features

• Full 1080p Resolution
• LED Backlight
• 120 Hz Refresh Rate

Features

The XBR8’s full 1080p resolution allows you to see every detail in everything you watch, from movies to sports. With plenty of 1080p sources available now you will have no trouble see every bit of detail in your video games, TV shows, or movies. The 10 bit processor ensures that the images on your Blu-ray disc are the same as what you will see on your screen.

The Triluminos LED backlit panel allows the screen to deliver brighter, more accurate colors than with standard CCFL backlighting. And since the TV uses LED backlights it is able to dim the brightness in areas that need to be darker. This results in a picture with more contrast and detail, especially in darker scenes.

Standard LCD televisions refresh the image 60 times every second, or a 60 Hz refresh rate. The KDL-55XBR8 refreshed the image 120 times every second. This improves the sharpness of the image especially in scenes with a lot of motion. This feature is especially useful for anyone who watches a lot of sports. The ball will now tend to stay focused instead of appearing blurry.

Since the 55-XBR8 uses a 10 bit processor it is able to deliver up to 1024 levels of gradation. Previous models that used 8 bit color processors were only able to produce 256 levels. The result is colors that are more accurate and true to real life.

Summary of Reviews

Experts were impressed with the image quality of the KDL-55XBR8. The black levels produced by the XBR8 were the best of just about any LCD TV available. The color accuracy was also accurate. The XBR8 also comes with a plethora of connectivity options including 4 HDMI connections. The only gripe with the TV was in some modes there was some minor artifacts visible. Cost was also another factor. This is one of the most expensive TVs available and as such has a pretty limited market.

Users were impressed by the TV’s image quality. There wasn’t much to not like about this TV. Most of the complaints were style issues such as the side mounted speakers which prevent it from fitting in some cabinets. On the other hand, users felt the image quality was spectacular.

Summary

Sony didn’t become the largest consumer electronics manufacturer by mistake. This TV is evidence of their continuing pursuit to make some of the finest TVs available to consumers.