Sony BRAVIA XBR KDL-46XBR4 46" LCD TV

Great Television

Posted Feb 15, 2008 - After comparying HD T.V.'s for a few months I was conviced to purchase the 46" Sony Bravia after reading the product reviews on this website. They gave all of the strengths and weeknesses. I would strongly recommend this because the set is very easy to set up, has excellent picture and motion quality, and the built in sound system is remarkable.

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The Almost Perfect HDTV has Arrived!

Posted Oct 13, 2007 - When I first got the TV, I was starting to feel that I made a bad decision. There were clouds that showed up whenever the scene was dark or totally black. Because I was so excited to just turn it on, I had forgotten to check the Picture Mode. It was set to Vivid, which made the colors pop right at you but it also made the picture look a little washed up. One other thing is that it also loses half of the picture resolution so avoid using Vivid or Standard at all costs. Cinema or Custom retains the full resolution so keep this in mind when you are viewing HD content. After I calibrated my TV, I can easily say that the picture quality is stunning! The black levels were deep, but it didn't sacrifice the shadow detail which was extremely important to me. As an added bonus, the clouds were gone and the screen displayed incredible uniformity. UPDATE: Reading posts from other owners, it appears that the clouds will fade away after approximately 100 hours of operation. While that may not always be the case, you should contact Sony Technical Support or swap for a second set. For HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer) users, this TV supports 'Full Pixel', which is 1:1 pixel mapping that basically makes it look like a large computer monitor. Text is very easy to read and I was able to surf the Internet 8 feet away. One word of caution is to be careful about applying Cinemotion to 'Auto 1' and Motion Enhancer to 'High' to HD content. It makes the picture appear as if you were there at the set, but there were a lot of motion trails & judder. I recommend setting Cinemotion to 'Auto2' and Motion Enhancer to 'Standard' for HD content. The manual doesn't explain the settings very clear so this was purely based on experimentation. One more thing, when you are checking out this TV at a retail store, be sure to ask for a remote. Make sure that the picture mode is set to Cinema or Custom as it will show you the true potential of the XBR4. There are a lot of options you can tweak under Picture Settings to tweak the picture to your liking. If you want the best picture quality with great looks (I love the floating glass), give this one a long look and you'll be amazed!!

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Picture changed my mind

Posted Feb 25, 2008 - I originally had my mind set on the Samsung LN-T4661F; but a visit to a local video store that carries Samsung and Sony changed my mind. Seeing the Samsung and 46XBR4 side by side was an eye opener, the picture was stunning on the Sony 46XBR4. The store manager let me adjust the setting, switched to STD Def and generally play around with the sets. While the Samsung held it’s own the glossy screen a major negative point, then the store owner dropped the price on the Sony and the deal was done. A few minor adjustments (changed from Vivid to Standard) and the 46XBR4 is better looking at home than in the store. My library of STD DVD’s look great, STD Def (I have Comcast cable) looks great and HD content looks OUTSTANDING…

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Sony KDL -46XBR4

Posted Nov 23, 2007 - I have been looking to purchase a new LCH HD TV for over a year. I've looked at all brands and models. I originaly settled on the W3000, but after viewing it next to the XBR4, I decided to buy the XBR4. The reason was the XBR4 had the 120 mh motion flow (only 60 for the W3000), which provided a much better picture. In addition, I found the Sony models to be superior, mainly because of the matte finishes; some of the other brands have shiny finishes which reflect light. I've only had the TV for a few days now, but I'm wishing I had purchased it long ago. I highly recommend it.

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SONY Bravia XBR KDL-46XBR4

Posted Nov 12, 2007 - I spent many hours reading reviews and visiting retail outlets, including the SNONY store, looking for this LCD TV. It is by far the best LCD out there. The picture quality and color fatihfulness and brightness make it unbeatable. Very little brightness is lost when going off axis a considerable way. Sony continues to deliver with this product.

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Best Television to Date

Posted Oct 29, 2007 - This unit replaced a 34" Panasonic Cathode Ray Tube Panasonic 1080 i unit. The Video on the Sony unit is superior to my old unit. I am using both Blue Ray and regular DVDs with this Sony unit. Home movies on Standard DVDs shown on the Sony unit have an improved image. Still images played on this unit from a standard DVD have reduced grain and better color separation. The unit was easy to setup right out of the box. The default setting of vivid for the picture was changed to standard. Each input that you use should be changed to your preference. Using a setup disc will help you be more accurate. The higher cost for this set is worth it for the top quality of the video. I would definitely recommend this set for anyone that wants to watch movies and video images in full detail and accurate colors.

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Excellent picture quality and styling

Posted Nov 30, 2007 - Waited 3 months to write review to give time for newness or "wow" factor to wear off. I am happy to report that I am still very pleased with this purchase. Excellent picture quality; can not detect any clouding, ghosting or other artifacts; screen has a matt finish which results in much less reflections compared to the Sharp Aquos line. The screen maintains a uniform brightness over a wide range of viewing angles. HDMI inputs (via DVI adaptor) work well for HTPC. It is important to set the graphics card to native HDTV 1080p mode as many other resolutions including some 1920x1080 resulted in the XBR4 saying that it could not display the PC output resolution. Very good menus and controls over disabling picture enhancers. I was not able to utilize the XBR4's HDMI device controls or have the XBR4 HDMI scan identify the Toshiba HD-A1 though.

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You were dreaming about the Ultimate TV...you found it!

Posted Oct 20, 2007 - We have had quite the ordeal getting a new TV after our old projection died! We originally had the Samsung 4665, did not like the finish and the picture was disappointing. There is no comparison with this Sony XBR4. We bought the 46", thinking it may be too big, but it is perfect! The picture is crisp with well defined bright vivid colors. We look forward to watching our favorite shows and the world series is just around the corner! Go out and buy this one!!

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BRAVIA XBR KDL-46XBR4 46" LCD TV

Posted Dec 2, 2007 - Love this tv. We upgraded from a sony rear projection HD and thought that was amazing until we saw this. It's our first LCD TV and we just can't believe the detail in the picture. We love it.

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Amazing TV

Posted Sep 21, 2007 - I upgraded from a 40" XBR2 to this television (and that was a great tv). I loved the 40". The picture is better, the remote is a little more complicated, but now lights up, and the bezel is now black (which I like better). I am using the digital tuner and it seems to tune faster than the xbr2. I think the Sony xbr series is currently the top tv on the market and would suggest anyone wanting a high end tv buy this model.

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Sony KDL 46XBR4

Posted Nov 25, 2007 - I have spent the last year shopping for the perfect tv. This is my first HD set I have owned. I have wrestled between the xbr4 and the samsung 4671. First, let me say that the displays at the electronics stores never give this tv justice. The default is vivid mode, after switching to cinema and a few other tweaks, this tv will deliver very beautiful colors (samsung was nice too but way over saturated). I have a lot of windows in my house and the non glare screen works well (the samsung reflects about as much light as a plasma). Finally, from what I could notice with the 2 televisions side by side is that the xbr in my opinion also has better off angle viewing, speakers, and motion processing than the samsung (no triple ball effect or firmware upgrades for me). My advice spend the extra money for the sony and know you are getting a great product.

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WOW GREAT TV

Posted Sep 20, 2007 - I held my breath until it arrived yesterday. It was an amazing value. I would definitely use them again and have already referred them to others. looking forward to the weekend to spend time and really enjoy it. I thought the 46 would be too big, but it is not.

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Sony 46: LCD HDTV

Posted Jan 26, 2008 - It stands perfectly at the corner of my living room. The picture quality is superior. The Sony BRAVIA XBR KDL-46XBR4 46-inch 1080p LCD Flat Panel HDTV continues Sony's tradition of making outstanding televisions. The XBR series is its flagship line--so with the XBR, which gives the best quality home theater experience available.

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Sony Warranty Issue 46" LCD

Posted 1 year ago - While setting up the lcd tv the screen was gently tapped and did not work. The sony repair company said it was abused! Sony will only offer a discount of 25% towards a new tv. It never even worked.

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Great Sony product

Posted 1 year ago - We love this TV. The Zoom setting will allow you to view normal aspect ratio programming without a stretched distortion of the picture. It does this by cropping in on the picture so you will lose some image top and bottom such as scores during a game but you can easily change the view as needed by toggling back and forth. The Cinema setting gives you a nice picture with low res broadcasts and though it mutes the colors compared to the other color settings it is a great feature. I find the onscreen menus easy to navigate. Very pleased with this product!

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