imgreenlantern2 says:

I bought this television less than a month ago and have had to have it replaced 3 times before I got my money back. If you type in google (Sony XBR3+cloudy) you will find forum after forum with people reporting their t.v.’s have the cheap LCD back light leakedge. All three of mine had it in pretty much the same places and nothing is more annoying than watching a movie or a show that has several dark scenes in it, and seeing clouds of gray in the picture. IT IS THE WORST and Sony will not acknowledge it. They say it is normal. THE HELL IT IS!

I would avoid this t.v. with all cost until next year when they finally get their crap in a row. Typical Sony crap! They wonder why they are loosing billions of dollars a year.
Rating: 1 / 5

Pankaj Chawla says:

Hello,

My quest for buying a new large flat panel HDTV has been in progress for a year. In the past, I bought Sony’s XBR1 40″ (was the largest at the time) LCD TV. But, when I brought it home, there was something about it that did not please me. I couldn’t nail exactly what it was. Maybe it was my expectations from it that it would blow me away (paid $3,400 at them time).

BTW, I have a home theatre system in my basement fully loaded with top of the line DLP projector, B&W nautilus speakers, DEnon, upconverting etc. Needless to say, I am used to seeing excellent quality home theatre experience already. I just wanted another TV better than my 27″ Sony CRT for my living room. Again, something bothered me about the LCD XBR that I bought – it kept tiring my eyes and I found myself trying to focus on the picture. My living room isn’t that huge about 15×14 ft. Discouraged, I returned the 40″ LCD XBR to the store.

Six months later, I was back in the market – was impressed with Sony Blu Ray and new XBR2 demonstration playing in the stores. I didn’t like the Silver but was pleased to learn that another Sony – XBR3 is available black. I loved the styling on the TV as well – after all it should look turned off too!

Now comes the negotiations and purchasing. Yesterday as I was negotiating the price at Ultimate Electronics on Sony XBR3, I ran into a movie playing on new 1080p Pioneer plasma that absolutely captivated me. I had never seriously considered Plasma before. I had ruled it out because it had glass on it. Also, I have always bought nothing but Sony TVs ever – So when Sony stopped making Plasmas I automatically thought of LCD as the technology of future. Later I find out that Sony had neither LCD or Plasma plants and chose one to invest in – unlike Samsung who makes both.

The whole new world suddenly opened up to me. I am a technologist at heart and got pretty excited by the new “discovery ” of plasma TVs. I spent the next 4 hours doing side by side comparison of Pioneer 50 inch 720p (since 1080p models were out of my budget) and Sony 46 inch XBR3 (1080p). The salesman was kind enough to sit with me and make this happen. My comparison included side by side playing of Blu Ray DVDs, 1080i HD signals and regular DVD player.

I suddenly realized why I wasn’t satisfied with my previous XBR experiences. There are MAJOR differences between the two technologies.

Here is what I noted:

1. The artifacts on SONY XBR LCD seem very prominent and unavoidable.

2. LCD pictures seemed blurry to me. I reckon its due to how it renders its image – despite 1080p the edges seemed “stout” and artificially generated.

3. Motion based video was aweful on LCD due to refresh problems – yes, the refresh rates are getting quicker but there still major issues with this technology. It leaves ever so slight trail of objects as they go. It is there only for a milliseconds but human eye is very powerful and doesn’t miss much. This gave it a sense of blurriness that cannot be missed. At times you also see jaggedness in edges but I reckon that’s due its digital processing circuitry.

4. The whole XBR watching experience seemed artificially extra bright causing eyes to tire and wanting to take a break. I reckon LCD has back light panels that are probably the source of this. I felt I was forcing myself to watch it even though the material was an documentary on bahamas. When I was watched the same material on Pioneer, I felt like I was really there – Bahamas seemed very inviting and full of pleasure.

I started to research more on plasma and found its main drawback is the potential of burn-in where the pixels remember the picture if you show it for a long time (1 – 2 hours). But, there are numerous articles on internet on how this isn’t much of a problem anymore and the burn in problem in plasmas now match that of traditional tube TV. I never worried about my tube TV so I figured my type of usage will not affect plasma as long as I follow directions during the “break in ” period of first 2 months.

I bought the 42 inch version – I am glad I did since it looks pretty huge in my living room. Cost wasn’t a factor in my choice. Pioneer 42 was about 1200 dollars cheaper despite the fact that I was getting a FANTASTIC deal on Sony 46 XBR3 at 3,300. Both were in stock.

The Pioneer looks absolutely stunning so far in my house both in picture quality and looks. Its piano black end is very modern but classic. My upconverting DVD player makes regular DVDs look stunning. Can’t wait to get Blu Ray when it gets a small cheaper, until then Samsung upconverting DVD player works pretty excellent. Sound from this television is much better than I have ever experienced on Sonys over the years. Standard signals are very clear to watch as well. I have never bought a Pioneer before but beginning to become a fan of it.

Excellent luck with your buys.

Rating: 3 / 5

David L. Prevette says:

What a fantastic TV! Image quality on HD (1080i) and standard def channels is really impressive. No “clouds” or mura image problem on my set, which was manufactured Feb 2007. Looks and performs fantastic so far.

It’s hooked up to a TWC Scientific Atlanta 8300HD DVR box with HDMI cable from monoprice. I must say that I could not tell the difference between component and HDMI hookups from this box. It looks fantastic hung over my fireplace.
Rating: 5 / 5