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Sony Bravia KDL-46XBR8

*Est. $2,500

Reviewed November 2009
Sony KDL-46XBR8

pros
  • Great blacks
  • Great colors
  • Good sound quality
cons
  • Very expensive
  • Widely spaced speakers won't appeal to everyone's taste
  • Some picture smoothing modes look unnatural
  • Not as energy efficient as some other LCD TVs
 
 
Where to Buy
 
 
 
5 star:
(13)
4 star:
(3)
3 star:
(1)
2 star:
(0)
1 star:
(0)

Average Customer Review

(17 customer reviews)

for $2149.98

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Newly Purchased SONY KDL 46XBR8, November 18, 2009

Picture quality and color quality is fantastic. This is our first LCD flat screen TV. We had a 28 inch CRT for 20+ years... We are still blown away with the colors. We initially planned on a 40-42 inch, now that we have the 46 we are not disappointed, ..50?55?..hmmm No more room actually on our new TV console. Sound quality leaves a bit to be desired. The speakers are just to small to have any quality sound. We have a stereo system that we may have to incorporate with the TV watching. The one feature I was initially disappointed with was the lack of USB port recognition with a flash drive. Sony claims not all USB devices will work and recommends the SONY Micro Vault Flash drive to be compatible. Well after doing some web searching I did find some helpful info on the Sony eSupport page. After learning the USB device must be FAT32 formatted I now can upload photographs (.jpg files) from even the least expensive flash drive. I just re-formatted a SanDisk 250MB flashdrive and then a "micro center" 2GB flash drive I got for free!. After re-formatting to FAT32 the SONY recognizes the drive and I can now view my collection of digital photos. I must add that when viewing good quality .jpg's (2-3meg size) the SONY displays the pics as sharp as a tack!!..the shots look the best I've ever seen. The colors are so real looking you feel as though you could touch the object as in real life. Now I can pursue getting my 1000+ 35mm slides from Germany and England while in the service (40 years ago!) converted to .jpg files. What better way to show all the slides as compared to to old slide projector/screen method...so archaic! I did learn as well at the eSupport Site there is a software update available for the set. I'll be contacting Sony soon to verify if our set needs the update as we just purchased the TV 2 weeks ago. Tip: Get the Support Belt Kit, Part #X21866021, to secure it to your console. You don't want this massive set to inadvertently topple over. Would recommend this set...the Sony's all outperformed other LCD's we looked at as far as color quality. At least that was my wife's opinion..she has a better eye for color I have to admit. Enjoy, Jack

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Best LCD on the market, November 10, 2009

I have been waiting 3 years to buy a new lcd tv and money was not an option, i was looking for the best picture available on a 46in. screen. I narrowed it down to the Sony XBR8 and the Samsung LED 8500. I viewed both hdtv's many times side by side and finally came to the decision to go with the Sony XBR8. This tv is even beter than the XBR10 from sony which just came out this year. The XBR8 is the only lcd that has the red, green and blue LED BACKLIGHT. Not even the new xbr10 has this, it has the clear led's. I think this helps with the brightness of colors and really dark blacks. As far as the reason not to go with the Samsung 8500 LED was that the XBR8 had slightly darker blacks and also had a crisper picture to it. I'm happy with my Sony and the price was not bad, $2300.00 is what i got it for and upon its original release the tv was going for $5000.00. I'll take it!

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Still one of the best TVs on the market, October 24, 2009

I bought this as a replacement for a Sony 46XBR4 that I had for a little over a year before it was irrepairably damaged during a breakin. This was the TV that I wanted but couldn't afford at the time I bought my XBR4. I can't say enough great things about this TV. The picture is incredible. I can see a huge difference with the Tri-Luminous back lighting on this TV vs. the regular backlighting on the XBR4. The blacks are deeper and richer. The contrast is stunning. I have seen some plasma TVs and I think this TV performs as well as better than many of them. I also looked at some of the Samsung TVs on the market when I went to replace my XBR4. I was very attracted to the slim profile and decreased weight, but the deal-breaker for me were the glossy screens. All of their high-end LED backlit TVs had glossy screens. My living room gets a lot of ambient light and I could not afford to put a TV in there with a glossy screen. The XBR8 is perfect. There is little to no reflection off the screen, which allows me to see a clearer more accurate picture. My only complaint with the XBR8 is that the Motionflow technology occasionally introduces artifacts. I keep it turned off to avoid any artifacts, and to be honest, I really don't see a big difference between when it is on or off. Navigation through the menus are easy. I appreciate the USB port on the side. It's great having friends over and being able to show vacation pictures like a slide show on the TV. Blu-Ray movies look incredible on this TV and the sound is pretty good too. I have read some places where people complained that the speakers on the side looked like "elephant ears". Personally, I think it looks classy. My advice to you is if you have the resources, especially now that the price has come down, buy this TV, you won't be disappointed.

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Great TV. A Little too much in picture options, September 30, 2009

I brought this tv on Amazon used. It hasn't been out very long and LED have a long life span so I decided to give a shot plus you will never see this tv for under 1800 new. Another note, a guy returned it claiming it was scatched on the side. I can live with that. I got my tv and it looked scatched. after removing the plastic it wa in perfect condition. Hooked it up and the picture is truly beyond belieft on this tv. The only picture complaint I could have with SD. Once I hooked it to blu ray the picture took a whole new life that I didn't realize I was missing from my old hd sony that I moved to the bedroom. I have found myself changing the settings every night looking the best picture but no setting is wrong.... maybe vivd. After Having about a month to really play around my biggest problem is too many picture options and a book that doesn't explain everything in detail like how to know that your using the 24p mode

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Sony Bravia XBR8 - and excellent product, September 11, 2009

I have yet to find fault with this great LED tech HDTV . The picture is fantastic , the on-screen menu controls are well designed and intuitive , the built in sound is as good as could be expected ( and is vernier controllable at very low levels - great at night when others are sleeping ) . The 120 Hz refresh rate is good enough for my needs . I am surprised that Sony has not followed up with more offerings of this technology . I am pleased that I bought when I did .

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Where To Buy

Our Sources

1. PCMag.com

PCMag.com subjects the 46-inch Sony Bravia KDL-46XBR8 to a battery of tests and comes away completely impressed. Robert Heron says that "picture quality is second to none" and names the LCD TV an Editors' Choice. Cost, wide width and limited networking abilities are the only notable negatives.

Review: Sony Bravia KDL-46XBR8, Robert Heron, April 20, 2009

2. CNET

CNET doesn't review the Sony Bravia KDL-46XBR8, but it does assess the 55-inch Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8 and says the two should perform the same. High points include the best black levels of any LCD TV tested and great, accurate colors. On the down side, the TV is said to be "mind-bogglingly expensive" and off-angle viewing, certain anti-judder modes and the wide spaced speakers are criticized.

Review: Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8, David Katzmaier, Oct. 16, 2008

3. Sound & Vision Magazine

Sound & Vision also looks at the 55-inch version of this LCD TV. In granting it a Certified and Recommended award, Al Griffin writes, "Though pricey, Sony's LED-backlit XBR8 establishes a new performance benchmark for LCD TVs." Griffin was particularly impressed with the picture sharpness, color accuracy, and the screen uniformity. He admits that the Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8 is not perfect -- he notices problem with off-angle viewing and finds the 6-inch cabinet depth too bulky.

Review: Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8, Al Griffin, Feb./March 2009

4. Playback Magazine

In recommending Sony's XBR8 TVs, David Birch-Jones says that LCD backlighting combined with local dimming is the "best thing to happen to LCD technology, ever." Picture quality that meets and even beats that of plasma and lots of picture controls are just some of the pluses.

Review: Shining In All The Right Places, David Birch-Jones, June 2009

5. ConsumerReports.org

ConsumerReports.org reports on the 46-inch Sony Bravia KDL-46XBR8 in its current update. Testing is competent but not well detailed and discussion is briefer than at sites we rate higher.

Review: LCD TVs, Editors of ConsumerReports.org

6. Amazon.com

Though there are relatively few user reviews of the 46-inch Sony Bravia KDL-46XBR8 to date, most are pleased. The lowest rating is three out of five stars, but that user has no qualms with the TV itself; the complaint stems from the steep price.

Review: Sony Bravia XBR KDL-46XBR8, Contributors to Amazon.com

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