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Product Features

• 16:9 Full HD 1080p Resolution (1920×1080p) LCD Panel
• DMex compatible; allows seamless feature upgrades
• BRAVIA Sync (Enhanced HDMI-CEC)
• BRAVIA Engine fully digital video processor
• Advanced Contrast Enhancer circuit (ACE)

Product Description

Performance takes center stage with the KDL-52XBR6 BRAVIA XBR LCD flat panel HDTV. Chock full of features including HD 1080p resolution and Motionflow 120Hz technology that provide smooth, natural images. Plus, BRAVIA Engine fully digital video processing enhances overall image detail making every scene sharp, vibrant and life-like. You’ll notice deeper blacks with Advanced Contrast Enhancer (ACE), while 24p True Cinema capability helps deliver the cinematic experience when used with 24p output devices, such as a Blu-ray Disc player. There are also numerous inputs including four HDMI connections, two HD component connections, Digital Media Port and a PC input that offer you a wide range of connectivity options. And with the gorgeous piano gloss black finish, you’ll be wondering if the view is nicer with the TV on or off. DMex functionality expands your HDTV’s capabilities by letting you connect optional BRAVIA Link modules, including the BRAVIA Internet Video Link, BRAVIA DVD Link, BRAVIA Wireless Link and BRAVIA Input Link (all sold separately) Live Color Creation technology with WCG-CCFL backlight uses advanced chroma signal processing to widen color fidelity Unit Dimensions (Approx.) – 49 1/2 x 34 1/2 x 13 5/8 in (1256.9 x 874 x 346mm) with pedestal; 49 1/2 x 32 3/4 x 4 7/8 in (1256.9 x 830.5 x 121.8mm) without pedestal.

From the Manufacturer

BRAVIA XBR HDTVs have become the benchmark by which all others are measured, and the performance-oriented feature set on the XBR6 series shows why. Exclusive motion and color technologies deliver legendary XBR performance. 10-bit processing and 10-bit displays, x.v.Color technology and Deep Color render a wide color gamut and smooth color transitions. Motionflow 120Hz and 24p True Cinema provide smoother picture performance with unprocessed 24p film reproduction. XBR6 Series HDTVs include Sony’s innovative DMex technology which “future-proofs” them by creating an expandable platform for connecting to devices that haven’t even been invented yet. Of course, right now they will also connect seamlessly with other Sony products like camcorders, computers, digital cameras, and the interesting new Bravia Internet Video Link. HDMI-CEC compatibility means you can control everything from one remote. They are even DLNA compliant, offer Sony’s unique PhotoTV HD, and include swivel stands.

A bold new design with a color-accented speaker grille complements the gloss black finish, which also hints at the floating glass look of previous XBR models. If you’re looking for some personalization you can purchase an optional speaker grille in multiple colors.

Full HD 1080p

Full HD 1080p means our connections accept 1080p signals and the display will render that signal in Full HD 1080p. The flexibility of native 1920 x 1080 displays allows any high definition content to be viewed without the need to downconvert images to the native resolution of the display. Take full advantage of Blu-ray Disc players and PlayStation 3 systems that can deliver 1080p content.
(Found in S, V, W, Z, and XBR Series HDTVs)

BRAVIA Engine Technology

The latest version of Sony’s respected BRAVIA Engine fully digital video processor uses a collection of unique SONY algorithms to significantly reduce noise and produce sharp, vibrant, life-like images.

* Dynamic Noise Reduction: Intelligently identifies and dramatically reduces noise in the signal according to the motion and brightness of each scene for clearer, crisper images.
* Detail Enhancement: Improved image enhancement algorithms render greater overall detail.
* Contrast Enhancement: Works with the Advanced Contrast Enhancer circuit to optimize the contrast for every scene to create better depth and reality.

BRAVIA Engine technology optimizes the color, contrast, detail and clarity of every scene for the exceptional performance that BRAVIA HDTVs are known for.

Motionflow™ 120Hz Technology

Motionflow 120Hz technology doubles the number of existingframes by calculating in real time and inserting 60 entirely new frames between the original 60 frames. It uses a special Sony-developed algorithm that detects specific objects, as well as the movement of the overall scene and intelligently applies the right amount of enhancement. There’s
more to the story.

Unlike some other high frame rate technologies, Motionflow also includes Sony’s unique Image Blur Reduction algorithm, which reduces blur from the original source image captured by a camera before applying motion enhancement technology.

Judder is a visual artifact that shows up in video content that has been converted from film-based content. A visible jerking or stuttering effect can sometimes be seen during motion sequences on converted film-based content that may be noticeable on scenes that include panning.

There are many forms of high frame rate technology in the market today, but only Motionflow 120Hz technology uses special Sony algorithms designed to intelligently detect and apply the right amount of enhancement to reduce judder and deliver a smoother, sharper picture with more natural motion of the original film.

Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)

All 2008 XBR and Z-Series BRAVIA HDTVs are DLNA-compliant.

You already know something about digital living. There’s the TV and digital video recorder in your family room. (And another set in your bedroom.) You have a PC and digital printer in your office, along with a network attached storage device. And you’ve copied all your music onto your portable music player and haven’t had to open a CD case for years. But getting them to talk to each other can be pretty tough. Why is it still so difficult to send digital content from one device to another?

Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is a collaboration of the world’s leading consumer electronics, PC and mobile companies that has created design guidelines for a new generation of products that can work together — no matter the brand.

Think for a moment about all of the photos “locked away” on your home PC that you wish you could access while entertaining your friends and family. Now, thanks to DLNA enabled devices, a DLNA-enabled PC can be accessed from the comfort of your living room or family room via a DLNA-enabled HDTV, where you can enjoy your memories with friends and family, without having to deal with the hassle and non-intuitive “PCexperience”.

Or, say you recently downloaded your daughter’s birthday party video from your digital camcorder to your PC. Now you want to share it with your parents who are visiting. Without DLNA, you probably have to burn a DVD of the video or hook up the camcorder to the TV. With DLNA, you can just use your TV’s remote to call up the video on your TV. That’s it.

Customer Reviews:

Dazzling picture
By Terry

This was a big jump up. The last TV was a 6 year old 20 inch JVC tube, so you might think we would be easy to dazzle. Nevertheless I did a lot of research before springing for this one. Got it to watch DVDs; we don’t have cable or dish, just an indoor antenna. We were really surprised at all the new (digital) channels we got, even without upgrading our antenna –so don’t be hasty in assuming you need to have an outdoor antenna, cable, etc., especially if you are in a metropolitan area.

The old analog stations (say, channel 9) come in pathetically, but usually there are other stations associated with each number. For example, we now get digital 9.1, 9.2 and 9.3 –three different programs where we used to get one. This was all a pleasant surprise. We got digital versions of all the old channels and 7-8 new ones. We even get a San Jose station that we haven’t seen in years.

Everything on the digital channels is gorgeous. When I was shopping I saw big HDTVs where the non-HD picture was stretched and distorted, but you don’t have to set it that way. You can set it so that each program comes in at its optimal picture quality. Some day, hopefully, it will all be HD, but the SD stuff looks pretty good on this set! As for the Bravia XBR6 specifically, great black-blacks, but your detail within shadows is not sacrificed. It came set to “vivid” color setting, but I find the standard setting more natural. REally stunning picture! Haven’t watched any blu-ray disks yet (no player) but the standard DVDs look fabulous!

This was a big purchase but I am very happy with it. And–at least in the SF Bay area– delivery was faster than projected and the CEVA white glove service was fine. They do not connect your components for you but they do put it on a stand and power it up so you can be sure all your pixels, sound, etc, function.

Oustanding Picture Quality
By gone_west

Previous Setup: Sony Wega 36 + basic cable for locals / direct tv for everything else + tivo + Bose Lifestyle 1-2 System for sound.

Current Setup: Sony 52XBr6 + direct tv dvr (dual channel) for everything including local channels + Bose Lifestyle 1-2 System for sound + Ethernet connection to the direct tv dvr for on demand service. Upgrading the satellite dish for HD capability also got us a dish that could handle local signals.

Yet to do for setup: Use the network features of the set and add a blue ray player. Since we rarely used the dvd or vhs that were connected to the Sony Wega, a blue ray is a low priority. We will probably never use the tv for playing games.

Delivery: Oustanding. Ordered through Amazon and received the set in 5 business days. One notice from Amazon when the set shipped and would be at my house, and one notice from the delivery company about delivery time. I did nothing but open the door for the delivery folks. They took care of the unpacking and setting up the tv. They made sure the remote and the set worked, and they were off after no more than 15-20 minutes from start to finish.

Picture Quality: More than for any other reason, this is why I bought this tv. For me, the decision process started and ended with picture quality, everything else a set had to offer was just extras, nice to have or something to ignore. On the XBR6, HD is stunning. SD is excellent. This is equally true for sports, movies, news, evening soaps. The XBR6 delivers a vibrant picture whether you are sitting straight in front of it or off to one side or the other. The factory settings are very close to the mark, if not on it. If you decide to tweek the picture for personal preferences or to accommodate room lighting, the manual and online menus are easy to follow and offer concise explanations.

No reflective glare: Concern about glare and reflection was a critical decision point for me because the set was going into a room with multiple windows and skylights Daytime with the Sony Wega’s reflective crt screen had been horrible. Now, after watching the XBR6 on a few sunny days in a row, glare and reflections are subdued/tamed except on very dark scenes. On colorful scenes, the glare and reflections just aren’t noticeable. I am very pleased. My expectations have been more than exceeded. The Samsungs I strongly considered as well as a couple of plasma sets got nixed because of my concerns about reflection and glare. A small negative for me is the reflective quality of the plastic frame around the set.

Sound System: Sound quality from the tv was never a decision factor for me just as it wasn’t 10 years ago. A 10 year old Bose Lifestyle 1-2 system was easily connected, and its Dolby 5.1 output sounds better than ever.

Quality and reliability: Sony is number one in service and reliability. The rest are still learning. You can look it up. I did.

Misc. : 1. We have a small net monthly savings by going with direct tv for the local channels, dvr and hd. This amount does not include the foregone costs for tivo since we had paid a one time fee for the life of the unit to avoid month to month subscription fees to it. This amount does include the rip-off monthly fee increase for high speed internet access from the cable company because we discontinued cable service. After eight years with tivo, I thought I’d miss it more than I have, but the features on the direct tv dvr are very similar.
2. There is a couple of seconds delay when switching from one channel to the next. I assume it is due to the line from the satellite that is being multiplexed as a dual line. It is more than acceptable to me, but the pause that refreshes is noticeable.
3. The Tv Guide feature that Sony is promoting is useless for satellite subscribers because it is incompatible (unsupportable?) with them and also redundant, just as it is with cable.
4. You don’t need to pay a premium for hdmi cables. See the discussion on avsforums about them as well as their discussions about lcd televisions. The discussions can be over the top and sometimes make a fringe issue sound like it is the center of the universe. These folks care about their viewing experiences. They also seem to know something. They are more reasonable than a person who faults a set sold in the US for not supporting a frame rate used overseas.
5. When doing diligence, I used cnet’s reviews, myproductadvisor (to better understand my own requirements and what features are out there, although it seems to have a Samsung bias), other expert reviews, end user reviews (like this one and the others here), the manufacturer websites, and visits to several stores to see with my own eyes.
6. I am 100% satisfied, a very happy camper. I had high expectations from order placement to the day to day set usage, and those high expectations have been met. Sony, Amazon, direct tv and Bose are a great combination, and they’ve clicked at every level for me. I think they are the best at what they do.

Thanks for listening. I had fun. I hope this helped.

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