The Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8 is certainly not one of the cheaper HDTVs you can buy, but it definitely is one of the best you can find. Equipped with the latest technologies, including an LED backlight, and one of the best picture quality available today, it is no wonder that the this hi-tech model is Sony’s flagship in HDTVs.
Design
The KDL-55XBR8 sports a sleek black glossy frame. At it’s sides are the speakers which appear to be suspended in mid-air due to the clear plastic frame supporting the speakers. Interestingly enough, Sony
Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8
sells different colored grilles for the speakers in case you wish to change them. The Sony logo on the frame also has a blue backlight that can be turned off for those who find it annoying while watching movies.
Like the other remote controls that come with the XBR6 series, the remote for the KDL-55XBR8 is still packed with buttons for other devices, which means the controls for the TV itself are crowded at the top part of the remote and are sometimes hard to get to. A plus point for the remote, though, is that it has a blue backlight which can be very helpful when operating the remote in the dark. The menu system is the Cross Media Bar (XMB), which is also found on the Playstation 3. Though many users will find that there are too many settings for their liking, there is an added bonus that helps you display pictures or play music straight from a USB flash drive.
Screen/picture clarity
Equipped with the TRILUMINOS® RGB Dynamic LED Backlight, the Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8 represents Sony’s most sophisticated LCD TV. With traditional LCD TVs and monitors, the screen is illuminated by a light source at the back of the screen. For the LCD TV to create the color black, the LCD needs to block out as much light as possible which results in blacks which are not deep in color. But in the case of the KDL-55XBR8, individual clusters of Red, Green and Blue LEDs work together to give you darker blacks and more vivid colors.
Aside form the LED Backlight, it has a 120Hz refresh rate and Sony’s Motion Enhancer, which greatly reduces blurring in motion sequences. The KDL-55XBR8 is also equipped with the latest Sony Bravia Engine 2 PRO which is a step up from the Sony Bravia Engine 2 in terms of picture clarity and picture quality.
Features
The KDL-55XBR8 comes with a wide array of connections ranging from your standard composite AV inputs and outputs to 4 HDMI inputs. Because of this, there should be no problem at all connecting any other sort of equipment. It even comes with a USB port from which you can connect a flash drive and show off your latest photos, as well as a LAN or Ethernet port for connecting to your home network so you can display all the photos collected on your computer on your widescreen TV.
Indeed, the Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8 is certainly packed with features anyone would love to have. Though the price is definitely not within everyone’s reach, it is without a doubt that this HDTV comes as close as it can get to becoming the top LCD HDTV available.
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