Sony XBR3 LCD

[BillyB]

I just saw the new Sony XBR3 1080P LCD and I must say the images from this set were stunning.I have never seen more accurate colors or sharper details on any form of TV.The contrast was georgous and the cabinet looked great.You could almost stand on top of this thing without seeing the pixels and apparantly that's one of the upsides to this particular 1080P display.I was looking at the 46" not the 52" and even that's out of my price range but it was still fun to look at.The salesman did admit it was being fed a 1080P signal from some type of Sony DVR device so that would help explain the picture looking better than virtually anything on the floor.If budget wasn't an issue this looks like the set to buy. If there is a better display(LCD or Plasma) on the market I would love to know what it is.This info is for other shoppers not me as I just can't spend the almost 5K as I would want the 52" not the 46".They even charge about $400 more for the set with the piano black bezel as the store had the silver version.Of course I can't vouch for how this set handles non 1080P signals but I would imagine if you were willing to buy the 1K blue-ray DVD player to mate with this thing the results would be spectactular.

[AVMASTER]

we have the 52" xbr3 on display now with the Sony blu-ray DVD, HD cable from comcast and a Panasonic up-conversion DVD player ( model # DVDS77). With Hi-rez source material this LCD can't be beat; off-axis viewing/ response time/ black level/ color and contrast are better than any other LCD I've seen. SD material isn't it's best suit and a good up-conversion DVD player is a requirement. Extensive picture adjustments ( not as much as my Hitachi plasma) but the edge and detail enhancers just made it unnatural; white balance settings let me dial-in my colors better but the rest of the settings didn't seem to help much, I'll leave them off for now and let the Blu-ray demo loop run, sit back and watch all the wives go directly to it; husband and checkbook in tow

[BillyB]

we have the 52" xbr3 on display now with the Sony blu-ray DVD, HD cable from comcast and a Panasonic up-conversion DVD player ( model # DVDS77). With Hi-rez source material this LCD can't be beat; off-axis viewing/ response time/ black level/ color and contrast are better than any other LCD I've seen. SD material isn't it's best suit and a good up-conversion DVD player is a requirement. Extensive picture adjustments ( not as much as my Hitachi plasma) but the edge and detail enhancers just made it unnatural; white balance settings let me dial-in my colors better but the rest of the settings didn't seem to help much, I'll leave them off for now and let the Blu-ray demo loop run, sit back and watch all the wives go directly to it; husband and checkbook in tow

Exactly.I told the salesman it was a divorce in a box and should come with the card of a good divorce attorney.I love the set but was picturing myself in a studio apartment with my new LCD picking up my kids every Saturday at my house and decided It wasn't worth it.I still have to get the 2K plasma idea past the better half as she has no use for my A/V hobby.I'm sure once I buy it she will have no problem watching it..In 5 years when my Panasonic 50" 720P is truly outdated a set like this will be on my short list.The 1080P sets will de drastically cheaper by then and probably improved as well.Would you know if Cable or Satellite will be providing a 1080P signal any time in the near future or is that anybody's guess.That is when this format will be for the masses.

[blackraven]

Check out the new Samsung 46' 1080P LCD sets. the picture is just as good. Samsung supplies sony with the LCD panel as its the same one used in the samsung models. I've been to 2 different stores and compared them side by side. At one store the Samsung gave a better picture and at the other the sony gave the better picture. Its all in the calibration. The Samsung also sells for $400-700 less than the sony. I was going to buy the Sony till I saw the Samsung. Next month I'm going to buy the Samsung when I expect prices to drop again once every one is done exchanging their christmas electronics.

[BillyB]

Check out the new Samsung 46' 1080P LCD sets. the picture is just as good. Samsung supplies sony with the LCD panel as its the same one used in the samsung models. I've been to 2 different stores and compared them side by side. At one store the Samsung gave a better picture and at the other the sony gave the better picture. Its all in the calibration. The Samsung also sells for $400-700 less than the sony. I was going to buy the Sony till I saw the Samsung. Next month I'm going to buy the Samsung when I expect prices to drop again once every one is done exchanging their christmas electronics.I heard that about the Sony/Samsung connection and even before that always thought they made a nice display.Samsung has been making computer LCD's for many other companies for years.I still think the 46" 1080P Samsung LCD might be a little too dear for my budget.I just saw the Sony 46" 720P Bravia on sale for 2K and was pretty impressed with it especially at that price.Still not completely sold on the need for 1080P as I also wouldn't spend 1K on the Blue-ray you need to feed it 1080p.Those players will obviously also drop in price drastically in the future and I'm usually an overkill kind of guy especially with electronics.Anyway as I previously said if the budget isn't a big issue all this stuff is incredibly fun.Good luck with your purchase as I am also waiting on the after holiday sales.