Sony Bravia XBR-52HX909

Display Size & Technology

The XBR-52HX900 is built around a Full HD LCD panel, which means that it can display every pixel of a 1080p video signal from a device such as a Blu-ray player. It can also handle all of the lower resolution signals, such as 1080i and 720p. This display also includes Sony's own Motionflow Pro 240Hz processing, which they claim produces smoother and more natural movement. In our tests, we have generally found that this doesn't make a huge amount of difference over the 120Hz processing that is present on most HDTVs, but we did test previous versions of this technology: we'll look forward to getting a review unit into our labs to find out if it does live up the promise.

The LCD panel of this display is a Full HD model, with a 1920 by 1080 pixel resolution

Formats & Resolution

As a Full HD display, the XBR-52HX900 can handle all of the current HD video signals produced by Blu-ray players, DVD, players, set-top boxes, etc. It is also compatible with the recently defined 3D Blu-ray standard, although you will need to buy a set of 3D glasses and a transmitter to get the full 3D experience. Sony declined to say how much this will cost or how much you might need to spend to equip the entire family with the glasses required for 3D viewing.

The 3D effect is produced by displaying alternate images 120 times a second, while the optional transmitter signals each frame of the active shutter glasses to turn on and off in time with the alternate images, effectively showing each eye a different image and fooling the brain into thinking it is seeing a 3D image. Each eye sees 60 frames a second, though, so there is no loss in resolution or movement from standard 2D 1080p content. 

Brightness, Blacks and Contrast Ratio

We were not able to run our full suite of tests on the prototype of this HDTV which was on display, but we were impressed by the contrast range that it showed in the sample footage that Sony was showing, with deep blacks and bright whites. Again, we look forward to poking this display with our science stick to see how well it does, but the signs look good.

The XBR-52HX900 also offers local dimming, where the LED backlights can dim in dark areas of the screen image to produce deeper blacks. This is one area where this display is superior to the XBR-LX900 range, which use an LED edge backlight that can't do local dimming. Again, we have to sound a note of caution: we have seen only slight improvements in image quality on HDTVs that we have reviewed before that include local dimming, and we will have to wait to test this model in more controlled conditions before we draw any conclusions. Sony was also unable to confirm the number of dimming zones (the number of areas that can be individually controlled by the display to perform the dimming), which is a critical factor: the more zones, the more attractive the dimming looks, as you don't get a halo effect.

Color

We were also not able to test the color performance of this display, but again the colors in the sample footage that we looked at looked good; we saw bright, sharp colors, but also plenty of detail in the highlights and lowlights. Support is offered for the xvYCC color space and the deep color format of the HDMI 1.4 standard, which allows for more color detail in the signal.

Motion & Refresh Rate

The XBR-52HX900 includes Sony's new Motionflow Pro 240Hz processing, which they claim is improved from previous versions. We haven't seen much difference on previously reviewed models between 120Hz and 240Hz processing, but we will wait to draw any conclusions until we can get the display into our lab in more controlled conditions. However, motion on the prototype unit we saw at the CES show looked very good, with smooth motion and no obvious artifacts.

Viewing Angle

We were also not able to test the viewing angle of the prototype on display at the CES show, but we did see an impressive viewing angle in our informal tests, where we saw a good contrast ratio to be maintained to a wide angle. We'll report more when we get a review unit in to test.