Sony Bravia XBR-52HX909

Black Level (8.77)

The Sony XBR-52HX909 was capable of producing a black level of 0.07 cd/m², which is quite good compared with similar televisions. As you can see from the chart below, it was better than the Sony and Samsung LCD models, but not quite as dark as the plasma Panasonic TV. More on how we test black level.

Read Reviews of Comparison Products
Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900	Samsung UN55C7000	Panasonic Viera TC-P50VT20

Peak Brightness (8.45)

The Sony XBR-52HX909 is more than bright enough, with a maximum white level of 311.36 cd/m². The competing Sony 52LX900 was almost too bright (an easy fix in the settings menu), and the Panasonic TC-P50VT20 was a failure in this test, producing whites that were far too dim. More on how we test peak brightness.

Contrast (8.88)

The contrast ratio of the Sony XBR-52HX909 was a whopping 4447:1, an excellent score that beat all the competing televisions. Like most high-end TVs, the Sony XBR-52HX909 has a dynamic contrast feature that raises and lowers the backlight level based on the screen content. We turn this feature off, because it tends to skew test results (usually making the score worse), and we find the constant brightening and dimming visually distracting. More on how we test contrast.

Tunnel Contrast (9.72)

The Sony XBR-52HX909 did a good job maintaining a consistent black level, regardless of how much black or white content was on the screen. The screen clearly got a little brighter when the screen was mostly white, but you probably won’t notice a difference. More on how we test tunnel contrast.

White Falloff (9.98)

The Sony XBR-52HX909 was near perfect at maintaining a consistent white level, regardless of how much white or black was on the screen. More on how we test white falloff.

Uniformity (5.75)

The Sony XBR-52HX909 has a very large screen, which can sometimes cause uniformity issues. On an all-black screen, you can clearly see blotches of brighter areas and ‘flashlighting’ in the corners. On an all-white screen, the corners dim, but the overall uniformity is better. More on how we test white falloff.

Greyscale Gamma (5.90)

The greyscale gamma measures how well the TV transitions from black to white. The chart below tells reveals several important clues about the Sony XBR-52HX909. The overall slope of the curve is 2.88, which is steeper than the ideal curve – somewhere between 2.1 and 2.2. There’s also the shape of the curve to consider. We’re looking for a smooth curve. As you can see below, the line is anything but smooth in the lower left portion, which represents the shadows. Don’t expect a perfect rendering of shadow details. It gets better once it hits the midtones. More on how we test greyscale gamma.

Other Models in the XBR-xxHX909 Series
For more information on other models in this series, check our Series Comparison Page.
Sony Bravia XBR-46HX909 46 in.