Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900

Value Comparison

The Samsung UN55C7000 is a very attractive TV, there’s no doubt about that. It’s also cheaper than the Sony, with a larger screen to boot. But before you jump in, there’s some caveats. The Sony XBR-52LX900 includes two pairs of 3D glasses. You’ll have to buy those separately with the Samsung, at $150 per. The Sony also has built-in WiFi, while the Samsung requires yet another separate purchase of a USB dongle. The Sony also outperformed the Samsung in most tests.

The 3D performance is about the same, though tinted plastic of the Sony glasses cut down on a huge amount of brightness. Both TVs include a 2D-to-3D instant ‘upconversion,’ which is far less effective than watching native 3D content.

Core Attributes Comparison
	Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900	Samsung UN55C7000
Size	52 in.	55 in.
General Type	LED	LCD
Format	1080p	1080p

Blacks & Whites

The Samsung UN46C7000 could not match the black level of the Sony XBR-52LX900, nor could it hit the whites as bright. As a result, the Samsung’s contrast ratio was significantly narrower. We did like the Samsung when we reviewed it, but in this regard, it’s clear that the Sony was the better performer.

Color Accuracy

The Samsung UN55C7000 clearly had a harder time maintaining a consistent color temperature, judging by the charts below. However, both the Samsung and the Sony XBR-52LX900 performed well in the RGB color curve test. The Samsung’s red, green, and blue channels moved in tandem more closely, but the Sony’s were a little smoother.

Color Temperature Comparison
Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900 (Score: 6.21)
Samsung UN55C7000 (Score: 6.39)

RGB Comparison
Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900 (Score: 8.1)
Samsung UN55C7000 (Score: 8.0)

Motion

The Samsung UN55C7000 showed extremely smooth motion, but was prone to producing a lot of artifacting. Like the Sony XBR-52LX900, it has menu options to enhance smoothness, but the Sony was better able to find the balance between a smooth image and minimal artifacting.

Motion Scores
	Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900	Samsung UN55C7000
Motion Score

Viewing Effects

The viewing angle on the Samsung UN55C7000 and the Sony XBR-52LX900 was roughly the same, about 40 degrees in total for each of them. This is average for an LCD display.

Viewing Angle Comparison
Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900: 2.66	Samsung UN55C7000: 4.95

Connectivity

The Samsung UN55C7000 and the Sony XBR-52LX900 are both conservative in their connectivity options. However, Samsung’s is even more difficult to work with because each port requires its own proprietary adapter, which could prove frustrating and expensive to replace.

Connectivity Comparison
	Sony XBR-52LX900	Sony KDL-46HX800	Samsung UN55C7000	Panasonic TC-P50VT20
HDMI	4	4	4	4
Component	1	2	1	2
Composite	1	1	1	2
S-Video	0	0	0	0
VGA	1	1	1	1
Analog Audio In	3	1	2	4
Digital Audio Out	1	1	1	1
Analog Audio Out	0	1	1	0
Ethernet	Yes	None	Yes	Yes
Wi-Fi	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Memory Card Types	None	None	None	SD/SDHC/SDXC/SDXC
DLNA	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes