A Look at Sonys HDTV Product Line

A Look at Sonys HDTV Product Line
By Jill Kane

In the field of HDTV products, Sony has made an impressive mark in the market. The first product was launched in 2006 and since then Sony has evolved dramatically in its range. Some of the significant changes were the launching of more products rather than only plasma HDTV and re-branding of the LCD sets to Bravia. The range evolution and improved quality processes has helped the company to gain a reputable name in the market and cover their small misfortunes in the HDTV campaigning.

The re-branding and changes in the HDTV product line up is an effort to overcome the general market reviews of the Sony's products - their high prices and not too good reliability in the HDTV product range. The newly launched products and improvised versions of HDTV surely is an indication of problem-solution achievability.

Sony offers a broad range of LCD sets which ranges from the smallest, 26 Bravia XBR KDL-V26XBR1 to the largest 46 KDL-46S2000. The largest set provides an impressive 1366 x 768 resolution and Sony's proprietary Bravia Engine video processor. This set may have comparable features with those of its contemporaries but the price tag of $3,500 makes it a loser in the market.

The product specifications boast of excellent picture quality with good blacks and vivid color reproduction. But practical experience suggests a slight calibration in the set to achieve the optimum indicated levels. For instance, the 720p reproduction in the 40 KDL-V40XBR1 projects a much sharper image, yet the proper color balance is difficult to achieve normally. The KDL-V40XBR1 model also offers a Digital Cable Ready feature with a cable card called DCR and a Quadrature Amplitude Modulation - QAM tuner which is an alternative to the separate, external cable box. This is an excellent add-on but the only thing to be noted is that not all features like the 'on-demand' etc. are always supported and the cards compatibility with all cable companies offerings should be checked with the local area's cable service provider.

Although the picture and sound quality of the LCD are not at the level of the plasma HDTVs, LCDs still offer comparably good viewing angles and are known to perform quite well under varying lighting conditions. Like all brands and most models, the Sony LCD sets are equipped with multiple in-built tuners. These tuners provide reception for over-the-air HDTV broadcasts (e.g. ATSC or Advanced Television Systems Committee).

You can also change the aspect ratio from the HDTV standard 16:9 to that of standard TVs that is, 4:3. Before applying this feature, a preview of how it is done should be ascertained. The cropping by black bars on the screen might be fine with some, but some users find stretching the image displeasing and unacceptable.

The sets come with two component video ports and only one HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) connector in place of the usual two. These connectors are essential for delivering quality images even using standard DVDs on an HDTV set. There is also a USB port and a memory stick slot for connecting a source of digital video and photos to be displayed on the large panel.

For more information on HDTVs and Sony HDTVs visit the HDTV Guide at http://www.hdtv-info-guide.com

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