HDTV + SXRD = WOW

During initial setup, the KDS-R50XBR1's auto-scanning feature quickly located and stored all receivable analog and digital over-the-air stations using my Terk HDTVi set-top antenna. When I reviewed the Samsung HL-R5078W DLP, I'd considered its tuner quite sensitive, but the Sony pulled in even more analog and digital stations. However, the Sony lost its lock on digital signals more often, occasionally to the point where I had to switch back to a satellite signal. I suspect that since the TV transmitter towers are located some 13 miles from my house, I may have been at the edge of the Terk's useful range here in the hills and hollows of central Virginia. (In fact, the Sony owner's manual specifically recommends against using an indoor antenna.)

I recently dumped my cable TV service in favor of DISH™ satellite service, mostly because DISH provides several channels of HDTV (though not the major networks). I watched parts of several movies on HDNet, HBO HD, and Showtime HD, plus some eye-popping travel and nature shows on Discovery HD. The picture quality of the HD channels was a major improvement over their non-HD counterparts, but still didn't match the effortless clarity and sharpness of over-the-air HD broadcasts, which are uncompressed signals, unlike satellite and cable HD signals. Over half of my high-definition viewing was NBC programming, as that's the only network offering local digital broadcasts in the Charlottesville area.

I also was able to play and record HD signals using a borrowed D-VHS VCR. The connection I used between the TV and VCR was i.LINK® (Sony's name for IEEE 1394, aka FireWire®). This single-cable digital connection is way underappreciated, in my opinion, because for now anyway it's the easiest and most versatile option for recording HD signals. After connecting the slender i.LINK cable, I hit the "i.LINK" button on the Sony remote, and the i.LINK control panel popped up on screen (the i.LINK button is a nifty shortcut, as it eliminates having to cycle through all of the TV's video inputs). The control panel showed that the TV had identified the VCR as the JVC HM-DH40000U. The on-screen panel also duplicated the JVC's transport controls (Play, Stop, Pause, etc.) so I could operate it using the TV remote (slick!). I recorded over-the-air HD broadcasts of Crossing Jordan and Law and Order, and saw absolutely no difference between the recordings and the original broadcasts. I also watched a pre-recorded "D-Theater" D-VHS movie, Behind Enemy Lines, which looked intensely real, from the spick-and-span surfaces of a U.S. aircraft carrier to the ragged grit of bombed-out Balkan towns.

The KDS-R50XBR1's picture was addictive. Detail and clarity seemed about equal to that of the Samsung 50" 1080p model, but after watching for a week or two, I felt the Sony's picture was consistently a bit smoother and more solid. Some people might consider the Sony's image slightly soft, but sometimes digital displays actually look too sharp to my eye, while the Sony appeared more natural. SXRD image quality reminded me of a Sony TV training session I attended about a year ago. They had set up a roomful of HDTVs representing all their display technologies: flat-panel LCD, plasma, rear-projection LCD, and CRT. Every screen looked bright, crisp, and detailed, but the 34" XBR tube model (KD-34XBR960) stood out from every other display due to the striking depth and dimensionality of its picture. SXRD produces a similar effect, as though it's resolving detail much deeper into the image.

DVDs get the SXRD treatment

Again, like the Samsung 1080p big-screen, the KDS-R50XBR1 has absolutely superb built-in video processing. I was able to get the best-looking DVD picture by feeding the TV an interlaced signal via component video cables and letting the set handle the processing.

As I watched a handful of favorite DVDs, I grew even more impressed by the Sony's picture quality. The experience was similar to listening to a familiar CD on a high-end audio system: you notice details you never realized were there. That happened again and again as I watched DVDs like The Bourne Identity and the Superbit version of The Fifth Element. Colors were absolutely gorgeous, and scenes had a seamless 3-D look that made them seem more filmlike.

I wanted to take color out of the equation, so I plopped in the Coen Brothers' black-and-white masterpiece, The Man Who Wasn't There. There seemed to be about a zillion shades of gradation between black and white, and I repeatedly found my attention drawn to the textures of everyday objects: the weave of a suit coat, details of '50s fabrics and furniture, and Billy Bob Thornton's craggy facial features. Black-and-white films can often seem stark, but viewed on the Sony, this one looked positively rich.

Picture controls that are a video tweaker's delight

If you're a videophile who enjoys digging into a TV's picture setting menus and fine-tuning every parameter, the KDS-R50XBR1 will keep you busy for a while. Its picture controls are the most extensive I've seen. Out of the box, the default picture preset is labeled "Vivid," and seems designed more for attracting shoppers in electronics showrooms than for producing an accurate picture. Simply switching to the "Pro" preset reduces contrast and sharpness to more reasonable levels, and disables several picture "enhancing" circuits that do more harm than good. In fact, many viewers will find that simply switching to Pro mode is all the adjustment needed for a beautifully natural-looking picture.

With SXRD, Sony has a clear winner

Before taking the KDS-R50XBR1 home I'd already seen enthusiatic comments about these SXRD TVs in Internet message boards like AVS Forum, but I was still extremely impressed by the across-the-board excellence of the SXRD picture. It manages to combine the smooth, seamless look of CRTs with the pinpoint precision and control of a digital display.

This is a terrific TV, but there are a couple of minor things that could be improved. Sony's cabinet design, with its prominent side-mounted speakers, seems to inspire love or hate and rarely anything in between. The speakers' sculpted look complements the overall design, and they actually sound very good, but they do add about 10 inches to the cabinet's overall width (and they're not removable). And while the remote control's slender aluminum case has an elegant look and feel, there are lots of small buttons crammed close together, and the buttons aren't illuminated.

Although flat-panel plasma and LCD TVs seem to be on everyone's wish list this year, the new generation of 1080p rear-projection TVs offers equal or superior picture quality to my eye. Competition among TV makers is running white-hot these days, with improvements appearing at a breakneck pace. The next display technology breakthrough may be only six months down the road, but if I were in the market for a big-screen TV today, Sony's KDS-R50XBR1 is the one I would buy.