Sony BRAVIA XBR Series KDL-52XBR9 52-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LCD HDTV, Black

Comment: We bought this TV in May. We are not a big TV watching family. However whenever we get to watch it or a DVD or BD the expereince is great. The sound system is very nice. However to improve the sound quality I hooked it up to a Sony received/amp. We had to change some factory picture settings to make it sharper and more crisp.
The controls very nice and easy to use. The net connectivity is amazing. We watch movies on Netflix and its great. Even the connectivity YouTube is also very nice. I would recommend this product from my experience so far.

Comment: I had read many of the reviews here and was very excited when I purchased my 52" Sony XBR9.

The unit arrived and, initially, the picture lived up to my expectations. Not too bright, brillant colors, soft tones, etc. However, since I have had the unit I have had 3 issues...

1) Interfering with other HDMI devices. The Sony TVs are designed to be the "brains" of your home theater system - whether you want them to or not. As a result, they try to take control of the other devices in your home theater set-up via the HDMI hookup. When I first got the TV, I would turn it on, but for the first minute I was unable to adjust the volume (it was controlled by my receiver) or change the channel (Tivo) because the Sony device was trying to take charge.

After 3-4 hours on with customer support I got the issue fixed.

2) Bad Circuit Board. The next issue I had was a bad circuit board. Basically, a two inch bar of white starting showing up in the middle of the picture.

3-4 hours on with customer support, service call (I had to take time off work to have the set picked up and returned), new circuit board and I am working again.

3) Power issue. Now on my third issue which is with the power. When the set is off, there is a popping noise every 4 to 5 minutes like the set is trying to turn back on. Additionally the internal clock no longer keeps time.

2-3 more hours on with customer support and a scheduled service call.

The thing that frustrates me is the amount of time I have had to spend on the phone with customer support trying to get things fixed. The people on the phone have been helpful and have tried hard to solve the problem, but at what point should we just start over with a new unit?

Overall, I like the TV, but have not been impressed with the reliability of the unit. I regret having purchased this television and which I would have purchased another brand.

Just my humble opinion...

Comment: I've had my TV for about a year and have no problems whatsoever with it. The picture quality is simply amazing- in my opinion it definitely beats the competition and is worth the higher price.

Comment: It's big, the picture is clear and crisp, sound is great! Excellent value for the price. What more can I say?

Comment: Here's my story, hope someone can learn from my tragic mistake. Furthermore, I just realized the LCD panel is actually made by Samsung NOT Sony. If you buy a Sony TV; why is the LCD Panel (the most important and expensive part of the TV) is made in Korea by Samsung. The picture might be good but how long will it last.....for me it only lasted 1 year and 4 months. Also If you do a simple search on Amazon you will find that Amazon does not sell Sony XBR LCD TV directly anymore since I guess they have so many complaints from their customers on the Sony LCD TV. Go ahead look and see you can find Amazon selling Sony XBR LCD TV directly...Amazon actually refer you to another brand like LG or other brands when you are looking any Sony XBR LCD TVs.....and my Full Story below:

5/9/2010- I brought the Sony XBR series TV on Amazon about 1 year and 4 months ago and now the TV have failed. The picture quality was amazing until just yesterday the picture started to degrade and now it has green clouds and rainbows all over the pictures. I just call the Sony authorize tech service from they said it will cost me $75 for the in house service since it's out of warranty. They also said that if it's the LCD panels has failed then it would cost as much as the TV itself. This is my first LCD from Sony but I have 3 other Sony TVs- 1 30" Sony CRT, 1 47" XBR rear projection and 1 65" XBR rear projection TV. All the previous Sony TVs had no problem at all and I am still using the 65" rear projection TV. What happen to Sony's quality and reliability product? I guess it went to the same place as other first rated Japanese products like Toyota. They are just too busy on cutting cost and lower their reliabilities so they can rack in the billion dollars profit. So if you like the picture quality of Sony TVs; be advice to buy their extended warranty. I wish I did because if the LCD panel failed then my LCD TV is just a big 52" black picture frame hanging on the wall. If you really, really have to get a Sony XBR LCD TV then I would recommend to get 5 years extended warranty plan for $299-it will save you a lot of frustration. And after 5 years, you will probably do a upgrade anyway.

5/11/2010 update: Today the tech came and verified that the LCD panel has gone bad after 1 year and 4 months of service. In the tech's own words-the panel is a factory defect since it should not failed after just a little over a year of service and that I should call Sony and see they will reimburse the cost of the panel. I am so disappointed on the product since I did not just buy any Sony TV but the top of the line XBR series TV. I called Sony and told them the whole story but they just told me to fax all the documents -receipt and repair cost to Sony and they will evaluate it. I will wait and see what happen - but at this point I am really disappointed and frustrated with the whole thing! :-(


Update: 5/13/2010-Just received a call from Sony "Customer Relations" today. It's official-Sony don't stand behind their products. They will not pay for the cost of their defective LCD panel since it's out of warranty (1 year) after 1 year and 4 month of service. They just lost a loyal customer. No more Sony products in my house. Sony customer relations representative even has the nerve to offer me $900 reimbursement on a $$3517.75 repair cost. That's right-I will have to pay $2617.76 to fix my $2018.88 LCD TV. So if you buy a Sony TV and you have a defective LCD panel after 1 year of use then you can just throw that TV in the trash because Sony will tell you go F yourself and trash the TV. Good luck on buying a Sony LCD TV because you going to need it-and looks like from my research, I am not the only customer that have a defect LCD panel after 1 year. In fact, the LCD panel is not even made by Sony but Samsung made in Korea. Samsung LCD Panels have notoriously for premature failure of their LCD panels. So no more Sony LCD for me or should I say Samsung LCD TV ....