Digital Trends

Sony KDL-32XBR6

July 8th, 2008 | by David Elrich

Performance and Use

I connected a Verizon FiOS HDTV DVR along with a Panasonic DMP-BD30K Blu-ray player via HDMI then powered it up. The initial set-up screen is very easy to use with attractive graphics. This XBR uses Sony’s XMB (Xross Media Bar) as the menu system. It really is child’s play to operate and pretty eye candy so you’ll be up and running quickly. Note: this set has TV Guide On Screen, a free program guide that works with your over-the-air or clear cable signals. Since I have the FiOS guide I simply skipped this setup.

When the screen first popped to life, I practically jumped back because the default setting is Vivid that’s so bright and unrealistic as to be unwatchable with the screen door effect I dislike with LCD displays. A quick click of the Theater key on the remote made things much better. Colors were now more subdued and lifelike while the screen door issue practically disappeared. Amazing what one press of a button will do...

Along with the Vivid and Cinema modes, the -32XBR6 has Standard and Custom modes along with settings for photos—Standard, Original and Custom. Vivid is not my cup of color but Standard is good while Custom lets you tweak the image to your personal preference. Options available include backlight, contrast, brightness, color, hue, color temperature, sharpness, noise reduction and MPEG NR for use with discs and DTV stations. Advanced settings include Black Corrector to boost contrast, Advanced Contrast Enhancer, Gamma, Clear White, Live Color and White Balance. You can even adjust the type of 3-2 pull down used for watching movies. This is more than enough for most viewers and with the help of a test disc you should have a really good picture although Sony’s various settings are pretty right on. There are tons of audio enhancements too including bass, treble and Steady Sound to prevent commercials from blasting you out of bed. The set also has S-Force Front Surround for a virtual surround sound from the set’s speakers.

The KDL-32XBR6 is rated 1080p Full HD (1920x1080), a major spec step up from the many 720p (1368x768) televisions available that cost much less—think a 32-inch Vizio for $599. I have a 1080p 50-inch plasma and can really see the difference between standard-def, 1080i and 1080p. With a 32-inch screen you’re really not going to see every pixel, so this is definitely overkill. That said it was time to set the Custom picture setting, surf the channels and watch some BD discs. Using the Monster/ISF disc I set the Brightness to 55, Picture 72, Color 54, Sharpness 5, Backlight 3, Hue at default with Warm 2 color temperature. This was very close to the Standard setting but that uses a Neutral color temp. The figures were pretty close to Cinema as well but here the temperature was Warm 2. Basically if you stay away from Vivid and just use Standard or Cinema you’ll be in good shape without any tweaking. I engaged the sound to S-Force Surround as well.

Watching some high-def I turned to ESPN HD which has a phenomenal signal—the studio sets looked great as did the talking heads. Since this is the heart of the baseball season the highlights looked fine as well with no blurring of the ball or runners. Colors were really excellent, very rich and accurate. Moving to MHD—another great channel—Will Smith, Amy Winehouse and the crowds looked as live and realistic as can be during the Concert For Nelson Mandela. Switching to BD discs, Casino Royale also was a winner with its 1080p source. The initial black-and-white scenes were crisp with no loss of detail or muddied shadows. The blue seas of the Bahamas, the dark train moving through Montenegro and the high-stakes poker game all looked spot on. Watching Night At The Museum was also fun for the sparkling colors not the movie which was one long tiresome joke. Moving close to the screen, you can see all the CGI backgrounds but it wasn’t too bad about seven feet away which is where I did most of my viewing. The light sensor also did a good job as I changed the ambient light. Turning on overhead fluorescents there was barely a hint of reflection. The remote is decent, nothing great and I had to switch between three of them to operate all the devices. And the S-Force Surround was surprisingly good—nothing like a true 5.1 system—but definitely good enough and far better than the Vizio.


Conclusion

The Sony KDL-32XBR6 is a very good LCD HDTV with little of the annoying screen door effect found on many other LCD sets. Colors are very good as is the audio. Walk into a retailer and you’ll clearly see the difference between this one and competitors. And it should stand out since it costs over $400 more than a 32-inch Vizio which is a 720p edition not 1080p Full HD. If you really care about video and are looking for a smaller screen size, put this XBR high on your shopping list. You won’t get the full impact of 1080p on this smaller screen (think 46- or 50-inch) but quality is quite good—especially if you’re sitting close. Sony definitely has its Mojo back.



Pros:

• Fine picture and sound
• Good picture presets
• Easy-to-use menu system


Cons:

• Expensive
• Remote definitely could be better