Digital Trends

Sony KDL-32XBR6

July 8th, 2008 | by David Elrich

Features and Design

Unlike the recently reviewed Vizio VO32L, it takes a bit of tinkering once you take the television out the box since the supplied stand is not connected. Three screws do the trick and then you have an attractive HDTV staring at you with piano black bezels surrounding the 32-inch screen. The set measures 31.25 x 21.37 x 4 (WHD, in inches) and weighs 34 pounds so it’s easy moving it around and setting it into position.

The front fascia won’t win any design awards but it’s very neat and tidy. There are logos for Sony, Bravia and XBR dotted around the bezel with a narrow speaker grille running across the bottom. A nice touch is an inset of clear plastic above the grille with subtle lights indicating power, standby and timer off. Also nearby is a light sensor that adjusts screen brightness depending on the ambient light. More on this in the Performance section.

On the top of the set are keys for power, channel up/down, volume up/down, input and home, controls you’ll never use since they’re replicated on the supplied remote. You might need them if you ever run out of AAs, a highly unlikely scenario in this day and age. On the left side is an HMDI input for quickly connecting a camcorder or game console as well as composite A/V-ins for attaching who-knows-what? A VCR? Does anyone still have of those clunkers left? 

The rear has a nice jack pack with an additional three HDMI inputs (four total) to handle your high-def sources. Beyond HDMI—which everyone should use whenever available--there are two component video, one S-video, digital audio out as well as RGB-in to connect a PC. The set also has a USB input to use with the optional Bravia DMex service. This lets you connect a Bravia Internet Link to the back of the set which gets attached by several screws.

Once you connect the Link via an Ethernet cable to the web you can watch YouTube vids and other “high-quality” content on your HDTV. All the cables plug in at the traditional 90-degree angle compared to the more monitor-like connections of the Vizio. You’ll also find the cable/antenna coax connection which is necessary to use the PIP function. Since I don’t use an antenna and have a Verizon FiOS cable box, this was moot. 

The supplied remote is nicely designed but it’s a TV-only unit—to a degree. Hopefully your cable or satellite box has the ability to learn the codes so you don’t have deal with a multitude of remotes. On the remote are large numeric keys, big toggles for volume and channel along with a four-way controller with center set button for making menu adjustments. There are also a series of controls grouped under a Bravia Sync logo. If you have a Sony Blu-ray player or Playstation 3 connected by HDMI—or another compatible device--the TV remote adjusts the major controls. It didn’t work with a Panasonic Blu-ray player, unfortunately. A nice touch is the large Theater key that immediately switches your settings to cinema mode for a more realistic movie experience. Why they didn’t just label it Cinema is one of life’s mysteries…

The Sony KDL-32XBR6 comes with the TV, stand, remote with batteries, Quick Setup Guide and a nicely done 48-page owner’s manual. Unlike the Vizio, no HDMI cable is supplied so definitely make sure you have one or ask the dealer to add one to the package. It doesn’t hurt to ask—especially if you’re paying $1,000-plus for a TV.

Once the three screws were tightened to the stand, batteries loaded in the remote, it was time to enjoy some HDTV and Blu-ray discs.

Image Courtesy of Sony