Review: Sony KDS-R50XBR1 HDTV
HD Beat recently reviewed the 50″ Sony KDS-R50XBR1 SXRD HDTV, and thought very highly of it. Now it’s Sound & Vision’s turn.
This $4000 projector has 3 1920 x 1080p SXRD panels. SXRD is Sony’s version of LCOS, a display technology with a very smooth picture. The set includes CableCARD and both HDMI and iLink inputs. The review says that the set can’t display true 1080p HD signals. So I guess that means the HDMI input doesn’t accept them. For a company that will be releasing the PS3 shortly, they have to fix this.
Sound & Vision gives this set the ultimate compliment by saying that it has CRT-like levels of shadow detail. The colours are also richly rendered. Conclusion?
I have so many good things to say about Sony’s KDS-R50XBR1 HDTV that it’s tough to sum it all up. First, there’s the gorgeous picture, which combines natural color and deep, CRT-like blacks with fine resolution. Then there’s the extensive feature set and picture tweaks, which go well beyond many other televisions. Finally, there’s the price tag. Four grand might seem high compared with similar-size rear-projection HDTVs, but very few of these offer 1080p display.
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December 19th, 2005 at 10:49 am
On the Sony KDS-R50XBR1 please explain the purpose of the TV being able to display a 1080p signal, but it cannot receive a 1080p signal.
December 19th, 2005 at 10:53 am
1. Back in the days before HDTV, there used to be 480p sets. They would just take a 480i signal, de-interlace it, and display it at 480p. If the deinterlacing was good, then you got a slightly better image. The same thing is true of converting 1080i to 1080p.
2. Scaling 720p signals up to 1080p will also provide benefits, depending on the scaler quality. Your image is viewed at a higher resolution, plain and simple.
June 10th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
Could you guys possibly clear something up for me?
Will/Can the KDS-R50XBR1 accept a signal from a device that outputs a 1080p signal? or will it simply not even recognize the the device..
June 10th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
No it doesn’t. You’ll have to get one of the ones that Sony announced for this year. See this post about the new SXRD displays.