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Sony XBR-X900 series: 4K gets smaller, cheaper

LAS VEGAS--4K isn't just for wall-size, five-figure TVs anymore.

Sony is among the first major TV makers to announce it will sell 4K, aka Ultra High Definition (UHD), televisions in sizes less than 84 inches. The XBR-X900 series, which currently counts a $25,000 84-incher as its sole member, now includes 65-inch and 55-inch sizes, which will sell for $4,999 and $6,999 respectively. They'll be available beginning April 21.

UHD/4K in this TV's (and most other's) case means a pixel count of 3,840x2,160 -- four times as many pixels as today'… Read more

Bonus! Sony 'loans' Ultra HD video player to buyers of $25K TV

Those lucky folks who can afford a $25,000 4K Ultra High Definition TV from Sony now have something else to cheer about.

The Japanese electronics giant said today that it's now bundling an Ultra HD video player with the TV, giving users access to high-resolution content. And purchasers of the "4K Ultra HD Home Experience" also will receive an Xperia Tablet S that serves as a remote control.

In case that's not enough, Sony also is preloading the video player -- a hard-disk server -- with a gallery of 4K video shorts and 10 full-length … Read more

Sony puts a price on its 4K TV: $25,000

A week after Sony Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai uncloaked the company's massive 4K 3D TV, Sony has uncloaked its price, too: $25,000.

People can pre-order Sony's 84-inch XBR-84X900 today, but it won't be in stores until November, Sony said today.

The 4K TV has four times the number of pixels -- 3,840x2,160 -- as a regular HD TV. The 4K label, a bit of a loose term meaning 4,000, refers to number of pixels across the width. Sony is pushing hard to move the industry to 4K video, hoping for a new upgrade … Read more

Sony releases first 4K TV: The 84-inch XBR-84X900

Sony has unveiled two of its biggest TV innovations of the year, and they're both inside the new XBR-84X900: it's the company's largest screen to date, and it's one of the first to feature 4K resolution.

The XBR-84X900 is the company's first 4K screen, and comes in the single 84-inch size. It's an edge-lit LED-based LCD TV that features passive 3D (another first for Sony) and comes with a 10-driver stereo speaker system.

For more information, check out our first take of the Sony XBR-84X900.

Sony XBR-HX929 review: Best LED TV yet this year

The first so-called LED TVs were local-dimming models, where the LEDs behind the screen could be dimmed or brightened in different areas to correspond to darker or brighter areas of the picture. The result was excellent contrast, on a level no other LCD-based TV could muster. Since 2008 when these TVs debuted, they've remained uncommon and expensive while so-called edge-lit models have populated store shelves and living rooms with abandon.

The XBR-HX929, Sony's most expensive and, we're willing to guess, best-performing TV of 2011, is also the company's only local dimmer. It boasts that excellent contrast … Read more

Sony LED-based 3D TV exhibits blacks, bloomers

The last Sony TV we reviewed with superb picture quality was the ultra-expensive KDL-55XBR8 from 2008, which not coincidentally featured the company's last example of a full-array local-dimming LED backlight. That TV's spiritual successor, equipped with a similar backlight, is the ultra-expensive XBR-HX909 series, but all told, its picture quality fares less favorably against the competition. It does deliver deliciously deep black levels, but they come with too many compromises, including issues with blooming and color accuracy, for a TV at this price level.

If you extend your investment to include a pair or more of 3D glasses, … Read more