Why You Can Trust CNET Sony Bravia KDL60LX900 review: Sony Bravia KDL60LX900
If you're looking for a 3D monster that can play sport, then the Sony Bravia KDL60LX900 should be on your shopping list.
- Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
Just in case you hadn't heard, 3D is the newest thing to hit the realm of home entertainment. But given you are reading these words it's a safe bet that you've already heard this. Sony has been fairly aggressive marketing its 3D range of televisions, which even extends to on-field signage at the FIFA World Cup.
Sony Bravia KDL60LX900
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The company has three different ranges catering to 3D enthusiasts, and the LX900 is the Grand Poobah of the three. No longer is Sony dependent on filling its ranges with smaller TVs, the LX900 comes in two large sizes — a 52-inch and 60-inch. The television is available from July 2010, and the unit we tested is one of Sony's working samples currently used to demonstrate in-store 3D.
Design
Frameless designs are the order of the day at Sony, as with LG and Apple, and the LX900 continues the design elements of the NX700. You get a shiny black TV with a "barely there" bezel hidden behind a sheet of glass and it features a thin silver strip at the bottom.
One thing we will note is that this is one of the heaviest TVs we have ever had the pleasure of lifting. It's 49.8kg all up with the stand and we popped several hernias trying to get this up onto a TV shelf.
The remote appears to be the same as the one that ships with the NX700. We're not crazy about it, and there really is no reason for the power button to be on the underside, either.
Features
The KDL60LX900 is a 60-inch screen featuring an edge-lit LED system, which means the backlight is mounted in the edge of the frame. While the TV is very slim as a result we would have preferred a direct LED system in Sony's premium television. This would arguably have given it better colour response and deeper black levels.
The reason people will get excited about this television is because of its 3D capabilities. While the HX800 and HX900 have optional 3D, the LX900's is integrated and it comes with two pairs of 3D glasses in the box. You can enjoy 3D broadcasts like the World Cup straight away, but you will need a compatible 3D Blu-ray player like the inexpensive BDPS470 to watch movies.
If you like your sport then you'll be pleased to hear that the TV comes with Sony's MotionFlow 200Hz, which in the past has handled itself particularly well with fast motion.
The LX900 features a choice of wired or wireless internet, which brings with it Sony's Bravia Internet Video — an IPTV service with catch-up TV from most of the major TV networks. You also get DLNA streaming of music and pictures from your network, and various Yahoo Widgets.
Apart from networking, connectivity is standard for a television at this level. You get four HDMI ports including two on the side, a single component, two composite and one PC port. We were a little disappointed to see only one USB port though, as many competitors now include two for convenience — especially when you consider the panoply of add-ons that require USB these days — Skype cameras, USB keyboards, etc.
Performance
So, we've talked about the stuff that you get when you buy one of these TVs, but what sort of performance are you actually paying for? We loved the 40-inch NX700 and think it's Sony's best television in many, many years. The LX900 is 2.5x the price of the smaller TV. Is it that much better?
You want to hear about how this performs in 3D, right? Sure, we're happy to oblige. The main reason for choosing this model is if you're interested in 3D broadcasts, and in fact the first thing we watched was the State of Origin. Images had real depth, and while you're not fooled into believing you're there at any point, the result is more immersive than standard two-dimensional TV. The glasses didn't present a problem when viewing, though a small light on the side does flash green, which could be distracting for others sitting next to you.
There wasn't as much "crosstalk" as we'd seen on other media types like Blu-ray, but distant objects did show a tendency for this particular ghosting problem. This is most likely a problem with the source than the TV, but until we can try the same footage on the new Panasonic VT20 in the coming weeks it's still conjecture.
We also watched some World Cup footage in 3D, and we must say that the quality of the Australian-sourced material was far better. There was simply better detail, and much less ghosting. While it would be worthwhile to upgrade to 3D to watch the rugby, the soccer is a little disappointing. Something was giving us a headache, and it wasn't just the vuvuzelas.
Next up: 3D gaming. Wipeout in 3D has been one of the cornerstones of Sony's gaming push since last year and with the release of the newest patch it's finally ready for the public.
The PS3 automatically detected that we had a 3D TV connected and immediately switched modes for us. But how did it play? We're fans of this game and while it plays a lot better than it did in October last year we'd still say that we wouldn't play it this way all of the time. While 3D would work great on adventure games like Red Dead Redemption, it simply doesn't work on a twitch game like Wipeout. The heads-up display is too far forward, and the game ghosts or "crosstalks" like a champion — making it harder to make split-second moves.
Be aware that you won't be able to watch 3D lying down, or even with your head crooked at an angle. You need to sit with your head perfectly horizontal or else the screen blurs and the colours distort to a massive degree.
Given the TV's ability to stream content we next tried the Bravia Internet Video service. We're big fans of the Xross Media Bar, and selecting between SBS or Yahoo!7 content is easy. The interfaces are easy to use, and it wasn't long before we had the latest MythBusters up on the screen. The experience does depend on having a fast connection, but we found the experience to be fairly seamless. The video is compressed by necessity and we wouldn't make a habit of watching shows this way instead of live, but it works as a one-off.
Next we tried the TV with a mix of Blu-rays and DVDs and found it worked acceptably, but images didn't have quite the impact of the best plasmas we've seen. While detail was good, and image processing was well up to the Sony standard, colours didn't have as much of an impact as we were expecting and images didn't have the same depth as the best TVs. There was also a bit of judder due to the TV's wonky 24p support.
Sound quality was nowhere near the level of other Sony TVs (we heard better from the NX700). Voices had a good degree of clarity, but soundtracks weren't that convincing. Let's face it, though: if you can afford an AU$7500 TV you should be able to buy a good sound system as well.
Finally, backlight clouding was a small problem with some blotches in parts of the screen when it's on a dark scene — as much as the backlight gizmos tried their best to mask it. Off-axis viewing also resulted in a loss of blacks but this is to be expected from an LCD TV.
Conclusion
Though we weren't as convinced of its performance with movies, it's an absolute monster with sport — especially as 3D broadcasts are only just starting. Sure, you could spend AU$4500 on a projector and get a bigger screen than this, but it will never be as bright and bold as this. This TV is sure to impress most sports fans.
The Sony is a monster, as such, and should only be considered by the most dedicated of unhinged lunatics. Do we count ourselves as some of them? Sure, we could be tempted.
Of course, bear in mind that this was also a preproduction unit and that things may change before it's released onto the Australian market.