First off the Sony 46″ XBR 8 is ’suppose’ to release in the Aug-Sept time period. Later on next month I’ll go check at a local CC to see if anything is in the system yet. As for all those people who want a 52″ I’m sorry to inform you it looks like they will be coming out with a 55″ instead during Sept-Oct.
Now what makes this TV so desirable? It’s Sony’s first major jump into the pool of LED TVs don’t get confused with OLED. Samsung has had a LED TV out for awhile now, 81 Series. Sony has finally decided to jump into this market since it is the only technology to challenge the Plasmas on Black levels. The major problem with standard LCDs are the facts that LCD are extremely bright and usually have a backlight that creates issues with the image and color accuracy. The new Sony XBR 8 will be using RGB LEDS for each pixel. The way the technology works for producing black is actually turning off the LED and producing no light which essentially makes Black. Sony is calling this Advanced Contrast Enhancer Pro (ACE PRO) Local Dimming. This allows for the images that are black to detect it and turn the LEDs off to produce the closest thing to Black as they can. The panel and processor will both be 10 bit, will sport 4 HDMI inputs, VGA, 2 Component, and have the option like most of the XBR series to change the grills color. What really sets this apart from the Samsung 81 series is that it will come with the new 120hz that everyone is adding. As an owner of the Samsung 71 series that has 120hz I’m not sure if I’m that impressed with 120hz. Granted with the right settings, movie, etc.. it can look breath taking but at the same time it can ruin the image for me. The intention of 120hz was to remove some issues with LCDs BUT also created some in the process. The XBR 8 will be one of the first if not the first to have LED technology and 120 Hz.
Do not expect a reasonable price value for this set. Sony has always been notorious for high prices. Also since Samsung its major competitor when it comes to quality in my opinion does have a LED 120 Hz model to face off with expect an even higher premium. Update: Samsung has announced a 9-Series which will sport LED technology and 120 Hz.
If you have the cash to spend on this XBR 8 and have been waiting awhile for picking up a new TV I’d wait. Assuming you have over $5,000+ which is what I’ll assume is the LOWEST price for this set. Save your money and buy a regular set from Sony like the W series with standard LCD technology and see if you like 120Hz.
Why do I say save your money when this set looks dreamy on paper?! Well for once be smart with your cash who knows what the economy will do in the next year or two. But in all seriousness Sony and Samsung are already ahead of the game on LED TVs. The latest in technology is really OLED (Organic LEDs). These are the real bad boys to wait for. If you have serious cash to drop I consider going to check out Sony’s 11″ OLED set for sale at $2,500. Sony and Samsung are hoping to get mid sized OLEDs out by 2009/2010. The sets are paper thin and produce insane levels of contrast and color accuracy.
Why do I think it’ll be way higher than $5,000? Well the XBR 4 52″ came out at $5,000. The Samsung 81 series had an extreme price tag when it came out.
Update: Samsung’s 9 Series have rumored price of $3,200 for the 46″ & $4,200 for the 55″. Expect a heftier price on the Sony.
If you have any questions about the technology, price, more thoughts, etc… Please comment. I will answer ASAP. I’ve got a Blackberry so yeah I’ll read it if it doesn’t get sent to spam.
Update: Sony announces prices. 46″ going for $5,000 & 55″ going for $7,000. (Told you not to expect anything less than $5,000). Samsung sure looks like good deal now.
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Comments
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 at 11:19 am and is filed under Home Theater, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
The XBR 8 is definitely not Sony’s first foray into LED-lit TVs. There is a 70-inch XBR model that has been out for about a year or so now, and it costs $32,999. They call their version of LED lighting ‘Triluminous’. Also, I have heard so many gripes from people about Samsung’s implementation of the 120-Hz technology, with some returning their new sets and exchanging them for Sony XBRs, and being pleased with them.
The 70″ XBR3 has been out but also not something the average consumer could ever consider buying.
Hopefully the XBR 8 will be something with a premium price but affordable with financing.
As far as Samsung’s 120Hz compared to Sony’s I’ve always found that the Samsung’s was bearable. Movies like Spiderman 3 with 120Hz on high is just terrible. The XBR just gets a lot fuzzier in my opinion on those fast panning scenes. The thing about the Samsung’s 71 series is that you need to upgrade the firmware to a newer one to fix the really bad motion. This is referring to the 2007 models.
I went out to go check on the new 2008 models but was so distracted with toying with the employee that didn’t really pay attention to the new models. The 6/7 series does look good. Looking forward to see the XBR 6/7 soon.
[…] I caught wind of Samsung’s new LCD announcement. Since information I’ve posted on the Sony XBR 8 LED model I’ve been wondering if Samsung will bring out a new LED model. Now we have […]
While there is always better technology around the corner, I’m not interested in waiting too much longer to replace that 21″ Trinitron tube set in the living room, thats been doing duty for 10+ years.
The xbr8 has the features I think will give me another good set for 10+ years of use, and if the price is decent and the quality in reality lives up to what the paper suggests, I’ll jump in. OLED is too far away from getting me a 50″er to consider.
Lets not forget the fact that S-LCD makes the panels for both Sony and Samsung so I would Expect them to Be almost Identical. Apart from the bells an whistles on the Sony and Yeah I would Expect to see the Sony about $200 more than the Samsung!
The major difference inside and probably will make for which set will look better is the type of LEDs used.
The Sony will use RGB LEDs instead of a White LED which Samsung will use. Many people are expecting the Tri-RGB LEDs to beat out the White LED technology. Soon we’ll find out.
Hey I was just wondering how many XBR’s are supposed to be made???, but more importantly, I won’t buy Samsung because they only last three or four years and then they die. If you watch Sony for 5 hours a day they’ll last 20 years…at least the Xbr series anyway…Does the XBR 8 have the long lasting capability that the 3,4,and 5 had? I don’t want to buy a T.V. that is going to fizzel out in 3,4,or even 5 years??? One more thing, if I buy a 55 inch XBR 8, will the screen have worse clarity than the 46inch because of it’s size. I just don’t want to buy a 55 inch and then lose clarity because it’s a big t.v.??? Thanks for your time.
I’m sorry to hear that you feel that way about Samsung. My first Samsung 32” has been great. It did get hit by lightning and since then has been doing odd stuff but I’ll be cashing in on a new set soon considering it’s under warranty. Yet you’re not the first person I’ve heard say that about Samsung.
Sony will only be releasing the XBR 6,7, & 8 for this year. Now as far as durability is concerned, no one really knows since it uses Tri-color LEDs. I believe it is the first model to be massively produced using Tri-Color. The Samsung 81 series last year was one of the first large LED TVs but that used White LEDs. Now when dealing with a TV that big as long as you are feeding it quality content size should not matter. If you plan on watching cable don’t expect it to look that great but then again no HDTV does well with regular cable feed except for say the Pioneer and believe the new LaserVue was doing decent with it.
At the end of the day when if you purchase one of the better sets in the market you have to consider it’s going to shine when you feed it 720p and 1080p video. Other things to consider when looking at the big picture the 55” XBR 8 is $7,000~. If you have a budget of that much I would HIGHLY suggest comparing it to the Pioneer Elite Pro 60” & the Mitsubishi LaserVue. They are both around the same price range. The Pioneer is still being considered one of the best TVs in the world but the LaserVue seems to bring some serious competition to the table and think it definitely could remove the crown from Pioneer this year. Granted if you planned on mounting on the wall scratch out the LaserVue & if you have a lot of light coming into the location of where you plan to place the set forget the Pioneer.
If you have any further questions feel free to ask.
The Sony XBR 8 is a good buy all around. The only problem I have with it is that it washes out colors if you get and a large angle. The LED sets seem to have a problem at angles. If you’re in the sweet spot you’re talking one of the best pictures in the world.
I wanted the Sony and seem them beside a W sieies.There was very little difference. Have bought a Samsong 950 . What a great TV.I have a sony xbr 4 for in another room and I would say the 950 is a step ahead.