Sony’s
XBR series TVs have a devoted following, but some of the sets in the line
tend to be priced higher than models with similar features from other
set-makers. So if you’re an XBR fan who is in the market for an HDTV with
a really big screen, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the price of Sony’s
new 65-inch rear-projection HDTV monitor. At $5,500, the KP-65XBR10W
is priced competitively with other king-size widescreen HDTVs.
One way Sony keeps the price down is by using 7-inch cathode-ray tubes (CRTs) to beam images at its 16:9 aspect ratio screen. A few other sets this size, including models from Philips and Zenith, use 9-inch CRTs, which are capable of delivering more detailed high-definition images than 7-inch tubes. But those sets cost nearly twice as much as the Sony. In any case, to watch HDTV on the 65XBR10W, you’ll have to connect an outboard HDTV tuner. (Sony offers the SAT-HD100 for $799.)
Despite its competitive price, the Sony set still has plenty of interesting features, including a sophisticated picture-in-picture (PIP) function that lets you manually scale the size of PIP windows using the remote’s joystick, and Sony’s Flash Focus system, which automatically converges the three CRTs (more on this later). The set displays 1080i-format HDTV and 480p standard-definition signals at their native resolution and upconverts standard (480i) NTSC signals to a 960i display format.
In the styling department, Sony has come up with a very cool look for the set. Its screen is framed by a thin, metallic border, and the sides taper inward gently. The overall effect is to make the set, which is still pretty monstrous, seem lighter and slimmer than it is. When you look at it head-on with the lights turned down, you might be fooled into thinking that it’s a flat-panel plasma display.
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FAST FACTS
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KEY
FEATURES
DIMENSIONS 61 3/8 inches wide, 62 inches high, 29 inches deep WEIGHT 327 pounds PRICE $5,500 MANUFACTURER Sony, Dept. S&V, One Sony Dr., Park Ridge, NJ 07656; phone, 800-222-7669; Web site, www.sel.sony.com |
There’s a generous number of inputs, including an RGB+H/V jack that doubles as a wideband component-video input — which you’ll need to connect an HDTV tuner or progressive-scan DVD player — a standard (480i) component-video input, and three A/V sets with both composite- and S-video jacks, one in front and two around back. There’s also one A/V output with a composite-video jack and both fixed- and variable-level audio outputs. I’m a little puzzled as to why Sony included only one wideband component input, which forces you to use an external switcher if you want to hook up an HDTV tuner and a progressive-scan DVD player.
The remote control is typical of what Sony offers with most of its TVs — a big, blocky thing with a flip-up panel that conceals buttons for controlling other components. A few of the main buttons — including those for volume and channel selection — are backlit. I particularly liked the thumb-controlled joystick for navigating menus, the picture-control button, which lets you toggle through picture presets, and the A/V input button, which can be configured to skip inactive inputs.
As usual, my first order of business was to grab Ovation Software’s Avia test DVD and calibrate the Sony’s picture settings. Among the numerous picture presets is one labeled Pro. It delivered a reasonably accurate picture, so I started tweaking with that mode engaged. One thing that immediately irritated me is that there is no numerical readout for the picture-control sliders, so you can’t write down the changes you make. On the other hand, changes to any of the preset picture modes are stored in the set’s memory, allowing you to create custom settings for each video input.
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HIGH
POINTS |
My next priority was to converge the set’s three CRTs, which Sony attempts to simplify through its Flash Focus feature. Push one button, and the set automatically aligns itself — not! A good way to test convergence on an RPTV is to tune in a financial news program and look at the text at the bottom and sides of the screen. After engaging Flash Focus, I saw fringing on the edges of the letters, which confirmed that convergence was off. Still, Sony’s projection-TV service program provides a “commitment to repair or replace your TV within seven days” if you’re unhappy.
With its Warm color temperature selected, the Sony measured very close to the 6,500-K NTSC standard at the high end of its grayscale, but its low end drifted toward green. The effect was noticeable in shadow regions of images, which took on a somewhat swampy tone. After calibration (see “in the lab” for details), the greenish cast disappeared and colors snapped into place. Watching the post-abduction library scene from the DVD of North by Northwest, I found the well-stocked library’s wood furniture, leatherbound volumes, and intricately patterned oriental rugs so warm and welcoming that I wanted to pull out a novel and fire up a pipe.
Another thing that impressed me was the set’s ability to convey fine shades of black. In the same scene of that Alfred Hitchcock classic, James Mason and Martin Landau hover menacingly around a befuddled Cary Grant. The Sony set rendered the well-lit interior with eye-popping contrast, pulling out bright highlights as well as the dark creases and folds in the bad guys’ black suits. And when the action shifted to a nighttime shot outdoors, the amount of detail visible in shadows held.
Although
the 65XBR10W can display HDTV, you’ll be watching plenty of standard NTSC
programming in the coming years. With standard movies from satellite or
a regular DVD player, the set’s upconversion circuit caused “stairstep”
artifacts in scenes with vertical motion — a problem I’ve encountered
on many HDTVs. Of course, one way around it is to use a DVD player with
a progressive-scan output, which is what I did. The result: anamorphic
widescreen movies looked incredibly good — perhaps as good as on any rear-projection
TV I’ve reviewed so far.
Though I’m not always thrilled by the offerings on DirecTV’s HBO-HD channel (HDTV may be great, but it can’t make a bad movie good), a high-def satellite transmission of Edward Scissorhands — a movie I really like — was airing while I had the Sony set up in our studio. While the set’s 7-inch CRTs may not squeeze out as much detail as 9-inch tubes, I could still discern the powdery texture of Edward’s Gothic pancake makeup as well as his poorly applied scars, which looked like something from a kid’s Halloween costume. Colors looked vibrant, especially in the Christmastime scenes, which abounded in glowing greens and reds. Even so, the flesh tones of the characters looked natural. Winona Ryder’s face retained its pure, almost opalescent tone, while her boyfriend’s mean mug came across as an angry, ruddy shade.
Sony’s KV-65XBR10W is an impressive big-screen HDTV monitor at a competitive price. Once it was properly set up, high-def programs and DVD images delivered by a progressive-scan player looked great on its 16:9 screen. I must say I’m baffled that a manufacturer as savvy as Sony would provide only one wideband component input. Still, if I had $5,500 to spend and enough space in my living room for a really big HDTV, you can be sure I’d take a long, hard look at this one. S&V
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IN THE LAB
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COLOR
TEMPERATURE BRIGHTNESS Precalibration measurements were made after initial adjustments with the Avia test DVD. The set provides three color-temperature options: Cool, Neutral, and Warm. Prior to calibration, the Warm preset measured close to the NTSC 6,500-K standard on the high (100-IRE) window but displayed a strong bias toward green on the low (20-IRE) window. For this reason, I recommend hiring a professional to calibrate the set’s grayscale. The Imaging Science Foundation (561-997-9073) can help you locate a certified technician. After calibration, grayscale tracking was only fair, ranging ±500 K at each 10-IRE step between 20 and 100 IRE. The performance of the set’s 3-D digital comb filter was excellent, delivering clean transitions in an SMPTE color-bars pattern when the composite-video inputs were used. NTSC decoding was accurate. Geometry was excellent in both the set’s widescreen and 4:3 display modes. — A.G. |
(Originally published in: Sound & Vision, May 2001)