Introduction
The downside? It's price: $3,699.99.
Tour & Design
The front of the Sony XBR-52HX909 is one of the showcase points, believe it or not. You may not be able to tell from this picture (or even after you buy it), but this is a feature Sony called the 'Monolith' design, which runs the glass plate all the way to the edge of the frame. Note, however, that the picture doesn't run to the edge. There's still a bezel. It's just the glass on top of the bezel that runs to the edge.
The back of the Sony XBR-52HX909 is big and with most of the ports grouped together on the side. For information about the ports on the back of the Sony XBR-52HX909 see our Connectivity section.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 is thin, but the Sony LX900 is thinner due to the edgelighting rather than backlighting. For information about the ports on the sides of the Sony XBR-52HX909 see our Connectivity section.
The stand for the Sony XBR-52HX909 seems sturdy enough, and allows the giant screen to swivel back and forth.
The are a series of onboard controls located on the side of the TV. To do any serious interactions with the TV, though, you'll want the remote control.
The remote control that ships with the Sony XBR-52HX909 is large and well-designed. The buttons feel comfortable and have a snappy response. The remote can be used to control other Sony Bravia devices, but it's not a programmable universal remote.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 ships with a stand, remote control, batteries, AC cable, and some basic documentation. There is no instruction manual (that's built-in electronically) and no extra AV cables. Setting up the TV is definitely a two person job due to the immense weight and size of the display panel.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 is an attractive television, few could argue with that. Even if the 'Monolith' glass plate is a bit of a red herring feature, it makes for clean, aesthetically pleasing lines.
Blacks & Whites
The Sony XBR-52HX909 was capable of producing a black level of 0.07 cd/m2, which is quite good compared with similar televisions. As you can see from the chart below, it was better than the Sony and Samsung LCD models, but not quite as dark as the plasma Panasonic TV. (More on how we test Black Level.)
The Sony XBR-52HX909 is more than bright enough, with a maximum white level of 311.36 cd/m2. The competing Sony 52LX900 was almost too bright (an easy fix in the settings menu), and the Panasonic TC-P50VT20 was a failure in this test, producing whites that were far too dim. (More on how we test Peak Brightness.)
The contrast ratio of the Sony XBR-52HX909 was a whopping 4447:1, an excellent score that beat all the competing televisions. Like most high-end TVs, the Sony XBR-52HX909 has a dynamic contrast feature that raises and lowers the backlight level based on the screen content. We turn this feature off, because it tends to skew test results (usually making the score worse), and we find the constant brightening and dimming visually distracting. (More on how we test Contrast.)
The Sony XBR-52HX909 did a good job maintaining a consistent black level, regardless of how much black or white content was on the screen. The screen clearly got a little brighter when the screen was mostly white, but you probably won't notice a difference. (More on how we test Tunnel Contrast.)
The Sony XBR-52HX909 was near perfect at maintaining a consistent white level, regardless of how much white or black was on the screen. (More on how we test White Falloff.)
The Sony XBR-52HX909 has a very large screen, which can sometimes cause uniformity issues. On an all-black screen, you can clearly see blotches of brighter areas and 'flashlighting' in the corners. On an all-white screen, the corners dim, but the overall uniformity is better. (More on how we test Uniformity.)
The greyscale gamma measures how well the TV transitions from black to white. The chart below tells reveals several important clues about the Sony XBR-52HX909. The overall slope of the curve is 2.88, which is steeper than the ideal curve – somewhere between 2.1 and 2.2. There's also the shape of the curve to consider. We're looking for a smooth curve. As you can see below, the line is anything but smooth in the lower left portion, which represents the shadows. Don't expect a perfect rendering of shadow details. It gets better once it hits the midtones. (More on how we test Greyscale Gamma.)
Color Accuracy
The Sony XBR-52HX909 did a great job maintaining a consistent color temperature. Only as the signal gets very low (shadows and blacks) does the color temperature start to cool. (More on how we test Color Temperature.)
The Sony XBR-52HX909 showed a strong performance in the RGB color tests. As you can see from the charts below, the color curves are relatively smooth and move in fairly close unison. All those little wobbles in the lines indicate areas where you might see some color banding, but we don't expect any major issues here. (More on how we test RGB Curves.)
The portions of the chart that become horizontal – the red channel in the highlights (upper right) and all the channels in the lower left (lower left) – are instances where the TV was not capable of displaying differentiation in the signal. Simply put, the Sony XBR-52HX909 can't display perfect detail in the brightest and darkest parts of the picture. This is pretty typical for a TV, though, even a very good one. We're not disappointed.
The strips below are digital recreations of the results from our tests. You can see how the Sony XBR-52HX909 compares to similar televisions. Pay particular attention to the color banding of the Panasonic TC-P50VT20.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 did not match up perfectly to the rec. 7-9 color standard, but it certainly wasn't the worst we've seen. As you can see from the charts below, the green point aligns well, and the white point (the circle in the center) was just about perfect. The red and blue points, however, were far off the mark. (More on how we test Color Gamut.)
The table below is all the the same information, translated into geek-speak.
Motion
The Sony XBR-52HX909 was rather good at producing smooth motion, but there are some caveats. In order to get the smoothest performance, we engaged a processing feature called Motionflow. It does an impressive job of eliminating flickering details and general choppiness. However, it has a side effect of making certain types of video, mostly things shot of film, to look unnaturally sharp. We recommend that you experiment with the feature, and familiarize yourself with how to turn Motionflow on and off. (More on how we test Motion.)
As we mentioned above, engaging the Motionflow processing feature goes a long way in eliminating motion artifacts. However, like most processing features, it can introduce new artifacts.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 is perfectly capable of playing back native 24fps content, which means you can watch Blu-Ray movies without undue stuttering or flickering. In order to get the best performance, you'll want to play around with the CineMotion feature. It has three settings specifically designed to get you the best 3:2 pulldown performance. (More on how we test 3:2 Pulldown and 24fps.)
The Sony XBR-52HX909 has a native resolution of 1080p (1920 x 1080), but a lot of the video you'll watch is of a lower resolution. It's up to the TV's internal processing to upscale that picture and display it correctly on the screen. Overall, the 52HX909 is good, but not great, at this task. (More on how we test Resolution Scaling.)
480p
When upscaling 480p content, the Sony XBR-52HX909 loses a whole 3% of the top, bottom, and sides due to overscan. However, fine detail looks fairly good.
720p
With 720p content, the Sony XBR-52HX909 lost 2% on all sides to overscan, but fine detail looked good.
1080i
The 1080i content was the most problematic. Again, we saw a 2% overscan loss, but fine detail display was a problem. High frequency patterns, like tight stripes, created a discoloration and Moire patterns. Smallish text also had some display problems. Problems with 1080i performance is unfortunate, because most HD cable is in 1080i, though we'd expect resolution loss from MPEG compression to actually minimize some of these issues.
3D
Employing a TV's 3D mode is usually bad news for picture quality. The area that suffers the most from 3D formatting is contrast. When it was just displaying 2D content, the Sony XBR-52HX909 had a black level of 0.07 candelas per square meter (cd/m2) and a peak brightness of 311.36 cd/m2, which yieled an impressive contrast ratio of 4446:1. Once 3D was switched on, the black brightened two-fold to 0.14 cd/m2, and the peak brightness dropped to 44.22 cd/m2.
Compare this performance to Sony's lower-end KDL-52LX900, or the flagship 3D models by Panasonic and Samsung.
The XBR-52HX909's color temperature was very noticeably cool. For the most part the color shift was uniform, but the odd spikes and dips make some shades look either more blue or more red than they should.
The Sony's RGB graph didn't suffer much from the transition to 3D either. The lines are slightly bumpy, but there weren't any noticeable peaks or divots.
Lastly, you can see that the color gamut really didn't shift much from 2D. The 3D green point is almost exactly where the 2D point was, the blue only got very slightly overemphasized. The red point changed the most, by shifting towards magenta a bit, but overall we weren't too disappointed in the TV's performance.
Here's some handy links if you want to see how the Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony fared on these color tests.
Current 3D technology depends on the TV flickering between images intended for your left eye and images intended for your right. The 3D glasses flicker in sync with the TV, so your right eye doesn't see the image intended for the left and vice versa. Crosstalk is when the TV can't quite keep the left and right separate.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 had some serious issues with crosstalk, to the point where it really breaks down the 3D effect. The TV really had a problem separating out dark colors. Any time a dark object was in a bright area, it would be flanked on either side by half-shadows of itself. This effect caused specific areas of a 3D object to suddenly lose their 3D effect, which really exacerbated eyestrain.
We thought the XBR-52HX909's 3D effect was a mixed bag. In fact, in our test movie, there were back-to-back scenes where the viewer alternately tisked the poor 3D effect and praised it. There seem to be two main problem areas here. The first is the absurd level of crosstalk present. On our tests, we found almost every combination of colors resulted in both being dramatically changed. Therefore, whenever there were high contrast edges—such as a dark building against a bright blue sky—the dark figure would be flanked with faint overlapping images of itself. The second problem is there seems to be a noticeable strobe effect from the glasses. We noticed it even when we weren't looking at the TV. We saw this effect in other TVs too, but not this noticeably.
Overall, though, if there aren't too many high contrast areas, the XBR-52HX909 does the 3D effect very well. In areas where it could establish a 3D effect, it was more consistent than many other 3D HDTVs we've seen.
Sony's 3D glasses are big and heavy. They'll fit over prescription lenses, but if you're not wearing them, they might strike you as strangely gargantuan. They also cling a bit tightly to the sides of your head. They're definitely not what we would call 'comfortable,' but, to be fair, no 3D glasses are.
*NOTE: our 3D HDTV testing is under development, which is why these sections have no scores. Please check back for our full tests, scores and more extensive testing in the near future. *
Viewing Effects
The Sony XBR-52HX909 is a native 1080p (1920 x 1080) high definition television. It can display all varieties of NTSC signals.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 has a mediocre viewing angle, but average for an LCD TV. We measured the total viewing angle to be 50 degrees (25 degrees from center on either side) before losing significant contrast. By comparison, the other LCD TVs were similar, but the plasma Panasonic TC-P50VT20 far exceeded them. (More on how we test Viewing Angle.)
The Sony XBR-52HX909 has a somewhat reflective screen, though it should only pose a noticeable problem if the screen is all-black or mostly-black. And even then, the light would have to be coming in at a direct angle in order to be terribly distracting.
(More on how we test Reflectance.)
The Sony XBR-52HX909 has a lot of special video processing features. Some are helpful, and some are actively harmful to picture quality. As with all TVs, we recommend you experiment to see what you like.
Calibration
[
](http://www.displaymate.com/)The Sony XBR-52HX909 was very easy to calibrate. To start, we selected the 'Movie' option from the scene modes menu. In an instant, the color temperature was right where we wanted it, along with most of the other settings. Our final tweaks are detailed in the chart below, but you can be glad that there's a nearly perfect one-button option to calibrate your TV.
If you don't see a processing feature listed above, you can assume that is was set to the 'off' position.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 has three modes listed on the Picture Settings page: Standard, Vivid, and Custom. But all there's a whole other list of modes in the Preference > Scene Select menu. The descriptions below are straight out of the manual.
Remote Control
Ergonomics & Durability*(8.0)*
The Sony XBR-52HX909 ships with the RM-YD038 remote control. The appearance is common to most of the high-end Sony Bravia HDTVs, but the build quality is slightly better. The buttons are made of a hard plastic rather than rubber, and have less key travel. The result is a faster remote. It feels well-balanced and durable, as well.
The buttons are sensibly arranged, grouped by function. The oft-used volume and channel up/down are at the bottom, followed by the 0-9 numbers, then the d-pad and menu controls. At the top are the buttons for controlling other Sony Bravia AV devices.
Programming & Flexibility*(1.0)*
The remote can be used with other Sony Bravia AV devices, but is not a universal remote control.
Connectivity
The Sony XBR-52HX909 has plenty of connectivity options to get your home theater system up and running. Notable ports include: 4 HDMIs, 2 component AV inputs, 1.5 composite AV inputs (one of these is shared with the component AV port), LAN ethernet, optional WiFi, and a USB port.
The pictures above and below show how the ports are laid out on the TV. Most are in the back, but a few stick out on the side so you can make quick-changes for devices like cameras, camcorders, and USB thumb drives.
The Sony XBR-52HX909's ports are detailed below, compared to similar TVs.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 has two output ports, an analog audio out and a digital audio out. This is standard for most HDTVs.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 has a LAN port for connecting to Sony's impressive array of streaming content. With a separately purchased USB dongle, you can also connect through WiFi, eliminating one of the many wires that run across the floor.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 has a USB port, and with a thumb drive, can play back photos, videos, and music.
The ports are generally well-placed. Those located on the side are very easy to access, and those on the back are easier to reach thanks to a swivel base.
Audio & Menus
The audio performance on the Sony XBR-52HX909 is about average for a high-end TV. The bass response is, of course, lacking compared to a standalone audio system. There are a host of audio processing features, but we found that putting it in Standard or Movie mode gave the best performances.
The 2010 Sony HDTVs have an excellent menu system. If you have a PS3, PSP, or other various Sony devices, you may have even seen it before. It's called the Sony XrossMediaBar, and apparently it's won some design awards in the past. Basically, the main menu is aligned horizontally, and submenus expand vertically from that center line. It's intuitive and fast.
The big frustration is that there's no 'exit' button on the remote. You can only exit slowly by hitting the 'return' button several times.
The latest Sony HDTVs have made a lot of big advances, but have taken one big step backwards with the instruction manuals. It's not that there's no paper manual anymore. Sure, that's frustrating. Maybe it paints Sony 'green' for saving a tree, but we wish there was a downloadable PDF. Instead, there's an i-Manual that comes built into the TV's menu, with a duplicate online version. The organization of this i-Manual is bad, and the index doesn't cover all the elements of the TV. You can't download it, either. In the unhappy event that the TV won't turn on, the built-in i-Manual is useless and you have to have a working internet connection just to troubleshoot. You can find the Sony XBR-52HX909's i-Manual online here.
Multimedia & Internet
The Sony XBR-52HX909 is equipped with Sony's outstanding collection of streaming content. Sony continues to lead the pack in this new content arms race. Granted, any TV that includes Netflix is going to satisfy about fifty percent of users. Anything after that is just a bonus. Notable content partners on this and other Sony TVs includes: Netflix, Amazon on Demand, Pandora, YouTube, and dozens more.
For the complete listing of streaming content feature on all TVs, jump to this handy guide.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 can play back photos via the USB port on the side of the TV. You can use either USB thumb drives or, in some cases, Sony cameras and camcorders. Photo playback is simple and straightforward, with several options for creating custom slideshows.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 can play back music and videos through the USB port in the same manner as photo playback (described above). Not all media types are supported, so you may need to experiment to get the right one.
The Sony XBR-52HX909 does not play any other types of media.
Power Consumption
Here we measure the TV's average power draw, so budget users can determine if the hit to their electricity bill is really worth it. Fortunately for everyone involved, even the most expensive LCDs won't cost that much money. The Sony XBR-52HX909 is a 52-inch TV, and it will only cost you about $3 per month, assuming average use. This is a bit more expensive than the average LCD, but probably won't break your bank. (More on how we test Power Consumption.)
Below you'll find the XBR-52HX909's cost per year, as compared to the annual costs of competing HDTVs.
Vs Sony XBR 52LX900
Value Comparison Summary
Pricing is a funny thing. The Sony XBR-52HX909 is priced at $3999. The Sony XBR-52LX900 was recently reduced from $3999 to $3499. The HX909 showed some performance benefits over the LX900, but nothing overwhelming. The LX900, on the other hand, has a slimmer frame, built-in WiFi, and built-in 3D. The more expensive HX909 requires separate purchases for the WiFi dongle and 3D sync transmitter. Based solely on these facts, we'd have to opt for the LX900.
Blacks & Whites
The Sony XBR-52HX909 was capable of producing noticeably deeper black levels than the Sony XBR-52LX900. It's not a huge margin, but you'd be able to see the HX909's advantage in a simple side-by-side comparison. While the LX900 has brighter whites, this is generally considered less important than the black level. As you can see from the chart below, the contrast ratio of the HX909 is greater, as well.
Color Accuracy
The Sony XBR-52HX909 also outperformed the Sony LX900 in color temperature consistency. While the LX900 was not bad, necessarily, the HX909 is certainly steadier. The RGB color curve test results were statistically about the same. Both TVs produce excellent, smooth color transitions.
Motion
We saw no noticeable difference between the HX909 and the LX900 in terms of motion performance. We can only assume that they share a similar processor. The differences between the TVs was borne out more in brightness and black level performances, due to the different backlighting technologies.
Viewing Effects
The Sony XBR-52HX909 showed a small advantage in viewing angle over the Sony XBR-52LX900: 40 degrees in total versus 50 degrees in total, respectively. As both are LCD displays, they cannot compete with the truly excellent viewing angle of a plasma TV like the Panasonic TC-P50VT20.
Connectivity
The Sony XBR-52HX909 has a wider, fatter body than the Sony LX900, leaving more room for ports. While there aren't significantly more ports, access to the ports is easier. Surprisingly, the LX900 has built-in WiFi and a built-in 3D sync transmitter bar, despite its being the cheaper of the two TVs.
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Vs Samsung UN55C7000
Value Comparison Summary
The Samsung UN55C7000 is a very cool looking TV with some great features. It's also significantly cheaper than the Sony XBR-52HX909, despite having built-in WiFi and a 3D sync transmitter, while the Sony requires separate purchases for both of these. The Samsung also includes one pair of 3D glasses. Go figure. Granted, the Sony offers better contrast ratio and black levels, and significantly more streaming content offerings.
Blacks & Whites
The Sony XBR-52HX909 was clearly better at producing a black level than the Samsung UN55C7000, while the peak brightness scores were roughly similar. Overall, it meant that the Sony's contrast ratio is roughly twice as wide as the Samsung's. That's a significant number, and you'll notice the improvement if you put these TVs side by side.
Color Accuracy
The Sony XBR-52HX909 was much better at maintaining a consistent color temperature than the Samsung UN55C7000. The RGB color curves, however, were matched more closely.
Motion
The Samsung UN55C7000 proved to have better motion performance than the Sony XBR-52HX909. There was also less motion artifacting.
Viewing Effects
The Sony XBR-52HX909 and Samsung UN55C7000 have similar viewing angles, roughly 50 degrees and 44 degrees, respectively. This is about average for an LCD display.
Connectivity
The Samsung UN55C7000 is a particularly thin television. As such, the designers needed to get clever about port options and placement. There are fewer ports, overall, and almost every one of them requires an annoying adaptor. If lost or broken, replacing these adaptors could become difficult. However, the Samsung has WiFi and 3D sync transmitter (for syncing with glasses) already built in. TheSony XBR-52HX909 requires separate purchases for both of these.
Vs Panasonic TC P50VT20
Value Comparison Summary
The Panasonic TC-P50VT20 is a far cheaper television than the Sony XBR-52HX909. While it certainly lacks the eye-catching design and thin frame of the Sony, as well as the sheer amount of streaming content, the Panasonic is superior in its 3D performance. If you're buying this TV strictly for its 3D features, we recommend the Panasonic. As a bonus, it included glasses and a built-in 3D sync transmitter. TheSony XBR-52HX909 requires separate purchases.
Blacks & Whites
The Panasonic TC-P50VT20 is a plasma TV, and it's nearly impossible for an LCD display to beat a plasma at black levels. However, the Panasonic was very easy to beat in the peak brightness test, because it was far too dim. This became a serious problem once you put on the 3D glasses, which darken things even further.
Color Accuracy
The Panasonic TC-P50VT20 had some troubles with maintaining a consistent color temperature. The Sony XBR-52HX909 was also better in the RGB color test, producing smoother curves.
Motion
One of the Panasonic TC-P50VT20's great strengths is its motion performance. It offers smoother motion with less artifacting than any of the LCD displays we've seen.
Viewing Effects
The other benefit of plasma TVs is a wide viewing angle. The Panasonic TC-P50VT20 had a viewing angle of 160 degrees in total, over three times wider than all the LCD TVs in this comparison pool.
Connectivity
The Sony XBR-52HX909 and Panasonic TC-P50VT20 are roughly equivalent in connectivity options, though the Panasonic has an extra USB port and SD card slot.
Conclusion
Series Comparison
HX909 Series
There are two models in the HX909 series, a 46 inch and a 52 inch. Both have 3D displays and plenty of ports. A $500 price gap marks the difference between the two.
Meet the tester
David Kender oversees content at Reviewed as the Editor in Chief. He served as managing editor and editor in chief of Reviewed's ancestor, CamcorderInfo.com, helping to grow the company from a tiny staff to one of the most influential online review resources. In his time at Reviewed, David has helped to launch over 100 product categories and written too many articles to count.
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