Sony Bravia XBR KDL-40XBR7 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

By HDTVReviewsDigest | Published: November 11, 2009
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Sony Bravia XBR KDL-40XBR7 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV
 
Manufacturer: Sony
Customer Rating:
 
List Price: $2,099.99
Sale Price: $1,674.99
Availibility: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Sony BRAVIA XBR7-Series LCD HDTVs leverage our HD expertise to deliver Full HD 1080p resolution and stunning picture performance. A BRAVIA Engine EX fully digital video processor helps reduce noise, sharpen image detail, and improve color accuracy, while Motionflow 120Hz technology enhances motion to deliver a smoother and clearer looking picture. An Advanced Contrast Enhancer (ACE) circuit dynamically adjusts contrast, producing deeper blacks in dark scenes while preserving shadow detail, and Live Color Creation technology works in concert with a special WCG-CCFL backlight to further refine colors and deliver a more realistic picture. In addition, DMeX functionality3 lets you expand your HDTV’s capabilities when you attach optional BRAVIA Link modules (sold separately).

Product Details
  • 16:9 Full HD 1080p Resolution Panel (1920x1080)
  • Motionflow 120Hz technology delivers natural motion )
  • BRAVIA Engine EX fully digital video processor
  • Advanced Contrast Enhancer circuit (ACE)
  • x.v.Color technology

Video Reviews
No video reviews found for this product.

Customer Reviews
Amazing Picture for a great price.
 
Review Date: December 28, 2008
Reviewer: Jeffrey Chang, Los Angeles, CA
This is my third LCD set. The first being a 32" Sharp Aquos 720p (touted to be the best at the time of that purchase). The second being a 40" Sony V2500 1080p unit. This third being the 40" XBR7. Oh my have things changed over the years.

In the comparison of apples to apples (V-series from 2 years back against the current XBR7), the difference in picture quality is amazing. The color contrast is better (without the need to be in 'torch mode'), and the "blurring" is almost gone.

If I am comparing the unit to another, please assume it's the Sony KDL-40V2500 unit unless otherwise specified.

Menus:
The XMB menu system is great. There is a bit of lag when switching from category to category though. It's just in the animation. The function isn't hindered. The adjustments (that make everyone's heads spin) have some added comments to help you decide which setting is best. It's a nice added feature, but I would still use the best tool to adjust the set: your eyes. Many home theater "elites" will criticize all of the added "picture enhancers" Sony has added. I would ignore their advice of "turn if all off" and simply adjust the set to what looks best to you. Of course, a simple calibration baseline does do wonders: Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics [Blu-ray]

Source: DirecTV HR21 HD-DVR - Connected via HDMI to Receiver, then to TV
The HD content has a more crisp and clear look to it. The "MotionFlow" should be either set to Off or "Standard", as the "High" setting is a bit dizzying. It gives a smooth "flowing" visual effect which makes content look great OR horrible (depends on your eyes and personal preference). Many movies (HBO HD, 1080i broadcast, I think) look fantastic. It's almost as clear as having the actual BluRay. The SD content PQ has slightly improved, but nothing amazing.

Source: Playstation 3 (60 gb Launch model) - Connected via HDMI to Denon Receiver "Pure Mode" (bypasses any receiver processing), then to TV
Stunning. That is the word that best describes the quality. The first thing I watched after setting up the TV was Batman: The Dark Knight. The detail in the dark scenes were quite impressive. Most LCDs will produce a very dark gray since it's near impossible to reproduce black. This unit get's VERY damn close in my opinion. Details can actually be seen in the dark scenes now (the V2500... couldn't distinguish much). Film content (24p) is best viewed with MotionFlow OFF. With the feature on, it looks like the main subject(s) on the screen are slightly popping out from the rest of the scene. It's an interesting look, but it's not for me.

When gaming, there is no motion blur (1080p and 720p) that I noticed. The V2500 had some blur issues. The colors are crisp and vibrant. Details can be seen even in the darkest of rooms. This is definitely a noteworthy contender if gaming is the main function of this TV.

Source: Lenovo T500 Notebook via HD15 - Directly connected to TV
Intel on-board graphics test... will test ATI Graphics at a later date
Everything looked fine. I was running the native resolution for the notebook's screen (1600 by 1050, or something in that ballpark). The text was easy to read. I haven't been able to do full resolution (1920x1080), but will try the next time I connect it.

Overall, this is a great unit. There were very little gripes I had about the unit. It's near flawless. Some say the XBR6 quality is the same. I unfortunately didn't have the luxury of a XBR6 and XBR7 side by side for a true comparison. To save a few bucks, I'd recommend checking out the XBR6 also. The only difference that MIGHT exist is a 8bit (XBR6) versus 10bit (XBR7) panel... but Sony never indicates what the XBR6 actually has. Rumors have it that they both use 10bit panels and it's just hidden in the XBR6 documentation so the XBR7 will have a larger arsenal to market with.
The television set I've been waiting for all my life...
 
Review Date: December 5, 2008
Reviewer: Mark Sprecher, Los Angeles, CA United States
I've held off on buying a 1080P set until I could get what I wanted, and not just get what was just within my generally limited price range. My spouse set the size limit at 40" because of the room size (I would have pushed for a 46" but in marriage you have to choose your battles...) When I've gone to Costco or Best Buy the Sony Bravia XBR series has always stood out. Since my television sets generally last me 15-20 years, I wanted the most up-to-date version of the best I could get.

The color and definition of what I have seen on the set so far are wonderful. Razor-sharp imagery has always been important to me, both in my years as a film exhibitor and as a photographer. One of the first things I checked out on the new set is one of the "Planet Earth" Blu-Ray discs -- dependably gorgeous and detailed. Next, a Blu-Ray disc of 1938 "The Adventures of Robin Hood". The definition holds in the action scenes when men and horses are streaming across the screen, while the sense of dimensionality is frequently beyond what would have been technically possible with the best film printing and exhibition at the time the film was made. Then I looked at a standard definition disc of an early 1940s comedy (Criterion's edition of "Heaven Can Wait"); the upscaled presentation on this television set is beautiful. I grew up on nitrate prints from the UCLA film archive; for the first time since then I feel like I can see film imagery with a comparable (or better) sharpness and luster. As great as this set will be for HBO High Definition broadcasts and Blu-Ray discs, this is also a cinephile's dream television set for something like the new Fox release of Murneau and Borzage silent films due out next week.

I'm thrilled. This was worth the wait.
Simple Spectacular
 
Review Date: March 12, 2009
Reviewer: Jairo Dussan, Miami, Fl
I bought this TV on March 2nd and it was delivered on March 9. Ceva did a good job, but the guy told me that he wasn't supposed to help me to mount the TV on my stand. Whatever the TV picture is spectacular; there are no words to describe exactly the picture quality, I live in a condominium where the TV signal from Comcast is free, the picture quality is great but note that you get 3 different kinds of signal when you have cable; analog, digital 480 and HD 1080i and the analog and digital makes a big difference, I repeat a big difference, now HD channels are awesome, completely breathtaking incredible....and Then I connect my indoor HD amplified Terk antenna and that's almost another word the image is perfect , incredible perfect. But the day after I received my TV I found on the hallway one of the cable company techs and I asked him about the signal quality from his company and we started talking about their service, the guy was very nice telling me ...never order cable service if you have a HD TV only use Satellite company , because the quality it's so obvious , he told me that the cable signal lose quality thru the cable instead of satellite everything is thru the air and the signal is 100% digital and 100 % HD. That's why I'm ordering direct TV. But I do recommend this TV to anyone looking for the best TV and the best quality TV, why I put it this way? Because I started doing my research to buy a TV like 6 months ago and I found that the best picture quality is with Samsung series 600,700 and 800. BUT there is so many complaining about quality, like features that doesn't work as promised, the frame peeling off etc etc and Sony Bravia processors make the image looks so great in standard signal or HD. BECAUSE when you are shopping around for a HD TV in your local stores note that almost all TVs looks great, almost every single one have great picture , WHY? Because those are connect to a HD air antenna, Satellite or Blu ray (which those 3 are HD signals) but when you take it home, the history is 100 % different because in the real world we don't have all the channels in HD the majority are standard digital signal. That's why a good TV and a good TV processor are extremely important, the capacity of the TV to make those standard definition channels look like HD channels, most of the HD TVs now, the picture looks excellent in HD signal, but when you watch standard channels on a HD TV is the biggest test your TV will pass or not and believe me most of the TV out there look terrible in Standard definition, because the processor of the TV doesn't have the capability to upscale the signal near to 1080i. Tell the salesman to connect the TV you are interest in to an standard definition signal and you will see that he will tell you that they don't have standard definition signal in that store. And be realistic.... You can find out there a 40'' TV for 649.00 but also there some TVs that's cost $6,716.23 or like the Sony XBR7 40 that the price list is 2,100.00 but you can get it here in Amazon for 1,400.00, Why there is such price difference in TVs ? Because technology cost, you get what you pay , if you want quality you have to pay for it, if you don't believe me , look right now for the cheapest TV here in Amazon . Recapping...you want the best picture? , well my best advised for you is to go for Sony but also get ready with your wallet because their best ones are expensive. Also I bought this TV because the price was the same that the XBR6 40. And the XBR7 have even a better processor and a woofer not a sub woofer. I hope this review help you to decide..Sony Bravia XBR KDL-40XBR7 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

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This is an update from my previuos review and my pictures that I upload recently. Im so happy with this TV. that I have already for like 2 months. Im 100 % satisfied. two of the best features I like is that I can see my baby pictures from the USB memory stick or also my TV connected to my computer and then I can surf my diferent folders in my Pictures folder from the pc, its incredible that if my pc is off my TV will turn on my pc, I love this tv , the pictures in HD look awesome , like real life... Buy this TV , you will never regreat
Our First Flat Screen TV
 
Review Date: March 28, 2009
Reviewer: William D. Goddard,
We have had our Sony for a couple of weeks now and have enjoyed it very much. This is our first flat screen TV and after a lot of Internet research and multiple visits to our local brick and mortar stores we chose the 40XBR7 as the TV that best fit our needs. We decided early on that we would rather spend more money on picture quality rather than a larger screen size. We do not have cable or dish, only broadcast TV and the quality of the picture is excellent. There is no jitter or jagged edges on fast action sports, skin tones and overall color is excellent on TV dramas. The sound quality is more than acceptable with DVD movies and broadcast TV.

If you want to have the largest screen size you can afford then a 40" TV is going to be too small... but if you need to have one of the best LCD pictures available, good sound quality and Sony reliability then the 40XBR7 is a tough TV to take your eyes off of.
I love it!
 
Review Date: July 2, 2009
Reviewer: de_lege_ferenda, United States
I bought this TV in mid-March and was so happy with it that I bought a 2nd one recently when the price dropped. The high definition picture quality is fantastic and the standard definition is very good. I'm not an audiovisual engineer and I have not fiddled with the settings but it looks great to me. I did tons of research all over the web and at Consumer Reports and ended up here.

One caveat: it doesn't bother me, but I can notice a slight white tinge at the corners when the set is coming on with a black screen, or with a very dark scene showing. I believe this is called flashlighting and is common to all lcd's as I've looked around on the internet. It doesn't bother me and I never even noticed it until I was looking for it because of some of the other reviews. If you are much more picky than me this could be an issue, but from what I've read it sounds like it may be difficult to find an lcd that is free of this.

Pilot/Forward Air delivered and set both tv's up and I have no complaints. I'm done with Best Buy. I love this tv!
Beautiful
 
Review Date: June 12, 2009
Reviewer: Josh Stacy, Kentucky
Everything about the TV is beautiful, the way it looks, sound quality, and especially the picture. This was the first time I purchased a major TV so naturally I did tons of research. There were several I was considering. Reading all the reviews was very helpful in my decision making process, which is why I am writing this review. I do not think I could have made a better choice. The picture quality is perfect. Everything was easily put together. I would recommend this TV to anyone who is looking.
Really Nice Tv and Perfect delivery and setup from Amazon
 
Review Date: March 7, 2009
Reviewer: ED, USA
This set has a first class picture for an LCD. This is a very high end 40" set. It is made just the same way as Sony's best sets. I am very pleased! The delivery could have not gone better. Amazon picked a very good company to deliver my set - CEVA. Once again the picture is just stunning!
Sony Rules, as usual
 
Review Date: April 25, 2009
Reviewer: Charles R. Leatherman, Baltimore,MD
I have been researching HDTVs for over 2 years and have been a holdout. My 17 year old Sony Trinitron was finally biting the dust and I knew it was time to take the plunge. I looked at several brands and it came down to Samsung and Sony. I chose the Sony since I have owned many Sony products over the years with total satisfaction. The 40XBR7 is exceptional. At the same time I also bought the KDL 26L5000 for the basement. Both are connected to DirecTv HR22-100 HD DVRs. The XBR7 is simple to connect and set up. I read many forums and reviews where HDTV owners said that set ups should be done by professionals. NOT SO. One article that was written by a professional installer said unless you are buying a $20,000.00 plus TV and home theater system you should be able to do your own set up. The Sony gives an option for "retail" or "home" setup. The retail setup has a higher contrast, etc for use in stores where there is a lot of bright light. The "home" setup is more appropriate for a darker environment. It was sold by Amazon and delivered on time by CEVA. NO PROBLEMS! The picture is superb with perfect color and black blacks. The internal speaker system is adequate. When Played through my older Yamaha audiophile system with Bose speakers the sound really rocks. Also hooked up to the XBR is a Sony S550 Blu-Ray DVD player. I played the Blu-Ray version of "We Were Soldiers" and all I can say is WOW!
excellent SONY product, picture/sound even pickup digital local channel from cable line withouty cable box.
 
Review Date: May 15, 2009
Reviewer: Wichai Chinratanalab, TN
I decided to buy this LCD for my birthday from Amazon.com. This is my 4th LCD from Toshiba 20 inch/DVD, samsung 52A650, sharp 30 inch
-quality from SONY brand is well known for picture, high def 120 hz...XBR model yield more upscale and even sound quality and material. First I got some scatch item from brand new box but Amazon is excellent to solve this issue by exchanging to new one with professional manner staff within 1-2 weeks delivered. I will buy again from Amazon since I will get brand new item with lower price, extrafast shipping, after- buying service and excellent staff.
-Compare to samsung A650 model which is more expensive (for 40 inch)but XBR7 slightly better in time to response/ color and match with other Sony product like bluray player/digital camera.
-con: so far I don't see it except when I turned off TV I heard few click sound 2-4 times which could be energy save way.
A great TV for 95% of us
 
Review Date: November 15, 2009
Reviewer: Dan K, San Diego, Ca USA
Here are the things I like about this TV:

1) great image: extremely clear, bright, crisp edges, excellent-vibrant colors.
2) great UI: the best remote, switches between inputs easily, good TV Guide to browse channels.
3) great with standard definition images: best by far of all other TV's.
4) great sound: great Sony sound with no need for external speakers like most other flat panels (unless you want 5.1).
5) cosmetically appealing: one of the best looking TV's out there.

What I don't like:

1) flashlighting: yes, this TV does have the dreaded flashlighting that everybody complains about. It's only visible on less than .5% of images and most of those are the all-black screens when programming switches between a show and a commercial.

Conclusion: If you are planning to hook this up directly to cable (perhaps a cable box or a series 2 Tivo) and still plan to watch alot of standard definition TV, this is about the best TV you'll find. If you are planning on getting an amp, 5.1 speakers, a universal remote, and basically using this set as a monitor only, you might want to move on to a cheaper set because all the UI and sound benefits with the XBR line would not be used.

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