Sony's super-thin Bravia LCD TV
New LCD TV announcements are so common-place these days, they’re hardly worth noting. Sony’s new line-up of Bravia’s are the exception.
Coming to Canada later this year "around the holiday season", are Sony’s latest offerings in the well-reviewed Bravia collection: The 52" KDL-52XBR7 and the 40" KLV-40ZX1M.
Both of these TV’s feature 1080p resolution, while the higher-end KDL-52XBR7 also includes the current state of the art in smoothing technology known as 240Hz, which doubles the number of frames displayed every second over the previous standard – 120Hz. These frame rates are at the heart of a combination of technologies which together improve the quality of the image on LCD TVs. For an excellent overview of what 120Hz/240Hz is all about see this CNET article.
The KDL-52XBR7 also comes packed with a slew of other impressive features such as:
- 50,000:1 contrast ratio
- Bravia2 Image Enhancing Engine
- Compatibility with Bravia Link modules such as Wireless Link, DVD Link, Input Link and Internet Video Link
- Digital Media Port (DMP) compatibility
- slideshows from USB devices
- access photos from your PC in another room using Digital Living Network Alliance® (DLNA)
- 4 HDMI, 2 Component, 1 VGA connection and an Ethernet port
While the KLV-40ZX1M is lighter on features, it has a wide colour gamut LED backlight and the whole TV is amazingly thin – at just under 10mm deep (see image above).
Pricing on these two units has yet to be announced.
Update December 22: Sony has finally announced the availbility this week of their super-slim KLV-40ZX1M at the bargain price of $4,199.99. Check your local Sony retailer for more info.
Excitable 
Then what do we do with the real estate eating Trinitrons of 10 years ago? (Sigh!)
But frankly, more power to Sony for being at the forefront of bringing out the advancing technologies to the consumer. Witness the plasma TVs and the HDTVs of the last several years and the rest of the pack had to follow with their variations, usually of a lesser design quality.
But and this has been the norm, the new to market innovations come at a greater than acceptable introductory prices – catered to those must have it first crowd (very small one). However, eventually prices to settle down to a saner level when the competition start to catch up.
At first Sony may have seemed to have made a mistake until you realize their pricing strategy has its logic. First, its exclusivity in pricing make these new technologies seem really valuable in the context of the current mass market models of tvs. Then, the higher price compensates Sony for the product and market development. Third, and some will say the most important is that it keeps in the public mind Sony's technological leadership. Ask many people and they will often equate Sony as the market leader in new TV technologies – Sony = high quality.
As for myself, I'll wait a couple of years and take advantage of saner prices and market choice. On the other hand may be I'll just reserve my order for Sony's usual Christmas product launches.
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i just want to say about ultra thin tv, how come there are too many stupid people pay so much money just for thinner tv??? tv the quality is most important and life, if u just pay a huge price for a ultra thin then you just be stupid, if u can afford the big house a big tv, how cares it takes 1 or 2 inch thicker extra, beside the ultra thin tv screen is thin, but the base is huge too… dont be stupid???
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@ john: If you don't want to pay for a thinner TV, THEN DON'T!If you can't afford it don't tell other people how to spend their money. Screen depth is a feature most people like because it gives it a sense of exclusivity. It's almost like buying a thin or a really small cell phone. These thin TV's usually have better quality since it always introduced as a top model (That's why people buy it). I guess you havent seen the quality of an OLED TV. If you want, you can buy a CRT HDTV like the old Sony Trinitron 40 XBR . It has probably the best picture out there and better than most LCD or plasmas. Hey you said Quality is much better than size. It only takes 4 people to move it. Reason I can tell you can't afford one is the grammar and spelling you used in your comments.
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Wow, super thin LCD TV I ever seen! Good job, kid S.
Seem like LED backlight is the future for thin, sooner or later all manufacturer will move to LED as source of light for all their product. Right now, LED still cost a lot if compare to fluorescent backlight.
http://www.guide2lcdtv.com/
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quit intresting infromation and also so informatic
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i have some more informatiion about it
so keep it up
August 28, 2008 Sony is showing an extraordinarily slim new 40-inch Bravia
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRAVIA) HD LCD TV
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_crystal_display_television) at IFA this week that measures a barely believable 9.9mm at its slimmest section. The compelling elegance of this wafer-thin display is hugely enhanced by a super-fast wireless connection (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_network) so there are no signal cables to spoil the elegant simplicity of the design. Instead, the screen uses what Sony has dubbed ‘Bravia 1080 Wireless’ to carry the audiovisual signal from the separate Media Receiver to the screen in real time.
Bravia Edge LED Technology is a key part of the advanced engineering behind this remarkable screen. Where conventional screens have CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) backlighting, the Bravia ZX1 is illuminated from the sides by LED arrays.
The key to the design is the separation of the screen from the Media Receiver. TV signal cables and inputs from from other devices such as Blu-ray Disc players or PLAYSTATION3 connect only to the Media Receiver, which can be kept out of sight (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_Sight) . The video signal is sent to the screen via ‘Bravia 1080 Wireless’, a high definition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition) , high-speed wireless connection capable of real time transmission of HD signals. For maximum convenience, the Media Receiver has an integral MPEG4 AVC-HD2 tuner as well as DVB (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVB) -T and DVB-C3 digital broadcast and cable tuners. This means viewers can access free-to-air HDTV as well as standard digital broadcasts where these services are present.
Flexibility is an integral part of the Bravia ZX1’s appeal. It can be positioned either to emphasise its pure, free-standing design or wall mounted to draw attention to its ultra-flat profile. A specially made, super-slim wall mount option complements the Bravia ZX1’s very special character.
The Media Receiver can be anywhere in the room thanks to the RF (Radio Frequency (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_frequency) ) technology employed by the remote commander. Unlike the line-of-sight limitation imposed by standard infra-red remotes, RF is omnidirectional, so it will always work.
The Bravia ZX1 delivers the top-end image quality expected of the brand which is attributable to the centrepiece of Bravia quality: the Bravia Engine 2. This new version of Sony’s signal processor uses proprietary technology to improve every aspect of the image, frame by frame. Bravia Engine 2 is even better than its predecessor at reproducing realistic black, depicting objects with impressively lifelike depth and detail, removing blemishes or ‘noise’ from the picture, and delivering that trademark vibrant Bravia colour.
More advanced image processing technology ensures that the Bravia ZX1 handles fast motion sequences with ease, delivering a picture both crisp and smoothly lifelike. The key to this vital enhancement is Motionflow 100Hz with IB Reduction.
Motionflow 100Hz uses a unique algorithm to increase the frame rate of the TV picture to 100 fps (100Hz) by intelligently inserting additional frames to the picture. These additional frames compensate for scenes in which the 50 Herz frame rate is too slow to accurately and smoothly portray fast moving scenes such as sport, rapid panning of the camera or scrolling text on the bottom of the screen. Image Blur Reduction (IB Reduction) cleans up the original signal, sharpening each frame before it is used as the basis for creating new ones. The combined effect is exceptional clarity and motion which always looks convincing.
The Bravia ZX1 is highly versatile thanks to 4 HDMI inputs (1 x Display; 3 x Media Receiver) allowing it to connect to a sophisticated Audio-Visual system such as the Sony Bravia THEATRE HTP-BD3IS. It can even be used to control it, thanks to Bravia Sync technology. This uses the HDMI connection to transmit control information to other Bravia Sync-compatible devices. It can enable features like one-touch play and shut-down, which turns the whole Home Entertainment system on or off at once.
Finally, the Picture Frame mode means that the screen need never be blank. When not in use, it can display exquisitely detailed high definition images, either those pre-loaded into the Media Receiver, or the customer’s own selection via USB. In either case, the screen can enhance the decor exactly as desired
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Video Aspect Ratio Sizing: Good job sizing with the various options, Full, Zoom, Normal, Wide Zoom.
Inputs: Strong input selection. 4 HDMI inputs (2 on the sides). Ethernet Wireless Internet connection. Plenty of video inputs.
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That’s too thin, i hope it has a platform to put it on the wall. And definately that’s what i was waiting for! At this quality , the price doesn’t matter.
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