The Short Form

SONYSTYLE.COM / 877-865-7669 / $4,000 / 57.25 x 34 x 18.875 IN / 94.75 LBS

Plus

•Excellent HDTV picture detail. •Rich, natural color. •Excellent black rendition and shadow detail. •Wide selection of effective picture adjustments. •Custom picture memory for each input.

Minus

•No antenna signal-strength meter. •No support for 1080p-format HDTV signals.

Key Features

•1,920 x 1,080-resolution SXRD display •Built-in HDTV tuner •Digital cable-ready •Variable Auto Iris contrast enhancement •Inputs CableCARD slot; 2 HDMI (one with analog audio for DVI sources); 3 i.Link (FireWire); 2 component-video and 3 A/V with composite/S-video, all with analog stereo audio; 2 RF cable/antenna; VGA with minijack analog stereo audio; Memory Stick Pro slot •Outputs optical digital and analog stereo audio •Matching stand (shown): $500

Test Bench

Color-temperature measured very close to the 6,500-K standard with the Warm mode selected, and grayscale tracking was an excellent ±50 K from 30 to 100 IRE. With the Low Advanced Iris position engaged, light output was 34 ftL, which is plenty bright enough for watching in a dim or dark room. Color-decoder peformance was excellent, with no error visible on test patterns displayed via the HDMI inputs. The set was able to fully resolve all detail in a 1080i-format HDTV signal via the HDMI inputs. Full lab results

Singling out two of the set's many other adjustments, both the Detail Enhancer and DTE functions fleshed out detail without making pictures look artificially enhanced - even DVDs played on a progressive-scan player looked impressively HDTV-like. The Digital Reality Creation mode - a Sony feature that lets you trade off "Reality" and "Clarity" to enhance soft, noisy standard-def cable and satellite programs - couldn't work the same magic. But it did help bring out texture in the greens on the reliably bad-looking Golf Channel.

PICTURE QUALITY The subtle colors and dark, film noirish scenes in the new Million Dollar Baby DVD made it a great choice for gauging the Sony's video quality. In the first sequence that takes place in Frankie Dunn's (Clint Eastwood's) well-worn gym, the TV clearly rendered the rough textures and faded colors of the dingy walls. The skin tones of the multi-ethnic cast looked natural, with lots of subtle variation. Even so, the occasional bright swath of color, like a yellow poster or a red stripe on a boxer's jacket, looked rich and fully saturated without coming across as lurid. I was also impressed by the Sony's handling of a scene where Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris (Morgan Freeman) turns off the gym lights only to discover Maggie (Hilary Swank) still smacking a bag. As the banks of overhead lights switched off one by one, the TV showed a natural, cascading decrease in shadow detail on the way to near-total blackness.

The Sony's rich blacks and CRT-like levels of shadow detail were also evident in a high-def New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays game I caught on the YES-HD channel. As the sun beat down on a cloudless day in the Bronx, fine dark gradations could be seen in Blue Jays' black uniforms, and details in the clothing of fans seated in shadowy seats under the bleachers were also visible. Most important, the set delivered a smooth ramp of gray to black shades rather than making dark parts of the picture look flat - something I've seen in many other DLP and LCD microdisplay HDTVs. Subtle highlights in the Yankees' white uniforms were also revealed, with no undue compression of detail. And the Sony's stunning picture resolution brought out the fine texture of not only the turf, but of patches of dirt on the field as well. I could even make out fine vertical stripes in the Yank players' uniforms in wide shots of the game - a real-life test pattern if ever there was one.

BOTTOM LINE I have so many good things to say about Sony's KDS-R50XBR1 HDTV that it's tough to sum it all up. First, there's the gorgeous picture, which combines natural color and deep, CRT-like blacks with fine resolution. Then there's the extensive feature set and picture tweaks, which go well beyond many other televisions. Finally, there's the price tag. Four grand might seem high compared with similar-size rear-projection HDTVs, but very few of these offer 1080p display.

Perhaps the only real downside here is the Sony's inability to show true 1080p HDTV signals. It's not alone here among 1080p displays, and it's a minor issue - there are no easily obtainable 1080p sources right now. That could change with the pending Blu-Ray and HD-DVD high-definition disc formats. But with so many other things going for it, I'll lay bets that Sony's newest SXRD offerings are going to shake things up in HDTV-land.