Sony Bravia XBR-Series KDL-46XBR4 46-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

I received the TV 5 days ahead of the scheduled delivery date. The TV was carried into my home and unpacked by the transport crew. Excellent work! After the arrival of my new wall unit, I installed the TV and was greatly impressed with the picture and sound quality. The setup directions and the Sony remote were easy to understand and operate. The price was approximately $500.00 less than advertised at stores in my city. I give this TV and the Amazon site my highest recommendation!

I spent a month trying to decide between the samsung and the 46xbr4. I went with sony and I love it, no complaints its amazing. Amazon also credited my account $150.00 bucks when I called about a price drop before I got the tv. At first I thought I didnt get it beacause I expected it in the mail, but they credited to my account, that works for me. Thanks Amazon.

Top notch. Fast convienent delivery. Ready to go out of the box. Amazing to watch. Very user friendly. None of the problems written about on internet ie. clouding, fan noise.

Update: July 19 - 3 months later. Wow again. Still outstanding. I have found the settings that are best for common programs. Have now re-cabled with RG6 Quad-shield, and got Comcast to give me a new drop from the street, and all new box stuff (no charge). We are VERY happy with this purchase. The family and I are still impressed each day we turn this TV on.

April 2008: Just got the Sony Bravia XBR KDL-46 1080p LCD HDTV. It replaced a CRT - Sony Wega KV36F16 circa 2000 that is still performing flawlessly, but gotta prepare for the much-ballyhooed date in 2009. The LCD was delivered by CEVA a day earlier than estimated by Amazon (I took the steps to track it properly, and made a phone call, too).

Easily hooked it all up to the local cable service (monopoly-minded telecommunications giant that it is), HDMI, using my Sony STRDE945 receiver and Bose Acoustimass 5.1 for audio. Within thirty minutes of the arrival of this TV at my front door, I was ready to watch this thing do its thing. It searched. I set. In a room filled with bright springtime daylight and sun angle, I was gratified and satisfied as I watched my favorite MLB team win their 1:05 daytime start handily. Then, as I began tweaking my settings, and the evening waxed and waned into the dark night, I was absolutely sure I'd made the right choice. There is no fan noise. And of course, SD is not spectacular, and HD broadcast is 720p, and maybe a rare or occasional 1080i. I can't wait to see a proper DVD in full regalia.

Sony? I'm a frugal and cautious middle-class consumer. Knowing what I've read of this company and its megalomaniacial approach to consumer electronics and domination of the whole industry, it galls me to admit that apparently, and in my opinion, Sony has recently matched and surpassed its competitors in LCD price-to-value of television consumer electronics for the masses. And plasma is no longer the way to go (for me at least) and has been surpassed by LCD. I still have a 27" Sony Trintron circa 1987 in the guest bedroom which is still looking good, but will soon have to go - wanna buy it for ten bucks? I've never had a problem with any Sony TV, VCR, DVD, or A-V receiver. I had a Panasonic VCR (my first which never died, just became obsolete). In fact, I've never been let down by any of the audio components that have been Sony, either. Can't say the same for Onkyo, or the old Kenwood or Technics. (Nothing beats my Nakimichi cassette machine for true state-of-the art for that medium.) But, I digress, this is about TV.

The 46" size and clean looks of this rig works best for my house, considering the windows, southern exposure, recessed lighting in the room, and of course, the 15' distance from which it is viewed. I considered the 52" but decided that would be overkill for the space I have, and the higher price to boot.

I'm no videophile, but I have close friends in the business as cameramen, and stage managers,etc. in nearby Atlantic City to whom I turn to for advice ... you know, the kind of persons that buy that high-end stuff for double the price or more for only slightly marginally noticeable improvements. I know they will approve of my purchase when they see this. It certainly looks to me that the 46XBR5 (that's five) is basically the same rig. And yes, the XBR6 is coming. But man, do I hate the reflective, dust-attracting "stylish" piano-black finishes every manufacturer feels compelled to market to the masses this year. It will date your TV like the silver look of the last decade. As it is, the Sony design of the "distinctive" glass framing adds a one-inch margin capable of reflecting distractions from the environment the television is placed in by the actual consumer. Let's just focus on the viewing area, though.

I pulled the trigger on this LCD for after six months of researching the online reviews, viewing demonstrations in many high-end electronics stores, the three big-box electronics stores, and even discount online sources. I didn't think I'd make such a big-ticket item purchase online, but the time to do so had come, what with the price of fuel spiraling higher and higher, and "free shipping" included in the price. I see today, two weeks later, it's here at Amazon and is over $150 bucks more than what I paid. A local independent appliance store can usually meet or beat

Well, how about the TV? Even the delivery man said, "this is the best LCD on the market for the price right now." It arrived at my house in perfect condition, but I was nervous when I saw the box had some black, greasy dirt on its bottom from the trucks, and he asked that I put down on old blanket or something to protect the floor.

All was well and fine with this. I'm satisfied with this purchase. I'd recommend the Sony Bravia XBR4 1080p to my friends and family, and I no longer worry about ordering online. For products over $50, I would not trust a NYC electronics marketer online, however, heck, I don't even like their sales tactics in their brick and mortar stores I've been to The sub-contracted Ceva delivery man who, with my assistance, brought it up to the 2nd floor of this Jersey Shore raised ranch on pilings, unpacked it, and assisted me to lift it to its waiting stand, said to keep the packing materials and the box for a couple days, just in case. So far, so good, and I think this is a keeper. Maybe I'll update this prose submission, but for now, after only 24 hours, wow.

Sony Bravia XBR KDL-46XBR4 46" 1080p LCD HDTV. I knew I would get "Candy Cane" color on any LCD monitor. the lack of color depth is the problem. It's OK on my computer, but disappointing in the TV. It has been hard for manufacturers to get totally realistic color, and I was fooled by the showrooms full of flat screen TV's. The demonstration tapes truly did not show the result I would get with the multitudinous assortment of different stations, cameras, commercials, etc. in my home environment. That being said, I think the Sony Bravia gives the best color available in a LCD display. The TV offers an amazing variety of options, including an ability to optimize the color for each input. I did not expect such a feature, and I found it very useful. Also, labeling each input is handy for channel search purposes. Sony has done an excellent job of creating an amazing product.

I would have liked a video output terminal for recording purposes. As the TV is designed I have to have an external tuner to do recording. Also, I liked the feature in a previous Sony product of having two tuners in the same TV. The tuner does an excellent job of bring each (Cable analog) station clearly. Of course, only the high definition stations demonstrate the best of the TV.

The TV arrived on schedule, in good working order. Delivery crew was courteous and helpful.