Video Asylum

Sony BRAVIA 2011 Line Up

81.205.66.216

This Post Has Been Edited by the Author

Last year I bought the KDL-46HX700 model and when I see the line-up for 2011, the HX720 model it is not really a step-up. No monolithic design and the problem with edge LED LCD displays – you are currently paying for style (and eco-friendliness!) over image quality. The majority of LED TVs released during 2010 use LED edge-lit LCD panel technology - a less complex derivative of LED lighting technology than local dimming. Simplistically speaking, these inch-thick edge-lit LED TV sets are nothing more than standard LCD TVs with LED (light emitting diodes) as their light source instead of CCFL. It has its pros as well - in particular with respect to their inch-thick profile and ultra-low power consumption.

But edge-lit LED TVs can never deliver the same level of picture quality as full array LED local dimming technology. Screen brightness uniformity and side viewing discoloring due to a restricted viewing angle are the main culprits here. leading to a performance that falls short of their high price.

LED LCD TVs, yet it also produces a sort of a subtle halo effect instead of pure blackness in dark areas adjacent to bright parts of an image. This is due to light spilling over from light to adjacent dark areas in the image. Some refer to this as 'blooming' as a result of the way dark pixels at the edges of a dark object adjacent to bright objects appear brightened as well.

Another issue that appears to be common among all LED LCD HDTVs and that emerged in all LED LCD HDTV reviews so far, is that their picture deteriorates at a much faster rate with off-angle viewing than in the case of LCD panels using standard backlight systems. The deterioration is such that even moving just a single seat on either side of the optimum center viewing position leads to washed-out colors and a worsening of the halo effect already referred to above.

Follow Ups: