Misc

Review: Sony Bravia KDL-60LX903

Sony may have followed behind Panasonic and Samsung in releasing its 3D TVs, but the Japanese giant is wasting no time making its presence felt in the new market with an extensive range of LED-lit screens. The biggest, and best, of the bunch is this 60in flagship model, the KDL-60LX903. It may be out-muscled in size by Panasonic's 65in plasma, but this is still a large TV, bigger than anything Sony has produced for quite some time, in fact. Luckily, it's pretty slim (64mm) and features the brand's minimalistic Monolith design, so it holds its size well, but it's also heavy. Don't try to lift it out of its packing on your own; you wouldn't want to drop this £3,500 monster onto your coffee table or do yourself an injury into the bargain. The extra real estate provided by this 60in TV is always welcome for serious home cinema viewing, and it's even more relevant with 3D. Having witnessed the extra dimension on screen sizes from 40in to 103in, and at the IMAX cinema, I'm already convinced that the 3D effect is better the bigger the screen gets. The more your vision is filled by the 3D images – rather than the wall next to your screen – the more likely you are to experience the 'wow factor' that 3D strives to deliver. With Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs on 3D Blu-ray, the LX903 serves up a solid, captivating experience, but crosstalk is there if you look for it, and the shimmering nature of the next-generation format soon had me hankering for standard 2D high-definition viewing. Flattering flatness In fact, it's in flat-o-vision where the LX903 excels, as it's capable of delivering a very natural-looking, cinematic HD picture. With the Warm 2 setting engaged (which our tech labs measured at 7,000K), Flight of the Phoenix on Blu-ray offered true, but never over-saturated colours, solid black levels and sharp, well detailed images. All this helps the Sony achieve a sense of depth. Dedicated tweakers can get a 6,500K white point via the 'Advanced' menu. One picture mode that should be avoided with BD is 'Vivid'. Not only does this ramp up colours to an unrealistic level, it also engages Sony's Motionflow technology. I found this worked very well – too well, actually, smoothing motion to such an extent that film characters seem to be sliding around on ice skates. Not a good look, unless you're watching Slap Shot... Meanwhile, television content delivered by the screen's own Freeview tuner did cause a bit of a shock. BBC News 24 in standard def isn't necessarily the kind of channel you'll want to see blown up to this size. Thankfully, the three high-definition channels in the Freeview roster are far better. If you're thinking of investing in this set, I'd advise feeding it an HD-heavy diet. As the pinnacle of Sony's current flatscreen range, the LX903 comes armed to the teeth with extra features. These include: the aforementioned Motionflow (here in the 200Hz Pro guise); 2D to 3D conversion (a novelty, but nothing more); the impressively well-stocked Bravia Internet Video service; Bravia Internet Widgets; integrated Wi-Fi ; the XMB interface and playback of media files over USB or a network. The screen also ships with two pairs of the brand's TDG-BR100 3D glasses, which are reasonably comfortable. Combine that with the 60in screen and the much improved build quality over the HX models and you have an impressive package. It's not going to topple Samsung's UE55C9000 as our current dream LED TV, but it comes in at half the price, which may very well make all the difference to you.Related LinksTechRadar Reviews GuaranteeRead more HDTV reviewsRelated StoriesReview: Sony Bravia KDL-46EX503Review: LG 15EL9500Review: Toshiba 40RV753BReview: Hannspree SJ42DMBBReview: Philips 32PFL9705

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