Sony KDL-32XBR9 32" LCD HDTV 32-inch 120Hz 1080p LCD HD Television

I love this TV. I'm sure I would feel differently had I not updated the firmware before I even tried to use it, but since I did -- I LOVE THIS TV! I am going to try to put the link for the update at the bottom of this review, but Amazon may have a policy to delete links in reviews. If this happens, then go to [...] and follow the links for this model. You'll eventually find the update. Download it to a jump drive and plug it into the service port (the only one that'll take USB) with the TV off, then turn the TV on and things will take care of themselves.
[...]

UPDATE
Okay, so Amazon did delete everything. That's okay -- you know Sony has a website.

So I finally got this TV for a multi reason based using. I just replaced my G5 with a Mac Pro and got a PS3 slim for the bed room as well while the older PS3 is hooked up to our 60" Sony SXRD. I needed a larger monitor for my Mac Pro, but also wanted a TV for the room and we were originally going to go with the 24" Cinema display from Apple. Amazing unit but is only for the computer and that is it. With that said, I turned to Sony.

The XBR9 does a great job with blacks and colors so when my Mac is running and im in Final Cut or iPhoto, the picture quality is great (I went DVI to HDMI) and when I switch the input over to the PS3 (HDMI), everything continues to look fantastic. So Games/Blu-ray and TV are great.

Again, I have to stress though like other reviewers, the XBR9 does not look as good as the XBR8 because its lower in the series! I mean look at the price difference for the love of god. So please, dont think that somehow Sony has gone back in their mindset. Just 2 different series.

Great product, I really love hd. Spend the extra money for top of the line you won't be disapointed. Works perfect with my over the air antenna, if not better than direct tv. Save 30% from retail. Shipping was to my door, open box and plug in for free, beat that. I will trade with them again.

I recently upgraded from my old CRT TV and have been completely satisfied with my purchase. We did compare LCD TVs in a showroom and the Sony Bravia clearly had the best picture. It had sharp detail and the best blacks of all the brands. The only weakness is the sound because of the small speakers but there is an output so I can use my stereo system and it sounds great. If you have home theatre system that will work as well.

TV has some brightness issues which Sony resolved by way of call-in customer support. Now works great. Beautiful and very satisfied!

A excellent TV at a great price. Sony makes top of the line products and Amazon is a great source for them and much more.

The Sony KDL-32XBR9 purchased from Amazon is excellent and so was the cost, but now looking for a large screen Plasma for Basement Family Room. Anyone have any suggestions, like Samsung or Panasonic and which model?

This Monitor is amazing. It has lived up to everything that is expected of it. The picture quality is absolutely stunning in 1080P. The sound is pretty nice as well, alot of people have complained that it isn't loud enough but for a Monitor it is plenty loud and I would'nt expect much more. I would like to clarify something that another review wrote about, they said it did not pick up thier basic cable signal. I don't what the problem was but I have basic cable and NO CABLE BOX and it picked up every channel I had before I got the Monitor and also picks up all the Music only channels now as well as a few HD (1080I) channels as well. I looked on the back and the monitor was made in July of 2009. I have no complaints about this Monitor what so ever. If you are looking for a 32" LCD this is hands down the one to go with. I wished I had the budget to buy the 46 or the 52" XBR 9. For those of you who don't know anything about the Sony XBR line, let me put it to you in an easy to understand explanation, Toyota has it's High End cars under the name Lexus, Honda has it's high end cars under the name of Acura and Sony has it's High End Monitors under the name of Sony XBR. If I had to complain about anything it would be the lack of info. in the paper user manual that came with it, I wanted toilet reads while I waited on the Cable to auto program and there isn't much there. lol Does'nt matter what size you are looking for get the XBR line and you will be absolutely blown away by what you get.

The Sony Bravia is all I hoped it would be. The picture quality is excellent. The menu items are helpful but not always easy to use. I'm glad I have this unit with all the HD programming.

THIS TV WAS RECOMMENDED BY A FRIEND. HIS SON HAS ONE AND LOVES HIS. WITH THEIR HELP AND KNOWLEDGE, THAT'S HOW I CAME TO PURCHASE THIS SONY.

It's features are easy to understand and picture is clear. Price is cheaper than local store. One of the things I considered buying this because of my past experience as far as the quality is concerned. I owned a big screen (63') since 1994 and never gave me a problem, but I'm going to get rid of it soon for flat screen.

It's really simple. Great TV! We did a lot of shopping around and settled on this model. It has not let us down!

This is my first Sony TV. I've only owned it for a few hours. I hope my opinion doesn't change.

I bought a PS3 Slim at the same time. I connected them and watched "Up" on DVD. The picture quality is nothing short of incredible. I don't know if it's the PS3, the quality of the DVD, the TV or all of the above. But, I've never seen a picture that I've been that impressed with.

I read a few reviews here complaining of the inputs on the side and the picture brightness changing. I didn't notice the picture changing brightness. It could be I have a firmware version that includes the fix for it. I'm not sure. The inputs are a little unorthodox. I have a regular HDMI cable and RCA cable plugged into the side. I don't see them from the front. So, I guess they aren't in the way. But, I would have preferred them on the back.

I recommend this TV.

The picture quality is AMAZING! Especially when watching Blu Rays. I now truly enjoy watching movies at home. The sound was much much better than I thought it would be after reading others reviews. However, I did buy a Bose computer speaker system to enhance my movie watching enjoyment. This is my bedroom tv so I didn't see a need for a whole surround sound setup. It does take a few seconds to power up but I don't get anxious for it. Other people make it sound like they are missing the first 5 minutes of a show or something. It is literally like a 5 second wait but worth it for energy saving. I hate how long it takes to change the channel on any TV these days but I have a TIVO so I don't have to be annoyed by that feature. Everyone who comes over comments on how much they like my tv. Some have went and bought one after seeing how nice this one is. I did a lot of research before deciding and am very happy with my decision.

This is my second Sony Bravia XBR. The latest version is not only a better set but came with a terrific price. This was an excellent value and a high quality product. I am enjoying my new Sony Bravia very much.

I bought this on thanksgiving sale. Similar size 32" 720P were selling for 400+. But I am glad that I purchased this one from Amazon. There is no darkness so for. I think these new TV set got firmware updated already. The only complain is channel surfing. It take around 5 second to land on next channel. I use DishDVR. So no problem for me. The startup time takes 10 seconds. I can wait. No problem. Connected laptop. It is really crisp and clear. I dont have any complain about the sound. Over all I am very happy with the purchase. 1080P will be helpful to watch HD content on youtube and othere video hosting places. Future proof TV set.

I received my 32" xbr9 yesterday. The television has an excellent picture with great color as long as i sit directly in front of it. Once I go a little to the side the picture begins to wash out. So with two or more people in the room only one person gets the good picture. I also hear a popping noise every once in a while ( sounds electrical ). Also the picture about once every two minutes might freeze for a very split second then catch up to where it is supposed to be. Kind of missing a couple frames if that makes sense to you. Maybe I have a defective tv. I will give it a few more days and see if these things clear up.

This is my first LCD HD TV so I researched quite a bit including reviewing various comments so thought I would provide my own. The picture quality is top notch as well as the picuture flow. Looking from the side is much better than even a few years back though no LCD TV is going to match the plasma or my old TV on the side...at least not yet. The controls are pretty intuitive though a pain having to scroll through them. Sound is fine but like a previous commentor it "pops" occasionally. Anyone else experience this? A few things that made me cautious about this TV based on other comments were: picture quality not good? Not sure what they are comparing but its great. Side inputs? This one really through me off because some people were really critical. The TV also has rear inputs. The side inputs are convenient for getting connecting temporary equipment like a camera or camcorder and the wire do not show out of the side as the inputs are indented so not sure what this complaint is about. As far as timing, takes a few seconds to turn and change channels...but no where near 30 seconds. Sometimes I think some commentor are working for other manufacturers. Top notch TV.

I got this tv about month ago and it is by far the best tv purchase I have ever had. The picture is sharp and the color can really give you a seizure it is so vivid. The only thing I notice is on a rare occasion when I would output the sound to my system, it would distort and short out but very rare. This was even after the firmware update.It also could be related to the optical cord i'm using or the system it is connected to. Other than that I stay glued to this thing for gaming and movies. I can't even come to watching movies without 120hz or higher now, i'm ruined lol.

Everything seems to be working except for a minor glitch when i played a game the speakers stop working but i fixed it.

tv was delivered on time and in perfect condition. great price
happy with the product and service. glad that I did not buy from a retail store

I ordered this TV for my Mom a couple of weeks before Christmas. At the time, the Amazon price was $100 less than local retailers. My biggest concern was the firmware upgrade, so I made sure I had everything ready by downloading the upgrade myself from Sony. I called Sony customer service to find out how to check which firmware version was installed so that I could determine if the update was necessary at all. The TV had not even been delivered yet, but Sony support was very nice and told me where to find the information in the television setup menu. Delivery was uneventful via FedEx and arrived on time. I ALMOST did not even consider this televsion when I read another reviewer's comments concerning the side connections. Luckily, I was able to find a display locally and determine it was NOT an issue at all for any that may be concerned. I used all 4 HDMI ports, including the 3 on the side. The cables can be snugly fit behind the televsion frame so that they are not visible. The television had a recent manufacture date of November 2009, and was already upgraded to the latest firmware at the factory. The picture was out of the box beautiful. Blu-Rays, DVD's, and HDTV (comcast) are jaw dropping gorgeous. It looks better than my 40" Sony KDL-40V2500 that I have been very pleased with as well. My mom loves this little XBR and I am very pleased. When it's time to upgrade my 40", I'm going for the XBR line.

This is our first HD TV and it is great! Colors are clear and crisp, with deep blacks for definition. We chose
this 32" TV for excellent picture in both HD and regular TV formats, plus very good sound. We have it in an area without surround sound and wanted rich sound. When we put it on the music stations, we were very pleased. We'd recommend this TV to our friends.

This LCD is outstanding, it has a top-notch picture, the clarity is excellent, it is hard to beat this set!

I bought this TV to use as a computer monitor, but it turned out to not be so good for that. It has a ghosting effect. I talked with tech support and we went through all the possible settings. They even shipped me a USB with the updates. Nothing fixed my problem. So, don't buy this TV to use as a computer monitor.
However, as for a TV - it's GREAT! Everything looks clean and bright. Video games also look awesome. I'm very happy with the purchase and will probably replace it next year and just use it as a TV only. Anyone have any suggestions for a computer monitor similar to this size and specs?

i bought this tv on sale and put it in my bedroom replacing a Panasonic 27" CRT. The pictures are stunning especially on high definition. The sound is ok for a 32 inch and the remote control is easy to navigate. Overall this lcd is worth the price of 599.

After 18 months of use, I bought a second one. Picture quality is outstanding, sound is amazing given the small hardly noticeable speakers. The remote is user friendly however, the on screen setup menu is a little confusing. Plenty of input connections and seems to be good on power consumption. Plan on using/viewing this XBR for many years to come.

This is a great tv for the $500-$600 dollar range. (I would never pay full price for ANY television.)
Picture is great, sound very good from the small speakers with the TruSurround turned on. Just turn up the bass a little.
Some have been complaining about the HDMI on the side, but you can get adapters that will angle the cords downward.
Other complaints about things like the sleep timer, etc. aren't that bad. You should get a full manual with your tv, though. Or an option to go online and print one.
When buying an HDTV, you have to consider two things: the picture of the tv you're buying and the HD input signal.
Some problems people are having might have to do with the signal more than the tv.
Always check from different sources--cable box vs. antenna input--if you detect a problem.
Which brings me to COMCAST...
Case in point--Comcast sucks.
Through their cable box of choice, the Motorola DCH3416, you get a box that tells you, on the front, what kind of signal you're processing on any given channel.
It's either 1080i or 480i. There are other options, but Comcast, from the box, deals in only those two flavors from what I can tell.
And when you go from one to the other, you get a loud audio *POP*.
And sometimes, when you go from HD to SD, you get a loud audio *POP*...and then no video. Audio, but no video.
So, I also have the cable going directly into the antenna input.
GO back and forth between HD and SD channels....no pop. No problems.
This tv tells you what signal you're getting as well, 1080, 480, even 720.
A simple Google search tells me that this problem has been going on for MONTHS for Comcast customers, and with other brands of televisions as well.
It's the box, not the tv.
Will Comcast fix this?
Maybe in ten years, who knows?
Also, they promised us DVRs in the Motorola box made by TiVo, and we're still waiting for that.
Bottom line: great picture on the tv (for a good price), minor things you can live with, and Comcast sucks.

We have enjoyed the Sony TV. After doing much research on LCD TVs and because we do not buy TVs very often - we chose this upscale Sony TV. It has been as advertised! Regarding some of the criticism on this TV that the screen seems to go "dark" sometimes which is likely tied to the energy saving features -- there is supposed to be a firmware upgrade; my TV was manufactured in November 2009 and it came from the factory with the firmware already upgraded. However, we still experience the "dark" screen sometimes. What I have discovered - is if I have a VCR connected and play a VHS tape from a recorded TV show - the screen will consistently seem to go dark frequently during the playing of the tape. If I take that VHS tape and convert it to DVD, and then play the DVD on the Sony TV - it plays just fine and the screen does NOT go dark. So - I'm not sure exactly what this means - except maybe just don't play VHS tapes to this Sony unless you first convert them to DVD. Other than this annomoly - the TV has been great and I would purchase it again in a second!

our t.v. was dropped off at our post office full of lock boxs,In a common area. (I didn't think that U.P.S was allow to deliver packages to a post office address) Needless to say my 32 inch sony t.v. was stolen. THE viedo and audio center where I purchased the t.v. from,Replaced it at once. so I now have my t.v. Delivered and signed for from FED-EX!! I tried to call U.P.S for three days, Could not get anyone to answer a phone. I will do my best to never ship another package by U.P.S.
Sincerely Bill Zika

Sony has a reputation for quality and this product is no different. Opened the box, installed 4 screws on the mount and plugged it in. The TV has an easy on-screen set-up guide to ensure you get the most out of your TV right away. Love it !!

I am very pleased with this TV for the price. This is my first HDTV and after watching NFL Playoff games on my friend's HDTV and not having one of my own, I said no more. I have viewed many flat panel TVs at friends' and families' homes in the past few years. Everything from a low end 22" Sony LCD TV from Walmart to a 60" Pioneer KURO Plasma TV and I knew if I was going to buy an LCD TV, I wanted the video quality to be closer to the KURO than the Sony from Walmart. This 32" Sony XBR9 was the only good branded 1080p TV that I could find with 120Hz refresh rate for less than $600 and I am very happy with it.

PROS:
1. Clear 1080p LCD with 120Hz refresh rate that almost anyone can afford.

2. Inputs, inputs, inputs!

3. Good menu with a lot of adjustments and the menu will actually tell you what each adjustment does so it is easy to get the picture you want.

4. Home Theater PC looks great on PC input or on the HDMI.

5. Very classy looking front panel and a "Bravia" splash screen when you turn the TV on.

6. Software updates are a snap if you follow the directions

CONS:
1. When the TV is viewed at an angle of 45 degrees or more from perpendicular to the panel of the TV the black level quality decreases. I start to see grays and dark greens in the black colors. With our specific setup in our family room, there is a seat that is almost exactly 45 degrees and it is pretty noticeable.

2. 32" TV that is 31.5" viewable!?!?! What is that? I knew before I bought it, so I can't really complain, but I thought this was one of the reasons we dumped CRTs.

3. Before the software update this past summer, I would not have enjoyed this TV as much as I do now. The dynamic back-lighting is really noticeable to the point of being annoying. After reading reviews on Amazon, I downloaded the update and had it ready on a USB stick before I even received the TV. My kids started getting impatient while I was setting up the TV so I let them watch Cars out of the box without changing any settings. It was almost unwatchable for me and even my 3 year old complained that she wanted the other TV back (Toshiba 32" SD CRT). I updated the firmware, turned off the dynamic back-lighting, and turned off Cinemotion. With those three changes, the picture improved dramatically.

4. Side inputs. There are 9 inputs on the side of the TV, NINE! (1 USB, 1 PC input, 3 HDMI, 1 S-video, 1 composite video, 2 channels analog audio) All of the cables from these inputs stick out from the side and can be seen while watching the TV. Luckily, I have figured out how to use my home theater receiver to handle my 6 video sources and run one HDMI cable to the single HDMI input on the back.

Even with these few cons that I can live with, this is a great TV for the price. If you are shopping in this price range, you will find more cons with every other TV than this one and less pros.

Thrilled with the picture and feature set. Sound is about the best of any tv speakers although it would obviously be enhanced by external speakers. Felt it was a great value too at the price I paid during the Holiday Season. Was deciding between this high end 32 inch model and the low end 40" S5100 model by Sony. Glad I went with this one.

This is a great tv at a great price. I am totally happy about it. There were some earlier reviews I read about issues with the sound but I have had no problems. And the styling is amazing. I would highly recommend this product to someone looking for a new flat screen,

This is the third of four Sony LCD flat screen TV's that I have bought through Amazon in the past three or four years. The first was the KDL32-XBR4(excellent). The next was the KDL40-V4100(excellent). The next two have both been the KDL32-XBR9's(both with the latest software preloaded). Here is where the questions begin. The first of the two XBR9's has been in place about two months. Everything started out fine, but it has now developed a distorted line down the center of the screen. Almost impossible to watch program material that has fast moving lateral motion. Since this much time has pasted my only recourse seems to be to use Sony's direct replacement policy with a "repaired" set. My "new" is going to be replaced by an unknown quantity. The local warranty rep in this area is not very good, so I will have to give this a try. I have to admit that I knew going into this that it might happen, and it would be my responsibility to resolve service issues. However, I thought I was buying top of the line products that would avoid this potential problem. Now I am less certain of my choice, and very much concerned about how the second of the same series is going to fair.

I have bought this 32 inch xbr9 on blackfriday with a discount.
So it quality is perfect in every aspects, pixels, sound, quality of the screen.

But there is another issue, i do watch movies on my roommate's tv 1080hp 60hz so i could not understand the difference. If you are not a technology guy instead of buying 32 inch xbr9 1080p 120hz, go for 1080p 60hz 40 inch sony. (they both have the same price) You cannot understand the difference in between 120 and 60 hz.

Excellent picture and sound quality. You must anchor TV to table stand if not wall mounting as it is light on its feet, sort to speak.
A child or pet could knock it down effortlessly if it's simply on a console table. It does have a pedestal base with pre-drilled holes
to screw into a base table. Still, it would be far better served to wall mount the set, if possible.
(SONY XBR 9 - 32")

While looking at TV's at Costco, it was easy to see that Sony had the best picture. After living with the Sony Bravia 46" bought there, I decided on a 32" for my office. The picture is superb! The picture appears 12 seconds after pressing the On button. There are plug-ins galore on the back, more than the average person will ever need. The sound system lacks a desk rattling bass, which is fine with me. The speakers are more than adequate for a large room and sound is very clear at low volume. It took around 30 minutes for the initial Auto-Search of the available channels, and it ended up showing a number of digital channels I don't think I'm paying the cable company for. TV doesn't get any better than this!

Hello:

I had ordered this TV from J&R via Amazon on the day after Thanksgiving 2009. More than 10 days later the order was canceled by J&R stating that they were out of stock and all the while they were still advertising the TV on Amazon. As soon as I mentioned this to Amazon they took the advertisement off. Later amazon started selling the TV themselves. I asked Amazon (at least 4 to 5 times) if they could honor the transaction but to no avail. Later I contacted J&R and they offered to sell me the TV for the same price (as on the day after Thanksgiving). Again their Billing department gave me a hard time. When I got the TV I found that it had a big white cloud right in the middle. I called Sony and exchanged it for a new one. Considering the hassle I went through and the price I paid for a 32" TV, this was not at all a good experience.

The TV as such is great. This is my first LCD TV; the picture quality is just great! everything else is good or OK. I would recommend ordering the TV directly from Sony, they sell it at the same price!

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I needed HDTV for the bedroom and wanted one that was wall mountable and viewable at a 12' distance. Having previously acquired a Bravia 55XBR8 for the living room I just wanted to scale it down a size or two. The picture qualities are similar, with true colors and dark blacks with few visual artifacts. Like the larger one, this one operates seamlessly with the satellite box, important since I live in a fringe area for broadcast. I ordered the TV from Amazon ten days before Christmas and was assured it would arrive by the 24th -- the UPS lady rolled up with it at 3 PM on Christmas Eve.

This was a Christmas gift to my daughter and her family. The report I received was very positive. I was told the image of the Wii games they play makes it look like real life "When playing golf, you can see every blade of grass." "We Love it!"

The TV was received quickly from Amazon with delivery before the holiday. It was easy to setup and had excellent picture and sound quality. I had a cable with HDMI connectors ready when the set arrived. The internet can be accessed using a PC connected to an HDMI input on the TV set.

This is the first flat screen HDTV that I have ever purchased. I, like many others looking for HDTVs, did a lot of research before finding "the one". I'm extremely satisfied with this as my first purchase. I've owned it for a little over 2 months now and have gotten a lot of use out of it already.

Right out of the box the TV not only looked great but had a sturdy feel to it. This is a well designed TV and doesn't feel flimsy or cheaply made. Other reviewers are complaining about some of the inputs being on the side of the TV - it's not a problem. There is enough of a gap between the inputs and the edge of the TV where any cables plugged into the side inputs can be neatly tucked around and behind.

The picture quality is amazing. Playing PS3 and XBOX 360 via HDMI looks phenomenal. Bluray movie and picture quality is amazing as well. I also have this thing doubling as a computer monitor via HDMI. There is a small ghosting effect on dark areas but I'm not surprised by that; this wasn't purchased with the intent of a gaming monitor for my computer but it's amazing how fun games are on a screen this big. Watching streaming HD content off the internet looks great too. The fact that this is 1080p and also 120hz makes just about anything look spectacular on here. There really is nothing bad to say about the picture quality on this set. All Sony Bravia television sets that I've viewed I have been very impressed with the picture quality.

The sound is something that I was a little disappointed on. The built in sound on the TV isn't bad by any means, however, it's not great either. You can't turn the volume up too loud otherwise the sound will really begin to distort. Low and mid volumes are the best way to listen with just the built in speakers. I eventually plugged into an external sound system and it sounds much better that way. I would recommend future (and current) owners to go this route to get the best sound quality.

Other various built in features I think are a nice compliment to the set. The menu functions are easy to use and navigate through. There are a lot of options to change around and edit, which is a nice bonus I think. The remote isn't bad either. I didn't order a firmware update from Sony but instead downloaded the latest firmware from their website and installed it myself. Wasn't difficult at all - the directions online to do this are easy enough to follow.

Overall I'm incredibly satisfied with my purchase. I would definitely purchase another one of these if given the opportunity, and would definitely recommend this set. I was on the fence for several weeks deciding on which HDTV to get. If you're looking for something you will really get your money's worth from - get this TV and I guarantee you won't be disappointed. :)

I bought this from Amazon.com in December 2009 for $699.

Upsides: Sleek look, nice menus, beautiful pictures. Can't wait to check out Blu-ray on this. I like that it passes optical audio out; don't know if that's standard these days but I can see that will be useful when paired with an audio system. Love the picture- and sound-tweaking options.

Downsides: Start-up delay (10-12 sec?), displays infobar at the top each time resolution is switched (480/720/1080), which is annoying when using it with a native-output DVR.

Pros: An excellent TV. The picture is awesome. Very good viewing angle. I have never seen a 32" TV display HD content so well. The menu options are vast. The colors are deep, rich , and vivid (pun intended). Also, Sony's vivid color mode has been improved greatly (tried it on a 2005 TV, the colors looked cartoonish). The USB ports are awesome. Simply plug in a USB stick, and show off your pictures, or play your music.

Cons: Well, the sound is OK. but, honestly, what they heck are you expecting out of that little speaker? The default color settings were AWFUL. This thing required quite a bit of calibration to get it looking like it should (if anybody wants the settings, reply with a comment, and I will give them). The picture out of the box is why I docked this a star.

Other thoughts: As said many times before - UPGRADE YOUR FIRMWARE. The download is available from Sony.

The TV can loaded with the latest firmware. It arrived in excellent condition, no damage to the box. Setup was simple. My Oppo 83 is hooked directly into a HDMI port; the picture look superb. I just wish I had bought two at $697; the price is back up to $899. My Roku goes into a second HDMI port, and it look great.