Is the XBR9 worth the money?

Can someone shed some light on this for me? I love the 240Hz refresh rate, but I see that there's a number of other manufacturers out there now. Pretty much everybody makes one, and the XBR9 is the most expensive. Mind you, it's come down A LOT in price. It's only $2200 at best buy now! But there are a coupld other 240Hz 52" LCD's for a couple hundred dollars less.

Is it worth the extra money? If not, what 52(ish)" TV would be a better bang-for-the-buck?

I guess that's what it all comes down to... I'm a bang for my buck kind of guy. (Relatively speaking) If the XBR9 is only 5% better than a similar TV, but is 10% more expensive, I wouldn't buy it. I would go with the cheaper one.

Thanks in advance!

None of them is worth the money! Go to Wal-mart and get the 52 sony 120 hz you won't be able to tell the difference, except for the model number and the fact you spent $2 grand less.

You could buy a 50" or 54" Panasonic plasma TV for much less money that delivers a superior picture...

None of them is worth the money! Go to Wal-mart and get the 52 sony 120 hz you won't be able to tell the difference, except for the model number and the fact you spent $2 grand less.

The XBR9 is only $2200 at BestBuy right now. And only $2100 from circuitcity(dot)com (no tax, free shipping, and a 5% DiscoverCard rebate!). I just took a quick look at Walmart(dot)com and the best I could find was a Samsung 52" 120Hz for $1800. Also, it's kind of scary that Walmart doesn't even have a single 240Hz TV on their website!

What do you guys think? Would a 120Hz TV have noticably more blur than a 240Hz? I was standing at BestBuy looking at a Samsung 120hz tv behind the counter that was supposed to be "Calibrated by The Geek Squad". So,it was supposed to look better than any other TV in the store. The picture was amazing, but I could still see noticable blur when objects moved.

Any comments/insight? Thanks!!

Plasma TV's have no blur...

Plasma TV's have no blur...

But it's going to be in a room with a lot of windows and a lot of daylight. From what I've read, that's not the right environment for a plasma. Plus, this whole burn-in debate kind of turns me off them since LCD seems to be catching up technology-wise.

And I don't want this thread to turn into a debate on burn-in :D I was just steering clear of them since they don't really seem designed for my kind of room.

Thanks for the thought though! I need all the help I can get! LOL!

But it's going to be in a room with a lot of windows and a lot of daylight. From what I've read, that's not the right environment for a plasma. Plus, this whole burn-in debate kind of turns me off them since LCD seems to be catching up technology-wise.

And I don't want this thread to turn into a debate on burn-in :D I was just steering clear of them since they don't really seem designed for my kind of room.

Thanks for the thought though! I need all the help I can get! LOL!

OK then, without a technology debate we will move on. I believe there are several other TV's that are in the same price range, most a bit less that will deliver just as high a quality picture. My personal favorite is the Toshiba Regza while others prefer some of the better Samsungs (I'm not sold on their reliability yet). You would do yourself a great service by viewing the displays in a store where you can play with the adjustments. From what I have seen though the Toshiba is the black level king which is one of the most important things to look for in a modern display.

Hope this helps.

I had a 240hz samsung and I had the blur at the highest setting and I still saw blur.

OK then, without a technology debate we will move on. I believe there are several other TV's that are in the same price range, most a bit less that will deliver just as high a quality picture. My personal favorite is the Toshiba Regza while others prefer some of the better Samsungs (I'm not sold on their reliability yet). You would do yourself a great service by viewing the displays in a store where you can play with the adjustments. From what I have seen though the Toshiba is the black level king which is one of the most important things to look for in a modern display.

Hope this helps.CNET says the regza falls short in black levels compared to the XBR9 and Samsung B750 BUT that it still maintained excellent shadow detail.
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/toshiba-regza-55zv650u/4505-6482_7-33490637.html

Looking at bestbuys site the Regza gains 3 extra inches(55 vs. 52" XBR) and is $200 cheaper.
Id be leaning closer to the Regza..
EDIT: Nm you mentioned a bright room, so the glossy coating on the regza could be pretty distracting.

The XBR9 is a local dimming LED backlit model though isn't it?

Local dimming LEDs are going to have the best black levels but they have other flaws like when watching a star field of space many stars are missing due to local dimming and poorer viewing angles on the LED models.

The Z5100 has always blown me away, and at $1900 is a relative bargain. I did a comparison between the Z5100 and the XBR9 on BB's site and saw very little diff in features, haven't done a comparo on Sony's site, but I'm wondering if there's a substantial difference.

The Sammy B750 is also a very desirrable TV... blows me away everytime.

Good luck with your decision.

The XBR9 is a local dimming LED backlit model though isn't it?

Local dimming LEDs are going to have the best black levels but they have other flaws like when watching a star field of space many stars are missing due to local dimming and poorer viewing angles on the LED models.

The XBR9 is CCFL. The new XBR10 is side/edge-lit LED LCD. Sony's XBR8 with local dimming RGB-LED LCD is going closeout/clearance.

Samsung has the 8500 which is their new local dimming LED LCD.

I'd still opt for a plasma and get some curtains.

The XBR9 is CCFL. The new XBR10 is side/edge-lit LED LCD. Sony's XBR8 with local dimming RGB-LED LCD is going closeout/clearance.

Samsung has the 8500 which is their new local dimming LED LCD.

I'd still opt for a plasma and get some curtains.

Thanks for the correction. I do not follow Sony as close as I think overall the Samsung has better PW (slightly) in competing models. :o

I agree with this and I bought a Panny Plasma and just bought wood blinds for the 3 windows behind my seats for about $25.00 each for daytime sunlight shining in. After already owning 2 LCDs I wanted the superior black levels and shadow details for my main HT displays.

Thanks for the correction. I do not follow Sony as close as I think overall the Samsung has better PW (slightly) in competing models. :o

I agree with this and I bought a Panny Plasma and just bought wood blinds for the 3 windows behind my seats for about $25.00 each for daytime sunlight shining in. After already owning 2 LCDs I wanted the superior black levels and shadow details for my main HT displays.

I'm back in California again for my final interview (Thursday) and I stopped by the Magnolia Audio/Video standalone store in Santa Clara. I looked at the Sony XBR10 and was unimpressed. It did seem to have more even backlighting than the Samsung 6000/7000/8000 series. I also looked at the new Samsung 8500 and was underwhelmed at what is supposed to be "Kind of LCD" when it came to it. The feed they showed was pretty horrible as well.

I did get to look at the 65V10 and 54Z1. I love that Z1...the brushed aluminum is actually nice in person. If only they made it a brushed "black" aluminum.

The XBR9 has a WCG-CCFL (Wide Color Gamut - Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) and some improved color processing over the Z5100. Not enough of an improvement for most viewers to discern.

But with that said... the Panasonic 58" S1 plasma for $1799 is hard to ignore...

For your budget, you've got some great options open to you... let us know what you ultimately choose.

I went to ABC Warehouse today and negotiated a pretty darn good deal on a XBR9. $2030 for the TV, INCLUDING A TILT-MOUNT! I'm getting all the wiring and drywall prefinished myself, and am going to use ABC's install guy to come and mount/calibrate the TV for $150. The XBR9 has come down a lot, it was actually cheaper than the 240Hz Samsung!

Thanks for all the help guys! I kind of used your advice to bargain a better price on the XBR9, as it seemed to have much better color brightness vs all the other TV's on their showroom floor. So, after much comparison of adjacent TV's, I was really sold on the XBR9.

Thanks again!

Enjoy!

Amazon has the 46 inch XBR9 for $1567 shipped and the 52 inch for $1889 shipped. There are plenty of deals out there for this great TV.

Amazon has the 46 inch XBR9 for $1567 shipped and the 52 inch for $1889 shipped. There are plenty of deals out there for this great TV.

I paid $2158 and that included a tilt mount and tax. $1889 + a mount puts you around $2000-$2050. Not much better of a deal... but yes, if I knew about that one I would have gone that way. Oh well. What's done is done :-)

Thanks guys!

The 52 XBR9 is available at Fry's for $1699.