Comparisons and Conclusions
In a side-by-side 2D comparison with a Panasonic TC-P65VT50 (Home Theater, October 2012) in a fully darkened room, and relative size aside (the Panasonic’s screen is 10 inches larger), the two sets’ performance was very close. I’d give a slight edge in black level and shadow detail to—surprise—the Sony, though the differences were small in that dark room. But when I turned on some over- head lighting, the Sony’s visible contrast held up better than the Panasonic’s. The black bars on less than full-screen sources were also darker on the Sony; on very bright scenes, the Sony’s picture also popped slightly more. Plasma sets can’t, in general, go as bright as LCDs, and particularly not when they’re called on to produce a very bright full-screen image. The colors on the two sets varied slightly, but not enough to give the edge to either. The Sony was a bit sharper as is typical of LCDs, though its smaller screen likely helped here as well.
But the Panasonic had the clear edge in off-axis viewing quality—and also in value. While this 55-inch Sony is comparable in price to the Panasonic, Sony’s 65-inch equivalent (the XBR-65HX950) will run you nearly $1,800 more than the Panasonic at list prices.
Any way you look at it, however, the Sony XBR-55HX950 is a striking performer. From the deepest, darkest scenes in 2D and 3D to its bright, vivid 3D, it’s definitely among the best sets I’ve yet had the pleasure of testing.
