Sony announces BRAVIA X2550 series, now with x.v.Color
By Richard Lawler 
posted Mar 28th 2007 10:55AM
posted Mar 28th 2007 10:55AM
Sony was still rolling out new BRAVIA's this morning, with three new models in its Japanese X2550 line that should give a preview of the successors to the current XBR models we'll see here. The piano black finished LCDs all feature 1080p resolution, wide color gamut backlighting, BRAVIA Engine and Sony's new x.v.Color technology, and we assume, dual HDMI 1.3-compatible inputs to deliver all that many-hued madness. No mention of new 120Hz technology for these LCDs, but the expanded color space should match up well with other upcoming Sony products. All should start shipping April 25th the 52-inch KDL-52X2550 for 720,000 yen ($6,098 U.S.), 46-inch KDL-46X2550 for 490,000 yen ($4150 U.S.), and 40-inch KDL-40X2550 for 420,000 yen ($3,557 U.S.). Check after the break for another pic of that glossy finish head-on (apply directly to forehead). 
I love Sony TV, their technology and built quality.
but the price is RIDICULOUS!!
Agreed. I can get 1080p 42" @ $1200. Sony better come up with a real good reason why I should pay 3 times as much for a 40". I don't care if it's shiny or whatever. Sony never justifies their price.
YES!!! this is my HD replacement.
HDMI 1.3, 1080P, and I'm sure it will have liquid blacks to go along with the high price.
They might be expensive but you get what you pay for. You can clearly see a difference in a Sony LCD compared to a Vizio. I'm sure in about a half year or more these will drop in price.
Took me a second but the "head-on (apply directly to forehead)" comment is hilarious.
Ken, you clearly haven't seen the X-Series in real life. Compare a 40" X series with a $1200 42" LCD and you will see why Sony does not need to justify its price.
If you look at a sony 1080p tv with 10,000 to 1 contrast ratio at 46in vs a sharp tv or any other tv with the same numbers you can definately see a difference. Sony tvs are by far the best quality tvs you can buy.
No LCD has 10,000:1 contrast ratio. That's DLP/SXRD territory.
If these have more than 2000:1 they will ahead of the pack (of LCDs). Meaning real, usable contrast, not "dynamic" contrast or other marketing terms for "if you manually adjust the brightness from zero all the way up to full" which nobody does while they are watching TV....
I'm sure they will look nice, and a hell of a lot better than the el-cheapo models (Vizio, Westinghouse, et al) but they are still expensive and still don't have the picture quality of DLP/SXRD sets at half the price. OTOH, they are "thin"...
Not bad. These MSRPs are similar to the XBR2s when they were released last fall, and their prices have dropped significantly since then, so I'd expect the same for these.
I CAN'T STAND YOUR COMMERCIAL........ BUT YOU'RE PRODUCT IS AMAZING!
walk2k
These sets have color and image quality better than dlp and sxrd sets. They rival professional projection(dlp and sxrd).
Sonys problem is that that still think quality matters.
Plain and simple americans want BIG and CHEAP. Cable provides and awful signal but they make money by selling the number of channels as opposed to picture quality.
We are in an age of $600 40" lcd displays. When you get tired of your tv or the cheap thing breaks in a year or 2 you throw it out and buy a slightly better one.
This set is AMAZING I got to see the 52" in person. The xvColor really improves the quality of saturated colors. The 120Hz refresh lets you watch 24 frame material at a multiplier of the native frame rate(no 3:2 pull down).
Maybe 10,000 people will want the quality. 10 million people are going to want the size big and price small. Quality is now a niche value in America.
"You can clearly see a difference in a Sony LCD compared to a Vizio."
You sure can - like Sony's uneven backlighting, for a start: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=748779
I don't get it. After returning 3 Sony Bravia xbr2 for horrible clouding and flashlights, i can't understand how people keep on ranting about sony's superior quality. Sony's quality control issues are posted all over the internet. I really do hope they get their act together, as eventually it is us, the consumers, who get the benefit of being able to own great products, but to keep perpetuating the urban legend of sony's "faultless" image is going to hurt us just as well. Sony get your act together and give your customers their money's worth.
NO HDMI 1.3v in this HDTV!!
I live in Japan, so I had the chance to visit several electronic stores (including the Sony Building in Tokyo). I was told 'this model also DOES NOT have HDMI 1.3v, but HDMI 1.2v.