Motion Enhancer and CineMotion are two other Picture menu items worth visiting. These let you adjust how the set upconverts film-based content to its 120-Hz display rate either by adding various processing to remove motion judder from film-based programs or by applying a simple 5:5 pulldown when viewing Blu-ray movies with your player set for 1080p/24 output. Both options can be configured separately for each of the Sony's inputs. With either the Clear or the Standard Motion Enhancer modes, the Sony's picture appeared blur-free and onscreen motion appeared natural. But when I used the set's Smooth Motion Enhance and Auto 1 CineMotion options, the onscreen action looked too smooth and was marred by occasional motion-trail artifacts.

PERFORMANCE

Before I jump into describing the Sony's performance, let me say that it's capable of displaying a deep black. And I don't just mean that its blacks are good for an LCD; they're as deep as I've seen on any TV, period. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, a reference Blu-ray Disc for judging picture contrast, the outer-space shots at the start of the Jupiter Mission section revealed inky-black backgrounds and punchy highlights in the white Jupiter ship. The Sony's ability to flesh out above-black shadows was also impressive. For example, when viewing a shot from the Baraka Blu-ray in which a priest descends into a dim underground church, I could see a wide range of details in the altar and in the ornate constructions lining the walls.

The Sony's picture sharpness and color accuracy were also striking. In a shot from Baraka of the Ryoanji temple rock garden in Kyoto, Japan, the texture of stones lining the ground looked remarkably clear. And in a shot of a worshipper placing an offering in the carved forehead of a deity, the red material appeared vivid, with skin tones also coming across as completely natural. One issue I did see with the 55XBR8 occurred when I slid over to one side of my couch (about 15° off-axis). Picture contrast dropped off noticeably, with the problem worsening at more extreme angles. Otherwise, the Sony's screen uniformity was for the most part excellent. Red fringing sometimes showed up on dark/light edge transitions in shots with horizontal motion, but there were only a few times when I was distracted by it.

BOTTOM LINE

Sony's KDL-55XBR8 delivers the best performance of any LCD TV I've tested. But it's not perfect. Its narrow viewing angle restricts optimum picture contrast to viewers sitting front and center of the screen, while its bulky 6-inch cabinet depth and non-detachable side-mounted speakers make it a less sleek option than other LED-backlit models. Putting those considerations aside, the 55XBR8 goes far toward eliminating any performance differences between LCD and plasma.