Eccentric Engineering
Sony has marked its entry into the 3D home entertainment market with the flagship BRAVIA LX900, a Full 3D LED TV introduced almost half a year ago. Shortly thereafter, two additional 3D Edge-lit models surfaced in the form of the NX810 and NX710 series, tagged under Sony's premium class. While this business maneuver is perfectly legitimate in a bid to expand their stereoscopic line-up, Sony's decision to engineer a so-called "3D-ready" display following the arrival of the LX900 is a rather interesting one. With regards to their functionality, there is actually little difference between the LX900 and NX810 if you can discount the LX900's biting price tag.
Sony has added more troops to its 3D faction with the recently introduced NX810 LCD TV, armed with a Full HD panel and DynamicEdge LED Backlighting with local dimming. The 55-inch NX810 is decidedly cheaper than its LX900 big brother but still comes with a challenging price tag of S$7,499.
To date, stereoscopic TVs still carry loose definitions on their specs sheet. For example, references such as "3D-Ready" doesn't always tell the full story. In the case of the NX810, the IR emitter (designed to work with active shutter glasses) isn't built-in, but rather, bundled as a separate entity. Logically speaking, Sony's marketing direction is indeed unusual since an integrated package such as the LX900 is undoubtedly less fussy. That aside, the NX810 has much to offer despite Sony's quirky implementation. Earmarked to succeed the former NX800 model, some of the NX810's features include integrated Wi-Fi, ambient light sensors, Dynamic Edge LED backlights, and an appealing Internet application platform dubbed as BRAVIA Video and Widgets. We will be evaluating the 55-inch, although the NX810 is similarly shipped in a 60-inch variant as well. Hit the jump to check out the NX810's aesthetics before we assess its display faculties.
Design
If you like things simple, then Sony's Monolithic design should pander to the minimalist in you. Unlike the budget BX-series which dons a clunky frame, the premium NX suite, on the other hand, exudes sophistication with a seamless glass face and slender 30mm styling. Another relatively new element is the OptiContrast panel. Essentially, Sony has tucked a resin sheet between the NX810's LCD panel and glass plate to reduce glare as well as boost black levels and picture detail. At this juncture, we can't ascertain if this enhancement would indeed improve the display's performance before we test the unit (which is detailed on the following pages). However, it is painfully obvious the panel remains highly reflective as it is. The screen is also a fingerprint magnet, so be sure to keep a cloth handy if family members have a tendency to handle the panel frequently. Should you lose the remote, look for the hardware buttons at the lower right of the TV's flank.
The BRAVIA NX810 strikes a classy pose with an edge-to-edge glass face and slender aesthetics. On the contrary, notice how reflected lights and fingerprints tend to show up. It's a pity we do not have the Bunshin stand with us since the HDTV looks a whole lot sexier on it.
Recent BRAVIA units which feature Sony's Monolithic Design should arrive in your living room with the OptiContrast panel. Comparable to LG, Sony is also trying to reduce the air cavity between LCD panel and glass face for reasons listed above.
The NX810 is unable to lay claim as Sony's slimmest offering although its lean 30mm depth should still appeal to any avant garde hunter. Hardware buttons are located on the right flank which includes a Home button.
The handsome BRAVIA display exhibits a low profile when mounted on the glass-top stand, and swivels 20 degrees each way. Installation wise, the NX810 is rather versatile since the display can be wall mounted. Alternatively, you may stick the panel into the Bunchin stand which gives the TV a six degrees tilt. Incidentally, the bundled stand (Sony's current promotion) also hides a 2.1-speaker system to augment your auditory experience. Gazing at the TV's back, all AV connectors are designed with a side-facing alignment which makes them ideal for wall mount solutions. Moreover, expect to find the usual suspects such as four HDMI 1.4 ports and a USB slot in the NX810's arsenal. Unlike which requires a series of cumbersome breakout adapters, the NX810's Ethernet port is already incorporated into the TV's rear. However, the 3D Sync connector is a little hard to reach so it's best to install the transmitter before wall mounting the display set.
The 3D Sync transmitter port is located just above the Ethernet connector at the upper areas of the back panel. Be sure to hook up the IR transmitter before you happily wall mount the sleek NX810.
We like the way the side panel is aligned, but not so much its recessed positioning. Ensure there is sufficient gap between wall and panel for your fingers to fit through. The VGA and USB ports are located here.
We were pretty happy with Sony's RM-GD010 remote which comes with a slightly beveled surface and a unique on/off button located behind the stick. As usual, the HOME button would bring forth the XrossMediaBar interface. The icing on this remote's cake, however, would have to be its stylish blue backlights.
Features
Now that you are acquainted with the NX810's framework, let's move on to the features and display adjustments. This BRAVIA is awesome, in that it features wired and wireless Ethernet aspects. Yes, it does not require any Wi-Fi dongles to connect to your network. The other clincher is the NX810's Internet Video and Widgets features. Little content was pre-installed, meaning you'll need to spend a couple of minutes downloading them as a requisite. Once done, however, we spotted a good number of trending video sites such as YouTube, WIRED and Epicurious on the TV's itinerary. As for BRAVIA Widgets, expect to find Twitter and a bunch of Yahoo News and Weather widgets on the Network icon. Incidentally, the remote also offers dedicated buttons for both applications. The NX810 has three picture presets with a Blu-ray source - Standard, Vivid and Custom. Then again, we like the fact that the Backlights are adjustable, and each preset can be managed independently with each AV input. More display tweaks can be found under Advanced Settings.
A screenshot captured from WIRED's video page. Titles for the respective videos are shown at the bottom of the screen.
Screenshots of Yahoo Weather and News widgets. Select the green settings button to customize the application or add more elements.
Advanced controls include Black Corrector, Advanced Contrast Enhancer, LED Dynamic Control, Live Color and White Balance.
Calibration - Spyder3TV Report
To maintain a display standard across our review units, we calibrated the Sony BRAVIA NX810 with the Spyder3TV Home Theater Color Calibration kit prior to our visual tests. This is to ensure we assess the HDTV based on optimal display settings, and not purely on visual estimation alone. At this point, we've also disabled all the necessary bells and whistles such as color and edge enhancement features. After the calibration process, optimized values were as recorded: Brightness at 50, Contrast at 98 (in the BRAVIA's case, contrast levels are labeled as "Picture"), Color at 51 and Hue at R2 (Red 2). Black and white luminance readings were measured as 0.190 cd/m2 and 271.158 cd/m2 respectively. Similar to Panasonic's VIERA VT20S, the NX810 did not require any offbeat settings which suggested Sony's Standard preset was more or less on track. Calibrated color and tint values sat comfortably in mid range. The only surprise was the NX810's white luminance readings were visibly higher than most LED-based HDTVs we've reviewed recently. This was an unprecedented result considering Sony's edge LED backlights are seated at the perimeter. Logically speaking, white luminance levels should depreciate towards the middle of the screen where we position the colorimeter.
Here are the final calibrated values as recommended by Spyder3TV based on the NX810's Standard preset. Black luminance levels aren't as dark as a PDPs (Panasonic's VIERA VT20S clocked 0.020cd/m2) although Sony's panel did surprise us with a rather bright white luminance reading.
DisplayMate Tests
DisplayMate is an application which generates a sequence of test patterns to determine the capabilities of imaging devices like color and gray-scale accuracies for example. For our tests, we've hooked up the BRAVIA NX810 to our display test-bed PC via its HDMI connection. To be fair across the board, we have also disabled all visual enhancements on the TV in order to reduce the variables involved. Here are some findings based on the relevant and critical test patterns:-
Screen Uniformity
Satisfactory uniformity on the white test pattern. However, subtle blemishes were evident along the panel's borders upon closer observation. This could be due to the TV's use of edge-lit LEDs. On the black pattern, the backlights proved to be excessive thus resulting in slightly murky blacks. Sony's OpticContrast panel is also prone to minor contrast shifts.
Dark Gray Scale
Darker gray blocks were comfortably visible, thanks to the screen's superior luminance levels. Black levels were slightly diluted as previously noted. We didn't spot any unnatural tints, although we noticed that the gray boxes positioned at the sides tend to be a shade lighter (or brighter) than those situated in the middle.
Color Scales
Gradients on the principal colors worked fine on the brighter scale. However, Sony's panel has a tendency to darken prematurely at the dimmer strip of the test pattern.
256-Intensity Level Color Ramp
We'll give the NX810 an above average score for color accuracy. Blue and green looked fine although the red strip could be deeper and less "cool". Our biggest gripe is the abrupt gradient "termination". The photo below doesn't tell the complete story, but the premature darkening of gradients is more telling with the naked eye.
DisplayMate's 256-Intensity Level Color Ramp test - It is a pity we are unable to capture on camera exactly what our eyes see. Colors were bright and vibrant although the red hues could be deeper. This is possibly due to the intense backlights. Our biggest concern, however, is the abrupt darkening of the gradients on the extreme left.
IDT HQV Tests
IDT's HQV Tests are designed to assess image quality and the handling of digital displays and players through a variety of video signal processing tasks which includes decoding, de-interlacing, motion correction, noise reduction and film cadence detection. We've programmed the Blu-ray player to playback in 1080i in order to stress the TV's video processor. This compels the TV's processor to convert interlaced signals into progressive signals to accommodate the HDTV's panel. Here are the results we noted on a few of the most crucial tests:-
Digital Noise Filtering
Two noise filters are incorporated under the NX810's hood - a general Noise Reduction feature and MPEG Noise Reduction filter to remove mosquito noise present in MPEG video images. Unfortunately, both filters failed to remove noise levels convincingly.
Diagonal Filter Test
Most good HDTVs are able to ace this reconstruction test and the BRAVIA NX810 is no exception. The bar's varying speed and angle didn't faze the TV's de-interlacer. With most angles, the rotating bar was nicely reconstructed without any hint of "jaggies" save for a minor wobble at the -10 degree angle.
Film Resolution Loss Test
The BRAVIA NX810 does not do inverse cadence conversion natively, but that doesn't mean it can't. Sony has added a Cinema Drive feature to recreate 1080p24 images, and we are pleased to announce that the "Auto 2" preset worked really well in this aspect over the "Auto 1" setting.
HQV's HD Noise Reduction Test - Sony's video processor packs two noise filters, a general Noise Reduction filter and MPEG Noise Reduction filter. A sizable degree of mosquito noise remained with both noise reduction algorithms pumped to the max. We'll give its filters an average score at best.
High Definition Tests
Lately, there's so much buzz going on about 3D displays that it is easy to neglect their 2D finesse. To determine how the BRAVIA would fare with 1080p sources, we'll run familiar Blu-ray titles such as Corpse Bride and Vantage Point by the NX810. Note that we will be using the Standard preset during our evaluation. To justify the TV's features, we'll also enable some of its picture enhancements to determine if they should improve or debilitate the panel's performance. On the up side, the NX810 produced amazing levels of detail on Corpse Bride. Nuances such as crinkles and shadows are comfortably visible throughout the movie. However, the LCD panel is still susceptible to uneven bleeds given the strong LED illumination and edge-lit factor. While we could not turn the blacks pitch dark, we managed to arrive at a beautifully rendered display with lesser caveats after some tweaks. Here are some of our settings used:- Black Corrector: "Low", Adv Contrast Enhancer: "Low" (push this too high and you'll end up with an unnaturally sharp image), LED Dynamic Control: "Standard" (a must), Gamma: "-1", Clear White: "High" (improves white accuracy by a notch).
Kudos to the BRAVIA for its ability to reproduce the finest detail and wide palette of colors. Blacks were still unconvincing at some spots due to the inconsistent backlights, but overall image quality was unquestionably one of the best amongst the LED-backlit brethren.
The trouble with some frame interpolation techniques is they create more judder and motion artifacts than desired. In this case, Sony's MotionFlow PRO technology fared well on Vantage Point without introducing such blemishes. There are a few presets given, namely Clear, Clear Plus, Standard and Smooth. We found that "Standard" worked best in a standard living room setting with the lights on. In a darker environment, however, you might want to switch to "Clear Plus" given its dimmer brightness output. Colors were dynamic and bright on the whole, and as noted on Corpse Bride, Sony's BRAVIA Engine 3 did a fine job in rendering exquisite details with little instances of motion tearing. Skin tones? Excellent. The same can be said about Cinema Drive which did not deteriorate the TV's display during its inverse telecine process.
As seen on Vantage Point, the NX810 achieved a healthy mix of balanced color tones and stunning visual detail. Observably, Sony has also stepped up their motion handling efforts, judging from the fluid movements and little motion artifacts rendered.
Standard Definition Tests
Some TVs do an excellent job with 1080p content but tend to fail miserably in the up-conversion department. Fortunately, the NX810 does not fall into this category. We lowered the Blu-ray player's output to 480i to see how the NX810 would cope with a DVD source. As noted on the Lord of the Rings DVD disc, the BRAVIA delivered a decent picture without rendering excessive levels of upscaling noise or blurriness on the 55-inch screen. The movie was rather enjoyable at a viewing distance of 3m, although subtle compression artifacts are apparent at closer distances. The NX810's pair of 8-watt speakers aren't earth shattering, but we have to admit Sony's S-Force Front Surround technology did produce a sweet spatial surround effect with just two drivers.
Here is a 480i Frodo caught on a 1080p BRAVIA. Blow for blow, Samsung has a better up-conversion algorithm with DVD sources, but the Sony NX810 isn't too far behind either. Similar to our Blu-ray settings, try not to pump up the TV's Advanced Contrast Enhancer too much. Since compression artifacts would become painfully clear especially with a standard definition source.
Sony's 3D Equipment
It would be hard for consumers to justify the S$7,499 price tag if the NX810 came without frills. To make the deal more enticing locally, Sony is throwing in a bunch of goodies to accompany the 3D screen. Notably, these treats include the PlayStation 3 Slim console (320GB) , two 3D Blu-ray titles ("Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" & "Deep Sea"), a 3D transmitter, two pairs of 3D active shutter glasses, and the Bunchin Stand. Last we checked, the bundle also includes the wall-mount bracket and free installation. According to Sony, this promo should Ho-Ho-Ho till year-end at least. And if history is any indication, we think most of this bundle would still be part of the purchase even after the promo period. As mentioned, the NX810 requires a 3D Sync Transmitter (TMR-BR100) unlike its LX900 sibling which houses an integrated emitter. Measuring 154mm in length, it shouldn't be too much of an eyesore when mounted in front of the panel. Sony's 3D eyewear (TDG-BR100) is slightly heavier than most of its competitors. On the contrary, however, it does provide a very comfortable and snug fit. The TDG-BR100 is powered by a single flat-cell, and comes with a locking mechanism to create a tighter hold for those with narrower heads.
Here are two critical components required to complete your 3D experience - a pair of classy TDG-BR100 active shutter glasses and the TMR-BR100 3D Sync Transmitter.
Initially, we had the impression this locking mechanism was designed simply to lock the frame. However, we soon found out it was there to lock the 'legs' at a tighter angle for those with smaller heads. Interesting design.
Experiencing 3D On The NX810
We used the "Auto" 3D setting on both Blu-ray player and TV when assessing the NX810. On Monsters vs Aliens, 3D visuals were surprisingly clean and wonderfully sharp with little ghosting effects. The NX810 displayed excellent contrast levels without visible signs of motion judder to boot. Expectedly, the active shutter glasses did reduce the screen's brightness by a peg or two, but it also serves to 'improve' black levels as a trade-off. If you've read some of our previous 3D TV reviews, you'll recall that LED-based displays such as those from Samsung and LG are prone to the occasional crosstalk handicap. Fortunately, this wasn't an issue with the NX810. On the other hand, we did notice a small amount of flickering around the edges, even with the room lights off. Its presence may induce eye fatigue for some, although we found it bearable throughout the movie. You might also want to note that certain picture adjustments are disabled once the TV detects a 3D source. Examples include MotionFlow, Cinema Drive as well as the panel's backlight controls. While we did not get a chance to review the LX900 per se, we do believe the NX810 works better as a 3D display than the LX900 based on what we've experienced during our demo trials. Simply put, this BRAVIA would almost be the perfect 3D LED-based HDTV if Sony could find some way to remove that annoying flickering aspect.
This particular scene from Monsters vs Aliens threw up lots of crosstalk images with the Samsung C7000. On the bright side, the NX810 surfed through it without a glitch.
Another screenshot from Monsters vs Aliens in 3D. Subtle ghostly images did appear sporadically but they were rare. More importantly, the TV managed a decent 3D depth on the whole.
Final Words
A solid construction, stylish form factor, and a slim 30mm depth. That's what you get with the BRAVIA NX810. Cosmetically, the TV oozes more class on its Bunchin stand rather than the table-stand alternative. Both stands have their merits - you receive an audio boost with the Bunchin while your TV gets to swivel with the table-top. Whichever is preferable, the good thing is tha you get both of them bundled locally. Despite the screen's glossy surface, Sony's OptiContrast panel was fortunately less reflective when images are displayed onscreen. Judging from its back panel layout, there isn't a lack of connectivity options given its fleet of four HDMI 1.4 slots, Ethernet jack, USB port, and decent mix of analog plugs. Mostly, its built-in Wi-Fi and DLNA features do set this HDTV apart from the common herd. Of course, the NX810 does not marry the Internet and TV as effectively as its Google TV equipped cousin. Then again, Sony's BRAVIA Video and Widgets are a definite plus when considered as an alternate form of entertainment.
Sony's NX810 earned its accolades with a brilliant Full-HD display and impressionable 3D performance. Plus its inclusion of Internet and wireless services, this LED-driven BRAVIA truly deserves a gold class seat of its own.
It is true the NX-series faced its share of quirks on DisplayMate and HQV. The HDTV did produce odd gradients on the Color Scales pattern while Sony might want to work harder at its noise reduction algorithms. On the other hand, our Blu-ray tests also affirmed it was up to real-world tasks when called upon. Minor inconsistent bleeds do appear occasionally. It isn't a deal breaker, however, since exquisite details and fluid motion were achievable after making the necessary adjustments. Truly, the NX810's trump card lies with its 3D performance. We do not appreciate the subtle flickering, that's a given. Apart from that, Sony does have the right to be proud of the NX810 with its lesser crosstalk traits, stark contrast levels and decent delivery in most aspects. We admit S$7,499 is a little steep for a 55-inch display, but we'd also like to tag this 3D set in an unparalleled class of its own compared to the rest of the LED-backlit 3D TVs.
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