June 5 - 5:30pm EDT   Sony in an afternoon announcement updated its high-end BRAVIA XBR line with three new set ranges that it hopes step up the quality of its TVs across the board. In keeping with a leaked roadmap, the XBR8 series starts with 46- and 55-inch sets that are Sony's first to include LED backlights: the lighting not only provides a more even and color-accurate image but builds in local dimming that shuts off unneeded lights in darker areas, giving a major boost to the contrast ratio. The two sets also sport Sony's updated BRAVIA Engine 2 PRO for rendering the image, 120Hz panels to improve the picture in fast movement, a hooks for the BRAVIA Internet Link adapter, and a media ... [full story]

April 14 - 12:25pm EDT   Sony's XBR line of top-end Bravia HDTV sets will receive one of its most extensive updates when refreshed for the fall, says a leaked roadmap provided to BGR. In addition to an improved interface and support for DLNA media sharing as well as online program guides, all of which will appear in the unannounced XBR7, the top-end XBR8 will be the first Sony set to include LED backlighting. Nicknamed TRILUMINOS, the feature will dramatically improve contrast ratios by allowing the TV to selectively shut off the backlight in darker parts of a scene, creating much deeper blacks without affecting the rest of the picture. [full story]