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The Sony HX850 is a smart-looking Smart TV with sparkling picture quality, making it a front-runner for plasma-phobic videophiles.

... for the exceptional quality you get, it’s a great buy, especially if you can find it for a hundred or two less than the $1,600 advertised price.

Should You Buy It? At $2100 and $2600 (for the 46-inch and 55-inch models, respectively) the HX850 is on par with its LED competition in terms of price—it's certainly more affordable than Panasonic's WT50—while producing a picture that can compete with plasmas like Panny's VT50.

Sony’s second-best TV for this year has great picture quality. We think it’s still edged out slightly by the more versatile HX925, but it’s excellent for watching Blu-rays and digital TV alike. The interface aside, the Sony HX850 is a TV we can strongly recommend.

The Sony HX850 may not shout about its skills when you first look at it, but its LED display is among the best we’ve seen.

The word that best sums up our time with the 46HX853 can only be ‘wow’. Sony may have left it late, but just when we were seriously starting to fear for the brand’s TV future, it’s stormed back with what might honestly be the best LCD TV we’ve ever seen.

So taken as a complete package, there’s very little fault to be found with the KDL-55HX853. ... we’re particularly taken with its outstanding black-tone facility, its motion-handling, its looks and its sound.

The KDL-55HX853 isn’t big on gimmicks, but if you’re looking for a flatscreen with excellent image quality, a content-rich net portal and luscious design, then it’s a must-see.

I think HX850 is a great TV - one of Sony’s best edge LED based TVs to date – but the value-for-money ratio is not as competitive as on some of Sony’s closest rivals. Whether the design and additional features are worth paying extra for or not, we leave up to you.