Generally speaking, there are two types of electronics enthusiasts — audiophiles and videophiles. I've always defined myself as an audiophile, but that may be changing now.

I listen to music all the time, but I watch much less TV and fewer movies than most of my friends. In fact, I had planned to keep the 27" tube TV I bought in 1996 until it died. I might have made it that long, but now that I make the special offers show up on our website, I couldn't miss the deal we have going on the Sony KDL-40XBR7. Great savings, plus a free Wireless Link, which sends high-definition A/V to my new TV wirelessly. Pretty sweet.

Last week I picked up my new TV. I definitely had that excitement that comes before buying a new toy. It was heightened by anticipation of that night's pre-season NFL game in HD. Growing up a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, I'm always happy when I can catch one of their games on TV, even when they lose. Buccaneer games are hard to come by here in Redskins territory.

Sports in high definition
Football looked great. It's no secret that HDTV makes sports absolutely pop, but some TVs don't handle fast motion very well. The 120Hz processing in this XBR did it flawlessly. The picture was smooth throughout the game.

I was also impressed by the way golf, tennis, baseball, and beach volleyball looked. The detail in the grass, sand, or clay surfaces was amazing and the faces of the crowd were no longer just a blur. The bottom line — with my Sony XBR it's easier to watch the ball, follow the action, recognize the players, and feel like you're there.

Standard Definition looked good, too
I switched back and forth between the SDTV (standard definition) and HDTV feeds of over-the-air broadcasts. The difference was striking, but even the SDTV (480i) feeds were obviously cleaner than what I saw on my old set.

I even made a point to watch some old shows that were being broadcasted. The original Star Trek series was on one of the local stations, and I wondered how it would translate — I've heard complaints about some SD programming actually looking worse on an HDTV than the old-school TVs for which it was created. That was not my experience with any of the over-the-air content I've watched. It all looked better than what I had been used to, but when I was watching the actual HD broadcasts, it skyrocketed the clarity and color.

I did notice my standard definition satellite programming lacked some sharpness and generally looked a little funky. There's an easy solution for that, though. I'm just have to upgrade my satellite package to HD. The prices aren't bad, and as much as I'm digging the HD content I get through my standard antenna, I want more channels like that. Where do I sign?

Gaming in HD
I also wanted to test the KDL-40XBR7's chops for gaming. I fired up my Wii with Call of Duty - World at War and also Need for Speed - Pro Street. It was very nice to have a bigger, clearer screen to play on. I was easily drawn into the game and really felt like I was part of the action. The TV's built-in game setting was surprisingly good. It didn't just ramp up color and backlight levels at the expense of clarity. It was designed with modern games in mind, and actually made them more cinematic.

Movies on the KDL-40XBR7
In order to get a feel for the TV's performance with different types of content, I also watched O Brother, Where Art Thou?. I switched to the cinema setting to get a softer, more film-like presentation, and the set did well. I didn't see any distracting edginess that can exist in some LCD TVs. I could just sit back and just focus on the movie, not the TV.

And there's more. I've decided to order a Blu-ray Disc player  — I can't wait to send that native 1080p content to my new set.

Overall impressions
I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone (it wasn't to me) that TV, movies, and games look better on a new HDTV than they do on a 13-year-old tube TV. The thing that really struck me, though, was the quality of the color. For all of the shortcomings of tube TVs, the tube was still superior over earlier flat-panel displays for contrast and black level, which contributes to more lifelike colors.

Out of the box, the Sony KDL-40XBR7 outperformed my tube TV, with which I had long been satisfied. I also improved the picture beyond the stock settings with the Monster HDTV Calibration Wizard disc. With just a few simple test patterns, I had my system optimized quickly. I ran the calibration for the "Custom" setting, as well as the "Cinema" and "Games/Text" modes so I have preset the best possible picture at the touch of a button for whatever I'm doing.

The intuitive menu structure, expandability, and the sheer coolness of HD have changed my TV from the thing I watched casually with little attention, to the actual centerpiece of my home system. It has also changed my habits, as I'm going to upgrade my satellite TV service, step up to Blu-ray, and add a more graphic-intensive gaming system. Most notably, my new-found taste for high-definition video has made me redefine myself as no longer an audio-only guy, but an actual audio/video guy.