Rear projection televisions are generally regarded as the poor cousins to LCD and plasma, and it's often with good reason. In addition to their bulkier dimensions, rear pros sometimes struggle to create decent pictures and frequently suffer from a number of annoying side effects.

Not so with Sony's latest effort, a giant 55-inch screen with full 1080p compatibility and the company's newly developed SXRD technology nestling inside. SXRD is based on LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) technology, which is fairly common.

But Sony's chip promises a faster response time, stronger contrast and minuscule gaps between pixels, not to mention a huge resolution of 1920 x 1080, making it ideal for displaying 1080p full HD material. All this, according to Sony, means that it can be used to create a top class image. It's also cheap to produce in comparison with LCD and plasma technology, hence this TV's tempting price tag.

Switch on the TV and it's quickly apparent that Sony's claims aren't just hot air. The black levels on this screen are far better than anything LCD can offer, and slightly superior to plasma.

Even with the screen running in a dimly lit room, parts of the picture that are supposed to look dark do. It's possible to just make out the illumination behind them, but there isn't the indistinct washed-out grey which LCD produces in the same circumstances.

Add a bit of ambient light to the room and, as far as the eye can tell, these areas will look absolutely black. The image is incredibly bright too, so watching in a sunlit room isn't a problem either.

Well over the rainbow

SXRD doesn't produce the 'rainbow effect' that can appear on DLP rear projection TVs and, because the gaps between pixels are so narrow, the 'screen door' effect that afflicts some LCD and LCoS rear pros is also avoided.

Worth noting, however, is a slight visible graininess, particularly in lighter areas of the picture. This is due to the material that the screen itself is made from, but thankfully it isn't hugely distracting.

Also, the viewing angle of the screen is narrower than most flat panels, especially vertically - if you don't have the screen sat at eye level, brightness and contrast start to suffer.