Sony may be making a belated splash with 3D, but at the very least it looks committed with no fewer than three full TV ranges, of which the HX800 series, reviewed here, is its mainstream proposition.

All the HX803 models need to be teamed with a separate IR emitter and 3D glasses (available as an accessory bundle) before you can go three dimensional.

As Sony's Tim Page explained, when delivering the set to HCC Towers, 'these sets are for those that want to add 3D at a later date, or just want to future-proof their new TV purchases.'

The HX803 comes in 40in and 46in and variants. The step-up HX903 series comes in 46in and 52in screen sizes and has Full Array LED backlighting. The brand's so-called Signature range, also known as the LX models, are available as 40 and 60in screen sizes. They are Dynamic Edge LED screens and ship with two pairs of Active Shutter glasses included.

The HX803 is only 7.4cm deep and sports a regulation gloss black bezel, but build quality is a tad ordinary. The set itself can stand straight or, as per many other Sony models this year, tilt 6˚ backwards (in case you have a fashionably low TV stand). It all depends on how you assemble the pedestal stand.

A Home button summons the main Xross user interface, while Options pulls in a complete list of options from the right hand side. The Input button pulls in a map of sources from the left.

In awe of the S-570

I partnered the screen with the BDP-S570, a £230 3D Blu-ray player. Like all of Sony's 2010 models, the deck is Super Audio CD compatible.

Sony bdp-s570

You have a choice of outputting two-channel SACD via phono or multichannel over HDMI. If you hook it up with a (Sony) AVR able to take DSD over HDMI you'll get a digital stream from the disc, which is really neat. If the player interrogates the AVR's EDID data and discovers that it cannot handle DSD, the player outputs multichannel PCM instead.

Other attractions, according to Sony, include its network talents and audio visual performance. 'The build quality is highly considered,' Sony's man made sure to let me know, explaining, 'circuit tracks are nice and short and architecture is tidy.'

The more I used the S570, the more I was in awe of it. There is only one model above the BDP-S570, and that's the S770 (typically £30 more at retail). Differences are largely aesthetic: the top of the S-range model has a high-gloss cabinet to better match the brand's 3D TV range, but beneath the hood it's essentially the same player.

There is quite a large caveat, though. You'll not want to own it unless you have (or soon plan to buy) an HDMI v1.4 compatible receiver.

Unlike the Panasonic DMT-BDP300 and Samsung BD-C6900 3D players, there is no provision for routing lossless audio (DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD) to a non-HDMI v1.4 AV receiver, while still preserving the 3D video signal path. Your only option if you route the HDMI straight to the screen is to use a lossy optical/coax digital audio lead, which carries only DTS/DD5.1.

Networked entertainment

Sony has aggressively developed its online content portal, Bravia Internet Video. Hook up the HX803 to the internet via the Ethernet connection, or an optional Wi-Fi dongle (UWABR100) and you'll encounter a number of free and pay-TV content options. There's Demand 5, YouTube, Eurosport, LoveFiLM, trailers, DailyMotion plus copious other stuff.

Like the BD player, the HX803 also makes much of its DNLA network certification. However, its home network and streaming functions are far less straightforward than the Bravia 'net portal.

The set is happiest with local storage media. Plug in a USB flash drive and it'll find and play more common video file types, including AVIs and MKV HDs. It even plays out SRT subtitle files.

However, over the network it's a different story. The only video files it seemed interested in were MPEGs. It certainly couldn't see or play AVIs or MKVs from a NAS. MP3 audio playback over the network was fine.

The Blu-ray player had much of the same functions, but added it's own level of confusion. While the Bravia Internet interface is consistent, the portals differ slightly: BBC iPlayer features on the BD player (with HD), but it is currently missing on the TV (but expected soon).

As a media streamer, the S570 behaves much like the television with comparable File playback limitations. Across the network, my MKVs solicited a 'Not Playable' dialogue box, while AVIs ran well enough (and SRT subtitles were ignored). None of my test video files were recognised from a front-loaded USB and only MP3 and AAC music tracks were actually playable. This may be a sample fault, however.