Agree there is a difference between bluray and standard DVD but not like the example cited above. Even though both are 480i/p, there are other factors that enable standard DVDs to have much higher picture quality than standard TV broadcasts.

The only way to compare the two is the DVD version to that of blueray.

Sure, the audio is definitely improved over HD broadcasts. But I live about 10 miles from my local NBC's transmitter and I have a very large Channel Master Antenna for Radio and HDTV, so my signal strength is usually about 98%. I also have a standard Converter box and switching between it's input and the ATSC tuner, the sharpness differences and detail are very noticeable.

For general TV viewing and BD-Movies, I tend to prefer 1080i but for my PS3 games I have found that 720p works better though not by a huge margin.

Don't matter how strong an antenna is it can't pick up something that is not there.

i HAD THIS THE FIRST NIGHT I BOUGHT IT HOME. WORK FINE SATURDAY, SUNDAY MONDAY MORNING. lAST NIGHT I HEAR IT COME ON NO PICTURE?? I LEFT IT ON ALL NIGHT NO PICTURE? I CAN HEAR IT COME ON FLASH BUT NO PICTURE?? WHAT IS GOING ON?? PLEASE NEED HELP FAST!

i HAD THIS THE FIRST NIGHT I BOUGHT IT HOME. WORK FINE SATURDAY, SUNDAY MONDAY MORNING. lAST NIGHT I HEAR IT COME ON NO PICTURE?? I LEFT IT ON ALL NIGHT NO PICTURE? I CAN HEAR IT COME ON FLASH BUT NO PICTURE?? WHAT IS GOING ON?? PLEASE NEED HELP FAST!

Unplug the TV's power cord for a couple minutes it should reset itself.

THE LIGHT BLINKS A COUPLE OF TIMES...HMM.i HAVE IT PLUG IN A SURGE PROTECTOR. THEY SAID UNPLUG IT FOR A FEW MINUTES THEN PLUG IT DIRECTLY INTO THE WALL....I HOPE THAT IS THE PROBLEM AND NOT A BOARD IN THE TV. I CALLED AROUND AND THE SONY PEOPLE WANT $125 JUST TO SHOW UP!!

Sometimes the unit needs to be powered down so it can do a clean reboot. This is well known here. Bypassing the surge protector may not be needed. If the surge protector has a switch, turn off then on.

THE LIGHT BLINKS A COUPLE OF TIMES...HMM.i HAVE IT PLUG IN A SURGE PROTECTOR. THEY SAID UNPLUG IT FOR A FEW MINUTES THEN PLUG IT DIRECTLY INTO THE WALL....I HOPE THAT IS THE PROBLEM AND NOT A BOARD IN THE TV. I CALLED AROUND AND THE SONY PEOPLE WANT $125 JUST TO SHOW UP!!

Don't worry - I was advised the same thing by a Sony Service representative after my set wouldn't come on after the red light stopped blinking. Even though the manual states to plug it into a surge protector, I was told the 960 needs full electrical current to power up and degause fully which surge protectors prevent.

Ok..so it did this the Friday night...worked saturday..sunday and Monday...then it won't fully come on again...and this just needs to be unplugged wait 5 minutes and plugged into the wall?? am surprised at Sony with this problem with a $2000 TV! I just hope it works when I get home...the estimated repair i was told is $300 smackers!! I read in the other thread a board needs to be replaced?? I hope not...

I am trying to understand the procedure for setting the overscan area.

Initially, I only made adjustments in the 2170D sections and my geometry was good. I used the first pattern in the QM section which worked well for me, no distortions. When I sized the pattern on the screen, I put the dashed border just outside of view. I adjusted the blanking shutters to just cut the edges clean. Then recently, I thought I should look at the effect of making changes in the MID3 section. I adjusted the image so the dashed border just came back into view. it isn't clear to me what I should be trying to do or look for.

anyone run an xbr960 off a generator? i'd been running my 34xbr32 thusly; finally got grid power back today after 5 days.
the 34xbr2 did some tutti frutti things at the left & right 1/3 of the screen, evident even to the color-vision-challenged. but the center was great and amazingly little jitter/artifacts from the funky generator power.
cable was out for 5 days too so atsc tuner was mighty handy.
my portable tvs were useful too - it's going to be annoying dealing with atsc and a portable tv somehow in the next power outage, but we'll have to do it else we'll miss the news story about the dude who got too drunk for his own good and tried to force a repair crew to fix his power, so the cops tased him.
ps - sounds like the xbr960 has cool things in the service menu that 34xbr2 does not have. i can't get a grid pattern for 34xbr2 without using an external signal generator, as far as i know.

I am trying to understand the procedure for setting the overscan area.

Initially, I only made adjustments in the 2170D sections and my geometry was good. I used the first pattern in the QM section which worked well for me, no distortions. When I sized the pattern on the screen, I put the dashed border just outside of view. I adjusted the blanking shutters to just cut the edges clean. Then recently, I thought I should look at the effect of making changes in the MID3 section. I adjusted the image so the dashed border just came back into view. it isn't clear to me what I should be trying to do or look for.

In section 2107D-3, item 0 (HBLK) is for horizontal blanking and item 3 (VBLK) is for vertical blanking. They can either be set at 1 or 2 and the default for each is 1. Switch between the two when watching a full screen HD program and stick to the setting that shows the most picture PRIOR to adjusting the horizontal and vertical size (i.e., overscan).

Don't know if there is an overscan pattern in the QM section but If not, there is another way to assure it's set properly.

1) Be sure the picture is centered both horizontally and vertically before doing anything else.

2) Tune to any HD station that's actually broadcasting in HD (no 4x3 stretching).

3) Adjust both the vertical and horizontal sizes to the point where you start to see black on the edges so the picture will appear too small for the screen on all four sides.

4) Now, slowly re-adjust the horizontal and vertical sizes to the point where those black borders disappear and the picture fills the screen.

5) Switch to other HD stations just to be sure those black edges don't appear on others (most likely won't happen but if so, adjust accordingly).

Overscan will then be properly adjusted.

6) Next, re-do your geometry for 1080i full screen (sorry about that).

7) Do same for wide zoom, etc. geometry (only change items that are independent from full mode).

Again, sorry about the extra steps needed but as we've mentioned, changes in horizontal or vertical sizes will slightly affect geometry.

Also, don't be fooled by station graphics that cut off at the edges. One station here in New York actually had some letters cut off on the left, beyond the point where the black border started appearing.

Hope this answers your questions and helps with your adjustments.

So that explains the 2170D-3 adjustments but what about the MID3 adjustments? Which should be done first?

So that explains the 2170D-3 adjustments but what about the MID3 adjustments? Which should be done first?

Fizz,

Found no need for MID3 since satisified with overscan and geometry from other sections. Bur refer to post #511 on page 18 for answers to your question.

Anyone know what would be a good price to pay for one of these used?

Edit: Sorry, just found my answer a few posts back.

So my second question, If I did pick one up for around 400 bucks, how does it hold it's own against all other tv's out there in the under a grand range. I have an XBR970 which I'm pretty happy with, but always wanted the "Super Fine Pitch" model and the 960 looks to be the reigning king of 34" sets. Does this set still deserve all the praise it gets here, even after all the improvements in the last few years?

HELLO:

I got the 34xbr960 to come back on last night by turning off the cable box and then turning off the tv. Didn't try the unplugging and waiting for 5 minutes....is this a constant problem with this tv or does it need a service call? Also will this TV play a playstation 3?

doubletap25, your xbr960 should be awesome with the PS3, yesssssssssss.

DOES IT PLAY A PS3?? I HEARD THAT IT HAS A PROBLEM PLAYING BLUE RAY ON THE PS3 AND WON'T UPCONVERT THE 720P GAMES TOO 1080I. iS THIS TRUE BEFORE I BUY A PS3?

ALSO IS TH PROBLEM OF THE TV NOT COMING ON SOME TIME THAT COMMON?

DOES IT PLAY A PS3?? I HEARD THAT IT HAS A PROBLEM PLAYING BLUE RAY ON THE PS3 AND WON'T UPCONVERT THE 720P GAMES TOO 1080I. iS THIS TRUE BEFORE I BUY A PS3?

ALSO IS TH PROBLEM OF THE TV NOT COMING ON SOME TIME THAT COMMON?

Dude, turn off your CAPS LOCK key please.

Yes, it works fine with a PS 3.

Plug it directly into the wall outlet and not a power strip and you will be fine.

DOES IT PLAY A PS3?? I HEARD THAT IT HAS A PROBLEM PLAYING BLUE RAY ON THE PS3 AND WON'T UPCONVERT THE 720P GAMES TOO 1080I. iS THIS TRUE BEFORE I BUY A PS3?

ALSO IS TH PROBLEM OF THE TV NOT COMING ON SOME TIME THAT COMMON?

The XBR960 has no trouble converting 720p, it's the PS3 that is unable to upconvert certain games (although I'm not sure if they ever fixed the problem.) It's a PS3 problem, not a XBR960 problem.

Hi,

A question for blu-ray owners who use switch boxs so both blu-ray and cable can be seen via HDMI (input 7): does your blu-ray player provide enough flexibility to adjust color, contrast, brightness and sharpness so you do not have to change those already set for cable-HD on your 960?

Hello:

I have read that the PS3 is one of the top Blu Ray players.
I am reading here one second it works fine on this TV and the next there still
Might be a problem? I would just like to know if anyone has a PS3 hooked up
To this TV and how it works and how did they hook it up. How do the games play on it and how do the movies play on it.

Thanks

Hi,

I just picked up a used xbr960 and I am trying to setup my Mac as a DVR via ilink/firewire using Apple's Virtual DVHS. I have been able to receive a signal from the tv and watch the feed on my Mac using VLC but I cannot get anything to record. I'm so close! Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!
Jason
Charlottesville, VA

Hello:

I have read that the PS3 is one of the top Blu Ray players.
I am reading here one second it works fine on this TV and the next there still
Might be a problem? I would just like to know if anyone has a PS3 hooked up
To this TV and how it works and how did they hook it up. How do the games play on it and how do the movies play on it.

Thanks

I've got my PS3 hooked up via HDMI and I prefer use it at 720p instead of 1080i. I can see the interlacing on fast action when it's set at 1080i and that bothers me. Same goes for the Xbox 360.

I haven't actually watched any Blu-Ray movies yet!

Anyone know where I can download a firmware update?

Hi,

I just picked up a used xbr960 and I am trying to setup my Mac as a DVR via ilink/firewire using Apple's Virtual DVHS. I have been able to receive a signal from the tv and watch the feed on my Mac using VLC but I cannot get anything to record. I'm so close! Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!
Jason
Charlottesville, VA

Have you tried various channels? Where are you getting your signal from OTA, cable or sat? Since you can watch the feed but not record it, I am guessing it is a 5c encryption issue. I am not familiar with the Mac software, but in my windows setup, the software didn't care if I recorded from my cable box firewire port or the 960's port. Both worked the same, so the 960 isn't adding any additional limitations. Good luck.

Hello:

I have read that the PS3 is one of the top Blu Ray players.
I am reading here one second it works fine on this TV and the next there still
Might be a problem? I would just like to know if anyone has a PS3 hooked up
To this TV and how it works and how did they hook it up. How do the games play on it and how do the movies play on it.

Thanks

There are no problems using a PS3 on a 960. Games and movies look fantastic on it.

There are no problems using a PS3 on a 960. Games and movies look fantastic on it.

Agreed. I've been watching movies and playing games on it all day today. It works just like any other TV I own? I don't get where any rumor even came from? Btw movies and especially games look better on this than anything I've ever seen, it's pure eye candy. So glad I bought this set a couple weeks ago.

anyone run an xbr960 off a generator? i'd been running my 34xbr32 thusly; finally got grid power back today after 5 days.
the 34xbr2 did some tutti frutti things at the left & right 1/3 of the screen, evident even to the color-vision-challenged. but the center was great and amazingly little jitter/artifacts from the funky generator power.
cable was out for 5 days too so atsc tuner was mighty handy.
my portable tvs were useful too - it's going to be annoying dealing with atsc and a portable tv somehow in the next power outage, but we'll have to do it else we'll miss the news story about the dude who got too drunk for his own good and tried to force a repair crew to fix his power, so the cops tased him.
ps - sounds like the xbr960 has cool things in the service menu that 34xbr2 does not have. i can't get a grid pattern for 34xbr2 without using an external signal generator, as far as i know.

With all due respect [CAPS ON] DO NOT RUN ANYTHING WITH TRANSISTOR /IC CIRCUIT BOARDS OFF A HOME GENERATOR [/CAPS OFF].

The Voltage regulation on these units are not commercial in nature and will screw up things like this.

In the very worst case, get a UPS (AND SPECIAL NOTE HERE, A $200 UNIT WILL NOT WORK WITH THIS SET) like a APC 2200XL that will put out enough wattage for this set and will give you a good, clean constant power.

Otherwise, you will most likely screw something up.

I have the same issue in the top right corner.

The XBR960 features auto-convergence and it will self adjust the red during the first few minutes of operation. If you still feel the need to adjust convergence and believe the auto-convegence is not doing it's job, then be sure that your CRT is fully warmed up before you make any adjustments.

My red convergence issue usually disappears after a few minutes of running in it's typical operating temperature.

This post is really comical....it does not have an autoconvergence. The convergence is off when its cold and gets closer when it warms up - nothing is converging automatically - you would need an exact sensor in the room covering the entire screen for that to happen.

Ok..so it did this the Friday night...worked saturday..sunday and Monday...then it won't fully come on again...and this just needs to be unplugged wait 5 minutes and plugged into the wall?? am surprised at Sony with this problem with a $2000 TV! I just hope it works when I get home...the estimated repair i was told is $300 smackers!! I read in the other thread a board needs to be replaced?? I hope not...

Your TV is at least 30 months old - and maybe even 50+ months old.

Its not like you just purchased a new set.

As I have noted over and over, I have always purchased a 5 Year EW for all my HDTVs and always come out WAY AHEAD on those purchases.

Appears you would have as well.

Hello:

I have read that the PS3 is one of the top Blu Ray players.
I am reading here one second it works fine on this TV and the next there still
Might be a problem? I would just like to know if anyone has a PS3 hooked up
To this TV and how it works and how did they hook it up. How do the games play on it and how do the movies play on it.

Thanks

I tried to connect my PS3 to my 960 via an HDMI cable and could get neither a picture nor sound. I reset the PS3's output and tried all the other techniques for getting it to work via the HDMI cable, but it never did. It seems others here don't have the same issue.

I ended up connecting the PS3 via the component interface on Video 6 instead.

I have the PS3 connected directly to my 960 via HDMI and everything works just fine. The only issue I had was no sound originally. But by configuring the sound options on the PS3 I was able to get around that.

Edit: I have the originally 60gb hd PS3. Not sure if newer models did something different that might cause an issue.

Thanks Beach and Shadow for explaining why it's not necessary to have the highest resolution currently available in order to get the best possible picture on HD. Thought it was an important spec but as with other things, it's just another case of manufactuerers and salesmen pitching something that's not as important as it appears.

Isn't it good to know that even with all the advances made in flat panel and DSP technology the past few years that other than the Kuro plasma there still isn't a set that touches the 960?

What amazes me is that after getting the 960 calibrated by Chad, the tier 0/tier 1 blu-ray discs I have (Speed Racer, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Shoot Em' Up) really do look 3D and like I'm looking through a window instead of at a pre-recorded image on a TV... Unless you drop 6K on a Pioneer Kuro, there really isn't any other consumer-level tv out there that equals the 960 in terms of picture quality.Does anyone have a crt next to a Kuro in a dark scene? I'd like to see which is better and has more detail.

I tried to connect my PS3 to my 960 via an HDMI cable and could get neither a picture nor sound. I reset the PS3's output and tried all the other techniques for getting it to work via the HDMI cable, but it never did. It seems others here don't have the same issue.

I ended up connecting the PS3 via the component interface on Video 6 instead.

You need to try another device via HDMI to confirm the TV isn't the problem. There were a lot of HDMI board failures on the 960 models.

Had the time and patience to go through the entire 2107P category to see if my factory service adjustments were set at the Sony defaults (of course, except for the few I had changed previously).

About two-thirds under 2107P-1 were not and neither were some others for the rest of the category. For example, the BDOF (color temperature) was at 34 while the factory default was 45. BCUT (blue/bias cutoff) was set to 38 instead of 30. GAMM and GAMS for 480p was at the 1080i default while 1080i was set at 480p.

Of course, recorded the factory pre-sets before making any changes and compared them to both the default and KenTech's suggested adjustments. Will admit I understood what some items were but there were many that I didn't. But I'm glad I took the time (and patience) to go through the entire section because overall the defaults were indeed better than those of the factory (why these were selected I do not know).

After making these service adjustments I went back to my HD test patterns and saw minute changes were required for the user settings.

The overall change in picture quality was more subtle than night and day (my wife didn't notice anything), however, there is definitely more detail and more natural color. Also noticed the white level (luminence?) on print is stronger and sharper (and today's game in Foxboro played in the snow was a perfect example of how the whites are better). DVDs in 480p also improved as some 480p settings were also different from the defaults.

I know default settings aren't the final word and in cases where KenTech made his own suggestions (mostly color) I saw his settings did work better.

Again, not a major change in picture quality (once more, the wife saw no difference) but the improvement is there.

Had the time and patience to go through the entire 2107P category to see if my factory service adjustments were set at the Sony defaults (of course, except for the few I had changed previously).

About two-thirds under 2107P-1 were not and neither were some others for the rest of the category. For example, the BDOF (color temperature) was at 34 while the factory default was 45. BCUT (blue/bias cutoff) was set to 38 instead of 30. GAMM and GAMS for 480p was at the 1080i default while 1080i was set at 480p.

Of course, recorded the factory pre-sets before making any changes and compared them to both the default and KenTech's suggested adjustments. Will admit I understood what some items were but there were many that I didn't. But I'm glad I took the time (and patience) to go through the entire section because overall the defaults were indeed better than those of the factory (why these were selected I do not know).

After making these service adjustments I went back to my HD test patterns and saw minute changes were required for the user settings.

The overall change in picture quality was more subtle than night and day (my wife didn't notice anything), however, there is definitely more detail and more natural color. Also noticed the white level (luminence?) on print is stronger and sharper (and today's game in Foxboro played in the snow was a perfect example of how the whites are better). DVDs in 480p also improved as some 480p settings were also different from the defaults.

I know default settings aren't the final word and in cases where KenTech made his own suggestions (mostly color) I saw his settings did work better.

Again, not a major change in picture quality (once more, the wife saw no difference) but the improvement is there.


Has anyone gone through the entire SM of the 960 and made an excel sheet of all the available settings (even better if the factory defaults are listed). If so, where can I obtain a copy of the SpreadSheet?

Had the time and patience to go through the entire 2107P category to see if my factory service adjustments were set at the Sony defaults (of course, except for the few I had changed previously).Joe,

Do you actually have the physical Sony service manual for the DA-4 chassis? Or are you working from a posting of excerpts that Ken Tech and others posted (either in PDF or XLS form)? I question the values you quote below for the "factory defaults".

I purchased an actual physical DA-4 manual (9-965-965-05) from Sony when I bought my XBR960. It covers the members of the chassis family: 30XS955, 34XBR960, and 34XS955. Sony provided specific unique insert charts for "factory defaults" for each model separately.

I've re-checked the values shown on the particular insert (labeled "KD-34XBR960 SERVICE DATA ONLY") which I used to produce my previously posted XLS of my own XBR960's settings. And I have to say, the defaults which I show in my XLS do match what is printed in the actual Sony service manual insert pages for the set.

I have various assorted PDF's and XLS's posted by others on the "service tweaks" thread from Ken Tech, from years ago, and I have to say that I believe none of them actually were specifically for the 34XBR960 and/or they were incomplete in some way that was problematic. For example, I have PDF's of what looks like the same "insert pages" for what I believe was the HS420 (which of course is not in the same chassis family as the XBR960) and the values shown as "factory defaults" are quite different than those for the XBR960.

In fact, while my own XLS started by being cloned from one of these other earlier posted charts, I then modified it extensively to reflect ALL items shown on my XBR960's service menu, as well as showing default/actual for ALL items and for ALL inputs and for ALL resolutions. I wanted my XLS to be complete, and I never did find others that were... although they were clearly quite helpful.

I'd be cautious here, if you're not relying on an actual physical Sony service manual for the XBR960 in your hands to determine what "factory defaults" are.

And of course we both know that even brand new sets arrived "tweaked by the factory" so that many numbers never were those "factory defaults" anyway. Hence why I showed both numbers in my own XLS, although I did lose the ability to now tell the difference between my own "tweaked value" vs. what might have been "factory tweaked". All I can now see is that my value is other than the "factory default" as printed in the physical DA-4 service manual insert for the XBR960 which I own.


About two-thirds under 2107P-1 were not and neither were some others for the rest of the category.My "factory default" values don't match yours. Again, I'd be cautious here.

I assume you have "Pro" mode set, but do you have some other "bias" presets in effect? What are your color temp and color axis settings? While these might effect the "actual" values for your set, they wouldn't matter if looking for the "factory defaults"... but still.

As my XLS shows on the user menu tab, I have color temp = cool and color axis = default. Hence my "actual" settings, and possibly my choice for showing a "factory default" if values were available for a different color temp.


For example, the BDOF (color temperature) was at 34 while the factory default was 45. My 34XBR960 insert pages show two separate columns of unique values for 2170P-1 values 14-22, for the two color temps of "cool" and "warm". The default value shown is 34 for "cool" and 16 for "warm". No mention of 45. And curiously, there is no column shown for color temp of "neutral". I don't really know how to interpret that.

As my posted XLS shows (where I have "color temp = cool" set in the user menu, and thus showed 34 as the default) my own set's actual value was 34, which matches both "factory default" and what must have come as the "factory tweak" value. It's still unchanged by me or anyone, and is still 34.

I'd be cautious about working from an assumed "factory default" of 45 for BDOF for the XBR960. I don't think that's a correct number.


BCUT (blue/bias cutoff) was set to 38 instead of 30.This time there is only one column of printed values for items 7-13, but this time labeled "color temp neutral". And the "factory default" shown for BCUT is 22, not 30. My own set's current value is 31 (with color temp cool in effect), but my XLS shows the "factory default" of 22 which is the one and only value printed for BCUT (heading "color temp neutral").

I honestly don't know why there's only one column for "neutral" for items 7-13, and two columns for "cool" and "warm" for items 14-22, but that's what's shown. The values shown as "factory default" in my XLS for items 14-22 are from the "cool" column (since that's how I operate), and do match the printed values. I didn't show the "warm" value defaults. And even though I don't have color temp neutral set, I still showed the factory default and actual values for item 7-13, with my BCUT being 22/31 respectively. No mention of 30.


GAMM and GAMS for 480p was at the 1080i default while 1080i was set at 480p.The insert page for 2170P-4, item 17 GAMM, shows 4 separate rows of values corresponding to vivid, standard, movie and pro modes. The values shown in each row are unique.

NOTE: although items 7-12 were shown in the printed service manual for 2170P-4, these items were NOT in the firmware on my set. They were simply absent. So the item numbers printed for all subsequent printed items in the service manual were actually 6-less on my set than the printed value shown. My XLS reflects reality for 2170P-4 and shows the actual item numbers on my XBR960's firmware.

For example, GAMM is shown as 17 in the printed manual but was actually 11 on my set. My XLS reflects "reality" on my set, hence why GAMM appears as item 11 rather than item 17.

For each row of the GAMM item there are then unique major columns corresponding to the different inputs, RF, CV/YC, V5/V6, HDMI, MS, TWIN, ATSC. Furthermore, in the HD-capable major "input" columns there are then sub-columns for the various resolutions, 480i, 480p, 1080i and 720p. GAMM is indeed unique in "factory default" by input input and by source resolution from that input. And you can obviously tweak each value separately and have that value remembered.

However... in PRO mode EVERY FACTORY DEFAULT VALUE FOR GAMM IS 0! This was the case on my XBR960, and that's what I show in my XLS, both for default and actual.

Now you can obviously tweak GAMM and have it remembered. But all factory default GAMM values are 0 for PRO mode. There is no factory default difference in 480i, 480p, 720p or 1080i from any input.

As regards GAMS, there are only four columns printed and they correspond to settings of GAMM (which can vary from 0-3). Hence the four columns. There is no differentiation shown for GAMS by input or resolution, but rather only by GAMM value. And the factory defaults shown for GAMM/GAMMS are 0/0, 1/8, 2/8, and 3/8. Since GAMM has a factory default of simply 0 for PRO mode, I show a factory default value of 0 for GAMMS in my XLS. Again, no differentiation for GAMS by input or resolution.


Anyway, I'm just saying. I'm curious as to what source document (PDF or XLS) you got your 34XBR960 defaults from.

Has anyone gone through the entire SM of the 960 and made an excel sheet of all the available settings (even better if the factory defaults are listed). If so, where can I obtain a copy of the SpreadSheet?See attached.

Note that there are two tabs: one for user menu settings and a second for service menu settings.

Remember... the "actual" values shown are for my particular set, reflecting my user menu settings as well as the "magnet job" done right after I first bought my set four years ago (to attempt to correct curvature and convergence problems, which were indeed corrected with magnets and further service menu adjustments as reflected in the XLS).

But you can certainly use it as a starting point, for reference as you tweak and adjust, and to clone into a record of YOUR set's settings.

Refer to the "notes" at the end of the service menu for further insights. In particular, I've color coded things to make it visibly obvious when there is a difference for values from one input or resolution to what I treat as the "reference standard" of 1080i from INPUT6.

H=HDMI, C=component video, i=iLink/firewire, A=ATSC tuner, S=S-video. Color coding of columns should be intuitively helpful.

Hi Dsperber,

Thanks for bringing that to my attention and I very much appreciate you taking the time to clarify things for me. I now see that the spreadsheet I used was compiled by Andrew Rossmann and updated on May 31, 2004. He has a column next to "default" labeled "adjustments" so did I mistake what is listed under default as being Sony's while they were. in actuality, his own?

But I don't think it's a bad situation at all since I do prefere the picture now than before and have owned the 960 long enough to learn how to distinguish natural from un-natural and over-emphasisized. Again, the overall change in picture quality was subtle and if it was major I would then be very concerned about my judgement after reading your post above.

The majority of 2107P changes were under "1" and I count 14 of 21 different from my recorded factory pre-sets; everything under "2" matched those out of the box; 9 of 25 in "3" were changed (none of the scanning velocity modulations) and five of those were made on my own months ago while other than GAMS and GAMM none in "4" were altered except for RYR, RYB, GYR and GYB (which I also changed last year based on the consensus of earlier posts).

I keep everything in movie mode with the red emphasis off (monitor). HD is connected through HDMI.

The first time I went into the service menu was to adjust the overscan because factory technicians had it adjusted to where even the 5% safety line wasn't completely visable on all four sides. This then led me to change other settings to get the geometry properly set.

While the majority of my service settings are those of what came out of the box (and I haven't touched), some were also made on my own (geometry and those related to sharpness and edge enhancement which were easy), followed by red and green correction as suggested by members of this forum and just a few days ago those made by Andrew in the aforementioned section.
Again, I went back and forth to compare each setting before settling on which to use.

Obviously, you know the technical ins and outs so much better than I can ever hope for, however, I do like the subtle change in picture. All NFL games this afternoon and evening had a little added "punch" to them and so did local college hoops and nature shows which I think is due to better black and white levels.

I will look at your own sheet tomorrow at work (I use an MSNTV-2 browser that doesn't support ZIP) and will let you know if there are major differences in our settings. As you've said in the past, each set is unique in some ways so some sort of variation is to be expected.

Thanks again for all your help.

-Joe

I will look at your own sheet tomorrow at work (I use an MSNTV-2 browser that doesn't support ZIP)No need to "open" it in your browser... just download it to your hard drive and unzip it there, and then open it with Excel.

If you use Firefox, right-click on that attachment link and select "save link as..." and do the SAVE to your local hard drive. Then unzip (using WinZip, WinRar, or I believe even Windows now has built-in unzip capability).

If you use IE, right-click on the attachment link and select "save target as..." and proceed as above.

It's not a huge file but the forum does not allow XLS as a valid file extension for attachments. Hence the ZIP form. Sorry for the nuisance.

No need to "open" it in your browser... just download it to your hard drive and unzip it there, and then open it with Excel.

If you use Firefox, right-click on that attachment link and select "save link as..." and do the SAVE to your local hard drive. Then unzip (using WinZip, WinRar, or I believe even Windows now has built-in unzip capability).

If you use IE, right-click on the attachment link and select "save target as..." and proceed as above.

It's not a huge file but the forum does not allow XLS as a valid file extension for attachments. Hence the ZIP form. Sorry for the nuisance.

Dsperber,

Opened the attachment and made a quick comparion to the spreadsheet I used. Can see where my confusion was - he also had the original factory settings in parenthesis following his changes and I failed to notice this explanation at the end of the attachment.

Still, most of Andrew's settings are close to yours except of course for BDOF which you pointed out the consensus is to stay at 34 and 45 too extreme. Am I correct this is the adjustment for blue in the overall color temperature? I will switch between 34 and 45 when I get home to look for differences but note that at 45 the color test pattern (with blue filter glasses) was a near perfect evenly shade of blue and the hue could be left at zero, whereas in the past it had to be R2. Again, will see if there is any difference with the adjustment back at 34 with the blue filter spectacles.

Thanks again,
Joe

P.S. Forgot to add my color temeperature is "cool".

FOLLOW UP TO ABOVE.

Hi Disperber,

Went back and forth between 45 and 34 for BDOF which I assume is for blue level and especially checked color tones that could be affected by too much blue. Found only one instance when at 45 there was a slight bluish bleed-through. This was for the flesh tone of an African American and might have been due to the source because those on other stations appeared natural at the higher setting.

There was only a very subtle difference in color saturation between the two settings but I actually liked it at 45 for blues, etc. for blues appeared a slight bit subdued at 34. Overall color still natural and blue-filter glasses do show even shades of blue on the test pattern.

Thanks for all your help, explanations and spreadsheet - they certainly came in useful.

Joe

Does anyone have a crt next to a Kuro in a dark scene? I'd like to see which is better and has more detail.

Would be interesting to see, but they are a totally different class of display. 34" vs 50/60". If you have an option, take the Kuro...

While I agree it's probably still the best HD display ever made, 34" is not a 'home theater' size display...it's just a VERY NICE television.

....Still, most of Andrew's settings are close to yours except of course for BDOF which you pointed out the consensus is to stay at 34 and 45 too extreme. Am I correct this is the adjustment for blue in the overall color temperature? ....I may be misunderstanding the issue but I'll offer a few comments. It is my understanding that the xDOF and xCOF parameters are the offsets for drives and cuts when the cool and warm settings are selected. This actually creates the cool and warm, non-standard (non-65K) color temps. A value of 31 equals no offset, with < 31 a reduction in drive/cut and > 31 an increase in drive/cut. The default values represent standard offsets and in general should not be used to adjust color issues. This is considered grayscale calibration and is perfomed by adjusting for black to white with shades of gray in between. It is generally done with a neutral color temp selected and the drives and cuts adjusted for 65K for 0-100 IRE. Grayscale adjustments generally require instruments/color analyzers to perform.

Actual color calibration is then performed using the color decoder parameters RYR, RYB, GYR and GYB.

I may be misunderstanding the issue but I'll offer a few comments. It is my understanding that the xDOF and xCOF parameters are the offsets for drives and cuts when the cool and warm settings are selected. This actually creates the cool and warm, non-standard (non-65K) color temps. A value of 31 equals no offset, with < 31 a reduction in drive/cut and > 31 an increase in drive/cut. The default values represent standard offsets and in general should not be used to adjust color issues. This is considered grayscale calibration and is perfomed by adjusting for black to white with shades of gray in between. It is generally done with a neutral color temp selected and the drives and cuts adjusted for 65K for 0-100 IRE. Grayscale adjustments generally require instruments/color analyzers to perform.

Actual color calibration is then performed using the color decoder parameters RYR, RYB, GYR and GYB.

So it seems at 45 the setting for the cool temperature (which I use) slightly increased in blue emphasis. Though subtle, I really like the way the picture looks. Fortunately the color decoders were adjusted months ago based on everybody's consensus. Those I would never touch.

...... Fortunately the color decoders were adjusted months ago based on everybody's consensus. Those I would never touch.Everybody on AVSForum or everybody that stood in front of your set, viewing color calibration slides through color filters?:confused:

Everybody on AVSForum or everybody that stood in front of your set, viewing color calibration slides through color filters?:confused:

Change that to a CONSENSUS of posts on the subject by those who stood in front of THEIR sets. :D

Beachcomber if you want to be helpful cool...your post didn't help anyone..your just being a wiseguy!! I think we all know my set is old, may be someone knows something helpful maybe not...i have learned a lot of useful things by asking! Never hurts to ask!

Everybody on AVSForum or everybody that stood in front of your set, viewing color calibration slides through color filters?:confused:

Change that to a CONSENSUS of posts on the subject by those who stood in front of THEIR sets. :DUnderstood. ;) But, you do understand that every set is different and the calibration of analog related parameters such as grayscale, geometry, convergence and color decoding are different from set to set? BTW, the color decoder is fairly easy to check if you have color bars. Each of the three guns can be viewed by themselves for adjustment. No color filters required.:)

My concern is that you appear to be using the blue, cool, drive offset as a color decoder correction. Drives and Cuts are used for grayscale calibration and I believe drives effect low IRE levels and cuts affect the higher IRE levels.

Understood. ;) But, you do understand that every set is different and the calibration of analog related parameters such as grayscale, geometry, convergence and color decoding are different from set to set? BTW, the color decoder is fairly easy to check if you have color bars. Each of the three guns can be viewed by themselves for adjustment. No color filters required.:)

My concern is that you appear to be using the blue, cool, drive offset as a color decoder correction. Drives and Cuts are used for grayscale calibration and I believe drives effect low IRE levels and cuts affect the higher IRE levels.

Thanks for your concerns - yes, every set is unique to itself
and the only adjustments I made on my own were those that I either understood immediately or learned through observation with the use of test patterns and regular HD programming. I first started out with overscan and geometry and as my confidence grew continued with sharpness, edge enhancement, etc.

I recently referred to that aforementioned spreadsheet only to see if my settings matched the factory defaults. As mentioned to Disperber, I mistook one's suggested adjustments for factory defaults so just had to start the process all over again.

I did not experiment with those items so the blue cool drive offset was not used as a basis of color correction on my part. An adjustment of 45 for the offset appeared in place of the default 34 and the higher setting was just something I seem to prefer over the factory pre-set. Like most of the other items under 2107P, I just compared suggested adjustments to defaults and did no other experimentation on my own.

So again thanks to you and others for your suggestions and concerns that I did my tweaking correctly. I limited myself to items needed to correct overscan (which was way off out of the factory) and subsequent geometry and items under 2107P only so everything else has been left alone.

See attached.

Note that there are two tabs: one for user menu settings and a second for service menu settings.

Remember... the "actual" values shown are for my particular set, reflecting my user menu settings as well as the "magnet job" done right after I first bought my set four years ago (to attempt to correct curvature and convergence problems, which were indeed corrected with magnets and further service menu adjustments as reflected in the XLS).

But you can certainly use it as a starting point, for reference as you tweak and adjust, and to clone into a record of YOUR set's settings.

Refer to the "notes" at the end of the service menu for further insights. In particular, I've color coded things to make it visibly obvious when there is a difference for values from one input or resolution to what I treat as the "reference standard" of 1080i from INPUT6.

H=HDMI, C=component video, i=iLink/firewire, A=ATSC tuner, S=S-video. Color coding of columns should be intuitively helpful.

ty

Beachcomber if you want to be helpful cool...your post didn't help anyone..your just being a wiseguy!! I think we all know my set is old, may be someone knows something helpful maybe not...i have learned a lot of useful things by asking! Never hurts to ask!


Interesting.

Reviewing your original post, you stated:



Ok..so it did this the Friday night...worked saturday..sunday and Monday...then it won't fully come on again...and this just needs to be unplugged wait 5 minutes and plugged into the wall?? am surprised at Sony with this problem with a $2000 TV! I just hope it works when I get home...the estimated repair i was told is $300 smackers!! I read in the other thread a board needs to be replaced?? I hope not...

So everyone knows your TV is old (which means its not a $2000 TV) and you are surprised that a TV has a problem in 3-5 years after it is made.

So what part of someone knowing something helpful would change that in your post?

Anybody know where I could acquire one of the stands that match this TV? The SU-34XBR3? I would much rather have that stand than a generic walmart stand unless someone knows of a better one. Thanks for any help.

Anybody know where I could acquire one of the stands that match this TV? The SU-34XBR3? I would much rather have that stand than a generic walmart stand unless someone knows of a better one. Thanks for any help.

Crutchfeld on line has a large selection of stands and provides information on the amount of weight they can hold along with the dimensions.

Crutchfeld on line has a large selection of stands and provides information on the amount of weight they can hold along with the dimensions.

I believe he's asking about the original stand from Sony.

Its a 720p tv. thats 1280x720

Anybody know where I could acquire one of the stands that match this TV? The SU-34XBR3? I would much rather have that stand than a generic walmart stand unless someone knows of a better one. Thanks for any help.

Check your local craigslist, u might get lucky. Otherwise do a search on this thread for stands, lot of options from cheap to expensive.

Does anyone have a picture of the rear panel layout?
Its got 1 hdmi, 1 rgb and 6 rca inputs I believe. Also audio coaxial out i believe.

Its got 1 hdmi, 1 rgb and 6 rca inputs I believe. Also audio coaxial out i believe.

No RGB

Its 1 HDMI, 2 YPbPr and a firewire/IEEE 1394 for HD Inputs.

Inputs and Outputs
• Component Video Input (Y/PB/PR) 2 Rear
• Composite Input 1 Front/3 Rear
• HDMI 1 Rear
• S-Video Input (with detection) 1 Front/2 Rear (same input as Composite)
• Control S 1 Rear
• Audio Output 1 Rear
• Monitor Output 1 Rear


http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5528/kd34xbr960inputpanelrs9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Beachcomber...if you can't say something nice..just don't say anything.. Unless you work for sony and take that comment as a personal affront....

Beachcomber...if you can't say something nice..just don't say anything.. Unless you work for sony and take that comment as a personal affront....

???? Beachcomber was just accurately correcting a mistatement by whatshisname ???

Another one above about it being a 720p display went uncorrected. (it is like other Sony SFP direct view TVs with around 1400 horizontal resolution; definitely not 1280x720; but it will accept that resolution as an input, along with 1920x1080i; and display the result in 1080i)

I think this whole Direct view forum is going downhill; most posts are now about bargain hunting.

AVS should just kill the whole forum.

I think this whole Direct view forum is going downhill; most posts are now about bargain hunting.

AVS should just kill the whole forum.

No, don't kill it - many rely on this forum regarding service menu adjustments, etc. and it's the only place where we can exchange opinions and information.

I have been reading the posts in this forum for the last two days and I hope this is the right thread. I’ve had the 34XBR960 since it was new and have been very pleased. I’ve been watching SD DVDs with a Sony S550D (which is a standard non-progressive player) connected via component directly to the 960. The performance and quality of that setup has been excellent.

I just made the step up to Blu-ray with Sony’s S350 and the results have been somewhat disappointing. I’d like your opinions and if anyone thinks there is something wrong.

I get OTA HD on a couple channels and so I’ve seen what the 960 is capable of with broadcast HD. The Olympics were great and that made me want to step up to Blu-ray. The quality of my OTA is comparable to what I’ve seen in the stores (clarity, depth of color, “crispness”, and all the other HD aspects). I understand the difference between an HD LCD picture and an HD CRT picture and I’m not expecting the 960 to look like an LCD. What I was expecting is that Blu-ray would look fairly similar, if not better, than OTA HD on the 960. (True or not?)

I used as a benchmark Pirates of the Caribbean 1 and Wall*E (I figured a good action flick and one of the latest Pixar productions). I have the SD DVD and the Blu-ray of each film. The DVD is still hooked up with component video and the Blu-ray is connected via HDMI (1080i). I’ve tried to set all the picture settings (picture, brightness, etc.) as similar as possible for each input (to produce the same picture, not that the settings were the same). I compared still frames and moving sequences.

What I’m seeing from the Blu-ray is almost identical to my SD DVD. I see only very slight improvements in quality on the Blu-ray and only if you really look for it. What I’m seeing on the screen is definitely not up to the quality of OTA HD. This is not the “striking” change that I thought I would see out of Blu-ray.

I changed the Blu-ray to component video. Same result. I tried forcing the player to output only 720p or 480p (the 960 “display” confirms the signal change). No real change in quality. Essentially, no change I’ve made has shown any significant improvement over my SD DVD.

I don’t think I have a bad player, but I guess strange things have happened. Still, if the 960 is reporting 1080i, then that has to be an HD signal, right?

So, either I have gross over-expectations of Blu-ray or there is a problem somewhere. I’ve seen other posts here and most seem to agree that Blu-ray works well on the 960 and that it is an improvement over DVD. I didn’t think my SD DVD was that exceptional, but maybe it was. But when I watch OTA HD or Blu-ray on an LCD there is a significant and noticeable improvement over a SD picture (it’s HD after all). I’m not seeing that same quality with the S350 on my 960.

I’d love to hear what you think. I really want this to work, but if what I have is normal, I’m not sure it’s worth the upgrade. :confused:

I really want this to work, but if what I have is normal, I’m not sure it’s worth the upgrade. :confused:Don't give up the fight. I'm 100% sure you are absolutely correct in your expectations of OTA-like 1080i HD picture quality from your new Blu-Ray player of Blu-Ray discs when connecting to the 960 via HDMI.

Now personally, I don't own a Blu-Ray player so I can't speak from firsthand experience.

But I do believe I understand the "mechanics" involved enough to agree with you. And if the 960 displays "1080i" I would think the player is putting out the 1080i content from the disc, not upconverting some 480p version of the movie to 1080i (which would look good, but not really like HD). Seems impossible, though you even state you tried changing the player to put out 720p and 480p, and still saw no change which DOES suggest you're not actually playing the HD content on the Blu-Ray disc but somehow picking up conventional 480p content and just upconverting if necessary out the HDMI.

I'm not even sure that's true, or possible. But what else could explain your obvservation that things look the same at 480p, 720p and 1080i? Surely this is a player setting issue.

Surely others will help you get this straightened out. A Blu-Ray setup should look dramatically superior to your SD DVD.

Beachcomber...if you can't say something nice..just don't say anything.. Unless you work for sony and take that comment as a personal affront....

Right back at ya....

Next you'll want warranty work on a 1958 Corvette because it cost $4k at the time. rolleyes:

The only thing I cannot believe is people think that things will be 100% dependable for years past their warranty period. If that were the case, they would be warranted for that length of time.

Blu-Ray is less compressed and should offer a substantially superior picture to OTA. And that has been my experience.

(This on a big DLP screen. However, on my 22.5" FW900 the difference between DVD and HD was striking and you should be seeing a difference as well...)

I note you visually adjusted the picture so each input would appear matching the other and that might be the problem. Even though the color levels, etc. might appear the same, what is required for 1080i would not be sufficient for 480p. HD requires different levels of color, black, contrast, etc, compared to 480p and its extremely difficult to properly set these adjustments by relying on observation which more often fools people than helps them. Precise adjustments are needed for brightness, picture, etc. and any one of them being off just a tad will make a huge difference in both standard and HD quality.

To obtain proper settings for each component one should use test patterns found on set-up DVDs. Please note that what works for 1080i will be different than that for 480p. I have those specifically for 1080i stored on my DVR and for 480p use a THX optomizer found on standard DVDs (using blue filter glasses with each -if the discs don't include blue-filter glasses, they are inexpensive and can be purchased on line through www.thx.com).

Am not an owner of a bluray set but am sure if you have guidelines to properly adjust the picture, brightness, color, hue and sharpness you will probably be even happier with the performance of your 960on all levels.

Since you've used the same method of adjustment on both the 960 and a LCD you wonder why there is more of a difference between standard DVD and bluray on the flat screen compared to the 960? It's because the 960's super fine pitch CRT and upscaling does a better job of bringing out the best in 480p than most any other set whether it be LCD, Plasma or DLP.

Hope these suggestions help and please let us know it they did.

Joseph is right. The 960 does SD infinitely better than anything out there I've seen. DVD's almost look HD to me. I've got a blu-ray connected and just watched a couple blu-ray movies and there's definite improvement. Mainly in detail and black level/ color fidelity and it looks better than any OTA I've seen.

Maybe you're expecting the same temporal resolution that the olympics gave? Blu-ray movies mostly run at 24 fps and the olympics were 60 fps I think. There are some concert blu-rays that run at 60 fps if you could take a look at one of those maybe that's what you were looking for.

My only suggestion would be to get your TV calibrated(overscan reduction, geometry, convergence plus the usual stuff) or maybe run through your blu-ray settings a couple more times. I don't know, there's a noticeable difference on my set and I own a Sony SXRD 60A3000 for comparison.

The only thing I cannot believe is people think that things will be 100% dependable for years past their warranty period. If that were the case, they would be warranted for that length of time.

Hi Beach,

Have to disagree with you on this. Most stores and manufactuers make their money pushing extended warranties for equipment and appliances that are indeed dependable and on the most part will never require repair. They would lose money by selling extended warranties for products that were apt to break, the cost of repair far exceeding the price of the agreement.

It's also not economical for the consumer to renew their extended warranties year after year. If something does break down after five or six years, the combined cost of all the renewals would far exceed the cost of the actual repair job itself. It is only at this point that companies and stores would profit if they had to honor the warranty the sold.

Not to say a product can't break down after just a few years, however, that is more the exception than the rule except when it comes to cheap equipment made by no-name brands.

So, either I have gross over-expectations of Blu-ray or there is a problem somewhere.



It could also be your choice of benchmarks. While I have not seen your two choices on Blu Ray myself, I have done the upconvert SD/Blu Ray comparisons in the past with mixed results. Sometimes, like yourself, I saw virtually no difference between the two. And what small differences I did see, really took some effort. Other times there was a noticeable improvement but not what I would call earth shattering. But do yourself a favor and borrow or rent Lost Season 3 or 4 on Blu Ray, before you give up on the S350 and Blu Ray altogether, even if you aren't a fan of the show. They really are spectacular transfers and are clearly better than even the original OTA HD broadcasts. You will be able to tell after the first 5 minutes of watching a disc whether it is up to snuff with OTA HD. I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the results. Good Luck.

Hi Beach,

Have to disagree with you on this. Most stores and manufactuers make their money pushing extended warranties for equipment and appliances that are indeed dependable and on the most part will never require repair. They would lose money by selling extended warranties for products that were apt to break, the cost of repair far exceeding the price of the agreement.

It's also not economical for the consumer to renew their extended warranties year after year. If something does break down after five or six years, the combined cost of all the renewals would far exceed the cost of the actual repair job itself. It is only at this point that companies and stores would profit if they had to honor the warranty the sold.

Not to say a product can't break down after just a few years, however, that is more the exception than the rule except when it comes to cheap equipment made by no-name brands.


I'll state it again - I have purchased extended warranties on EVERY Sony HDTV I have ever owned - and always made BIG money from it. Already over $5,000 of repairs have gone into the 960 (3 tubes and assorted boards).

If you want a 5 year warranty and the sets were truly designed for 5 years, Sony would give it to you. If they are not going to break, there is no reason Sony WOULD NOT give you a 5 year warranty.

Margins have been cut razor thin. We are not talking hospital/government grade electronics - but consumer electronic parts with very low stability.

A Sony 40+ Inch SDTV RPTV cost around $3k 20 years ago (roughly $12k in todays dollars). Today you can find a 40+ inch HDTV for less than $1k.

The 20 year old one still works. The newer ones..... :D

Sony isnt what Sony was from the 60s-80s.

They also told us floppy disks had a 10 year life at one point. Said CD's were 50+ years. I can't tell you how many don't work less than a few years down the road.

Sorry, things don't last any longer. We are in a disposable society.

If you want a long warranty, you will have to pay for it - and as I stated, I will not have a unit without one.

I'll state it again - I have purchased extended warranties on EVERY Sony HDTV I have ever owned - and always made BIG money from it. Already over $5,000 of repairs have gone into the 960 (3 tubes and assorted boards).

If you want a 5 year warranty and the sets were truly designed for 5 years, Sony would give it to you. If they are not going to break, there is no reason Sony WOULD NOT give you a 5 year warranty.

Margins have been cut razor thin. We are not talking hospital/government grade electronics - but consumer electronic parts with very low stability.

A Sony 40+ Inch SDTV RPTV cost around $3k 20 years ago (roughly $12k in todays dollars). Today you can find a 40+ inch HDTV for less than $1k.

The 20 year old one still works. The newer ones..... :D

Sony isnt what Sony was from the 60s-80s.

They also told us floppy disks had a 10 year life at one point. Said CD's were 50+ years. I can't tell you how many don't work less than a few years down the road.

Sorry, things don't last any longer. We are in a disposable society.

If you want a long warranty, you will have to pay for it - and as I stated, I will not have a unit without one.

Hi Beach,

Sorry so many repairs were needed on your 960 (think I recall them from past posts) and in this case, the extended warranty was well justified. But there's an interesting on-line discussion in the HDTV Magazine Forum and most agree extended warranties are more a way for stores to increase their profit margins and are not necessary.

And if we found products from a particular manufacturer were constantly in need of repair we would simply stop doing business with them, including Sony

Joseph is right. The 960 does SD infinitely better than anything out there I've seen. DVD's almost look HD to me. I've got a blu-ray connected and just watched a couple blu-ray movies and there's definite improvement. Mainly in detail and black level/ color fidelity and it looks better than any OTA I've seen.

Maybe you're expecting the same temporal resolution that the olympics gave? Blu-ray movies mostly run at 24 fps and the olympics were 60 fps I think. There are some concert blu-rays that run at 60 fps if you could take a look at one of those maybe that's what you were looking for.

My only suggestion would be to get your TV calibrated(overscan reduction, geometry, convergence plus the usual stuff) or maybe run through your blu-ray settings a couple more times. I don't know, there's a noticeable difference on my set and I own a Sony SXRD 60A3000 for comparison.

many people buy CRT's because of good standard definiton programming picture.

Last week the automatic degauser didn't work and there were blue blotches in the lower corner that were eliminated after unplugging the set for about five minutes. Since that time, however, I thought the picture quality was not as good as I was used to. At first, I thought it was something with the compressed cable signals (480p still seemed OK) but today I remembered that degaussing problem so I decided to unplug it for at least 30 minutes. After plugging it back in, it seemed the more vibrant picture I was used to had returned.

Is it possible I didn't keep the 960 unplugged long enough that first time to allow the degauser and other circuitry to kick back fully?

Yes. Degauss should reset in about 10-15 minutes after turning it on. Then power off/on TV it should hum/click.

Yes. Degauss should reset in about 10-15 minutes after turning it on. Then power off/on TV it should hum/click.

:)

Thanks, for a while I thought I was going through some self psycho-analysis with the picture quality suddenly changing.

Hi Beach,

Sorry so many repairs were needed on your 960 (think I recall them from past posts) and in this case, the extended warranty was well justified. But there's an interesting on-line discussion in the HDTV Magazine Forum and most agree extended warranties are more a way for stores to increase their profit margins and are not necessary.

And if we found products from a particular manufacturer were constantly in need of repair we would simply stop doing business with them, including Sony

Agreed, companies would not sell extended warranties if they were not profitable to them. The only reason that I would buy extended warranty is for my the peace of mind. There are sometimes exceptions to the rule like first first xbox 360 models though.

Considering CRT technology used in the set and all the features it has, I would not be surprised if failure rate on xbr 960 is a little higher than some other Sony crts like xbr800, hs420, or xbr970 though. However, I think that many "reliability" issues came from people who had unreasonable expectations about the set to begin with, which is understandable considering the set's initial price.

I have been reading the posts in this forum for the last two days and I hope this is the right thread. I’ve had the 34XBR960 since it was new and have been very pleased. I’ve been watching SD DVDs with a Sony S550D (which is a standard non-progressive player) connected via component directly to the 960. The performance and quality of that setup has been excellent.

I just made the step up to Blu-ray with Sony’s S350 and the results have been somewhat disappointing. I’d like your opinions and if anyone thinks there is something wrong.

I get OTA HD on a couple channels and so I’ve seen what the 960 is capable of with broadcast HD. The Olympics were great and that made me want to step up to Blu-ray. The quality of my OTA is comparable to what I’ve seen in the stores (clarity, depth of color, “crispness”, and all the other HD aspects). I understand the difference between an HD LCD picture and an HD CRT picture and I’m not expecting the 960 to look like an LCD. What I was expecting is that Blu-ray would look fairly similar, if not better, than OTA HD on the 960. (True or not?)

I used as a benchmark Pirates of the Caribbean 1 and Wall*E (I figured a good action flick and one of the latest Pixar productions). I have the SD DVD and the Blu-ray of each film. The DVD is still hooked up with component video and the Blu-ray is connected via HDMI (1080i). I’ve tried to set all the picture settings (picture, brightness, etc.) as similar as possible for each input (to produce the same picture, not that the settings were the same). I compared still frames and moving sequences.

What I’m seeing from the Blu-ray is almost identical to my SD DVD. I see only very slight improvements in quality on the Blu-ray and only if you really look for it. What I’m seeing on the screen is definitely not up to the quality of OTA HD. This is not the “striking” change that I thought I would see out of Blu-ray.

I changed the Blu-ray to component video. Same result. I tried forcing the player to output only 720p or 480p (the 960 “display” confirms the signal change). No real change in quality. Essentially, no change I’ve made has shown any significant improvement over my SD DVD.

I don’t think I have a bad player, but I guess strange things have happened. Still, if the 960 is reporting 1080i, then that has to be an HD signal, right?

So, either I have gross over-expectations of Blu-ray or there is a problem somewhere. I’ve seen other posts here and most seem to agree that Blu-ray works well on the 960 and that it is an improvement over DVD. I didn’t think my SD DVD was that exceptional, but maybe it was. But when I watch OTA HD or Blu-ray on an LCD there is a significant and noticeable improvement over a SD picture (it’s HD after all). I’m not seeing that same quality with the S350 on my 960.

I’d love to hear what you think. I really want this to work, but if what I have is normal, I’m not sure it’s worth the upgrade. :confused:

You are not going to see a big difference on a 34" screen. I had a XS955 and saw a improvement but not that much. Now on my 52" Samsung 1080p LCD the difference between a dvd and Blu-Ray is blaringly obvious.

You are not going to see a big difference on a 34" screen. I had a XS955 and saw a improvement but not that much. Now on my 52" Samsung 1080p LCD the difference between a dvd and Blu-Ray is blaringly obvious.

Even though I'm not a bluray owner and never hooked one up to the 960, I tend to agree that for owners of our set there will be a difference but not a dramatic jaw breaking difference. For when I saw a sony demonstration with side by side comparisions my first reaction wasn't how much better the bluray picture looked but rather how worse the DVD example appeared in comparision to those I see at home. My guess is an interlaced output without any upscaling was selected in order to show the most dramatic difference between the two.

BTW - the demo was on a 46 inch Sony LCD.

DVDs look very good on xbr 960 no doubt. I can not comment on blu-ray with complete certainty, but HD channels on xbr 960 look a lot better than DVDs. I would assume that blu-rays will at least mach the best quality of hd channels. Since there is less compression on blu-rays than on HD channels, I would no be surprised that blu-ray looks even better than HD programming.

DVDs look very good on xbr 960 no doubt. I can not comment on blu-ray with complete certainty, but HD channels on xbr 960 look a lot better than DVDs. I would assume that blu-rays will at least mach the best quality of hd channels. Since there is less compression on blu-rays than on HD channels, I would no be surprised that blu-ray looks even better than HD programming.

Agree. Fresh prints look gorgeous in HD, however, I actually have films that look better on DVD compared to being aired on HBO or Starz. Could be due to the source, compression or pictures cropped and stretched at 16x9 rather than their theatrical aspect ratios.

I think the slightly marginal difference in quality between blu-ray and dvd(to some people, not me) really is because the 960 does DVD so well. LCD's on the other hand make DVD look like digital refuse. LCD's make pretty much anything that isn't native resolution look bad.

Now what I really don't get is how people with 1080P LCD's don't see a big difference between DVD and Blu-Ray? It's mind boggling

I think the slightly marginal difference in quality between blu-ray and dvd(to some people, not me) really is because the 960 does DVD so well. LCD's on the other hand make DVD look like digital refuse. LCD's make pretty much anything that isn't native resolution look bad.

Now what I really don't get is how people with 1080P LCD's don't see a big difference between DVD and Blu-Ray? It's mind boggling

Now if I could have the deep blacks of a 960 and the resolution of my Samsung 52" 1080p set It would be the mother of all HDTVs.

I hear the new samsung LED LCD's come pretty close but there's still a few kinks to work out(black crush). As always the Kuro is a sure bet.

Hi Beach,

Sorry so many repairs were needed on your 960 (think I recall them from past posts) and in this case, the extended warranty was well justified. But there's an interesting on-line discussion in the HDTV Magazine Forum and most agree extended warranties are more a way for stores to increase their profit margins and are not necessary.

And if we found products from a particular manufacturer were constantly in need of repair we would simply stop doing business with them, including Sony

The bottom line is most people dont realize their TVs have a problem and thus do not make the call.

When HDTV owners can have their TV connected up to ths SD outputs of cable boxes and the like (or not even have an HD Source), its no surprise to me that people do not see more issues.

Most people do not realize that their apeture grill is failing on their 34XBR960 (or 910). As you know, most never had the convergence right in the first place (and there were many bad tubes that could not be brought in properly in the first place). So no, it does not surprise me that most extended warranties make money for the Company and not the Consumer.

Again, for me (and the discerning eye) especially with as cheap as these things as made now, I will not own a HDTV without a 5 year warranty and thus far I am roughly $10k ahead of the game just on Sony products alone. There are plenty of issues with Sonys, both the CRTs and the SXRD (which is why none are made any longer), yet people do not seem to have stopped buying Sony as you state.

Sony today is not what Sony was when it built its name. I have watched as the first Sony Color TV lasted 15 years for my parents, the same size CRT that replaced that lasted ONLY 10 years, that replacement then lasted only 5. See the pattern?

If you get 5 years out of a TV today, you are doing very good. They are not made to last that long in many cases.

Extended warranty was a necessity on the SXRD. (But the tech was worth the hassle...)

As to the earlier CRTs lasting forever, it might be more useful to see how long the first ones lasted...(In any case, it certainly seems like anything bought today and for a while to come, will face rapid obsolescence...)

I have been reading the posts in this forum for the last two days and I hope this is the right thread. I’ve had the 34XBR960 since it was new and have been very pleased. I’ve been watching SD DVDs with a Sony S550D (which is a standard non-progressive player) connected via component directly to the 960. The performance and quality of that setup has been excellent.

I just made the step up to Blu-ray with Sony’s S350 and the results have been somewhat disappointing. I’d like your opinions and if anyone thinks there is something wrong.

I get OTA HD on a couple channels and so I’ve seen what the 960 is capable of with broadcast HD. The Olympics were great and that made me want to step up to Blu-ray. The quality of my OTA is comparable to what I’ve seen in the stores (clarity, depth of color, “crispness”, and all the other HD aspects). I understand the difference between an HD LCD picture and an HD CRT picture and I’m not expecting the 960 to look like an LCD. What I was expecting is that Blu-ray would look fairly similar, if not better, than OTA HD on the 960. (True or not?)

I used as a benchmark Pirates of the Caribbean 1 and Wall*E (I figured a good action flick and one of the latest Pixar productions). I have the SD DVD and the Blu-ray of each film. The DVD is still hooked up with component video and the Blu-ray is connected via HDMI (1080i). I’ve tried to set all the picture settings (picture, brightness, etc.) as similar as possible for each input (to produce the same picture, not that the settings were the same). I compared still frames and moving sequences.

What I’m seeing from the Blu-ray is almost identical to my SD DVD. I see only very slight improvements in quality on the Blu-ray and only if you really look for it. What I’m seeing on the screen is definitely not up to the quality of OTA HD. This is not the “striking” change that I thought I would see out of Blu-ray.

I changed the Blu-ray to component video. Same result. I tried forcing the player to output only 720p or 480p (the 960 “display” confirms the signal change). No real change in quality. Essentially, no change I’ve made has shown any significant improvement over my SD DVD.

I don’t think I have a bad player, but I guess strange things have happened. Still, if the 960 is reporting 1080i, then that has to be an HD signal, right?

So, either I have gross over-expectations of Blu-ray or there is a problem somewhere. I’ve seen other posts here and most seem to agree that Blu-ray works well on the 960 and that it is an improvement over DVD. I didn’t think my SD DVD was that exceptional, but maybe it was. But when I watch OTA HD or Blu-ray on an LCD there is a significant and noticeable improvement over a SD picture (it’s HD after all). I’m not seeing that same quality with the S350 on my 960.

I’d love to hear what you think. I really want this to work, but if what I have is normal, I’m not sure it’s worth the upgrade. :confused:

You have to hook the blu-ray player up via component to see a significant difference. HDMI was not implemented properly on these sets and results in a softening of the image. Component video is a lot sharper, but you need to get some high quality cables that shield out noise which can cause ringing around the edges of things. I recommend buying a pair at bluejeanscable.com

You have to hook the blu-ray player up via component to see a significant difference. HDMI was not implemented properly on these sets and results in a softening of the image. Component video is a lot sharper, but you need to get some high quality cables that shield out noise which can cause ringing around the edges of things. I recommend buying a pair at bluejeanscable.com

Found the opposite regarding my HD DVR. After adjusting the settings via HD test patterns I played back a HD broadcast recorded on the DVR to compare the two. On component the color was less vibrant and the sharpness way too soft compared to HDMI. No noise or shadows around the edges, just a very dull picture.

I can't believe reviewers wouldn't have picked up an HDMI problem or have designated the 960 as a flagship HD monitor if they found the picture too soft, however, if it did exist, could the HDMI problem have been resolved on later produced sets?

Also, by hooking up bluray via component, doesn't that eliminate the player's ability to upconvert 480i discs?

That reminds me, I had my PS3 hooked up to this set the other day via component cables and the TV was reporting 1080i for DVD's. W T F

Found the opposite regarding my HD DVR. After adjusting the settings via HD test patterns I played back a HD broadcast recorded on the DVR to compare the two. On component the color was less vibrant and the sharpness way too soft compared to HDMI. No noise or shadows around the edges, just a very dull picture.

I can't believe reviewers wouldn't have picked up an HDMI problem or have designated the 960 as a flagship HD monitor if they found the picture too soft, however, if it did exist, could the HDMI problem have been resolved on later produced sets?

Also, by hooking up bluray via component, doesn't that eliminate the player's ability to upconvert 480i discs?

Most of the ISF techs recommended in 2004 to connect these sets up via Component and not HDMI/DVI.

Now, having said that, that could have been an issue with the old STBs and their HDMI/DVI outputs which were first generation units as well - and their component could have looked better.

Regardless, I know that a 960 connected up from a SA8300HD via HDMI and a CableCard, the CableCard removes another layer of "fog" from the picture.

I see the same effect when using the IEEE1394 port on the 960 as I do when I use the cablecard.

Most of the ISF techs recommended in 2004 to connect these sets up via Component and not HDMI/DVI.

Now, having said that, that could have been an issue with the old STBs and their HDMI/DVI outputs which were first generation units as well - and their component could have looked better.

Might be. My 960 was manufactured in May, 2005, (second generation?).

Might be. My 960 was manufactured in May, 2005, (second generation?).


Same HDMI board/circuit is in all the 960s. I meant the STBs HDMI outputs.

Found the opposite regarding my HD DVR. After adjusting the settings via HD test patterns I played back a HD broadcast recorded on the DVR to compare the two. On component the color was less vibrant and the sharpness way too soft compared to HDMI. No noise or shadows around the edges, just a very dull picture.

I can't believe reviewers wouldn't have picked up an HDMI problem or have designated the 960 as a flagship HD monitor if they found the picture too soft, however, if it did exist, could the HDMI problem have been resolved on later produced sets?

Well, I've found a consistent level of increased clarity via component compared to HDMI from at least 5 different sources. Now I'm making all my comparisons in "Pro" mode with the sharpness at minimum and velocity scan set to "off."

Chad Billheimer, one of this communities highest regarded ISF calibrators, said he has verified with test patters that component video is sharper on these sets.

Also, by hooking up bluray via component, doesn't that eliminate the player's ability to upconvert 480i discs?

Yes it does.

Might be. My 960 was manufactured in May, 2005, (second generation?).

Mine was manufactured in June of 2005.

Well, I've found a consistent level of increased clarity via component compared to HDMI from at least 5 different sources. Now I'm making all my comparisons in "Pro" mode with the sharpness at minimum and velocity scan set to "off."

Chad Billheimer, one of this communities highest regarded ISF calibrators, said he has verified with test patters that component video is sharper.



Yes it does.

FWIW, I think someone in this thread mentioned a while back that a setting that softens the HDMI signal needs to be disabled in the Service menu...

FWIW, I think someone in this thread mentioned a while back that a setting that softens the HDMI signal needs to be disabled in the Service menu...

I've done that. Still the same result.

I have to agree with RWetmore-(Whats up man..I'm finally getting around to taking off the anti-glare filter! LOL).
I have an early unit(build date 6/2004) and stopped using HDMI a long time ago. While the colors look the same, I do notice a softer picture with the HDMI. I currently have video 6 hooked to a Toshiba XA2 and I share video 5 with a PS3 and Xbox 360. My TV was last calibrated by ChadB a little over 2 years ago. He's coming by again soon and I will ask him to compare the results.

On a side note, I was watching 'The Dark Knight' on Blueray last night. The IMAX scenes looked truly incredible!!! It was like the experience of watching HD for the very first time again! IMHO, it came extremely close to the image on the 60" 2nd gen, Pioneer elite signature series Kuro monitor that I was watching over and over again in Best Buy just the other day. Made me feel very proud and want to hold on to this TV a bit longer, despite the way prices are dropping out there.

I've done that. Still the same result.

What is the item number in the service menu to disable the softening for HDMI?

What is the item number in the service menu to disable the softening for HDMI?

I forget. You might want to search or ask someone in the Sony Service Codes thread.

I'm not doubting what you are seeing. My guess is that the component out of your HD-DVR box is either defective or just very poor quality.

I've compared component video to HDMI with the following components:

Scientific Atlanta Cable Box
Toshiba HD-A1
Toshiba HD-A2
Panasonic DMP-BD10
Sony BDP-S301
Sony BDP-S1

Every one of these is considerably sharper with component.

I have to agree with RWetmore-(Whats up man..I'm finally getting around to taking off the anti-glare filter! LOL).

Hey. Have you taken it off yet?

I have an early unit(build date 6/2004) and stopped using HDMI a long time ago. While the colors look the same, I do notice a softer picture with the HDMI. I currently have video 6 hooked to a Toshiba XA2 and I share video 5 with a PS3 and Xbox 360. My TV was last calibrated by ChadB a little over 2 years ago. He's coming by again soon and I will ask him to compare the results.

When is Chad coming? I might be interested in a grey scale touch up.

I've got a 960 that I (and thankfully the wife too!) love, but my problem is that my receiver is literally ancient- it's circa 1991 or so, so no digital anything, just a few RCA connections. I got it when I was in high school and it was what I needed to listen to the radio and to CDs so it was fine.... It's also hooked up to an old (but working just fine) 3.1 speaker set that works, but well obviously no surround, etc....

But now I've got this great hi-def tv set, a PS3 for Blu-Rays and games, and an HD DVR from Dish and I'd like to use something other than the TV's speakers for audio. (My non upscaling DVD player is the only thing running through the receiver and is hooked up via component to the tv).

So I'm contemplating replacing my receiver with something like the Sony HTCT100- but my big problem is the entertainment center and a CRT tv set. (It sure seems like these sound bars are designed to work perfectly with an LCD/plasma screen- but otherwise they seem to be an odd fit). I certainly can't put the soundbar under the tv without some sort of new entertainment center built specifically for that; nor can I easily just place it on top of the set as I'm afraid it would fall off, etc....

So is anyone out there using a 960 (or other 34" sized HD CRT set) and a soundbar system of some sort? And if so- what sort of cabinet/media center do you have it in or how is it setup. (or is it hooked up/arranged in some sort of other method or enclosure? Custom bracket to mount/attach it to the top of the tv??)

My TV sits in the corner of the room (literally the entertainment center is in the corner on a 45degree angle)- so I've got a bit of room to work with, but I'm also a bit constricted by the fireplace on the left side of the tv.... but I'm open to suggestions on what to do with the idea of adding a soundbar and making it still be visually appealing to the setup.

Thanks for your help everyone!

I forget. You might want to search or ask someone in the Sony Service Codes thread.

I'm not doubting what you are seeing. My guess is that the component out of your HD-DVR box is either defective or just very poor quality.

I've compared component video to HDMI with the following components:

Scientific Atlanta Cable Box
Toshiba HD-A1
Toshiba HD-A2
Panasonic DMP-BD10
Sony BDP-S301
Sony BDP-S1

Every one of these is considerably sharper with component.

Same here. I do not doubt you and others find component video superior to that of HDMI. And there are also some who have purchased switch boxes to hook up multiple components (bluray, xbox 360, cable box) via HDMI (obviously those with upconverting players have no choice but to use the HDMI connection). I honestly expected to find no difference between the two.

It could be the SA 8300 HD DVR as you mentioned. In the AVS forum for Cablevision of New York many feel (as I do) that it's component output isn't as good as that of HDMI.

The bottom line: we're all happy with our 960s.

:)

Hey. Have you taken it off yet?

No, I intend to do it next weekend. I put it off until I before I would get the set calibrated again. Missed Chad's last 2 visits.


When is Chad coming? I might be interested in a grey scale touch up.

He's gonna be at my place on Monday morning, January 19th.

He's gonna be at my place on Monday morning, January 19th.

Are you having him recalibrate the whole thing?

My 960 has served me well. Dark Knight BRay on PS3 on this TV was great.

Santa brought a Sammy LCD LN40A630 for bedroom, and I prefer the Sony's rendering of the same Bluray! Perhaps I have yet to find the best settings on the LCD.

An upgrade, at least in size, is coming to our family room, sending the 960 to basement.

I am considering Pioneer 60" pro fd151 and Sammy 67" dlp. How close will the blacks and overall PQ be on either of these look compared to my all time favorite, the 960?

Pioneer will be close. Sammy no so much.

My 960 has served me well. Dark Knight BRay on PS3 on this TV was great.

Santa brought a Sammy LCD LN40A630 for bedroom, and I prefer the Sony's rendering of the same Bluray! Perhaps I have yet to find the best settings on the LCD.

An upgrade, at least in size, is coming to our family room, sending the 960 to basement.

I am considering Pioneer 60" pro fd151 and Sammy 67" dlp. How close will the blacks and overall PQ be on either of these look compared to my all time favorite, the 960?

An LCD will never compare to a CRT in terms of Colour and motion Quality. Only a plasma display is the closet comarison to a Hi-Scan XBR

The Samsung 67" DLP (assuming you mean the HL67A750 LED backed model) has an amazing price/performance ratio. And though for a lot more money, that Pioneer is arguably the finest TV in the world....

The Samsung 67" DLP (assuming you mean the HL67A750 LED backed model) has an amazing price/performance ratio. And though for a lot more money, that Pioneer is arguably the finest TV in the world....

Pioneer certainly makes a fine TV and I'd buy one if I could. However, Mitsubishi's newest LaserView TV makes Pioneer's Kuro look like a Vizio LCD.

If you need wall mountability buy a Kuro. If you desire the best picture quality buy a LaserVue.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/10/18/mitsubishis-65-inch-laservue-hdtv-undergoes-further-testing/

http://www.thetechlounge.com/article/585/Mitsubishi-LaserVue-65-HDTV-We-Meet-Again/

http://www.thetechlounge.com/files/articles/585/IronMan_Comparison_Web.jpg
Just look at how much more building detail there is. On my Sony GDM-F500 and GDM-FW900 CRT monitors, I can see huge differences in the quality.

What's peoples sharpness set at for this TV? I had to turn it down to min to get rid of artifacts. Is this the consensus? It looks more natural at min but ever so slightly less detailed(of course).

What's peoples sharpness set at for this TV? I had to turn it down to min to get rid of artifacts. Is this the consensus? It looks more natural at min but ever so slightly less detailed(of course).

All depends upon how the various factors shaping sharpness and edge enhancement are callibrated within the service section. Originally mine were very low however once I did some callibrating it reduced the ratio between soft and hard so I'm able to keep it at 29 for both HDMI and 480p (edge enhancement high for HDMI and medium for 480p). I use the movie mode.

Have you tried lowering edge enhancement?

What's peoples sharpness set at for this TV? I had to turn it down to min to get rid of artifacts. Is this the consensus? It looks more natural at min but ever so slightly less detailed(of course).

Yes, the minimum setting in pro mode is the only way to get no edge enhancement. Most people settle for a little enhancement. I'm a purist and can't stand any of it, so I have everything at minimum.

Have you tried lowering edge enhancement?

I have edge enhancement off. Haven't touched the service menu as I'm having ChadB come out in about a month to calibrate.

@RWetmore - I used the AVCHD disc on my PS3 to come to the same conclusion. Min in pro mode for no artifacts. I think I'll leave it that way as it looks natural and I'm the same I can't stand any altering of source.

The settings I came to with the AVCHD disc are -

Pro mode

Everything at standard setting except

Brightness - 35
Contrast - 38
Sharpness - Min
Color Temp - Warm

I did not reduce the red push to the monitor setting as it resulted in a green tint to my eyes. I'd much rather deal with a red tint. Color temp normal is fatiguing to my eyes.



Edit* - I just checked the batteries in the remote. The same remote that I received when I purchased the TV last month from craigslist. The guy told me he hardly used the set and bought it brand new 2 yrs ago from (BB or CC can't remember). Well the freakin remote still has the original sony batteries in it so I guess he wasn't lying about the low usage. This TV is nearly facking mint.

I have edge enhancement off. Haven't touched the service menu as I'm having ChadB come out in about a month to calibrate.

@RWetmore - I used the AVCHD disc on my PS3 to come to the same conclusion. Min in pro mode for no artifacts. I think I'll leave it that way as it looks natural and I'm the same I can't stand any altering of source.

The settings I came to with the AVCHD disc are -

Pro mode

Everything at standard setting except

Brightness - 35
Contrast - 38
Sharpness - Min
Color Temp - Warm

I did not reduce the red push to the monitor setting as it resulted in a green tint to my eyes. I'd much rather deal with a red tint. Color temp normal is fatiguing to my eyes.



Edit* - I just checked the batteries in the remote. The same remote that I received when I purchased the TV last month from craigslist. The guy told me he hardly used the set and bought it brand new 2 yrs ago from (BB or CC can't remember). Well the freakin remote still has the original sony batteries in it so I guess he wasn't lying about the low usage. This TV is nearly facking mint.

Glad you found it in nearly mint condition. These are my user settings for HDMI -just for comparision:


MODE MOVIE
PICTURE 44
BRIGHTNESS 29
COLOR 38
HUE 0
SHARPNESS 29
COLOR TEMPERATURE cool
COLOR ACCESS: default

While different from your's each set performs differently so nothing is written in stone. As mentioned, service callibrations have a profound affect on user settings. For example, my factory SERVICE setting for edge enhancement was set at high creating either too hard a picture or one smooth but less detailed. By adjusting it to flat there was no longer a need to keep either user setting near minimum and more detail became apparrent without the grain or harshness as before.

Are you having him recalibrate the whole thing?

Yes.

Glad you found it in nearly mint condition. These are my user settings for HDMI -just for comparision:


MODE MOVIE
PICTURE 44
BRIGHTNESS 29
COLOR 38
HUE 0
SHARPNESS 29
COLOR TEMPERATURE cool
COLOR ACCESS: default

While different from your's each set performs differently so nothing is written in stone. As mentioned, service callibrations have a profound affect on user settings. For example, my factory SERVICE setting for edge enhancement was set at high creating either too hard a picture or one smooth but less detailed. By adjusting it to flat there was no longer a need to keep either user setting near minimum and more detail became apparrent without the grain or harshness as before.

I had my picture and brightness backwards. I have brightness at 38 and picture at 35.

Yeah, I'm anticipating a big change in performance after calibration. I'm sure my user settings will get changed and I'll have a few Q's for Chad when he's finished with the set.

I had my picture and brightness backwards. I have brightness at 38 and picture at 35.

Yeah, I'm anticipating a big change in performance after calibration. I'm sure my user settings will get changed and I'll have a few Q's for Chad when he's finished with the set.

Yup, if you think the 960 looks great now, wait and see how it will look after a professional callibration. Even though I didn't have mine done professionally (did on my own through research, other's adjustments and observations based on text patterns) I can see such a tremendous difference!
:)

The settings differ dramatically from set to set to achieve the same levels. I know because I've calibrated a few of these for friends.

I just picked up a 960 from CL and had a few friends help carry it.. upstairs too. fun! What tips do you experienced people suggest for this TV to not break next week and keep it running forever like all CRTs :).

Greetings, everyone! I just bought a new KD-34XBR970 to complement the KD-34XBR2 I've had since 2003 or so. The only differences besides cosmetics and remotes are the HDMI input and a few pounds. My friends laugh because 1) their plasmas and LCDs are SO much larger and 2) the XBR2 weighs in at well over 200 lbs. and the XBR970 is no lightweight at 190-something. My screen size to weight ratio leaves a bit to be desired in their eyes.

The picture quality is neck-and-neck and I couldn't be happier. It is amazing how little my friends care about picture quality and how much about picture size. In some rooms (like mine and many of theirs) the distance from the screen is too short to quantify a screen as large as some of theirs. Generally speaking, I tell them, if your head has to move to follow the action, the screen is too large for the room.

I love having like-minded folks to share this hobby with. Keep up the good work!

I just picked up a 960 from CL and had a few friends help carry it.. upstairs too. fun! What tips do you experienced people suggest for this TV to not break next week and keep it running forever like all CRTs :).

If you mean furniture-wise, the best protection is the custom-made stand which has openings on the top for insertion of the set's bottom corners to keep it in place along with a safety belt on the back for extra protection against tilting over.

And congratulations to you and your friends for being able to lift it up the stairs successfully!

It is amazing how little my friends care about picture quality and how much about picture size. In some rooms (like mine and many of theirs) the distance from the screen is too short to quantify a screen as large as some of theirs.

I agree 100%. And when one thinks about it, the size appears almost the same sitting closer to the 960/70 as opposed to sitting further back for a larger screen.

Generally speaking, I tell them, if your head has to move to follow the action, the screen is too large for the room.

That's a great way of putting it!

I just picked up a 960 from CL and had a few friends help carry it.. upstairs too. fun! What tips do you experienced people suggest for this TV to not break next week and keep it running forever like all CRTs :).

A lot of people like those very expensive "power conditioners" or whatever they're called that protect against surges and provide staedy current for their electronics. You could also peruse the "Sony won't power on" thread and buy some of the failure-prone ICs to have on hand just in case. Not saying it will happen to you, but if you really want it to last a long time...

A lot of people like those very expensive "power conditioners" or whatever they're called that protect against surges and provide staedy current for their electronics. You could also peruse the "Sony won't power on" thread and buy some of the failure-prone ICs to have on hand just in case. Not saying it will happen to you, but if you really want it to last a long time...

Jonathan,

You're right to suggest not using a standard surge protector (even though Sony said the oposite in the owner's manual) because the automatic degauser needs full power to work properly. I've kept mine plugged directly into the wall socket.

greetings, everyone! I just bought a new kd-34xbr970 to complement the kd-34xbr2 i've had since 2003 or so. The only differences besides cosmetics and remotes are the hdmi input and a few pounds. My friends laugh because 1) their plasmas and lcds are so much larger and 2) the xbr2 weighs in at well over 200 lbs. And the xbr970 is no lightweight at 190-something. My screen size to weight ratio leaves a bit to be desired in their eyes.

The picture quality is neck-and-neck and i couldn't be happier. It is amazing how little my friends care about picture quality and how much about picture size. In some rooms (like mine and many of theirs) the distance from the screen is too short to quantify a screen as large as some of theirs. Generally speaking, i tell them, if your head has to move to follow the action, the screen is too large for the room.

I love having like-minded folks to share this hobby with. Keep up the good work!


kd-34xbr970 != kd-34xbr960

If you want to use more than one source through HDMI (Video 7) there are switch boxes that allow you to connect two or three devices to a single HDMI input. I forgot the one that was recommended by a forum member about a half year ago.

BTW - I've asked this question before. How do DVDs upconvered to 1080i look on the 960 compared to being output at 480p?
Haven't used my 960 for some time but I remember doing comparisons between the picture with 480i or 480p from the DVD player. I was using a JVC 75GD or something and component output. The JVC had a little button to push which changed the output from 480i to 480p. The player did not have an HDMI output either so the 960 did the conversion to 1080i.

480p definitely looked better but I was able to change the quality of the 480i output using DRC (Digital Reality Creation) to make them very close in picture quality.

JGD

A couple of quick comments:

1) I finally broke down and bought a PS3 to be my first Blu-Ray player. Last week, when I first got it, I watched half a dozen movies on it, via HDMI, on my Pany plasma 720P. It looked superb.

However when I plugged it in to the XBR960 it was significantly better, also using HDMI. Absolutely the BEST picture I have ever seen. I used I, Robot (so far) as my test disk. There is no comparison to "regular" DVD's.

Don't forget there is wide wide quality variability on both DVD's and Blu Ray disks. Total Recall looked like crap mostly on Blu Ray and I assume would look the same on DVD. The Day The Earth Stood Still on Blu Ray looks amazing, you can see all kinds of things you never saw before and the "extras" are a lot of fun.

2) The $30 monoprice "4X1 Enhanced 1.3b Certified HDMI Switch with built-in Equalizer and Remote (REV.3.0)" model # 4088 has no problem with my Moto 3416 cable box, the PS3, an Apple TV, and a WD TV switching to the XBR 960.... I also bought HDMI cables from them as well. Someday I will buy a fancy AV Receiver with all kinds of switching and upscaling but for now this is the best $30 I have spent.

Haven't used my 960 for some time but I remember doing comparisons between the picture with 480i or 480p from the DVD player. I was using a JVC 75GD or something and component output. The JVC had a little button to push which changed the output from 480i to 480p. The player did not have an HDMI output either so the 960 did the conversion to 1080i.

480p definitely looked better but I was able to change the quality of the 480i output using DRC (Digital Reality Creation) to make them very close in picture quality.

JGD

Hi,

Yes, the 960 does a great job upconverting and I sense perhaps better than most upconverting DVD players.
Upscaled DVDs appear so sharp and vibrant on the 960 when properly mastered from a pristine source.

Was also able to adjust the DRC to get a very good picture however, as you and others say, 480p is the way to go.

A couple of quick comments:

1) I finally broke down and bought a PS3 to be my first Blu-Ray player. Last week, when I first got it, I watched half a dozen movies on it, via HDMI, on my Pany plasma 720P. It looked superb.

However when I plugged it in to the XBR960 it was significantly better, also using HDMI. Absolutely the BEST picture I have ever seen. I used I, Robot (so far) as my test disk. There is no comparison to "regular" DVD's.

Don't forget there is wide wide quality variability on both DVD's and Blu Ray disks. Total Recall looked like crap mostly on Blu Ray and I assume would look the same on DVD. The Day The Earth Stood Still on Blu Ray looks amazing, you can see all kinds of things you never saw before and the "extras" are a lot of fun.

2) The $30 monoprice "4X1 Enhanced 1.3b Certified HDMI Switch with built-in Equalizer and Remote (REV.3.0)" model # 4088 has no problem with my Moto 3416 cable box, the PS3, an Apple TV, and a WD TV switching to the XBR 960.... I also bought HDMI cables from them as well. Someday I will buy a fancy AV Receiver with all kinds of switching and upscaling but for now this is the best $30 I have spent.

Congrats on your Playstation 3 and thanks for letting us know how much better it looks on your 960 compared to the Plasma. Total recall didn't look so hot on regular DVD either, despite it's fancy packaging.

And thanks for letting us know about the monoprice HDMI switch since many of us might need to get one in the future.

Is it OK to use windex and paper towels to clean the screen? Or should I go for less abrasive and less chemicals?

Is it OK to use windex and paper towels to clean the screen? Or should I go for less abrasive and less chemicals?No on the windex. It will compromise any coatings on the glass. I believe, a soft cloth moistened with water is the recommendation from Sony. You may need something more to get rid of finger smudges. I use a monitor cleaner that is recommended for panels and crts.

No on the windex. It will compromise any coatings on the glass. I believe, a soft cloth moistened with water is the recommendation from Sony. You may need something more to get rid of finger smudges. I use a monitor cleaner that is recommended for panels and crts.

I also try to avoid all glass cleaners but sometimes a damp cloth leaves streaks on the screen which those cleaners do not. So far I have been lucky using Glass Plus only once in a while but don't wish to further chance it. Any recommendations on how to avoid those streaks? I've tried letting the screen dry on it's own and using dry paper towels to wipe it down after applying the water but most of the time the streaks still remain.

Even if a monitor cleaner is recommended for CRTs, wouldn't this potentially cause problems since the 960 has special coatings unlike other CRTs?

I have used the LCD Plasma cleaner sold at Walmart from Philips for $9 and it worked great not one problem...I use it with just a little on a cloth and it cleaned off everything and didn't effect any coating. It is colored blue ina bottle,

I am a very lucky in that I found a hardly used 960 for 250 bucks and only had to drive like 10 minutes to pick it up (at least I know how lucky I am, so don't hate me too much :D !!! ). I am by no means an expert and have found that using the advice I found on this forum I was able to get a significantly better picture so far without using the service-menu---I am a little nervous that I'll screw something up if I do go in and start tweaking.... I am inclined to learn about it, but I am almost happier with the idea of having a real professional come out to do it safely and right. Is there a standard resource for people who do this? I am in S.FL and don't really know where to begin looking for such a specialist... Any help would be much appreciated!

I am a very lucky in that I found a hardly used 960 for 250 bucks and only had to drive like 10 minutes to pick it up (at least I know how lucky I am, so don't hate me too much :D !!! ). I am by no means an expert and have found that using the advice I found on this forum I was able to get a significantly better picture so far without using the service-menu---I am a little nervous that I'll screw something up if I do go in and start tweaking.... I am inclined to learn about it, but I am almost happier with the idea of having a real professional come out to do it safely and right. Is there a standard resource for people who do this? I am in S.FL and don't really know where to begin looking for such a specialist... Any help would be much appreciated!

AVS has an entire forum dedicated to the subject:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=586330

If you were looking for xbr960 specific advice, ChadB from Ohio seems to be at the top of most lists. He does go on the road, check his website for more details.

http://www.hdtvbychadb.com/index.html

Thank you :D

I am a very lucky in that I found a hardly used 960 for 250 bucks and only had to drive like 10 minutes to pick it up (at least I know how lucky I am, so don't hate me too much :D !!! ). I am by no means an expert and have found that using the advice I found on this forum I was able to get a significantly better picture so far without using the service-menu---I am a little nervous that I'll screw something up if I do go in and start tweaking.... I am inclined to learn about it, but I am almost happier with the idea of having a real professional come out to do it safely and right. Is there a standard resource for people who do this? I am in S.FL and don't really know where to begin looking for such a specialist... Any help would be much appreciated!

Chad B. He is the foremost expert on this set and knows it inside out. No one else spend as much time on them to make sure they are they best they can be.

S. FL = Miami?

Chad B. He is the foremost expert on this set and knows it inside out. No one else spend as much time on them to make sure they are they best they can be.

S. FL = Miami?


I am living in Ft.Lauderdale at the present time, although I am just here for grad-school and will be moving back to Orlando in about 6mo. I think I will try to contact ChadB when I have some extra cash. I am living on student loans so I dont have much of that right now...

I am living in Ft.Lauderdale at the present time, although I am just here for grad-school and will be moving back to Orlando in about 6mo. I think I will try to contact ChadB when I have some extra cash. I am living on student loans so I dont have much of that right now...

I suspect he might be down in Orlando for the show in March, but do not know.

I would find a way to get the cash - you will not regret it.

Chad B is the best for this set because he also does the magnet/geometry work for no extra charge. I would definitely contact him to see if he might be coming to your area in the near future.

I have used the LCD Plasma cleaner sold at Walmart from Philips for $9 and it worked great not one problem...I use it with just a little on a cloth and it cleaned off everything and didn't effect any coating. It is colored blue ina bottle,

The store-brand glass cleaner that I use is also blue color liquid. After first dusting the screen, a small amount is applied to a paper towel to gently wipe down the screen (use as little pressure as possible). Another paper towel is used to dry it. So far, no problem with the coating.

I still find plain water leaves streaks whereas the glass cleaner doesn't with the screen also more sparkling.

Well, I'm sold. I will inquire on when ChadB is going to be in my area. Thanks for the help guys. :D

I've always heard that you shouldnt use paper towels because the wood fibers can scratch the coating. My preferred method is just to use hand soap and warm water to remove marks, then buff the screen dry with a clean 100% cotton t-shirt. I buff with light pressure in concentric circles, like I'm waxing a car, and can usually get rid of any streaking that way.

I don't use any chemicals, paper towels or water. Good old fashioned 'breathing' on the surface and a 100% cotton t-shirt do the trick on any spots that may be on the screen. I use a motion from top to bottom, not circular. Peculiar but true.

I've always heard that you shouldnt use paper towels because the wood fibers can scratch the coating. My preferred method is just to use hand soap and warm water to remove marks, then buff the screen dry with a clean 100% cotton t-shirt. I buff with light pressure in concentric circles, like I'm waxing a car, and can usually get rid of any streaking that way.

Excellent suggestion and I don't know why it never occured to me. Going to try that the next time but will use cool water instead since my analogy is that it is more like cleaning eyeglasses than waxing a car (nothing personal, LOL). Soap suds tend to disolve more thoroughly with cold water and when cleaning glasses lenses were crystal clear and sharper using cold water (no longer wear them because my cateracts were removed).

Thanks again for reminding us of the most simple way to clean the screen.

I finally went ahead and removed the anti glare coating from my 960 yesterday. Wasnt too difficult. Lots of screws to keep track of mostly. There's a detailed write-up way back in this thread, but in I'll provide a quick recap. Take off back piece, then take out the subwoofer and two supports on both side. Loosen the front chassis by screws and 4 clips. Couldnt reach the bottom screws as they're almost impossible to get to without removing some circuit boards. But the bottom part flexes enough to pull the strip off. The strip is a real heavy duty plastic-type film strip. Really worked my fingers and forearms to get it off. It is also VERY sharp at the edges and I cut myself 4 times reaching to grab it. It's a bit more reflective with it off and I had to clean very thoroughly to get the glue residue off the glass. But I managed to watch it afterwards and was able to notice and increase in detail as well as a brighter image. I'm sure the picture is inaccurate now, but Chad B is coming tomorrow to recalibrate. Overall, it took me about 2 hours to do including a food break.

I finally went ahead and removed the anti glare coating from my 960 yesterday. Wasnt too difficult. Lots of screws to keep track of mostly. There's a detailed write-up way back in this thread, but in I'll provide a quick recap. Take off back piece, then take out the subwoofer and two supports on both side. Loosen the front chassis by screws and 4 clips. Couldnt reach the bottom screws as they're almost impossible to get to without removing some circuit boards. But the bottom part flexes enough to pull the strip off. The strip is a real heavy duty plastic-type film strip. Really worked my fingers and forearms to get it off. It is also VERY sharp at the edges and I cut myself 4 times reaching to grab it. It's a bit more reflective with it off and I had to clean very thoroughly to get the glue residue off the glass. But I managed to watch it afterwards and was able to notice and increase in detail as well as a brighter image. I'm sure the picture is inaccurate now, but Chad B is coming tomorrow to recalibrate. Overall, it took me about 2 hours to do including a food break.

Glad you got it off successfully. Let us know how it looks after Chad's calibration.

Edit: BTW, did you use Goo Gone to remove the sticky residue left on the screen? It worked like a charm for me.

No, I used a citrus-based cleaner that was safe for glass. It worked fine but it left some streaking so I used rubbing alcohol afterwards to get rid of the streaks. Chad came and touched up the grayscale and convergence. He said my black levels had dropped a few clicks so he brought them up. When I watched 'The Dark Knight' afterwards, there was an increase in shadow detail. In the opening scene, I was able to see the blue in the villains jackets better when the light was shifting through the shots. Most of my other settings had drifted off a bit. Havent watched anything else, but I was impressed with the way it looked afterwards. Will have to look more closely at other movies Im familiar with to judge accordingly, but it did seem that the phosphor trail in dark scenes had improved a bit too.

Hey all.. i noticed that some people are looking for one, and i'm selling one.. it's 34xbr960 .. a good deal of the anti reflective coating has been scratched off due to kids.. but you really don't notice it at that much.

Anyways.. i'm looking to sell it for $400 or best offer. Contact me if interested. I'm in pittsburgh pa, and as you all know these things weigh in at 200lbs.. so you'd have to carry it out.. (bring a friend!)

I just had a very strange experience with my 960 and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on it. I just replaced the video card on the HTPC that is connected to my 960 so i could upgrade to HDMI. Everything went fine with the upgrade but I decided to tweak the overscan settings for Input 7(HDMI) because my browser was a bit off the screen. I had tweaked the overscan settings for this and a few of the other inputs in the past and was pretty comfortable with the process. Everything went fairly smoothly and after getting a satifactory screen, I exited the service menu. When I powered the 960 back up, everything on Input 7 was exactly as I left it in the service menu. My problem came when I switched inputs. On both my internal tuner and Input 5 component I now have severe pincushioning on all non HD 4x3 content. The top and bottom of the 4x3 box are straight, but both sides bow noticeably inwards from the top and bottom corners. I am pretty sure I know when it happened, but for the life of me I can't figure out why. My only misstep in the service menu was when i was navigating through either 2170D-1 or 2170D-2 using the 1-4 buttons on the remote. My finger slipped as I went to press the 1 and I accidentally hit the TV/Video button above it, which bumped me over to my internal tuner. I pressed the TV/Video button two more times to return to Input 7 and continued with my tweaking. I pressed no other buttons while I was momentarily on the other inputs and i certainly did not press the mute/enter combo to write any data while I was off input 7. Does anyone have any ideas about what the hell happened to my 960?

Before I go back into the service menu and start mucking around, I would really like to know how this could happen and more importantly, how I can prevent it from happening again in the future. Thanks!

LongRufus - It would appear that you made adjustments to a global or grouped parameters that affected more than just input7. Are you aware that many parameters are not input specific but are resolution specific? Do you have a copy of the actual service menu charts or are you using the spreadsheets posted on this board?

LongRufus - It would appear that you made adjustments to a global or grouped parameters that affected more than just input7. Are you aware that many parameters are not input specific but are resolution specific? Do you have a copy of the actual service menu charts or are you using the spreadsheets posted on this board?

Thank you. I was not aware of that, but it makes much more sense now. I've been avoiding the overwhelming service code thread, but it looks like I have a bunch of reading to do.

This time tried cleaning the screen with a soft cloth moderately saturated with cold water and a bit of mild Ivory liquid dish washing soap. After drying it down with another soft cloth I suddenly noticed toward the very top close to the left a small (maybe 1" x 1/8") smudge that unfortunately cannot be removed.

It's really only noticable when the set is off and then one has to look for it. With the picture on there is no color, contrast or brightness distortion either up close or six feet away and against any type of background. The smudge itself can only be seen at a certain angle and even then only looks like light reflecting off the screen (with the lamps opposite the screen off the smudge becomes invisible no matter what the distance or angle is).

The surface affected feels perfectly smooth with absolutely no roughness or peeling but I guess I did remove a very minute portion of the coating (it isn't possible that a bit of soapy water adhered to the screen instead, is it?). I realize my mistake was the use of dish washing liquid instead of liquid hand washing soap.

In actuality it can't be seen and doesn't affect the picture but naturally it drives me up walls just knowing it's there (and that I caused it doesn't make me feel any better). BTW. my better half doesn't think it's any big deal - of course, she's right but I told her this is just a "guy" thing..

Interesting.

Reviewing your original post, you stated:





So everyone knows your TV is old (which means its not a $2000 TV) and you are surprised that a TV has a problem in 3-5 years after it is made.

So what part of someone knowing something helpful would change that in your post?

A lot of Zenith TV's made in the 1960's to late 1970's were hand assembled using the highest quality parts and most after 30+ years of abuse are still operational. Sony on the other hand randomly implements a device in to their products, which in Akihabara is known as the Sony Timer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_timer).

anyone run an xbr960 off a generator? i'd been running my 34xbr32 thusly; finally got grid power back today after 5 days.
the 34xbr2 did some tutti frutti things at the left & right 1/3 of the screen, evident even to the color-vision-challenged. but the center was great and amazingly little jitter/artifacts from the funky generator power.
cable was out for 5 days too so atsc tuner was mighty handy.
my portable tvs were useful too - it's going to be annoying dealing with atsc and a portable tv somehow in the next power outage, but we'll have to do it else we'll miss the news story about the dude who got too drunk for his own good and tried to force a repair crew to fix his power, so the cops tased him.
ps - sounds like the xbr960 has cool things in the service menu that 34xbr2 does not have. i can't get a grid pattern for 34xbr2 without using an external signal generator, as far as i know.

Your generator may not have been producing proper 60hz sine waves. Which can be a problem on cheaper power conversion and/or generation equipment. It's possible that your generator is a 12v DC unit and uses a cheap "square wave" inverter to output 120 vac.

I have an optical cable going from our HD DVR directly to our Yamaha receiver with an HDMI from the DVR directly to the 960. When I retained the HDMI connection but used the 960's optical out to the receiver only two-channel surround was heard - no 5.1 signal was passed on by the Sony.

I've been told the 960 does not pass along 5.1 signals. If this isn't the case was there something I did wrong? There is no analog connection between the 960 and the receiver to over-ride a dolby digital signal. Switching the DVR's audio out between HDMI and Dolby Digital had no effect.:confused:

I finally built up enough muscle (eh-hem courage) to move my XBR 960 to the same room as my Integra DTR-7.6. The XBR960 will pass 5.1 channel Dolby Digital on to the recever. Those who are getting only stereo need to check their reciever/decoder settings to make sure that the steering and DSP setinggs are correct or disabled. In my case, I disabled the DSP sound modes and have it set to automatic.

I finally built up enough muscle (eh-hem courage) to move my XBR 960 to the same room as my Integra DTR-7.6. The XBR960 will pass 5.1 channel Dolby Digital on to the recever. Those who are getting only stereo need to check their reciever/decoder settings to make sure that the steering and DSP setinggs are correct or disabled. In my case, I disabled the DSP sound modes and have it set to automatic.

Hi 8086,

Seems you've been catching up on old posts.

I actually did not disconnect the optical wire from the Yamaha, instead, just disconnected it from the box to the TV, so was using the input never changed. Will try again but don't know what was wrong.

Hi 8086,

Seems you've been catching up on old posts.

I actually did not disconnect the optical wire from the Yamaha, instead, just disconnected it from the box to the TV, so was using the input never changed. Will try again but don't know what was wrong.

Been busy lately. Unpacking and setting my equipment up again reminded me of the old post from 45 days ago. I don't know what cable box you have, but my parents have a Scientific Atlantic and I used the COAX (lossless compared to toslink) for 5.1 and had good results with their Onkyo HTIB.

A lot of Zenith TV's made in the 1960's to late 1970's were hand assembled using the highest quality parts and most after 30+ years of abuse are still operational. Sony on the other hand randomly implements a device in to their products, which in Akihabara is known as the Sony Timer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_timer).

And many people have Sony TVs from the 60s and 70s that still work as well (and even those that do not work, lasted 15-20 years on average). It is well known that Sony TVs of the 60s and 70s outperformed Zenith in every metric except sales (as people tended to buy American and Sony was a rare brand during that time whose few dealers would not sell below MSRP by contract). If you get 5 years out of any brand now, consider yourself lucky.

And many people have Sony TVs from the 60s and 70s that still work as well (and even those that do not work, lasted 15-20 years on average). It is well known that Sony TVs of the 60s and 70s outperformed Zenith in every metric except sales (as people tended to buy American and Sony was a rare brand during that time whose few dealers would not sell below MSRP by contract). If you get 5 years out of any brand now, consider yourself lucky.

Sony may have made a better performing TV, but Zenith was one the most reliable ever made. It was the Toyota of TV's vs The less reliable Ferrari. A lot of the people who bought them still owned them well in to the 1990's. I really can't say that about any of the Three Trinitrons that I have (and family) ever owned, but I hope the XBR960 will live up to the Zenith Legend.

EDIT:
Little trivia. In or around a 1991 issue of Popular Science, I read about how Zenith was working to Pioneer the future of television- HDTV. It's too bad they are not around to enjoy the spoils of their work. They, just as Sony certainly deserve a notable place in Electronics History for their achievements (http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS291US305&q=vintage%20zenith&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#q=vintage%20zenith%20tv&hl=en&emb=0). After all, they did invent the space (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Adler) command (http://video.google.com/videosearch?rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS291US305&sourceid=chrome&q="Robert%20Adler"%20zenith&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#).

And many people have Sony TVs from the 60s and 70s that still work as well (and even those that do not work, lasted 15-20 years on average). It is well known that Sony TVs of the 60s and 70s outperformed Zenith in every metric except sales (as people tended to buy American and Sony was a rare brand during that time whose few dealers would not sell below MSRP by contract). If you get 5 years out of any brand now, consider yourself lucky.

I have had great experience with Sony products. I have a 15" Sony Trinitron bought in 1972 that still worked the last time I used it about 3 years ago. I am listening right now to a Sony amplifier bought around 1974. My previous Sony XBR2 tv from mid 90's worked fine when I sold it about a year ago. And Sony HDTVs were recently rated the most reliable by PC World readers.

Hmmm, if there is a Sony Timer as noted by 8086, it must be defective.

Been busy lately. Unpacking and setting my equipment up again reminded me of the old post from 45 days ago. I don't know what cable box you have, but my parents have a Scientific Atlantic and I used the COAX (lossless compared to toslink) for 5.1 and had good results with their Onkyo HTIB.

Have the Scientific Atlantic 8300 HD-DVR with a HDMI output from the box into the Sony so should be getting the same results as your parents. The COAX is output to another receiver in the den (other HT system) and the toslink to our Yamaha used in conjunction with the 960. Again, only got 2.0 surround, not 5.1.

Have the Scientific Atlantic 8300 HD-DVR with a HDMI output from the box into the Sony so should be getting the same results as your parents. The COAX is output to another receiver in the den (other HT system) and the toslink to our Yamaha used in conjunction with the 960. Again, only got 2.0 surround, not 5.1.

I am getting 5.1 sound out of the XBR960's toslink from an over the air (OTA) signal. I'll reconfigure my PS3 in later on tonight and see if I can get it to pass the 5.1 from HDMI to Toslink.

I have had great experience with Sony products. I have a 15" Sony Trinitron bought in 1972 that still worked the last time I used it about 3 years ago. I am listening right now to a Sony amplifier bought around 1974. My previous Sony XBR2 tv from mid 90's worked fine when I sold it about a year ago. And Sony HDTVs were recently rated the most reliable by PC World readers.

Hmmm, if there is a Sony Timer as noted by 8086, it must be defective.

In the early and late 1990's Had many Sony Discmans die after 91-93 days. All were out of warranty and replaced by the retailer, Sony would not touch it. The timer seems to affect stuff made after 1985-ish.

I am getting 5.1 sound out of the XBR960's toslink from an over the air (OTA) signal. I'll reconfigure my PS3 in later on tonight and see if I can get it to pass the 5.1 from HDMI to Toslink.

That's quite interesting - one would think it doesn't matter where the 5.1 audio is input from. When connected from the 960 the audio was 2.0 no matter if the DVR's audio output was set to HDMI or Dolby Digital.

When you have a chance, please let me know and I'll try again.

Thanks again,
Joe

That's quite interesting - one would think it doesn't matter where the 5.1 audio is input from. When connected from the 960 the audio was 2.0 no matter if the DVR's audio output was set to HDMI or Dolby Digital.

When you have a chance, please let me know and I'll try again.

Thanks again,
Joe

I reconfigured my PS3 to use HDMI audio with toslink from XBR960 to the receiver. What happens is during the HDMI handshaking, the XBR identifies it's self as a 2ch sound system. Thus the source device only sends a 2ch 44khz signal to the TV. The XBR isn't so much to blame as the PS3, is at fault here; because in all other circumstances whether it's cable card or OTA, the XBR960 will pass 5.1 audio out of it's toslink if it's fed a 5.1 signal.

I think the work around here is, if your device has a manual settings mode where you can force a 5.1 channel sound to the XBR960 you will get 5.1 out of the TOSLINK jack. If that's not possible, the only work around I can see here is:

Get a reciever with HDMI v1.3
Connect Digital Coax or Toslink cable from the source box to your reciever/preamp/decoder.
If coax and toslink from your source box are connected to other components, then I'd suggest trying to find an SPDIF repeater/signal splitter.

I reconfigured my PS3 to use HDMI audio with toslink from XBR960 to the receiver. What happens is during the HDMI handshaking, the XBR identifies it's self as a 2ch sound system. Thus the source device only sends a 2ch 44khz signal to the TV. The XBR isn't so much to blame as the PS3, is at fault here; because in all other circumstances whether it's cable card or OTA, the XBR960 will pass 5.1 audio out of it's toslink if it's fed a 5.1 signal.

I think the work around here is, if your device has a manual settings mode where you can force a 5.1 channel sound to the XBR960 you will get 5.1 out of the TOSLINK jack. If that's not possible, the only work around I can see here is:

Get a reciever with HDMI v1.3
Connect Digital Coax or Toslink cable from the source box to your reciever/preamp/decoder.
If coax and toslink from your source box are connected to other components, then I'd suggest trying to find an SPDIF repeater/signal splitter.


I suspect it's a combination of both: the SA-8300 HD-DVR only outputting 2.0 via HDMI and that the 960 only accepting 2.0 signals via HDMI.

For sound to be heard through the 960, the DVR's audio output must be set to "HDMI". In this setting, however, only a 2.0 signal is output to the receiver via toslink. For the receiver to get 5.1, the DVR has to be set to "Dolby Digital", however, this cuts off the audio sent to the Sony via HDMI.

So even if we had an a/v receiver with switched HDMI, we would still need the separate toslink connection from the DVR.

Guess I can hook up rca cables between the 960 and the DVR so the DVR's audio output can be kept at "dolby digital" for the receiver yet still be heard through the 960.

I suspect it's a combination of both: the SA-8300 HD-DVR only outputting 2.0 via HDMI and that the 960 only accepting 2.0 signals via HDMI.

For sound to be heard through the 960, the DVR's audio output must be set to "HDMI". In this setting, however, only a 2.0 signal is output to the receiver via toslink. For the receiver to get 5.1, the DVR has to be set to "Dolby Digital", however, this cuts off the audio sent to the Sony via HDMI.

So even if we had an a/v receiver with switched HDMI, we would still need the separate toslink connection from the DVR.

Guess I can hook up rca cables between the 960 and the DVR so the DVR's audio output can be kept at "dolby digital" for the receiver yet still be heard through the 960.

If you had a reciever with HDMI v1.3, you would only need one cable: HDMI can carry 7.2 channel surround sound plus, remote control commands, and the video data.

There would be no need for toslink, if you used HDMI for surround sound. I only used it because I have a plethora of Toslink Cables and no spare HDMI cables to run audio through my reciever, also as a bonus using HDMI for audio lets you tap in to those super high bit-rate lossless audio formats and let your receiver do the decoding if it's supported.

What I do not under stand is why you need to use RCA for your DVR audio? Shouldn't it have a toslink output? Second, I would like to possibly sort things out for you. What make and model receiver or preamp/decoder do you own? What is connected to what? How many of your devices toslink/coax output and how many inputs do you have? Finally, the only time analog out is preferred is when the output/source device has a newer/higher end/better quality dac than the receiver/decoder unit or if DRM is involved.

If you had a reciever with HDMI v1.3, you would only need one cable: HDMI can carry 7.2 channel surround sound plus, remote control commands, and the video data.

There would be no need for toslink, if you used HDMI for surround sound. I only used it because I have a plethora of Toslink Cables and no spare HDMI cables to run audio through my reciever, also as a bonus using HDMI for audio lets you tap in to those super high bit-rate lossless audio formats and let your receiver do the decoding if it's supported.

What I do not under stand is why you need to use RCA for your DVR audio? Shouldn't it have a toslink output? Second, I would like to possibly sort things out for you. What make and model receiver or preamp/decoder do you own? What is connected to what? How many of your devices toslink/coax output and how many inputs do you have? Finally, the only time analog out is preferred is when the output/source device has a newer/higher end/better quality dac than the receiver/decoder unit or if DRM is involved.

Considered hooking RCA cables from the DVR to the 960 only as a matter of convenience. It would allow me to keep the DVR set to "dolby digital" at all times, eliminating the need to always have to change audio settings when switching from the 960 to the receiver. A down-converted 2.0 signal would be passed onto the 960 via the RCA cables while a full 5.1 will be output to the Yamaha.

I have an older 6.1 Yamaha without any HDMI connections.

Considered hooking RCA cables from the DVR to the 960 only as a matter of convenience. It would allow me to keep the DVR set to "dolby digital" at all times, eliminating the need to always have to change audio settings when switching from the 960 to the receiver. A down-converted 2.0 signal would be passed onto the 960 via the RCA cables while a full 5.1 will be output to the Yamaha.

I have an older 6.1 Yamaha without any HDMI connections.

I see, you still use the XBR960 for sound, while I've disabled my XBR960's speakers and exclusively use my Paradigm/Integra DTR7.6 Setup. Makes sense now.

Hold out just a little bit longer, HDMI 1.3 is finding it's way in to bottom line receivers rather quickly and by 2011, I'd expect it to be standard fare on nearly all A/V equipment. And If you wait till 2011, I understand a newer spec will be released around or before then.

I see, you still use the XBR960 for sound, while I've disabled my XBR960's speakers and exclusively use my Paradigm/Integra DTR7.6 Setup. Makes sense now.

Hold out just a little bit longer, HDMI 1.3 is finding it's way in to bottom line receivers rather quickly and by 2011, I'd expect it to be standard fare on nearly all A/V equipment. And If you wait till 2011, I understand a newer spec will be released around or before then.

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestions, but right now I have a Yamaha RX-V 1000 (along with a Denon AR 2600 connected to the Yamaha to get the sixth channel) which I am very happy with. Not really considering a newer receiver since I don't want to sacrifice sound for convenience of HDMI from multiple video sources and not needing to change the audio from DVR

If I do get bluray, I'll get a HDMI switch box and use another toslink connection to the Yamaha. I'm not connecting those RCA cables to the 960 because set at "Dolby Digital" the DVR's volume becomes much lower on non 5.1 sources. Not important when using the television speakers but when dubbing DVDs using the "out to VCR" it dramaticly affects the volume recorded onto the disc, hence, I would still need to go into the DVR's audio menu anyway.

How much are these worth used?

How much are these worth used?

$25. I can pick it up this evening. :cool:

How much are these worth used?

In theory or in reality?

99% have gone from $250 - $450, with $300-$400 being the real price. If someone really wants one, no telling what you could get - however, most times those people are not in your town (or state).

Question...I just got High Definition Dish netwrok box yesturday. I noticed when I looked and video 5 ( which I am using for HD with componet) I hit display and it says 480p?? Did the guy not set the HD dish box up right? SHouldn't it be putting out a 1080i signal??

Thanks

Question...I just got High Definition Dish netwrok box yesturday. I noticed when I looked and video 5 ( which I am using for HD with componet) I hit display and it says 480p?? Did the guy not set the HD dish box up right? SHouldn't it be putting out a 1080i signal??

Thanks

You're correct that "Display" reveals the input source. Beyond that, call your cable provider to get the box straight.

Question...I just got High Definition Dish netwrok box yesturday. I noticed when I looked and video 5 ( which I am using for HD with componet) I hit display and it says 480p?? Did the guy not set the HD dish box up right? SHouldn't it be putting out a 1080i signal??

Thanks

press menu then system setup then HDTV Setup then under tv type scroll to 1080i

Great Stuff guys. I got the High Def working looks great. Also I told you I had the problem of the TV not coming on when I first got it so SONY said plug it directly into the wall and that fixed the problem. I didn't like not having my $2000 with no surge protection. I bought a Monster Surge for $40 on EBAY the 800 series. It works FANTASTIC and now all my stuff is surge protected and comes on. I also like the fatc the label the plugs so now you no what plug goes to what device. All I need now is my PS3 for Blue Ray and I will be set completely up.

PEACE

For the first time I was able to make some sort of Bluray vs. DVD comparision on the 960, albiet, an indirect way.

This evening Encore-HD aired "Goldfinger" so I put on my newly remastered DVD copy, synchronized it with the HD-DVR and compared the two.

Will swallow my pride and admit there was really no comparision. The picture on Encore-HD was indeed more colorful and sharper than my DVD with richer black levels and detail. Doubt I could have improved the DVD by re-adjusting the user settings since those have been properly set and am sure it would have made the disc appear artificial. And if the cable transmission looked great, no doubt the bluray itself would look even better.

Remember when I wasn't so impressed with the Bluray demonstration I had seen? While of course monitors are never set properly in stores I now realize another reason has to be that it wasn't demonstrated on the 960.

I'm still going to wait until the prices of Bluray players and discs drop and will only replace my very favorite DVDs (like the Bond collection, etc.). But in the meantime, throw the crow at me - I'll eat it since I've now seen the equivalent of Bluray on the 960. The HD picture just blew me away.

For the first time I was able to make some sort of Bluray vs. DVD comparision on the 960, albiet, an indirect way.

This evening Encore-HD aired "Goldfinger" so I put on my newly remastered DVD copy, synchronized it with the HD-DVR and compared the two.

Will swallow my pride and admit there was really no comparision. The picture on Encore-HD was indeed more colorful and sharper than my DVD with richer black levels and detail. Doubt I could have improved the DVD by re-adjusting the user settings since those have been properly set and am sure it would have made the disc appear artificial. And if the cable transmission looked great, no doubt the bluray itself would look even better.

Remember when I wasn't so impressed with the Bluray demonstration I had seen? While of course monitors are never set properly in stores I now realize another reason has to be that it wasn't demonstrated on the 960.

I'm still going to wait until the prices of Bluray players and discs drop and will only replace my very favorite DVDs (like the Bond collection, etc.). But in the meantime, throw the crow at me - I'll eat it since I've now seen the equivalent of Bluray on the 960. The HD picture just blew me away.

The differences in black levels can be attributed to the different video dac's used in each source appliance. The only true way of comparing SD to HD, is to make sure you view both over HDMI and let the XBR960's onboard DAC handle the D/A conversion for both SD and HD sources.

In theory or in reality?

99% have gone from $250 - $450, with $300-$400 being the real price. If someone really wants one, no telling what you could get - however, most times those people are not in your town (or state).


I saw one that was stored in a warehouse, still new in the box sell for about $600-700 on ebay. Used, I have seen them sell for as little as $100 and upwards of $500. But $250-350 seems to be the common going rate at which they sell for on ebay.

$25. I can pick it up this evening. :cool:

I'll give you $100

Does anyone have a setting for black level that gets to absolute black?

I've got the service menu at 28 on SBRT and then the actual brightness setting at 25-26. Pretty damn black.

Not sure if this is crushing or not. Anyone have a recommended level?

Does anyone have a setting for black level that gets to absolute black?

I've got the service menu at 28 on SBRT and then the actual brightness setting at 25-26. Pretty damn black.

Not sure if this is crushing or not. Anyone have a recommended level?

My SBRT is 29 so we're quite close, but it does also depend upon other servce settings, user picture level plus mode and input.

For HDMI in MOVIE mode my picture is 44 and brightness is 29. For DVD in MOVIE mode my picture is 41 and brightness is 31.

A HD test patten was used for HDMI and THX optomoizer for the DVD to get the contrast and brightness levels as best as possible.

Hope this helps.

Joe

I had forgotten about a couple settings in the service menu. One of them was YCON which was at 1. I set it to 0 and it seemed to give more of a dimming/cinema effect. That didn't really seem to matter, so I put it back to 1.

There's also a setting for blacks called BLK that goes from 0-3. Mine was at 0/1, as those are the same. I put it up to 3 and the picture seems to have more depth- it increases black level. I also put my SBRT back up to 31, as it's the same as adjusting the brightness. I then turned brightness on the tv down to about 29 or so.

I was thinking of just getting a test disk like the Joe Kane HDTV ones to test black patterns.

I'm just convinced that my tv can go blacker than a Kuro, since it's CRT. Although, the 5020 seems pretty tempting, since I heard that there's a way to play with the color space.

Oh, do you have any settings for brightness and picture in Pro mode?

I was thinking of just getting a test disk like the Joe Kane HDTV ones to test black patterns.

I retained on my DVR the HD test patterns that were broadcast on the old INHD. Do you have a bluray player to callibrate the HD settings?

Oh, do you have any settings for brightness and picture in Pro mode?

Not any more since I found I preferred the MOVIE mode for all sources.

I'm just convinced that my tv can go blacker than a Kuro, since it's CRT.

When ChadB calibrated my set a few weeks ago, he told me that he really liked the new Kuro's, but the 960 still had better black and color levels.

Ha! knew it! They don't make 'em like the xbr960 anymore!

I retained on my DVR the HD test patterns that were broadcast on the old INHD. Do you have a bluray player to callibrate the HD settings?



Not any more since I found I preferred the MOVIE mode for all sources.

I have a blu ray player, but I'm really liking the results of playing with the BLK setting on the service menu. I can't think of anything else that plays with black level other than that and SBRT, which is essentially the brightness setting.

If there's anything else that plays with blacks, I'd like to try. I remember some other service codes that did touch black levels, but I remember not liking the looks of it. Way too much black crush.

My 960 looks amazing I just can't even fathom how much better it's gonna look when Chad calibrates my set in the next couple weeks. My girlfriend doesn't like how small it is but when you sit somewhat close what difference does it make? It facking obliterates everything I've ever owned including a nice sony RPCRT I've still got(which is awesome too). My SXRD is nice for it's sharpness(for example PC use is outstanding) but the most important quality to me is color/black level which the 960 takes a dump on other sets all day.



WHY COULDN'T THEY MAKE A 60 INCH VERSION OF THIS SET?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?
(lol rhetorical question)

I had my 960 judding out about two feet off the wall so I would only be between five and six feet away from the screen depending upon my sitting position. Since we're having windows replaced tomorrow I moved it back to about a half foot off the wall so it's more like seven feet away. You know something, the picture is so great that size doesn't seem as important as it did a year ago.

Hey everyone,
I'm new to the forum and have been reading tons of posts over the past couple of months and came to the conclusion that I have to get myself an SFP tube tv. I've looked on craigslist and have not much look getting an 34XBR960. So, if anyone is in Northern California and wants to sell their TV to a humble grad student, I'm definitely interested.

From the service menu, you can make the vertical line convergence adjustments. Also, focus, landing adjustments and I think to a small degree geometry adjustments do effect horizontal line convergence.

What are the vertical line convergence adjustments called? I've gone through the service menu and can't find any.

I'm trying to correct some convergence problems, specifically in the left third of the screen where the red channel (gun) is shifted over a little bit to the left relative to the green and blue. As you proceed from the center of the screen to the left edge, the offset gets greater and greater. Not a serious problem but it is noticeable. Hoping that there are some service menu settings that would allow me to independently control the red channel.

Also, mention is made of FOCUS adjustments but i see none mentioned in the spreadsheet?

What are the vertical line convergence adjustments called? I've gone through the service menu and can't find any.

I'm trying to correct some convergence problems, specifically in the left third of the screen where the red channel (gun) is shifted over a little bit to the left relative to the green and blue. As you proceed from the center of the screen to the left edge, the offset gets greater and greater. Not a serious problem but it is noticeable. Hoping that there are some service menu settings that would allow me to independently control the red channel..... Section 2-3.4 Dynamic Convergence Adjustments of this pdf (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=37942) may help. Only horizontal convergence can be adjusted in the service menu. I would suggest using the vertical lines in a crosshatch pattern when making these adjustments.

Section 2-3.4 Dynamic Convergence Adjustments of this pdf (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=37942) may help. Only horizontal convergence can be adjusted in the service menu. I would suggest using the vertical lines in a crosshatch pattern when making these adjustments.
wow! thanks for the quick reply, and for the section of the service manual you sent.

have adjusted the convergence as best i can using the service menu. definitely better, definitely still not so good around the edges. may need a second pass.

wish vertical convergence didn't require monkeying around inside the tv...

one more question: any ways to adjust focus from service menus? text remains a bit blurry -- not so obvious on tv shows but when looking at output of my mac mini the filenames are blurry even in center of image where convergence isnt a problem. i know i shouldn't expect plasma tv clarity, but seems like it could be better.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but should the picture on my 960 extend to the absolute outside edges of the tube, to the point where it actually meets the outside frame?

Currently the image stops almost a half-inch short of where I thought it should. In other words, there is a half-inch black border around the edges of the picture (on all inputs, all sources). Is this normal?

That's normal.

To my eye, the blacks are a bit crushed on the 960. Anyone have an idea as to the items in the service menu that would let me adjust this?

I adjusted the SBRT (sub picture brightness) but it seems identical to the Brightness setting in the regular menu. Am I wrong?

Non calibrated 960's usually need the brightness up to around 38-40 get non crushed blacks.

To my eye, the blacks are a bit crushed on the 960. Anyone have an idea as to the items in the service menu that would let me adjust this?

You need to lower the gamma. Change all the gamma settings (Red, Green and Blue) from 0 to 1. That will give you the NTSC standard.

I adjusted the SBRT (sub picture brightness) but it seems identical to the Brightness setting in the regular menu. Am I wrong?

Yes, it's identical to the brightness setting.

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

Another question: Is anyone else experiencing problems with the 960 "forgetting" how to tune in channels??

After letting the 960 perform the Auto Program channel setup, I end up with a lot of channels... way more than I've ever seen with previous televisions. This includes channels that I think aren't in my cable plan (I only pay for Comcast Basic Cable and have no CableCard but am now seeing MTV, Cartoon Network, Comedy channel, and a bunch of HD channels). So far, I'm not complaining...

HOWEVER!

The TV seems to "forget" how to tune in channels after being powered off for a few hours. All channels that were previously found by the Auto Program system and were working fine come up blank, with a "No Signal" message on the screen.

If I let the Auto Program run again, everything is back... until I power down for a few hours... then, POOF. gone. I can flip through the found channels but ALL of them say "no signal".

Anyone else see this before? What gives?

Any chance a CableCard would fix some of this? Reluctant to get one, as I think it would filter out the HD channels it seems I'm able to receive...

I had the same problem. After autoprogramming it again, the problem has not resurfaced in a week or so since.

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

Another question: Is anyone else experiencing problems with the 960 "forgetting" how to tune in channels??

After letting the 960 perform the Auto Program channel setup, I end up with a lot of channels... way more than I've ever seen with previous televisions. This includes channels that I think aren't in my cable plan (I only pay for Comcast Basic Cable and have no CableCard but am now seeing MTV, Cartoon Network, Comedy channel, and a bunch of HD channels). So far, I'm not complaining...

HOWEVER!

The TV seems to "forget" how to tune in channels after being powered off for a few hours. All channels that were previously found by the Auto Program system and were working fine come up blank, with a "No Signal" message on the screen.

If I let the Auto Program run again, everything is back... until I power down for a few hours... then, POOF. gone. I can flip through the found channels but ALL of them say "no signal".

Anyone else see this before? What gives?

Any chance a CableCard would fix some of this? Reluctant to get one, as I think it would filter out the HD channels it seems I'm able to receive...

If you have just started seeing this in the past 2 weeks, I would chalk it up to Comcast tinkering with encryption and not a problem with your 960.

My local Comcast franchise opened up everything on Feb. 10th and left it alone for a week. I got all the digital SD channels in the extended basic tier and all the national HD channels on my PCs' clear qam tuner card. Then on the 17th, they re-encrypted all the national HD channels and I lost them all. I think it is a pretty safe bet to assume all this encrypting and de-crypting is due to the old FCC analog shutoff date of Feb. 17th. Since it was delayed, they are using the extra time trying to tweak their signals in preparation for the new June 12th deadline. I woudn't count on any changes to the clear qam lineup being permanent until then.

For the first time I was able to make some sort of Bluray vs. DVD comparision on the 960, albiet, an indirect way.

This evening Encore-HD aired "Goldfinger" so I put on my newly remastered DVD copy, synchronized it with the HD-DVR and compared the two.

Will swallow my pride and admit there was really no comparision. The picture on Encore-HD was indeed more colorful and sharper than my DVD with richer black levels and detail. Doubt I could have improved the DVD by re-adjusting the user settings since those have been properly set and am sure it would have made the disc appear artificial. And if the cable transmission looked great, no doubt the bluray itself would look even better.

Remember when I wasn't so impressed with the Bluray demonstration I had seen? While of course monitors are never set properly in stores I now realize another reason has to be that it wasn't demonstrated on the 960.

I'm still going to wait until the prices of Bluray players and discs drop and will only replace my very favorite DVDs (like the Bond collection, etc.). But in the meantime, throw the crow at me - I'll eat it since I've now seen the equivalent of Bluray on the 960. The HD picture just blew me away.

A little update.

Every so often I perform my own "system check" to assure none of my settings were accidently changed. So what did I find last night? My Panasonic DVD recorder's playback was in the "cinema" mode and had been feeding an enhanced picture into the 960 while the set's service and user settings were adjusted for 480p input via the "normal" mode.

Of course, this made a difference. While I still remember more detail, etc. when presented on Encore-HD and will not retract my earlier statement that the HD quality blew me away, my version of "Goldfinger" was more colorful, had deeper blacks and was much more sharper than the night I compared the two. The DVD was definately more impressive (like it was when I first viewed it) and while the HD broadcast was great, the difference was not night and day as was my impression when I first posted the above.

As another forum member pointed out, this still might not have been an accurate way to compare upconverted 480p DVDs to 1080i/p blurays.

I had the same problem. After autoprogramming it again, the problem has not resurfaced in a week or so since.

Hmm. I've reprogrammed it maybe 5 times now. Each time, same thing: remembers all the channels, can't tune any of them in.

If it was due to a weak signal, I'd imagine that reprogramming would not work at all, that it wouldn't find any channels... but it works every time.

This is a major problemo -- despite the AWESOME picture quality, this is first and foremost a TV, and it can't tune in tv stations.

If you have just started seeing this in the past 2 weeks, I would chalk it up to Comcast tinkering with encryption and not a problem with your 960.

My local Comcast franchise opened up everything on Feb. 10th and left it alone for a week. I got all the digital SD channels in the extended basic tier and all the national HD channels on my PCs' clear qam tuner card. Then on the 17th, they re-encrypted all the national HD channels and I lost them all. I think it is a pretty safe bet to assume all this encrypting and de-crypting is due to the old FCC analog shutoff date of Feb. 17th. Since it was delayed, they are using the extra time trying to tweak their signals in preparation for the new June 12th deadline. I woudn't count on any changes to the clear qam lineup being permanent until then.

I'd like to think this was the case. But it's too coincidental that ALL stations give "no signal", and this is always the case after leaving the tv off for a few hours. If it was due to comcast monkeying with encryption, it would only affect the premium stations like HD or MTV or whatever. But ALL stations are messed up.

ive had the 960 for a few years now and never messed with but now that i found this official thread im curious to know if there is anything i can do to make the picture better and how to do it? also did sony ever give any updates or firmware to this set? i have purchased a blue ray and played a new disc it does look great but not like it looks on my buddys 1080p 120hertz sammy. is there anything i can do to get the pic as close to his with the 960?

ive had the 960 for a few years now and never messed with but now that i found this official thread im curious to know if there is anything i can do to make the picture better and how to do it? also did sony ever give any updates or firmware to this set? i have purchased a blue ray and played a new disc it does look great but not like it looks on my buddys 1080p 120hertz sammy. is there anything i can do to get the pic as close to his with the 960?


If you do a search of this thread for "settings" it will give you some basic adjustments you can make.

If you are technically inclined you can do a search for "service menu" and get info on more advanced adjustment. WARNING the service menu is not something to play around in, you need to know what you are doing. There is a Ken Tech thread with very good info on the service menu. Read the first 5 pages or so of it before going in the menu.

The basic settings in this thread are a very good starting point and will serve you well with a little tweaking for your room and lighting.

If you are squeamish about making adjustments you can hire a professional calibrator to do it for you.

ive had the 960 for a few years now and never messed with but now that i found this official thread im curious to know if there is anything i can do to make the picture better and how to do it? also did sony ever give any updates or firmware to this set? i have purchased a blue ray and played a new disc it does look great but not like it looks on my buddys 1080p 120hertz sammy. is there anything i can do to get the pic as close to his with the 960?

No.

The hyper-real video look on the Samsung is achieved with its 120 Hz processing and was created to address issues with motion resolution that your CRT does not have. Some like the effect those LCDs achieve, some do not, because they think it looks too fake and not like the original film...

Need help from all KD-34XBR960 owners out there!! We've had our Sony since late 2004. Occasionally, the set would not turn on when hitting the power button -- so we had to unplug it from the wall, wait 30 seconds, then plug it back in (per Sony Customer Support instructions).
Now, even that won't work! The TV blinks through its diagnostics (red blinks 15-20x), then shuts off. Sony repair said it was a known problem, and will cost $1200 to fix!!!
Anyone else have this problem, and how best to resolve??

Is the service manual for the 960 available online?

Need help from all KD-34XBR960 owners out there!! We've had our Sony since late 2004. Occasionally, the set would not turn on when hitting the power button -- so we had to unplug it from the wall, wait 30 seconds, then plug it back in (per Sony Customer Support instructions).
Now, even that won't work! The TV blinks through its diagnostics (red blinks 15-20x), then shuts off. Sony repair said it was a known problem, and will cost $1200 to fix!!!
Anyone else have this problem, and how best to resolve??
I think it it might be time for a pickup truck, Craigs list and a strong friend.

Need help from all KD-34XBR960 owners out there!! We've had our Sony since late 2004. Occasionally, the set would not turn on when hitting the power button -- so we had to unplug it from the wall, wait 30 seconds, then plug it back in (per Sony Customer Support instructions).
Now, even that won't work! The TV blinks through its diagnostics (red blinks 15-20x), then shuts off. Sony repair said it was a known problem, and will cost $1200 to fix!!!
Anyone else have this problem, and how best to resolve??

That does happen at times - a Sony service rep explained it's like a computer crash, however, I was told to wait five minutes - not 30 seconds. Have you tried it that long?

My 960's STANDBY light blinks on startup before the picture is turned on. I've read this indicates a diagnostic message, but mine blinks ELEVEN (11) times and I can't find reference to what this could signify. Anyone?

My 32HS510 has blinked standby 11 times as it is getting going, sometimes a bit less, I wouldn't worry about it, unless it doesn't start up and blinks a repeating pattern like 6 quick blinks, pause 6 quick blinks.

Well, I've finally got an `old-timer' update on my set (built in July). This set had the tuner problem and developed the `pops' maybe two weeks after getting it that continually got more frequent.

All the parts from Sony finally came in and the local repair guy came by this afternoon (no Sony factory repair in Utah). He bad both a new power board and a small surface mount resistor to replace. The repair took about 2 hours total, most of that was spent trying to find the board that Sony was talking about! It turned out that it was the bottom main board on the right (looking from behind the set). The guy did a great job swapping the resistor out, ony took about a minute. The thing was so tiny that you had to hold it with a small pair of tweezers. =)


I'd like to revive this old topic, as this forum should include a consensus on how common the "cold tuner" problem is and something definitive and specific about what it takes to fix it.

The "cold tuner" problem is where digital channels can only be tuned in when the 960 is "warmed up", i.e. after it's been on for 5 or 15 or 45 minutes. When first powered on after being off for a few hours, all (or most) digital channels show up blank with a "No Signal" message.

From what I've read online, the cause of this was the "Q BOX" (shown in the 960 service manual as a small box made of perforated metal, containing at least three boards whose names all start with "Q") was faulty on maybe 20% of all 960's made, and the fix is to simply replace it.

According to Sony, a replacement Q Box costs almost $500. Plus the labor to install it (2 hours), you're probably looking at $700 to fix an out-of-warranty 960?

The confusing part is that people have variously pointed to a "tuner card" or "tuner box" in addition to the Q Box as the source of the problem. And the above message mentions that a "power board" and resistor replacement were the fix for his set.

Any insight on this (including specific part numbers replaced) would be greatly appreciated. I'm hoping that some part other than the Q Box (i.e. a cheaper part) is the actual culprit.

i had the blinking lights but I resolved it from unplugging it from my surge protector and plugging directly into the wall...I since got a monster power surge protector and i don't have anymore problems.

Just thought I would let everyone know I picked up a great black glass stand for the 960 at Circuit City yesterday. They had stacks of them and it was 70% off. :) The max weight on the top shelf is about 250lbs. The model is Verge VTVSBLK42

Just thought I would let everyone know I picked up a great black glass stand for the 960 at Circuit City yesterday. They had stacks of them and it was 70% off. :) The max weight on the top shelf is about 250lbs. The model is Verge VTVSBLK42

Darn,

That looks like it was custom made for the 960.

I've got a black glass stand that looks almost exactly the same. I'll post a pic later. Got it at Walmart for $100.

Also dreamcast ftw.

I love this TV but the screen is too small for the room that I watch it in.

If I wanted to sell it what is it worth now?

I have had it since the summer of 2006 and it is in excellent condition.

Thanks.

Around $400 give or take depending on condition of set and how bad the person wants it. :)

iS IT POSSIBLE TO JUST HOOK UP A SEPARATE SUBWOOFER TO THIS TV??
I BOUGHT THE "DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL" AND THEY HAVE A AUDIO CHECK FOR YOUR SYSTEM AND MY SUBWOOFER (INSIDE THE TV) MADE NO NOICE OUT PUT ?

I guess it could be possible if you rewired the internal sound system but otherwise no. You need a stereo receiver, two speakers and a sub to get decent TV sound.

iS IT POSSIBLE TO JUST HOOK UP A SEPARATE SUBWOOFER TO THIS TV??
I BOUGHT THE "DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL" AND THEY HAVE A AUDIO CHECK FOR YOUR SYSTEM AND MY SUBWOOFER (INSIDE THE TV) MADE NO NOICE OUT PUT ?


Because the audio check was for 5.1 and what you hear through the 960 is 2.0.

The 960's subwoofer is meant to provide richer bass through it's own speaker system, not special effects below 90 hz that would make the ground shake. As unclepauly said, you need an a/v receiver but I would suggest getting five speakers (two front, a center and two rears) plus a subwoofer to take advantage of the dvd's 5.1 audio. Have the optical output from the DVD player go directly to the receiver bypassing the 960 (two RCA cables can be hooked up to the set for times you don't feel like listening through the audio system).

Also dreamcast ftw.
I was going to say the same thing.

That looks like a great stand, and I'd have tried to get one at CC if I hadn't gotten such a good deal on the black glass front one a while back.

Joseph is right. The 960 does SD infinitely better than anything out there I've seen. DVD's almost look HD to me. I've got a blu-ray connected and just watched a couple blu-ray movies and there's definite improvement. Mainly in detail and black level/ color fidelity and it looks better than any OTA I've seen.

Maybe you're expecting the same temporal resolution that the olympics gave? Blu-ray movies mostly run at 24 fps and the olympics were 60 fps I think. There are some concert blu-rays that run at 60 fps if you could take a look at one of those maybe that's what you were looking for.

My only suggestion would be to get your TV calibrated(overscan reduction, geometry, convergence plus the usual stuff) or maybe run through your blu-ray settings a couple more times. I don't know, there's a noticeable difference on my set and I own a Sony SXRD 60A3000 for comparison.


Is the bold true?

I read in another thread the 960 is good for HD content(reason is the sfp tube),etc but the xbr800 is better for SD?

I ask because an xbr800 is being sold in my area. He wants potential buyers to make an offer.

What will be fair? I don't want to over pay and i don't want to low ball.

I am looking for a crt that can produce good picture in SD....xbr800 or xbr 960?

Is the bold true?

I read in another thread the 960 is good for HD content(reason is the sfp tube),etc but the xbr800 is better for SD?

I ask because an xbr800 is being sold in my area. He wants potential buyers to make an offer.

What will be fair? I don't want to over pay and i don't want to low ball.

I am looking for a crt that can produce good picture in SD....xbr800 or xbr 960?

All HD sets bring out the weaknesses of standard definition so to get a second set just for SD content IMHO wouldn't be worth it. And realize since the xbr 800 is a 40 inch 4x3 CRT, the larger screen (plus the advanced features similiar to the 960) will definately bring out the worst associated with standard definition broadcast resolution (different from DVD).

Is the bold true?

I read in another thread the 960 is good for HD content(reason is the sfp tube),etc but the xbr800 is better for SD?

I ask because an xbr800 is being sold in my area. He wants potential buyers to make an offer.

What will be fair? I don't want to over pay and i don't want to low ball.

I am looking for a crt that can produce good picture in SD....xbr800 or xbr 960?

Yes it's true because I've never seen an xbr800 in person. :D Maybe if I'd seen one that set would be the best I've ever seen.

And realize since the xbr 800 is a 40 inch 4x3 CRTThis requires clarification.

The 34XBR800 is a 34" 16x9 set. First one of the Sony 34" HD family. It has DVI instead of HDMI, but otherwise is a good example of the 960 heritage.

There is also a 40XBR800 which is a 40" 4:3 set.

I assume the OP is speaking of the 34XBR800, the HD 16x9 version.

Actually, my cousin owns a 34XBR800 and it is excellent.

But given a choice between 800 and 960, I'd certainly go for the 960.

This requires clarification.

The 34XBR800 is a 34" 16x9 set. First one of the Sony 34" HD family. It has DVI instead of HDMI, but otherwise is a good example of the 960 heritage.

There is also a 40XBR800 which is a 40" 4:3 set.

I assume the OP is speaking of the 34XBR800, the HD 16x9 version.

Actually, my cousin owns a 34XBR800 and it is excellent.

But given a choice between 800 and 960, I'd certainly go for the 960.

Would be interesting to know which model Truth123123 really wanted, since it was only indicated that it was an XBR800.

I still have and am using a Sony KV-32XBR100 that I bought new in 1997 for $3,000. In my opinion, this is the best 4:3 TV made. It has 800 lines of horizontal resolution and produces a fine picture. This is the only TV with a separate "feature box" that I have seen. I had to replace the feature box about two years ago as the cable input on the original went away. I bought it on Ebay. I used my VCR tuner for a while before I found one. Here is Sony's description of it:

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-home.pl?mdl=KV32XBR100

I think it is better than my 960 for 4:3 pictures but not by much.

FYI.

Would be interesting to know which model Truth123123 really wanted, since it was only indicated that it was an XBR800.

I was talking about the 34xbr800.

Ebay had an 40xbr800 without a stand...they stated it was in great condition... for $279.95. Good deal?

I was talking about the 34xbr800.

Ebay had an 40xbr800 without a stand...they stated it was in great condition... for $279.95. Good deal?

That's a great price, however, I'd want to see it first since one doesn't really know how much use and abuse it has really seen (be leary of sellers no matter what they say) and if it would be packed properly enough for protection during delivery. Even if the seller gives some sort of guarantee, imagine the cost of return shipping and insurance?

The 40xbr800 actually provides a larger 16x9 picture than the 34 inch crt models.

I still have and am using a Sony KV-32XBR100 that I bought new in 1997 for $3,000. In my opinion, this is the best 4:3 TV made. It has 800 lines of horizontal resolution and produces a fine picture. This is the only TV with a separate "feature box" that I have seen. I had to replace the feature box about two years ago as the cable input on the original went away. I bought it on Ebay. I used my VCR tuner for a while before I found one. Here is Sony's description of it:

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-home.pl?mdl=KV32XBR100

I think it is better than my 960 for 4:3 pictures but not by much.

FYI.

That thing probably handles standard-def video games very well. Does it have component output?

I have never used it with any video games...if you look at the link on Sony's site and select "Manuals-Specs", you will see the inputs listed.

If anyone in central north carolina has a kd-34xbr960 that they want to sell, by all means look me up. I am wanting to find one to put in my bedroom. I live north of Charlotte, NC. Have cash will travel if need.

Thanks!

That's a great price, however, I'd want to see it first since one doesn't really know how much use and abuse it has really seen (be leary of sellers no matter what they say) and if it would be packed properly enough for protection during delivery. Even if the seller gives some sort of guarantee, imagine the cost of return shipping and insurance?

The 40xbr800 actually provides a larger 16x9 picture than the 34 inch crt models.

It was for pick up only.

Bought a clean kd-34xbr960 from a local Craigslist seller on Monday for $300. No 1080i banding issues like I'd read about on the 910 and 800 sets. The picture is better than I imagined it would be! SPF tubes all the way! Very pleased with this set. Glad that I held out and bought a 960.

Bought a clean kd-34xbr960 from a local Craigslist seller on Monday for $300. No 1080i banding issues like I'd read about on the 910 and 800 sets. The picture is better than I imagined it would be! SPF tubes all the way! Very pleased with this set. Glad that I held out and bought a 960.

FOr $300 I'd be more than just "very pleased". Congrats!

OK, how about I'm ecstatic with this set! That would be more accurate.

Thank you to everyone on this board who contributes and shares their opinions, experiences, and knowledge on this plasma-killer. SFP tube!!!

Now just get it calibrated and you'll have an unholy beast of a screen there.

Going to check with a local ISF tech on a calibration. I've done all I can do with Joe Kane's DVD. What is a fair charge for ISF cal in your opinion?

Depends on how much they are willing to do. ChadB calibrates all inputs for color and grayscale, does an overscan reduction, convergence, will open the cabinet for magnet work, etc for $375. I would weigh the isf's calibration against that measure. If they aren't willing to do that much then you should scale the payment accordingly.

Thanks for the info. That will give me a reference point to go by.

I would go with ChadB if you're willing to wait for him to come to your area; EXCELLENT ISF tech; by far the best of the 3 techs I have hired. He did a full calibration on my newest 960 in the bedroom, and made adjustments to the geometry and convergence to the 960 in my bedroom; there are techs on this board who have never used magnets to correct the geometric distortion in this set, so if you're getting a set calibrated, why not get someone who's the best?

Thanks for the info. That will give me a reference point to go by.

You'll actually be paying more for the callibration than you did the set. No more than $675 for a 960 that includes professional callibration -- proves Samta Clause doesn't work just in December.

Had to unplug the 960 for five minutes since no picture and sound came on. Not worried and, in retrospect, having to replug it might have been a silver lining in disguise. The past two instances when this happened the picture seemed a slight bit more vibrant than the night before.

Would it be good practice unplugging the set for five minutes every month or so?

You might have had a power "glitch". Can't hurt, TV is like a computer inside. If it gets frequent, could be the MCZ3001D ICs are due for replacement, watch for 6 blinks of Standby light after it doesn't turn on.