The Official Kd-34xbr960 Thread [Text View] - Page 27

dmaxben

03-23-09, 11:19 PM

hi everyone... So I initially bought a broken XBR960, figuring it was the little IC's on the DZ-board. Got it for basically free. Turned out it wasnt actually those IC's, or I messed something else up. I didnt want to keep messing with it because I really needed a working TV...so I looked on craigs list and just picked up a flawless XBR960 with the custom "proper" XBR2 stand and glass shelf for..........250! :D

I have a really cheap 20 dollar DVD player hooked up to it now, but im currently looking around for a nice blu-ray player that also upconverts DVD's and plays DIVX. My onkyo receiver does HDMI switching and stuff so Im going to hook up both the blu-ray and my PC up to the HDMI input.

But anyways ill shut up now and get to my question. I have never seen a picture so beautiful, man I know why Im still stuck on using CRT's...nothing "thin" today can touch the SFP tube in my opinion.

I have it hooked up to the basic analog cable in my room at school, but when I try to tune channels it just says "no signal". I tried hooking the cable up to both the VHF/UHF and cable coax inputs on the TV, neither worked. BUT what is strange is if I do twin-view or the "guide/favorites preview", it tunes in the channel (only one at a time, the other side of the twin view is 'no signal') perfectly fine and the picture looks great.

So what im thinking is the tuner in the TV is being picky and is setup to "not display anything unless the signal strength is over a certain dB". I know my onkyo surround receiver is like that on FM too...unless the FM station comes in clear and in stereo, nothing comes out of the speakers. Im sure the cable signal at my school is junk, and this TV being so advanced is just saying "what is this garbage are you feeding me with".

Its not like any other TV where if you dont hook up any cable or anything, you turn it on and just get static/snow/white noise. It just says "no signal" and blocks it out.

Yes I did the auto-detect and let it do its thing forever, and it found like 3 or 4 digital channels (113.424882 and crazy stuff like that) that came in crystal clear, but If I remember correctly it didnt find any analog channels....

is there some other setting that Im completely missing in the menu that disables the 'signal strength cutout'?? Or something in the service menu I can tweak??? Right now when I want to watch cable I just keep it on twin-view, or watch DVD's. :D

thanks everyone...

ben

gmarceau

03-24-09, 09:23 AM

RWetmore

03-24-09, 06:42 PM

What is the actual gamma setting that gets a 2.2 in the service menu? I remember Ken Tech said that adjusting GAMR,G,B to 3 would get close to 2.2

Then I'm hearing that those three settings to 1 will achieve it.

Also, the colors get more pop when BLK is changed to 2, but 3 begins to definitely crush blacks.

Then again, if BLK is changed, then GAMM settings would have to be adjusted accordingly, right? GAMM set at 2 changes GAMS,R,G,B to 8,6,6,and 6. I don't know what sort of gamma setting this is.

This seems to be my last sort of issue with the tv. I'm okay with the slight issues with geometry, I've got pretty darn good color temperature, but I really want to get black levels below Kuro, as close to 0.0 idle luminance as possible, although I don't think this tv can do it.

According to Chad B., the correct NTSC setting is usually all 1s for gamma. I don't think BLK is a gamma related adjustment but black level. Whatever settings you use, they should all be the same for GAMR, GAMG, GAMB. I would leave GAMS at 0. Last time I read the thread, no one knew what GAMS actually adjusts. I don't see any changes on my set from adjusting it. The GAMM settings are just a way of preseting several different gamma settings for GAMR, G & B, so it doesn't really matter.

RWetmore

03-24-09, 06:48 PM

Then again, if BLK is changed, then GAMM settings would have to be adjusted accordingly, right?

No. You should not have adjust black level after changing gamma. If you do lower the gamma a little, you'll probably have to bring up color saturation a notch or two. Other than that, you shouldn't have to make any other adjustments generally (*unless you are professionally calibrating because decreasing the gamma settings isn't perfectly linear on these analog sets and greyscale would have to be touched up).

fogcity

03-26-09, 12:19 AM

Loving the PQ on my 960, but after tweaking all the CP settings i can find it still seems like it's crushing blacks. Anything below 10% grey seems to be pulled down into solid black. I think there's a loss of detail in the lowest shades. Kind of like there's too much contrast in that area.

I can raise the level of blacks, but that just makes ALL the blacks, including what seems to be true black (0% white), whiter.

I can raise the gamma, but that just seems to affect the mid-tones and brighter areas.

Is there an adjustment I'm missing?

gmarceau

03-26-09, 09:13 AM

fogcity

03-26-09, 03:41 PM

I finally looked back at the Sony Service Codes thread and realized from Kentech's post that using UBOF and UCOF can adjust black and color saturation. I had to lower the UBOF to 0 and that gave me inky blacks without using BLK. UCOF to 1 just slightly increased saturation. Can't believe I missed this.

I know what you mean about slight shadow detail loss. I don't think you're crushing blacks, this might still be a gamma issue that needs to be touched on. Then again, I don't know what your black level settings are.

What do you have SBRT and the brightness slider on the menu set at? Did you play around with BLK or UBOF settings to adjust black further. What do you have GAMM settings at? Also, what mode are you in? Pro mode is supposed to set gamma at 2.4 to start. Changing the GAMR,G,B up can give a nice 2.2 gamma. Although, I'm really not sure that the settings are 1 on all 3 of them. I think 2 or 3 gets closer to that 2.2 gamma.

my relevant settings:
PRO Mode
UBOF = 1
UCOF = 0
SBRT = 28
brightness usually just above nominal (center) setting
BLK = 0
GAMM = 0
GAMS = 0
GAMR = 1
GAMG = 1
GAMB = 1

ive tried various settings of all these BUT have never changed ubof, ucof... will try this later.

note that i like the contrast in the brighter tones, am not looking to soften out the whole picture by changing the center point of the gamma as some of these settings and modes want to. just trying to bring up the darkest colors without turning true black into grey. photoshop users know how to do this using either the curves or the levels dialogs... it is possible.

joenj07087

03-27-09, 08:29 PM

RWetmore

03-28-09, 12:04 AM

ok I have one of these Sony XBR960 I bought it in 2004, since this morning while it turns on, no image appears on the screen the screen is totally black...does this mean this tv has it?..is this it?...5 years and PUFF! I just don't want to waste my time now looking for a authorized dealer in northen Nj for this thing that btw weights a ton....do you guys think it could be somethign worth fixing(not too expensive)?..or should I call it a day..??...it worked fine till today..since 2004 nov...!

Try unplugging it first for a few minutes. Sometimes that alone can fix it. If after plugging it back in and still doesn't work, try unplugging it for at least 24 hours. If after that it still doesn't work, it needs repair. Maybe count the number of red flashes and search what that indicates as the problem.

jamesflames

04-20-09, 08:29 PM

wbrett

04-21-09, 10:30 AM

I bought a 5020 a couple of weeks ago so I can argue with myself which is better. :D

Slinky11

04-21-09, 12:26 PM

Just thought I would put this up here for anyone a little closer (Sacramento). Might as well get it for the stand and a parts TV!

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/ele/1128738987.html

Edit:... sorry this looks like a 970(?) Still a good deal lol

Ennui

04-21-09, 12:27 PM

Cable cards are problematic...I have Cox and the techs came several times with several cards before they got it to work. Now have Tivo with an "M" card and has been OK recently.

RalphArch

04-21-09, 12:33 PM

Cable cards are problematic...I have Cox and the techs came several times with several cards before they got it to work. Now have Tivo with an "M" card and has been OK recently.

Sorry Ennui - I deleted mypost when technician came back and fixed problem. Turns out that the card was just not authorized back at Comcast's end (actually was authorized and they turned it off after tech left not realizing I had two cable cards); and my 36kd955xs has a different menu with cable card in than the xbr960 has (which has cable card grayed out with an installed and set up card; versus other tv which has ability to reset the card)

Joseph Dubin

04-21-09, 12:58 PM

I bought a 5020 a couple of weeks ago so I can argue with myself which is better. :D

Please let us know the result of your debate, not accounting for the difference in picture size.

Mathesar

04-21-09, 06:00 PM

I bought a 5020 a couple of weeks ago so I can argue with myself which is better. :D

Do what I did and setup both TVs side by side, This made it easy for me (and everyone else that saw it) prefer my Kuro 5080 over XBR960.

Mainly due to the much brighter output, crisper / sharper details and corner to corner focus, very very close black level performance and for some reason the shadow details on the plasma were noticeably better , I was able to help this by boosting the brightness setting on the CRT although the black levels weren't quite so 'black' at this point (I'm assuming service menu adjustments might be a more proper approach here).

But the final nail in the coffin was its much bigger screen size which alone makes gaming & watching movies a better experience.

BeachComber

04-22-09, 03:54 AM

Joseph Dubin

04-22-09, 09:58 AM

Do what I did and setup both TVs side by side, This made it easy for me (and everyone else that saw it) prefer my Kuro 5080 over XBR960.

Mainly due to the much brighter output, crisper / sharper details and corner to corner focus, very very close black level performance and for some reason the shadow details on the plasma were noticeably better , I was able to help this by boosting the brightness setting on the CRT although the black levels weren't quite so 'black' at this point (I'm assuming service menu adjustments might be a more proper approach here).

But the final nail in the coffin was its much bigger screen size which alone makes gaming & watching movies a better experience.

It's a fact the Kuro 5080 is a mighty set, a Royles Royce, but agree with Beachcomer that 960 service adjustments might be required for after many years, the 960 still remains a member of that elite Royles Royce class of HD sets as well. Plasma is touted by Crutchfield as being the "closest" to a CRT in performance so there should be no problem with shadow detail, brightness and sharpness to make the Kuro noticably better in comparision to the 960 (at most,they would be equal).

Don't forget picture quality is different from screen size preference. I wouldn't mind having something larger than 34" but not at the trade off of a poorer picture (please know I'm not referring to your Kuro 5080 but to most other sets instead).

Enjoy both!

RalphArch

04-22-09, 10:12 AM

It's a fact the Kuro 5080 is a mighty set, a Royles Royce, but agree with Beachcomer that 960 service adjustments might be required for after many years, the 960 still remains a member of that elite Royles Royce class of HD sets as well. Plasma is touted by Crutchfield as being the "closest" to a CRT in performance so there should be no problem with shadow detail, brightness and sharpness to make the Kuro noticably better in comparision to the 960 (at most,they would be equal).

Don't forget picture quality is different from screen size preference. I wouldn't mind having something larger than 34" but not at the trade off of a poorer picture (please know I'm not referring to your Kuro 5080 but to most other sets instead).

Enjoy both!

To sort of side with Mathesar's viewpoint somewhat; I think what others should also consider it that picture quality is also independent of those service menu adjustment for most of us; calibration by a professional is economically not going to happen for most of us (I have three HD crts direct views and a CRT fp - can you imagine my calibration costs). I have not changed anything in the service menu for either my 960 nor my 36kd955xs.

So when he compares the picture of his 960 to his Kuro; and notes what happens with his brightness to bring out shadow detail; that's the same for many of us including me. And it remains a valid way to compare as many of us aren't going to spend the time or effort to get it better. If we are spending money perhaps it is better to go with something like a Kuro.

unclepauly

04-22-09, 11:08 AM

Joseph Dubin

04-22-09, 12:32 PM

To sort of side with Mathesar's viewpoint somewhat; I think what others should also consider it that picture quality is also independent of those service menu adjustment for most of us; calibration by a professional is economically not going to happen for most of us (I have three HD crts direct views and a CRT fp - can you imagine my calibration costs). I have not changed anything in the service menu for either my 960 nor my 36kd955xs.

So when he compares the picture of his 960 to his Kuro; and notes what happens with his brightness to bring out shadow detail; that's the same for many of us including me. And it remains a valid way to compare as many of us aren't going to spend the time or effort to get it better. If we are spending money perhaps it is better to go with something like a Kuro.

The only true way to compare sets are for both to be callibrated correctly. Even a Royles Royce not properly maintained can perform down to the level of my Saturn. And you are right, many owners don't have the expertise to do it in some fashion, money to spend on hiring a professional, or even aware that most sets (CRT, Plasma, LCD, etc.) often are not callibrated properly by the factory. Who knows, even Mathesar's Kuro might look even better (not suggesting, of course, that it doesn't look great already).

RalphArch

04-22-09, 01:00 PM

The only true way to compare sets are for both to be callibrated correctly.

That is just not correct. You can do a true comparison between stock displays - and it will be valid for those stock machines considering those conditions. That was my point.

I agree that you could get different results under different conditions; but its not a minor point; most viewers have uncalibrated/non-service menu situations, even those that frequent these fora.

Joseph Dubin

04-22-09, 03:07 PM

That is just not correct. You can do a true comparison between stock displays - and it will be valid for those stock machines considering those conditions. That was my point.

I agree that you could get different results under different conditions; but its not a minor point; most viewers have uncalibrated/non-service menu situations, even those that frequent these fora.

But what if a superior set is callibrated poorly and displayed next to a so-so set callibrated much better? And what about incorrect user adjustments? If the brightness, picture, color, tint and sharpness controls on one are improperly set it's picture can appear more impressive over the other but actually be artificial and un-natural (a trick we all know stores use all the time). Either of the above gives one set an advantage over the other as far as comparisions are considered.

When it comes to comparisions, units have to be adjusted at least close enough to optimum performance to truly determine how one stands up to the other. Same holds true for the set ultimately chosen by the buyer so he or she can get the most of their new purchase.

Again, this is not about the 960 versus the Kuro but rather about principles to be considered when making comparisions in general.

Mathesar

04-22-09, 03:40 PM

I adjusted them the closest I could using user menu settings, the Kuro has a slight advantage here being it has user Gamma adjustments.

I think one of the biggest downers for the CRT was how much darker/dimmer it was in comparison (or its lack of contrast "punch") which affected many scenes during the comparison, especially cartoon / Pixar movies and this was with the Plasma set on the "Movie" video mode (Not the torch modes such as Dynamic or Optimal)

Don't get me wrong I still think the CRT looks great and I still own it, I just prefer the Kuro overall .. I hope thats not a crime lol.

Joseph Dubin

04-22-09, 04:16 PM

Mathesar

04-27-09, 11:12 PM

DSperber

04-27-09, 11:31 PM

Just in passing...

An A/V equipment upgrade this past weekend included the implementation of a Yamaha RX-V863 receiver. It was primarily required to provide discrete analog audio preamp outputs to feed my newly acquired SVS "magic headphone" box. The SVS box eliminates my Pioneer DIR-SE1000C Dolby Headphone processor that I've been listening through for a number of years now (since I don't have 5.1 loudspeakers for my HDTV).

But in the process of figuring out what I needed to put in which hole of my equipment rack, I also eliminated the Zektor HDS4 component video switch I'd been using for many many years (going back to my original Sampo HDTV). This component had also served as my audio switcher.

Well naturally, the Yamaha receiver serves as both an audio and video switcher... for digital and analog audio, as well as digital and analog video (including HDMI and component video for HDTV).

As part of my experimentation I decided to try HDMI from my Moto DCH-3416 DVR. And I have to say, I now believe the picture on the XBR960 to be superior to the component video picture I've been watching (through the Zektor) for five years now. I'd previously convinced myself that there was no visible difference (to me) between the two options, and so I'd been using component video because I had to use the Zektor.

Well whether it's that the Yamaha HDMI switcher is excellent and its component video switcher is maybe not quite so excellent, or whether I just never viewed quite as much HDTV intensively and via HDMI as I did this weekend while playing with my new receiver, I don't know the explanation. But I now feel strongly that my HDMI picture is superior to the component video picture.

It appears a bit sharper, more vibrant, slightly better colors, etc. And I've double-checked my user/service menu settings but can't quite get the component video to look quite as good as the HDMI result, even with some fine-tuning micro-tweaks.

Now this is not a dramatic difference to be sure, but I now prefer the HDMI look. So that's how I'm going to watch HDTV from now on.

On a separate note, I'm visiting my nephew in Chicago in June. He's just bought a new house and to "celebrate" he's also decided to upgrade from his Sharp Aquos which he purchased a few years back to a Kuro 60" Pro-151FD! He got a fantastic price on it (since Pioneer is exiting the business and the dealer was essentially "giving them away").

Coincidentally, he's also buying a Yamaha receiver (better than mine) to go with it. And he's also acquired a BluRay player and the "Wall-e" disc for 1080p demonstration.

I can't wait to see it, although I obviously will not be able to side-by-side compare it to my XBR960.

TomGreen321

04-28-09, 04:58 PM

Joseph Dubin

04-28-09, 10:06 PM

I have to say, I now believe the picture on the XBR960 to be superior to the component video picture I've been watching (through the Zektor) for five years now. I'd previously convinced myself that there was no visible difference (to me) between the two options, and so I'd been using component video because I had to use the Zektor.

Well whether it's that the Yamaha HDMI switcher is excellent and its component video switcher is maybe not quite so excellent, or whether I just never viewed quite as much HDTV intensively and via HDMI as I did this weekend while playing with my new receiver, I don't know the explanation. But I now feel strongly that my HDMI picture is superior to the component video picture.

It appears a bit sharper, more vibrant, slightly better colors, etc. And I've double-checked my user/service menu settings but can't quite get the component video to look quite as good as the HDMI result, even with some fine-tuning micro-tweaks.

Now this is not a dramatic difference to be sure, but I now prefer the HDMI look. So that's how I'm going to watch HDTV from now on.

I also came to the same conclusion. A weaker black-level causes the component picture to lack the "punch" of HDMI.

However, differences in picture quality might be due to sources rather than inputs. In a local cable forum, many feel component works better with Scientific Atlantic HD boxes. At first, I felt the same but when upgrading to the SA HD-DVR, I found there definately was.

It's my belief that some sources and monitors aren't as good as others and therefore component might be the equal of HDMI. However, when it comes to the 960 with a HD input of excellent quality, HDMI is definate the superior.

bharani

04-29-09, 04:00 PM

Hi all,
I see a few who are looking to buy a 960. I am trying to sell mine that I bought in Dec 2004. Very sparingly used and in excellent condition. I live in McKinney, TX (suburb of Dallas) and I think $400 is a good price. Any buyers out there?

Thanks
Bharani

Polarican

04-30-09, 10:20 AM

Joseph Dubin

04-30-09, 12:43 PM

I feel very fortunate to pick up 2 KD34XBR960's this month. I brought the 2nd one home yesterday. PQ is awesome and both sets are in mint condition! I was originally looking for a KD-36XS955 for the 2nd set, but ran across a great deal on the 2nd 960 and just went for it. I'm looking forward to going through this thread and tweaking this already great picture to make it even better!

I'm guessing the "Twin View" and "Index" features are going to be affected by the Digital transition on June 12th? Is there anyway to have the "Index" feature show digital channels?

It depends on your cable or satellite system. Ours is 100% digital however with a splitter stations that are not scrambled (both HD and SD) can be indexed and viewed using the set's digital tuner. Twin view can still be used with those unscrambled stations still transmitted in analog by the provider.

Polarican

04-30-09, 02:34 PM

I mostly watch DVD’s and only watch TV via OTA. Uncompressed HD looks really great on this set. I have over 40 Analog/Digital Channels combined and I’m hoping not to pay for Cable again… With OTA, once the June 12th conversion happens, will these features on my 960 be useless? Especially the “Index” feature?

RalphArch

04-30-09, 02:54 PM

I just got my 960 a couple weeks ago and am starting to play around with it. One toy I got to go along with it is a refurbished JVC DVHS deck ($158 from B H photos) . Although I am still setting that up and discovering - it may be the ticket you are looking for to use the split screens (don't know about indexing)

At a minimum you can play back recorded digital material into an analog input that can be use for the split screen in that screen. But you can also use the I-link split screens directly to watch a recording via firewire on one window while viewing the digital ATSC channel on the other.

DSperber

04-30-09, 04:14 PM

At a minimum you can play back recorded digital material into an analog input Please clarify. What type of recorded content are you planning on feeding to the analog inputs of the XBR960?

Also, what model of JVC DVHS VCR do you have (there were four manufactured)? Only the DT100U has an OTA ATSC digital tuner, allowing recording of OTA ATSC channels. All four models (including DT100U) allow digital recording of DTV content via firewire, assuming you have a firewire source (like Moto STB/DVR).

But I don't believe any of this digital recorded content can be played back through analog connections (e.g. S-video out of the VCR to S-video of the XBR960). I'm quite sure that only digital connections (i.e. HDMI for the 5U and 100U, or component video for all four models) are available for playback of these digital recordings.

Now, if you're talking about playing back digital LS3 recordings (i.e. digital MPEG compressed recordings to DVHS tape, of analog input source content) instead of conventional analog EP/SP VHS/SVHS, well that's really still analog as far as playback is concerned. LS3 plays back through analog S-video and composite connections, as it's simply MPEG-decompressed by the VCR and played out... just like it were standard VHS/SVHS.

But LS3 (and EP/SP) cannot be used to record OTA ATSC digital channels for HDTV playback purposes (through HDMI or component video), nor can it be used to digitally record firewire bitstream input, both of which are recorded in pure bitstream HS mode (and expected to be played back only through HDMI or component video). That's why there are such variant recording time limits, when using VHS/SVHS tapes (supporting EP/SP recording mode) or when using DVHS tapes (also supporting LS3 and HS recording mode).

Let me know if you have questions on your DVHS acquisition. I've been using them since 2001 (with the original "Panny combo" DST50/HD1000, running off of Dish Network's 5000 receiver with the "HDTV adapter" that emitted channels as 8VSB to coax output, which looked just like today's OTA ATSC and was fed to the coax antenna input of the DST50).

RalphArch

04-30-09, 08:28 PM

Looks like I am going to be SOL and not able to do what I was planning to do.

I wish I had posted here before buying the JVC. My initial outlook was to get a Mitsubishi HS-HD2000U - but that had only firewire out for HD so I thought the JVC HM-4000u would be better with its component out that I could lug to my projector on occasion and would still work after the SONY died. http://www.anrdoezrs.net/image-3136390-10661106http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sq=desc&Q=&sb=ps&pn=1&ci=0&A=search&shs=Hm-Dh4000U (http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-3136390-10661106?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhphotovideo.com%2Fbnh%2Fcontr oller%2Fhome%3FO%3D%26sq%3Ddesc%26Q%3D%26sb%3Dps%26pn%3D1%26 ci%3D0%26A%3Dsearch%26shs%3DHm-Dh4000U)

For firewire source itself I thought I would just use the XBR 360. I guess I am major SOL on that if it won't work . Like I said I haven't played around much at all with it - I suppose what you are saying is that a cable card enabled SONY XBR 360 won't play good with copy once material for input via firewire to the jvc.

Anyway off to try it and confirm that I made a bad choice - will post back looking for any help you can give me for salvaging something out of this.

(Yes - I thought that if you recorded a digital show it would be able to play back analog besides component - little did I know)

All is not totally lost - I do have a Motorola dvr cable box in the theater room and I suppose I could hook the jvc up there to give me more than the current 30 hours or so of available HD recording and also allow pernamnent archiving - then I could sneaker the vcr to the SONY for viewing but that seems a little too much effort

RalphArch

04-30-09, 09:00 PM

[quote=DSperber;16373573]Please clarify. What type of recorded content are you planning on feeding to the analog inputs of the XBR960?

But I don't believe any of this digital recorded content can be played back through analog connections (e.g. S-video out of the VCR to S-video of the XBR960). I'm quite sure that only digital connections (i.e. HDMI for the 5U and 100U, or component video for all four models) are available for playback of these digital recordings.

Now, if you're talking about playing back digital LS3 recordings (i.e. digital MPEG compressed recordings to DVHS tape, of analog input source content) instead of conventional analog EP/SP VHS/SVHS, well that's really still analog as far as playback is concerned. LS3 plays back through analog S-video and composite connections, as it's simply MPEG-decompressed by the VCR and played out... just like it were standard VHS/SVHS.

But LS3 (and EP/SP) cannot be used to record OTA ATSC digital channels for HDTV playback purposes (through HDMI or component video), nor can it be used to digitally record firewire bitstream input, both of which are recorded in pure bitstream HS mode (and expected to be played back only through HDMI or component video). That's why there are such variant recording time limits, when using VHS/SVHS tapes (supporting EP/SP recording mode) or when using DVHS tapes (also supporting LS3 and HS recording mode).

quote]

It was just a 5 minute or so test but it looks like it is going to work for me. I tried recording a couple minutes of Ugly Betty on ABC-HD (cable 210) - it works fine for recording. When playing back I can do it either off the firewire (and hit i-link during playback for HD full screen via firewire; or play back off the component out into the Sony; Or playback using the s-video out of vcr into the s-video on the Sony.

I then tried recording a copy once channel (HBO-HD) and that is recording fine as well. So it looks like mine is working like I thought it should/would.

Maybe you mean playing back with the VCR controls gives you fits? In my case I used the I-link controls and features on the XBR 360 to start recording and playback etc.

DSperber

04-30-09, 09:58 PM

(1) The firewire output of the XBR960 will definitely carry the output of its own digital ATSC tuner fed from its UHF/VHS antenna input (as I have it connected to a roof antenna). So you can absolutely use the XBR960's ATSC tuner as a firewire source for recording HDTV to DVHS on your JVC 40K for OTA channels.

And from what you say, using a Cable Card setup (which I don't have) and presumably using the Cable antenna input to the XBR960, the digital channels available from the cable company can also be passed out the firewire output of the XBR960 and recorded by the 40K from its firewire input. Two antenna inputs, same ATSC/QAM tuner involved, same functioning firewire output. No problem.

In fact, I have a JVC 40K as well as a JVC DT100U. My 40K is connected to my XBR960, so I'm relating details of actual experience with the same VCR you have. In fact, I just performed this very experiment you just did (just to be sure for my reply)... recording a few minutes of our local KCBS-DT channel here in LA during the evening news.

(2) The DVHS recording made from firewire out of the XBR960 to firewire in of the 40K can definitely be played back in true HDTV video (just as it aired on KCBS-DT) to the XBR960 via the component video outputs of the 40K, to the component video inputs of the XBR960.

The digital content sent over firewire recording to the VCR (which, I remind you, is 5C-compliant so that you will not be able to use the machine to copy a copy-once program recorded on DVHS tape to a second generation on a second DVHS tape) can either be a copy-always or copy-once program (both coming from the XBR960, via your Cable Card service). So you can definitely record both copy-always (e.g. your ABC-HD channel) as well as copy-once (e.g. your HBO-HD). Neither of these cases is a 5C violation, so you can record it all to DVHS via firewire from XBR960 to 40K.

In other words, that first generation copy on DVHS counts as the first copy... which you're always allowed to do for everything except pay-per-view (which is copy-never).

(3) On playback from the 40K, audio from the digital recording recording comes out in true DD5.1 digital form via the digital optical output of the 40K.

The same audio (converted by the 40K to analog from the 2-channel PCM stereo in the program's digital audio stream) is presented in 2-channel stereo analog form via the L/R-stereo analog outputs of the 40K.

(4) Playback of the digital recording from the 40K can also be done via the iLink approach on the XBR960 as you've confirmed.

Digital audio and digital video are passed via firewire from 40K to XBR960 and can be controlled by the iLink user interface on the XBR960, either in a window or fullscreen.

(5) I am, quite frankly, surprised that you say you can actually see S-video of this recording using the S-video input to the XBR960 (i.e. INPUT1/2/3). I cannot. My screen is black. I was not aware that any of the four JVC DVHS VCRs had down-converting capability to down-convert 1080i/720p to 480i for presentation out via S-video/composite.

So while I have the audio from the recorded program played back through both the digital optical output of the 40K as well as through its analog audio outputs, I most certainly do NOT have video presented to the XBR960 via S-video of the 40K (which goes to INPUT1 of the XBR060 in my configuration).

This is as per my original comment. So I'm genuinely surprised you say your 40K actually does put out an S-video version of your HD recording. Does not work for me, which honestly was why I said it wouldn't/shouldn't for you.

But if it does work for you, I'd say terrific! Of course you're not getting the true HDTV 1080i resolution picture via S-video... only the 16:9 image frame in 480i. But of course you can at least "zoom" using the XBR960 to fill the whole screen with that 16:9 frame.

But why do you want to use S-video as a viewing option, if you have the DVHS recording done via firewire from the XBR960 and it was true 1080i/720p HDTV and you can play back that recording using 1080i/720p component video or firewire/iLink?

The key here is that you absolutely CAN use the ATSC tuner of the XBR960 to record to the 40K via firewire, in true HDTV form on DVHS tape, of any channel you can tune the XBR960 to... either copy-always or copy-once channels. And playback from the 40K to the XBR960 can be done in that same HDTV form, via component video or firewire. This is what is most important about your new purchase.

NOTE: using firewire for playback, none of the "on screen display" graphics of the 40K are presented to the XBR960. They do not get overlaid onto the firewire stream. You must rely totally on the XBR960's iLink user interface for things like the digital timer, etc.

You will only see the OSD graphics from the 40K if you playback through component video. The 40K does overlay its graphics onto the component video outputs.

DSperber

04-30-09, 10:29 PM

Looks like I am going to be SOL and not able to do what I was planning to do.No... your goal was to be able to record HDTV from XBR960's tuner (from all Cable Card channels) to DVHS on 40K, for later playback in the same original HDTV quality.

And you WILL be able to do just that. This is the whole purpose of the DVHS VCR and firewire connections.

I just don't understand why S-video is part of your story? It's not for HDTV, so forget it. Just use component video (or firewire/iLink, if you want).

NOTE: the firewire datastream is 720p/1080i, depending on what channel you recorded. The playback of this recording, via both firewire or component video, will also be at this same original 720p/1080i resolution (which is good, since the XBR960 can support both 720p and 1080i sources) but only if you change the default setting which upconverts 720p to 1080i.

In other words:

MENU -> FUNCTION SET UP -> IN/OUT FUNCTION -> TV OUTPUT 1

and then cursor from the default "720to1080" setting to the "NO CONV" value and push OK.

My initial outlook was to get a Mitsubishi HS-HD2000U but that had only firewire out for HD so I thought the JVC HM-40000u would be better with its component out that I could lug to my projector on occasion and would still work after the SONY died.Absolutely you made the right decision. The 40K is far more flexible and capable and usable for what you want to do with it.

For firewire source itself I thought I would just use the XBR 360.Perfect. Whatever you can tune to via your Cable Card service through the ATSC/QAM tuner of the XBR960 will be sent out the firewire connection to the 40K for DVHS recording.

I suppose what you are saying is that a cable card enabled SONY XBR 360 won't play good with copy once material for input via firewire to the jvc.That's not what I said.

As I hope I've now clarified, any channel you can tune the XBR960 to through your Cable Card will be sent out via firewire, and will be recordable to DVHS on the 40K. You will be able to play back these recordings on any HDTV (including your projector), either through component video or via firewire.

You simply will not be able to copy a "copy-once" DVHS recording (e.g. from HBO-HD) to a second generation DVHS tape (if you had a second DVHS VCR or other firewire recording device, like a camcorder). The 40K will put up a big message box on the screen that the content is not recordable, so it will be worthless to even try.

Anyway off to try it and confirm that I made a bad choiceAgain, I think I was just misunderstood.

What I was really saying is that you would not (or should not have been) able to play back an HDTV recording via S-video outputs of the 40K. That's all I said you couldn't do. You say now that your experiment shows it is somehow happening on your 40K, but I'm quite stunned because it doesn't happen on my 40K (and that would require down-conversion electronics/software in the 40K that is an unnecessary cost if the whole objective is "silly").

Again, why would you want to play back via 480i non-HDTV S-video anyway, when you already play back in true 720p/1080i HDTV via component video or firewire/iLink?

No... you've made a very good purchase.

If you don't mind lugging the DVHS VCR when you want to archive something permanently from your theater room Moto DVR to DVHS tape, you will be thrilled that you can now do that. And you'll be able to use the VCR to play back HDTV content on either your projector or XBR960.

And of course you can just do simple temporary offloading to DVHS tape for later playback and re-use of the tape, if your DVR gets tight on recording space.

Wise choice.

Hey... I even brought my "Panny combo" out of retirement, connecting it to my OTA antenna during the Summer Olympics, just to be able to record additional HDTV content to DVHS tape so as not to overload my DVR and JVC DT100U, which were already going largely fulltime for those two weeks. It took me quite a while to watch everything... all in HDTV (DVHS tapes made on the Panny HD1000 play back just fine on the JVC VCRs), but at least I didn't miss anything.

RalphArch

04-30-09, 10:51 PM

Thanks for all that detailed feedback - I am thrilled that it appears it is all going to work for me. (although my unit has an annoying click-click noise when playing back - maybe that is related to why its a refurb?)

On the s-video - I really wasn't planning on using that - it was more for just trying it out for the other poster who indicated some interest in an analog window with a digital for the twin view feature.

But I confirmed again that it does work on my set (by the way I don't have an OTA-I have cable hooked up to the JVC and then the XBR cable fed from the tv cable out on the JVC; with a cable card from Comcast in the xbr.

For me to get s-video out all I did was hook up the audio and video outs of the recorder into the video 2 of the tv (front). Then while playing back an HD recording (having started from the firewire interface and noting visually that it was 1080i) - I switch using tv/video on remote to video 2; which reports an NTSC signal as is displayed widescreen 16:9 - no zooming or anything. If I continue switching video input to component (video 5) - it reports 480i 16:9 and its obviously not in 1080i visually either.

Like I said I haven't played with this much; perhaps the s-video capability is tied to the choice of component output resolution - I never changed that since I got the set. Off to figure out how to get HD on my component instead of 480i

One thing the s-video may be useful for me is for doing conversion on the fly for outputting to a dvd as it appears to be doing the conversion. For example a friend of my wife's brother was on CSI the other night and I recorded for her and need to get her a copy. Maybe with this downconversion I will be able to get the show onto a dvd without all the overnight transcoding hassle.

DSperber

04-30-09, 11:06 PM

Off to figure out how to get HD on my component instead of 480iThis "mystery" symptom could actually be the answer to every outstanding question. And the solution should be found in:

MENU -> FUNCTION SET UP -> IN/OUT FUNCTION -> TV OUTPUT 1

There is a third option here, which I did not mention: ALLto480i!!!

This, in fact, sends ALL images out to the TV in 480i image format. The theory of this setting is that you do NOT have an HDTV capable of accepting 480p (SD DVD resolution) or 720p/1080i (HDTV and BluRay resolution). In fact, the expectation is specifically that you will be watching your recordings via S-video, and not through component video or firewire.

I'm guessing the previous owner of your 40K for some reason was using this HDTV-capable VCR in a non-HDTV environment!!! No wonder he gave it back! What an idiot!

Anyway, this could definitely explain why you're able to see video out of your S-video source (to INPUT2 on the XBR960)... specifically because of this setting. I guess the 40K does contain down-conversion capability, since the input was obviously 1080i.

Now, if you do what I suggested earlier, namely set this TV OUTPUT 1 setting to "NO CONV", not only will the output of the recording which you view through component video (INPUT5) actually show 1080i, but I'll bet lots of Benjamins that you will NOT be able to see any picture on your S-video input (INPUT2).

I don't think you should need to make a second recording to prove all of this. The original recording was untouched by the 40K and recorded exactly as the true datastream out of the firewire connection coming from the XBR960's tuner. That recording contained the true original 1080i data. It was, in fact, during playback that this "ALLto480" took over and converted everything to 480i... and allowed output via S-video.

So simply by changing this TV OUTPUT 1 setting that original recording test of yours will now (1) be visible in 1080i on INPUT5 via component video, and (2) become not visible on S-video INPUT2.

Again, note that audio is not handled the same way as video. In all cases the digital audio in the recording will ALWAYS be available on both (a) optical digital audio out from the 40K, and (b) analog L/R audio out from the 40K. And that analog audio is actually a D-to-A conversion taken from the 2-channel PCM stereo stream in the digital audio from the program, which might also have a DD5.1 stream as well.

And of course if the recording contains DD5.1 digital audio, then the optical digital output of the 40K will provide that DD5.1 digital audio stream to your receiver for playback through your theater sound system.

You will be very very happy with your acquisition... oh, and also your XBR960.

DSperber

04-30-09, 11:16 PM

For me to get s-video out all I did was hook up the audio and video outs of the recorder into the video 2 of the tv (front). Then while playing back an HD recording (having started from the firewire interface and noting visually that it was 1080i) - I switch using tv/video on remote to video 2; which reports an NTSC signal as is displayed widescreen 16:9 - no zooming or anything. If I continue switching video input to component (video 5) - it reports 480i 16:9 and its obviously not in 1080i visually either.Just to reiterate... playback of a 1080i recording via component video should have presented "1080i" on the XBR960, not "480i".

Also, on the 40K there is not simultaneous 720p/1080i output via component video at the same time as there is 480i output via S-video. It's one or the other, not both (although 480i SD recordings will be presented at both S-video and component video outputs of the 40K).

And this "TV OUTPUT 1" setting influences what will be presented from the S-video/composite outputs of the 40K when you're playing back 720p/1080i recordings.

From the large NOTE on page 56 of the user manual for this setting (forgive the stilted English):

"When you receive signals via iLink connector or play back the picture of 1080i, 720p, 480p image format, the signal is not output from the S-VIDEO or VIDEO output connector if "TV OUTPUT 1" is set to "720to180" or "NO CONV".

In other words, 1080i, 720p and 480p image formats are ONLY output from the S-video and composite connectors of the 40K when "TV OUTPUT 1" is set to "ALLto480i". And in this case down-converted 480i is also delivered to the component video outputs.

Note that the XBR960 can accept all resolutions, 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i, through its component video inputs.

So, the answer again to all of the these puzzles and conundrums and mysteries: your 40K obviously was previously owned by an idiot without an HDTV, who set his VCR to output 480i for everything (through "ALLto480i"). This caused the 40K to deliver 480i output from all of its recordings, through its S-video/composite as well as component video outputs.

So even though a firewire recording might have been of an HDTV program, playback of that HDTV recording was down-converted to 480i and delivered simultaneously to both S-video and component video at that 480i resolution, rather than at the HDTV resolution it should/could have been delivered at (to the component video outputs).

If you change "Allto480i" to "NO CONV", you will now see true 720p/1080i resolution content being delivered from 40K out its component video outputs to the XBR960, so selecting INPUT5 on the XBR960 will display as 720p/1080i.

And you will now no longer see anything on the S-video outputs of the 40K, so selecting INPUT2 on the XBR960 will show black.

I rest my case.

RalphArch

04-30-09, 11:53 PM

Confirmed you were correct - and now I have HD on the component and black screen off the s-video and composite (but I also know how to set up the recorder to output hd via s-video; it really looks very good and there may be times when that is the kind of output desired (like when I need to copy a recorded show for someone and its easiest onto a vhs tape or into a digital camcorder)
.

I probably still need to send this unit back. The click=click click is really annoying, at least since it is a JVC refurb I do have a warrentee although it is only 30 days

DSperber

05-01-09, 12:31 AM

but I also know how to set up the recorder to output hd via s-video; it really looks very good and there may be times when that is the kind of output desired (like when I need to copy a recorded show for someone and its easiest onto a vhs tape or into a digital camcorder)I understand the concept. I assume you have a second ordinary VCR that you can feed from the S-video output of the 40K, to accomplish this.

One more nice thing about this option is that because the underlying 1080i HD program recording was digitally perfect (and this holds true even for non-HD 4:3 content on digital channels), its picture quality (color, sharpness, etc.) was superb. Much much better than the old 480i SD television picture quality. Thus the down-converted 480i version of this image and S-video copy of this image (out S-video from the 40K on to your second VCR) is also quite superb, especially when compared to the alternative result trying to use 480i SD all the way to two generations.

Just remember that the output over S-video is actually 4:3, even though it was a 16:9 original image and has been "wide zoom" enlarged by the XBR960 to fill your 16:9 screen.

So on the SD copy recording, and on the recipient's playback, it will appear as a letterboxed 16:9 rectangle (black bars on top and bottom, filling the entire screen horizontally) if viewed on a 4:3 set.

If viewed on a 16:9 set it will additionally have the usual black bars on the left and the right which accompany viewing of 4:3 content in "normal" mode", so there will be black bars on all four sides. Postage stamp.

Only if the recipient has a 16:9 set and does the same "wide zoom" your XBR960 did will that 480i rectangular 16:9 image in the center of the screen be expanded to fill the entire 16:9 screen, as was done on your XBR960. It won't be 1080i 16:9, but it will look very very very good.

Ennui

05-01-09, 06:02 PM

Ive got some pics but doesnt look like many others will contribute ,judging from lack of responses lol.

Here is a pic from my 960. It has not been professionally calibrated.

This is cable input from my TivoHD into the HDMI port on the 960.

FYI.

oldirtdog

05-02-09, 11:28 AM

so i finally tried a cablecard (scientific atlanta multi stream card) in my kd-34xbr960 and much to my dismay it doesn't seem to be working properly...

upon it's initial boot sequence the card downloaded an update from comcast and then proceeded to search for analog and digital channels which it did find and label correctly i might add.

alas, the only channels that show picture and sound though are the 5 analog channels it found. the 600 or so digital channels all show a black screen with "no signal" in the upper left corner of the screen. without the cablecard the qam tuner picks up the few digital and hd channels that aren't encrypted though so my signal should be ok.

is this normal for the kd-34xbr960's using m-stream cards?? from what i read on the forums it seems as though the only way to get a kd-34xbr960 to work with an "m" card would be a firmware update (which doesn't exist). also, i've read that theres always a good possibility that this could be a bad card too??

do the above symptoms "card finds and labels channels but does not show a picture" sound familiar to any of you guys? or, if anyone here has had success with an m-card in an kd-34xbr960 could you please clue me in to anything else i can try.

already tried calling comcast and the guy on the phone couldn't get the card to show any of the digital channels through various and multiple actvation attempts. he did kick my ticket up to a higher department though so i can wait and see if it suddenly starts working.

Ennui

05-02-09, 11:38 AM

so i finally tried a cablecard (scientific atlanta multi stream card) in my 960 and much to my dismay it doesn't seem to be working properly...

upon it's initial boot sequence the card downloaded an update from comcast and then proceeded to search for analog and digital channels which it did find and label correctly i might add:eek:

alas, the only channels that show picture and sound though are the 5 analog channels it found. the 600 or so digital channels all show a black screen with "no signal" in the upper left corner of the screen.

is this normal for the 960's using m-stream cards?? from what i read on the forums it seems as though the only way to get a 960 to work with an "m" card would be a firmware update (which doesn't exist). also, i've read that theres always a good possibility that this could be a bad card too??

do the above symptoms "card finds and labels channels but does not show a picture" sound familiar to any of you guys? or, if anyone here has had success with an m-card in an xbr960 could you please clue me in to anything else i can try.

thanks in advance.

I had a Cox S card in my 960 for a few years until I got the Tivo. Cox had to register the card to verify the pay channels. The Cox tech had to try several cards before he got one that worked. I do not know if an M card works in the 960, but the Cox tech had to call in to Cox to tell them the S/N or something off each card. Then he waited, watching the diagnostic screen to verify that Cox had "connected" with the card. Very involved.

RalphArch

05-02-09, 04:46 PM

so.

alas, the only channels that show picture and sound though are the 5 analog channels it found. the 600 or so digital channels all show a black screen with "no signal" in the upper left corner of the screen. without the cablecard the qam tuner picks up the few digital and hd channels that aren't encrypted though so my signal should be ok.

is this normal for the kd-34xbr960's using m-stream cards?? from what i read on the forums it seems as though the only way to get a kd-34xbr960 to work with an "m" card would be a firmware update (which doesn't exist). also, i've read that theres always a good possibility that this could be a bad card too??

do the above symptoms "card finds and labels channels but does not show a picture" sound familiar to any of you guys? or, if anyone here has had success with an m-card in an kd-34xbr960 could you please clue me in to anything else i can try.

already tried calling comcast and the guy on the phone couldn't get the card to show any of the digital channels through various and multiple actvation attempts. he did kick my ticket up to a higher department though so i can wait and see if it suddenly starts working.

Sounds similar to my installation situation maybe 2 weeks ago. In my case although they told me I could install myself on phone when I got to the cable company to pick up cards they didn't have any and said they always require a technician to activate.

So a week later tech comes and installs cable card searches channels and finds 300 or so. (free visit for me since they gave me bad info on whether I could pick up). Technician leaves and one hour later when I am looking at the scanned channels all is cut off.

I then get the same symptoms you noted - about 4 or 8 analogs and nothing else although the channels are there and the cable card tunes to the digital channels .

Call cable company and they say everything should be working - its all authorized (remember it was working when tech left) and they would send another "hit to reactivate " / reset the service - call back in 1/2 hour.

Do that - nothing works - call the service/installation folks to get the technician back. Turns out that the cable card was not registered in the installation data base - which is different informatiion than what the troubleshooters on the phone get.

Bottom line is that I think with COMCAST you may need to bite the bullet and get a tech out for the install.

what do you get on the cable card diagnostics screen?

oldirtdog

05-02-09, 05:34 PM

Sounds similar to my installation situation maybe 2 weeks ago. In my case although they told me I could install myself on phone when I got to the cable company to pick up cards they didn't have any and said they always require a technician to activate.

So a week later tech comes and installs cable card searches channels and finds 300 or so. (free visit for me since they gave me bad info on whether I could pick up). Technician leaves and one hour later when I am looking at the scanned channels all is cut off.

I then get the same symptoms you noted - about 4 or 8 analogs and nothing else although the channels are there and the cable card tunes to the digital channels .

Call cable company and they say everything should be working - its all authorized (remember it was working when tech left) and they would send another "hit to reactivate " / reset the service - call back in 1/2 hour.

Do that - nothing works - call the service/installation folks to get the technician back. Turns out that the cable card was not registered in the installation data base - which is different informatiion than what the troubleshooters on the phone get.

Bottom line is that I think with COMCAST you may need to bite the bullet and get a tech out for the install.

what do you get on the cable card diagnostics screen?

this is what i get on the screen
http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u327/richardsonstx/SNC00009.jpg

and this is what i get on the diagnostic screen for channel 601

http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u327/richardsonstx/SNC00012.jpg

guess i'll have to schedule a truck roll then. thanks. and just so i understand correctly you have one of these new scientific atlanta multi stream cablecards working in a kd-34xbr960 after your initial problems?? if so that's great news.

thanks again for the reply.

RalphArch

05-03-09, 07:56 AM

and just so i understand correctly you have one of these new scientific atlanta multi stream cablecards working in a kd-34xbr960 after your initial problems?? if so that's great news.

No - I guess I was not clear. The card I have in the 960 is a Motorola M-card called MediaCipher

I can not display the cable card screen you took a photo of, the cable card choice is disabled on the 960 and the only choice available on my 955xs is to reset ((show is grayed out)

My diagnostics screens look similar to yours so it appears you cable card is set up and working correctly

Like I said - in my case it was a simple situation of the cable card not being registered in the COMCAST installation data base (although it obvioously was earlier in the day when the tech left so someone removed it)

And the people you get on phone when calling 1 800 comcast don't have a clue (besides sending a reset signal) and didn't have access to the information the installation tech had.

You could possible get it working with a telephone call but it needs to be to different folks than those you get with the 800 call

DSperber

05-03-09, 09:19 AM

The Kuro thread has pictures thread of the image quality they get from their sets. I think it'd be pretty cool if we did the same thing. I tried to mimic the settings one of their posters used for their camera but my results were far from stellar, otherwise I'd start the thread. Anyone else like the idea?I did some experimenting tonight. Shooting with my Nikon D300 on a tripod. I had to use my 18-200mm zoom lens (aperture priority, f5.6) because I couldn't get far enough back with to use my 60mm (ultra-sharp) or even 50mm lenses. Auto-focus worked pretty well, but not quite as sharp as I'd hoped. Now that I see the results I probably could have used manual focus and gotten somewhat better results, measuring the distance from camera lens to HDTV screen. But it looks good for AF on a TV picture.

It's not easy getting the photo to look like what's on the screen colorwise, but playing with white balance (6250K or 6670K seems to give good results), and exposure compensation (-1.67, -2.00, -2.33 when shooting at the TV in a black room) comes close.

The camera's LCD display is not quite accurate as far as color goes as I would like, so I actually gave up prematurely thinking I was never going to get it right. But it turns out the actual photo itself is much better (and reflects much more accurate color compared to what's on the XBR960) than what the camera displays on the LCD.

So when I thought it wasn't great, it turns out it was very very good. But I didn't realize that until I transferred the pictures to the computer and looked at them on my Eizo monitor. Had I known then what I know now, I would have taken pictures of a few more scenes from other shows as I'd planned. Unfortunately, they're now deleted.

Anyway, here are some samples, of Kelly Clarkson on SNL and also of Bill Maher. I wish I hadn't deleted my recording of the Celtics/Bulls game yesterday, just to have a different example of a more brightly lit XBR960 arena image of lots of bodies, assorted colors and the parquet floor.

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7524/dsc0033resize.th.jpg (http://img139.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc0033resize.jpg) http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/8673/dsc0042resize.th.jpg (http://img387.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc0042resize.jpg) http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/9684/dsc0045resize.th.jpg (http://img205.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc0045resize.jpg)

BeachComber

05-04-09, 03:21 AM

No - I guess I was not clear. The card I have in the 960 is a Motorola M-card called MediaCipher

I can not display the cable card screen you took a photo of, the cable card choice is disabled on the 960 and the only choice available on my 955xs is to reset ((show is grayed out)

My diagnostics screens look similar to yours so it appears you cable card is set up and working correctly

Like I said - in my case it was a simple situation of the cable card not being registered in the COMCAST installation data base (although it obvioously was earlier in the day when the tech left so someone removed it)

And the people you get on phone when calling 1 800 comcast don't have a clue (besides sending a reset signal) and didn't have access to the information the installation tech had.

You could possible get it working with a telephone call but it needs to be to different folks than those you get with the 800 call

The M Card is the Multistream card which the TIVO uses, which was essentially a second generation card. I *believe* it has been said the 960 does not work with the M Card, but the legacy cards.

RalphArch

05-04-09, 07:02 AM

The M Card is the Multistream card which the TIVO uses, which was essentially a second generation card. I *believe* it has been said the 960 does not work with the M Card, but the legacy cards.

Well the card I noted (which is a Motorola) is working fine in my 960.

jamesflames

05-05-09, 06:14 PM

Ive got some pics but doesnt look like many others will contribute ,judging from lack of responses lol.

I did some experimenting tonight. Shooting with my Nikon D300 on a tripod. I had to use my 18-200mm zoom lens (aperture priority, f5.6) because I couldn't get far enough back with to use my 60mm (ultra-sharp) or even 50mm lenses. Auto-focus worked pretty well, but not quite as sharp as I'd hoped. Now that I see the results I probably could have used manual focus and gotten somewhat better results, measuring the distance from camera lens to HDTV screen. But it looks good for AF on a TV picture.

It's not easy getting the photo to look like what's on the screen colorwise, but playing with white balance (6250K or 6670K seems to give good results), and exposure compensation (-1.67, -2.00, -2.33 when shooting at the TV in a black room) comes close.

The camera's LCD display is not quite accurate as far as color goes as I would like, so I actually gave up prematurely thinking I was never going to get it right. But it turns out the actual photo itself is much better (and reflects much more accurate color compared to what's on the XBR960) than what the camera displays on the LCD.

So when I thought it wasn't great, it turns out it was very very good. But I didn't realize that until I transferred the pictures to the computer and looked at them on my Eizo monitor. Had I known then what I know now, I would have taken pictures of a few more scenes from other shows as I'd planned. Unfortunately, they're now deleted.

Anyway, here are some samples, of Kelly Clarkson on SNL and also of Bill Maher. I wish I hadn't deleted my recording of the Celtics/Bulls game yesterday, just to have a different example of a more brightly lit XBR960 arena image of lots of bodies, assorted colors and the parquet floor.

Well thanks for responding. I had my 960 calibrated 2 1/2 years ago and have since moved twice. That plus having a pretty old point and shoot camera (Canon Powershot G2) isn't doing my picture's justice.

Here's a shot from DirecTv without using a tripod. I will take try again with a picture off an HD-DVD.

http://www.snapdrive.net/files/454986/IMG_1082.JPG

DSperber

05-05-09, 07:23 PM

Well thanks for responding. I had my 960 calibrated 2 1/2 years ago and have since moved twice. That plus having a pretty old point and shoot camera (Canon Powershot G2) isn't doing my picture's justice.I spent quite a lot of time experimenting on that Kelly Clarkson SNL photo. In the end I think it came out quite well. Very sharp, excellent color rendition (compared to the original on the XBR960), and almost 3D-like (if you ask me). Looks like a film print shot, more so than TV. Anyway, as the "parent" I'm quite proud of this one.

Here's a shot from DirecTv without using a tripod. I will take try again with a picture off an HD-DVD.I don't want to sound unfairly critical, but it sure does look like there's what I would feel to be an unacceptable bow/curvature (downward at the ends) of the scorebar on the top of that screen image.

The XBR960 has many users (including myself) contributing similar descriptions of the same kind of matching bow/curvature (including upward at the ends, as well) for a horizontal line on the bottom of the screen.

When I first got my set, I was unwilling to accept this and prevailed on Sony to send out a factory tech to adjust (I assumed this could not have been what they intended, and therefore should be able to fix it).

The first tech's visit was incomplete and the results still unacceptable, so I called Sony again and insisted they get a second tech to come out. This time they offered me a choice of local authorized service centers, and I was very fortunate to get a wonderful technician who spent a total of about 3 hours at my house over two separate visits applying magnets to the back of the picture tube to correct the curvature I had, like yours. He ran out of magnets on the first visit and came back a second time when he'd received more, to complete the job.

From your picture I believe your set could stand some professional adjustment. Horizontal lines should be horizontal, but rectangular flat CRT screens have a physical problem (since the electron gun is spraying a flat screen) which seems characteristic and common. Magnets on the picture tube are the solution.

I will take another few shots of both baseball and basketball from my XBR960 and post them. I'd like to see how the colors come out, but mostly to show how horizontal lines look on my set, along with my overscan settings.

Joseph Dubin

05-05-09, 09:49 PM

Here's a shot from DirecTv without using a tripod. I will take try again with a picture off an HD-DVD.

That curvature could be resolved by going into the service menu for geometry.

Also, did you have to chose a game in which the Mets ultimately blew? :)

Mathesar

05-06-09, 12:29 AM

Here's some shots I randomly picked , taken with a Canon G6 camera & XBR960N:

Kameo / Xbox360:

http://ded.zenblue.net/XBR960/IMG_1905.jpg

Oblivion / Xbox360:

http://ded.zenblue.net/XBR960/IMG_2537.jpg

PS3 Bluray / Harry Potter And the Order of the Phoenix:

http://ded.zenblue.net/XBR960/Compare/CRT_HP.jpg

http://ded.zenblue.net/XBR960/Compare/CRT_HP3.jpg

unclepauly

05-06-09, 12:37 AM

Those pics look great on my fw900 PC monitor, which just so happens to be the little brother of the 960.

oldirtdog

05-07-09, 05:18 PM

i'm posting this in 2 places as it involves kd-34xbr960 owners and comcast cable customers in houston.

OK, first off if you are going to attempt to pick up a cablecard from one of your payment centers (if they allow you to do so), get as many cablecards as they will let you leave the office with. on my third trip to one of the houston payment centers i finally "wised" up and asked for more than one. in this case they let me leave with 2 of them (the 1st of those 2 being defective once again...)

now for some tips regarding a cablecard installation in a kd-34xbr960.

1. with the television off plug in the cablecard in the slot on the back of the t.v. and then turn it on. what should happen is the cablecard will download a firmware update (for the card not the t.v.). even though it says it's going to take 4 hours it only takes about 5-10 minutes to do so. after the update is done the cablecard will search for channels (about 5-10 minutes once more).

2. you should now be able to tune in limited basic channels, any analog stations that come up during the search and "in the clear hi-def and digital channels. if the cablecard isn't showing any channels at all or just the analog stations chances are it's a bad card.

3. if your step 2 seems to be fine, you should then navigate to the cablecard menu and pull up the host i.d. screen, if the screen shows a host i.d. then you can move to step 4. if there is no host i.d. on the host i.d. screen you can stop as there is nothing they can do over the phone to make the host i.d. show up.

4. if step 3 gives you a host i.d. then you can navigate to the cablecard menu and look at the "cablecard ca screen" you should see a status of "not staged" (this is fine) and then navigate to the "cp info screen" which should show "waiting for cp auth" (again, also fine for now).

5. call up customer service and request that your cablecard be "staged" this should take no longer than 5-10 minutes (sometimes almost instantly) if you get the right person on the phone. when the "ca screen" says "status: ready" instead of "not staged" you will get most if not all of the channels that you subscribe to. some channels (hbo or other premium channels and/or some encrypted digital/hd channels) might show a screen that says "to activate this cablecard call xxx-yyy-zzzz and the host i.d."

6. if you are not getting all your channels and the card is "staged" navigate to the "cp info screen" you will more than likely see "auth status: waiting for cp auth" (this would be why all the channels are not coming in). you may or may not be able to get a customer service rep to get this status changed to "auth status: cp auth received". in my case i had to e-mail comcast at...

we_can_help@cable.comcast.com

and the next day i got a call from a person who got me all sorted out in about 5 minutes. the cp info screen showed "auth status: cp auth received" which allowed the missing premium channels and missing encrypted digital/hi-def channels to come in.

hope this helps, and thanks to everyone who helped me out with this situation.

RalphArch

05-07-09, 10:39 PM

Congrats Old dirt dog on getting it working.

A heads up for those with Motorola M-cards like my MediaCypher - that menu navigation to cable card won't work as it is grayed out on a 960 - (at least after initial install)

Edit - or maybe graying out the choices is something that is done by an installation technician at the end of setting up a cable card - both my sets have that situation (well the 36k955xs has the ability to select reset but I don't want to do that and result in need for a technician to come out). Perhaps this won't happen with an install done by homeowner.

WJonathan

05-07-09, 11:18 PM

Here's some shots I randomly picked , taken with a Canon G6 camera & XBR960N:

Man those are sweet. Makes me realize how crappy the edge geometry is on my XBR970. If these things didn't weigh so much I'd love to replace mine with a properly calibrated XBR960.

jamesflames

05-08-09, 02:40 PM

That curvature could be resolved by going into the service menu for geometry.

Also, did you have to chose a game in which the Mets ultimately blew? :)

Well if you remember the Mets blew quite a few games early on so it was easy for me to capture such a game. And as far as the curvature goes I had such a problem getting the "not powering on" issue resolved that I was just happy to have my set working again. Of course my warranty is now expired.

Joseph Dubin

05-08-09, 02:59 PM

Well if you remember the Mets blew quite a few games early on so it was easy for me to capture such a game.

BRILLIANT! And now you can capture those kodak moments on YES. :)

Glad you resolved the curvature problem.

sirdelsol

05-09-09, 11:35 PM

Anyone in metro detroit looking to get rid of theirs? Hoping to pick one of these babies up!

Shoot me a pm or email!
charles48198@comcast.net

jamesflames

05-12-09, 09:12 AM

BRILLIANT! And now you can capture those kodak moments on YES. :)

Glad you resolved the curvature problem.

I'm a Mets' fan true and blue, although the lack of blue in Citi Field is unnerving to me.

My curvature problem is still there and magnet work is needed. At this point I'm not sure it'd be worth it to have the work done as I'm leaning towards purchasing a Pio FP.

Joseph Dubin

05-12-09, 01:10 PM

I'm a Mets' fan true and blue, although the lack of blue in Citi Field is unnerving to me.

My curvature problem is still there and magnet work is needed. At this point I'm not sure it'd be worth it to have the work done as I'm leaning towards purchasing a Pio FP.

HI James,

I'm an original "new breeder" having been a Met fan since 1962. But I am angry at the Wilpons for their poor planning of Citifield: too many blind spots, corners dangerously close to the foul line which could cause serious injury and those field level seats that jud out so much as to prevent balls hit over the bag from traveling to the outfield which (along with those trick bounces off the wall) is not real baseball.

Have you tried the geometry adjustments in the service menu to reduce the curvature?

jamesflames

05-12-09, 06:29 PM

HI James,

Have you tried the geometry adjustments in the service menu to reduce the curvature?

When I purchased the set (I bought it open box) it suffered from the "not powering on" problem. Since it was still under warranty I had sony repair it but not without issues. At one point the picture looked monochrome during the repair process. Eventually I had them take it to the shop so I did not have to keep scheduling days off for them to show up and not resolve the issue. When I was certain the issue was resolved (and it has powered on every single time) I knew I was going to have it calibrated so I did not pay too much attention the the geometry. My calibrator attempted to adjust the curvature as well as overscan but could only get it corrected "up to a point". He does not do magnet work, just service menu adjustments. I was contemplating re-calibrating the set with someone that does magnet work since it's been about 2 1/2 years but now I'm looking to replace the set as my main tv. If I bring someone in the calibrate the new set (hopefully pio plasma or similiar) I may have them work on the 960 if I find a good place for it.

jamesflames

05-12-09, 06:34 PM

HI James,

I'm an original "new breeder" having been a Met fan since 1962. But I am angry at the Wilpons for their poor planning of Citifield: too many blind spots, corners dangerously close to the foul line which could cause serious injury and those field level seats that jud out so much as to prevent balls hit over the bag from traveling to the outfield which (along with those trick bounces off the wall) is not real baseball.

I haven't been to the field yet as I'm now in FL. I'm not too happy about the fact there is less seating now and the ticket prices are much higher. And like I said, the dominant colors of the field are black and orange, so much unlike shea which portrayed the team's colors of blue and orange. At least they've been winning lately.

Jon S

05-15-09, 10:11 PM

My Sony is exhibiting a strange problem. Every s often, the set makes a very LOUD pop every four hours or so. Nothing else happens. The image is fine, the picture is fine... nothing else... any ideas? My neighbor's Sony just upped and died on him so he bought a plasma. My unit is a tad over two years old...

tveli

05-17-09, 01:20 PM

probably it's arcing. it can be normal due to the high voltages -
a static discharge inside the case.
it might be good to vacuum out the dust bunnies, if any...

RalphArch

05-20-09, 10:24 PM

As I hope I've now clarified, any channel you can tune the XBR960 to through your Cable Card will be sent out via firewire, and will be recordable to DVHS on the 40K. You will be able to play back these recordings on any HDTV (including your projector), either through component video or via firewire.

You simply will not be able to copy a "copy-once" DVHS recording (e.g. from HBO-HD) to a second generation DVHS tape (if you had a second DVHS VCR or other firewire recording device, like a camcorder). The 40K will put up a big message box on the screen that the content is not recordable, so it will be worthless to even try.

I sent my unit back for the Click-click sound (B H Photo was great - no hassle on exchange) - but the new unit has the same sound so I guess its what the tape deck does when playing back HD recordings (it is a low volume click click)

I was surprised to find that the replacement unit played back 1080i protected recordings (Starz etc) made on the original recorder. I thought they didn't allow that?

Does that mean if I get a second unit I can just take the tapes between them and play at either location?

Or is this non-standard? If it is standard behaviour I may just get another refurbished tape deck from B H Photo.

DSperber

05-21-09, 01:08 AM

I was surprised to find that the replacement unit played back 1080i protected recordings (Starz etc) made on the original recorder. I thought they didn't allow that?Playing back a tape recording is not restricted in any way, no matter what VCR you play it on and no matter whether that recorded content is "copy once" or "copy always". That is what a tape recording is intended for... to be played back on a VCR. Doesn't matter what VCR you play it on or recorded it on.

It is COPYING that [1st-generation] tape recording of "copy once" content to a second [generation]tape (if you had two VCR's and connected them with firewire and tried to make a digital copy) which is prevented. You can do this with "copy always" content but not with "copy once" content. If you did connect the two machines with firewire and pressed PLAY on the source machine and REC on the target machine, the source machine would shut down its output and instead present black. The target machine would present an error message on your connected display HDTV that you are not allowed to record protected content.

The 5C copy protection rules are concerned strictly with the process of digitally copying content from tape to tape, not playing that tape recording.

Does that mean if I get a second unit I can just take the tapes between them and play at either location?Absolutely. No problem. Have at it and enjoy.

I myself have two DVHS VCRs at two separate TV locations (one connected to my DVR and HDTV, and the second at a second HDTV). Tapes can be played on either machine and thus viewed on either HDTV depending on my mood. This is precisely one of the advantages of having recordings on tape and multiple VCRs/HDTVs, overcoming the limitation of having only one DVR connected to one of my HDTVs.

RalphArch

05-21-09, 09:10 AM

are concerned strictly with the process of digitally copying content from tape to tape, not playing that tape recording.

Absolutely. No problem. Have at it and enjoy.

I myself have two DVHS VCRs at two separate TV locations (one connected to my DVR and HDTV, and the second at a second HDTV). Tapes can be played on either machine and thus viewed on either HDTV depending on my mood. This is precisely one of the advantages of having recordings on tape and multiple VCRs/HDTVs, overcoming the limitation of having only one DVR connected to one of my HDTVs.

Thanks for feedback - just ordered my second JVC D-VHS deck for the Theater room - will hook that up to the COMCAST/Motorola PVR via firewire and hopefully have a second source for recording besides the 960. Maybe I will find a way to archive some of my 26 hard disks that are loaded with movies from before the 5c days onto tape as well.

lastmile

05-29-09, 09:35 PM

In case anyone is interested, I just found a 960 for sale on craigslist with stand in NJ. Its not mine and I'd grab it if I could transport it.

http://cnj.craigslist.org/ele/1194891343.html

unclepauly

05-29-09, 10:15 PM

jdre

05-30-09, 01:57 AM

31 is the middle. I haven't got an XBR960, but my 34HS510 has too much treble. I think the bass will improve once I get it out of the garage! ( My 32HS510 has a bit of boom/tinny as well. I cut the treble, but not as much as on the 34HS510. The boom is from the corner placement of my set.) At least it can be adjusted, and don't have to boost bass up.

DSperber

05-30-09, 03:00 AM

How does everyone have their sound settings configured? On mine I have to turn the treble and bass all the way to zero just to be able to stand it. At the default(31 I think) it sounds too boomy/tinny.I've had it turned off since purchase. I found the built-in sound unacceptable (especially compared to the built-in sound of the Sampo I was replacing).

Instead, I've connected a spare set of Altec-Lansing 621 (2 satellites plus subwoofer) powered speakers I had from an old computer, fed from the monitor L/R stereo output of the 960. This is a very nice sounding set of computer speakers and beats the pants off the built-in sound from the 960 itself.

unclepauly

05-30-09, 08:55 AM

I've had it turned off since purchase. I found the built-in sound unacceptable (especially compared to the built-in sound of the Sampo I was replacing).

Instead, I've connected a spare set of Altec-Lansing 621 (2 satellites plus subwoofer) powered speakers I had from an old computer, fed from the monitor L/R stereo output of the 960. This is a very nice sounding set of computer speakers and beats the pants off the built-in sound from the 960 itself.

I'm gonna try that, I've got a creative I-trigue 2.1 system that might sound better. The i-trigue basically has NO midrange though, the two speakers are really just tweeters and the sub is 6" I think. I think I'll use this until I can acquire a stereo receiver and a couple bookshelf speakers.

Harvest

05-31-09, 04:30 PM

I think I'll use this until I can acquire a stereo receiver and a couple bookshelf speakers.

I listened to the 960's sound for about 30 seconds as I was initially setting it up. For sound I use an Onkyo 805 for processing duties and 5 channels of power amps into a 5.1 AV123 Rocket set up. Before that I used an old receiver and a pair of floor standing speakers to great effect. The picture quality is so wonderful on the 960 it seems a shame not to match it with decent audio. Unshielded floorstanding speakers near the 960 are tricky though.

unclepauly

05-31-09, 06:23 PM

I listened to the 960's sound for about 30 seconds as I was initially setting it up. For sound I use an Onkyo 805 for processing duties and 5 channels of power amps into a 5.1 AV123 Rocket set up. Before that I used an old receiver and a pair of floor standing speakers to great effect. The picture quality is so wonderful on the 960 it seems a shame not to match it with decent audio. Unshielded floorstanding speakers near the 960 are tricky though.

Yeah definitely, the audio needs to be upgraded and unshielded would be a huge mistake I'm sure. I use the 960 as a bedroom TV cause I've got a 60" in the living room so just left/right speakers and maybe a little(but nice!) sub would do the trick.

Joseph Dubin

05-31-09, 08:26 PM

Except for the HDMI cable for HD, all my audio (dvd players, VCR and DVR optical) go directly to my Yamaha receiver.

However, I can't really complain about the broadcast audio that comes through the 960. While the treble remains at mid-point (so the highes won't be tinney) I have increased the bass to add a little extra punch. It's pleasing for TV but of course, nothing compares to listening via 6.1..

Harvest

06-01-09, 11:06 AM

unshielded would be a huge mistake I'm sure.

So true. I wasn't paying attention and learned the hard way. I found that if I keep the presently unshielded speakers (a pair of RS550s) exactly the same distance relative to the 960 and exactly parallel to each other AND nearly level...the magnetic fields cancel each other out. Shift one a bit and discoloration sets in. I can't move the speakers any further apart due to room configuration so for now I am stuck.

smirnoffski

06-10-09, 03:54 PM

I have a 960 I must reluctantly part with. I am in the Los Angeles area and have taken great care of my baby. PM me if interested.

avnstf

06-10-09, 06:59 PM

Thanks for feedback - just ordered my second JVC D-VHS deck for the Theater room - will hook that up to the COMCAST/Motorola PVR via firewire and hopefully have a second source for recording besides the 960. Maybe I will find a way to archive some of my 26 hard disks that are loaded with movies from before the 5c days onto tape as well.
I just noticed this discussion, and maybe someone here can answer this question...I have a JVC 30K D-VHS (not 40k) deck that I bought in 2003 to work with my original Samsung 165 tuner (feeding into my 32 HS510, if I remember the number correctly), which controls the 30k via firewire, and I also found that an LG 3410a receiver/recorder that I got 2 years later would record onto the 30k.

However, I am surprised that the Comcast motorola PVR would record onto the 40k...is the 40k different from the 30k in this respect? As far as I know, the Motorola has no facility for turning ON the 30Ks firewire recording capability, and you can only turn on firewire recording on the 30k FROM a unit that is designed to control it...(which both the Samsung 165 and the LG 4310a are).

Do I have something wrong here? Or does the 40K have a different firewaire capability than the 30k in this respect?

Thanks for any info - this is something that I have found hard to figure out...I have been using the the 3410a/JVC 30K combo more lately, primarily to archive high-value musical productions, like Metropolitan opera broadcasts on PBS, but I (like other 3410a owners) am concerned about the 3410a's surviving the digital transition intact (since its program guide depends on reception of analog broadcasts of the "TVGOS" program data that it depends on).

Thanks - Tony

DSperber

06-10-09, 07:20 PM

However, I am surprised that the Comcast motorola PVR would record onto the 40k...is the 40k different from the 30k in this respect? As far as I know, the Motorola has no facility for turning ON the 30Ks firewire recording capability, and you can only turn on firewire recording on the 30k FROM a unit that is designed to control it...(which both the Samsung 165 and the LG 4310a are).

Do I have something wrong here? Or does the 40K have a different firewaire capability than the 30k in this respect?The DVR does not "control" the DVHS VCR like the Samsung 165 does. The Samsung tuner was very similar in idea to the original Panny DST50/51 tuners. In fact many people replaced their Panny tuners with the Samsung tuner and retained the original Panny PV-HD1000 DVHS VCR (which was part of the original "Panny combo", used way back when to record HD from Dish Network's 5000 tuner with the HD 8VSB adapter). The tuner controlled the external recording device entirely via commands sent over firewire (along with the data sent over firewire), based on timer events just like an ordinary 1-box VCR.

The DVR, on the other hand, is NOT such a controlling device.

Instead, the DVR simply feeds data out by the firewire port, to the connected JVC DVHS VCRs. You are in charge of pushing the REC and STOP buttons I'm afraid. Totally manual recording process, but it works.

mjrgamer

06-10-09, 07:31 PM

Long live the mighty XBR960............................at least for a few more years until something out there can match it's performance. :D Kuro comes oh so close.

avnstf

06-10-09, 07:53 PM

Instead, the DVR simply feeds data out by the firewire port, to the connected JVC DVHS VCRs. You are in charge of pushing the REC and STOP buttons I'm afraid. Totally manual recording process, but it works.
hmm..ok, but for my 30k JVC unit, I have never found a way of MANUALLY turning ON or OFF recording from the firewire...doesn't mention how to in the manual, I don't think...

I'll check again, and - if I can figure it out - may try it, just out of curiosity (we're stopping Comcast after the Tour de France this summer...over a hundred bucks a month, when most of what we watch is broadcast HD programming...and I hope to get a good blu-ray player, that does a good job of up converting standard DVDs AND that includes netflix...hoping for a lot, I know)

Thanks - Tony

PS...I'm a little surprised that, if you can manually start and stop the recording on the JVC, you can't also set a timer to do it...?

DSperber

06-10-09, 08:35 PM

hmm..ok, but for my 30k JVC unit, I have never found a way of MANUALLY turning ON or OFF recording from the firewire...doesn't mention how to in the manual, I don't think...I don't understand your question. You simply push the REC button after having selected the I-n input (which corresponds to iLink input, i.e. firewire) and setting up the proper place on your DVR playback. Presumably you've inserted a DVHS blank tape, as that's the way you tell the VCR it is now able to record firewire input digitally (i.e. "HS" recording speed).

PS...I'm a little surprised that, if you can manually start and stop the recording on the JVC, you can't also set a timer to do it...?Don't ask me why JVC designed it that way, but you cannot set up a timer event using I-n as a "channel". You can record from the L-1/2 and F-1 line inputs, or a SD channel number from the built-in tuner on the 30K, 40K and 5U (or a digital channel from the built-in ATSC tuner if you have a DT100U), but you cannot use I-n as a "channel" for a timer event to schedule an automatic recording.

Hence why you can only record from firewire on any of the family of DVHS VCRs from JVC by using your finger to push the REC button after having selected I-n as the input.

Greater Malison

06-11-09, 01:11 AM

LongRufus

06-11-09, 01:41 AM

Hi guys i am now the proud owner of a 960 but I have a couple of problems. This is the secondary set on a single Dish network box that is supposed to pick up the signal from vhf cable on channel 21. There is nothing there. Also i cannot switch between video inputs for some reason it automatically goes to video 7 and i can not go anywhere from there except back to TV. Ive literally only been fooling around with if for 20 minutes i guess ill download the user guide until someone can respond.

The previous owner set it up to Skip the other inputs. Go into the setup menu and look for Label Inputs. Change the labels from Skip to something else on the list to see them. It's located in the Toolbox Icon, second from the bottom in the left hand pane.

wbrett

06-11-09, 11:10 AM

I love that feature.

RalphArch

06-11-09, 11:48 AM

Don't ask me why JVC designed it that way, but you cannot set up a timer event using I-n as a "channel". You can record from the L-1/2 and F-1 line inputs, or a SD channel number from the built-in tuner on the 30K, 40K and 5U (or a digital channel from the built-in ATSC tuner if you have a DT100U), but you cannot use I-n as a "channel" for a timer event to schedule an automatic recording.

Hence why you can only record from firewire on any of the family of DVHS VCRs from JVC by using your finger to push the REC button after having selected I-n as the input.

I haven't gotten around to exploring all the features of my xbr960 and separate Comcast DVR box recording capabilities to my two JVC 40K's - but maybe you can save me some investigation times.

The Sony can at least initiate recording over the firewire, so I was wondering if the serial (RS-232?) capability could come into play in scheduling and intitiating recordings; either with the Sony 960 or a computer which I have at the same location as the Sony or somehow (I realize less likely) with the Comcast DVR. Is this all not worth pursuing?

avnstf

06-11-09, 04:11 PM

I don't understand your question. You simply push the REC button after having selected the I-n input (which corresponds to iLink input, i.e. firewire) and setting up the proper place on your DVR playback. Presumably you've inserted a DVHS blank tape, as that's the way you tell the VCR it is now able to record firewire input digitally (i.e. "HS" recording speed).

Don't ask me why JVC designed it that way, but you cannot set up a timer event using I-n as a "channel". You can record from the L-1/2 and F-1 line inputs, or a SD channel number from the built-in tuner on the 30K, 40K and 5U (or a digital channel from the built-in ATSC tuner if you have a DT100U), but you cannot use I-n as a "channel" for a timer event to schedule an automatic recording.

Hence why you can only record from firewire on any of the family of DVHS VCRs from JVC by using your finger to push the REC button after having selected I-n as the input.
ok..thank you - I went back and found the place at the bottom of the first page (of the manual) on manual recording where it indicates this in a long footnote...which makes sense now in terms of what you say...I either didn't notice this or didn't understand it when I was trying to figure out whether I actually COULD record from the Comcast unit, when we got it 3 years ago.

So, again - Thanks, and sorry if I sounded perplexed (which I guess I was) - Tony

PS I was also kind of amazed one can get refurbished 40k units so inexpensively, because maybe that means there's a market for the Samsung 165 that has been sitting unused since we got the Comcast unit (making a total of 3 digital high-def recorders, occupying all 3 of the hig-def inputs to my Sony TV)! There aren't that many options for timer recordings of high-def programming...

gmarceau

06-11-09, 05:38 PM

I'm looking to get rid of my xbr 960 if anyone is interested. I'm in the Pittsburgh area.

It works perfectly, but I'm going back to grad school and need a little extra cash for rent.

email me at gerardmarceau@yahoo.com

azideam

06-12-09, 02:06 AM

unclepauly

06-12-09, 03:31 AM

I wouldn't think so.

DJF(NJ)

06-12-09, 09:38 AM

Sorry to break up the DVHS ramblings here... I have a JVC 30k too.

Question to all: as a recent owner of the 960, has a ISF calibration made any difference to the noticability of phosphor trailing one sees on this tube? Given it's only when watching a high contrast moving image (candle in dark room, etc.) I'm thinking it's par for the course on the SFP tube, but looking for experiences of those who've had their's ISF'd or DIY'd it in the service menu.

Thanks in advance.

Yes, I noticed a slight decrease in phosphor trail when my 960 was last calibrated by ChadB. Not a whole lot, but I know my reference scenes that I play often and I would replay them quite often after calibration to notice the differences.

TomGreen321

06-12-09, 09:44 AM

Just lower the contrast, that's the only way to do it. Make sure your brightness isn't too low.

Summit HDTV

06-15-09, 10:57 AM

Greetings,

We picked up a used KV-34XBR960 and matching Sony stand from an owner on Craigslist and lugged the items home this weekend. Big job!

I calibrated several of these displays (including the XBR970) over the years and always wanted to have the XBR960 for our family room. I always had high respect for this display but could not afford it at the time it was new. We're replacing the KV-30HS510 non-XBR 30" CRTwidescreen display.

It appears so far this set was well cared for and ISF calibration is in process. The XBR960 power off screen color is noticeably darker/blacker than the 30HS510, and it shows with a deep black color produced by the XBR version of this display.

Already did the following operations:
*Set color, tint and sharpness to proper
*Aligned the color decoder
*Adjusted Landing to improve the screen uniformity. Uniformity is not perfect, but better with Landing adjustments.
*Corrected the convergence
*Adjusted overscan to about 1.5% all around for 1080i and about 4% all around for 480P.
*Y-C delay was spot on as purchased - no need to adjust
*Minor geometry corrections. Actually it was pretty good as purchased. It has some geometry problems only correctable with magnets.
*Corrected dynamic focus

Grayscale and Gamma calibration will be the last procedures done (later this week), but it already looks gorgeous!

If you don't mind a bulky 34" CRT widescreen this set is well worth owning. The color performance of this set is exceptional and the inky black is also exceptional.

For those of you in the Detroit, MI area you'll see our ISF calibrated 30" KV-30HS510 and matching stand for sale on Craigslist.

Regards

Greater Malison

06-16-09, 12:53 PM

Hey guys Im the proud owner of a 960 now and it was purchased solely for gaming on xbox 360. While i wouldnt say I'm dissapointed by the picture I was expecting the picture to be a little more vibrant than Im currently seeing. Unfortunately the barometer im using to measure that buy is call of duty 4 which im starting to realize is kind of a dark drab game to begin with. Anyway are there any recommended settings out there for gaming. Also I should state i do not have an hdmi compatible xbox but getting one wouldnt be a problem if the picture could improve significantly. Currently i have the contrast all the way up and the brightness set around 40 - seems high and when on a blank input screen my picture is pretty much grey but again got to see in those dark corners on CoD :-) Ive played with the sharpness but i honsetly cant notice much of a difference from 0 sharpness to max sharpness.
I have no idea what clear edge or advanced video are used for. Thanks in advance for any help.

Stinky-Dinkins

06-16-09, 01:36 PM

Sounds like it's completely torched.

Have you tried properly adjusting the black level settings and used it for at least a week "To get used to it"?

At those levels it'll be bright but completely inacurate and what makes the set so nice won't come through.

The picture won't really improve using HDMI for the 360, component is fine.

WJonathan

06-16-09, 06:35 PM

You know there's a switch you have to flip on the Xbox 360 component cables to get the proper brightness. Check out the 360 forum in the HT Gaming area.

Stinky-Dinkins

06-16-09, 06:51 PM

amazin

06-17-09, 07:28 AM

I don't have a 360 running with component (just assumed it would be equal if not superior to HDMI output since the 960 can't display 1080p and I don't think the 360 does lossless audio) but there's a brightness switch on the 360 component cable? What possible sense does that make? I've never heard of such a thing, how would that possibly work? Why wouldn't they just allow you to adjust brightness settings in-game or using your TV menu?

The switch on the XBOX 360 component cables is only there to switch from an "HDTV" or a standard "TV." It has nothing to do with controlling the brightness level. If you have an HDTV you would obviously put it on "HDTV" to get 480p-1080p(if that particular HDTV is capable of coarse) and if you have a standard TV you would put the switch on just "TV."

Greater Malison

06-19-09, 04:31 AM

For the record i recently popped in Fallout 3 and loaded a game where i was in the Capital wasteland during day time and it looks great. Pretty much everything I was expecting to see in an upgrade from analog to at least 720p. Bioshock also looks amazing then theres Mass Effect - total crap. Lot of nose in the picture and all kinds of judder around commander sheppards face whenever he moves around. Is it possible that some games just look better than others?

unclepauly

06-19-09, 08:37 AM

WJonathan

06-19-09, 09:27 AM

OK, I got things mixed up then. But isn't there some sort of brightness setting in the 360's setup software that helps with component cables?

giderac

06-20-09, 07:05 PM

Anyone know the best way to connect a pc to this tv? I have a 7900 gtx, right now the best picture i can get is usin a dvi-hdmi cable set at 1280x720 under 720p mode. Can correct the overscan using nividia control panel, however resolutions higher than this under 1080i mode give a very blurry image. Anyone know any custom powerstrip resolutions/timings that work well?

timrh23

06-20-09, 09:15 PM

Hi All...Am considering selling my 960 and wanted to gauge folks' interest. The set was ISF calibrated by Kevin Miller (isftv.com) and is in perfect working order. There is no physical wear anywhere and I have not used the remote since day one as I have a Universal. Email me at timrh23@optonline.net if any interest. TV is located in NJ.

naisho

06-24-09, 11:10 AM

Hello everyone,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I recently discovered the huge following for the KD-34XBR960 and decided to try and find one in my area. I had a sale fall through and am waiting to hear from another who doesn't seem to be checking his email.

Right now there is one KD-34XBR960 for sale in my area (Metro Detroit) for $400. I'm trying to buy it but as I said, I never hear back from the seller.

I'm asking here because this is a forum of people who take care of their technology. Is there anyone in the Detroit area who is selling their KD-34XBR960?

Thanks

PhilipO38

06-26-09, 01:00 PM

Hey guys i need some advise,

Myself and my wife are looking for a larger HDTV for the LR, but i rarely have free time(i watch my 5 yr old who has autism), so i'm hoping someone here can give me some solid advise.

We are looking in the 40"-46" range or so, and now that the LED's have arrived, i'm wondering how those compare to the XBR960, especially for gaming, since i'm a major video gamer(360,PS3,Wii..ect).

Also i'm wondering how the black levels compare as well as contrast levels.

The HDTV's i have my eyes on are the Panasonic [Plasma] Viesta series(i believe these claim a 2,000,000:1, dark level), as well as the Samsung LED's of 40" and 46".

What worries me about the LED's is these are 120Hz compared to the 600Hz of the Plasma's.

After all i don't want to waste some $2000 on a HDTV that has blurring artifacts, when i can still get by with my XBR960 which has no blurring whatsoever.

So guys, besides the Kuro line of Plasma's, which large HDTV set is comparable or has better quality then the XBR960?

It's amazing that the XBR960 still holds it's own and more, against most HDTV's on the market, some 4 years after i bought it.

Thanks in advance,

Phil

TomGreen321

06-26-09, 01:48 PM

Buy the best Panasonic plasma you can and be done with it. Only negative in my opinion will be colour accuracy. Which after fixing the colour decoder in the service menu on all of the Sony CRT's is almost unrivaled by todays digitals.

The smaller screen size hides quite abit, I bet you'll never look back. Just make sure it's a quality, name brand and you'll be set. My CRT will be sent to the bed room as soon as we can justify the cost of "upgrading".

fogcity

06-26-09, 01:57 PM

I too would like to know what is comparable to the 960 these days, especially if people can relate stories of side-by-side comparisons.

For my part, I bought a 42" Panasonic plasma tv, and after calibrating it was shocked at how it was barely comparable to my old 27" Mitsubishi CRT. Lots of blurring and poor color accuracy, especially noticeable on closeups of faces (which often looked like they were smeared with calamine lotion), which my CRT had no problem delivering sharply and accurately. Despite lots of calibration, the blacks were always crushed; apparently the general public is fine with no detail in the shadow areas of a picture, as long as the blacks are super black?? Weird.

I tried all sorts of material, from SD broadcasts on up to BluRay. Same problem throughout. So I sold the plasma and eventually bought the 960. Instant satisfaction. Even without calibration, the colors were vivid AND accurate, the details sharp yet not hyped, the blacks rich and deep without muddying up the picture. And, no need to ONLY watch BluRay -- even SD material looks good.

That said, there are some convergence problems around the edges of the picture, it is subject to interference from nearby speakers, and I'd love a larger picture. So, if/when things have progressed to where an equivalent PQ is possible on a sub-$2000 plasma/lcd, I'd make the switch. Any informed insight as to the state of things would be welcome.

azideam

06-27-09, 02:26 AM

"Even without calibration, the colors were vivid AND accurate, the details sharp yet not hyped, the blacks rich and deep without muddying up the picture. And, no need to ONLY watch BluRay -- even SD material looks good."

SD looks especially good coming from an Oppo 983 on the SFP tube! Love this set!!!

unclepauly

06-27-09, 03:16 AM

DJF(NJ)

06-27-09, 09:13 AM

I agree mostly with TomGreen. The Panny plasma's look terrific and are not that expensive IMO. My friends father has one of the newer 50" mid level units and movies look very good on it. Havent seen games on it however. 2 of my friends have LCDs(non LEDs) from Sammy and Sony with the 120hz motion and I think for games they look very good. More detail than on the 960, but of course black levels and colors do not compare. For movies however, I think they look awful. That 120hz thing makes film based material look like it was shot on video and there is still smearing(though only noticeable to the most discerning eye). If it were me, I would go with the newer Panny plasmas. Hope this helps.

PM720

06-28-09, 01:04 AM

Hi, newbie here and just found this forum while researching an issue that just cropped up tonight. I was watching a movie when the volume just started increasing by itself to max. I could not control it with the remote. If I turn the TV off and back on it would be OK for a few minutes and then start all over. I have tried cycling the main power off for 15-20 minutes and 3 different sets of batteries in the remote. Also, I can't use the remote unless it is less than a foot away from the tv. If I mute it after a few seconds it takes itself off mute and increases the volume. I am pretty sure at least one of these sets of batteries are fully charged (Sanyo Eneloops). It does this with batteries in or out of the remote. :confused: I have had my 960 for about a year now and love it. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Scott

why?

06-28-09, 12:35 PM

Summit HDTV

06-28-09, 01:53 PM

I was given a 960 but the picture has a reddish make up effect especially with lighter skin people on screen. Does this mean that I need a new picture tube or is this a problem that can be remedy in the service menu?

Greetings,

Has it always been there? It could be a misaligned color decoder (Red push) or grayscale. Both are correctable in the SM, though you need special equipment to tackle the grayscale. Search the Sony service codes thread for color decoder correction. Make sure the Advanced User setting is set to Monitor, not Default.

Regards

Joseph Dubin

06-28-09, 02:50 PM

mjrgamer

06-28-09, 04:42 PM

Still think the 960 offers the best HD picture available in any format - CRT, Plasma, LCD, DLP, etc. One does need to have the set properly callibrated. As was the case with others, some factory settings in the service menu for 1080i (HDMI) and 480p (component) were off from the settings specified by SONY under the service code chart. Having them set properly made a world of difference.

I think the color is the most accurate on the XBR960, the Kuro Pioneer plasma is quite amazing I would call it an XBR910 close to a 960 if it had better secondary colors. :D

why?

06-28-09, 05:15 PM

Greetings,

Has it always been there? It could be a misaligned color decoder (Red push) or grayscale. Both are correctable in the SM, though you need special equipment to tackle the grayscale. Search early in this thread for color decoder correction. Make sure the Advanced User setting is set to Monitor, not Default.

Regards

Well I just got the tv yesterday but the previous owner said this reddish makeup effect started in the last few months. I am going to check out the color decoder correction and yes it is set to monitor.

Thank you for the help.

Summit HDTV

06-28-09, 06:46 PM

Well I just got the tv yesterday but the previous owner said this reddish makeup effect started in the last few months. I am going to check out the color decoder correction and yes it is set to monitor.

Thank you for the help.

Greetings,

I found the links in the Sony service codes thread. Here's a few links for Red Push and the Sony color decoder. Be aware any venture into the SM is risky. You'll need the proper test patterns to adjust color/hue and the color decoder, as well as knowledge of the Sony SM. Record all current values before changing anything. Remember to WRITE the settings else they'll be lost after exiting the SM.
Look here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5906123&&#post5906123

and here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7356776&&#post7356776

and here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7949944&&#post7949944

You'll see some variance between various users' values associated with a correctly aligned color decoder. As every set has a certain personality this should be expected. The red and green color decoder settings above only make sense when the color and tint (hue) are set to proper. You'll need the DVE filters, or better yet use the blue/red/green gun isolation technique (RGBS) described above.

Regards

PM720

06-28-09, 08:35 PM

Joseph Dubin

06-28-09, 10:13 PM

Greetings,

I found the links in the Sony service codes thread. Here's a few links for Red Push and the Sony color decoder. Be aware any venture into the SM is risky. You'll need the proper test patterns to adjust color/hue and the color decoder, as well as knowledge of the Sony SM. Record all current values before changing anything. Remember to WRITE the settings else they'll be lost after exiting the SM.
Look here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5906123&&#post5906123

and here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7356776&&#post7356776

and here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7949944&&#post7949944

You'll see some variance between various users' values associated with a correctly aligned color decoder. As every set has a certain personality this should be expected. The red and green color decoder settings above only make sense when the color and tint (hue) are set to proper. You'll need the DVE filters, or better yet use the blue/red/green gun isolation technique (RGBS) described above.

Regards

Just be sure that the service codes you refer to are for the 960 since there are spreadsheets for the 955 and other models as well.

If you want to make geometric or overscan adjustments, it might be better using patterns from a source other than the internal one stored in the 960. I have an external HD pattern which allowed me to make the proper geometric adjustments. With these settings I checked to see how the internal pattern on the 960 looked and found the set's cross-hatch pattern to be quite distorted. At least in my case adjusting the geometry based on this internal pattern created a terriably distorted picture on video 7 - fortunately I had all my settings written down so there was no cause for alarm.

JA Fant

06-28-09, 10:21 PM

Greetings,

this is my first post on this fine TV. I have had my Sony for 4 years now with no problems.

mjrgamer

06-29-09, 12:39 AM

Greetings,

this is my first post on this fine TV. I have had my Sony for 4 years now with no problems.

It should last 6-10 more. :D If you want to keep it that long. I have 2 XBR 960's have to sell one DAMN. Have to get that Kuro that is in my dreams. :)

Summit HDTV

06-29-09, 08:25 AM

Just be sure that the service codes you refer to are for the 960 since there are spreadsheets for the 955 and other models as well.

If you want to make geometric or overscan adjustments, it might be better using patterns from a source other than the internal one stored in the 960.

Greetings,

Thanks for the clarification. The values posted should be considered starting values only, which is why I mentioned variance between users' values. Also you need the correct external test pattern and knowledge to first set color/hue, then tackle the remaining color decoder (red, green).

Personally I always use external test patterns either from my HD generator or from a DVD player, whichever is applicable. My Sencore HD generator has a fantastic convergence pattern that I used to dial-in the convergence on our 960.

Regards

Joseph Dubin

06-29-09, 08:11 PM

Greetings,

Thanks for the clarification. The values posted should be considered starting values only, which is why I mentioned variance between users' values. Also you need the correct external test pattern and knowledge to first set color/hue, then tackle the remaining color decoder (red, green).

Personally I always use external test patterns either from my HD generator or from a DVD player, whichever is applicable. My Sencore HD generator has a fantastic convergence pattern that I used to dial-in the convergence on our 960.

Regards

When first using one of those charts, I indeed made the mistake of referring to the one for the 955. I later changed all my settings back to the "starting values" for the 960. But I had written down the original factory settings and was able to still see that many callibrated by the technician were way off.

Worst was overscan. The picture was noticbly off-center and very much out of proportion, just making it to 5% on one side and 10% on the the other side plus the top and bottom. Of course the stretched picture also affected focus, edge enhancement, geometry (both full and wide-zoom modes), etc.

Overall, the starting values were indeed much closer in achieving optimum picture quality than were the callibrations made at the factory. Besides the obvious errors in judgement, I wonder if the technician also didn't finalize some settings or accidentally pressed the up/down buttons changing the category he was working on and therefore entering an inappropriate value.

Kool-aid23

06-29-09, 10:40 PM

Joseph Dubin

06-29-09, 11:47 PM

Just wondering, I've checked the old threads about the anti-glare coat on this set. I'm wondering how everyone's coats are doing? Mine is starting to come off. I read some of the comments one how to remove it but I'm nervous going that way. Any comments? Thanks

Six or seven months ago a portion about an inch and a half wide and third of inch deep came off mine. It's about an inch from the top and perhaps seven inches off the left. It is only noticable at certain viewing angles and when so, appears like the usual glare that is reflected off the glass (minus the unusual shape). There is no distortion in color, etc. and, of course, the only person bothered by it is me.

This happened when I used the equivalent of "glass plus" instead of water (because it leaves streaks). Using a rag instead of a paper towel didn't help, either.

Needless to say, I'm just as nervous as you attempting to remove the coating and don't know if it would be a good idea anyone because the 960 would then be left without any anti-glare protection at all. So I'm just using a wet paper towel followed by a dry one to clean the screen.

BTW - is the coating susceptable to damage as the set gets older or is it just a matter of cleaning it properly?

Kool-aid23

06-30-09, 02:06 AM

Six or seven months ago a portion about an inch and a half wide and third of inch deep came off mine. It's about an inch from the top and perhaps seven inches off the left. It is only noticable at certain viewing angles and when so, appears like the usual glare that is reflected off the glass (minus the unusual shape). There is no distortion in color, etc. and, of course, the only person bothered by it is me.

This happened when I used the equivalent of "glass plus" instead of water (because it leaves streaks). Using a rag instead of a paper towel didn't help, either.

Needless to say, I'm just as nervous as you attempting to remove the coating and don't know if it would be a good idea anyone because the 960 would then be left without any anti-glare protection at all. So I'm just using a wet paper towel followed by a dry one to clean the screen.

BTW - is the coating susceptable to damage as the set gets older or is it just a matter of cleaning it properly?

I'm not sure about the coat with age. However, I was just using a cloth on my set and it's starting to come off. As for not having the coat at all, a few other Sony crt models don't have any coating so I'm not too concerned about that. I just wish there was an easier way to remove it.

Joseph Dubin

06-30-09, 10:54 AM

I'm not sure about the coat with age. However, I was just using a cloth on my set and it's starting to come off. As for not having the coat at all, a few other Sony crt models don't have any coating so I'm not too concerned about that. I just wish there was an easier way to remove it.

Yuck, that means even dusting the screen makes the coating apt to coming off?

mjrgamer

06-30-09, 01:22 PM

Yuck, that means even dusting the screen makes the coating apt to coming off?

I have 2 of these sets and no coating issues. Do you fellow owners have the 960N version? :D

Joseph Dubin

06-30-09, 02:56 PM

I have 2 of these sets and no coating issues. Do you fellow owners have the 960N version? :D

If we had the 960N, there would be no on-screen coating to deal with. :)

amazin

06-30-09, 07:22 PM

Anyone looking to remove the anti-glare coating can give this solution a go that I discovered just a few months back. I'll just copy and paste my solution to the problem from another thread...

"After seeing this thread get revived once again I decided to give it one more go in trying to get the anti-glare coating completely removed. Again, I was told that there was more than one way in which they applied the coating to this set and from my experience there was no window tint like material applied to the screen. It was more like a coating that was sprayed on. Having removed about 2/3 of the coating with Oops! solvent I could not put a dent in the remaining 1/3 of the screen and had given up hope as I had tried a number of different methods and chemicals as well. After about 9 months of thinking that it was a lost cause I am happy today to report that the coating has been completely removed and the screen looks just as smooth and clear as the 34XBR970 does without the anti-glare coating. The solution was, believe it or not, Steel Wool Grade #0000. This stuff worked like a charm and did not leave a single scratch. I can now fully enjoy one of the finest TVs ever made in the Super-Fine Pitch 34XBR960 once again."

Joseph Dubin

06-30-09, 08:14 PM

Kool-aid23

06-30-09, 09:42 PM

Kool-aid23

06-30-09, 09:45 PM

Thanks for the update and glad all went well removing the remaining third of your coating. Guess if one wants to play it safe, we can pay the fee and have a SONY service technician come over and remove it.

I wasn't aware that was possible. (wouldn't that void warranty etc.) Have you heard of anyone using this option? If so, how much are they asking?

Joseph Dubin

06-30-09, 11:19 PM

I wasn't aware that was possible. (wouldn't that void warranty etc.) Have you heard of anyone using this option? If so, how much are they asking?

That was just a guess on my part but if owners have been able to remove the coating am sure the service people can do the same as well. Have no idea how much it would cost.

Also wouldn't worry about voiding any warranty - it's been more than two years since most any authorized dealer has sold a 960 so warranties have long since expired for all of us except those who purchased extended ones.

Joseph Dubin

07-05-09, 11:32 PM

Hi,

Are there any guidlines in setting service codes for sources like VHS with composite video cable (RCA) that is less than 480i? Should I simply set them to those for 480p? Also, would this too be independent of settings for 480/720/1080?

Thanx as always,
Joe

VR6

07-06-09, 09:39 PM

On board now my own XBR960,scored for a $100 bucks!

Joseph Dubin

07-06-09, 11:57 PM

Congratulations, VR6. At $100 you got the steal of the century!

Just a suggestion but it won't hurt to once in a while unplug your 960 for about ten minutes (even if the degauser is working fine) I find this insures the set retaining it's great picture quality (this evening I thought the picture suddenly appeared less vibrant -- it returned to all it's glory after unplugging).

Don't completely understand why, but I guess like the semi-computer it is, the 960needs an ocassional re-booting.

Miles CRT

07-10-09, 09:56 PM

Hi All. Thanks for the good reading. I can hardly believe this thread is so long. I've been seaching Craigslist for a replacement TV and found the info here helpful.

I bought a 960 Today in part to replace an older (2001) 36" XBR that quit working and to be able to watch over-the-air TV in it's HD and digital goodness. That said, I'll mostly be watching DVDs and someday Blu-rays.

The picture is better than the older set which I'm guessing is the Super Fine pitch and the HDMI input. I'm very happy with the image quality. I'm working on getting the settings right on my own as I don't think I'll pay for calibration. May be I'll post up some questions, later, for now I think I go see how another favorite DVD looks.

Found in San Diego. Paid $300 for a Feb 2005 model with stand, remote, and paper work.

unclepauly

07-10-09, 11:30 PM

Even though it may seem weird to pay more for calibration than for the TV itself, if you are remotely anywhere near being a stickler for PQ, it is totally worth it to get this set calibrated by someone who does the full runthrough. Overscan reduction, convergence, gamma, geometry, grayscale, colorpoints... If there is any TV out there that would show a huge difference from a calibration I think this TV would be it. A calibration basically nets you mini-kuro performance(some say even better).

Miles CRT

07-11-09, 01:15 PM

Joseph Dubin

07-11-09, 05:19 PM

Thanks for the reply and encouragement. I don't know enough about some of the benefits of calibration that you mentioned so I'll do a little more research and try my luck with a THX demo (?) from a Disney movie for now.

As it is, I've had a bit of trouble getting a circle to look like a circle with the different settings on my DVD player and TV with 16X9 settings. Monkeying around was fun and effective. :)

Miles,

It would be best to get a set-up DVD that has a 16x9crosshatch pattern for one can't get proper geometry using the circle on the THX optomizer or a test pattern that's 4x3.

Then go to the Sony Service Code forum. There's a post by Ken Tech with a table of contents and you will find ones for geometry and overscan. Do the overscan first because that affects geometry.

Also remember settings for contrast, black level, color etc. will be different for 480p via component compared to 1080i via HDMI. The THX optomizer will be fine for 480p (that's what I used) and if you go bluray, you'll probably be able to get a similar set-up disc to help with those (I saved the HD patterns broadcast on the old INHD channel on my DVR - too bad no HD station has a similar broadcast).

For even more precision color settings, go to THX.COM and order one or two pairs of blue-filter glasses (only a few dollars each) for use with all color patterns both 480p and 1080i.
Best of luck,
Joe

Summit HDTV

07-11-09, 06:53 PM

Summit HDTV

07-11-09, 06:56 PM

unclepauly

07-11-09, 08:03 PM

Greetings,

You bet! The color points are define via the phosphors, but the color decoder is fully adjustable on this set.

Regards

sorry, yes that's what I meant, the color decoder

Summit HDTV

07-12-09, 08:37 AM

Greetings,

The KV-34XBR960 as unclepauly said calibrates well and is eye candy thereafter! Here's the calibration report from our display. Even before grayscale and screen gamma calibration it was a pleasure to watch, but now it's just HD glory.

Regards

Joseph Dubin

07-13-09, 01:37 PM

raouliii

07-13-09, 05:16 PM

It just occured to me.

When we get a new DVD player (either upconverting or bluray) does that mean upconverted 4x3 films dubbed onto DVD will no longer be able to be viewed in wide-zoom unless we turn off the player's 1080i output?

Not that I think the picture quality for standard definition will be better than what we get using the 960's line-doubler.My 34HS510 fixes the screen mode at FULL when 1080i or 720p are input, but I believe some of the later models allow other screen modes to be selected with HD input resolutions. ??

I doubt there are many upconverting players that can do a better job than the integrated DRC/MID at upconverting SD DVD to 1080i for display.

Bluray, that's a different story. Me want one.:D Do the Bluray players upconvert or can they output 480 for SD DVD?

Joseph Dubin

07-13-09, 06:20 PM

My 34HS510 fixes the screen mode at FULL when 1080i or 720p are input, but I believe some of the later models allow other screen modes to be selected with HD input resolutions. ??

- Not with the 960 - 1080i upconverted from the cable box only displayed 4x3 or full - no wide zoom.

I doubt there are many upconverting players that can do a better job than the integrated DRC/MID at upconverting SD DVD to 1080i for display.

I agree 100%. If you think DVDs look fantastic using the DRC, wait till you see them ouput at 480p. While a 480p input does not allow use of the digital reality pallete, progressive scan does provide a smoother picture with no flickering.

Most sets just can't match the 960's line doubler. Recently saw Peter Jackson's "King Kong" demonstrated in SD on a brand name LCD - it paled compared to the sharpness and detail of the Sony.

Bluray, that's a different story. Me want one.:D Do the Bluray players upconvert or can they output 480 for SD DVD?

They can also output at 480 which is probably what I would want based on the Sony's great upconverting. In fact, standard DVDs appear with so much detail that I'm in no rush to get a bluray until the prices of the players and discs are compatible with those for DVD.

raouliii

07-13-09, 07:15 PM

- ..... In fact, standard DVDs appear with so much detail that I'm in no rush to get a bluray until the prices of the players and discs are compatible with those for DVD.The exact same reasons I am waiting.:)

TomGreen321

07-13-09, 07:27 PM

Seriously, I thought the same thing, but Blu-ray will look insane on any of these Sony CRT's. It's not even close, at all. Especially anything from pixar.

unclepauly

07-13-09, 07:46 PM

- Not with the 960 - 1080i upconverted from the cable box only displayed 4x3 or full - no wide zoom.

I agree 100%. If you think DVDs look fantastic using the DRC, wait till you see them ouput at 480p. While a 480p input does not allow use of the digital reality pallete, progressive scan does provide a smoother picture with no flickering.

Most sets just can't match the 960's line doubler. Recently saw Peter Jackson's "King Kong" demonstrated in SD on a brand name LCD - it paled compared to the sharpness and detail of the Sony.

They can also output at 480 which is probably what I would want based on the Sony's great upconverting. In fact, standard DVDs appear with so much detail that I'm in no rush to get a bluray until the prices of the players and discs are compatible with those for DVD.

Dude I hear ya. DVD's look so good on this thing that I'm actually offended by an LCD's audacity at trying to display an SDDVD. Flabbergasted even. I warn you though, once you see Blu-ray on this beast....

Joseph Dubin

07-13-09, 09:11 PM

Dude I hear ya. DVD's look so good on this thing that I'm actually offended by an LCD's audacity at trying to display an SDDVD. Flabbergasted even. I warn you though, once you see Blu-ray on this beast....

Hi Guys,

No doubt bluray will look best on what I still believe is the greatest TV around - the 960. But because 480p looks so much better compared to other sets (due to the 960's line doubler) the difference between DVD and bluray is less apparent. I've also read articles stating bluray is not so vital for CRTs in general as it is for larger flat screens.

I tend to agree. On those side by side demonstrations, smaller details are always sharper on the bluray portion versus that for DVD. But I also know that similiar small details on the 960 never appear as soft as I see on the demos and that the overall picture quality is always better (am sure standard definition on these demos are always in 480i and with no upconversion).

I'm not saying bluray won't look better than DVD but that the difference between the two is to a lesser degree on the 960. Hence, no urge to upgrade at this time. :)

unclepauly

07-13-09, 09:38 PM

don't forget, color fidelity and color/shadow gradation are also superior on blu-ray. To me that is more important than the higher detail.

Joseph Dubin

07-13-09, 09:53 PM

don't forget, color fidelity and color/shadow gradation are also superior on blu-ray. To me that is more important than the higher detail.

Actually, the demostration showed the least differential in the areas you mentioned.

Again, it's not so much a debate between bluray and DVD - obviously 1080i resolution will always be better than 480p, upconverted or otherwise (unless, of course, if the source material itself is not re-mastered properly). I'm just saying the 960 closes that gap much more than a larger flat screen, not only because 480 resolution loses more detail as the screen gets larger but by being a CRT, we're getting the best black and contrast levels possible which has profound effects on color and shadow.

unclepauly

07-13-09, 10:00 PM

yes I agree about the color and shadow looking leagues better on this set and also on the point about this set closing the gap in quality with hd material. Now I will leave you be.

Joseph Dubin

07-13-09, 11:06 PM

yes I agree about the color and shadow looking leagues better on this set and also on the point about this set closing the gap in quality with hd material. Now I will leave you be.

Pauly,

Enjoyed the exchange. :)

Our dentist recently purchased a 52 inch LCD. He also needed a new player so got bluray (am sure he was able to afford both due to my wife's continuing dental problems). He said he hasn't noticed enough difference between the two formats to justify one getting bluray if one's old player doesn't need to be replaced.

Agree with you that unlike the 960, he should see a major jump in picture quality. I wonder if his user settings are adjusted properly or if his set needs to be callibrated. Forgot the brand but it's also a possibility he just didn't get the best of monitors, either.

TomGreen321

07-14-09, 12:23 AM

Pauly,

Enjoyed the exchange. :)

Our dentist recently purchased a 52 inch LCD. He also needed a new player so got bluray (am sure he was able to afford both due to my wife's continuing dental problems). He said he hasn't noticed enough difference between the two formats to justify one getting bluray if one's old player doesn't need to be replaced.

Agree with you that unlike the 960, he should see a major jump in picture quality. I wonder if his user settings are adjusted properly or if his set needs to be callibrated. Forgot the brand but it's also a possibility he just didn't get the best of monitors, either.

The difference between the 960 and new mid-range(and up) Flat Panels is extremely small, at best. This isn't 2-3 years ago. Digital displays have closed the gap. I'll give you 480p being better on CRT's, but very few care about that, nor should they.

The 960 might have mighty fine "Line Doubling", but it doesn't make up for a lack of detail in the source. Buy a Blu-ray player from a store with a generous return policy, and use it for a few weeks. You'll never go back to DVD.

That is if your TV is setup properly.

Joseph Dubin

07-14-09, 11:00 AM

The difference between the 960 and new mid-range(and up) Flat Panels is extremely small, at best. This isn't 2-3 years ago. Digital displays have closed the gap.

Hi Tom,

Yes, flat panels have come a long way. I read where LCDs that are LED backlit now have excellent contrast ratios and black levels. Also understand the new OLED technology is really something but who wants an eleven-inch set?

However, flat panels still have their limitations. Even with LED backlights, Crutchfield notes that LCD pictures still appear slightly less natural than top model plasmas. Also, the contrast ratios and black levels for both Plasma and LCDs with standard backlits are still only listed as "good".

While all screens are two dimensional, the big advantage CRT has over flat panel is depth for those all lack a three-dimensional feel found in tubes.

Interesting question: How does the gap between CRT and flat panels compare to that of bluray to DVD as viewed on the 960?

I'll give you 480p being better on CRT's, but very few care about that, nor should they.

Unless they have large DVD collections.

philexile

07-16-09, 10:59 AM

Hello,

I just picked one of these sets up and I was searching around for the service manual. Can anyone here point me in the direction of where it is available for download?

Thank you!

Ennui

07-16-09, 07:46 PM

You can start here for some info.

I paid for my service manual but that was many years ago.

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-documents.pl?mdl=KD34XBR960

Good luck.

Ennui

07-16-09, 08:29 PM

servicemanuals.net

jdre

07-16-09, 09:07 PM

http://www.schematicsforfree.com/archive/dir/Sony/Video, it is the first TV listed.

philexile

07-17-09, 12:09 PM

raouliii

07-17-09, 04:46 PM

Hello,

Thanks! I'm actually going to try to use this in order to fix the overscan, as well as some mild distortion towards the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and at the top.

At the top, the picture looks a little crooked in a way, almost like the upper left side is the bottom of a very shallow hill and it gradually gets highter as you got to the right. I think this is a convergence issue.

Does anyone here have any experience in making such adjustments to this model? I want to make sure I have as much info as possible before attempting this.

Thanks againWords to live by in the service menu: Write down the settings before you make any changes and don't, DON'T, attempt ANY type of reset in the service mode.

There is not reset back to your starting point available, so be careful. Practice moving through the service menu a little before making any changes so that mistakes are not made. Move slowly and methodically.

Convergence has to do with convergence of the three color guns and is most easily adjusted using a pattern consisting of white crosshatch on a black background. Misconvergence presents itself as a primary color fringe seen along the edges of the white lines of the pattern.

The issues you mention are associated with geometry and are fairly straightforward. The Picture Distortion section of the service manual steps through the adjustments and provides a pictorial of the effect the parameter has on the presentation. A crosshatch pattern can be used for geometry as well. Its very difficult to make these tweaks without the appropriate patterns.

Overscan patterns are available as well. I have used both AVIA and DVE SD calibration DVDs with great success.

Good Luck

Influence

07-17-09, 05:29 PM

philexile

07-17-09, 05:47 PM

Words to live by in the service menu: Write down the settings before you make any changes and don't, DON'T, attempt ANY type of reset in the service mode.

There is not reset back to your starting point available, so be careful. Practice moving through the service menu a little before making any changes so that mistakes are not made. Move slowly and methodically.

Convergence has to do with convergence of the three color guns and is most easily adjusted using a pattern consisting of white crosshatch on a black background. Misconvergence presents itself as a primary color fringe seen along the edges of the white lines of the pattern.

The issues you mention are associated with geometry and are fairly straightforward. The Picture Distortion section of the service manual steps through the adjustments and provides a pictorial of the effect the parameter has on the presentation. A crosshatch pattern can be used for geometry as well. Its very difficult to make these tweaks without the appropriate patterns.

Overscan patterns are available as well. I have used both AVIA and DVE SD calibration DVDs with great success.

Good Luck

Hello,

Thank you very much for this information. I will definitely check out that section of the service manual thoroughly and pick up the AVIA DVD to assist with the calibration.

I'll be sure to post again to let you know how it went.

All the best

Joseph Dubin

07-17-09, 08:54 PM

Over the past few months, I've noticed that when watching cable TV on my 960, if I switch from hi-def channels to standard def, it looks like I lose one of the primary colors and the picture takes on a strange greenish/purple tone. I thought it was my aging Comcast single tuner PVR box (DVI out to the HDMI in on the 960) and would just power off the cable box (while on an SD channel) and then power it back on and things would fix themselves, until I watched an HD channel and then tried to go back to SD again anyway.

Just last night I went to watch a DVD on this set for the first time on months and noticed that the picture off of the DVD was very green in overall tone. The DVD player is hooked up via component video. So it looks like the TV is the problem, not the cable box or DVD player.

Anyone experience a similar issue? If so, how was it resolved and more importantly what did it cost? Is my beloved 960 hosed for good?

Though it wouldn't be so bad to replace this set with a 42" G15 series Panasonic plasma :)

Just an uneducated guess but maybe it's the automatic degauser. Is your 960 plugged directly into a wall socket? Though not stated in the user manual, surge protectors limit the amount of electricity needed for the automatic degauser to kick in fully upon turning on the set. This can create magnetism which causes color distortation.

If you haven't as yet done so, unplug the 960 for about five minutes then plug it back directly to the wall socket- if it's a degaussing problem this should do the trick.

Hope this helps.

Influence

07-18-09, 01:30 PM

The degaussing didn't do the trick. Also, note that when I switch back to an HD channel, all of the colors are displaying properly. It's only SD signals that seem to be losing one of the primary colors.

It looks like something is wrong with whatever board controls the color reproduction to the individual tubes. Looks like I'll be calling a service tech, but I was hoping someone else might have seen this problem before so that I could get an estimate for what it would cost to fix.

Summit HDTV

07-18-09, 03:40 PM

Hello,

At the top, the picture looks a little crooked in a way, almost like the upper left side is the bottom of a very shallow hill and it gradually gets highter as you got to the right. I think this is a convergence issue.

Does anyone here have any experience in making such adjustments to this model? I want to make sure I have as much info as possible before attempting this.

Thanks again

Greetings,

If the (complete) image is tilted with respect to the horizontal axis then use the Tilt command in the user setup to correct the tilt. If only the top of the image is tilted and the bottom is straight then it's a geometry problem and is likely not correctable without magnets. The only exception to this is if the set has a trapezoid error, as that is correctable in the service menu. Convergence control in the XBR960 will not correct the problem outlined above.

Regards

raouliii

07-18-09, 05:21 PM

..... Also, note that when I switch back to an HD channel, all of the colors are displaying properly. It's only SD signals that seem to be losing one of the primary colors. ......Is it a Motorola stb? My DCT6200 began having the same problem after a firmware update over a year ago. I had to set the 4:3 override (SD) to 480p, instead of 480i, to resolve the problem.

DSperber

07-18-09, 07:07 PM

Does anyone here have any experience in making such adjustments to this model? I want to make sure I have as much info as possible before attempting this.A few of us do.:D

Anyway, as has been already warned... you MUST WRITE DOWN all of your current settings (both User Menu and Service Menu) before doing any tweaking. That will at least give you something to fall back to if something doesn't go quite right, or if you decide you're not making progress in a positive direction, etc.

Just to help you out, I'm again posting the latest version of my XLS spreadsheet of all settings for my XBR960, for all inputs and resolutions. See the notes at the bottom (which describes the color coding scheme, how factory defaults are presented when customized values exist, and other useful facts), and notice that there is both (a) User Menu sheet, and (b) Service Menu sheet.

While my settings won't match your settings of course (e.g. I've had magnet work done that influences how my Service Menu geometry/convergence values came to be what they are), at least this spreadsheet can be used by you to very thoroughly and conveniently "write down" all of your current settings (in your own modified version of the XLS document).

Again, this is for MY own KD-34XBR960. Not necessarily yours.

Joseph Dubin

07-20-09, 12:00 AM

Is there any difference in picture quality using bluray through component rather than HDMI? With my SA 8300 HD DVR, HDMI is more vivid compared to component but that might be due to the box's tuner.

I know I can get a HDMI switch box, however, I do not want to change my HD user settings, hence, the preference for component.

Don't care about not being able to upconvert standard DVD since I'm happy with the 960's line-doubler.

No sense not going bluray when the time comes to replace my current dvd player.

schick81

07-21-09, 01:16 AM

I have a KD-34XBR960 that was built in July 2004. The other day while watching the cable input, I attempted to change channels and neither the up or down arrows on the remote would function. I then tried going to the channel I wanted by using the numeric keys and the enter button and I was successful accessing channels that way.

It was then that I went to the Channels menu and found that there were NO channels listed in the Show/Hide channels sub-palette. So, I initiated an Auto Program and waited just under an hour for the set to wend its way through the almost 400 analog and digital cable channels it found. I then spent another 30 minutes or so tediously labeling all the channels. Everything seemed normal.

Then about three days later, the same thing happened. The channel up or down button seemed stuck and all the channels were gone again, so I had to do another Auto Program to get the channels back.

It gets even worse. Friday afternoon, after experiencing the same problem and after unplugging the set from the wall socket just in case a 'reboot' was the solution, I ran another Auto Program and within 24 hours all of the cable channels were gone again.

What's really frustrating is that on the Antenna side of the turner, everything seems to be fine as I haven't lost any channels in the lineup. And, since I can tune in the channels directly with the remote, the cable channels seem to be there, it's just the 960 is having trouble remembering them.

One other quirk is that every time I run the Auto Program, it seems to find more digital channels (Cox Cable) than it did previously. Could the cable system be affecting the memory or is this more along the lines of an electronic component finally showing its age in this five-year-old set?

Even though I have a DVR that I mostly use for watching cable, it's still good to know that even if the DVR is tied up recording two HD channels, I can still use the 960's QAM tuner to watch a third HD show simultaneously.

Joseph Dubin

07-21-09, 07:37 PM

Is this TV only 194 lbs like the Sony site says? I thought it was heavier than that. I'm interested in an Ikea stand that can only handle 220 lbs, so that would be an important consideration for me.

It's over 200 pounds and if you add the extra pound or so for a center speaker on top you might be coming close to the Ikea's maximum weight capability.

philexile

07-25-09, 11:24 AM

A few of us do.:D

Anyway, as has been already warned... you MUST WRITE DOWN all of your current settings (both User Menu and Service Menu) before doing any tweaking. That will at least give you something to fall back to if something doesn't go quite right, or if you decide you're not making progress in a positive direction, etc.

Just to help you out, I'm again posting the latest version of my XLS spreadsheet of all settings for my XBR960, for all inputs and resolutions. See the notes at the bottom (which describes the color coding scheme, how factory defaults are presented when customized values exist, and other useful facts), and notice that there is both (a) User Menu sheet, and (b) Service Menu sheet.

While my settings won't match your settings of course (e.g. I've had magnet work done that influences how my Service Menu geometry/convergence values came to be what they are), at least this spreadsheet can be used by you to very thoroughly and conveniently "write down" all of your current settings (in your own modified version of the XLS document).

Again, this is for MY own KD-34XBR960. Not necessarily yours.
Hello,

Thank you for this sheet, its amazing! It also made me realize this is way beyond my area of expertise! :) I think I'm going to have a calibrator come out to tweak this to perfection for me. If you know of any guys in the NY area that are good, let me know.

I do have one question about the TV that you may be able to answer. Is there a way for it to display scanlines? I know that sounds crazy, but I have an old Sega Saturn, which outputs 240p 16khz. I'd like to be able to set the S-Video input on the back to not to scale the image up to 480p and just to display the original 240p signal at 480i, scanlines and all. I wasn't sure if this was a possibility with the service menu.

Anyway, I figured I would ask.

Thanks again!

lowjones

07-28-09, 07:22 PM

Hi,
Now that my broadcasts are digital do I need a converter for my xbr 960. If not how do I set it up?

Thanks

jdre

07-29-09, 03:05 AM

It's got an ATSC tuner, should work right off the air. See 34XBR960 manual at Sony (http://www.docs.sony.com/release/KD34XBR960.pdf) website. It will open a pdf file in the browser, that you can save. You will need some kind of antenna depending on your location and what channels are receivable.

lowjones

07-29-09, 10:23 AM

Thanks JDRE..Went to link and downloaded the manual.

lowjones

giderac

07-29-09, 10:13 PM

jdre

07-29-09, 10:20 PM

I'm fairly sure that your TV can display about 1200 pixels across the tube, where my 34HS510 is about 850, due to the phosphor stripes. See Ultimate AV mag review of 34XBR910. (http://www.ultimateavmag.com/crtdisplays/104sony/)

LongRufus

07-29-09, 10:58 PM

So nobody really has an htpc hooked up to their 960? I'm still struggling to find good settings... 1280x720 is the highest i can go without getting a blurry desktop. I'm using a 7900GTX and a dvi-hdmi cable with latest nvidia drivers. Anyone know custom resolutions/timings for power strip etc? Also anybody know of a good ISF calibrator in the Central NJ area?

I have tried every possible connector, Component, DVI/HDMI and HDMI with both Nvidia and ATI cards and drivers. 1280x720 is the best you will do. I resize the desktop as best I can and punch up the DPI a bit until reading text and browsing become at least tolerable. I'm afraid that's about the best you can hope for.

I haven't heard of any local guys here in NJ. Chad B. from Ohio does seem to make the trip to NJ a couple of times a year though.

DJF(NJ)

07-30-09, 09:28 AM

So nobody really has an htpc hooked up to their 960? I'm still struggling to find good settings... 1280x720 is the highest i can go without getting a blurry desktop. I'm using a 7900GTX and a dvi-hdmi cable with latest nvidia drivers. Anyone know custom resolutions/timings for power strip etc? Also anybody know of a good ISF calibrator in the Central NJ area?

Your best bet would be to call/email Chad. IIRC, his website is HDTVbyChadB.com. He can tell you when he'll be out here next. I don't think he's here a few times a year, more like once a year. Or your could try Eliab from Avical or Kevin Miller, both in NJ. Kevin Miller at one time owned a 960. However, both of them will not do the geometry/magnet work, which Chad does.

RWetmore

08-01-09, 11:31 AM

LongRufus

08-01-09, 01:14 PM

Actually Chad is coming to NJ in a couple weeks. If he can fit me in his schedule, he's going to come and touch up my 960. He calibrated it about 3 years ago.

Contact him ASAP: scheduling@hdtvbychadb.com

This is so tempting. It is just really difficult to justify spending more than than the TV is worth to calibrate a TV for the bedroom. Damn, this is going to torture me for the next week...

unclepauly

08-01-09, 03:14 PM

Imo this TV worth way more than what they sell for. There's nothing out there that can touch it when calibrated.

Slinky11

08-02-09, 04:23 PM

unclepauly

08-02-09, 04:53 PM

Interlacing is what causes the problem making it fuzzy so 720P > 540P is sharper.

WJonathan

08-02-09, 08:03 PM

Since 1440x1080 is the max resolution on this set is it possible to output a pc hdmi or component signal to it at that res?

Ah from reading here and the HTPC thread it would appear that 720p is the only proven solution. Does text and things become unreadable at higher res?

You can try it with extra large fonts and large icons on the desktop. And you can magnify IE explorer pages a little to help. Text on the 960 is legible at that resolution, but you'll wnat to keep dcouments centered on the screen as the edges blur a little like all widescreen CRTs.

For gaming, sending it 1920 x 1080 will be gorgeous. RPGs or strategy games with a lot of minute text boxes, though, will again run into the blurry text problem.

Joseph Dubin

08-14-09, 10:50 PM

My DVD recorder is over 3-1/2 years old and records fine but I wanted to replace my other player (used to watch movies while making recordings) which was about six years old. I didn't want to invest much so I simply got a new Sony progressive-scan player without upconversion that cost only $40.

Believe it or not, I'm floored by the picture quality -- even though the recorder has excellent playback capability, this is easily the best I've seen for DVD. Rich, vibrant color with sharp detail and even discs made on the recorder play back better. Have DVD players improved that much over just the past three or four years?

I don't see how any player could upconvert better than the 960 itself. Know bluray clearly offers the highest resolution possible but for those not wanting to spend over $200 for a unit (plus approximately $10more for each title) the picture quality from a good quality, brand-name player is outstanding in it's own right - of course, when viewed on the 960.

The 960 just never ceases to amaze me.

JAG23

08-19-09, 07:57 PM

Joseph Dubin

08-19-09, 10:44 PM

I was wondering if anyone can tell me what my problem with my 960 might be?
For several months I kept hearing this popping sound (probably arcing) coming from the back of the tv. Well I haven't heard the popping in a while. But I've noticed now the picture is screwed up. It looks like I'm watching a 3-d movie without the glasses.
I've owned it since jun. 04 and I really hate to get rid of it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Might be magnetism. Is the 960 close to any non-shielded audio speakers?

Also, is the set plugged directly into the wall socket? If only plugged into a surge protector the automatic degauser does not get the necessary power required to de-magnetize each time one turns on the set. Also, have you kept the set unplugged for five minutes? This enables the degauser to work at full strength.

Know how you must feel and do hope these suggestions are of some help.

JAG23

08-20-09, 11:42 AM

Joseph thanks for the reply. The speakers are shielded. I did have the set plugged into a surge protector. But when all this started happening I plugged it into the wall to see if that would make a difference. I guess I should unplug it for five minutes and see if that helps. Thanks again for your help.

amazin

08-20-09, 03:42 PM

It sounds like a major convergence issue to me but I am no expert and without seeing it in person or a screenshot it is hard to say for sure and even then it may still be difficult to determine.

From your description I take it you are seeing a lot of Red, Blue, and Green colors on the screen?

JAG23

08-20-09, 05:44 PM

I tried un-plugging it for 5 minutes but no help.
Amazin, I do see a lot of those colors around the sides. I attached a picture. Hope it comes through and helps everyone understand the issue. Thanks again.

amazin

08-20-09, 08:12 PM

Again, I am far from an expert and there are others on here that could definitely look at that screenshot and probably be able to give you a definite answer but yes from my experience that is a convergence issue and I am pretty sure that would require the picture tube being replaced. I am not sure that is even possible with this set anymore.

Again, I would seek help from more of an expert and I am sure someone will come along soon that can help you. In the meantime if the warranty is still in use I would have it looked at.

I have both the 34XBR960 and the 34XBR970 and have not experienced such an issue but I did have what looks like the same problem with a rear-projection Sony crt and it was a convergence issue.

Good luck and I would not make any rash decisions until you speak to someone that could give you a definitive answer.

One other question, is it like this for every input such as composite, component, and HDMI? If you are not sure you should try and hook some equipment(if available to you) up to the other inputs and see if in fact it is the case on all video inputs.

JAG23

08-20-09, 09:05 PM

unclepauly

08-20-09, 10:30 PM

Hey I have the PC monitor cousin of this set the FW900. I have seen this before. It's not the tube, it's something to do with the electronics that control the picture. I've seen something like this fixed just by soldering a chip back together. Although I'm not an expert so I can't say for sure.

amazin

08-20-09, 11:02 PM

Joseph Dubin

08-20-09, 11:53 PM

Amazin, thanks for your help. I talked to a guy from a repair shop and he said he's never heard a tube tv having this issue. He said he can come pick it up and take it to his shop for $95. Or I can take it to him and pay $35 for him to look at it. I'll wait to see if anyone else can help out. Unfortunately the warranty has expired. So I may need to decide if it will be worth fixing. Again, thanks for your help.

Jag,

Saw your attachment and indeed, that is no magnetisim problem.

Since it is not an issue of picture tube it is quite certain that the problem can be resolved. It will be an expense but the cost for parts and labor might not exceed what would have been the total cost for retaining an extended warranty over the past few years.

Good luck and yes, please let us know what happens.

- Joe

bbbobbb

08-25-09, 12:25 AM

westsidehf

08-25-09, 12:39 AM

looks to me like CRT HDTVs are superior to Flat Panels , both in SD and HD reception.

unclepauly

08-25-09, 07:36 AM

It would have ranked up there with the Kuro's if it wasn't for convergence, geometry, and purity issues. Which calibration seems to mostly fix anyway.

JAG23

08-25-09, 08:19 AM

tkmedia2

08-26-09, 12:37 AM

Jag, my bet is the stk chips and maybe associated transistors/resistor sets on the convergence board. usually parts are common and cheap, but labor to replace not so much. Or you could get a guy that just replace the board, too few people want/know how to mess with component repairs now a days.

JAG23

08-26-09, 08:26 AM

Tk, thanks for your input. Can you give me an idea on what it would cost to replace the whole board? Parts and labor? Again thanks.

Joseph Dubin

08-26-09, 06:00 PM

Just wanted to let everyone know I appreciate the opinions and advice everyone has given. I have a guy coming to look at the tv next monday. He will do all the troubleshooting and any repairs at the house. That works for me because I'm recovering from back surgery and I don't want to try and move the tv. If anyone else has any helpful advice about the issue, I'd really like to hear it. I'll definitely let everyone know what the outcome is. Thanks again.

Jag,

That's great news. Am sure the problem will be fixed. And please, never try lifting the 960 under any circumstances. Even if one isn't recovering from a bad back, it could instead give one a hernia!

Joseph Dubin

08-26-09, 06:08 PM

I was thinking about upgrading my 34XBR960 since really good plasmas are now available for less than $2K....but I stumbled on this:

http://hdtvbychadb.com/reviews.htm

Dang, we STILL have a great set....and if it is well calibrated (adding back in the 7 points from "issues") it is in the top 3! Excellent company to be with. :)

Maybe I will wait it out another year...

Think of what that says about the 960, being in the top three while a five year old set. I'd still rate it number one!

Even though Plasma is the closest to CRT technology and quality, the one aspect Plasma (along with LCD, DSP, etc.) cannot overcome is its inability to provide a feel of depth to the picture as does CRT. All objects seen on flat screens look as if they are on top of each other.

unclepauly

08-26-09, 08:40 PM

You're right, it really does come down to the image looking 3-d or 2-d. I'm not sure why but CRT does pull off the 3-dimensional look very well.

Joseph Dubin

08-26-09, 10:34 PM

You're right, it really does come down to the image looking 3-d or 2-d. I'm not sure why but CRT does pull off the 3-dimensional look very well.

I'm a novice but my guess is the depth of the catheroid tube and the path the signal travels within it creates that illusion of dimension. I don't see how the same effect could be achieved when liquid crystal or plasma is tightly pressed against a glass panel or DLP images are bounced off mirrors.

It's funny -- a big selling point is that CRTs are bulky and aesthetically unpleasing and from a decorative standpoint it's now more pleasing to have televisions no more than three or four inches deep and hung up on a wall. What the companies don't say is that by eliminating bulkiness they also did away with that three-dimensional feel and the purest black and contrast levels possible only with a CRT. The average consumer might not care but videophiles like you and I certaintly do!

In the early 40's both Warner Brothers (Looney Tunes) and Paramount (Popeye) produced a limited series of three-dimensional-like cartoons. I remember being able to see the effect even on older, black and white CRTs. I now have them on DVD and can attest the 960 does them a great justice. Wonder how effective the technique is on flat screens.

eyeDK

08-26-09, 11:07 PM

Hi, I moved recently and I believe my XBR960 lost it's video settings. Is this common if the TV is unplugged for a bit? I've used the service menu before to tweak the geometry and those settings are still there. If anyone has an XBR960 that has not had the colors changed in the service mode can you please share your HDMI video settings with me. Also, if you have different settings for night time movie viewing and day time viewing / game viewing can you please share those too. Thank you for your time.

Shadowknight

08-27-09, 06:39 AM

What are the recommended display settings for an X-box 360 on this set? It has settings for Standard, Intermediate, and Full, then settings for RGB, two different color-spaces, and and auto-feature. I've already had the set calibrated last year, I just need to setup the 360 properly.

Summit HDTV

08-27-09, 06:58 AM

JAG23

08-31-09, 02:25 PM

Joseph Dubin

08-31-09, 08:26 PM

Well the tech stopped by and took one look at the picture, made a call to talk to someone more familiar with these issues, then said he thought he couldn't do anything to help. He then said he felt it was going to be too expensive to fix, and that I'd be better off buying a new tv. He then said if I really wanted to get it fixed I should take it to a repair shop and have them troubleshoot it. But he thought it was going to run about $1000 to fix. He then said he wasn't going to charge me anything and left. WTF!?
When I called to schedule the appointment they said he was going to troubleshoot it and give me an estimate. Yet they send a guy who admitted he wasn't familiar with these issues. What a waste of time.
So now I had to call another place who said they can come out tomorrow. I guess I'll have to go another day with this issue.

Hopefully I'll be able to tell everyone something positive tomorrow.

Jag,

So sorry to hear that. Sounds as if he just didn't want to be bothered.

I would definately contact SONY Customer Service to register a complaint for there is no excuse for any authorized service center to send out a technician who not only knows nothing about the set and then tells you to junk it.

Am sure it's repairable but even if it is expensive, it will still be cheaper than buying a new quality-type set that will be a downgrade.

Please keep us apprised.

Joe

Sandman9R

09-01-09, 02:53 AM

I came on the site to see if anyone else was having issues with their 960. I can't believe this thread is still going strong five years later. I posted a few things about this set on this very thread in 2004.

Unfortunately, every now and then, when I press the power button, my red light flashes. I'd hate to lose this set. The sound is without a doubt the best I've ever heard.

Time to read and research the issue on this board.

DJF(NJ)

09-01-09, 10:14 AM

Watched 'Sin City' on BlueRay the other day and it looks incredible on this set!
(The DVD was no slouch either) The black and white contrast with small parts of color was a treat for the eyes. Highly recommend it!

JAG23

09-01-09, 03:25 PM

Well the tech stopped by today and the first thing he did was tell me it was probably a convergance problem. He then used the remote to try and reset some codes to see if the picture would re-align itself. It didn't! He said he could look into ordering a replacement tube but it was probably going to run well over $1000. So I guess I'm going to have to replace the 960. That sucks because I really loved the picture on it. And I know the flat screens just aren't as good as the 960. Anyways, thanks for everyones opinion and advice. If anyone has any opinions about a decent replacement for under $1000, I'm all ears. Thanks again.

Joseph Dubin

09-01-09, 08:12 PM

Ennui

09-01-09, 09:16 PM

Jag:

You should be able to find a complete (used) 960 for under $500. And you will have a spare "feature box". (I had to replace my feature box last year because one of the tuners conked out and found one on Ebay for $100.)

Good luck.

danfoley

09-02-09, 11:28 AM

Hey all, i have the 960 here. Looking to get rid of it. Asking $400. You can PM if you are interested. I'm in Pittsburgh, PA.

shoopdopp

09-03-09, 11:28 AM

Hi, I was wondering if the XBR960 is capable of recording 480p/1080i gameplay footage off of a console such as an Xbox 360 via the Firewire output and a good DVHS recorder, or are all inputs aside from TV/Cable off-limits for a DVHS recorder to access with iLink?

JAG23

09-04-09, 05:25 PM

I'm still debating what to do about my 960. I was just wondering if what the tech told me was totally accurate. I've been doing some research and was wondering if he should of actually opened up the set to confirm it's the tube. Or was the test with the remote enough? Can anyone with more experience and knowledge please tell me what they think? Just keep hoping it's not the tube I guess. Thanks!

unclepauly

09-04-09, 05:45 PM

Honestly there's no way to tell without some pro opening it up. There's this guy named UnkleVito who knows alot about these tubes. I'll take your pic and post it to him and see what he thinks.

JAG23

09-04-09, 08:19 PM

Unclepauly thanks for your reply. Any advice unklevito can provide would be greatly appreciated. Heard from another person who said they also think it's a component issue. But he too wasn't totally sure because he hasn't opened up the set to get a closer look at it.

BTV Mark

09-08-09, 10:57 AM

Well, after 4 glorious years of watching the best TV made, my 960 didn't turn on last Thursday. At first, I wasn't concerned, because I've followed every post in this forum. But after unplugging it overnight, connecting directly to a different AC socket, and even measuring the line voltage (122.6), I had to resort to calling service. They'll come on Saturday, so I'll be home and able to see what they do.

I remembered I had purchased the 4-year extended warranty. I bought the set in July, 2004. So by my calculations, that meant the set was under warranty until July 2010. (2 years Sony warranty plus 4 years = 6 years. 2004 + 6 = 2010). But when I called for service, they said, no, the 4 year "extended" warranty started concurrently with Sony's original warranty--in other words, the set was only covered for a total of 4 years, not 6, which meant my warranty coverage expired in 2008. Does this sound right?? I have all of the original manuals and receipts except--of course--for the extended warranty coverage card.

TIA BTV Mark

Joseph Dubin

09-08-09, 12:24 PM

unclepauly

09-08-09, 01:15 PM

Jag23. Here is UnkleVito's response to your picture.

Unkle Vitos assessment (http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1034581742&postcount=5269)

yrduaeb

09-08-09, 10:02 PM

Joseph Dubin

09-09-09, 11:25 AM

TomGreen321

09-09-09, 02:38 PM

Hi all, I too, am a proud owner of a KD-34xbr960. I am amazed after almost 5 years, that this tv is still top dog. Of course that could be my own bias, but then again it is a bias we all seem to share. It is sad to think that real technology gets overlooked and or forgotten in favor of the bleeding edge. Bleeding edge is never best. When I look at my KD-34xbr960, I am looking at techological maturity, best comparable to a fine wine.

In any event, I was immediately suspect; did they mean to make something this good? Only for those that know what they're looking at. And while we can't control what we watch, we can still control what we watch it on.

I thought the same way, until I bought a plasma from this year, a "lowly" X1. The CRTs now sits in a corner in my basement, and is almost unwatchable now. The only thing the CRT can beat a plasma at out of the box now is colour. The colour isn't even all that much better. Uneven focus, geometry, flicker(which I can see on it clear as day now) and bulkiness are all I equate to CRTs now.

I think they still have a good picture, but they are past there prime compared to any plasma from the last 2 generations.

notsonic

09-13-09, 12:07 PM

i picked up one not too long ago, used, for $200. overall im pretty happy with it as its a huge leap from my old slimfit and it handles multiple resolutions much better than an lcd would.

i had my ps3 hooked up via component and was happy with the picture. but i finally got around to rearranging and hooking up with hdmi and im kinda disappointed. im getting a significant amount of either bleeding or convergence problems around the edges of things. this may have been present to a small degree using component, especially on things around the edge of the screen, but now its pretty much everywhere and its really bad. any ideas?

philexile

09-15-09, 11:13 AM

In the early 40's both Warner Brothers (Looney Tunes) and Paramount (Popeye) produced a limited series of three-dimensional-like cartoons. I remember being able to see the effect even on older, black and white CRTs. I now have them on DVD and can attest the 960 does them a great justice. Wonder how effective the technique is on flat screens.

Hello,

I was curious, what is the name of that DVD set your referring to. It sounds interesting.

Thanks

Joseph Dubin

09-15-09, 12:39 PM

Hello,

I was curious, what is the name of that DVD set your referring to. It sounds interesting.

Thanks

Hi,

There are many four-disc volumes and they are called "Looney Tunes Golden Collections" (I think there are six now - I have the first four). There are also other discs that have just a small portion of these cartoons on one DVD.

Check around for the best price and even try to find a bargain on used sets in good condition. Some of the stories behind the cartoons, etc. are priceless.

cyberbyte

09-18-09, 10:49 PM

DSperber

09-19-09, 04:30 AM

Hello everyone, I apologize in advance if someone has already posted on this issue, but I did not find the topic in this thread. Basically, tomorrow I have Comcast coming for a CableCARD installation in my 960, but I am wondering if all channels will output digital audio to my receiver (previously, I had an HD DVR hooked up to the 960 that output all channels to digital audio - most 2 channel, some 5.1). This is a deal-breaker for me, because I want to use my stereo receiver for all audio, and not have to flip back and forth between audio on the TV set and the receiver.

The reason I ask is that I hooked up the cable line directly into the TV, and only the digital channels are outputting digital audio through the Toslink connection. When I switch to a standard def channel (non digital/HD) the audio does not go through the toslink connection.I don't have a CableCard in my 960. Like your previous arrangement, I have an HD DVR feeding video to my 960 (via HDMI) and audio to my Yamaha receiver. And of course that works, since all cable channels contain digital audio (2.0 or 5.1 channel).

With your new CableCard setup, the 960 optical digital audio output of the 960 will similarly feed your receiver with the very same digital audio received from all channels received on the cable connected directly to the 960 with the CableCard enabling all your subscribed channels. This setup is really exactly as if you had a DVR feeding video to your 960 and audio to your receiver... except that the ATSC tuner in the 960 is serving as the tuner in the DVR.

The optical audio output of the 960 also will feed digital audio to your receiver for OTA channels, if you also have an OTA antenna connected to the 960.

You are good to go. Optical connection from 960 to your receiver, and it will be exactly like your previous arrangement when you had a DVR.