http://www.pacificcable.com/Picture_Page.asp?DataName=HDMIDVI%2D2

This is the cable that I ordered. It looks a lot like the Monster cable that I'm using now, so it should work the same. I don't think single-link/dual-link is an issue with these.

I would assume that the 960 will accept audio through the HDMI input too, but it's nice that they put analogue inputs for that input too.

Sizam, if you're going to be using the 9800 then I would recommend using the component adapter from ATI. It's pretty inexpensive if you order it from NewEgg. Setup with this is much easier and you can tell that ATI's drivers are tailored towards this type of setup.

The Sony monitor is actually read through the DVI input properly and the computer/powerstrip can read that it's a "Sony Monitor". It also carries over it's Max Resolution/Refresh settings. I bet if I played with it a bit more I could find some resolutions within 720p/1080i timings that work, but like I said, 1280x720p gave a lot of overscan. There are plenty of readily available resolutions/timings that work with the component adapter. (http://www.htpcnews.com/main.php?id=hdtvgaming)

It has been my experience so far though, that these timings will not work through the DVI->HDMI connection. You'll have to "roll your own", which I was I just decided to go with the component adapter just to get things up and running for now.

Question about cable card. I'm getting conflicting info from Comcast.

Called Comcast today and inquired about the cable card and cost etc. First person didn't know much and said I was the first person to call him about that. He told me I need a HD box even if I had the card. I asked him to verify and he put me on hold and came back and said no. He came back and said he stands corrected; the card works like the box and I did not need the box then brushed me off.

I called back the second time because I had a few questions about Comast cable package. THis time I spoke to a friendly person who was willing to answer my questions. I asked about HD DVRs and various packages. I also talked about the cable card. She wasn't too familiar w/ it either and had to ask a supervisor. She said that the cable card allows me to watch digital channels w/o a box; however, if I wanted HDTV I would still need a HD box and because I had a HD box it would also do digital channels so I would not need the cable card.

1. So I'm getting conflicting info here. Does any one know if the cable card does HDTV or do I need to rent a cable box? It was my understanding that the XBR960 had a builit in HDTV decoder and that the card would do HDTV w/o box. FYI: comcast said the cards will be free and no monthly charge, but if don't return it- there would be a charge of $115.

2. If the card works w/o HD box, in a few months when Comcast starts renting out the HD DVRS, we won't need the card right since the DVR will have everthing in it.

3. Does anyone know if the DVR will have two receivers built in like DTivo (I though I heard something about it).

The cable card should allow for any regular digital and HD channels including premiums, just not 2way communication for video-on-demand or PPV ordering. The cable reps are clueless about the new technology, so you can't use them for a source for such information. The HD-DVR replaces the HD/digital cable box, so yes you won't need a tuner or cable card with that. The HD-DVR should have 2 tuners and allow for recording 2 shows at the same time, while watching a 3rd recorded program or other combinations.

Phantastica, that link doesn't list any powerstrip timings just all the resolutions different games run at, I'm interested in the exact resolutions/refresh timings I need to give powerstrip to make my xbr960 happy, what are you running at?

Also, he said HD-TiVo which is a troll for me to say how friggin sweet it is :D

If you install the Catalyst 4.7 drivers then you'll get access to a bunch of different timings that work nicely. Just open up the display options under the ATI Control Panel once you have the tv hooked up and you'll see a bunch of checkboxes with different custom resolutions provided by ATI. They all seem to work pretty well with the 960.

Otherwise, if you install the latest version of Powerstrip, it should have a bunch of predefined resolutions for the ATI component adapter. Pretty much anything I've thrown at it has worked.

It was really very easy to setup. The latest drivers seem to have made it a pretty painless process.

But before this becomes and ATI thread, has anyone tried hooking up their cable box through the Firewire port? Does this port actually support HD Video and Audio streams? It certainly has the bandwidth to. I may give it a try tonight.

Has anyone ever ordered from shopsunshine.com in Brooklyn, NY? They have a great price and are available for local pickup. They state that they're authorized sony dealers.

Money,
Check epinons and resellerratings, and you'll see why you should avoid Sunshine. I'd bet they're not authorized either...lots of e-commerce sites make false claims about this.

I did, I checked resellerratings.com and they have an average of 8.92 lifetime rating. I'm going to minimize risk by picking it up locally and inspecting the tv set.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bada
I just read this entire post in one sitting, quite the read. Too bad this set wont be available in Canada, I live in Montreal, and wont even have the opportunity to view it, let alone buy it. That is unless of course I dont mind crossing the border and coming back with an expensive item that has no warranty for me. Which imho would be foolish.

I know the xs955 has fewer goodies, but I wonder it it's the same CRT as the 910 and 960...

For all I know, I might settle for an hs model since Im buying a z2 projector aswell, and the extra $1000 would be a welcome savings.

From what I have read, with the correct settings, the 960 DOES display a decent DirectTV image, I wonder how the hs models fare here.

Decisions decisions....

According to Sony Canada, the xbr960 and the xs955 have the same tube and the same picture quality if the input signal quality is good. The xbr960 has better noise handling and better drc. They now say the 955 should show up in Canada by September and that the 960 is not coming to Canada because of a lack of dealer interest.

I just read up on Shopsunshinedotcom. Whoa, what a bunch of scam artists. I wouldn't buy a stick of gum from those people. They'd probably advertise it as new but it would be ABC gum. ;)

I hooked up a Motorola 6200 box to the XBR960 via a single firewire cable and sure enough I was receiving HD Video and Audio all through the cable. It looked pretty great! The only downside is that the onscreen guide doesn't get transmitted. The nice thing is that it only takes one cable!

So tell me where you read up on them. I had great service...even when I called back 3 months post-sale to request a copy of my bill of sale...was in my email withing 10 min. No complaints here and they are indeed an authorized Sony dealer. I'd like to know what bad you've heard.

Originally posted by TCB
I just read up on Shopsunshinedotcom. Whoa, what a bunch of scam artists. I wouldn't buy a stick of gum from those people. They'd probably advertise it as new but it would be ABC gum. ;)

Yes, as I've posted before, I bought my 40XBR800 from them last year and had great service, quick shipping and everything was on the up and up. Sony had no problem dealing with my warranty claim and ShopSunshine was very helpful when i contacted them for help.

Joel

Originally posted by MoneyMINTR
Has anyone ever ordered from shopsunshine.com in Brooklyn, NY? They have a great price and are available for local pickup. They state that they're authorized sony dealers.

TH3_FRB,

That's reassuring. I'm going to make a pickup this Saturday if the weather permits. How big is the TV? Do I need a pickup truck? I have a 1990 Toyota 4Runner.

Also, how do you know that they're Sony authorized?

Thanks,
MM

How big is the 960? I don't know...mine arrives tomorrow. The 40XBR800 was HUGE...came strapped to a pallet!

The only way I "know" they are Sony authorized (besides them saying so) is because II got the green blob disease and filed a warranty claim. Sony never questioned the retailer on the bill of sale I had to provide to prove my purchase. I'd think the claims department would have at least tried to deny the claim if the place I bought it from wasn't authorized. You can always call Sony customer service and ask for yourself.

I started browsing through user comments left on epinions. Not just one or two or three...pages of them. Not to say that everyone who uses them has a bad experience, but it seems to be a definite coin toss. I also doubt very strongly that they are authorized Sony dealers. It is easy to make that claim on your internet site, but the reality may be different. I am glad you had a good experience with them, however. But for others contemplating a purchase from Shopsunshinedotcom, I'd read some of the long testimonials about what it was like dealing with this company. Check out epinionsdotcom.

Originally posted by TH3_FRB
So tell me where you read up on them. I had great service...even when I called back 3 months post-sale to request a copy of my bill of sale...was in my email withing 10 min. No complaints here and they are indeed an authorized Sony dealer. I'd like to know what bad you've heard.

One last thought on ShopSunshine.com - they have over 8000 sales on eBay with a 97.8% positive feedback rating. Be careful about sites like epinions.com...most people go there to complain about poor service not rave about good service. How often do you take the time to specifically hit a site like that to praise something? But when you get screwed you try whatever you can to let people know. I think the eBay rating system is much more balanced and fair...feedback is left on virtually every transaction. If they aren't authorized then the two individual repair shops that made service visits to my house and the regional service rep, and the corporate claims rep that processed my warranty exchange all screwed up big. The choice is yours...just think logically and make the best decision for you.

If you register it after you get it up and runing you should never have any problem getting it Authorized for Service

Originally posted by beacher

According to Sony Canada, the xbr960 and the xs955 have the same tube and the same picture quality if the input signal quality is good. The xbr960 has better noise handling and better drc. They now say the 955 should show up in Canada by September and that the 960 is not coming to Canada because of a lack of dealer interest.

Here is the MOST IMPORTANT difference between the XBR and the XS. The XBR has Firewire, the XS doesn't. What's the point of having an integrated tuner if you can't record anything from it? An integrated HD receiver with firewire is the most required item here since the Canadian cable companies don't have firewire on their receivers. When cablecards will be activated, only the xbr960 owners will be able to record HD. This feature is the ultimate reason to buy in the United States of America.

Are you suggesting that it doesn't make a difference where you buy as long as you register it? I wouldn't take any chances myself. Why would SOny essentially eat a $2500 television if they don't have to? If they cam back and said "sorry, but it was not purchased through an authorized dealer, we can't offer any warranty support" I can't imagine I'd have much ground to stand on. Anyway, when in doubt, call Sony and ask.

Originally posted by gundyrat1
If you register it after you get it up and runing you should never have any problem getting it Authorized for Service

Originally posted by Phantastica
One question, is it possible to skip the inputs that don't have anything connected to them when switching inputs with the TV/VIDEO button?

in the menu options where you can label the input, ie DVD, cable, game,etc choose SKIP so that when you press the Input button on the remote it'll skip that input. At least that's how it worked on previous generation Sony's

Absolutely do not believe anything technical a Comcast employee tells you about cablecards and what they do. At this point it is more likely to be wrong than right.

A cable box does two things for you, it provides a tuner and a programmable descrambler. If it's an analog cable box it tunes analog signals, if it's a digital cable box it handles analog and digital signals, if it's an HD cable box, it adds HD to the other two.

The tuner in the XBR960 is like the tuner in an HD cable box. Even without a cablecard, it will allow your set to display all channels, HD or otherwise, that are not scrambled by Comcast. I don't get my cablecard for another week but I've been watching the local network HD channels carried by Comcast and a few others: NBC, OPB, ABC etc. because at this point those channels are not scrambled.

The cablecard does the other thing that a cable box does. Properly programmed by Comcast, the cablecard will unscramble all the scrambled channels your particlular cable subscription allows you to see.

Can anyone recommend a reliable NYC dealer offering the 960? J&R, where I usually purchase such big ticket items, don't have it listed on their website (nor does Circuit City, though some people in this thread have mentioned ordering 960s from CC). I'm not in a hurry to buy one, but I'd like to do so by the end of August.

Here are some photos with everything in place. They're a little grainy. Any strange patterns you see on the screen aren't apparent without a camera.

Number 2

Number 3

Number 4

Man makes me want to run out and buy one right now. I think I have to sell a few things first!!

Can you or anyone provide a good picture of the inputs on the rear?

Originally posted by andrewjnyc
Can anyone recommend a reliable NYC dealer offering the 960? J&R, where I usually purchase such big ticket items, don't have it listed on their website (nor does Circuit City, though some people in this thread have mentioned ordering 960s from CC). I'm not in a hurry to buy one, but I'd like to do so by the end of August.

Will the CC's in the NYC area pricematch the J&R's, ShopSunshines, and other Brooklyn camera a/v shops?

After clearing up some cabling issues, I must say I'm very pleased with SD on this TV. I'm not seeing any of the artifacting at home that I saw in the store.

I haven't done any tuning yet except for changing "vivid" to "standard" and then boosting the brightness a bit.

After giving the various modes for putting a 4:3 picture on a 16:9 screen a fair trial, I must say I'm very glad I bought a CRT-based TV rather than one more likely to have bar burn-in issues. I can't stand to watch the stretch modes and I don't much like cutting off parts of the picture either.

If its in the same area, CC will pricematch. As long as those other places are actual stores and not web based, they will pricematch. Im not sure if their policy is within the same state or based on mileage.....

Sears is the only store I know that is willing to pricematch website prices, and they dont carry the XBR line.

Has anyone tried the Memorystick slot/ image viewer? I'm curious whether the TV would display pictures in 1080i (or 720p).

Phantastica,

What are you using to manage your HTPC?

Originally posted by Phantastica
Here are some photos with everything in place. They're a little grainy. Any strange patterns you see on the screen aren't apparent without a camera.
Hey that looks terrific! What kind of videocard are you using in your htpc? Did you have to tinker with the display settings vis-à-vie PowerStrip?

Originally posted by daumier
Has anyone tried the Memorystick slot/ image viewer? I'm curious whether the TV would display pictures in 1080i (or 720p).

Yes, it displays Memorystick images in 1080i!

I think that the 960 can only do 1080i, right?

Originally posted by doretta
After clearing up some cabling issues, I must say I'm very pleased with SD on this TV. I'm not seeing any of the artifacting at home that I saw in the store.

I haven't done any tuning yet except for changing "vivid" to "standard" and then boosting the brightness a bit.

After giving the various modes for putting a 4:3 picture on a 16:9 screen a fair trial, I must say I'm very glad I bought a CRT-based TV rather than one more likely to have bar burn-in issues. I can't stand to watch the stretch modes and I don't much like cutting off parts of the picture either.

Some members here mentioned that not filling the screen with an image will not cause burn in. I am not certain of this though. I read several articles about burn-in in Direct View CRT's. Even though its not as easy to get as other types of set's. It is POSSIBLE. Burn in is caused by Uneven wear of phosphors. By Watching 4:3 programming, black bars are produced on the sides and possibly on the bottom as well. These Phosphors are not being used. Eventually, you will see ghosting (from the black bars). Im not sure how much of a threat to direct View CRT's there is, BUT I plan on keeping my set for 10+ years. I can tolerate the wide zoom mode (best of all other modes IMO) More than I can tolerate Burn in (In a few years). With correct settings, the chances of getting burn-in is slim. BUT it is possible. There is even a blurb about a warning in the Sony Manual. They would not include that warning if it was not possible.


Here is a quote from a webpage:

"Burn-in can be caused by black bars. Filling the screen with a moving picture is the safest way to view non-wide-screen content on 16:9 direct-view CRT or plasma flat-panel and CRT-based rear-projection displays. Leaving the black bars on for an extended period of time can cause permanent damage to the display--often called burn-in or image retention--which often isn't covered by the warranty. There are plenty of things you can do to help avoid burn-in: look for a set that produces gray bars (instead of black) to either side of the 4:3 image and/or features other ways to combat burn-in; turn contrast down to 50 percent or lower; balance your 4:3 viewing with more wide-screen material (sports and animation in particular make good candidates for stretching). Burn-in does not affect LCD, DLP, or LCoS TVs and is much less likely to affect direct-view tube TVs."
http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5140690-2.html

"and is much less likely to affect direct-view tube TVs."-- so this means it is possible...

Possible, but not likely. If you properly set the brightness and contrast you should be fine.

Originally posted by hardwired
Will the CC's in the NYC area pricematch the J&R's, ShopSunshines, and other Brooklyn camera a/v shops?

The CC in Wayne NJ matched the quote I got from J&R's website when I bought my Sony last year.

So the delivery guys show up last night with my 960 and they say "you might want to come take a look before be bother to unload it"

Sure enough...two big holes torn through the front and back of the box...big enough to look through :eek: The back of the set is smashed and the front has a big gash taken out of the tube :mad:

Apparently (so I'm told), it was like that when the local delivery company took posession but they were told they had to attempt delivery anyway and let me refuse it...which I did of course. So now I'm waiting to hear back from Sony on sending another out ASAP...and I though I was all but done with this long ordeal :rolleyes:

TH3_FRB,
Man, sorry to hear about that. What a bummer.

Yeah man. I've got it sold so I wasn't expecting to be watching it anyway, but I was supposed to drive it to the new owner this weekend and now sh has to wait another couple weeks for the replacement to arrive. I picked up one of thos Sanyo's at WalMart (don't laugh, it's a damn nice 32" HD set actually) to hold me through the summer till I figure the DLP options out. I just wanted to be done dealing with this warranty claim crap.

Originally posted by TCB
TH3_FRB,
Man, sorry to hear about that. What a bummer.

I did say I was glad I got a CRT-based set rather than one that was MORE LIKELY to have burn-in issues. Plasma is the only other type of display I considered as I have other objections to LCDs and projection units.

I too expect to use my TV for 10 years. The set I retired is a 15-year-old, 27" Sony that's been fairly heavily used and was a display model when I bought it. It's still going strong and the picture compares favorably with most of what's on the market today.

SD is maybe 25% of our use of this TV now and I expect that will go down even further in the future. I feel quite comfortable not stretching SD on this set. I would have some concern if I had a plasma monitor and that would detract from my enjoyment of the TV.

If wide zoom works for you, more power to you. For me, it's like watching TV in a funhouse--amusing in its own way, but not the experience I'm normally after when I turn on the television.

so how big is the box? I'm trying to figure out if I can pickup it up using an SUV. anyone have an idea?

Mine is 44.5" x 32" x 30".

Originally posted by MoneyMINTR
Phantastica,

What are you using to manage your HTPC?

Here's the HTPC lowdown (this is getting a little off topic):

Software:

- Windows Media Center 2004
- BeyondTV (for pvr'ing)
- DVHScap for capturing HD content through firewire
- Zoomplayer for media playback
- Powerstrip for resolution management
- Girder for controlling the PC with a universal remote and for tuning the cable box\

Hardware:

- Athlon XP 2500 Moblie Barton clocked to XP 3200 speeds
- Radeon 9800 NP flashed with Pro bios and cooled with Artic Cooling VGA Silencer
- ATI DVI/Component adapter
- Asus A7N8X with Dolby Digital 5.1
- 512mb OCZ 3200 Ram
- Seagate Barricuda SATA Hard Drive (not all that quiet)
- Hauppauge PVR250
- USB-UIRT
- Logitech wireless keyboard/optical mouse
- Antec P160 case

It's all working very seamlessly with the 34XBR960 right now. I originally thought that I would need to run everything through Windows Media Center because of the 10 foot interface. But everything is so crisp on this TV that I can use the computer like normal without straining my eyes to read the text. It was very easy finding timings and resolutions that work with this TV. It could handle almost anything I threw at it. You can tell that everything is being scaled up to 1080i, but at resolutions around 1280x720, the amount of flicker is pretty minimal.

HD content being played from the PC is drop dead gorgeous! I really don't think it could look better. The colour and quality blew me away (the same can be said for regular HDTV content from the cable box).

Games also look amazing. So far, every game I've tried has supported widescreen resolutions. Last night I loaded up the Half Life 2 beta and the combination of the wide screen aspect ratio, high resolution, and 5.1 surround sound made it an extremely cinematic experience.

I honestly expected the setup and integration with this set to be more complicated, but everything went smoothly and the whole experience is pretty seamless at this point.

The 34XBR960 is definitely cutout for having a computer attached to the other end!

I'll take some better photos this weekend when I have some daylight to work with. I'll be sure to get some detailed photos of the front and rear panel.

Well, everything is finally delivered, set up and working properly. Here it is....
(DVD player: Denon 2200; Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR600)
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v290/smirnoffski/DSC04234.jpg

Anyone have a front-to-back measurement of the base? (not the overall depth, just how deep a piece of furniture I'll need to make sure the feet are completely on the top.)

Nice setup man! Enjoy your new XBR960! :D

Originally posted by Phantastica


HD content being played from the PC is drop dead gorgeous! I really don't think it could look better. The colour and quality blew me away (the same can be said for regular HDTV content from the cable box).

Games also look amazing. So far, every game I've tried has supported widescreen resolutions. Last night I loaded up the Half Life 2 beta and the combination of the wide screen aspect ratio, high resolution, and 5.1 surround sound made it an extremely cinematic experience.

I honestly expected the setup and integration with this set to be more complicated, but everything went smoothly and the whole experience is pretty seamless at this point.

The 34XBR960 is definitely cutout for having a computer attached to the other end!

I'll take some better photos this weekend when I have some daylight to work with. I'll be sure to get some detailed photos of the front and rear panel.

Did you already give an opinion on non-hd/sd/analog PQ?

thx

bob

Phantastica,

I've got a couple questions about the workings of i.Link and the XBR960.

What device does the XBR960 show up as under XP? AV/C Tuner? Were there any drivers that you had to go find, or did it `just work'? From some of the other threads in the HDTV Recorders forum, it seems that it's a bit of a pain to get the drivers setup?

I have to say that the thought of playing around with the i.Link on the XBR960 is what's got me the most excited and anxious for mine to show up! =)

Does anyone know how to change the black bars to gray. I can't figure out why one station (kyw-dt 3.1) has gray bars while the rest (whyy-dt, wcau-dt etc.) do not.

Thanks

Well this set finally shows up on the CC website! I'm in NYC and it shows availability on-line and in two NJ stores. Free basic delivery..but no free stand like that had with the 910. Does anyone know if CC will have an "official" sale on the 960?

AFAIK, the grey bars are put there by the broadcaster on 4:3 upconverted programming, not by your TV. I get the same thing in Salt Lake City, the local HD CBS station has gray bars on my 32HS420, whereas the others are black. It looks like kyw-dt is your local HD CBS station?

The gray bars are actually a pretty annoying on the 32" model, since with the squeezed picture on HD signals there are very black bars on top and bottom. It really makes me appreciate the Zoom function on that set. =)

Originally posted by snclawson
Phantastica,

I've got a couple questions about the workings of i.Link and the XBR960.

What device does the XBR960 show up as under XP? AV/C Tuner? Were there any drivers that you had to go find, or did it `just work'? From some of the other threads in the HDTV Recorders forum, it seems that it's a bit of a pain to get the drivers setup?

I have to say that the thought of playing around with the i.Link on the XBR960 is what's got me the most excited and anxious for mine to show up! =)

The firewire line that I'm running into my PC is from the Motorola 6200 box, not the XBR960. If I have a chance this weekend then I'll give it a shot.

As for my impressions of the SD quality, it's about what I'd expect. The Motorola 6200 is doing the actual tuning, so I can't comment on the XBR960's tuner, but its ability to display SD (analogue and digital) doesn't strike me as being poor. The biggest problem I have is with the amount of compression that Comcast has on a lot of their channels. SD channels that have either better encoding or a higher bitrate look pretty solid though. In my opinion the XBR960 is doing a good job of displaying SD. I'm coming from a 20 inch tv though, so anything is going to be a big step forward.

Man, this is a long thread. Has anyone done a side by side with the 910? My biggest problem with the 910 is the lack of brightness in certain modes.

What I find really weird about the 960 is that it doesn't say XBR anywhere on the front. To me, XBR is a selling feature and something to show with pride. I'd be disappointed not having the little logo on the front.

..says trinitron XBR Super Fine Pitch right on the flip-up front panel.

Unusually enough, this TV does not have feet. The bottom is flat and also the wing-like things on the sides that extend forward a bit (which you fasten to the Sony stand, if you buy a Sony stand) also rest on the stand surface.

If you want everything that could be on the surface to rest on the surface with no overhang, your stand needs to be a minimum of 22" deep.

Mine is 24" deep and I have a bit more than an inch and a quarter clearance in front and a little less than three quarters of an inch in back. That's just about right, in my opinion. Which is just dumb luck on my part, since I bought the stand before the TV was even available. Did I say I have about 1/2 inch extra on either side of the TV too? Did I mention dumb luck?

I've seen mentioned in a few 910 reviews that in order to appreciate the added resolution in the tube you must have the contrast set fairly low (Perfect Vision). Can anyone say if this is lower than required for accurate calibration...and is it evidenced in the 960?

I've only read the first 2 pages of this thread (boy, is it long), and a lot of people have said that the Sony KD-34XBR960 is not available at Best Buy. I work at a Best Buy in the Chicagoland area and have been following this TV since it was announced. So one day I punched in the model number into our system and the TV's info came up. I was surprised because our store never carries XBRs. I even did a fake delivery and used my name and address as the recipient, and it went through. Of course I had to void the transaction because I can't sell myself a TV...BUT ANYWAY, yes Best Buy has it in their system, but I don't think they're gonna get any for display on the sales floor. It's probably gonna be a special order item only. Hell, maybe I'll buy it, get it delivered, then return it to the store and display it myself. Last time I checked it was the same price as on SonyStyle.com, but you can always go to the store and tell them to do a price check. I don't know the SKU number offhand, but I can check in about 4 hours since I have a store meeting in about that time.

I've tried offering this TV to customers, but none of them are interested. Same thing when we had the KV-34HS510. They'd come in and ask me "What's the best TV you guys got?" So, I'd walk them to the 34HS510 and they would laugh at me or look confused and say: "But it's so small?" or "Wait...this isn't a plasma." Well, enough complaining for me. I gotta get some sleep before that meeting. (10 bucks says I forget to wake up)

I'd love the Best Buy SKU. If you can find it in the system in Chicago, would it necessarily be available as a special order here in NJ?

I heard on the news that Sony is going to be producing the tubes ina different country. This was a few months ago, so I dont remember the exact details...

Originally posted by foxfan
Here is the MOST IMPORTANT difference between the XBR and the XS. The XBR has Firewire, the XS doesn't. What's the point of having an integrated tuner if you can't record anything from it? An integrated HD receiver with firewire is the most required item here since the Canadian cable companies don't have firewire on their receivers. When cablecards will be activated, only the xbr960 owners will be able to record HD. This feature is the ultimate reason to buy in the United States of America.

I'm contemplating buying this in the US, even though I live in Montreal. Closest place might be Plattsburgh Vt? If anyone knows a good price for the set in Plattsburgh or Burlington, please let me know! *If* something should go wrong with this set, what would I have to do, since the warranty is US and I'm in Canada?

I usually don't watch 4:3 tv but I have been catching a few programs in this mode and have noticed something odd. On the extreme left (of the image that is being displayed) there is a vertical row of red pixels and on the extreme right of the image is a vertical row of blue pixels. Do any other owners have this anomaly and if so, is this something that can be fixed via user settings and/or service menu adj.?

Originally posted by Jack Gilvey
I'd love the Best Buy SKU. If you can find it in the system in Chicago, would it necessarily be available as a special order here in NJ?

The SKU is: 6718572
These SKUs are company-wide, so your local Best Buy rep should be able to order it from anywhere. To find out for sure, just go to the store and tell an employee to look it up. In the delivery screen, it will say: "Store Amount: 0 , Warehouse Amount: 0" That's cool because it's a special order item, but the delivery should still go through. Let me know of any problems.

I also looked for other models in the system and found out that Best Buy is also getting the KD-34XS955 and KD-30XS955 models, but not until September. And I think that these will actually be on display in the store and not just a special order item.

Bestbuy has the Sony HTIB Model: HT-6600DP for $449.99. I belive Circuit City has a 14 day price match policy. I went in and PM for the price difference + 10% of the difference. Circuit City had this for $559 when I bought it a week ago w/ my XBR 960 (which is till on order) and now they have it for $499. Good luck (take the print out of Bestbuy to them) Remember your XBR960 and HTIB have to be on the same receipt for the $400 rebate. In the end you pay around $90 after taxes for a $500 theatre system. I had a 10% off any audio/theatre system coupon; they would not let me pricematch and use the 10% off. I argued that anyone can walk in and price match, but everyone did not get a "special" coupon which I got in the mail for moving to my new residence. Manager wouldn't budge and made a comment that he gurantees that it's on sale and will find out during lunch. I'm guessing they don't price match clearance itmes; however, I didn't see it say clearance. Regardeless, I didn't argue because I was getting a good deal anyway. Good luck.


UPDATE: Circuit City.com has a 110% 30 day price match gurantee. In store probably has the same thing.
http://www.circuitcity.com/cs_contentdisplay.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&incat=11061

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051826209511&skuId=5382105&productCategoryId=cat03010&type=product

I bet you that 10% off coupon says something like "Not good with any other offer" on it in fine print, and that's why you can't get both deals. Same thing over at Best Buy, a price match counts as a promotion and you can't get two promotions (there are very rare instances). Best Buy was also the first to have that 110% 30-day price match dealy....so go to hell Circuit City! Nah, just kidding. I like the product they have over at CC better anyway. Actually, look for some "special" Best Buy stores (upgraded stores) that are going to carry product that the other stores don't have. Mine is currently being remodeled to become one of these stores.

Thanks for the SKU, LordSte...I'll let you know how I make out.

bnbhoha,

Thanks for the heads up on the best buy price. Do you need a coupon to show CC the price BB are offering for or do they call them?

Got my DVE on Friday and I tried to calibrate my TV. Quite frankly (this may be due to my untrained eye), the adjustments that I ended up making - which do not involve entering the service menu - did not veer off far from the 'Cinema' (? I think that's what its called) setting. And I was rather disappointed with the result -- I thought the picture looked much darker and less detailed than before.

I have to say that I was limited in the amount of adjustments available to me. For example, I was able to adjust the color and hue fairly well when viewing the screen using the supplied blue filter. But my green was way off, and the red (even after switching to 'monitor' mode to de-emphasize the red), was not looking so hot either.

I also had difficulties with the picture setting - I couldn't figure out at what point the grey boxes began to 'bloom'. Quite frankly, I couldn't see much difference, other than the grey boxes look brighter at the higher setting.

The one problem I had that I wished I could fix was still present. Basically, when viewing straight lines (e.g. picture of words or banners), I notice a second thin line that sits right above the line. This is present regardless whether I'm watching satellite or DVD. Adjusting the sharpness to minimum helps somewhat, but it's causing the picture to be way too soft. Plus the lines are still visible. I also turned off the TrueEdge (?) feature to no avail.

My questions:
1. the line issue - is this something that can be fixed by using the service menu?
2. is DVE really not that useful unless one uses it to calibrate the tv via the service menu?
3. does anyone know a trustworthy and experienced ISF calibrator in Portland Ore? :D

Originally posted by bada
I'm contemplating buying this in the US, even though I live in Montreal. Closest place might be Plattsburgh Vt? If anyone knows a good price for the set in Plattsburgh or Burlington, please let me know! *If* something should go wrong with this set, what would I have to do, since the warranty is US and I'm in Canada?

Two years ago I bought my 34XBR800 in Canada. The list price in Canada was 20% higher than the US list price after currency correction. IMO, the 34XBR960 is not being offered in Canada because our cable companies are not ready for a cablecard TV, if ever.

If you buy in Plattsburgh, you will probably pay the list price and a local NY state tax. If you can get the retailer to drive it to the border (for a fee), you might be exempt from NY state sales tax. At the border, you will have to argue that the TV is manufactured in Mexico or the US and is therefore exempt from import duty under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Ask at the border before you buy. You will pay the same Canadian sales taxes that you would have paid on a TV bought in Canada. I would expect your landed price before taxes to be around $3100 CDN. The list price of the 34XBR910 in Canada is $3800 CDN and you might get at best a 5% discount in Canada. So for a savings of about $575 CDN you get the equivalent of a second generation XBR910 with an internal tuner and a firewire output.

If it breaks down in the first two years, you will have to drive the set back to Plattsburgh for servicing. If your Canadian bought XBR910 breaks down, you will be protected for the first year by Sony Canada, and for the second year by the credit card company policy if you have a MOSAIK like credit card.

I personally have imported DVD electronics from the US when no longer available in Canada, otherwise for a heavy, fragile item like a TV, I would stomach the 20% penalty for living in Canada. Take heart, the Canadian built Toyota Matrix cost thousands less in Canada than in the U.S.

NO coupon needed to pricemat bestbuy, just printout the above link and take to circuit city. That's it. Good luck.

p.s. my coupon that I tried to use didn't have any restrictions like can't be combined w/ other offers etc. I was a coupon they sent to your new residence. I think they could have used it if they wanted to.

Can anyone else confirm if BB can have it? I called the Williston, VT store and gave them the SKU. They said it didn't exist. I would much rather buy at BB since their extended service plan has worldwide coverage. I'll check again on another day...

Daumier, I don't think blooming boxes is the best way to set contrast as I'm not sure if every set blooms all that noticeably.

As far as loss of detail, remember that with the sharpness control turned down, at first it seems like you've lost detail, but now you're actually seeing more detail as the picture takes on a more film like appearance.

I had one hell of a time getting the pricematch at Circuit City. I had a printout of the BestBuy.com web page showing the price and that it was in-stock at the local store. I ended up having to go to two different Circuit City's and get the manager involved (on both ends!) to get it done.

At first Circuit City claimed that they wouldn't do the pricematch because they don't match `internet prices' and said that I could bring in the shelf-tag from the BestBuy! When they did call the BestBuy store, they initially clamed to not carry the item, then changed their tune to say that they did have it, but that their price was full list $599.99 (even claiming to have checked the shelf tag)). This was the point that the manager of the Circuit City called and talked to the manager of the Best Buy and they managed to finally clear things up.

Part of the problem could be that the HT6600DP is actually on clearance at BestBuy (that's what it says on the shelf tag), so it might not show up normally in their system anymore? I notice that if you put it in your cart online that it says that it's on backorder. It still seems to be available pretty widely locally though (all three of my local stores have them).

Foxfan,

Go to BestBuy.com and search for ``HT-6600DP'' (you have to have the dash in there, otherwise it won't show up). Once you're at the HT-6600DP's page, click on `Select preferred store availability.'' link and type in the zip code. I just did this for Williston (zip code 05495 as far as I can tell), and it says that it's available at the Williston VT store, the West Lebanon NH store _and_ the Saratoga Springs NY store.

SnClawson,

I had ZERO problem with the price match. I just walked up to the counter and said That Best buy was selling it for a cheaper price. They told me eithor print the best buy webpage with the ad or give them the phone number to call. They pointed me to a koisk in the store, so I printed the ad out and not only did they match the price, but added 10 percent more. I cant list prices, but lets just say I paid $10 cheaper then the best buy price (price match) plus the rebate offer ($400) makes this HTIB cost only $40 (not including tax!). What a STEAL!

-snclawson
I wasn't talking about the HTB kit. I don't want that.

I was talking about the TV.

About the TV, has anyone really SEEN the new 34XBR3 stand yet? I want to know exactly what it looks like.

I've done PMs in the past at Circuit City without any sort of problem, which is what especially drove me nuts! Normally this sort of pain getting a PM done would mean that I was at Best Buy. ;)

I guess that the main thing that I'd like to say is that if anyone does go to get a PM and they call the Best Buy, be prepared for just about anything. In any case, the price is on their web page and the price in the store is the same price.

Originally posted by foxfan


About the TV, has anyone really SEEN the new 34XBR3 stand yet? I want to know exactly what it looks like.

The new 34XBR3 is EXACTLY like the older one except that the grey color is SLIGHTLY darker (I guess I like to use the word slightly...)

Can anyone tell me what the footprint depth of the tv is? I know it is 24" deep, but what I need to know is the depth of what actually touches the TV stand. The stand I have is going to be about 19" deep. Thanks

Originally posted by foxfan
-snclawson
I wasn't talking about the HTB kit. I don't want that.

I was talking about the TV.

About the TV, has anyone really SEEN the new 34XBR3 stand yet? I want to know exactly what it looks like.

search for it on CircuitCity's website, they have that and the 34xbr960, and the pictures for both

OK. Perhaps I should have been more precise. I'm looking for someone to provide more evidence that Best Buy is carrying it. Someone posted that it's in their system and available on a special order basis, but when I called the Best Buy in Williston, VT and gave them the SKU, they said it didn't exist. Was the SKU for the TV or the HTB kit?

I have to buy the XBR960 from Best Buy for warranty purposes.

Unless something has recently changed, Best Buy does not carry the XBR line. CC, Tweeter, Good Guys and others do.

I know that Best Buy usually doesn't carry XBR but how do you explain this?

LordSte wrote:
I work at a Best Buy in the Chicagoland area and have been following this TV since it was announced. So one day I punched in the model number into our system and the TV's info came up. I was surprised because our store never carries XBRs. I even did a fake delivery and used my name and address as the recipient, and it went through. Of course I had to void the transaction because I can't sell myself a TV...BUT ANYWAY, yes Best Buy has it in their system, but I don't think they're gonna get any for display on the sales floor. It's probably gonna be a special order item only. Hell, maybe I'll buy it, get it delivered, then return it to the store and display it myself. Last time I checked it was the same price as on SonyStyle.com, but you can always go to the store and tell them to do a price check. I don't know the SKU number offhand, but I can check in about 4 hours since I have a store meeting in about that time.

Got the unit this morning to replace my old 910. Only had it in about 90 minutes and didn't read the 30 pages prior to this - which may end up being a mistake. If I repeat something, sorry.

It is a tad lighter than the old 910/stand at first blush - possibly even a slightly different texture finish. You heard me right, it a lighter silver, the 910 was a bit darker. I can only tell as I have it in the 910 stand - but will probably change that out.

The OSD is TOTALLY CHANGED from the 910. It gives you a dot where the default is so you can always return it to that point.

First GOTCHA. DVI in Input 7 is gone replaced by HDMI. If you think only a few places carry DVI to DVI cables, try finding a DVI to HDMI cable locally, lol.

You still cannot do 16:9 side by side.

The autoscan setup takes close to 50+ minutes and even states that on screen.

No Cablecard installed yet (see my post under HDTV Recorders for that saga), but it did detect the OTA HD Signals on the cable. However, it has some of the stranges channel numbers besides them I've seen - still haven't figured out a way to manually punch them in.

It did not detect DiscoveryHD and TNTHD which are part of the basic cable package and not restricted as far as I know at this time.

It is having horrible macroblocking on the OTA HD Cable Channels and I know I am giving it atleast 0dbm going in.

I have not seen a way to use both Cable and OTA at the same time on the unit, even though there are inputs for both. You probably have to change this in the setup between cable and antenna - but will RTFM later.

The picture IS WAY TO HOT out of the box in the default settings compared to the 910. It's going to take a while to get this one settled down.

The firewire detects the STB (SA-3250HD) and the DVHS (JVC 30k) and even able to control the DVHS functions on the screen with the Sony Remote with no additional setup issues. HOWEVER, I have NOT been able to send a signal OUT of the Sony to the DVHS and make it record.

It's doing one thing that I cannot figure out for the life of me. I have the STB plugged into a standard Video in on one input and the YPbPr to Input 5 on the DTV side. When watching S.W.A.T just now on Showtime in HD, the Sony knew it was SWAT and how much time was left when I was on input 2 in 4:3. However, when I go to the YPbPr settings on Input 5 from same STB it has no idea what the program is or the time left.

How it is getting that info through the 4:3 is beyond me unless its encoded in the signal that I never knew about before. Of course, I never had any reason to look for or have it displayed on a TV screen either. If it was there, I am surprised the STB Program Guide doesnt show it.

As I get more into it, I'll let you know the comparison.

OMG! You bought the new 960 to replace your "old" 910?! In my wildest dreams I should be rich enough to buy a $2,000+ tv set every year. Congratulations to you! I'm still making due with my dinosaur 34XBR800; poor me. Well, you'd better put your order in now for next year's Sony which I'm sure will have "Even more super fine pitch HD". Sorry, just a bit of fun at your expense.

Actually, no.

The aperture on my 910 was defective and the set had so many other problems, it was the worse one the tech had ever seen. Instead of the weeks of repair to send it to South Florida, they offered me the newer one.

I purchased the extended warranty for $200 as we are in the lightning capital of the world and pointed out that I shouldn't be without a TV for 3 weeks as the selling points was they were local and supported their product.

At first they tried to give me one of the showroom demo 910s as they had no more in stock. I refused.

Calls to every officer at their corporate office got me a new 960.

Considering that I purchased a DVHS in May from them, 100 DVHS tapes in June and countless other electronic gear through the years, they probably found it worth their while to keep me happy.

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
The firewire detects the STB (SA-3250HD) and the DVHS (JVC 30k) and even able to control the DVHS functions on the screen with the Sony Remote with no additional setup issues. HOWEVER, I have NOT been able to send a signal OUT of the Sony to the DVHS and make it record.


Try connecting just the JVC to the Sony. The SA-3250HD may not like more than one unit on the Firewire bus and could be tying up the bus. If you connect the JVC's component cables to the Sony, you should be able to use the PIP window to confirm when you do have the Firewire connection working.

Also, try connecting just the SA-3250HD to the Sony. A previous post indicated that some cable STBs will stream content directly to the TV.

-Dylan

Is it me or does this TV have a slow refresh rate. I am sure it is probably the same as other brands, but for a tv that just came out it should be improved. Also, at first the remote looks great, and then you go to program it and it doesn't have codes for a couple of my components. For instance there are no Denon DVD codes. I guess this means that I have yet another useless remote. And the remote has no learning feature either.

Originally posted by triplex
Is it me or does this TV have a slow refresh rate. I am sure it is probably the same as other brands, but for a tv that just came out it should be improved. Also, at first the remote looks great, and then you go to program it and it doesn't have codes for a couple of my components. For instance there are no Denon DVD codes. I guess this means that I have yet another useless remote. And the remote has no learning feature either.

Identical remote to the 910

I was hoping if someone could enlighten me on a comparison between the 40 inch Sony and the XBR960. I still am waiting for my pre-order from CC and each time I go in there to look at the 910, I have a little bit of buyers remorse because it seems kind of small for my big living room. I want a huge tv like the 40 inch but want a widescreen at the same time. Currently, I'm told that 34 inch widesreen is the biggest they make right now.

I was wondering how the 40 inch in widescreen would compare to the 960. Since it's bigger, would it be equivalent or slightly larger; I know I will have the black bars on top and bottom but in widescreen is it the same or bigger? I can pick it up for the same price of the 960 and realize that it doesn't have a built in tuner or card slot etc and it is a 3 year old model with no plans to come out with a new model. Ialso know there's some kind of formula out there, but I can't seem to find the thread. The 40 inch would look/fit a little better in my square slot they built near by fireplace in my new home. I appreciate any input. Thanks

2 corrections after spending more time with the 960.

1) The remote though almost identical to the 910 is slightly different in that it has added an ilink button uptop on the sources, as well as a freeze, jump and exit button on the button.

2) You can use the Antenna and Cable at the same time, selectable through the SAT/CABLE/ANT button. You might have been able to do something similar with the 910 and I never knew it - but the ANT - SAT/CABLE were on different buttons on the 910 remote.

Additions from 910.

Much greater control with settings instead of a line graph in the 910.

More labels for the Video Source than the 910 - and you can reuse the labels which you could not do with the 910.

I believe there are more memory settings of controls with the 910.

The manual says you can record out to a DVHS though I have not yet been able to get that to work - though it hasnt been my top priority.

It has a very good diagnostic page for the ATSC channels that gives you a lot of critical info from frequency to strength to S/N Ratio to Errors to AGC percent.

My only complaint not mentioned previously is that there were not more HD inputs added as I ran out of HiDef inputs within 2 weeks of getting the 910.

Originally posted by bnbhoha
I was hoping if someone could enlighten me on a comparison between the 40 inch Sony and the XBR960.

I was wondering how the 40 inch in widescreen would compare to the 960. Since it's bigger, would it be equivalent or slightly larger; I know I will have the black bars on top and bottom but in widescreen is it the same or bigger?

It's actually an inch smaller in 16:9. 33" compared to the 34" of the 910/960.

I have a friend that picked one up a year ago as he stated most content was still in 4:3 format.

After getting home and seeing what HD 16:9 format looked like, he says over the long term he wished he had picked up the 34" 16:9 instead.

The 4:3 is about 27 1/2 inches on the 34".

You have to decide what's important to you.

I thought it was closer to 36.5 inches in widescreen.

33" is right for the 36" 4:3 screen. The 40" has at least a 36" 16:9 picture.

Thank you. I just read some reviews at CC and one person said it was 37 inches widescreen and another said 36. So you actually get more TV with the 40XBR800 then? Thanks

Don't forget that engaging the vertical compression of the raster is VERY difficult on the power supply of the monitor. You prematurely age the monitor when you are engaging the 16:9 window on any 4:3 monitor.

Originally posted by shugazer9
I thought it was closer to 36.5 inches in widescreen.

I've never measured it. Telling you what a friend of mine said who does have it. It *assume* he wouldnt make that statement otherwise.

I HAVE MEASURED the 960 in 4:3 and I can tell you its no 33". It's 27 1/2 inches diag.

"You prematurely age the monitor when you are engaging the 16:9 window on any 4:3 monitor"

I don't doubt you; does anyone else concur? If that's the case, perhaps I should reconsider my options. I really like the 40 inch but in a couple of years when everything is widescreen I don't want to "age" the TV.



p.s. I know this thread is about 960 and I will refrain from asking any more questions on this TV. Thaks

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
No Cablecard installed yet (see my post under HDTV Recorders for that saga), but it did detect the OTA HD Signals on the cable. However, it has some of the stranges channel numbers besides them I've seen - still haven't figured out a way to manually punch them in.


I'm assuming the cablecard will change the channel number thing. I'm supposed to get mine tomorrow.

In the meantime, to manually choose channels like 77.4 or 90.60, use the number pad and the '.' button that's below the '7' and to the left of the '0'.

Anyone here bought their 960 from:
wholesaleconnection.com/

Or anything?

Uh-oh...

The shipping availablilty on sonystyle.com for the XBR960 has gone from the standard ``5-12 business days'' to ``Shipping date not available. We will notify you by email when this product has shipped.''

The 34XS955 is supposed to be out in less than a week (July 26th), I wonder if some of the production capacity has gone to getting it ready? I was excited to see that another Circuit City locally got their display model 34XBR960 in, but all other signs still point to a shortage. =(

I got mine on Monday. Ordered it from SonyStyle.com on Wednesday. Obviously very quick turnaround.

Fabulous picture AND great audio to boot!

I can tell you that the Florida warehouse of Sound Advice (a tweeter company) got 40 in on 7/15 and has another shipment due at the end of this week - so not sure what the shortage is.

There is no shortage. Let's not start rumors. :) I know that Ultimate Electronics is expecting 175 units in mid-August.

The sound quality is the best I have ever heard out of a TV. Nice bass and treble. The true surround effect is also quite good.

Regarding the poor standard definition channels and digital non HDTV channels; To say it is horrible is ridiculous. The quality varies from channel to channel, but it is very watchable. The picture does seem a little washed out (blury), but I don't know if blaming the TV is correct.

Watching DVDs in widescreen mode and HDTV channels are what this TV is all about.

First, let me thank everyone for the excellent information in this thread. You've help convince me that the XBR960 should fit my needs. The only thing I need to convince me to fork over the cash was to see one in action. I was ecstatic when I found out the Circuit City store in Raleigh, NC has an XBR960 on display. The only problem is that Circuit City had an absolutely terrible feed to the TV and the HD picture looks terrible (Tons of noise and very large artifacts). The SD input actually looked cleaner than the HD input. I'm assuming that this was caused by poor cabling since the XBR960 was the only TV showing these problems, but I couldn't convince the store rep to hook the TV up to another source to verify this. I was about to go ahead and place an order (despite the poor demo) until the sales rep clarified the CC return policy for me. CC will allow a return within 30 days; but unless you exchange the returned TV for another TV of equal or greater value, you are charged a 15% restocking fee. This policy allows you to return a defective TV without penalty, but it could be fairly expensive if you're not happy with the TV...especially considering the XBR960 is at the top of this chain for this class of TV.

Since so many people have recommended CC over other stores, because of their return policy, I was wondering if these people were aware of this restocking fee policy. Is anyone aware of another store that has a more lenient return policy? If I'm going to pay MSRP for the XBR960, I'd like to deal with a more accommodating store. Otherwise, I'd like to save a few hundred dollars and deal with with another store that has a similar return policy.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.

I just went over a reciept that I've got from Circuit City and it mentions a 15% restocking fee, but only for things that have a 14 day return policy (computer hardware and other such things). I've never heard that it applies to TVs.

I just read my CC receipt for the 34xbr960 and it does not mention a 15% restocking fee, except for as snclawson noted: digital cameras, camcorders, desktop PCs, monitors, printers, scanners, and radar detectors.

That being said, I think Tweeter and some other chains have 60 day or more return policies and Tweeter will price match. I went with CC principally because they had the TV first. My dealings with CC have been very good. That being said, it sometimes depends on who you are dealing with at CC.

This is something I've never heard before...care to support it with some data or a tech report or something? If this is indeed the case, why wouldn't the 4:3 content on a widescreen set have the same isseu?

Originally posted by Segaboy
Don't forget that engaging the vertical compression of the raster is VERY difficult on the power supply of the monitor. You prematurely age the monitor when you are engaging the 16:9 window on any 4:3 monitor.

I had a 40XBR800 and the 16:9 picture size is almost 37" diag. So yes, you get a larger picture in both 4:3 and 16:9 with the 40". But it'll cost you 100lbs and potential color purity and geometry issues. If you get a good one then it's a great option...especially considering the current discounts being offered plus the $400 rebate if you do the Sony home theater deal.

Originally posted by bnbhoha
Thank you. I just read some reviews at CC and one person said it was 37 inches widescreen and another said 36. So you actually get more TV with the 40XBR800 then? Thanks

So I finally saw the 960 at the independent store I've been recommending. Here's what happened:
3 salesguys behind the counter, standing and joking among themselves, ignored me for 10 minutes. I finally dragged one over to the 960 and pointed out that the PQ was terrible! Much worse than a $400 SDTV next to it.
He explained that the 960 was just displaying a cheap demo disk for a cheap Bose HTIB. I asked him to put the other TV's DVD in, a fairly new Disney movie, and the PQ was somewhat better but no stunner. Then he says, "We've only got an S-video cable running into it."
What is wrong with these people? Don't they want to sell the TV? Can't they dig up some component cables? "OK guys, here's our marketing plan. We make the 960 look as bad as possible, so people will focus on the cheap Bose HTIB we've got it hooked up to."
I've lost my faith in humanity!

This is a pretty important question to anyone with this TV connected to HD Cable whether viewing OTA signals or with CableCard.

Go to the Advanced Menu and bring up the info on a Cable HD Signal, again either with CableCard or without.

In most cases, it is probably QAM256. Could you please post QAM64 or QAM256 and what your S/N level is?

There seems to be an emerging issue that isn't unique to this set.

Ok, my initial freaking out at sonystyle.com going out of stock on the 960 was unwarranted.

I just got off the phone with Circuit City and they've got them in the regional warehouse and will be shipping them out to the stores which will have them next Thursday! So now at least I've got a timeframe... Oh well, a week longer isn't all that much more to wait. Now I'm just crossing my fingers that I don't get a dud. =)

Comcast installed the cablecard in my XBR960 today.

While he was at it, the technician ran a new cable to the TV so the signal wouldn't be going through two splitters. It was the first cablecard he had installled.

It works great, now I get a label for the channels as well as the channel numbers on the favorites list. Keeps me from having to remember or look up what's what.

I am very happy with this TV.

Originally posted by doretta
Comcast installed the cablecard in my XBR960 today.

While he was at it, the technician ran a new cable to the TV so the signal wouldn't be going through two splitters. It was the first cablecard he had installled.

It works great, now I get a label for the channels as well as the channel numbers on the favorites list. Keeps me from having to remember or look up what's what.

I am very happy with this TV.

What QAM and S/N do you see on the channels?

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
What QAM and S/N do you see on the channels?

256 and on the HD channels between 28-30 dB.

Seems like that SNR is lower than it is supposed to be but I don't see any pixellation issues on any of those channels.

www.shopsunshine.com, has anyone bought from this web site before? I am thinking about buying xbr960 from them, but can't make my decision yet. Hopefully someone else has some experience with them.

I'm not going to post the price here, but they are selling xbr960 for an incredible low price. You can go see for yourself.

Be sure and check the shipping cost. Once shipping to me is added, the price is no lower than I got locally.

Originally posted by doretta
256 and on the HD channels between 28-30 dB.

Seems like that SNR is lower than it is supposed to be but I don't see any pixellation issues on any of those channels.

Specs for QAM 256 call for floor of 32db, so its a shock you can get a lock on the QAM. I am getting pixelazation at 32db. It's looking like this is going to be an issue as the STB has a good 37db S/N on it.

Given the issues with my 910, I am in retrospect SO HAPPY I paid $100 more and got it locally.

It proved the difference in a major headache and a brand new 960.

So is it possible to get the 960 for under $1900 (tax included) at your local?

I live in California, and even adding the shipping cost to the price it's still well under $1900 and I don't have to pay tax since the company is in NY. This kinda low price actually makes me worry about if it is true.

No tax here, but yes, the price you mention is definitely possible.

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
Specs for QAM 256 call for floor of 32db, so its a shock you can get a lock on the QAM. I am getting pixelazation at 32db. It's looking like this is going to be an issue as the STB has a good 37db S/N on it.

Nope, not seeing a single pixel out of place. I've variously seen both 30 and 32 dB as the number below which you are likely to see problems.

Not sure what Comcast tells their techs but mine obviously was puzzled by the marginal signal numbers and the fact that there was no problem with the picture on any of the digital channels. He replaced all the cabling to this set, including the line from the main cable on the street to the house.

I'm a little puzzled by the STB comment. Isn't the reported SNR is a measure of what the cable is delivering to the set?

I've seen mentioned in a few 910 reviews that in order to appreciate the added resolution in the tube you must have the contrast set fairly low (Perfect Vision). Can anyone say if this is lower than required for accurate calibration...and is it evidenced in the 960?

With regard to shopsunshine dot com, I would read up on them at epinions dot com. Read the horror stories about these people. Now, some on this forum have had no problems, but if even 2 of those negative accounts are true on epinions (and I think they're all true) I wouldn't trust them with my money.

Wow this a long thread. I just got through reading all 32 pages. Thanks to all for sharing your experiences on this tv. I am very interested in the 960 and was wondering how the stretch modes were on the xbr960?

Chris

I just got my XBR960 last week. I love the TV but have been having a problem: Whenever the TV has been off for a couple hours and I turn it on, the cable picture is kinda scrambled and I can't get any Digital Channels. If I switch to Twin View the other picture looks fine.

The Only way I know to fix this is to turn off the tv and turn it back on again. After that SD cable looks great, i pick up Digital channels, and HD looks great. Anyone else have this problem or have heard anything about it? Is it possible that one of the tuners is bad?

Originally posted by doretta
Be sure and check the shipping cost. Once shipping to me is added, the price is no lower than I got locally.

Good point. One other thing to add. Don't be too foolish on saving the last dollar on a heavy item like this. I've had a 42" plasma display, a 32" TV, and a 24" computer monitor all broken during shipping. I am considering the XBR960 as my next purchase, and you can bet I will be buying it locally, even if it is a bit more expensive than the best deal on the web.

-Dylan

I just got my XBR960 last week. I love the TV but have been having a problem: Whenever the TV has been off for a couple hours and I turn it on, the cable picture is kinda scrambled and I can't get any Digital Channels. If I switch to Twin View the other picture looks fine.

I had a problem with my tuner as well. The cable SD channels were bad and there was no HD reception for the first 10 minutes or so and then it would immediately improve for some reason. This happened every time from a cold start.

At first I thought it was just a cable problem and upgraded my splitters, etc. and it seemed to work at first. However, I continued to have problems and finally called CC and they were very cooperative about replacing it with a new one. The tech moron CC then sent out claimed there was nothing wrong, since he fiddled with it for 10 minutes and he thought since it improved like it always had, he had "fixed it". He also blamed the surround sound system and everything else. He didn't even know you could get HD channels without a STB and never heard of the digital channels with the decimal point tuning. Finally, I had to just tell him to either take it back or replace it and the supervisor told him "if the customer wants it replaced, replace it." I was still within the 30 day return period.

The new one has worked perfectly.

Originally posted by dahester
Good point. One other thing to add. Don't be too foolish on saving the last dollar on a heavy item like this. I've had a 42" plasma display, a 32" TV, and a 24" computer monitor all broken during shipping. I am considering the XBR960 as my next purchase, and you can bet I will be buying it locally, even if it is a bit more expensive than the best deal on the web.

-Dylan

You'd have to be crazy or really lucky to buy this set mail order. I saw 2 differnt sets last Sunday, 1 at GG and the other at Magnolia. The GG set looked fine but the Magnolia set had such horrible geometry problems ( 4:3 box looked like a trapezoid) !! That I told the sales guy that they were crazy to even display a set with that gross of a problem.

bob

Originally posted by doretta
Nope, not seeing a single pixel out of place. I've variously seen both 30 and 32 dB as the number below which you are likely to see problems.

Not sure what Comcast tells their techs but mine obviously was puzzled by the marginal signal numbers and the fact that there was no problem with the picture on any of the digital channels. He replaced all the cabling to this set, including the line from the main cable on the street to the house.

I'm a little puzzled by the STB comment. Isn't the reported SNR is a measure of what the cable is delivering to the set?

Are you at QAM 256 or QAM 64? QAM 64 spec is down to 28db.

The S/N is a mathmatical formula involving the MERL and a few other things - and it is the line feeding the box.

Originally posted by Busta J
I just got my XBR960 last week. I love the TV but have been having a problem: Whenever the TV has been off for a couple hours and I turn it on, the cable picture is kinda scrambled and I can't get any Digital Channels. If I switch to Twin View the other picture looks fine.

The Only way I know to fix this is to turn off the tv and turn it back on again. After that SD cable looks great, i pick up Digital channels, and HD looks great. Anyone else have this problem or have heard anything about it? Is it possible that one of the tuners is bad?

Again, what is the S/N on the channels you can't get when this happens? Is it QAM 256 or QAM 64.

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
Are you at QAM 256 or QAM 64? QAM 64 spec is down to 28db.

The S/N is a mathmatical formula involving the MERL and a few other things - and it is the line feeding the box.

Definitely at QAM 256.

Right S/N measures the quality of the feed from the cable, so what did you mean by the last sentence of:

Specs for QAM 256 call for floor of 32db, so its a shock you can get a lock on the QAM. I am getting pixelazation at 32db. It's looking like this is going to be an issue as the STB has a good 37db S/N on it.

It means that if you do not have 32db of S/N all bets are off on locking into a QAM signal...or staying locked on.

If you are at 32db or below, you could have the issues listed above in the past several posts.

I have the STB as the cablecard drivers will not be released to the system until further testing. I can look at the S/N of a channel on the STB or the TV with the same feed.

The STB has 37 - the Sony has 32.


The Sony's tuner is more stingy, for lack of a better word, and looses 5db of S/N.


This is also true of the Panasonic and every CableCard TV I have heard of thus far.

If the TV Makers used a different reference than the MSO and are thinking that the S/N should be fine at 32db, there are going to be MAJOR problems.

Well, I am getting my 2nd 960 today at 12:30-2:30pm. Lets hope it comes out perfect. My 1st one had a slight geometric problem in the bottom right hand corner. If this one has that same problem, then I will accept it. If I had to do it over again, i would NEVER have called a sony authorized tech to "fix it". He pretty much destroyed this set. My 30 day policy ends the 28th, so I will have a few days with this 2nd set.

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
I have the STB as the cablecard drivers will not be released to the system until further testing. I can look at the S/N of a channel on the STB or the TV with the same feed.

The STB has 37 - the Sony has 32.


The Sony's tuner is more stingy, for lack of a better word, and looses 5db of S/N.


This is also true of the Panasonic and every CableCard TV I have heard of thus far.



What makes you think the difference is due to the tuner degrading the signal as opposed to the measurement circuitry just measuring low? Do you have display problems when the cable is plugged directly into the TV but no display problems when you feed the TV from the STB?

My experience (perfectly OK picture but SNR reported at 28 on QAM256) would indicate that the measurement circuitry in the set may be underestimating the actual quality of the signal.

Can someone answer this question?

1.) what is Qam?

I checked the diagnostics section of the menu and found out this:

ANTENNA HDTV
Signal strength: 76
Freq: 743000
Modulation: 8vsb
Status: Lock
errors:0
SNR: 22
AGC:29

I dont have Cable Hdtv yet (adelphia does not offer it in my area yet)
Can someone tell me if this is good or what?

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
Again, what is the S/N on the channels you can't get when this happens? Is it QAM 256 or QAM 64.

Its QAM256. What is it and what's the difference between the two?
S/N is usually 30 or 31.

Originally posted by doretta
After clearing up some cabling issues, I must say I'm very pleased with SD on this TV. I'm not seeing any of the artifacting at home that I saw in the store.

I haven't done any tuning yet except for changing "vivid" to "standard" and then boosting the brightness a bit.

After giving the various modes for putting a 4:3 picture on a 16:9 screen a fair trial, I must say I'm very glad I bought a CRT-based TV rather than one more likely to have bar burn-in issues. I can't stand to watch the stretch modes and I don't much like cutting off parts of the picture either.

You're saying the SDTV is bearable BEFORE the cable card, right? As in, straight out of the wall analog cable? Because it may be a deal breaker for me...

I plan on buying from CC, so I know I can just return within 30, but I don't have a pick-up truck to lug the thing both ways. ^_^

Originally posted by theinfamoustimmy
You're saying the SDTV is bearable BEFORE the cable card, right? As in, straight out of the wall analog cable? Because it may be a deal breaker for me...


Right, the analog channels were fine before the cablecard.

Can anybody describe the stretch options - and can it stretch 4:3 sent locally as a 1080i signal with pillar box?

Just ordered mine from Sony.

Anyone know how to program the remote to work with a cable box? Manual says goto pay 51 but it doesn't say how to program the cable box specifically and I haven't been able to get it to work with my Pioneer HDTV tuner.

Originally posted by doretta
What makes you think the difference is due to the tuner degrading the signal as opposed to the measurement circuitry just measuring low? Do you have display problems when the cable is plugged directly into the TV but no display problems when you feed the TV from the STB?




yes

Originally posted by JamisonBWolsh
Can someone answer this question?

1.) what is Qam?

I checked the diagnostics section of the menu and found out this:

ANTENNA HDTV
Signal strength: 76
Freq: 743000
Modulation: 8vsb
Status: Lock
errors:0
SNR: 22
AGC:29

I dont have Cable Hdtv yet (adelphia does not offer it in my area yet)
Can someone tell me if this is good or what?

It is a type of modulation....over the air you are seeing 8vsb. On Cable it will be either QAM64, QAM128 or QAM256. The higher the QAM, the more bandwidth, thus more signals, they can put on the Frequency.

Originally posted by Busta J
Its QAM256. What is it and what's the difference between the two?


The cable company can get more channels on the same frequency with QAM 256 (2 HD Signals of 38Mbps total ) as opposed to QAM64.

I had a number of problems with my 910 which resulted in me getting an upgrade to a 960.

The 960 is also exhibiting some geometry problems I am not thrilled about.

The only way to REALLY fix these things is to take it apart and redo all the magnets on the tube.

I will tell you from my experience with this design, I wouldn't dream of mail ordering this set.

fanatic, do you plan on having the geometry fixed? Mine could also use some improvement. Let me know your plan of action.

In 2-3 weeks, myself and 2 other people will be going down to the US from Canada to buy the 34xbr960. With the extended/international warranty we should be safe. We definately will be checking the 3 sets in the store for obvious defects before we come back with our trophies.

What would be a list of things we should check. Are there any known potential problems with this model we should look out for besides geometry?

Matt

Gack.

The kid and I were messing around with the different screen modes on the 960 when suddenly a narrow black frame appeared near the edges of the picture.

Anybody seen this? It's weird looking. It shows up on all the channels, no matter what the screen mode is. It even shows up when we choose the memory stick input.

Don't start explaining about black bars and different aspect ratios and etc., that isn't what this is. Think of the picture on the TV as a paper photograph. Now think of an empty picture frame whose overall dimensions are just a bit smaller than those of the photograph. Now think of the frame set down on top of the photograph. Most of the picture shows up inside the black frame, but some of it is visible around the OUTSIDE edge of the frame.

Talk about something you don't want burned into your screen. Turning the set on and off has no effect. Resetting the video menu has no effect.

Any ideas anyone?

Unplug the unit from the wall (AC power) for two hours.

Then reconnect the monitor and power up.

I would also remove CableCard and/or Cable TV feed.

If there is a Master Reset in the owner's manual...Go for it, once you have 'cleared' the memory of the unit.

CALL SONY!

After reading this thread for months, I decided to take the plunge. Just got my '960 on Saturday. Thanks for all the excellent information from all you "early adopters." I Bought from ABT in Glenview, Illinois.

Love the set! What a picture! I'm using it with an external rotatable yagi antenna for OTA signals. Here in Chicago, there's quite a lot of programming on the digital channels. Especially enjoy watching the digital "simulcasts" that eliminate all the analog artifacts (ghosting, airplane flutter, etc.). And great audio--I'm only using my home theater audio system for DVD's.

But, I did have a few questions regarding signal strength. Apparently, either the digital modes need a strong signal, or the Sony tuner isn't very sensitive. I live in Wilmette, approximately 14 miles from the DTV transmitters. When I first plugged the TV in, I got perfect reception from some digital channels, and some "blocking" on others. I re-aimed the antenna, and everything on all the digital channels was fine. But some of the analog channels were ghosting. Well, I re-aimed slightly to optimize the analog channels, and some of the digital channels started "blocking" and then dropped out ("no signal"). Luckily, I have two pre-amps in my distribution system, so I was able to increase the gain, and now everything's fine all-around. (I typically lost "lock" at about 21 S/N and 65 on the "antenna bar." Now that things are operating fine, I get 30 S/N and 85-98 on the antenna signal strength.)

I would like to know more about the "suggested" S/N strength and what the "antenna" signal bar actually mean. (For example, what does the green light mean--and what if you hit "100"or go above that--is that then too strong a signal?) Can anyone provide more information on this?

TIA

Mark

*bump*

:D

exactly what I was thinking...

Originally posted by daumier
No review yet -- but question for new owners: does your tv take several seconds to actually turn on after you hit the power button? Mine starts by degaussing itself (manual says this is normal), but then it takes about 10 - 15 seconds (I'm guessing here - haven't timed it yet) before it actually shows a picture.

Just want to make sure there is nothing wrong w/ my set.

thx!

D


daumier,

What do you mean by degaussing? Does it flicker momentarily at the side of the screen before it turns on? If so, then I have this also. It takes approx 5-7 secs (never timed it) for the TV to turn on. Is this what everyone else is experiencing?

re: degaussing.

This is actually a great feature, and something Sony also puts on its high-end broadcast monitors. It demagnitizes the screen so there is no residual magnitism, which would cause color impurities. This often appears as a red or purple shading in one corner of the screen I actually saw this in my '960 the day I got it. So I turned it off for a few minutes and then back on. The degausser did it's job and I've got a great picture again.

re: Taking a while to "lock up." Mine does take slightly longer than my old analog set. But it's a lot shorter than my Windows computer! :) Given the complexity of this receiver, we should expect it to take a bit longer to "wake up." It's worth the wait!

Mark

So, what happens when the set is degaussing.

Mine seems to have a "snap, crackle, and pop" sound with momentary flickering (arcs of light) during the initial turn on. Is this normal?

It's hard to describe the sound. (Anyone else able to help?) It's a little like the hum you hear when you turn on a big fan. Almost a "powerful" sound--not too loud, but not thin or weak. It only lasts for a second or two. And the screen will shrink a small amount and show a "rainbow" color (if it's warmed up enough to see).

But the snap, crackle, pop, and arcs of light you describe--I'm concerned about that. It doesn't sound right. I think you should call the store where you bought it and talk with them. Or go back to the store and ask them to turn the floor model off and then back on so you can see (and hear) the degausser in operation.

Mark

MoneyMINTR

I would agree with the "Snap crackle pop" sound. Mine does this and I'm not concerned. I beleive that is what the degausiing process should sound like. What part of NJ are you in.

Does anyone have a definitive list of how the XBR960 handles various HDTV resolutions?

It obviously displays 1080i natively and I believe it scales 720p to 1080i, but how does it handle 480p and 520p? Does the set ever display these as true progressive images, or do they all end up as 1080i?

480p is displayed as 480p.

Woohoo!

My XBR960 was supposed to come in this Thursday, but it showed up at the store today! Which is perfect, since it's my birthday today! (and I had to take the 32HS420 back on Sunday).

Sweet. =) I'll give an update later after I've been able to play with it for a bit.

When watching standard definition TV in regular format (with black sides) the left edge seems a little wavy on the top and bottom. Does anyone else see this. The funny thing is when watching HDTV the borders look perfect.

Well, my first impressions (other than the `auto program' setup takes _FOREVER_...the 50+ minutes that it said it would take was pretty accurate), is that HD looks great. So great that I'm watching the Democratic National Convention on HDNet and enjoying it. =) SD looks completely awful! I haven't messed with any of the DRC settings though. I don't remember the TV in the store looking so bad on SD.

I also had a problem getting audio when I hooked up the DVI-HDMI cable and the separate audio cable. I'd hooked up the 32HS420 previously and didn't get sound, but thought that the TV was just havng problems, but I had the same problem with the 960. By accident I noticed that by jiggling the DVI-HDMI cable, I could get sound. After maybe 10 minutes of messing with it I was finally able to get the cable in an orientation where it works after I let go of it. =)

Has anyone else had this problem? I think that I may just have a bad cable, although I can't understand what a problem with the HDMI connection would cause the TV not to use the alternate audio inputs...the video never has any problems at all. Bizzare. I did notice that the connection seemed very `loose' though. There's not much for it to `hold on to'. =(

..snclawson, can you switch your sat box or cable box so that it outputs 480p? I found that the SD improved dramatically when I changed this on my motorola 6208 cable box. The DRC causes too many artifacts in my opinion and should be avoided if at all possible for SD viewing. Oddly enough, a lot of my XBOX games work the opposite way. They actually look better if I let the 960 upconvert to 960i rather than display 480p. The jaggies are smoothed out and they just look put together a little better, even at the expense of some detail.

All my satellite comes from a Dish Network 811, which is converting everything to 1080i and that looks good. Better than I remember it looking on the HS420 actually.

I'm talking about SD with the internal Cable tuner. That looks awful with the default DRC settings. I'm watching the Simpsons off of DVD in 480p and it looks great. I'm watching in Normal mode and the left and right edges are straight enough, much better than the one in the store. I'll have to try 480i (and the Xbox...can't wait to see how that looks!), but I'll have to wait until the Fiance goes to sleep. I'll also pop in the DVE and do some simple tweaks.

One more thing.

I've got basic Comcast cable here in Salt Lake. My SNR is between 30-32 on the digital channels and my AGC is 23-26. OTA I'm not getting so well. On one channel with 80% or so signal strength, my SNR is about 24, AGC 18.

Well, my XBR960 was delivered this afternoon by CC. Also, my HD DirecTiVo DVR that I ordered on-line from CC was delivered this morning. After spending the afternoon hooking both to my Yamaha V2400 A/V receiver, Pioneer DVR-510H DVD recorder, and Pioneer 563A DVD player, I sat down to enjoy Stargate: Atlantis. Earlier this afternoon I had encountered some frustration trying to coordinate the A/V receiver and television remotes to show the various sources on screen. It seems there is a degree of interdependency that I'm going to have to resolve, maybe by getting a universal remote.

At this point, SD programs look very close to what I was seeing on my Sony XBR100 and Hughes D ** SD receiver before, if a little softer.

After about four hours of on time, I had just loaded up my Digital Video Essentials calibration disc, when the television image started to blink off and on momentarily. It's a sporadic blinking, like the power is being interrupted. There's also a soft, cracking sound when it blinks like that. I haven't figured out what's causing this, and it just started after about three hours of operation. Anyway, I'm calling CC tomorrow morning to request a replacement. NTS, I'm apprehensive about what the local stock is, and how long it'll take for a replacement.

Originally posted by snclawson
Well, my first impressions (other than the `auto program' setup takes _FOREVER_...the 50+ minutes that it said it would take was pretty accurate), is that HD looks great. So great that I'm watching the Democratic National Convention on HDNet and enjoying it. =) SD looks completely awful! I haven't messed with any of the DRC settings though. I don't remember the TV in the store looking so bad on SD.

I also had a problem getting audio when I hooked up the DVI-HDMI cable and the separate audio cable. I'd hooked up the 32HS420 previously and didn't get sound, but thought that the TV was just havng problems, but I had the same problem with the 960. By accident I noticed that by jiggling the DVI-HDMI cable, I could get sound. After maybe 10 minutes of messing with it I was finally able to get the cable in an orientation where it works after I let go of it. =)

Has anyone else had this problem? I think that I may just have a bad cable, although I can't understand what a problem with the HDMI connection would cause the TV not to use the alternate audio inputs...the video never has any problems at all. Bizzare. I did notice that the connection seemed very `loose' though. There's not much for it to `hold on to'. =(

OK...this is really interesting.

I called today and between my geometry issues and not having audio on the HDMI input, they are scheduling to send me out another TV, lol.

Now you have me wondering if I can giggle the connection (thought I had plugged it in and out enough), but YES...I have no audio on Input 7....so I thought there was another audio issue.

I am out of town but will try playing around with it when I return on Wed.

I will tell you that the "board holding the connector" behind the casing seem to have more play with the audio connectors than I would like to see, so I thought that might be it.

I am now wondering if this is flaw in several of these in the line, or if this is just a loose connector as you say.

Originally posted by snclawson
One more thing.

I've got basic Comcast cable here in Salt Lake. My SNR is between 30-32 on the digital channels and my AGC is 23-26. OTA I'm not getting so well. On one channel with 80% or so signal strength, my SNR is about 24, AGC 18.

Do you have HDTV channels loosing it with a S/N of 30-32?

Originally posted by rameade3
Anyway, I'm calling CC tomorrow morning to request a replacement. NTS, I'm apprehensive about what the local stock is, and how long it'll take for a replacement.

I can tell you that after talking to the tweeter repair people in florida, they say they have 40 in stock and another 50 coming in next week - so I doubt you should have replacement issues virtually anywhere in america at this time.

But again, this is why I do recommend working the local angle instead of mail order.

I would suggest you getting the best price online and work in shipping etc.

Then go to some local retailers with the info with you, speak to the manager and tell them you don't need it for 2 weeks anyway so you don't care if you buy it locally or crosscountry. Tell them you are buying from someone today and ask what's the best he can do to coming close to it. Don't seem desperate to buy from them and just act like you can take it or go elsewhere....you don't care.

I would also suggest you look at the extended warranty and offer to buy that to prompt them to cut the price. Why? The extended warranty usually allows 1 adjustment a year - and since it can be a bear if the magnets need to be reset on the cathode ray, I consider it well worth it. Also covers electrical surges, lighting hits etc. AND COMPARE THAT PRICE. CC was close to $400 while Tweeter was $200. $40 a year...try and get a serviceman out to adjust the tv each year for that.

My 2cents worth.

As you are seeing problems crop up in several posts, I REALLY believe local is the way to go.

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
Do you have HDTV channels loosing it with a S/N of 30-32?

Not that I've noticed. I watched the extreme home makeover show and didn't notice any problems.

Actually, that does remind me of the other weird thing that other people have mentioned. The local digital channels over cable don't have their channel numbers re-mapped, making it a bit of a pain to get at them. I figure that I'll eventually remember them though, since at least I don't have to worry about getting the TV antanna oriented just right.

Wow!

I love HDTV on the XBR960. INHD channels are picture perfect. Haven't hooked up a DVD player yet. My set seems to be perfect so far except for some geometry issues and the degaussing screen flicker on the lower right side of the screen. Lasts less than a second. I'm going to stop by the local CC and turn their set on and off a couple of times.


BTW, does anyone have comcast in NJ? What channel is Discovery HD.

So far the auto programming found the following,
HBOHD
ESPNHD
ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, THIRTEEN, PBSKIDS
INHD, INHD2

Am I missing anything?

Mine seems to have a "snap, crackle, and pop" sound with momentary flickering (arcs of light) during the initial turn on. Is this normal?

Yes, that seems to describe the way mine turns on, but it only takes about 5 seconds, not 10-15.

Originally posted by NathanNC
Since so many people have recommended CC over other stores, because of their return policy, I was wondering if these people were aware of this restocking fee policy. Is anyone aware of another store that has a more lenient return policy? If I'm going to pay MSRP for the XBR960, I'd like to deal with a more accommodating store. Otherwise, I'd like to save a few hundred dollars and deal with with another store that has a similar return policy.


Well, it wouldn't be me. I dislike CC. I phone in and talked w/ a manager. When I got there, the manager threw some flunkie at me and had him write up my order. But I had gotten the manager to agree to 10% off the TV. Well, the flunkie refused, so I told him to talk to the manager. I should mention that this manager was #2 at the store. The flunkie went and talked w/ the Store owner, who said "no." My thought is, if Mr. #2 cannot make a deal or negotiate (sp?) price then fire his a$$. I thought it was supremely unprofessional, and I avoid dealing w/ this CC at all cost.

This isn't to say all CC's are like this, just this one. There is one about 30-35 miles from me that is incredible! Extremely helpful, extremely knowledgeable, and they will go out of their way to make the customer happy. Unfortunately, for every one of those, there are 5 that don't care, don't want to care, and figure that they get enough other business that everyone can F off... :(

If I had another available option, I'd go somewhere else...

but that's just me.

What the hell is wrong with these sets? What the hell is wrong with Sony's QA department?!@!?!

I just ordered one of these from a local store and expect to take delivery next week. I'm really pondering cancelling the order now and waiting a while before I purchase again. The scary part is these complaints in this thread only represent a tiny portion of the XBR960's being sold around the country. It's almost scary to imagine how many of these sets are having problems right now.

I already own an XBR910 and it was nearly flawless. I wonder what the hell happened to this year's model.

degaussOriginally posted by BTV Mark
It's hard to describe the sound. (Anyone else able to help?)


I'd say it's kinda like the sound a spring would make from an old Tom & Jerry Cartoon.

"Doyoyoyoying".... without the all the extra "yoyoyoyo" But a little deeper. As for seeing the effect in action, check your monitor for your computer (assuming it's "old school"). Most of them have a button to degauss, and those that don't have the button, usually do it when you turn it on from a cold start.

I'd want more info as to what exactly you see, and what it sounds like. The snap, crackle and pop, might just be a static discharge. Does it sound kinda like when you where a kid and would run your finger around the edge of the tv and hear a little static discharge (snap, crackle and popping)?

What the hell is wrong with these sets? What the hell is wrong with Sony's QA department?!@!?!

I don't want to give the impression that I'm unhappy with my 960. It's true the first one had a problem with the tuner, but the second one is working fine and I'm glad I bought it. The picture quality and the menus are great. DVD's and HDTV look fantastic, and even SD TV looks fine once you put it on Pro and adjust it a little bit.

The process of turning on doesn't bother me at all. It takes 5 secconds and makes a little sound, but it's not bothersome or abnormal, I don't think.

Overall, I still love it.

Those startup sounds are completely normal for the large tube Sonys. The TV is going through its degaussing routine. For an even better job, unplug the TV from the Main for about an hour, replug & push on. BTW, if you want to ever move your TV, even a little, you should unplug and wait awhile before doing it. Otherwise, you could end up w/the "greenies".

yea, I'm pretty sure it's normal too. I have an old XBR1 32inch that does the same thing. Those flashes are most likely due to static as the tv is in the basement.

This damn TV better be worth it....................

Ordered the TV on Sat. Got an est. ship date of 7/30. Then noticed the rebate (forgot about it). Right before I ordered the Home Theater in a Box, I noticed on the $400 rebate form that both items must be on the same invoice. Sony's website will not allow modifications to an existing order, so I called and after 45 min. to get through, I was told that the CSR can not add to the order either.

Had to cancel the TV and re-place the order with both items. HT in a Box shipped right out, but TV date was unknown (out of Stock). Yesterday the TV must have been ready because they charged my card - except the "security measures" of my CC company declined the charge until they could verify it was legit. I told them that I placed the order and they said OK, have them resubmit the charge and it will go through.

Unfortunately, Sony cancelled the 960 after the charge was declined. After 45 min, I got a CSR that told me they cannot reopen the order once it was cancelled. So now I have the HT in a Box on the way that I have to refuse shipment on - and place the order for both items again. Arrrrrrrrrgh

EDIT - CRAP...new est. delivery 8/11

could be worse...i have a stand and no tv.

thats really messing with my focus on other things in life. i think its taunting me...well as long as i get it in time for the olympics :)

Hope when you GET your set... It works.... My 3rd one is being delivered on sat.

My "stand" is a 42" tall (24" x 48") metal table that will be covered with black felt or some other material. This will clear the foot board of my sleigh bed and put the TV right at the base of my bed. :)

Anyone try recording HD from the ATSC tuner via firewire to a D-VHS tape deck yet?

Originally posted by archiguy
Anyone try recording HD from the ATSC tuner via firewire to a D-VHS tape deck yet?

Sorta. I tried recording from the cable box in to YPbPr and out to DVHS...couldnt get it to work but its been the least of my issues at this point.

Manual says it should work, but then again in another section it says you cannot record anything hooked to YPbPr input...but I think that is speaking of downconverting to 480....but maybe its talking about ANY YPbPr input.

I intend to play around with it more when I get the other parts working....like audio on Input 7

Originally posted by MoneyMINTR
Wow!

I love HDTV on the XBR960. INHD channels are picture perfect. Haven't hooked up a DVD player yet. My set seems to be perfect so far except for some geometry issues and the degaussing screen flicker on the lower right side of the screen. Lasts less than a second. I'm going to stop by the local CC and turn their set on and off a couple of times.


BTW, does anyone have comcast in NJ? What channel is Discovery HD.

So far the auto programming found the following,
HBOHD
ESPNHD
ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, THIRTEEN, PBSKIDS
INHD, INHD2

Am I missing anything?


Do you have a cablecard installed?

If not, you won't be getting those premium services in the clear for long.

Originally posted by snclawson

I also had a problem getting audio when I hooked up the DVI-HDMI cable and the separate audio cable. I'd hooked up the 32HS420 previously and didn't get sound, but thought that the TV was just havng problems, but I had the same problem with the 960. By accident I noticed that by jiggling the DVI-HDMI cable, I could get sound. After maybe 10 minutes of messing with it I was finally able to get the cable in an orientation where it works after I let go of it. =)

Has anyone else had this problem? I think that I may just have a bad cable, although I can't understand what a problem with the HDMI connection would cause the TV not to use the alternate audio inputs...the video never has any problems at all. Bizzare. I did notice that the connection seemed very `loose' though. There's not much for it to `hold on to'. =(

Do you get audio when the HDMI is not plugged in and the seperate audio cables are? I cannot wiggle my HDMI in any place that sound is ever passed through the set.

It doesn't work even if there is no HDMI cable plugged in either.

Just curious at this point.

Do you have a cablecard installed?

Nope, no cablecard installed. What channel is 86.71?

-MM

what kind of geometry problems are people having?
Because I felt noticed that it wasn't as square to the bottom as it should be.
But there are controls that fixed this plus bars for aligment ,tilt, etc: pretty much every control that is on my PC monitor is also on the 960 for squaring up the image ?

..I don't really think there are any control of the horizontal effect for the geometry. I've heard magnets may work. I'm just starting to accept that my bottom right corner is upturned to a fair degree.

Originally posted by rameade3
Well, my XBR960 was delivered this afternoon by CC. Also, my HD DirecTiVo DVR that I ordered on-line from CC was delivered this morning. After spending the afternoon hooking both to my Yamaha V2400 A/V receiver, Pioneer DVR-510H DVD recorder, and Pioneer 563A DVD player, I sat down to enjoy Stargate: Atlantis. Earlier this afternoon I had encountered some frustration trying to coordinate the A/V receiver and television remotes to show the various sources on screen. It seems there is a degree of interdependency that I'm going to have to resolve, maybe by getting a universal remote.

At this point, SD programs look very close to what I was seeing on my Sony XBR100 and Hughes D ** SD receiver before, if a little softer.



Do you really have a KV-32XBR100? That's my set, and still the holy grail of analog sets. The reason I don't have a 960 is that analog and SD that I've seen in the store are a joke compared to my set!

bob

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
Do you get audio when the HDMI is not plugged in and the seperate audio cables are? I cannot wiggle my HDMI in any place that sound is ever passed through the set.

It doesn't work even if there is no HDMI cable plugged in either.

Just curious at this point.

No, I don't. It only works if the cable is plugged in `just so'. It's the most bizzare thing. Since HDMI carries audio also, I wonder if the TV is getting confused as to which to use? Assuming that the TV noticed that it was talking to a legacy DVI device, it shoudn't be though. =(

I do remember getting sound without the cable hooked up on the 32HS420, but that was before I had the DVI-HDMI cable. After that I never did get sound, with or without the cable.

I finally purchased my 960. It will be delivered tomorrow. What kind of cables are you guys using to connect to cable(hdtv)? These guys were pushing Monster cables.

Thanks

i just went with monster because thats all i found on amazon. cc and gg near me failed to have a single dvd player with dvi/hdmi...so i had to get the zenith online.

pathetic. btw gg had the 960 "on sale as advertised" for....
$2199

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
Do you get audio when the HDMI is not plugged in and the seperate audio cables are? I cannot wiggle my HDMI in any place that sound is ever passed through the set.

It doesn't work even if there is no HDMI cable plugged in either.

Just curious at this point.

I've been able to use the HDMI port with DVI video and analogue (rca) audio from both my Motorola 6200 cable box and from my computer without any problems. The audio comes through the from the rca inputs fine.

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
Do you have a cablecard installed?

If not, you won't be getting those premium services in the clear for long.

i tried the cc and it gave me less hdtv channels than mot 6200 stb. the signal seems better on that since i'm using dvi-hdmi ($30 from pccables.com).are you referring to comcast?

i have 4 tv connection in my house and i have not yet used an amplifier (comcast will come on monday to check). tried a splitter set up using monster 2ghz to split incoming signal to 960 to both stb and cc and stb seemed to have better picture.

do i have to tune all sources with dve (5,6 and 7?)i guess i do.

Originally posted by Phantastica
I've been able to use the HDM port with DVI video and analogue (rca) audio from both my Motorola 6200 cable box and from my computer without any problems. The audio comes through the from the rca inputs fine.

Hmm...maybe I will call Sony about getting this fixed then. I would take the TV back to Circuit City for a replacement, but from what I can tell they're all sold out here (it showed up as available for delivery for about a day last week).

Thats what I did.. Saturday will be my 3rd tv set.... wish me luck... you know what they say.. 3rd time is a charm!!!!

Hey JB ,
I`ll keep my fingers crossed for ya` , best of luck !
You know they say that the 3rd time is the charmer !!
(If not call Sony , those guy`s need to know what happening to this set. )
O-BTW , I just thought of something, it may or may not help , but, the Cable Card needs to be addressed IN THE TV ----NOT by the cable co.
Sad part is that most cable co`s are milking this for all it`s worth and some are chargeing as much as 60 bucks to put it in and activate it.
It tells you what to do the in manual, but if you have a cable co like Adelphia , they won`t let you install it yourself :( .
Reason --->" These cards are very expensive and if you broke it you would have to pay for it" Ya right , so maybe they cost a few bucks , but how can a normal person "break" one , if they just follow the installation instructions that came with the set.
The TV must initialize the card or it won`t work right, if what I read was true.
They would much rather you rent a box :( :(
Gary

Originally posted by JamisonBWolsh
Thats what I did.. Saturday will be my 3rd tv set.... wish me luck... you know what they say.. 3rd time is a charm!!!!

My third set (first on 910) arrives on tuesday as well.

Originally posted by snclawson
No, I don't. It only works if the cable is plugged in `just so'. It's the most bizzare thing. Since HDMI carries audio also, I wonder if the TV is getting confused as to which to use? Assuming that the TV noticed that it was talking to a legacy DVI device, it shoudn't be though. =(

I do remember getting sound without the cable hooked up on the 32HS420, but that was before I had the DVI-HDMI cable. After that I never did get sound, with or without the cable.

My 960 serial number is 8002496. What is yours? I am curious if the audio issue is in a certain run of the sets or if its just random all over.

As we know, people with sets free of problems are not writing posts, but instead watching their new TVs in peace. I wonder though what the percentage is of defective sets?

Seems like a lot of sets out there being returned. Are you guys with lemons only 1% of the total market, or are we going to look back a year from now to the summer that Sony released the infamous 960 riddled with problems...

Originally posted by bada
As we know, people with sets free of problems are not writing posts, but instead watching their new TVs in peace. I wonder though what the percentage is of defective sets?

Seems like a lot of sets out there being returned. Are you guys with lemons only 1% of the total market, or are we going to look back a year from now to the summer that Sony released the infamous 960 riddled with problems...

You might not agree with this, but I will stand by it.

A large number of people who purchase this or any other HD set don't know if it's defective or not.

Most STB's have their DVI output disabled. Or they might use a cablecard. That means the most would never know the audio input on #7 has an issue.

The picture, even when misadjusted and with geometry problems, probably looks so much better than their SD set, they sit there amazed at the quality of their defective set.

I had people over for the Stanley Cups Playoffs in town that raved and raved about the picture on my defective set.

So, the real question is how do you know what the real defect rate is?

Oh I completely agree with you. If people dont look for geometry problems etc, they will never know whether they have them or not etc.

Myself and 2 others have decided to go down to the US from Canada to get this set with the 5 year extended international warranty(assuming the details we find out about the warranty make us happy).

I think we will be checking these sets out very throughly. What would be a list of things to check for beside geometry issues and tuner.

Originally posted by JamisonBWolsh
Thats what I did.. Saturday will be my 3rd tv set.... wish me luck... you know what they say.. 3rd time is a charm!!!!

What's really disturbing is that you're taking delivery on your 3rd set while I'm still waiting for my first :(

my set is arriving on the 3rd. i decided to get it through sonystyle to avoid extra handling.

ive had items delivered by nvc before and they seem top notch.

maybe ive been lucky, but ive rarely had problems with electronics. if its defective, it goes back. not a big deal, its only a tv and there are plenty of other things in life to raise my blood pressure.

imo im not seeing a lot of complaints yet. seeing as how the warehouse was on backorder the number of issues seems normal. as more sets get out into the general populace then the issue of quality will become readily apparent.

as far as unsophisticated users not being able to identify a problem, well ignorance is bliss :) im doing a lot of reading, and i certainly would fall into category of viewer mentioned by hdtvfan (i.e. not knowing what to look for) being a type b is a good thing, but having a resource like avs forums is a better thing.

thanks to avs ive ordered voom and am eagerly awaiting the set :) chances are it will power up.

My question for y'all:

Are there XBR960's out there without the geometry problems, or are they just a fact of life with this set.

My set has slight upturns in the lower corners. I only notice it when I am watching a channel with a scrolling bar, such as CNN or ESPN2.

Should I return this and hope for a set without the geometry problems, or is that impossible to find? Should I just live with it?

..after three returned 34hs510's, I'd live with it if you can bombs. I had a tech come out and adjust my 960 with marginal success as far as geometry goes. Do I want it to be better...absolutely, but at this point, I've pretty much conceded that with a widescreen crt from sony, it will never be able to display a perfect or even close to perfect cross hatch pattern. I've instead focused on the more positive aspects of the 960, the awesome HD colors and detail. I've been overly anal with my tv's since I first got my first 510 in dec '03..it's to the point my wife has calmly told me that she no longer wishes to discuss or hear about the tv picture quality flaws...and I hate to say it, but she's right. There comes a point where one should relax and enjoy the content that the tv was purchased for, instead of scrutinizing the screen for small display variances. I know others will disagree with these comments, and a few days ago I would have disagreed, but I've come to realize that my expectations for this tv were just not realistic. Happy Viewing.
BC

bloated didnt yours have a major upturn ? maybe a minor one can be fixed with calibration ?

i also intend to do my calibration after the wife goes to sleep, and drink plenty of coffee in the am....

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
My 960 serial number is 8002496. What is yours? I am curious if the audio issue is in a certain run of the sets or if its just random all over.

Mine's 800353X. That's quite a few apart. The HS420 had the same problem though...I wonder if Sony just botched the HDMI connector board on this year's sets.


steve

Originally posted by snclawson
Mine's 800353X. That's quite a few apart. The HS420 had the same problem though...I wonder if Sony just botched the HDMI connector board on this year's sets.


steve

that wasn't the answer I was looking for :(

newbie question -
The one HD station I am picking up from the TV has about 1-2 inch black bar on each side. The SD channels are in full screen.

If I switch the HD channel to zoom if fills the screen but crops the top.

look for a sticky in prog/recept.

other than that i wish i had more help for you....

Anyone in here wishing they just got the 910 last year?

Heck no. I heard about the 960 when I was about to shell out more money for the 34XBR910. I paid substantially less for the 960 with built in HDTV tuner. Aside from some geometry problems, mine is perfect. Would you have noticed the geometry problems if you didn't have that DVE disc?

Ok now that I read some of the post and looked at the corner of screen on the HDTV channel - I can see what everyone is talking about.

Can this be fixed by adjustment? Reminds me of the issues I see on my sony trinitron computer monitor. Like some of earlier posts - I am going to enjoy it. My only concern is what is the long-term affect of not correcting it now. Will it get worse over time.

Marty

Well.... My 3rd set arrived and it had the EXACT same problem as my 2nd!!!! ARGH!!!!!! At Cold start up, No hdtv antenna reception and Bad cable reception. I turn the tv off and then on again, then it works. I had a heated discussion with one of the 3 delivery person. Here is his response.

1.) Cable box problem (NOT- how would this cause the problem?)
2.) Cable hookup problem- (NOT- if this is the cause, then it would not work at all..not just at start up)
3.) Antenna problem-(IDIOTS!!!!! it WORKS if I turn the set off and then on again- plus my 1st set did not have this problem.)

The manager of CC delivery company called CC and told them it was the consumers problem!!! Can you believe that? I called the Local CC for a 4th tv set and he said "Are you sure your tv is hooked up to the antenna?" I told him that i live in an apartment complex and he said " Well, apartment buildings does not have antennas." IDIOTS! I told him if he does not believe that I have this problem, come to my apartment in the morning. He refused and gave me 2 options:

1.) Have a tech fix it. (why should I fix a brand new unit?)- Not going to happen!
2.) get a refund.

So I went directly to the local CC. The District manager was there and I explained the situation to him. He agreed with me and said that he would replace it.

"NO WAY!!! Give me my refund and I will get it from another store. Your delivery service hassles me with their ignorance" (one of them is a tech)

The delivery itself did not damage the sets (I watched the unloading and unpacking)

So off to the GoodGuys- Do they use a different delivery service?
.

Jamison,

Sorry to hear about the bad luck. I received my 960 this week and had a couple of problems the first day. It may have been that I didn't know how to properly operate the unit. I am not sure.

I was using componet cables the first couple of days. I then switched to a HDMI to DVI cable to my HD tuner. It has been spectacular since. Yes, the analog programing isn't perfect but I didn't expect it to be. HD is just mind blowing though.

I know you are having bad luck but I think with three tries, something else is not right. The odds are stacked that you would receive three lemons back to back to back. What else could it be? What were you using prior to this Sony?

Either I have great luck or you crossed a black cat, walked under a ladder and broke a mirror all on the same day?

I will go back through this thread and read about your hook-up again..

Good luck..

I tend to agree. Two bad sets in a row is unlikely. Why not see if the cable company can install a new line?

jamison sorry to hear about your trials with the 960, sometimes it just plays out that way. maybe its just not meant to be...<kidding>

since this will be my first hd i'm going to keep the set for at least a couple weeks absent any obvious flaws, just to get to know the equipment. i figure it will take at least that long to program and setup <too bad my clients wont let me get sick right now>.

if you've been going through the same store its possible they have a bad batch, maybe get the credit then order through sonystyle. cut out the middleman...

i do know that there are plenty of places between the wall and the set where stuff can go wrong. i'd check everything :) at worst it can make you smarter :) or grumpier hehe.

anyway, goodluck

It's Not the hook up. Can a Bad hook up create the following behavior?

If the sets has been off for a few hours and I turn it on:

1.) Bad Cable reception (squiggily Lines all over)
2.) No reception from antenna (no hdtv signals)
3.) turn tv off.
4.) Turn tv on
5.) Cable is near perfect (I calibrated this set)
6.) I recieve reception from the antenna. HDTV is a UNBELIEVABLE.
5.)viewing the 960 is the best thing since apple pie.


Thats the problem. Logically speaking, that would eliminate any cable hookups, equipment probs (besides tv) or power problems. Antenna

Cable hookups.
1.) if these were to blame, by turning the set off and then on wont solve the problem.

Equipment probs
1.) same as 1 previous

Power
1.) if the lack of power strentgh is the problem, then the set would not work a 2nd time.

Antenna
1.) I live in an apartment complex that still uses antenna's as well as cable. Sure its an old antenna, but it is BIG. Since I do have reception for HDTV signals when I turn the tv set on again, this would not be the cause.

Let me add to that. I recieved 3 sets.

first set-
BAD curve on the right side of screen (geometric)
This set did not have the problem listed in the 2nd and 3rd set.

2nd set and 3rd set-
problem described at the start.


Can anyone else think of what the problem is? I think , logically speaking, it would be the tuner. I am not technically inclined however, thats what you guys are for!

DizzyFaust,

Does GoodGuys use the same delivery services of CC? I would not want to use the same warehouse where I got the 3 sets from... Good guys also offer the 30 day guarentee and the great no payment and 0 percent financing through sony.

let the set run for 10hrs or so before you calibrate. at least thats what i read in a sticky somehwhere. for starters :)

hopefully you get alan in here.

<edit> okay i read your post carefully. seems like most of the set is working correctly and something else isnt. the hdmi/dvi ? i have no clue.

i'd pay for a sony tech to come in, or the cable tech. then try to recoup the cost from sony. not saying thats fair or just, only what i'd do.

gl bro

too much trouble. I will get a refund and buy the set from goodguys/magnolia,,,

I'm trying to come to grips with the geometry issue. I really can't notice on a channel with a full picture. It only is noticeable when I am looking for it and there is a ticker tape or line at the bottom.

I do have one question. When I call up my DTV guide, the right side of the screen is a bit blurry. Like it is out of focus. This goes all the way up and down the side, not just in the corners. Does this have anything to do with the geometry issue, or is it a result of the signal sent for the guide?

I am torn about exchanging this TV.

The real question is:

Do people have 960's WITHOUT geometry problems??

If your not happy with the set, exchange it (where did you buy it? Was it home delivery?). If its within your 30 days, they wont care if you exchange it. The geometry differs on each set. I had 3 different sets with different geometric problems. The 2nd was the best with hardly any geo. problems. So, it is possible to get a good geo tv set...Just keep in mind that all widescreen tv sets shows the geo problems...

Originally posted by Bombs
I do have one question. When I call up my DTV guide, the right side of the screen is a bit blurry. Like it is out of focus. This goes all the way up and down the side, not just in the corners. Does this have anything to do with the geometry issue, or is it a result of the signal sent for the guide?

I am torn about exchanging this TV.

Funny, mine is blurry all down the left side of the screen. There seems to be some sort of focus problem maybe? I put up some geometry patterns and the horizontal convergence is way off all down the left side. =( Before when I was watching TV, the left side seemed a little weird, but it's not something that you would see easily...there's just not that much `stuff' way off to the side that you're really focusing on. It makes using the TV with a PC a nightmare though. The center is nicely in focus, but the sides aren't.

I've been reading all the posts on the 960 because I got a 910 recently and wondered if the new one was all that better. I can tell you my TV has been professionally calibrated, and the picture is incredible in both high def and standard channels. And it aint' just me saying it. I have a feeling the cheaper price and more stuff like their own tuner has lead to lower quality or less careful manufacturing, perhaps, in t he new set. And the tube is the same-- same serial number for replacement. So maybe older is better.

One update about my 960 and audio problems with a DVI-HDMI cable: it seems that the problem is the cable, not the set.

On a lark, I decided to pick up a Monster Cable DVI-HDMI cable from BestBuy and see if it also had the same problem. I hooked it up and it works perfectly. It takes a second or so after hooking it up for the audio to come though, but it does every time. I swapped it out for the old cable and sure enough, the same problem... There must be some sort of handshaking that the cable needs to do with the HDMI port to tell it that there's no audio? Really strange.

So I'll be talking to pccables.com to see if I can get a replacement. =(

Im not sure about the 910, but a calibrated 960 looks absolutly STUNNING> This is coming from someone that knows the set. Yes, I went through 3 of them. But once you have one that works (910 has Geo problems as well) you have a GREAT set. If i had a choice between the 910 and the 960. 960 wins. It may not be a VAST improvement, but there is an improvement nonetheless...

Your trying to convince yourself that spending more money on a tv set that is outdated is worth the money. This Tv set REPLACES the 910. In ALL regards, the 960 is an improvement over the 910. From the menu system (more options for us), brightness increase, 2nd generation resolution, and various other smaller improvements (more inputs...No optical input or output on the 910... SO SAD). The 960 is an improvement over the 910. Plain and simple.

Sony does not use cheaper parts JUST because the price tag is lower!!!! Sony has to compete with the marketplace. To survive, they have to lower their prices to relate to market value. Pure Econimics.

JBW,

I'm a total noob and don't even have this set yet (waiting for delivery) but I've been following your problem for a while. What if the initial turn-on problem was caused by something atmospheric or specific to your home. I'm not talking X-Files or anything but maybe static electricity? Humidity? It could affect the tuner at first but after circuits get power or cables heat up for a sec, a "reset" (turning off then on again) clears the problem. I'm about the opposite of technically-minded so this might be the dumbest thing you've ever heard but I'm just trying to throw out ideas. Saw something earlier in one of these threads about "clean power." Is that a similar concept?

Good luck.

Im a noob as well. My previous set is 12 years old! You do have agood concept. Wethor or not its true? I dont know. As for the power issue.... I turn it on in the morning when I am not using very much power at all. I dont think it is a power issue. The 1st tv set did not show any symtoms of this. Could be a bad batch?

You may be right. The 960 may be lots better, I don't know. I do know that there sure seem to be more complaints about bad sets, bad geometry, bad SD reception, etc. I don't remember all that in the 910 posts, but maybe I'm wrong. And I did read somewhere that if the tube on the 960 breaks, the replacement has the same part number as the 910 tube, which does make me a tad suspicious.

I bought an XBR910 last year and I have no doubt there are more problems with these XBR960s. I don't a thread like this one filled with people complaining about the XBR910. Does anyone else?

tiger i have to disagree with you.

after going through the first 20 pages of this thread here's what i found before i got tired:

pgs1-16 anticipation and discussion;
pg 17 bsd107 had no complaints, overall good. convergence needed work maybe;
pg 18 spiffybot the first complaint-hated the universal remote;
pg 19 gundyrat complaint- analog looked terrible (nuff said);
pg 20 pt270 complaint/review mixed, again the analog looked bad (really)...

at that point i got tired. ive kept up with the thread and imo about 6 (six) posters are having persistant problems. hopefully i wont join their ranks.

this thread isnt full of complaints, and while it isnt a thread for the 910, the 910 is close enough in many ways so that 910 users might be of assitance to 960 users.

feel free to do a count for the last 17 pages, most complaints do tend to come in the latter part of a thread. post your results, because so far i see nothiing to suggest the 960 is comparable to the 910.

After reading all the posts about how bad SD and analog look on the 960 and HD sets in general, I Must admit that I pleasantly surprised by the GOOD picture on the analog channels. I watched the CUP race on TNT and the Drag racing on ESPN last night (both analog channels on my cable system) and keep remarking to myself how good the picture looks. I adjusted the set with DVE and played with the DRC settings so the picture may have not been this good out of the box but looks great right now. BTW, I've had the TV for about ten days now. One note about the picture, I'm currently having trouble getting the cablecard to work properly, so I got the cable company to give me a HD STB (Explorer 3100HD) while they resolve the cable card issue. The picture from the STB is NOT GOOD. Even HBO HD has some amount of noise in the picture. The SD and analog from the STB are worse. The picture using the coax CABLE input on the back of the set: analog channels - great for analog, SD digital channels - cablecard not letting me see them as of yet, PBS-HD and DISC-HD - absolutely stunning. (I'm getting Network HD's and Discovery-HD with the cablecard but no other digital)

Amybody else getting good analog PQ only from the cable input directly into the set (using built in tuner)?

bob

Hi JB,
You have a good one now ?
If so congrats, I have some questions;
1 ) Do you use the CableCard?
2 ) If , not have you tried connecting you cable to the "cable" and not the "uhf-vhf" ?
3 ) Do you get scrambled stations , do you get HD cable (the same that would be free if you were using an ant.? )
Thanks , if I get this or wait for the 30"XS , this info would be helpful :D
Gary

1.) No cable card
2.) Cable is connected to the cable input and my antenna is connecte dto the antenna input.
3.)HDTV through antenna.

and NO, the 3rd tv set did not work correctly. Same problem as #2.. I am going to get a refund and go elsewhere.

Hi JB,
Thanks for the info, for a minute i thought you got a good one.
That`s a real shame , the TV sound like a realy nice set. It could be that you just ended up with a bad batch. I would def, try again.
Like I said , I`m looking at this set , but also wait to see the XS 30" as that would be a better size where it`s going. I think the only dif. between the two is PIP (pop) and Ch. indexing and freeze. It realy is bad for Sony , all yours came from CC right ?
They just came out with it maybe there is a "first batch" glich (lets hope).
Anyway , best of luck , and let us know how you make out , thanks.
Gary

Amybody else getting good analog PQ only from the cable input directly into the set (using built in tuner)?

I do not have a STB and my SD picture quality from the cable is quite good after adjustment.

Originally posted by spongebob
Amybody else getting good analog PQ only from the cable input directly into the set (using built in tuner)?

bob

yes...or should I say as good as analog quality could be expected to be

Originally posted by HDTVFanAtic
yes...or should I say as good as analog quality could be expected to be


As good as expected to be from a digital set, or as could as it can be as on my KV-32XBR100? (Analog heaven :)

bob

Originally posted by Tigerriot
I bought an XBR910 last year and I have no doubt there are more problems with these XBR960s. I don't a thread like this one filled with people complaining about the XBR910. Does anyone else?

I had a 910 with problems, so I can't say there are more problems on 960.

Not all my issues are resolved so I reserve the right to change my mind :)

Originally posted by snclawson
One update about my 960 and audio problems with a DVI-HDMI cable: it seems that the problem is the cable, not the set.

On a lark, I decided to pick up a Monster Cable DVI-HDMI cable from BestBuy and see if it also had the same problem. I hooked it up and it works perfectly. It takes a second or so after hooking it up for the audio to come though, but it does every time. I swapped it out for the old cable and sure enough, the same problem... There must be some sort of handshaking that the cable needs to do with the HDMI port to tell it that there's no audio? Really strange.


UGH.....they are scheduled to replace my set at 8am in the morning - long before I can get a new cable.

The difference is, you can get yours to work wiggling the cable - I can't on mine....but its still to strange of a coincidence.

I think I am going to hold off on taking the replacement set and try a new cable.

I do think most of the 910s and 960s have geometry problems.

Unlike others on this thread, knowing this and knowing the set, if I can replace the cable and get that working, I will let them try and eliminate the geometry problems, even sending the set to their pros in Miami if need be - as I am about convinced thats the only way its really going to get the TLC to set it right - especially if it involves moving the magnets. I just don't think they burn them in enough and take the time in the sony plant in San Diego where they assemble these things.

I dont care if I am without it a week if thats what it takes for the best alignment that can be done.

My 960 arrived last Saturday. It worked perfectly. The picture is beautiful. The problem I am having is with Time Warner Cable. Most of the time the HD and premium chanels have garbage on the screen. Anyone having problems with their cable company?

got mine too.

its pretty nice. i have a slight bowing in the lower right and thats all i can discern until the avia disk gets here.

vivid is pretty bright, the tuner seems pretty good in that it picked up a lot of stations that ive never received before. waiting on voom and the ups guy.

sound not bad either.

the shipper nvcc delivered the set and box in pristine condition, not a mark on the entire box. even the pointy corners were still pointy. i have no idea how they managed that.

when i commented on the fast setup the guy told me "ive been doing this for a while"

set gave a "boing" noise when it turns on, normal, takes about 10-15 secs to turn on.

this set looks like a keeper so far, then again i have to get the calibration started before i know for sure. local digital looks sweeeeet. :)