I really like my 50A10.
My only issue is that I keep seeing SSE - not SDE, I don't see this unless my nose is touching the screen :).

SSE, as I understand it, is really a phenomenon of the antiglare screens used on these sets.
But, I'm wondering if there is a video setting that may minimize SSE without making the picture totally dim or something equally icky?

Any thoughts?


Mitch

I really like my 50A10.
My only issue is that I keep seeing SSE - not SDE, I don't see this unless my nose is touching the screen :).

SSE, as I understand it, is really a phenomenon of the antiglare screens used on these sets.
But, I'm wondering if there is a video setting that may minimize SSE without making the picture totally dim or something equally icky?

Any thoughts?


Mitch

My thought is take it back and buy a Panny plasma.. :) Seriously though, the SSE effect is a result of the structure of the screen that allows a wider viewing angle. There is absolutely nothing that you can do. I used to not notice that issue on my GWIII, until I started reading these posts...now I have TWO things on it that bother me ...the SSE, AND the crummy rendition of darker scenes. Thanks a lot guys! :rolleyes:

Ha ha, yeah you can focus on the negatives or the bountiful positives.

Positives:

Good price point.

Nice setup features that mate with the inputs you set them up on.

Nice looking TV.

Very good SD picture.

Fantastic HD picture.

Optical Audio Out.


Negatives:

Black Level thing that I have not really been too bothered about

Pixel size? Is this even a concern when it looks so good?

SDE/SSE SDE I never notice. SSE I haven't really seen either.


My guess is a lot of these variances are down to how strong each of our cable signals are, what gear we have our signals running through before it hits the A10 and the quality of the signal to begin with.


I got nothing but love for the A10 so far. :)

Ha ha, yeah you can focus on the negatives or the bountiful positives.

Positives:

Good price point.

Nice setup features that mate with the inputs you set them up on.

Nice looking TV.

Very good SD picture.

Fantastic HD picture.

Optical Audio Out.


Negatives:

Black Level thing that I have not really been too bothered about

Pixel size? Is this even a concern when it looks so good?

SDE/SSE SDE I never notice. SSE I haven't really seen either.


My guess is a lot of these variances are down to how strong each of our cable signals are, what gear we have our signals running through before it hits the A10 and the quality of the signal to begin with.


I got nothing but love for the A10 so far. :)

Glad you love your A-10 so much. I am suprised that you say you can't see SSE though...it is always there on bright scenes no matter what the source, or signal quality. It is the fine 'sparkle' in the screen....similar to what you used to see when movies, or color slides were projected on a lenticular screen. There is no way to avoid it on these TV's, but I was never all that bothered by it until I read the posts on here. I still feel that the Panasonic plasmas blow the A-10's away on PQ, and the price gap is rapidly narrowing, since the Panny's latest $500/1000 price drop on the 42/50 inchers. The only reason the A-10 is still in the running for me is it the ONLY non-DLP 50 inch TV that fits in my entertainment center.

I noticed the SSE on the 50" A10 at BB when I checked it out last week. They had the picture set to VIVID. I set it to Normal or something like it, and turned down the Iris, brightness, contrast, and sharpness. SSE was virtually eliminated. Especially compared to the other sets right next to it.

I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill or anything.
I don't always notice SSE, but some days I just seem to obsess over it a bit more than others and it prompts a post like the one above. :)
But, I don't see myself spending 50% more to get rid of it.

My settings are tweaked pretty good for my tastes, so I was just wondering if there was any settings I may have missed to help with the issue.


Mitch

I only notice SSE on very bright scenes that are white in color. It was more noticeable when I first got the TV, but it has diminished over the past two weeks. I think I'm just getting used to it. Keeping contrast low (60ish) and the iris setting at 1 or Min does help lessen the effect.

I still feel that the Panasonic plasmas blow the A-10's away on PQ, and the price gap is rapidly narrowing, since the Panny's latest $500/1000 price drop on the 42/50 inchers. The only reason the A-10 is still in the running for me is it the ONLY non-DLP 50 inch TV that fits in my entertainment center.

That's like saying a Mustang blows away an Escort.

It's nice that you compare an RP LCD to a plasma, but if you expected the RP LCD to be as good or better than the plasma, then I want some of what you're smoking.

I went through two Samsung HLR-4226W DLP sets before I settled on the 42" A10. I am much happier now than I was with the Samsung. Now that I see the picture on the Sony I realize how washed out the Samsung was.

I am now looking to get some new cables and a surge protector so I could use some advice. I read through just about every post in this thread and it seems like RAM is a good place to get an inexpensive HDMI cable. Any objections or other suggestions? As for the surge protector, I am looking at the Monster Power Bar 1100 . Most people say that Monster is overpriced so is there another option out there that is more reasonably priced?

And finally, any preference to the different calibration DVDs that are out there? I don't want to pay for a professional calibration just yet so I'll give it a shot on my own.

That's like saying a Mustang blows away an Escort.

It's nice that you compare an RP LCD to a plasma, but if you expected the RP LCD to be as good or better than the plasma, then I want some of what you're smoking.

Hey wait a minute; depends how you look at it. A mustang will blow away an escort but with gas prices being what they are an escort may not be a bad choice today.

BTW I own an 03 Mach 1 that is now sitting in the driveway more than before with premium nearing $3 / gallon. One way to keep the miles down!!

That's like saying a Mustang blows away an Escort.

It's nice that you compare an RP LCD to a plasma, but if you expected the RP LCD to be as good or better than the plasma, then I want some of what you're smoking.

Not sure what your point is here. I have seen many a plasma that the Sony blows away, especially the cheaper plasma models. My point is that the better plasmas are rapidly falling in price, and DO have a much better overall PQ than the Sony.

Guys I just got the 50 inch A10 model and eberything was fine for the first 3 days...but now after a couple hours the picture starts to have snow like features and waves. If I turn it off and turn it back on the picture clears up. Should I return the TV??

I really can't tell the difference between switching from 480i to 480p. Should there be a difference? I've got a JVC XV-N50. Also, what mode should you watch DVD's on, wide zoom or full? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, and where is the settings thread?

I really can't tell the difference between switching from 480i to 480p. Should there be a difference? I've got a JVC XV-N50. Also, what mode should you watch DVD's on, wide zoom or full? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, and where is the settings thread?


You probably can't tell the difference because the TV is doing as good of a job converting from 480i to 480p as your DVD player is.
Typically you want the mode set to FULL on widescreen movies. If you have 4:3 content then you have to decide for yourself. Sometimes I would rather watch in a 4:3 box and other times I stretch it.

Guys I just got the 50 inch A10 model and eberything was fine for the first 3 days...but now after a couple hours the picture starts to have snow like features and waves. If I turn it off and turn it back on the picture clears up. Should I return the TV??

Sounds like a TV problem most likely. Does it happen with both DVD, and cable or satellite inputs? Give us a little more info and we can tell you more.

Yeah, more input is needed. If it is just from one source then you need to look at the source to make sure it isn't the problem. If it is all sources then I would be making a call to trade it out.

I have been running directv...but will try DVD tonight to see if it happens...thanks

Has anyone calibrated one yet or planning on it? I'd like to get the best settings possible.

I agree with AlanBuck that the consumer Panasonic plasma is a better TV. It will not fit in my cabinet, so it is not an option for me. And, no, I do not want a commercial plasma.

I have had the A10 for about 1.5 weeks. I have/had the following issues with it:
1) The picture was not bright enough many a time. I have basically fixed this through settings (and may tweak a bit more), and by adapting to what I see. I think I will finally get to "the settings" some day.
2) SD content was grainy. I fixed this by switching the cable box to pass-through 480i, and letting the DRC setting in the A10 upconvert it.
3) DVD content was grainy. Fixed this the same way, by turning off progressive output from the DVD player and letting the DRC in the A10 upconvert.
4) SSE is noticable. If I sit slightly off-axis horizontally, then it is better. I think that the current settings I have is reducing this a bit. I may also be getting used to it.

So, I have about 2.5 weeks left in my return window (I think I have 30 days with CC????). At the moment, I am leaning towards keeping it. My only alternatives are a Panasonic consumer 37" plasma, or a Panasonic commercial 42" plasma.

Guys I just got the 50 inch A10 model and eberything was fine for the first 3 days...but now after a couple hours the picture starts to have snow like features and waves. If I turn it off and turn it back on the picture clears up. Should I return the TV??

I ceertainly would. Now is the time to do it. If there are going to be problems with the set, they usually occur right away.

I agree! I have something very similar to these setting as well. SD picture greatly improved but take it with a grain of salt. It's all about source. Some channels look better than others. But overall, its an improvement. HD picture is very good on these settings as well. I will try HDMI in a few days after ordering one yesterday! From what I've read some have been surprised by the improved PQ between HDMI and component. We'll see.
With so much customization at my fingertips its tough to leave the settings ALONE for a bit to really evaluate the picture. Like Samuel L. once said, "I'm trying REAL HARD, Ringo."
We do really need a setting/tweaks thread for these sets! Someone started on a while back I thought but it seems to have disappeared :(


That thread is here:

Grand Wega V Tweaks (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=567709)

Just called Magnolia the place where I bought the TV. They told me just come in and return it no box needed and they will get me another one.

Not sure what your point is here. I have seen many a plasma that the Sony blows away, especially the cheaper plasma models. My point is that the better plasmas are rapidly falling in price, and DO have a much better overall PQ than the Sony.


I think the point he's trying to make is people are trying to put this tv up against a $4k plasma.. I would sure as hell hope the $4k TV is worth the extra money.. I think people forget we are talking about a tv that is $2-2500.. Its not going to be perfect..

Ive had the 42" model for over a week now and i couldnt be more happy with it.. I didnt break the bank and the picture is stunning for HD and SD is great as well..
Chris

I still have issues with detail in dark areas with my 42A10. I went to Tweeter yesterday and the 42A10 was right under the Panny 37" plasma 37PX50U. I have heard the 42" Panny plasma 42PX50U is one great set, so I felt the 37" version would be a somewhat fair comparison. Well the Panny plasma was worse than than the 42A10 when showing detail in dark areas. In fact it was probably the worse set on display. I played with the plasma settings quite a bit and improved things by cranking up the "Picture" setting to max. They were showing a sports program & interviewing people. One person's dark hair blended into the background on the plasma and became one large dark area. On another scene of the background, the plasma could not even display the pattern in the backdrop. Reminded me of my 42A10. The Tweeter 42A10 looked great by comparison. So did their 37" Sony plasma.

I'd like to put my 42A10 next to Tweeter's for a comparison. I've played & tweaked my settings & things did improve compared to the factory settings, but still has a way to go. It's not even that some detail may be difficult to see, you just plain cannot see it. Since some people seem to be experiencing more problems in this area than others, I wonder if it may be related to where the set was made, USA vs Mexico. Mine was made in July 2005 in Mexico.

In general my 42A10 has a great picture. But there are movies & programs with dark scenes that have picture content. If I lost a little that would be OK. But when two people are walking down a street an night I should see more than what basically amounts to two faces in the picture.

Mike

.....My only alternatives are a Panasonic consumer 37" plasma, or a Panasonic commercial 42" plasma.
Could you enlighten me on the difference between a "consumer plasma" set and a "commercial plasma" set?

I still have issues with detail in dark areas with my 42A10. I went to Tweeter yesterday and the 42A10 was right under the Panny 37" plasma 37PX50U. I have heard the 42" Panny plasma 42PX50U is one great set, so I felt the 37" version would be a somewhat fair comparison. Well the Panny plasma was worse than than the 42A10 when showing detail in dark areas. In fact it was probably the worse set on display. I played with the plasma settings quite a bit and improved things by cranking up the "Picture" setting to max. They were showing a sports program & interviewing people. One person's dark hair blended into the background on the plasma and became one large dark area. On another scene of the background, the plasma could not even display the pattern in the backdrop. Reminded me of my 42A10. The Tweeter 42A10 looked great by comparison. So did their 37" Sony plasma.

I'd like to put my 42A10 next to Tweeter's for a comparison. I've played & tweaked my settings & things did improve compared to the factory settings, but still has a way to go. It's not even that some detail may be difficult to see, you just plain cannot see it. Since some people seem to be experiencing more problems in this area than others, I wonder if it may be related to where the set was made, USA vs Mexico. Mine was made in July 2005 in Mexico.

In general my 42A10 has a great picture. But there are movies & programs with dark scenes that have picture content. If I lost a little that would be OK. But when two people are walking down a street an night I should see more than what basically amounts to two faces in the picture.

Mike


This is interesting because whenever i'm in an A/V store, BB, CC, etc. the Panny plasma always blows away everything in the store. I'm leaning towards the Panny plasma, possibly the "industrial" model. In fact, my first choice was the A10 (still could be a possibility) but as one who watches lots of movies the dark details are important to me and was a little disapointed that the iris feature didn't do as well as i hoped. I think the Panny plasma does the best in overall PQ and the extra few hundred would be worth it.

blkacklover, Do you have this set for HD viewing, or did you change your settings to watch HD channels.
like this:

custom
iris - 2
picture - 66
brightness - 48
color - 38
hue - G2
color temp - warm 1
sharpness - 45
noise reduction - low or off (still messing with it)
DRC Mode - high density or progressive (messing with this too)
DRC palette - custom
advanced video
black corrector - off
advanced iris - low
gamma - low
clear white - low
live color - off

Could you enlighten me on the difference between a "consumer plasma" set and a "commercial plasma" set?

Many plasma companies have two lines: a consumer line and a commercial line.

The consumer line is your typical TV at all the electronics stores, includes lots of inputs, has a digital tuner, speakers, etc.

The commerical line is meant for businesses (and enthusiasts). Just a few inputs (frequently with BNC connectors), no tuner, no speakers.....basically a monitor. It is difficult to find a local store for these.

I think the point he's trying to make is people are trying to put this tv up against a $4k plasma.. I would sure as hell hope the $4k TV is worth the extra money.. I think people forget we are talking about a tv that is $2-2500.. Its not going to be perfect..

Ive had the 42" model for over a week now and i couldnt be more happy with it.. I didnt break the bank and the picture is stunning for HD and SD is great as well..
Chris

I hate to tell you this, but since the latest price cuts the 50 inch Panny can be had for around $3500, and the 42 inch for around $2700. Those are barely more than the GWIV was selling for a year ago. That is my point. The plasma price premium is rapidly narrowing. The A-10 is a good value, but it can't really hold it's own against the Panny HD plasmas. The A-10 is still superior to most, maybe even all plasmas at the same exact price point though. Not bashing the A-10, just pointing out how rapidly things are changing. I expect in 12 months or less, plasmas that trounce the A-10 will be a similar price to it.

This is interesting because whenever i'm in an A/V store, BB, CC, etc. the Panny plasma always blows away everything in the store. I'm leaning towards the Panny plasma, possibly the "industrial" model. In fact, my first choice was the A10 (still could be a possibility) but as one who watches lots of movies the dark details are important to me and was a little disapointed that the iris feature didn't do as well as i hoped. I think the Panny plasma does the best in overall PQ and the extra few hundred would be worth it.

i totally agree..not once have I looked at a Panny plasma, and not felt that it had the best PQ of any larger TV in the store. Reviewers from various sources seem to agree also. Consumer Reports gave the GWIV a pretty mediocre rating last winter, and several plasmas rated much higher for PQ. I look at the GWIV, or A-10 and think they look pretty nice (and they really do), but then walk over to the Panny plamsas and think WOW, that is really an excellent picture. The gold-standard of PQ though, according to most experts, is still..gasp...the flat tube CRT Sony's in the 32-36 inch size. They weigh a ton, and have relatively small screens, but stiill outperform all the newer technologies on overall PQ.

I hate to tell you this, but since the latest price cuts the 50 inch Panny can be had for around $3500, and the 42 inch for around $2700. Those are barely more than the GWIV was selling for a year ago. That is my point. The plasma price premium is rapidly narrowing. The A-10 is a good value, but it can't really hold it's own against the Panny HD plasmas. The A-10 is still superior to most, maybe even all plasmas at the same exact price point though. Not bashing the A-10, just pointing out how rapidly things are changing. I expect in 12 months or less, plasmas that trounce the A-10 will be a similar price to it.

I don't disagree that in a year or so, a quality 50" plasma will likely be at the 50A10 price point. But, that is a year or so from now. Furthermore, I gotta believe that the A10's will drop in price as well. And, I'll be sure to stop looking at sales pages so that I don't get annoyed at how much that one year of ownership cost me. :)

But, right now, a 50" Panasonic Plasma costs about 50% more. And personally, I'm not willing to spend that much to get rid of SSE - which for me is the only difference. And this same argument is what keeps me from freaking out about the SXRDs coming out soon.

That said, I did stop at CC today to take a look at the 50" Panasonic (PX50U or whatever) and although this is by no means a fair test (i.e. looking at the TV in the store), I wasn't as impressed as I feared I would be. :)

But, these sorts of discussions could degrade into religion and politics. So, we should probably get back to the subject at hand.

So, has anyone found a way of displaying lamp hours?



Mitch

AkaStp,
I have Black Corrector off and tried Gamma off & low.

lipcrkr,
The lack of shadow detail is what surprised me about the Panny plasma as I've always heard it had the best PQ. Now maybe the 42" is a different animal than the 37", I don't know. But they are both "PX50U" series. Maybe the 37" panel is not as good. Tweeter did have the 42" Panny, but on a different wall with sunlight illuminating the area, so I could not make real comparison.

When the program source showed the stadium, the structure in the darker corner area was mostly black with the plasma. The other sets you could see the beams, etc. Again, this was a daylight picture with no sunlight in one corner, not a nighttime shot. Unless there is another hidden menu in the Panny, I could not get detail out of that shadow area. The salesperson knew what I was trying to accomplish, and he played with the same settings that I did.

Mike

I don't disagree that in a year or so, a quality 50" plasma will likely be at the 50A10 price point. But, that is a year or so from now. Furthermore, I gotta believe that the A10's will drop in price as well. And, I'll be sure to stop looking at sales pages so that I don't get annoyed at how much that one year of ownership cost me. :)

But, right now, a 50" Panasonic Plasma costs about 50% more. And personally, I'm not willing to spend that much to get rid of SSE - which for me is the only difference. And this same argument is what keeps me from freaking out about the SXRDs coming out soon.

That said, I did stop at CC today to take a look at the 50" Panasonic (PX50U or whatever) and although this is by no means a fair test (i.e. looking at the TV in the store), I wasn't as impressed as I feared I would be. :)

But, these sorts of discussions could degrade into religion and politics. So, we should probably get back to the subject at hand.

So, has anyone found a way of displaying lamp hours?



Mitch

As said before...none of these TV's is perfect. I am looking forward to seeing the SXRD, as it, as well as the 50 inch A-10, and Panny 50 inch plama are my 3 finalists. A-10 so far wins on price, and ability to fit my existing cabinet, Panny so far wins on PQ, but won't fit cabinet, the SXRD is the wild card (but also won't fit my cabinet due to the wide speakers). Before November I HOPE to have made a choice. The A-10 scares me because the issues I hate about my 42 inch GWIII sound like they are still in the A-10. (Lousy PQ on movies with dark scenes is the main complaint). The darn thing looks fantastic on ball games etc. as does the A-10. As for the lamp hours on the A-10, I am sure it is in the service menu as on prior models. I am not sure that you access it the same way though. Mine has made 880 hours so far with no bulb issues. Some calibration guru should have that figured out soon I imagine.

As said before...none of these TV's is perfect. I am looking forward to seeing the SXRD, as it, as well as the 50 inch A-10, and Panny 50 inch plama are my 3 finalists. A-10 so far wins on price, and ability to fit my existing cabinet, Panny so far wins on PQ, but won't fit cabinet, the SXRD is the wild card (but also won't fit my cabinet due to the wide speakers). Before November I HOPE to have made a choice. The A-10 scares me because the issues I hate about my 42 inch GWIII sound like they are still in the A-10. (Lousy PQ on movies with dark scenes is the main complaint). The darn thing looks fantastic on ball games etc. as does the A-10. As for the lamp hours on the A-10, I am sure it is in the service menu as on prior models. I am not sure that you access it the same way though. Mine has made 880 hours so far with no bulb issues. Some calibration guru should have that figured out soon I imagine.

How about the commercial version of the Panny plasma? Without the speakers that are on the consumer version, wouldn't the 50'' Panny plasma be able to fit into your cabinet?

Just had my a10 "fixed" by an authorized Sony fixer - looked like some dirt inside causing a color blotch. Anyway they took it away for almost a week and now it's back and the picture is not square.

Anyone know how to adjust the left/right tilt of the picture - or do I need to get these service clowns back in?

thanx

What exactly does Noise Reduction do and is it a good idea to have on? I've got it on Low right now.

What exactly does Noise Reduction do and is it a good idea to have on? I've got it on Low right now.

It basically takes out any excess video noise from any source. It might be useful for a VHS player or noisy SD cable channels. I'd leave it OFF for DVD and HD sources.

I just saw the Sony KDFE50A10 and KDFE42A10 along with the Sony KDFE55A20 for the first time tonight.

I went to Sears to compare a Samsung 5067 series DLP against a Toshiba DLP...

I was so impressed with the PQ and contrast of the Sony KDFE42A10 that I abandoned the entire idea of buying a DLP. The picture is very crisp and the color detail is amazing but the contrast level seems to me to be far superior to any LCD projection TV I have ever seen.

I am very impressed with the Panny Plasmas as many others here and elsewhere... And if I did not have children who will use the TV for gaming in the future I would have a Panny 500U Plasma. But since gaming will be in the future I am too leery of burn in to make the investment.

This dilemma has had me looking at DLP for some time. I am impressed with how much better DLP has gotten in the last year or so... DLP televisions (Mostly Samsung) have always looked better to me in the store when compared with RP LCD televisions... That is, until this evening...

The 55inch A20 Sony is impressive but there is a definite contrast improvement when you look at the A10's. The entire picture looks very Plasma like on the 50 A10 and it is even better on the 42A10.

I was so impressed that I went from Sears to CC to see if it was just the feed in Sears (even though I changed sources several times in Sears...) CC did not have the 50A10 but the 42A10 looked as good or better than it did in the Sears store across the street.

I know this is not a technical review but to me the Sony LCD model is a winner. The new cabinet style and the picture quality are major selling points for me. I compared the picture with last years model of Sony Wega LCD and it was hands down a better picture with either HD or SD broadcasts.

I am feeling like I have finally found my new TV. Only been researching this for about 2 years... LOL

Go and look at the new Sony 3LCD A10 models... I think most anyone will be pleasantly impressed. Not a Plasma but darned close...

I apologize for all the newb questions but what is DRC mode and what is the difference between High Density and Progressive? Thanks.

Navmaster,

You wrote almost my exact same thinking about the Samsung DLP's to the A10. Like you, I feel that this is a great tv set. I also am considering the Panny plasma, but to me there is a value issue of if I'm willing to pay the extra $1200-$1400 for a 50" plasma.

Sears sure does have a great feed-in for these sets

[QUOTE=Navmaster]

I compared the picture with last years model of Sony Wega LCD and it was hands down a better picture with either HD or SD broadcasts.

QUOTE]


Thanks for that info as very few have mentioned the comparison and I was wondering if it is worth waiting for the A10's.
Take Care,
Tec

Navmaster,

You wrote almost my exact same thinking about the Samsung DLP's to the A10. Like you, I feel that this is a great tv set. I also am considering the Panny plasma, but to me there is a value issue of if I'm willing to pay the extra $1200-$1400 for a 50" plasma.

Sears sure does have a great feed-in for these sets

Are there not quality concerns and issues with the low-end plasmas?
I know I have read that but just can't remember what the issues were. :rolleyes:

if people are trying to get the best picture from a tv under $2500, why are they not buying rpcrt? I just thought I'd ask since a lot of you have said "the blacks and quality is not quite as good as my rpcrt. Is everybody buying lcd and dlp just for the size and weight?

How about the commercial version of the Panny plasma? Without the speakers that are on the consumer version, wouldn't the 50'' Panny plasma be able to fit into your cabinet?

I think it misses by an inch or less.....48.5 inches is my max width. Good suggestion though. I will double check the Panny width today.

Thanks for that info as very few have mentioned the comparison and I was wondering if it is worth waiting for the A10's.
Take Care,
Tec


Tec,

I had reported on this in another topic a week or two ago. I found the same to be true. I compared the older Sony PRLCD and the 60A20 and saw an improvement. The A10s were a tad better than that. What I mainly looked at was the overall blacks depth. The newer models showed to have truer black. From there the A10 to the A20 I found the A10 to have more detail in the black areas. There's so much info on these TVs that you can't find info that might interest you without spending hours weeding through other stuff.

if people are trying to get the best picture from a tv under $2500, why are they not buying rpcrt? I just thought I'd ask since a lot of you have said "the blacks and quality is not quite as good as my rpcrt. Is everybody buying lcd and dlp just for the size and weight?

Games (burn in), size and weight are the trade offs for losing PQ.

if people are trying to get the best picture from a tv under $2500, why are they not buying rpcrt? I just thought I'd ask since a lot of you have said "the blacks and quality is not quite as good as my rpcrt. Is everybody buying lcd and dlp just for the size and weight?

For me it was a combination of size, weight, and PQ issues. I was coming from a 30" Sony CRT that had poor geometry and convergence. And for HD and DVDs it was just too small to really enjoy it. As an upgrade, I wanted something in the 42" size and didn't really want a big RPCRT sitting in my small living room. The 42A10 fits perfect and doesn't take over the room like a RPCRT would.

The A10 may not equal the black level on a CRT, but it comes pretty close. For the price it's one hell of a bargain for the PQ it delivers.

I currently have a 42 inch crt rptv buit want a bigger tv. It is in a dedicated room so size doesnt matter. I just wanted something that looked a little more modern. But you guys are starting to scare me, what would you guys do. the a-10 or another crt rptv?

blkacklover, Do you have this set for HD viewing, or did you change your settings to watch HD channels.
like this:

custom
iris - 2
picture - 66
brightness - 48
color - 38
hue - G2
color temp - warm 1
sharpness - 45
noise reduction - low or off (still messing with it)
DRC Mode - high density or progressive (messing with this too)
DRC palette - custom
advanced video
black corrector - off
advanced iris - low
gamma - low
clear white - low
live color - off


Yeah I am watching the few HD channels I have via comcast. Then SD content.

I did lower the sharpness to 35. I have also very slightly tweaked the picture and brightness as I watch mostly in the evening/late night.

The DRC palette settings do not effect HD.

Will be watching a lot of college football on SD as I have the gameplan package and the comcast sports tier.

So yeah, those setttings are strictly for HD and SD viewing.

I have a slim PS2 hooked up via component cables. I can give out the settings I have on that input if anyone wants them.

I have the TV in a temporary area as I am having some work done in the den where it will be going, adding on some custom built in's to hold the TV and the rest of my media equipment, so I have not hooked up the DVD player yet.

Also the PQ hysteria needs to die down a bit.

The A10 has an excellent picture. Black levels are more than fine.

SDE is non existent for me (I am viewing at 7 feet).

I tried to see SSE last night, watching bright programs looking for it and I just don't see it.

In fact, I think if one of you guys who see SSE sat next to me and said there it is I still wouldn't see it. So I guess I am lucky. :)

Also the PQ hysteria needs to die down a bit.

The A10 has an excellent picture. Black levels are more than fine.

SDE is non existent for me (I am viewing at 7 feet).

I tried to see SSE last night, watching bright programs looking for it and I just don't see it.

In fact, I think if one of you guys who see SSE sat next to me and said there it is I still wouldn't see it. So I guess I am lucky. :)

Maybe you just need eyeglasses..lol :)

Just thought I'd post my experiences FWIW.

Had the 50" A10 delivered yesterday. Hooked it up to a Terk indoor antenna, DirecTV SD box, a Samsung DVD player and my stereo system. I'm coming from an old Sony 27" tube TV.

Changed the settings for antenna and satellite to those recommended by blkacklover, and they look very good to me. Before changing this, SSE was very noticeable. After the changes, I do not see it at all. Big improvement to SD over the out of the box settings. I was a little worried about using an indoor antenna, but it works great. Picks up all the channels I'm interested in and then some.

As mentioned before, some satellite channels look better than others - problems with the source, not the TV it seems. The best channels look excellent to me, even with the large increase in picture size over what I'm used to.

OTA HD strikes me as AMAZING! Again, I've only seen it in stores before, but it looks as good, if not better than what I've seen on display. Can't wait to watch some football in HD.

Don't have any issues at all with black levels so far. Admittedly, I haven't seen a large variety of programming yet, but so far, so good.

Still getting familiar with all the settings and what the tv will do. Seems like an incredible amount of customization can be done with this one, compared to what I'm used to. I love the fact that you can customize the picture for each input.

I've been watching the prices and developments in big screen tv's for a few years. What got me to buy this one was the combination of price, pq and size. I did check out some of the plasmas in stores, but I could not see $1,000 or more difference in pq. That's personal preference of course, but for my needs, the A10 was perfect.

Maybe you just need eyeglasses..lol

When I moved my Mits RPTV to a new apartment a couple years ago, I worried that something got damaged because it seemed a little softer in picture.

As it turns out, while I technically have 20/20 vision, the added 5' of viewing distance in the new pad was enough to make the effect of my very slight nearsightedness noticeable. I got glasses and managed to improve my picture dramatically...with no TV tweaks at all. :)

I'm kind of on information overload after going through this thread over the past couple days! My wife surprised me with a E42A10 for our anniversary (it arrives tomorrow) and I'm just not sure if I've got everything lined up to get it running right.

Never had HD before, so I'm currently planning to get a HD STB from my cable company, hooking the tv up to my Onkyo 780 system, have the tv stand ready. A couple of questions though--

I've always been a Sony fan on DVD players. Can anyone recommend a specific model to go with this television?

It seems that getting an ISF tech to come out and calibrate is the ideal way to do things. But it appears many here try to handle the calibration themselves. I guess I'm wondering if I could try some of the settings recommended here first, then go the ISF route if necessary.

Is there anything else that I'm missing, initially, to get my HDTV ready to roll?

Just thought I'd post my experiences FWIW.

Had the 50" A10 delivered yesterday. Hooked it up to a Terk indoor antenna, DirecTV SD box, a Samsung DVD player and my stereo system. I'm coming from an old Sony 27" tube TV.

Changed the settings for antenna and satellite to those recommended by blkacklover, and they look very good to me. Before changing this, SSE was very noticeable. After the changes, I do not see it at all. Big improvement to SD over the out of the box settings. I was a little worried about using an indoor antenna, but it works great. Picks up all the channels I'm interested in and then some.

As mentioned before, some satellite channels look better than others - problems with the source, not the TV it seems. The best channels look excellent to me, even with the large increase in picture size over what I'm used to.

OTA HD strikes me as AMAZING! Again, I've only seen it in stores before, but it looks as good, if not better than what I've seen on display. Can't wait to watch some football in HD.

Don't have any issues at all with black levels so far. Admittedly, I haven't seen a large variety of programming yet, but so far, so good.

Still getting familiar with all the settings and what the tv will do. Seems like an incredible amount of customization can be done with this one, compared to what I'm used to. I love the fact that you can customize the picture for each input.

I've been watching the prices and developments in big screen tv's for a few years. What got me to buy this one was the combination of price, pq and size. I did check out some of the plasmas in stores, but I could not see $1,000 or more difference in pq. That's personal preference of course, but for my needs, the A10 was perfect.


Now...........exactly where are you? We are about 40 miles from Peoria, Illinois. What and how many stations do you get OTA??? What is the PQ? Finally, exactly what is the model number of your indoorTerk? I just might be tempted to give the OTA a try, especially if I'm able to return it if unsatisfied!

Do you guys use wide zoom, full, or normal when viewing non-anamorphic dvds such as The Abyss?

Now...........exactly where are you? We are about 40 miles from Peoria, Illinois. What and how many stations do you get OTA??? What is the PQ? Finally, exactly what is the model number of your indoorTerk? I just might be tempted to give the OTA a try, especially if I'm able to return it if unsatisfied!
I'm in Fort Worth Texas, about 25 - 30 miles from the antenna farm here. Don't know the exact count of the stations received, but I get ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, UPN, WB and several Spanish language channels, religious channels and a shopping channel! The pq for the analog channels is not so great, but the digital channels vary from what I would call decent to excellent. But all of the channels I'm interested in here broadcast in digital, so I have no need to watch the analog channels.

I got the antenna at Radio Shack. The model number is HDTVi I think, and it's on sale right now. I was prepared to return it if it didn't work well, but I was pleasantly surpised. I don't even have to place up very high. I have it partially hidden in back of the TV.

From what I understand, antenna performance varies greatly, based on your location and what surrounds you. So I'd recommend you give it a try, and keep your receipt in case you have to return it.

I'm thinking DirecTV will be reducing their prices on HD boxes soon, so I decided to wait before upgrading to that.

Saw a 50" A10 at a Best Buy this weekend. I have to decide between the 42" A10 and the 960XBR CRT set within the next week (moving a to a new apt.). I was really impressed with the quality in general, but did notice 3 issues that concerned me:

seemed to be a bit of "dirtyness" in the picture. I doubt this was SDE, as it was primarily in an off center region. The only thing I can compare it to was to an crt that we had in a college dorm suite (filled with smokers), years ago. Every month or so one of us would have the sense to wipe the screen down and remove the layer of nyc and smokers dust/sludge and and it was like looking at a new tv.
The programing was of some skydiving/arial flight shots and the quality really was fantastic. All shots were done in extreem daylight though and when there was a breif flash of a shot inside the plane... whoa baby... the shadow detail was as poor as anything I have ever seen. You literaly could make out faces, a bit of silohettes, and pretty much the other 95% of the screen was washed out in black. I suppose you could call this excellent black levels, bc it sure was black, but I appreciate the guidance in this thread, as shadow detail was the fault i should have been looking for all along.
Any text on screen seemed to have a bit of noise/fuzziness around the edges.


So my question is this. Should I write off the three issues above as being poor settings/feeds in a store? Or are these simply tradoffs that I should expect to live with for the price/weight/depth of an A10?

if people are trying to get the best picture from a tv under $2500, why are they not buying rpcrt? I just thought I'd ask since a lot of you have said "the blacks and quality is not quite as good as my rpcrt. Is everybody buying lcd and dlp just for the size and weight?

For me, it's location will not allow for a RPCRT. I have a 65" in my family room and love it, but my options here (bedroom) were a 34" CRT or a 42-44" RPLCD/DLP and I chose the bigger size.

I currently have a 42 inch crt rptv buit want a bigger tv. It is in a dedicated room so size doesnt matter. I just wanted something that looked a little more modern. But you guys are starting to scare me, what would you guys do. the a-10 or another crt rptv?

If size/weight are not an issue, I would go with the RPCRT as they are still considered to have the best RP picture and are at a lower price. However, you will still have concerns about burn in. Not quite sure how a large screen HDTV of any type wouldn't look "modern" but, only you can make that call. Just my $.02 .

Now...........exactly where are you? We are about 40 miles from Peoria, Illinois. What and how many stations do you get OTA??? What is the PQ? Finally, exactly what is the model number of your indoorTerk? I just might be tempted to give the OTA a try, especially if I'm able to return it if unsatisfied!

According to www.antennaweb.org (check it out) there are a good number of stations in Peoria. So, you may be able to pick them up, but I would bet you will need an antenna in the attic or a directional antenna mounted outside. I live about 30 miles from the antennas in Chicago. I tried a couple of indoor antennas mounted in the same first floor room as the TV. But, I was only successful when I attached to an old antenna in my attic.

That said, check out the Peoria HDTV thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=412347 and see what other folks are doing.

Unless you really need to see bugs in HD (e.g. DiscoveryHD) or some of the other cable HD channels, OTA HD is the way to go. It's economical and offers a a good amount of HD programming.


Mitch

I have a question about my tv that I bought at CC, and I wanted to see if I people think I'm right and if I can do anything about it.

I bought the 42A10 at CC a few weeks back. I bought it at less than MSRP, and they had a special for 10% your 1st purchase if you got a CC credit card.

The receipt has the following:

42A10 $XXXX.XX (this amount is the lower-than-MSRP that I paid)
42A10 price adjustment - $XXX.XX (10% off rebate)

Now the 42A10 is being listed at $100 less than what I paid (not counting the 10% off for using the credit card.) I talked to a manager, who said that their new price is higher than what I ended up paying, so he won't give me $100 back based on the price protection. While he's right that I paid less than what is now being offerred, I think I should still get $100 back. The credit card offer shouldn't be taken into consideration, imho.

Am I right or not? And do you think I can go over the manager's head to get the money. Its almost become more a personal crusade now as opposed to getting the $100. I'm thinking of just returning the TV and extended warranty just because I'm pissed at the guy.

Maybe you just need eyeglasses..lol :)



hahaha.

Well, if I need eyeglasses to see SSE maybe I don't need eyeglasses! ;)

I have a slim PS2 hooked up via component cables. I can give out the settings I have on that input if anyone wants them.

If you could that would be great. :)

Anyone in Canada receive one yet?

I bought a 34" XBR960 about 6 months ago. I wish I would have waited. :( The 42" A10 looks fantastic. :mad:

I used ot have a RPCRT and could not deal with the glare. I am not in a dark room but rather one with 3 good size windows. This was 2 yrs ago, I don't know if this has gotten better, without having to take the damn reflective screen off.

For me, the glare and lack of angled viewing killed it. I find viewing lcd's from an angle to be much, much better. Otherwise, rpcrt's do have a great picture.

I just hate the SDE fromt he a10's, I don't notice sse much at all, just the sde. This is the only reason i am still holding the sammy dlp in close running.

I have a 10% off coupon for BB valid 9/2 - 9/5, so it's time to buy. We'll see, right now it's 60% LCD 40% DLP (no, I don't see rainbows, even after lots of viewing at store).

I have a question about my tv that I bought at CC, and I wanted to see if I people think I'm right and if I can do anything about it.

I bought the 42A10 at CC a few weeks back. I bought it at less than MSRP, and they had a special for 10% your 1st purchase if you got a CC credit card.

The receipt has the following:

42A10 $XXXX.XX (this amount is the lower-than-MSRP that I paid)
42A10 price adjustment - $XXX.XX (10% off rebate)

Now the 42A10 is being listed at $100 less than what I paid (not counting the 10% off for using the credit card.) I talked to a manager, who said that their new price is higher than what I ended up paying, so he won't give me $100 back based on the price protection. While he's right that I paid less than what is now being offerred, I think I should still get $100 back. The credit card offer shouldn't be taken into consideration, imho.

Am I right or not? And do you think I can go over the manager's head to get the money. Its almost become more a personal crusade now as opposed to getting the $100. I'm thinking of just returning the TV and extended warranty just because I'm pissed at the guy.

I agree with the manager. You're bottom dollar was less than what it's on sale for now, so you got the better deal.

Now, you could spite the store anyway, return it under the 30 day gurantee, but then you'll have to go somewhere else and pay more for it.

I think that's called cutting off your nose to spite your face.

I went through two Samsung HLR-4226W DLP sets before I settled on the 42" A10. I am much happier now than I was with the Samsung. Now that I see the picture on the Sony I realize how washed out the Samsung was.

I am now looking to get some new cables and a surge protector so I could use some advice. I read through just about every post in this thread and it seems like RAM is a good place to get an inexpensive HDMI cable. Any objections or other suggestions? As for the surge protector, I am looking at the Monster Power Bar 1100 . Most people say that Monster is overpriced so is there another option out there that is more reasonably priced?

And finally, any preference to the different calibration DVDs that are out there? I don't want to pay for a professional calibration just yet so I'll give it a shot on my own.

Go With Panamax!

And Avia!

With all the negatives in this thread... i'll throw a nice little positive in here.

I was able to compare the Panasonic TH42PX50U Plasma to the Sony KDFE42A10 side by side running a QAM feed of PBS High Definition. The commercial "this belongs to you" came on (it is a VERY, VERY good demo for an HDTV... the most detailed, best looking scenes I have ever seen on an HDTV) and it was absolutely amazing how much better the 42A10 looked. Out of 6 people, all 6 agreed that the 42A10 had a nicer picture in every aspect.

Sure made me feel better about my purchase :)

With all the negatives in this thread... i'll throw a nice little positive in here.

I was able to compare the Panasonic TH42PX50U Plasma to the Sony KDFE42A10 side by side running a QAM feed of PBS High Definition. The commercial "this belongs to you" came on (it is a VERY, VERY good demo for an HDTV... the most detailed, best looking scenes I have ever seen on an HDTV) and it was absolutely amazing how much better the 42A10 looked. Out of 6 people, all 6 agreed that the 42A10 had a nicer picture in every aspect.

Sure made me feel better about my purchase :)

The A-10's I have seen sure don't look better...and I have seen them in at least 5 stores now, on probably 10 occasions...HMMM. If they looked as good as you say, I would already have bought one, instead of pondering Panny plasmas that don't fit my furniture, and cost a good deal more. I fail to see how you can say that the A-10 looks 'amazing' next to any better grade plasma. If you like yours that is great...but let's not be throwing out information that isn't backed up in professional reviews etc. LCD projection never gets such stunning reviews from people who test video gear. And sales people in stores never seem overly impressed with them either. That said, the Sony LCD projection models offer good value, good PQ, no rainbows, and in the case of the A-10, a nice compact cabinet for the size screen they offer. Just my 2 cents.

if people are trying to get the best picture from a tv under $2500, why are they not buying rpcrt? I just thought I'd ask since a lot of you have said "the blacks and quality is not quite as good as my rpcrt. Is everybody buying lcd and dlp just for the size and weight?
I don't think that crt-rptv is always better than rplcd. In a bright room with a good HD feed my E50A10 has an awesome picture from my sitting position 9 feet from the screen- equal with different faults or better than anything in its price class. True, with an equally priced 50 inch crt-rptv that has just been expertly calibrated the image in a darkened room after 30 minutes of warming up might be better; but with some bias lighting a properly adjusted E50A10 image even in a darkened room is still very good. Some calibrations drift with age for a CRT which requires at least re-doing the full grid convergence (a PITA) periodically and possibly a whole new ISF visit occasionally to return the full picture quality. Differential aging, even if not true burn in is an issue with any phosphor technology which leads many to zoom or stretch 3x4 material to fill the screen. I think any stretch or zoom of SD looks awful and much prefer a pillar bar image on the rplcd where phosphor aging issues are non-existent. With any TV as good as the E50A10 finding source material which can approach the quality of what the TV can show is the real difficulty. That said I do have some issues with the processing the TV is doing so I would like to find some tweaks to keep the image as un-processed as possible.

The A-10's I have seen sure don't look better...and I have seen them in at least 5 stores now, on probably 10 occasions...HMMM. If they looked as good as you say, I would already have bought one, instead of pondering Panny plasmas that don't fit my furniture, and cost a good deal more. I fail to see how you can say that the A-10 looks 'amazing' next to any better grade plasma. If you like yours that is great...but let's not be throwing out information that isn't backed up in professional reviews etc. LCD projection never gets such stunning reviews from people who test video gear. And sales people in stores never seem overly impressed with them either. That said, the Sony LCD projection models offer good value, good PQ, no rainbows, and in the case of the A-10, a nice compact cabinet for the size screen they offer. Just my 2 cents.

It wasn't my exact 42A10 that was side by side. Yes, its not backed up by professional reviews, but how far can we take that? Doesn't it come down to what looks best to each person? These two families thought the 42A10 was the better TV.

I bought a 34" XBR960 about 6 months ago. I wish I would have waited. The 42" A10 looks fantastic.

Look on the bright side: you have probably the very best picture available in a consumer TV. It may be comparatively small, but wow, those Sony Super Fine Pitch CRT HDTVs can produce a beautiful picture.

The A-10's I have seen sure don't look better...and I have seen them in at least 5 stores now, on probably 10 occasions...HMMM. If they looked as good as you say, I would already have bought one, instead of pondering Panny plasmas that don't fit my furniture, and cost a good deal more. I fail to see how you can say that the A-10 looks 'amazing' next to any better grade plasma. If you like yours that is great...but let's not be throwing out information that isn't backed up in professional reviews etc. LCD projection never gets such stunning reviews from people who test video gear. And sales people in stores never seem overly impressed with them either. That said, the Sony LCD projection models offer good value, good PQ, no rainbows, and in the case of the A-10, a nice compact cabinet for the size screen they offer. Just my 2 cents.

Comparing TVs in the electronics stores is like playing a slot machine. Various units have been out for particular amounts of time (reducing the brightness of the displays) and people have also adjusted the displays which really wreaks havoc.

Alan, have you considered the SXRDs from Sony? I like Plasma but I would hope the power consumption would be lower.

Back on topic, those who are desiring great black levels from your A10s, GET YOUR TV PROFESSIONALLY CALIBRATED! It makes a HUGE difference. Spend the money -- think of it as an investment over many, many years.

Chris

Comparing TVs in the electronics stores is like playing a slot machine. Various units have been out for particular amounts of time (reducing the brightness of the displays) and people have also adjusted the displays which really wreaks havoc.

Alan, have you considered the SXRDs from Sony? I like Plasma but I would hope the power consumption would be lower.

Back on topic, those who are desiring great black levels from your A10s, GET YOUR TV PROFESSIONALLY CALIBRATED! It makes a HUGE difference. Spend the money -- think of it as an investment over many, many years.

Chris

SXRD is still on my short shopping list. I should be able to see one in 9 days at the CEDIA expo here in in Indy...should be interesting! If it fails to impress, I am back to the A-10 vs. Panny plasma dilemma.

I appreciate your reply. I've had a widescreen HDTV for about 5 years and I've had my DVD player set up properly since that point. The DVDs look pretty good. Now, I can't say anything about a cable box because I don't have a cable box. I'm running OTA Antenna directly into the Antenna IN. I had one of the very first generation Direct TV HD Receivers and it was easier to just bypass it since I am not paying for Direct TV or even cable at this point in time. I rent so many DVDs that it has been of little interest to me to pay for Direct TV or Cable for watching movies that I've already watched 5 times. Anyway, what I do care to watch the most is sports in HD. I'll get a good chance to check it out tonight in Monday Night Football. I'm not sure how the whole ESPN contract effects things but I do see that ABC shows to have a game tonight.
So, I don't have a cable box to adjust. I have OTA and am looking at what ABC, NBC, CBS, etc. puts out. On my 58" Elite I watched Lost and a couple of other shows along with sports and they looked unbelievable. I even had friends regularly calling me up to come over and watch golf, football or something else in HD. If I can get a great picture for these things then I'll be a happy man. If not then I'll be trying out something else. I will turn the Black Corrector off when I get home and check out the game tonight. I'll also turn my Iris setting from 3 to 2 or 1. (it might be on 2 already but I think it is on 3)
Oh, I do have another question. As I go down through the menu I typically turn everything off that alters the picture, for example DRC. With this TV I'm confused what should be turned on or off. Also, if I turn the iris down or off wouldn't I be better off to take the set back and get the 55" A20 I was originally comparing the A10 to? I decided on the A10 due to the iris and added connections although I wanted a tad larger size TV. In my testing the A10 looked better for blacks but I wasn't looking at HD feed that much. Decisions decisions... I have been surprised to have to be rethinking this purchase and hope I feel better tonight after watching NFL in HD.
The question about settings could be a lot easier to find if we had a settings page for A10s. I think this many people posting shows there is enough reason for one. Just a thought.

Having an HD set from more than five years ago makes you the grandfather of HD in my book :)

I have my set with Iris 2 and everything set to off in the Advanced menu except for Black Corrector which I have it set to Low. Personally, I think the option of having an adjustable Iris is a benefit. I do change the iris setting from time to time anywhere from 1-3 depending on the material I'm watching. The A20 will give you the size benefit but you might also end up doing an ND filter mod if the shadow detail is not to your liking whereas the A10 will give you the same shadow detail within your fingertips.

if someone has had the 50A10 professionally calibrated, could you post some (or all) of your impressions re: the difference?

Had the 50a10 for a week now and I think it's great. HD-great, SD-actually really good, DVD-great.

I had to switch to TWC from DTV(couldn't pick up their HD sat) and I have the hd 8300. I downloaded the manual and read some posts here, but I cannot figure out how to confirm if it's set up properly. Per the manual, if followed instructions to run the setup wizard-didn't work. Tried to find the "pass through" option-couldn't find it. Pressing settings button twice didn't work. The manual says it should display what signal is processing-my display says nothing.

I did find a format setting and it's set only to 1080i. I switched on 720p and 480i, couldn't tell a difference in anything and switched it back to just 1080i. Really I just want to confirm if I'm maximizing the opportunity here....is my TV processing what ever native signal is sent?

Of course the tech that was here was so helpful that he asked me to hook up the box b/c he had no idea how to do it or how it worked. I'm hoping maybe someone here can explain.

Lastly, the remote is very finicky. Seems like it switches modes by itself..can change channels, then after some time it won't work and I have to manually change modes, same with the volume...anyone else experience this?

FYI. I will be going to New York the week of Oct. 10th-14th to do a calibration tour in the NE.

I am also going to Austin TX Sept. 13-15 on a tour.

I agree with the manager. You're bottom dollar was less than what it's on sale for now, so you got the better deal.

Now, you could spite the store anyway, return it under the 30 day gurantee, but then you'll have to go somewhere else and pay more for it.

I think that's called cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Indeed. For $100 you have to consider the value of your time and the overall quality of your life . . . . . pack it up, haul it to your vehicle, drive it back, haul it out, go inside, wait your turn, wait for the eternal "return" paperwork, finally get your $ back, go somewhere else, hope you pay no more than what you did before this all got started, get the TV, be there when they deliver it, re-hook it up . . . . plus all the emotional energy spent in showing that manager the error in his ways.

For $100.

I'm not saying I don't sympathize with your frustration - I've definitely been there, been willing to "go the distance" to make my point . . . . But you might look at this as an opportunity to learn vicariously from my past experiences, to wit: Every time I indeed "went the distance" to make my point, I can say unequivocally that it never has been worth it.

Back on topic, those who are desiring great black levels from your A10s, GET YOUR TV PROFESSIONALLY CALIBRATED! It makes a HUGE difference. Spend the money -- think of it as an investment over many, many years.

Ah, Mr. Foote. If only life was so simple. Just call up a highly reputable ISF calibrator, have him come out and all would be well. . . .

That's what I thought would happen. That's what I did. He came out tonight. And couldn't do a damned thing. He couldn't adjust my set at all.

It's not his fault at all, really, even when he assumed the A10 service menu would be very similar to the past Sony LCDs he had done (since the past four previous iterations of the Grand Wega LCDRPTV lines were indeed very similar). But the A10 is COMPLETELY different than its predecessors. Though he was quite good and figured out how to bring up some sort of service menu, NOTHING in that menu had ANYTHING to do with display adjustment.

And get this: While he was trying to break the "code" of the A10, I went online and actually BOUGHT a service manual for the 50A10 (from manualzone.com). With great anticipation, we waited for the pdf to download, only to find . . . . it had NO information WHATSOEVER regarding picture adjustment. It did go into some detial regarding disassembling your A10, if that's of interest to you.

So, with nothing to go on, he had to call it quits. He will consult with his Sony contacts and hopefully will come up with something a little bit more encouraging and come back and then I will have a perfectly calibrated A10.

But - and this is the scary part - he did note that it could be possible that these sets just do not have PQ service manual adjustments . . . . It's too early to tell, as he will be contacting his Sony people, but - wouldn't that be a kicker?

Bottom Line: Anybody who contacts an ISF calibrator for work on this set should make sure the calibrator obtains the service manual FIRST (hopefully one more informative than the one I downloaded) and has specifically read up on how to calibrate this set. NO amount of experience with prior Grand Wega LCDRPTVs will help a calibrator at all with this set, at least as far as getting into the right menus. Without clear instructions from Sony on how to access the right service menu for this particular set, you'll waste your and the calibrator's time.

SUBSEQUENT EDIT: Turns out it's very likely, if not certian, the A10's have PQ adjustments in the service menu, similar at least in principle to any other HDTV. It's just that, at the moment, few know exactly where to find them and how to interpret the somewhat cryptic acronyms and names Sony has given them - a good service manual hopefully will solve this issue. Sorry to make such dire pronouncements - given how new this set is, the deeper tweaks are still a mystery to most, it seems. A10's - a true work in progress . . .

RE: posting A10 slim PS2 input settings
If you could that would be great. :)



Here you go. Still testing them out a bit but this looks good on Hot Shots Golf Fore, NCAA Football 2006, Madden 2006 and the new Incredible Hulk game in 720p.

P Mode - custom
Iris - 2
Picture - 70
Brightness - 45
Color - 44
Hue - 0
Color Temp - Warm 1
Sharpness - 68 (makes the words and details look nice and crisp, wish it worked like this for SD)
Noise Reduction - off
DRC Mode - High Res
DRC Palette 40 40
adv video
black corrector - off
adv iris - low
gamma - low
clear white - low
live color - off

FYI. I will be going to New York the week of Oct. 10th-14th to do a calibration tour in the NE.

I am also going to Austin TX Sept. 13-15 on a tour.


I for one am happy to hear that. Good luck and have fun when you go.

Ah, Mr. Foote. If only life was so simple. Just call up a highly reputable ISF calibrator, have him come out and all would be well. . . .

That's what I thought would happen. That's what I did. He came out tonight. And couldn't do a damned thing. He couldn't adjust my set at all.

But - and this is the scary part - he did note that it could be possible that these sets just do not have PQ service manual adjustments . . . . It's too early to tell, as he will be contacting his Sony people, but - wouldn't that be a kicker?

Bottom Line: Anybody who contacts an ISF calibrator for work on this set should make sure the calibrator obtains the service manual FIRST....


WOW! :(

I am really glad umr is going to NY and Austin now. This will be crazy if there is no service menu that encompasses PQ.

What about that menu deconvolver got into that was messing with the red push?

WOW! :(

I am really glad umr is going to NY and Austin now. This will be crazy if there is no service menu that encompasses PQ.

What about that menu deconvolver got into that was messing with the red push?

My calibrator did find something regarding RGB - one for each color, and the settings were: High. and. Low. High and low. Not really much to go on, if you're calibrating. Are you expecting UMR's tour to result in any additional knowledge regarding tuning the A10? Hope so . . . .

Yes, just wishful thinking/hoping.

Things are good with the A10TV but if they can be better...

umd had some sweet info in the other sony calibration thread. It's a shame the A10's don't have the same style service menu.

Well I have had my A10 for a little over 2 weeks and I am completely satisfied. Others who have noted the improved PQ via HDMI, I can vouch for that. Got my HDMI cable today from RAM(nice quality build) and there was a marked improvement in PQ. I was comparing the Red Sox game in HD and the colors seemed more vibrant, sharp, and overall it looks "cleaner". I did notice on some HD material via component that there was some slight motion artifact. With HDMI this seems to be less so, if not gone completely.
SD looks surprisingly good via composite, DRC palette really helps to clean up SD material. The best SD picture is undoubtedly from splitting coax and letting the TV's tuner do the scaling. This set seems to do a pretty good job in that respect.
I have HD DVR(Motorola 6412 Phase 3) and it handles pretty much anything I throw at it. I have noticed when switching to Input 6(HDMI) it takes a considerable amout of time to display the picture. Is this normal?
Also I've read that when using STB via component its best to configure STB to output at 1080i. Now that I'm using HDMI should I configure STB to output at the TV's native(720p)?

What are the screen dimensions (LxH) on a 50" diagonal widescreen set? Just the screen itself, don't care about the cabinet dimensions (they're in the spec sheets). Just want to rig up a piece of cardboard to see what a 50" set would look like in my room compared to my 36". Thanks

About 43 9/16" x 24 1/2". Thank Pythagoras, not me.

(43.579" x 24.513")

What are the screen dimensions (LxH) on a 50" diagonal widescreen set? Just the screen itself, don't care about the cabinet dimensions (they're in the spec sheets). Just want to rig up a piece of cardboard to see what a 50" set would look like in my room compared to my 36". Thanks

Trig & Algebra 101

For a right-angled triangle, Hypotenuse Squared = Sum of the Sides Squared

For an HDTV, Width & Height are in a 16:9 ratio.

For a 50" screen, where X is an unknown variable:

50^2 = (16X)^2 + (9X)^2

2500 = 337 x X^2

X = SQRT(2500/337)

X = 2.72"

Width = 16 x 2.72 = 43.6"

Height = 9 x 2.72= 24.5"


Enjoy! :D

After more closely scrutinizing the service manual for the A10's, and mostly just poking around in service mode, I do believe I've found paramaters and full adjustability for PQ-type aspects, more than it seemed at first. I let my calibrator know of this, we'll see what he has to say . . . figuring out how to calibrate this is definitely a work in progress, apparently even for the pros.

After more closely scrutinizing the service manual for the A10's, and mostly just poking around in service mode, I do believe I've found paramaters and full adjustability for PQ-type aspects, more than it seemed at first. I let my calibrator know of this, we'll see what he has to say . . . figuring out how to calibrate this is definitely a work in progress, apparently even for the pros.
Thanks for the information. Please keep us updated. I'm considering a calibration but would like to know how well these sets respond to it before making the decision.

After more closely scrutinizing the service manual for the A10's, and mostly just poking around in service mode, I do believe I've found paramaters and full adjustability for PQ-type aspects, more than it seemed at first. I let my calibrator know of this, we'll see what he has to say . . . figuring out how to calibrate this is definitely a work in progress, apparently even for the pros.

Keep us updated Fred! I was really bummed to read your post. You would think Sony would let folks enter the service mode to perform adjustments -- sheez!

Have you found any adjustments for geometry yet?

Chris

comcast cable boxes dont have a hdmi out,They have a dvi out. would a dvi-hdmi cable from the box to the a10 do the job?

comcast cable boxes dont have a hdmi out,They have a dvi out. would a dvi-hdmi cable from the box to the a10 do the job?

Yes, thats exactly what you need. Make sure you set the cable box to "PASS THROUGH" as far as output goes.

Has anyone noticed what look to be faintly reddish splotches in various parts of the screen, most easily seen when the picture is black (like on an unused input) in low light?

I was watching Sin City last night in the dark, and it was VERY visible to me. Switched around to a couple of unused inputs, and it was definitely there, and in the same exact places. Changing brightness & contrast settings lessens its visibility, but I have as of yet been unable to completely eliminated it without rendering an unwatchable picture.

If some of you wouldn't mind, could you give it a good look over tonight and get back to me? Specifically those with the 42" A10, which is the model I have.

Thanks,

Kai

Well I have had my A10 for a little over 2 weeks and I am completely satisfied. Others who have noted the improved PQ via HDMI, I can vouch for that. Got my HDMI cable today from RAM(nice quality build) and there was a marked improvement in PQ. I was comparing the Red Sox game in HD and the colors seemed more vibrant, sharp, and overall it looks "cleaner". I did notice on some HD material via component that there was some slight motion artifact. With HDMI this seems to be less so, if not gone completely.
SD looks surprisingly good via composite, DRC palette really helps to clean up SD material. The best SD picture is undoubtedly from splitting coax and letting the TV's tuner do the scaling. This set seems to do a pretty good job in that respect.
I have HD DVR(Motorola 6412 Phase 3) and it handles pretty much anything I throw at it. I have noticed when switching to Input 6(HDMI) it takes a considerable amout of time to display the picture. Is this normal?
Also I've read that when using STB via component its best to configure STB to output at 1080i. Now that I'm using HDMI should I configure STB to output at the TV's native(720p)?

Joe,

Would you mind posting the part # for the cable you ordered? I have the same cable box.

Thanks

After more closely scrutinizing the service manual for the A10's, and mostly just poking around in service mode, I do believe I've found paramaters and full adjustability for PQ-type aspects, more than it seemed at first. I let my calibrator know of this, we'll see what he has to say . . . figuring out how to calibrate this is definitely a work in progress, apparently even for the pros.


Keep on Keeping on Fred. You are blazing a trail into the unknown! :)

This is invaluable research and info. I am very happy you found what look to be the PQ settings. Well done.

Kai,

The color uniformity problem you are seeing is a common flaw with any technology other than DLP. It is most visible with B&W material as you saw.

Kai,

The color uniformity problem you are seeing is a common flaw with any technology other than DLP. It is most visible with B&W material as you saw.


Is it more or less severe on the Qualia 006 SXRD as compared to LCD rear projections?

Is it more or less severe on the Qualia 006 SXRD as compared to LCD rear projections?

This is very dependant on each sample some LCD's are better on this than some Qualia's and some Qualia's are better than some LCD's. I would say their performance is similar with respect to this. This and low level color uniformity are my big complaints about LCD and SXRD. DLP reigns king in this are. SXRD has other attributes that are better than DLP though.

I finally got a DVI-to-HDMI cable from monoprice (great price!!). Now I'm trying to figure out, since the 42A10 has only one HDMI input, whether I would be better served to use it on my Comcast HDTV cable box, or my Momitsu V880dx upconverting dvd player. Both are hooked up w/ component at this point.

The vast majority of Comcast channels are SD. Since I don't have any premium channels, I'm really only getting 5 or so HDTV channels. So my initial thought is to use it to hook up the DVD player since it will supposedly have some slight PQ improvement over component.

However, I don't know if using HDMI would have any improvement on non-HDTV channels - if so, it might be worth doing, as they don't look fantastic. And with the fanciness of my upconverting dvd player, would I really be able to tell a difference going HDMI vs. component?

Any thoughts appreciated. Otherwise I'll just move everything out of the cabinet (ugh) and start yanking cables and try to see what looks best. :)

Joe,

Would you mind posting the part # for the cable you ordered? I have the same cable box.

Thanks

My HDMI cable came from monoprice. It is their "Certified HDMI Cable male to male 28AWG - 6ft w/Ferrite Cores (Gold Plated)"

Nice quality and cheap.

Has anyone noticed what look to be faintly reddish splotches in various parts of the screen, most easily seen when the picture is black (like on an unused input) in low light?

If some of you wouldn't mind, could you give it a good look over tonight and get back to me? Specifically those with the 42" A10, which is the model I have.
I already commented on this, but it seems to have gotten looked over by most A10 owners. CNET's review of the 50A10 also made note of it. Mine shows a faint blue splotch in the upper right corner and tapers off near the upper middle part of the screen. It really only shows up on b&w programs and doesn't seem to bother me that much. It can be annoying and you might want to exchange if it's real bad.

Now, if you really want to get picky, check the convergence and see how good or bad it is. Mine isn't so good, but it's hard to detect at an 8 foot viewing distance. I'm waiting to get more hours on my 42A10 to see if it gets any worse. I get the feeling that Sony allows these TVs a certain amount of convergence errors rather then spend the time calibrating them to perfection.

"Convergence"....Can this sets convergence be tweaked?

Can this be done by a typical user with common hand tools. or a ""hidden menu"

I was shopping at Sam's last night, for groceries that is, but I unexpectedly got to see my first A10. It was the 50" version. I have to say that it had the best PQ of any of the sets they had including the plasmas.

They didn't have the 42" version. Has anyone been able to compare the two versions side-by-side?

"Convergence"....Can this sets convergence be tweaked?

Can this be done by a typical user with common hand tools. or a ""hidden menu"

Unlikely. The 3 LCD panels are fixed in place at the factory. If one or more are just slightly out of alignment, you get convergence errors or misconvergence. The issue is similar to what is seen on a CRT-based TV: color fringing around white text, lines, objects, etc.

You aren't seeing many people posting about this because they either don't have the problem or don't see it at a normal viewing distance. Take a closer look at the screen, say from 1 foot, and check for any red or blue color fringing around white text. In a perfect world, that white text should be solid white.

I've already called Sony on this issue and was told it would need to be serviced.

My HDMI cable came from monoprice. It is their "Certified HDMI Cable male to male 28AWG - 6ft w/Ferrite Cores (Gold Plated)"

Nice quality and cheap.


Wow, cheap cost is right.

Just ordered one for myself and one for my pop. Hard to go wrong at that price. My best buy purchased HDMI cable will be going back if this one performs equally.

Had the 50a10 for a week now and I think it's great. HD-great, SD-actually really good, DVD-great.

I had to switch to TWC from DTV(couldn't pick up their HD sat) and I have the hd 8300. I downloaded the manual and read some posts here, but I cannot figure out how to confirm if it's set up properly. Per the manual, if followed instructions to run the setup wizard-didn't work. Tried to find the "pass through" option-couldn't find it. Pressing settings button twice didn't work. The manual says it should display what signal is processing-my display says nothing.

I did find a format setting and it's set only to 1080i. I switched on 720p and 480i, couldn't tell a difference in anything and switched it back to just 1080i. Really I just want to confirm if I'm maximizing the opportunity here....is my TV processing what ever native signal is sent?

Of course the tech that was here was so helpful that he asked me to hook up the box b/c he had no idea how to do it or how it worked. I'm hoping maybe someone here can explain.


Lastly, the remote is very finicky. Seems like it switches modes by itself..can change channels, then after some time it won't work and I have to manually change modes, same with the volume...anyone else experience this?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated...

Kai,

The color uniformity problem you are seeing is a common flaw with any technology other than DLP. It is most visible with B&W material as you saw.

I wasn't aware of that, thanks for the info. Given the sets "Red Push" issues, would the adjustments to correct this potentially lessen its visibility... making it look a bit more like uneven backlighting which I'm very used to seeing on notebook and desktop LCD's?

Kai

look back through this thread.

I posted how to do it with an 8300HDDVR.

This is very dependant on each sample some LCD's are better on this than some Qualia's and some Qualia's are better than some LCD's. I would say their performance is similar with respect to this. This and low level color uniformity are my big complaints about LCD and SXRD. DLP reigns king in this are. SXRD has other attributes that are better than DLP though.

What is your opnion of the Panny Plasmas, vs the other types of tv technologies? I am sitting on the fence now. Have you been able to see a new 50 or 60 inch SXRD in action yet? I really have been impressed with the Pannys in stores. The only one I won't even consider is DLP, because they give me headaches, and I see rainbows often on them. Otherwise some of the DLP's do have a very nice PQ, especially the Sammy pedastal models.

What is your opnion of the Panny Plasmas, vs the other types of tv technologies? I am sitting on the fence now. Have you been able to see a new 50 or 60 inch SXRD in action yet? I really have been impressed with the Pannys in stores. The only one I won't even consider is DLP, because they give me headaches, and I see rainbows often on them. Otherwise some of the DLP's do have a very nice PQ, especially the Sammy pedastal models.

I don't do display recommendations except for customers. It just causes too much heartache on the forum. Nobody wants to hear about how their precious TV or projector is flawed. I would recommend you purchase what you like because it is your TV.

I have not seen the new XBR SXRD sets, but I would guess they will be great. I am personally considering purchasing one if that tells you what I think.

I don't do display recommendations except for customers. It just causes too much heartache on the forum. Nobody wants to hear about how their precious TV or projector is flawed. I would recommend you purchase what you like because it is your TV.

I have not seen the new XBR SXRD sets, but I would guess they will be great. I am personally considering purchasing one if that tells you what I think.


Thanks for the fast reply. Honestly though, ALL our precious gear is 'flawed'..lol. When you find a perfect TV, please let us know ASAP! :)

I wasn't aware of that, thanks for the info. Given the sets "Red Push" issues, would the adjustments to correct this potentially lessen its visibility... making it look a bit more like uneven backlighting which I'm very used to seeing on notebook and desktop LCD's?

Kai

I doubt it. A properly calibrated display will tend to make this problem more visible not less. This is not the same issue as uneven lighting. The human eye is not very sensitive to differences in luminance, but even slight shifts in color are very visible.

I doubt it. A properly calibrated display will tend to make this problem more visible not less. This is not the same issue as uneven lighting. The human eye is not very sensitive to differences in luminance, but even slight shifts in color are very visible.

Well... that sucks. :D

It's not a really big deal to be perfectly honest, considering how nice the picture looks despite that weakness in the technology. Just had to ask.

Kai

comcast cable boxes dont have a hdmi out,They have a dvi out. would a dvi-hdmi cable from the box to the a10 do the job?

If it's like my cable company they do have them in the back room to be release later. You just have to insist that you have to have the Phase 3 with hdmi :cool:

The SA 8300HD DVR that comcast has right now has an HDMI output.

I know because I am using it. :)

Eastern US. VA to be exact.

I was shopping at Sam's last night, for groceries that is, but I unexpectedly got to see my first A10. It was the 50" version. I have to say that it had the best PQ of any of the sets they had including the plasmas.

They didn't have the 42" version. Has anyone been able to compare the two versions side-by-side?

This is a shock...Sam's Club gets the A-10 on display before all the Best Buy stores! I would think Sam's would be way down the list to get stock on these..go figure.

42" A10 dealer costs, take 6 Founding Fathers + 1 Jackson from MSRP. Do the math and add 2 Founding Fathers (min. profit) for your goal.

This is a shock...Sam's Club gets the A-10 on display before all the Best Buy stores! I would think Sam's would be way down the list to get stock on these..go figure.

You're right about that. And beside that, it was actually a package deal. You got the Sony stand that is listed on the SonyStyle site for $349 thrown in.

Audio problem help please.

Just hooked up via HDMI and only have sound on 480P; nothing on 720P or 1081I through HDMI AND even cables from audio out of D" H10 to audio in at HDMI input 6 on my A10.

Video switches fine with resolutions all / native on but audio only on 480P material.

Thanks.........

You're right about that. And beside that, it was actually a package deal. You got the Sony stand that is listed on the SonyStyle site for $349 thrown in.

Sam's 4 year warranty looks cheap too....like one-half what CC wants for one.
The A-10 shows on Sam's Club web site too. I thought places like Sam's usually sold last-years models. This is unusual. Maybe another sign that Sony plans to takeover the bigger screen tv market.

This is a shock...Sam's Club gets the A-10 on display before all the Best Buy stores! I would think Sam's would be way down the list to get stock on these..go figure.

But they're only $100 off of MSRP. What gives? That's a horrible price.

You can get 10% off MSRP from CC from time to time.

EDIT: Whoops. Didn't see that the stand was thrown in. :P

Sam's 4 year warranty looks cheap too....like one-half what CC wants for one.
The A-10 shows on Sam's Club web site too. I thought places like Sam's usually sold last-years models. This is unusual. Maybe another sign that Sony plans to takeover the bigger screen tv market.

Anyone know if the warranty covers bulbs? The warranty descritpion mentioned that normal wear and tear is covered. It seems to me as though dead bulbs would qualify as wear and tear...

Hi guys,

Just thought I'd take a minute to tell you that after much advice from the forum, I have taken the plunge and bought the 50" a10.

I got a sweet deal ($1xxx.xx) from Best Buy here in Detroit, and if anyone would like a tip on my price, and how to get the same, feel free to PM me.

It's being delivered on Saturday, so I will post some impressions Sunday or Monday. Maybe I can help some folks out the way others helped me.

Thanks for the advice, looking forward to the e50a10

Rob

After all the (mostly) positive reviews a went out to PC Richard and and watched a 50" a10 ...liked it so much I bought one.

NOW at least till I take delivery I don't want to see ANY negative reviews on this set. (G)

Hey guys,

Just pulled the trigger on a 42" A10 at CC. I don't have any HD programming yet, I am a subscriber with D*, I don't have any contract to fulfill, just month to month. The set is scheduled to be delivered on 9/3/05. I would like to know some of the video settings that has worked for some people. I will be hooking up the a Sony DVD player and D* SD receiver. I would appreciate any help on this matter.

Keep us updated Fred! I was really bummed to read your post. You would think Sony would let folks enter the service mode to perform adjustments -- sheez!

Have you found any adjustments for geometry yet?

Chris

Yes, indeed - I too was bummed to report as much . . . As you may have read by the time you read this, subsequent to my "no PQ adjustments!" post, I did stumble upon what appear to be PQ adjustments in the service menu. Very cryptic, and definitely nothing I feel comfortable messing with. But, at least they are there. It was just when my calibrator couldn't find them, and raised the possibility that none might be there, I was equally bummed and felt such critical info should be disseminated appropriately. Certainly I'll keep the board informed as I progress on my journey . . . . hopefully with minimal false alarms!

PS - no, I haven't really delved too much into the service menu due to those cryptic acronyms and my relative ignorance when it comes to these finer calibration adjustments. I am a fast learner, so I'll let you know what I do uncover as I uncover it!

Looks like the 42A10 is now being listed on Sony Style Canada website. MSRP is CDN$2599, $100 less than the 42WE620 listed on the same page. With any luck it will be available at places like Futureshop and BestBuy for several hundred less before Christmas. Says projected date of arrival is Sept. 15. I'm interested in seeing it. I liked the look of the 42WE620, so if this one is any improvement at all I should like it even better. I know the housing looks way better.

Yes, indeed - I too was bummed to report as much . . . As you may have read by the time you read this, subsequent to my "no PQ adjustments!" post, I did stumble upon what appear to be PQ adjustments in the service menu. Very cryptic, and definitely nothing I feel comfortable messing with. But, at least they are there. It was just when my calibrator couldn't find them, and raised the possibility that none might be there, I was equally bummed and felt such critical info should be disseminated appropriately. Certainly I'll keep the board informed as I progress on my journey . . . . hopefully with minimal false alarms!

PS - no, I haven't really delved too much into the service menu due to those cryptic acronyms and my relative ignorance when it comes to these finer calibration adjustments. I am a fast learner, so I'll let you know what I do uncover as I uncover it!
It sounds like the service manual is no help with figuring out what the service menu entries do. Is that true? If so I won't bother getting it. It took me quite a while to wade through all the menus just to find one that seemed like it had to do with the color decoder. I wonder if umr has more info on the menu's? I hope someone can give us some clues. Good luck with your search.

Joe,

Would you mind posting the part # for the cable you ordered? I have the same cable box.

Thanks

The link for RAM electronics is right at the top of the page, just go to the HDMI cables section. The one I got is the Rev2 "high end" hdmi cable. Enjoy!

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/DVI-hdmi_cables.html

Guys, fill me in.

How's the PQ with DVD playback via progressive scan and/or dvi/hdmi?

Also, how is gaming on Xbox and/or PS2. I'm terribly confused about what TV I want to buy in the coming months. I watched an HD loop at Best Buy on this set today - great feed with some good trailers. I watched trailers for The Island and King Kong, both of which looked great, as long as the set wasn't next to a Panny plasma (d'oh!).

The blacks on this thing really don't look black at all compared to a set that can really render some deep blacks, like the Panny. Anyway, my intention here isn't to turn this into another A10-Panny debate. I was just curious about DVD playback and gaming, both of which are very important to me, 'cause at this point, that's what I'll be using this thing for most of the time.

By the way, I think this set marks a great improvement over last year's model and is a great value. I just wish the off-axis viewing was a little better and the blacks were a little deeper. If they were, it'd be the best value on the market, bar none. As far as I'm concerned, no flat-panel LCD can contend with this thing, certainly not in terms of PQ and value. This thing looks great with a good feed.

Hey guys,

Just pulled the trigger on a 42" A10 at CC. I don't have any HD programming yet, I am a subscriber with D*, I don't have any contract to fulfill, just month to month. The set is scheduled to be delivered on 9/3/05. I would like to know some of the video settings that has worked for some people. I will be hooking up the a Sony DVD player and D* SD receiver. I would appreciate any help on this matter.

In order to curb the repetitive nature of this thread, I suggest you read BACK a bit. Several members have mentioned settings, adjustments and the like. Its all there for the taking. So TAKE it!! :D :D

It sounds like the service manual is no help with figuring out what the service menu entries do. Is that true? If so I won't bother getting it. It took me quite a while to wade through all the menus just to find one that seemed like it had to do with the color decoder. I wonder if umr has more info on the menu's? I hope someone can give us some clues. Good luck with your search.It is possible that the service manual from manualzone was either incomplete or fake. After all manualzone makes no real guarantee of what you buy from them. You can order a service manual directly from Sony using this information (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6061824&&#post6061824) and hopefully it will contain more information than the one from manualzone did.

Richard Paul,

Service manuals for Sony give all of the default settings, however doesn't go into any detail of what these mystic codes do.

There is also a manual call "Theory of Operations", that tells what these codes do(so I was told by someone in the know). Unfortunately, its only available to legetimate service/repair people. Apparantly, Sony wants to keep consumers out of the service menu but doesn't mind selling them a book that will revert settings to original defaults.

Richard Paul,

Service manuals for Sony give all of the default settings, however doesn't go into any detail of what these mystic codes do.

There is also a manual call "Theory of Operations", that tells what these codes do(so I was told by someone in the know). Unfortunately, its only available to legetimate service/repair people. Apparantly, Sony wants to keep consumers out of the service menu but doesn't mind selling them a book that will revert settings to original defaults.

Guys, fill me in.
The blacks on this thing really don't look black at all compared to a set that can really render some deep blacks, like the Panny. Anyway, my intention here isn't to turn this into another A10-Panny debate. I was just curious about DVD playback and gaming, both of which are very important to me, 'cause at this point, that's what I'll be using this thing for most of the time.
It's best to do a calibration with DVE or AVIA.

DVD playback varies a lot from movie to movie. You will get deeper blacks and more shadow detail if you use these settings:

Iris - 1 or Min
Black Corrector - Off
Advanced Iris - Medium

The brightness and contrast also play a role in getting a good black level. I use these custom settings on the A10 with my Sony 775 DVD player which is set at 480p:

Picture - 63
Brightness - 51
Color - 38
Hue - 0
Sharpness - 40
Color Temp - Neutral

These settings will vary depending on your player and your tastes. The Advanced Iris setting is the key to getting deeper blacks on the A10. High is too aggressive and Off looks too washed out. I switch back and forth between Low and Medium depending on the movie or TV program. If you notice a lot of contrast shifting then set the Advanced Iris to Low. If not then keep it on Medium for deeper blacks.

Anyone know if the warranty covers bulbs? The warranty descritpion mentioned that normal wear and tear is covered. It seems to me as though dead bulbs would qualify as wear and tear...

It sounds like bulbs would be covered since they aren't specifically excluded as in many warranites. If so , that would be a good place to buy the A-10 if you want a stand, AND a warrranty. The total price would beat most other stores total price.

Guys, fill me in.

How's the PQ with DVD playback via progressive scan and/or dvi/hdmi?

Also, how is gaming on Xbox and/or PS2. I'm terribly confused about what TV I want to buy in the coming months. I watched an HD loop at Best Buy on this set today - great feed with some good trailers. I watched trailers for The Island and King Kong, both of which looked great, as long as the set wasn't next to a Panny plasma (d'oh!).
--SNIP--

Speaking of Panny Plasma. Just heard a radio commercial for Hifi Buys (Tweeter in the Western US). The MSRP for the 42" Panny is no 1999.99 Sony should respond to this (I hope) with maybe not dollar for dollar, but some kind of substantial cut.

Speaking of Panny Plasma. Just heard a radio commercial for Hifi Buys (Tweeter in the Western US). The MSRP for the 42" Panny is no 1999.99 Sony should respond to this (I hope) with maybe not dollar for dollar, but some kind of substantial cut.

Are you sure thats not a EDTV Plasma? (480p display)

It's gotta be the ED, which is $1799 at most places.

The TH-42PX50U can be had for $2499 at a store that doesn't get mentioned here a lot at all.

Hi all, this is my first post. I havent read all 2400 posts yet but I just wanted to share my experience so far with it. I purchased the 50 inch 2 weeks ago after seeing it in the store. I just got a place and one of my main concerns for a new tv was glare from the screen. My viewing room has windows all along the east and even though there are treatments in place, the room is still filled with light, i may get solar screens or something (still doing research on it). I was going to get a front projector but with so much light i thought it would be too dim. I decided for a rear pro, either lcd or dlp just cause it seems you get more for your money with them. I saw a mistu, sony, and epson and hitachi all lined up next to each other and the sonys screen was so anti reflective and the pic quality was amazing. I bought it and brought it home. Im so glad it only weighs 70 pounds cause its easy to move. Even with the windows behind me and light shining on the screen I am still able to view a picture fine, you cant see the sharp glare of the windows in the screen like you can on a crt or one of those shiny mitsu screens. The blacks look great, I dont understand the whole dlp vs lcd and the lcds not being black enough. I watched sin city and everyone just was in awe on how great it looked. I love the digital cable feature on it. I have expanded basic from comcast and it was a pleasant surprise how after I did the auto tuner, i have abc, nbc, cbs, wb in the hi def just through the cable and I dont have a cable box! But i do want the other channels so i may get a box so i can get the other HD channels and a dvr. I have gamed on it as well and it looks amazing I am so glad I got it and i would get it again in a second. I am using components for the progressive dvd and its flawless picture quality. I love how it has a pc input to use it as a monitor, too bad its not on the side but in back so if its kind of awkward if you want to use it. I never had pip so i dont miss that, its no big deal. Best tv for the money out there in my opinion. Im still learning about the tv and Im glad I joined this forum to find more tips.

PROS-
-Best antiglare screen (if you have lots of light in the morning)
-Great picture in daylight
-PC Input- the bigger ones dont have it
-Digital Cable ready-picked up HD network channels just from the cable and no box needed
-Superior blacks
-Play video games all you want, I noticed no ghosting and youll never get burn in
-I like how it tells you what signal is coming in like 480p or 1080i although it converts everything to 720p

CONS-
-No PIP
-I dont like having to cycle through the remote's tv/video button all the time. Wish it would have a separate button for each input.
-Some people may not like how it changes everything to 720p but im a noob so who knows.

I see that some people posted what their settings are, I used the ones suggested from cnet and I did some basic stuff and everything looks great to me. I upgraded from a crappy 15 year old sony so any picture will probably look amazing to me but i swear the picture looks like they do at the stores! Time to read some of these posts. Thanks for your time! pm me if you have a questions.

As an HD noob - Comcast is coming today to hook up an HD box. Not sure which one if folks need more detail , but I've read throughout this thread and am wondering 'how' to hook the new box up.

If it has an HDMI output, that is my first choice. I believe it will only have DVI or Component, and I will probably use component at first. Will a DVI to HDMI cable be better for HD / SD signals ?

I've also read regarding splitting the coax prior to the HD box, and running the coax directly into an antenna for the 50A10, for use with SD stations. Does using the TV ant./decode make that big a difference for SD ? Or is it that you can adjust the settings now for HD and SD seperately on the TV since it's seperate inputs ?

ANYWAY - I had assumed getting the HD box, and using the component out would be 'all' that I would need to do - just looking for some clarifications.

Also - read alot about 'pass thru' mode for the HD boxes. Believe I am getting a Motorola box - will Comcast/Motorola support this pass thru and/or will be interested to see how easy it is to find the boxes setup menus....

thanks

*edit* btw I love the Picture so far, DVD using component out, and the SD signals from cable don't look as bad as I feared

Heres one issue Ive seen with my tv.. Its not realyl an issue since the tv still works fine but when I first power on my tv the video looks like a scrambled tv station then it syncs and comes in normal.. Do other people have this problem?

Chris

Never seen it scrambled when it's warming up. Mine just starts out dim and then brightens up (just what it should do). I'll pay attention to start up and see if I am just missing it.


As far as connections go Hierax, I have mine hooked up every way possible for comparison purposes.

SA8300HDDVR cable box in to the tv via component and HDMI. Cable split with an analog rated splitter to the direct coax in on the tv. I also have a generic antenna hooked up and I get 14 OTA HD channels. 8 of which are also on the digital feed.


Honestly, if you have your settings right like I believe I do, I cannot see a difference between component, HDMI, and coax in.

Component and HDMI make the most sense because you get all of your channels on one input.

HDMI makes further sense if you plan on using the optical audio out from the TV. Which I do plan on using. Reason being, HDMI keeps the audio in digital format. So you would have digital audio all the way to your receiver.

Are you sure thats not a EDTV Plasma? (480p display)


The commercial did not specify.

The commercial did not specify.


They are all 1024x768.. The cheap ones at least.. The only 1366x768 one i saw was listing at $4999. I beleive there was 2 50" ones..

Chris

OK, I started off when I got the TV by calibrating with Avia. Then I watched and watched, and adjusted until I thought I got it just perfect, and here's what I've come up with:

Picture mode: Custom
Iris: 2
Picture: 62
Brightness: 42
Color: 39
Hue: G1
Color Temp: Normal
Sharpness: 45 for progressive DVD's
Noise Reduction: Low
Black Correction: off
Adv Vid- Advanced Iris: low
Adv Vid- Gamma: off
Adv Vid- Clear white: off
Adv Vid- Live Color: off

Try these out and I'm sure you'll agree, they look great.

As an HD noob - Comcast is coming today to hook up an HD box. Not sure which one if folks need more detail , but I've read throughout this thread and am wondering 'how' to hook the new box up.

If it has an HDMI output, that is my first choice. I believe it will only have DVI or Component, and I will probably use component at first. Will a DVI to HDMI cable be better for HD / SD signals ?

I've also read regarding splitting the coax prior to the HD box, and running the coax directly into an antenna for the 50A10, for use with SD stations. Does using the TV ant./decode make that big a difference for SD ? Or is it that you can adjust the settings now for HD and SD seperately on the TV since it's seperate inputs ?

ANYWAY - I had assumed getting the HD box, and using the component out would be 'all' that I would need to do - just looking for some clarifications.

Also - read alot about 'pass thru' mode for the HD boxes. Believe I am getting a Motorola box - will Comcast/Motorola support this pass thru and/or will be interested to see how easy it is to find the boxes setup menus....

thanks

*edit* btw I love the Picture so far, DVD using component out, and the SD signals from cable don't look as bad as I feared

If you get the Motorola make sure and insist you receive the newer one (phase 3 with HDMI). My cable company (CABLEONE) was holding these newer boxes in the a back room and would not release. That was until I threaten to go SAT and their tech came out and verified the newer Phase 3 would help the crappy Analog / SD channels. The lady at the front desk said they were not suppose to release them until Sept. When I put in the Phase 3 using HDMI the SD and analog PQ was 100% better. The Tech guy from cableone said Mot had greatly improve their tuners to have better analog/Sd Picture because of all the complaints. It helped My TV! :D

I'm talking about the Motorola 6412 - Phase 3 DVR

How is Standard Def with Direct TV on these sets?

Anyone with a concern for game lag read this.

I finally made my decision after two months and went with a Sony 50A10. This tv will be used primarily for gaming and movie watching, little to no cable viewing. It came down to this one and the HLR 50inch from Samsung. But with all the game lag problems with them, i steered clear and got the 50A10. I did however try this TV out at CC before i bought it. Since im spending 2k+ on a tv i had to make sure it fit my gaming needs. So a friend and I went down to CC with my xbox, with the component cables and set it all up. We setup the xbox with widescreen, 480p enabled and set the TV to full so it wouldn't overfill and off we went. We did a lot of tests just making sure there was no game lag/response lag and that the tv could keep up with fast moving objects. Set the joystick sensitivity at 10 and spun master chief and the TV kept up flawlessly. Halo 2 looked amazing and Fable looked great! Anyone worried about sports games, don't be! We tested Madden 05 with the kick meters and it responsed perfectly!

The picture quaility is night and day improved over my 36inch CRT non-hd tv(still had component input though!) We pick up the TV on saturday and i will drop more feedback on it within the week. Also, ill post picks of the new stand and tv together for anyone interested. I went with the Z-line Design 55in with black glass.

They are all 1024x768.. The cheap ones at least.. The only 1366x768 one i saw was listing at $4999. I beleive there was 2 50" ones..

Chris

This isn't a Panasonic plasma thread, but no, not all Plasma displays are 1024X768...

Heres one issue Ive seen with my tv.. Its not realyl an issue since the tv still works fine but when I first power on my tv the video looks like a scrambled tv station then it syncs and comes in normal.. Do other people have this problem?

Are you on DirecTV/Dish? I was in Best Buy the other night, and messed around with a 50A10 they had hooked up directly to a HD DirecTV receiver (not DVR). Every time I changed the channel from one HD station to another, or from a SD station to an HD station, the screen showed moving diagonal streaks for about a second, went black for another second, then finally locked in on the channel. I couldn't tell if it was the DTV receiver, the TV, or some combination of the two.

Anyone with a concern for game lag read this.

I finally made my decision after two months and went with a Sony 50A10. This tv will be used primarily for gaming and movie watching, little to no cable viewing. It came down to this one and the HLR 50inch from Samsung. But with all the game lag problems with them, i steered clear and got the 50A10. I did however try this TV out at CC before i bought it. Since im spending 2k+ on a tv i had to make sure it fit my gaming needs. So a friend and I went down to CC with my xbox, with the component cables and set it all up. We setup the xbox with widescreen, 480p enabled and set the TV to full so it wouldn't overfill and off we went. We did a lot of tests just making sure there was no game lag/response lag and that the tv could keep up with fast moving objects. Set the joystick sensitivity at 10 and spun master chief and the TV kept up flawlessly. Halo 2 looked amazing and Fable looked great! Anyone worried about sports games, don't be! We tested Madden 05 with the kick meters and it responsed perfectly!

The picture quaility is night and day improved over my 36inch CRT non-hd tv(still had component input though!) We pick up the TV on saturday and i will drop more feedback on it within the week. Also, ill post picks of the new stand and tv together for anyone interested. I went with the Z-line Design 55in with black glass.


Yeah, I'll second this but on the PS2 side of things.

No lag at all and glorious picture. Have played the new Incredible Hulk game in 720p, Gran Turismo in 1080i, NCAA Football and Madden in 16x9, Winning Eleven 8 normal, THUG2, Katamari Damacy (which was awesome on a giant TV :) )

They all looked great and had zero lag.

Are you on DirecTV/Dish? I was in Best Buy the other night, and messed around with a 50A10 they had hooked up directly to a HD DirecTV receiver (not DVR). Every time I changed the channel from one HD station to another, or from a SD station to an HD station, the screen showed moving diagonal streaks for about a second, went black for another second, then finally locked in on the channel. I couldn't tell if it was the DTV receiver, the TV, or some combination of the two.

That's the TV adjusting to a new format. Does that when you change from 480i to 720p or 1080i or changing from 720p to 1080i or 480i or changing 1080i to 720p or 480i.

Here is a link for sony service menu descriptions.

Not sure if it will help you guys who have the service manuals, but maybe.

sony service mode descriptions (http://myweb.accessus.net/~090/sonyadj.html)

Are you sure thats not a EDTV Plasma? (480p display)

As far as Plasma is concerned, Sony did respond. They got out of the plasma business.:) The TV you are talking about is EDTV so it is not a direct competitor with the 42A10. Price reductions are always possible if Sony sees market share being lost to plasma. Lew

There is also a manual call "Theory of Operations", that tells what these codes do(so I was told by someone in the know). Unfortunately, its only available to legetimate service/repair people. Apparantly, Sony wants to keep consumers out of the service menu but doesn't mind selling them a book that will revert settings to original defaults.It may take a few weeks but I am sure that information about the A10's will be posted sooner or later since their are to say the least more than a few service people in the US. Also could you find out the exact name/number for the manual that contains the descriptions of those codes? It would make it far easier to find this information since I think that "Theory of Operations" is probably an unofficial term for the manual.


sony service mode descriptions (http://myweb.accessus.net/~090/sonyadj.html)I think the codes change every so often and that is why Fred had such trouble when he tried to have his display calibrated by an ISF calibrator (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6123423&&#post6123423). Still even if those codes do not apply to the A10's they do give a great example of what will hopefully soon be posted about the A10's.

Does anyone have Direct TV with this set? I would like to know how SD looks coming from Direct TV, thanx

It sounds like the service manual is no help with figuring out what the service menu entries do. Is that true?

Yup. Mine came today. Absolutely useless.

Well, perhaps that's not fair. If you wanted to order your TV one part at a time and assemble it yourself, I'm sure it would be very helpful. Lots of exploded parts views, wiring diagrams, and schematics.

If you get the Motorola make sure and insist you receive the newer one (phase 3 with HDMI). My cable company (CABLEONE) was holding these newer boxes in the a back room and would not release. That was until I threaten to go SAT and their tech came out and verified the newer Phase 3 would help the crappy Analog / SD channels. The lady at the front desk said they were not suppose to release them until Sept. When I put in the Phase 3 using HDMI the SD and analog PQ was 100% better. The Tech guy from cableone said Mot had greatly improve their tuners to have better analog/Sd Picture because of all the complaints. It helped My TV! :D

I'm talking about the Motorola 6412 - Phase 3 DVR

I agree totally! You need to specifically ask for the Phase 3 model(with HDMI input) because they are just now getting into circulation and they'll give you whatever box unless you ask! My cable company tried holding out on me, until I insisted.
One problem I have noticed with the Phase 3, is that while the box is powered OFF it will continually switch on and off( display loses clock and shows 88:88)? :confused: Has anyone else with the Phase 3 noticed this problem? The previous model 6412 did not exhibit this problem. After calling COX, they said it could be a weak signal?? Which didnt make sense to me , if the box is turned off, there is no signal. They suggested having someone come out and take a look at it, which would include a charge($) for the visit. I think I should just return it and have it swapped? Thoughts?

anybody know the newest generation comcast box?

Well, I get what you are saying, but I sort of don't. Why wouldn't the program be 16:9? Is it just the network's discretion?

Yes. There are only certain shows shot in HD (usually major sports events like Monday Night Football, baseball game of the week, etc.) plus the prime time evening shows. Everything else is usually 4:3.

Does anyone have Direct TV with this set? I would like to know how SD looks coming from Direct TV, thanx

If you search back, you will see comments on this.

Basically, if you can tell your DirecTV receiver to output in 480i, then the DRC circuit in the TV will make it look pretty good. If it outputs in 480p, then it does not look as good.

Are you on DirecTV/Dish? I was in Best Buy the other night, and messed around with a 50A10 they had hooked up directly to a HD DirecTV receiver (not DVR). Every time I changed the channel from one HD station to another, or from a SD station to an HD station, the screen showed moving diagonal streaks for about a second, went black for another second, then finally locked in on the channel. I couldn't tell if it was the DTV receiver, the TV, or some combination of the two.


I am having same problem with mine as well. With H10 set to all/native on I get the same thing but mine doesn't go black then sync in; stays diagonal lines. It did work properly for about a day but now won't lock. Also when I set H10 to 720P & 1080I it woun't switch at all.

Problem has to be a defective H10. So what else is new.

Am I correct?????

Thanks

Does anyone have Direct TV with this set? I would like to know how SD looks coming from Direct TV, thanx

My 50A10 arrived Monday. I have the DirecTiVo R10 box hooked up via S-video (it doesn't have component). After tweaking the TV with Avia, I think it looks a bit better than the 32" CRT HDTV it replaced. The previous TV was tweaked by eye only without any type of calibrating disc, and since it didn't have settings for each input, I set the sharpness for the DVD/PC/XBOX, which got the most use, and just lived with the picture for the occassional TV program. So I'm comparing apples to oranges, but still, I'm pretty happy with my new apple over my old orange.

Yup. Mine came today. Absolutely useless.

Well, perhaps that's not fair. If you wanted to order your TV one part at a time and assemble it yourself, I'm sure it would be very helpful. Lots of exploded parts views, wiring diagrams, and schematics.
Thanks. You saved me wasted time and $ on that manual. It sure would be nice to get some documentation on what the service menu items do, the codes look very different than the ones for last year's Sonys (and there are a lot of codes). I don't understand why Sony would restrict a "Theory of Operations" manual but if they do I would think that you would need to be a certifed Sony repair center to get it.

What do yo guys prefer when watching SD Cable and videogames. Wide zoom, Normal, or Full?

What do yo guys prefer when watching SD Cable and videogames. Wide zoom, Normal, or Full?

I break my viewing down like this:

Wide Zoom - all 4:3 content from SD cable, DVD, VHS.

Normal - nothing.

Zoom - non-anamorphic DVDs; letterboxed SD programs.

Full - 16:9 HD; anamorphic DVDs.

Don't know if this has been posted yet. Brandsmart in South Florida has the TV for $1,998. They are offering a $500 instant rebate on all DLP's over 46". The price is $2,498 less $500. They did not have the TV in stock, but there are 200 on the way. Anxiously awaiting mine.

What do yo guys prefer when watching SD Cable and videogames. Wide zoom, Normal, or Full?

Wide zoom :cool:

Thanks to the guys who posted their settings. Because I'm not a "videophile" I just copied their settings and never looked back. After watching the NY Giants in HD (NBC 1080i) and Tennis this morning on CBS (1080i), I have to say this 42A10 TV is absolutely gorgeous. I'm comparing it to a Sony 36inch Wega and Sony's KF-50XBR800 LCD projection. The 36 CRT has the best picture, but at 210 lbs I can no longer justify buying another tube TV considering how greatly improved LCD Rear Projection has come along. LONG LIVE SONY!!!!

I am having same problem with mine as well. With H10 set to all/native on I get the same thing but mine doesn't go black then sync in; stays diagonal lines. It did work properly for about a day but now won't lock. Also when I set H10 to 720P & 1080I it woun't switch at all.

Problem has to be a defective H10. So what else is new.

Am I correct?????

Thanks


Im only seeing the diagnol streaks look when its first powered on.. I dont notice it when changing channels.. It could be my DVI to HDMI cable is not very high quality.. Its one of the freebies that came wiht my DVR.. Ill see if i can snap a pic of it..

Chris

Got my E50A10 last Thursday afternoon. Just barley have it setup with cable and dvd player. Viewing Comcast cable through a Motorola 6208 DVR settop box (DVI capable), with HD programming. and some premium channels. ( Duh !!! I forgot to buy cables; had to buy a cheapy set at Wal-mart just to get HD out of cable).

Did a quick set up of DVD player using the movie "Hitch". There is a section, where Hitch is teaching dancing and they switch back and forth from a well lit apartment and a dark dance club. Initially, had no black detail at all, but after tweaking, just by eye, I was able to bring out the details in the shadows and within the dark suits quite nicely. Pleased with the results and that is with only composite as an input. The dvd play is a non-progressive toshiba, with digital audio out. Willl check these settings against LOTR to see just how good they are.

As far as Comcast is concerned, (Dallas, TX), I rate picture quality as Premium HD first, then Local HD programming and the SD last. ( No big surprise there.) The big surprise is that SD is actually quite acceptable at normal viewing distance and from across the room, it looks awfully good. (Up close not so good). I am not bypassing the box, but view all material through the STB. This box, unfortunately does not have a pass-thru setting that I can find, so I have the output set to 1080i. Any comments as to if this is the best setting ?

Need to do some more tweaking of both inputs with a borrowed copy of AVIA.

When switching from cable SD to cable HD, I do see diagonal lines for a moment or so then the pictures will sync. Switching frok HD to HD, no diagonal lines, and from HD to SD no diagonal lines. This behavior seems to be normal.

Now for a question. Need to purchase cables: component, DVI, and fiber. Notice alot of recommendations concerning "monoprice". These cables seem awfully "inexpensive", less than $4.00 for a 6ft component cable. Could not find more expensive cables on their web site. Are these cables really that good? Any regrets from some that have pruchased them? Thanks

Got my E50A10 last Thursday afternoon. Just barley have it setup with cable and dvd player. Viewing Comcast cable through a Motorola 6208 DVR settop box (DVI capable), with HD programming. and some premium channels. ( Duh !!! I forgot to buy cables; had to buy a cheapy set at Wal-mart just to get HD out of cable).

Did a quick set up of DVD player using the movie "Hitch". There is a section, where Hitch is teaching dancing and they switch back and forth from a well lit apartment and a dark dance club. Initially, had no black detail at all, but after tweaking, just by eye, I was able to bring out the details in the shadows and within the dark suits quite nicely. Pleased with the results and that is with only composite as an input. The dvd play is a non-progressive toshiba, with digital audio out. Willl check these settings against LOTR to see just how good they are.

As far as Comcast is concerned, (Dallas, TX), I rate picture quality as Premium HD first, then Local HD programming and the SD last. ( No big surprise there.) The big surprise is that SD is actually quite acceptable at normal viewing distance and from across the room, it looks awfully good. (Up close not so good). I am not bypassing the box, but view all material through the STB. This box, unfortunately does not have a pass-thru setting that I can find, so I have the output set to 1080i. Any comments as to if this is the best setting ?

Need to do some more tweaking of both inputs with a borrowed copy of AVIA.

When switching from cable SD to cable HD, I do see diagonal lines for a moment or so then the pictures will sync. Switching frok HD to HD, no diagonal lines, and from HD to SD no diagonal lines. This behavior seems to be normal.

Now for a question. Need to purchase cables: component, DVI, and fiber. Notice alot of recommendations concerning "monoprice". These cables seem awfully "inexpensive", less than $4.00 for a 6ft component cable. Could not find more expensive cables on their web site. Are these cables really that good? Any regrets from some that have pruchased them? Thanks

I've purchased a lot of cables in bulk from them. You get the occassional "clinker",
but overall well in excess of 90% of their cables have been just fine in my experience. At their prices, even if you got unlucky and 1 in 5 didn't work, so what? Just order more. They also have taken back all bad cables for refund or credit without any problem.

http://mars.walagata.com/w/gobg/Img_0420.jpg
http://mars.walagata.com/w/gobg/Img_0421.jpg
http://mars.walagata.com/w/gobg/Img_0422.jpg
http://mars.walagata.com/w/gobg/Img_0423.jpg
http://mars.walagata.com/w/gobg/Img_0424.jpg
http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/2521/img03977mx.jpghttp://img377.imageshack.us/img377/7247/img04070ym.jpg
http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/5186/img04082nv.jpghttp://img377.imageshack.us/img377/5936/img04175wd.jpg

Quick question on Audio. I have a HTiB, dvd player with 5.1
The back of the dvd player only has coaxial, no optical, for digital audio. Does this mean that I will not be able to take advantage of dolby surround sound while watching dvd?

If my hd-dvr has coaxial in and my dvd player has coaxial out, will I be all set?

Also - I will be getting an HD-DVR from time warner, albany NY.

Nick

I would buy the 42", but I watch more SD than anything else & I'm worried I will not like the SD picture quality. My eyes hurt on all of the models I tried last year. I sure wish this TV had an extra HDMI input on it for a Blueray or HD-DVD player.

I would buy the 42", but I watch more SD than anything else & I'm worried I will not like the SD picture quality. My eyes hurt on all of the models I tried last year. I sure wish this TV had an extra HDMI input on it for a Blueray or HD-DVD player.

Sony's SD upconversion is the best I've seen on any other brand out there. The adjustable DRC palette will let you get to most out of your SD sources. I recently hooked up my VCR to see how well the 42A10 handled the signal and it looks REALLY good. I think it's even better looking than my older 27" Panny analog TV.

Give it a good SD signal and you'll be amazed at what this TV can do with it.

Quick question on Audio. I have a HTiB, dvd player with 5.1
The back of the dvd player only has coaxial, no optical, for digital audio. Does this mean that I will not be able to take advantage of dolby surround sound while watching dvd?

If my hd-dvr has coaxial in and my dvd player has coaxial out, will I be all set?

Also - I will be getting an HD-DVR from time warner, albany NY.

Nick

If I understand correctly, you have an HTiB with a DVD player included. So, it better play 5.1 when watching DVDs since that's it's raison d'etre.
You'll only need to connect video from the HTiB to the TV, say video input #5, for example. Then you would turn on the HTiB and DVD player and the TV and put the TV on input #5 and watch the movie on the TV and hear the sound out of the HTiB speakers.

As far as the HD-DVR, it should have an RF coax input for attaching to the cable and then should have audio and video outputs for connecting to the TV and/or HTiB. But, this assumes that your HTiB supports audio inputs for this sort of thing.
I don't think there's any need to connect an output from the HTiB to the HD-DVR.
But, to be honest, I don't have a DVR so maybe I'm missing something.


Mitch

Greetings,

We are close to the buying decision here and we are pretty sure that a Sony Wega A10 series LCD is our best choice for a TV.

The last question seems to be size, 42" or 50"?

The room is only 18 feet wide and the farthest anyone will sit from the TV is 13 feet. The main seating position "My recliner" is 9 feet from the TV.

The Mrs is of the opinion that a 50" A10 will be just too large. In an attempt to show her what the size will look like I made a cardboard mock up with both the 42" and 50" overall and screen dimensions.

This plan backfired on me because she is even more sure now that a 50" is too large.

I am sure that I can live with the 42" especially considering I will sit closer than anyone else but I have that nagging feeling that the 50" will be well worth the extra $350.

Anyone have a compelling argument for the 50" that I can use? ;)

Anyone want to re-assure me that the 42" will be just fine? :rolleyes:

Let me know...

Thanks,
Scott
Tampa Bay

"Does this mean that I will not be able to take advantage of dolby surround sound while watching dvd?"

Coax or optical: doesn't matter. They both carry digital audio

"Anyone have a compelling argument for the 50" that I can use?"
I have the KDF-50WE655, the previous Sony 50" model. I sit about 8-9 feet from the TV and I am so glad I have the 50". It's more like being at the movies than the 42". Go for the 50"....... :)
IMO, the 42" is much less cinematic. I would have gone for the 55" but the reasons were budgetary. 42" is so close to the size of a 36" tube TV that for me, it doesn't do it. But that's just me. I know someone at work who bought the previous model KDF-42WE655 and they regretted not getting the 50". Hope this helps!

"the 42" is much less cinematic"

I have tried this argument... Need something that makes more sense to a member of the female persuasion....

The 50" is prettier.
Just kidding.
When you see a movie, do you like to sit in the rear of the theater so that the screen looks small? Then if that's the case, the 42" will suit you fine. If you like to sit in the middle of a theater, then it's the 50".
Simple as that!

so bruce banner, how is your a10 for gaming. any thoughts?

Greetings,

We are close to the buying decision here and we are pretty sure that a Sony Wega A10 series LCD is our best choice for a TV.

The last question seems to be size, 42" or 50"?

The room is only 18 feet wide and the farthest anyone will sit from the TV is 13 feet. The main seating position "My recliner" is 9 feet from the TV.

The Mrs is of the opinion that a 50" A10 will be just too large. In an attempt to show her what the size will look like I made a cardboard mock up with both the 42" and 50" overall and screen dimensions.

This plan backfired on me because she is even more sure now that a 50" is too large.

I am sure that I can live with the 42" especially considering I will sit closer than anyone else but I have that nagging feeling that the 50" will be well worth the extra $350.

Anyone have a compelling argument for the 50" that I can use? ;)

Anyone want to re-assure me that the 42" will be just fine? :rolleyes:

Let me know...

Thanks,
Scott
Tampa Bay

Scott,

I too am from Tampa, and I too had this same exact conversation with my wife tonight! (how bizarre). I ordered the 50" from a local store last week, and I'm just waiting for it to arrive. I currently have a 46" CRT, and I was thinking that the 50" might be too big. However, after measuring the screen and showing my wife with a tape measure tonight, she definately wanted to go with the 50" and not go down to the 42".

I really wish that Sony would have made an inbetween size on this set. I think it would help a lot of us in making desicions! If I were you, I would go with the 50" if you have the room for it. Bigger is always better!

Get the biggest TV that will fit and that you can afford. YOu will love the extra size if you opt for the 50 inch. I just bought the 42 inch and put the 53 inch Pioneer downstairs. I miss the size, but my wife wanted the TV in the living room, in an entertainment center, so we had to downsize. I am still wishing I had gone for the 64 inch Pioneer when they were still making them. Good luck. ;)

Anyone have a compelling argument for the 50" that I can use? ;)

Well...will bigger is better work? :D I wanted the 42" but my wife wanted the 50". I was afraid the 50" would be to large for room then she dropped that line on me at the store. Still trying to figure out how she knows that. :confused:

I sit about 10' away from the set and at first it was to big, looked much larger than it did at the store. But I got use to it really quick.

so bruce banner, how is your a10 for gaming. any thoughts?
I'm a gamer but these aren't my pics.. I got them from here,

http://new.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=60882&page=1&pp=50

Got my 50" A10 tonight, just watched CSI on it, looked great. I can't seem to program the Sony remote to control my Motorola 6412 DVR though.


Man, this looks so much better than my 8 year old 32" tube tv!

a quick pic of my setup, almost done, just some finishing touches to go
42" a10
dav-fr9 sony dream system
tivo
homemade gaming rig

The only argument on not getting the 50" is noticeable SDE if you sit too close to it. I have the 42" A10 and I sit about 8 feet from it. I was sitting 7 feet from it at first and the SDE was more noticeable and kind of annoying.

I'd say if you're going to sit at 9'-10' then get the 50A10.

I just picked up the 42" model today from a local dealer. Played around with it quite a bit, and watched Master and Commander with the family. I LOVE this set! Of course, I'm upgrading from a 6 year old 27" Panasonic tube set. Used the settings posted by someone a few pages back, they seem to work well, though I turned Advanced Iris to low.

I also picked up one of the cheap (sub $100) Sony DVD players with progressive scan, and things look excellent.

Now I just need to find a long PC monitor cable so I can plug my computer into the set. :)

Brian

If anyone is contemplating a 42" A10, BB has a GREAT price both online and in the flyer I received with the Sunday paper this morning.

Use TV speakers as center channel?

Is there a way to use the speakers in this tv as the center channel of my 5.1
suround system?

Beleive me I searched. I came up with everything but the part I was looking for.
I have the 50a10 coming in today but the stand not for another 10 days. I have a temp placement for it but it may not be wide enough.

Question: Doesn't the a10 have a pedestal at its base area, so when resting on something it is not the entire width?

Someone has posted but it was impossible for me to find.

Greetings,

We are close to the buying decision here and we are pretty sure that a Sony Wega A10 series LCD is our best choice for a TV.

The last question seems to be size, 42" or 50"?

The room is only 18 feet wide and the farthest anyone will sit from the TV is 13 feet. The main seating position "My recliner" is 9 feet from the TV.

The Mrs is of the opinion that a 50" A10 will be just too large. In an attempt to show her what the size will look like I made a cardboard mock up with both the 42" and 50" overall and screen dimensions.

This plan backfired on me because she is even more sure now that a 50" is too large.

I am sure that I can live with the 42" especially considering I will sit closer than anyone else but I have that nagging feeling that the 50" will be well worth the extra $350.

Anyone have a compelling argument for the 50" that I can use? ;)

Anyone want to re-assure me that the 42" will be just fine? :rolleyes:

Let me know...

Thanks,
Scott
Tampa Bay


I received my E50A10. Have a temporary setup, with the TV on a stand in front of the cabinet where it will eventually reside. Presently, we are sitting about 9' for one chair and 12' for the other. I don't see any SDE at these view distances. Even sitting on the floor at 6' away, if you look for it, you might see SDE in white areas. Don't think that with this set SDE is an issue, unless of course you are playing HALF_LIFE and want full immersion and play from 2' awany. :)

If yo don't get the 50, you will probably regret it. Remember, the the vertical height of a 42" is less than the vertical height of a 35" tube.

Good luck with your decision

Joe

After reading several posts here about Sam's Club offering the A10 with a free stand, I looked on the website this morning. I don't see anything where it mentions a free stand. Is that an in-store offer only?

If anyone is contemplating a 42" A10, BB has a GREAT price both online and in the flyer I received with the Sunday paper this morning.

^^^^^

Yeah, it is really a fantastic price. I've been thinking that I wanted the 50'', but at that price, I'm having trouble not pulling the trigger on the 42''. I mean really, that's a fantastic price. I was floored when I saw the ad this morning.

Anyone thinking about pulling the trigger on the 42'' really needs to check out the Best Buy ad right now. Page 4 I think.

I think the Best Buy price is great! And then if you take the flyer into Sears, they will price match plus 10% off...

With that deal the 42" Sony cost is $900.00 less than the best price I can find on the 50" Sony A-10.

I think the decision has been made... I will have to suffer through with the 42...

I can't even argue the 50 point with a straight face. Not at that price difference!

I will let you know if the Sears price match deal works...

Thanks for the input!

Scott
Tampa Bay

If its not what you really want, its not a good deal at any price.

Agreed. If you are settling on the 42 because it so so much less $$$vthan the 50, you will regret the decision. Overtime, you have to measure the enjoymemnt you will be getting from the TV you REALLY want. What is very silly is that BB is selling the KDF-42WE655 at a much higher price than the new A10.

I don't think "suffer through" was meant in any other way than sarcastic. The 42 A-10 has a beautiful picture. It seemed clearer and more detailed to both my wife and I... I just was pushing for the 50" cause I am a guy and bigger is almost always better....

But not at any cost. $900 for 8 inches is more than most any woman will pay... In my experience.

LOL

Use TV speakers as center channel?

Is there a way to use the speakers in this tv as the center channel of my 5.1
suround system?

You could but I think you'd be better off getting a dedicated center channel speaker.

Using the built in speakers could be accomplished by taking the pre-amp out for the center channel from your 5.1 HT reciever/pre-amp to an RCA 'Y' cable and connecting that to the right and left audio inputs for the source you are sending it the video from (probably your DVD player). Then you would use the internal amp and speakers to set the volume at the same level (or slightly higher than) your amp is driving the other channels. The pre-amp output for the center channel will vary proportionally to the signal level going into the amp section of your reciever, so, once set up, changing the volume on your HT system should not put the center channel out of balance with the other speakers.

The problems with this are:

1st and most important - the Sony built in speakers aren't matched to your other speakers, and unless you have a pretty cheap surround system the built in stereo amp will be much lower quality, so the center channel just won't measure up to the rest of your system.

2nd each time you go from watching regular TV using just the built in speakers to watching something you are running the audio thru the HT system for, you'll have to reset the TV volume to match the other HT speakers.

3rd I doubt this will work if you are watching an HD broadcast using the built in ATSC tuner and outputting the audio to your HT system via the optical audio output. In that case, the TV will be outputting the 5.1 signal to your HT system and the 2channel audio to it's built in amp then to the built in speakers. IE: you won't have a center channel.

I think the Best Buy price is great! And then if you take the flyer into Sears, they will price match plus 10% off...

With that deal the 42" Sony cost is $900.00 less than the best price I can find on the 50" Sony A-10.

I think the decision has been made... I will have to suffer through with the 42...

I can't even argue the 50 point with a straight face. Not at that price difference!

I will let you know if the Sears price match deal works...

Thanks for the input!
Scott
Tampa Bay

I picked up my 42" A10 at CC yesterday and I saw the BB add this morning. I'll be headed to CC to get my 110% price match refund. That should be about $220. :D

Agreed. If you are settling on the 42 because it so so much less $$$vthan the 50, you will regret the decision. I'm going with the 42 because my average viewing distance is about 7'. But, yeah, if you have more room than that, go with what suits your needs best.

Thanks for the BB heads up, SixIron.

I picked up my 42" A10 at CC yesterday and I saw the BB add this morning. I'll be headed to CC to get my 110% price match refund. That should be about $220. :D

Do your homework before you go. I just took my receipt into CC and they called one BB store to see if in stock. It wasn't and they declined to pricematch. They offered to meet me halfway. I left in disgust and am contemplating returning it for refund and repurchasing at the lower price. One BB in town shows in stock (from BB website) and Sears may be an option.

If you sit more than 8ft away and thinking of the 42 inch just to save money, dont do it. I have a 42 inch toshiba that I love, I just want a bigger picture. I have the 50a10 coming on Tuesday. I sit 9 ft from my set and the Toshiba served me well, it's just time to move on.

Do your homework before you go. I just took my receipt into CC and they called one BB store to see if in stock. It wasn't and they declined to pricematch. They offered to meet me halfway. I left in disgust and am contemplating returning it for refund and repurchasing at the lower price. One BB in town shows in stock (from BB website) and Sears may be an option.

Update. I took the BB web screen print showing it in stock at a store in town. This was presented to them after I walked in with the TV and put it on the return counter. They then pricematched ($214 back to my debit card). When I bought it I paid $1200 in cash and the remainder on a debit card. It would have taken a week or two to get a refund check for the cash from CC. I let them pricematch rather than wait on a refund check. But I'll remember the experience next time I contemplate what for me is a major purchase.

The TV retained all my settings even though it was unplugged for over a hour. I found that refreshing.

You could but I think you'd be better off getting a dedicated center channel speaker.

Using the built in speakers could be accomplished by taking the pre-amp out for the center channel from your 5.1 HT reciever/pre-amp to an RCA 'Y' cable and connecting that to the right and left audio inputs for the source you are sending it the video from (probably your DVD player). Then you would use the internal amp and speakers to set the volume at the same level (or slightly higher than) your amp is driving the other channels. The pre-amp output for the center channel will vary proportionally to the signal level going into the amp section of your reciever, so, once set up, changing the volume on your HT system should not put the center channel out of balance with the other speakers.

The problems with this are:

1st and most important - the Sony built in speakers aren't matched to your other speakers, and unless you have a pretty cheap surround system the built in stereo amp will be much lower quality, so the center channel just won't measure up to the rest of your system.

2nd each time you go from watching regular TV using just the built in speakers to watching something you are running the audio thru the HT system for, you'll have to reset the TV volume to match the other HT speakers.

3rd I doubt this will work if you are watching an HD broadcast using the built in ATSC tuner and outputting the audio to your HT system via the optical audio output. In that case, the TV will be outputting the 5.1 signal to your HT system and the 2channel audio to it's built in amp then to the built in speakers. IE: you won't have a center channel.


Why don't they just put a "use speakers for center channel" Jack in the set that would simply bypass all the internal amps?...I will have to get some kind
of on top of the tv shelf for my center speaker...which on do you like? (a url)

I have decided after researching for what seems to be an eternity that I am going to get the 50 incher. But I am afraid that if i buy it know with the intro of 1080p tvs and the new qualia the price on these tvs will drop drastically. Should I wait a month or 2 or pull the trigger now????

Why don't they just put a "use speakers for center channel" Jack in the set that would simply bypass all the internal amps? (a url)

If you don't mind taking the cabinent apart (and probably voiding your warrenty) you could add such a jack. Of course, you'd want an in line switch that allowed you to gang the speakers when using it as a center channel and that maintained their seperate connections to the internal amp when not. :D

I have decided after researching for what seems to be an eternity that I am going to get the 50 incher. But I am afraid that if i buy it know with the intro of 1080p tvs and the new qualia the price on these tvs will drop drastically. Should I wait a month or 2 or pull the trigger now????

Only you can answer that man. Everyone has their different point of which waiting is worth it. Some people never buy because there is always something around the corner. I went ahead now for two reasons. First, the games were a burn in issue on my RPCRT TV. Two, I personally think that the first line of 1080p TVs aren't going to be close to what becomes the standard for 1080p. There are already too many issues with the Sammy 1080p for me (lip sync and game latency being the top on my list). While these TVs do show an awesome picture, and better than anything out there (said by many on this forum), they still aren't a leap in technology. I'm really afraid that 1080p is too far in its infancy. The next round of 1080ps will likely have pretty significant improvements. Of course this is just my opinion and I'm not a super TV geek so I could be wrong.

Now I just need to find a long PC monitor cable so I can plug my computer into the set. :)
Brian

When you find that cable please let me know. I haven't looked much because of my schedule :(

Hey guys/girls, I'm really thinking about getting them to replace my current A10 due to the geometry being off. The lines on the side of 4:3 material not being parallel is bugging the crap out of me now that I know it is there. Do the rest of you notice imperfections such as this? It seemed minor at first but my eye goes right to it now.

Beleive me I searched. I came up with everything but the part I was looking for.
I have the 50a10 coming in today but the stand not for another 10 days. I have a temp placement for it but it may not be wide enough.

Question: Doesn't the a10 have a pedestal at its base area, so when resting on something it is not the entire width?

Someone has posted but it was impossible for me to find.



The base is 33" on my 50a10 and the tv looks great sitting on my older sony 34" stand :D
The 50a10 only over hangs 3" on each side. The 34" sony was wide because of it's side speakers. I'll post Pictures later ;)

I'm absolutely kicking the crap out of myself right now after seeing the BB ad. I thought I was getting a great deal by buying from Vann's with no shipping or sales tax. Even with tax, I would've saved nearly $200 at BB. :(

Update. I took the BB web screen print showing it in stock at a store in town. This was presented to them after I walked in with the TV and put it on the return counter. They then pricematched ($214 back to my debit card). When I bought it I paid $1200 in cash and the remainder on a debit card. It would have taken a week or two to get a refund check for the cash from CC. I let them pricematch rather than wait on a refund check. But I'll remember the experience next time I contemplate what for me is a major purchase.

The TV retained all my settings even though it was unplugged for over a hour. I found that refreshing.

I know, I know. But now I look at the Vann's site and they're offering a Samsung DVD-HD850 or Harmony Remote Control "bundle" with purchase :eek:

I'm still waiting for my shipment to arrive (ordered mid-week) so I might shoot Vann's an email and see if they'd send me one of the DVD players or remotes. Otherwise, I can ship it back for about $40 and still save about $150, which isn't a small amount for me (unfortunately).


Stop kicking the crap out of yourself and enjoy your TV. Even if you bought it today at BB's price it may well be cheaper a month from now so you'll always be kicking the crap out of yourself.

Hi guys,

Had Best Buy deliver my e50a10 Saturday, and could not be happier. This set is ASTOUNDING. Out of the box, yeah, the picture leaves something to be desired, but after an hour of tweaking, everything looks great. SD cable is OK, DVDs (progressive scan, component) are fantastic, but I haven't seen HD yet. My cable company will be setting me up with a cable card on Tuesday, so I'll let you know more then.

I've played a few Xbox 720p games, and they look gorgeous. No audio lag, either. Just super.

My viewing distance for all of this is 8' - 11' depending where I'm sitting, and it looks nice from each of these distances. If I have one complaint, it's the remote, which, at almost a foot long, is really wasting a lot of space, while missing a few buttons that I would have liked. I'll probably buy a programmable universal at some point.

All in all, a great set, and at a sub-$2000 price, a real bargain.

Rob

Oh, by the by, does anyone know how much it costs to have the screen shield replaced on the e50a10? I know most RPTVs run about $100-$200, but I was just curious. The way my cat looks at it sometimes makes me nervous..like he's gonna dig those back claws into the plastic and climb to the top...ugh...

Rob

Scott, just had to post this too, BB also has a preferred customer coupon this weekend, saves you another 10% off the sale price and they also have 36 months no interest on TV purchases......

Look at fatwallet for the PDF of the BB coupon!

Hope this helps!

Greetings,

We are close to the buying decision here and we are pretty sure that a Sony Wega A10 series LCD is our best choice for a TV.

The last question seems to be size, 42" or 50"?

The room is only 18 feet wide and the farthest anyone will sit from the TV is 13 feet. The main seating position "My recliner" is 9 feet from the TV.

The Mrs is of the opinion that a 50" A10 will be just too large. In an attempt to show her what the size will look like I made a cardboard mock up with both the 42" and 50" overall and screen dimensions.

This plan backfired on me because she is even more sure now that a 50" is too large.

I am sure that I can live with the 42" especially considering I will sit closer than anyone else but I have that nagging feeling that the 50" will be well worth the extra $350.

Anyone have a compelling argument for the 50" that I can use? ;)

Anyone want to re-assure me that the 42" will be just fine? :rolleyes:

Let me know...

Thanks,
Scott
Tampa Bay
I went thru the same hassle. Made cardboard templetes and went as far as painting them with the screen sizes in white. Teamed them up with the correct stand height that I bought . We sit about 8' from the screen in a room 11' wide. Bought the 42" and it was the best decision we made. Ideal size for that distance.

Do your homework before you go. I just took my receipt into CC and they called one BB store to see if in stock. It wasn't and they declined to pricematch. They offered to meet me halfway. I left in disgust and am contemplating returning it for refund and repurchasing at the lower price. One BB in town shows in stock (from BB website) and Sears may be an option.

I Just Got back from CC, pricematched to Best Buy no questions asked. :)

If you don't mind taking the cabinent apart (and probably voiding your warrenty) you could add such a jack. Of course, you'd want an in line switch that allowed you to gang the speakers when using it as a center channel and that maintained their seperate connections to the internal amp when not. :D

I would never consider such a drastic move. You do not know the impedance of the speakers inside the cabinet and I doubt if it is even marked on them. If you mismatch impedance you could blow the speakers or worse damage your amplifier/receiver.

Using the speakers in a TV as a center channel is just not a good idea. The majority of the sound you hear on 5.1 - 7.1 material emanates from the center channel. No television is going to have the kind of quality speakers needed to reproduce the center channel material.

Buy a good quality center channel speaker that matches at least the impedance of the rest of your speakers... Please do not even consider hard wiring the speakers in your A-10 directly to your amplifier.

Scott

We just returned from Sears...

Boy was that salesman unhappy with our BEST BUY flyer... Not rude or anything, but it did take the wind out of his sails....

We went with the 42" A-10...

Sears does not stock it, which I did not know before actually buying the unit. But they do deliver inside including setup for $50. This is a better deal than any online merchant.

So we got the 42 A-10 for $1599.99
Less the 10% Price Match

I just couldn't argue for the 50" at that price/value... Especially since I sit closer than anyone else and the set will most likely look better with SD than a 50".

This will be light years ahead of my 32" 11 year old RCA CRT....

Delivery wont be until a week from Monday, but hey, that gives me time to order new component cables and install an antenna for free HD!

Great forum here folks... I think we all have made a good decision with the Wega!

Scott
Tampa Bay

Originally Posted by troutphisher
I have decided after researching for what seems to be an eternity that I am going to get the 50 incher. But I am afraid that if i buy it know with the intro of 1080p tvs and the new qualia the price on these tvs will drop drastically. Should I wait a month or 2 or pull the trigger now????


I work in the Broadcast biz... there are no plans to broadcast 1080p in our life time (way to much bandwidth) my bet...Because of commercial considerations broadcasters will drift to 720p with some 1080i hold outs ..that way they squeeze in more channels.."The public" always wants more channels over fewer but higher quality ones.

42" A10 is advertised today in PC Richards. Not on the website though. Very good price!!!!!! Fourteen Eighty eight!!!!!!!!

42" A10 is advertised today in PC Richards. Not on the website though. Very good price!!!!!! Fourteen Eighty eight!!!!!!!!


What do you suppose is the reason for the big price drop on the 42?

do they need a bigger "spread" between the 42 and 50?

Were people just taking the 50 because it was only a few$ more than the 42 and the 42's just sat in the stores? My price on the 50 after some haggling was just a bit more than the asking price of the 42 (at the time).

Where does one find the 10% BB coupon?

I work in the Broadcast biz... there are no plans to broadcast 1080p in our life time (way to much bandwidth) my bet...Because of commercial considerations broadcasters will drift to 720p with some 1080i hold outs ..that way they squeeze in more channels.."The public" always wants more channels over fewer but higher quality ones.


This is so true.

I had a cable installer over about 4 months ago and he said this exact same thing but not as succinctly.

If you wanna see how much more space HD programming uses in a crude way, just use your DVR. Record a show in SD format. Look at your recording space left. Now delete that show. Record the same length show in HD. Check your recording space. :eek:

I am all for 720p across the board from now till the end of time. 720p looks great.

What every one has said regarding the 1080p is exactly the reason that I feel this TV is a great value for the money. I was just hoping that the new 1080p's and the sxrd would lower the prices even more on these tvs.

I also pricematched today at CC... Went pretty smoothly except for the worker there trying to short change me on the 110%.. I had to remind her how to do math lol.. I got 219 and change.. I love getting money for doing nothing.. Its a great feelin lol..

Chris

I bought the 42" A10 last night and thanks to AVS I just saved another $220.

Thanks AVS.

I am now sold on the 42. With the best buy advertised price and the 10% off coupon that offer cant be beat. I called tweeter and they said that they wont match it because they wouldnt make any profit.

I called tweeter and they said that they wont match it because they wouldnt make any profit.
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/style_emoticons/2/24.gif

Hello All,

I just wanted a to drop a quick thank you to all 2500+ posters to this forum. I just got my E50A10 today, and after plugging in some posters setting, then a little fine tuning, I couldnt be happier. This is the tv I SHOULD have bought 2 yrs ago, when I bought a 36" Tosh HD 4:3 tube (heavier than the earth as a whole).

Thanks all!!

Just got back from BB, (I bought the 42A10 this morning) and after talking to 3 people and much confusion regarding th 10% coupon, my account was credited $166. I really have to thank this AVS Forum

Just got back from BB, (I bought the 42A10 this morning) and after talking to 3 people and much confusion regarding th 10% coupon, my account was credited $166. I really have to thank this AVS Forum

Before we left for Sears this morning we looked at the Best Buy coupon and from the way it is worded it seems as if the 10% off is only applicable to the original retail price of the item. We took this to mean that it would not apply to Sale ad pricing.

Best Buy employees should be able to read, how did anyone get them to honor 10% off of a sale price?

Just interested because the Sears price matching guarantee is for 10% of the difference not plus 10% off the price.

I may have to go to Best Buy for the better deal if anyone can confirm how this is done?

Nobody questioned "sale price" with me. They read it several times and I had an issue about presenting the 10 % coupon several hours after the original sale took place. I simply said I would cancel the sale and re-purchase it with the coupon.

The coupon states the 10% is off the regular price and that it's not valid with other coupons or offers.
http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/en_US/images/external/emailpdf/10off_26484_6866509.pdf
I would think that today's sale price would be considered an offer so this wouldn't stack, but, if you can get them to do it, more power to you.

What do you suppose is the reason for the big price drop on the 42?

do they need a bigger "spread" between the 42 and 50?

Were people just taking the 50 because it was only a few$ more than the 42 and the 42's just sat in the stores? My price on the 50 after some haggling was just a bit more than the asking price of the 42 (at the time).


Well as for price difference I got my 50" A10 (not 42") for $1888 plus tax at the same retailer. Still $400 more than the 42". $2052 with tax and delivery. :D

BB told me the bulb is covered under their 4 yr. warranty plan for $399. "No doubt about it"
Can anyone confirm that this is indeed true?

BB told me the bulb is covered under their 4 yr. warranty plan for $399. "No doubt about it"
Can anyone confirm that this is indeed true?

It is 100% true. It covers multiple bulbs.

I think you can buy your extended warranty directly from Sony. I did this with a Sony Vaio Computer after purchasing same from Best Buy...

Anyone have the link or any idea if this offer is still available?

I can find the prices of the extended warrantys (very attractive) on the Sony Website, But no link on how to buy them....

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/EW_ViewExtendedWarranty-Detail?CategoryName=CE_TV&TabName=Features&Telesales=

Maybe another set of eyes or fingers can help me find the link to where to buy this warranty?

The Sears Warranty was just too expensive!

Just out of curiousity, why buy the service plan for 400 dollars when the bulbs only cost 200? If the bulb is truely rated at 6000 hours or so, you could easily outlast the 4yr warranty.. Granted it does cover other problems that might occur, but to me it seemed like an awful lot of money up front to pay for covering bulbs.. just my $0.02...

chris

When you find that cable please let me know. I haven't looked much because of my schedule :(

I bought a Belkin PureAV 12 ft VGA cable from Amazon. I would think finding a VGA cable up to 25 ft wouldn't be too hard.

I don't see any mention of bulbs being covered on the Sony website. However, don't most of you buy a warranty plan with these new TVs. They seem to be suspect for many problems compared to the old CRTS. Now I am wondering if I should cancel the warranty before I take delivery. Any thoughts?