Hey rman,

Just to make you feel like you are not crazy, my 50A10 does the same thing as your 42. The only game that displays at 16:9 (that I have played/owned) was Xmen Legends, but thats a 720p game. Everything else, I have to put into wide zoom mode.

And you are correct on Madden 06, too. it does not display @ 16:9

Maybe sony put a little chip in the tv just to mess with the xbox :rolleyes:

Just kidding :D

I just leave it in wide zoom and it works fine, but it is rather annoying.

The Xbox doesn't send the correct ID1 signal for 480p content that should be displayed at 16:9. It is sending an anamorphic 16:9 image, but the ID1 flag is wrong so the TV doesn't autoswitch. It seems to only be a problem with certain TVs, Sonys being some of those. If you disable 480p, you'll get a 480i signal with the correct 16:9 flag.

The link to HDTVarcade above has the list of games and their resolution capabilities. As long as you have widescreen enabled in the MS dashboard, the game will send the correct image; it just depends on your TV if you need to select the correct wide-mode. So basically, those of you with widescreen enabled and using wide-zoom on game such as Madden, you're looking at a distorted image ;)

I'm planning on getting an a10 (waiting for the next big deal :p ) and also the xbox 360, so since every game should be in 720p, I shouldn't have to worry about all of the problems everyone is having, correct?

The Xbox doesn't send the correct ID1 signal for 480p content that should be displayed at 16:9. It is sending an anamorphic 16:9 image, but the ID1 flag is wrong so the TV doesn't autoswitch. It seems to only be a problem with certain TVs, Sonys being some of those. If you disable 480p, you'll get a 480i signal with the correct 16:9 flag.

The link to HDTVarcade above has the list of games and their resolution capabilities. As long as you have widescreen enabled in the MS dashboard, the game will send the correct image; it just depends on your TV if you need to select the correct wide-mode. So basically, those of you with widescreen enabled and using wide-zoom on game such as Madden, you're looking at a distorted image ;)

ooOOOOOoooh! So what you are saying that its a problem with the xbox AND the tv @ the 480p resolution.

I must try this when I get home!

Thank you aronparsons!! :)

I'm planning on getting an a10 (waiting for the next big deal :p ) and also the xbox 360, so since every game should be in 720p, I shouldn't have to worry about all of the problems everyone is having, correct?

i don't think they are problem from what I am reading and see on my own TV. I get an anamorphic image from my PS2 on games that support it but my TV isn't telling me its 16x9. But it looks ok when i am on full mode.

oh and a 720p signal should be picke dup correctly, i think what they are seeing is doing 16x9 in 480p

The Xbox doesn't send the correct ID1 signal for 480p content that should be displayed at 16:9. It is sending an anamorphic 16:9 image, but the ID1 flag is wrong so the TV doesn't autoswitch. It seems to only be a problem with certain TVs, Sonys being some of those. If you disable 480p, you'll get a 480i signal with the correct 16:9 flag.

The link to HDTVarcade above has the list of games and their resolution capabilities. As long as you have widescreen enabled in the MS dashboard, the game will send the correct image; it just depends on your TV if you need to select the correct wide-mode. So basically, those of you with widescreen enabled and using wide-zoom on game such as Madden, you're looking at a distorted image ;)
Thank you very much for the input, once I get home Ill disable the 480p setting on the Xbox and see if I get a 16:9 image instead of a 4:3 image stretched using 'wide zoom'. And if I may add I think the wide zoom function on the A10 is really nice for 4:3 content, gives you that widescreen look with minimal distortion.

I dont think anyone is going crazy, I just think there is a misunderstanding. Games in 480p are not in 16:9, they are in 4:3 ratio. If you took a 720p game on a widescreen TV and compared that to playing a 720p game on a 4:3 CRT TV, you would see that there is more picture being displayed on the widescreen TV. If you did the same with a 480p game you are going to see the same amount of the picture, however you can stretch the image with "wide zoom" to fill the screen.

Here is a Resolution Glossary
480i (SDTV): 640x480, interlaced, 4:3
480p (EDTV): 640x480, progressive, 4:3
720p (HDTV): 1280x720, progressive, 16:9
1080i (HDTV): 1920x1080, interlaced, 16:9

If anyone can prove me wrong, showing a 480p game in true 16:9 (meaning I would see more of the game on the screen, then if I played it on a 4:3 TV) please do so. This is in regards to Xbox games.

Pretty common knowledge that there are many 480p AND 16:9 xbox games out there. When used properly on say Forza Motorsport, you can see the difference quite clearly. It appears that for some reason this series of TVs does not display them as it should, but it is not the fault of the xbox console and/or game. When Forza is played in 4:3, there is very little terrain visible to the right or left margins of the track surface near the bottom of the screen. When played in 16:9 there is quite a bit more visible terrain to the left and right margins of the track surface. It actually makes the game easier to play because you can see visual cues for turns approaching from a greater distance. It is not a stretched or distorted image, it is simply the original 16:9 image as it was intended and not cropped to 4:3.

It's too bad that there's a compatibility issue with this set and the xbox as it would detract greatly from the gaming experience. Good thing the horizon holds mostly 720p stuff.

Did you go in to the xbox and set it to 16x9? My tv displays halo 16x9. Looks amazing one thing I would recommend to all you gamers is don't turn on the game mode it the pictrue definately does not look as good and there is no lag.

The Xbox doesn't send the correct ID1 signal for 480p content that should be displayed at 16:9. It is sending an anamorphic 16:9 image, but the ID1 flag is wrong so the TV doesn't autoswitch. It seems to only be a problem with certain TVs, Sonys being some of those. If you disable 480p, you'll get a 480i signal with the correct 16:9 flag.

The link to HDTVarcade above has the list of games and their resolution capabilities. As long as you have widescreen enabled in the MS dashboard, the game will send the correct image; it just depends on your TV if you need to select the correct wide-mode. So basically, those of you with widescreen enabled and using wide-zoom on game such as Madden, you're looking at a distorted image ;)

aronparsons,

Thanks for this info, you're right on the money. I can play the games in 16:9 with 480p disabled. Unfortunately I lose PQ, my xbox now looks like a PS2. This is very heart breaking and has me torn on returning this TV. Yes I know that wide zoom looks good on 4:3, but I play lots of sports games and I'm losing some of the field, court, etc. playing in 4:3. Some people are anal about color, tweeks, looks, etc. on TV's...mine is geometry issues and having a TV that will not display games in 16:9 in 480p is kinda of a deal breaker since I don't plan on getting into Xbox360 gaming for a year or more. :(

Are those of you with XBOX 480P problems on Xbox live? I'm just wondering if you have the HD update on your boxes. I was considering this TV, just waiting until prices come down a bit in november/december. I mostly play Halo 2 on my Xbox and I've seen how good 480P looks, so if the A10 won't do it properly I will have to look at another TV.

Okay, even though the Xbox doesn't send a signal saying that the 480p signal is 16:9 you should be able to easily switch the aspect ratio of the TV to full. Their is no need to set the Xbox to 480i since you can use the TV remote to switch the aspect ratio with only a press of a button.

Hey guys, I think there is a thread already for A10 XBox issues. Please use it. Thanks.

hey maybe its just me, but has anyone else noticed a kind of light shadow surrounding text, or the outside of objects on the A10? ive only really noticed it in 480p or 480i dvds, if i turn the brightness all the way down it goes away, but if it's at my normal setting of 35 i see it. i cant really see most of it unless i'm way up close. i dont notice it in 1080i stuff on cable at all.

hey maybe its just me, but has anyone else noticed a kind of light shadow surrounding text, or the outside of objects on the A10? ive only really noticed it in 480p or 480i dvds, if i turn the brightness all the way down it goes away, but if it's at my normal setting of 35 i see it. i cant really see most of it unless i'm way up close. i dont notice it in 1080i stuff on cable at all.

It's most likely edge enhancement that was added during the mastering process of the DVD. It could also be VSM in which the TV is adding artificial sharpness. The problem with the A10 is that there's no way to turn VSM (ClearEdge) off in the user menu. It must be a service menu only option.

Guys... sorry if this is already asked and answered. This thread is getting huge!

When receiving a HD feed on the A10 say 1080i or 720p do all the zoom modes still work? i.e. HD signals often show a 4x3 image but with black bars included in the scan. Can I zoom to just the image and remove the bars?

My 6yr old Sony XBR disables zoom for HD inputs.

When receiving a HD feed on the A10 say 1080i or 720p do all the zoom modes still work? i.e. HD signals often show a 4x3 image but with black bars included in the scan. Can I zoom to just the image and remove the bars?
Yes. Both ZOOM and WIDE ZOOM work with 4:3 HD signals.

grider

Sometimes its the local channels not switching their equipment to the proper format.

Also check to be sure that you're not on a Svideo input.

Either one could cause the same effect.

Anybody by chance know if there is a code for the A10's remote that will control the HR10-250 Directv Tivo receiver? The Hughes and Phillips (804/811) codes in the manual don't work, and there isn't anything on the Sony support site about additional codes. On a related topic, why is there a DVR function button if they don't bother to provide any DVR codes?

After spending a lot of time with these sets yesterday , I must apologize for dissmissing normal LCD projectors , out-of-hand, as I was quite impressed as to how they stood up against DLP.

I don't seem to understand what my native resolution is. My cable box (SA 8300) is configured to ouput 480p, 720p and 1080i. When my TV recieves this signal, is it then converted to 720p? Or does it display what it receives (i.e. 1080i = 1080i, 480p = 480p, etc.). If it's always getting converted to 720p, would it be better for me to simply configure my cable box to stricly output 720p signal. How will this impact signals that are meant to be distributed as 1080i or 480p.

Thanks! :o

After spending a lot of time with these sets yesterday , I must apologize for dissmissing normal LCD projectors , out-of-hand, as I was quite impressed as to how they stood up against DLP.

The A-10 is a great set for most people. I am amazed at the PQ on a really high- quality HD program. I tried a Samsung HLP5063 a year ago. I hated it. It had a soft fuzzy picture that really aggravated me. Samsung calls it 'film-like', and I say it just sucked. Totally lacked fine detail, and I honestly felt like I needed new glasses. It also had 'clay-faces', jagged edges on diagonal lines etc. Plus I saw rainbows a lot, and had a headache when I watched it. Now fast-forward to the A-10. It is razor sharp, and just blows the Samsung away on all but black levels. And even the black levels are decent. I am very glad I sent the Sammy back, and waited for a really good 50 inch TV. The SXRD is better yet, but it costs a lot more also. I feel that both types of Sony's beat the DLP's overall. DLP is handicapped by using one-chip, and the resulting rainbow, and eyestrain issues. No matter how good the PQ, those issues won't go away.

Pretty common knowledge that there are many 480p AND 16:9 xbox games out there. When used properly on say Forza Motorsport, you can see the difference quite clearly. It appears that for some reason this series of TVs does not display them as it should, but it is not the fault of the xbox console and/or game. When Forza is played in 4:3, there is very little terrain visible to the right or left margins of the track surface near the bottom of the screen. When played in 16:9 there is quite a bit more visible terrain to the left and right margins of the track surface. It actually makes the game easier to play because you can see visual cues for turns approaching from a greater distance. It is not a stretched or distorted image, it is simply the original 16:9 image as it was intended and not cropped to 4:3.

It's too bad that there's a compatibility issue with this set and the xbox as it would detract greatly from the gaming experience. Good thing the horizon holds mostly 720p stuff.


Why don't you just put the 480p game into the FULL MODE, so it is displayed properly? :eek:

The Xbox sent a 4:3 signal to the TV even with 480p, so the TV does not display in FULL mode unless you tell it to. A simple button press.

Normally I use WIDE ZOOM for non HD content, but since most of the 480p games support 16:9, just put it in FULL to have the proper aspect ratio, without having to artificially "stretch" the image in WIDE ZOOM.

:D :D :D

Thank you very much for the input, once I get home Ill disable the 480p setting on the Xbox and see if I get a 16:9 image instead of a 4:3 image stretched using 'wide zoom'. And if I may add I think the wide zoom function on the A10 is really nice for 4:3 content, gives you that widescreen look with minimal distortion.

Keep everything turned ON in the Xbox dahsboard. All you have to do when you fire up a game is turn the TV to FULL mode.

For whatever reason the Xbox does not send the 16:9 signal, even on games that support it, so you manually have to tell the TV to go into FULL mode.

Notice how the FULL picture looks better than WIDE ZOOM, since FULL is the proper Zoom for 16:9 content.

:D :D :D

Okay, even though the Xbox doesn't send a signal saying that the 480p signal is 16:9 you should be able to easily switch the aspect ratio of the TV to full. Their is no need to set the Xbox to 480i since you can use the TV remote to switch the aspect ratio with only a press of a button.

Any 480p 16:9 game in full mode is stretched and not a true 16:9 picture. Wide zoom looks much better, but it is still not a true picture. You can tell the difference if you play a 480p 16:9 game on another TV that is not this Sony.

Why don't you just put the 480p game into the FULL MODE, so it is displayed properly? :eek:

The Xbox sent a 4:3 signal to the TV even with 480p, so the TV does not display in FULL mode unless you tell it to. A simple button press.

Normally I use WIDE ZOOM for non HD content, but since most of the 480p games support 16:9, just put it in FULL to have the proper aspect ratio, without having to artificially "stretch" the image in WIDE ZOOM.

:D :D :D

I gather from some of the previous posts that there are two distinct "issues". And I already have suggested "full" mode, so no need to tell me to try it.

1) the TV doesn't auto-detect the widescreen games (no TVs do, that I'm aware of). It requires setting to "full" every time you start the game.

2) some people feel they are not getting a full, undistorted 16:9 image regardless of what configuration they try.

Hey guys, I think there is a thread already for A10 XBox issues. Please use it. Thanks.

I'll be happy to use if you show me were it is.

Thanks

I don't seem to understand what my native resolution is. My cable box (SA 8300) is configured to ouput 480p, 720p and 1080i. When my TV recieves this signal, is it then converted to 720p? Or does it display what it receives (i.e. 1080i = 1080i, 480p = 480p, etc.). If it's always getting converted to 720p, would it be better for me to simply configure my cable box to stricly output 720p signal. How will this impact signals that are meant to be distributed as 1080i or 480p.

Thanks! :o

The A10's native screen rez is 720p, so any other signal (480i, 1080i, etc.) will be scaled up/down to 720p.

The scaler in the A10 does a better job than the cable box. For 16:9 set the cable box for 1080i output. for 4:3 set it to output at 480i. For your DVD player try both 480i and 480p and see which one looks better.

I'll be happy to use if you show me were it is.

Thanks

I am not sure if the statement was helpful or not, but I did find the thread.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=585849&page=1&pp=30

I had this thread bookmarked, and people were talking about the xbox, I didnt know it wasnt kosher to post here...even though we were discussing the A10.

Whatever :rolleyes:

It's most likely edge enhancement that was added during the mastering process of the DVD. It could also be VSM in which the TV is adding artificial sharpness. The problem with the A10 is that there's no way to turn VSM (ClearEdge) off in the user menu. It must be a service menu only option.

yeah thats exactly what it looked like, but i dismissed it as that since there is no SVM option in the menus, hopefully someone finds it in the service menu, i would like to turn this off.

yeah thats exactly what it looked like, but i dismissed it as that since there is no SVM option in the menus, hopefully someone finds it in the service menu, i would like to turn this off.
What is you sharpness setting? If it is set too high it could cause this problem. I didn't notice a problem with SVM when looking at the THX calibration image with the frequency ramp.

I gather from some of the previous posts that there are two distinct "issues". And I already have suggested "full" mode, so no need to tell me to try it.
1) the TV doesn't auto-detect the widescreen games (no TVs do, that I'm aware of). It requires setting to "full" every time you start the game.
2) some people feel they are not getting a full, undistorted 16:9 image regardless of what configuration they try.

Well this problem only seems to exist with 480p games, not ones in 720p as the games default to FULL mode on those. Why this happens is beyond me :confused:

I use FULL on Halo 2 & Ninja Gaiden Black and the image is "truer" than Wide Zoom, it seems proper to me, not squishy or anything. I NEVER use FULL on non HD content as it looks distorted.

Honestly, I have not heard of this issue before reading the above posts today. Seemed to be the general consensus if that it was merely a signal output issue with Xbox.

Either way my Xbox only needs to hold the fort for another month before I'm pounding Nazis to hell in 720p insanity. :D :D :D

This sucks, the 50A10 price has gone up on at BB. Their price just for the tv itself is almost as same price as costco's tv/stand bundle. I called the local BB and asked if they'll price match Costco, but they gave me some crap excuse saying that Costco is a wholesaler and that you need membership thus being able to sell stuff cheaper. Then i called another BB and asked if they can price match the tv/stand bundle but then subtract the stand from the pricing and they said they couldn't do it.

With BB and CC you don't always need to do a price-match. You can often quite easily pull off a 10% discount in the store if you are persistent, especially if you find a sales person or manager that is willing to deal. Another thing to consider is that Ultimate Electronics pretty much always has 10% off. You might also want to try Sears and The Great Indoors. If you want the 50A10 with the matching stand and find the Costoco and Sam's Club bundle price acceptable, it only costs about $40 to join IIRC.

I bought mine at Sam's Club in spite of NOT needing the stand. It is still in the box. The package price was about the same as the TV alone at most B&M stores, plus I liked the more lenient return policy at Sam's, and the much lower priced extended warranty ($200.00 for 4 years..but bulbs not included). I figure having the stand will also make this TV easier to sell when I finally give in to SXRD fever in about 2 to 4 years. :)

i need some help and thought you all might be able to help me out.... i own the denon 1705... and just love it! but my question is... i want to use my tv as the center channel in my setup (as well as the center speaker which goes on top of the tv... the sony e50a10 i just bought has the hidden speakers on the bottom) anyway, how do you go audio out into the audio in on the tv and get it to work? i tried both the CDR and VCR audio out on the denon... and that doesn't work. No idea how i get that to work...????
The only "pre-out" is for the subwoofer...

Any help would be greatly appreciated... Chad

i need some help and thought you all might be able to help me out.... i own the denon 1705... and just love it! but my question is... i want to use my tv as the center channel in my setup (as well as the center speaker which goes on top of the tv... the sony e50a10 i just bought has the hidden speakers on the bottom) anyway, how do you go audio out into the audio in on the tv and get it to work? i tried both the CDR and VCR audio out on the denon... and that doesn't work. No idea how i get that to work...????
The only "pre-out" is for the subwoofer...

Restating this: you want the TV's internal speakers to serve as your center channel in a 5.1/6.1/7.1 setup, mirroring the existing center channel speaker you already have. I'd say that unless your receiver has a center channel pre-out, there's no way to get just the center channel feed into the TV's speakers short of some really goofy wiring. (Such as: splitting the amplified center channel amp output, running one half through a speaker-level stepdown, then running that output into the TV. Not only would that probably result in horrible imbalances in the receiver's amp & outputs, but you'd most likely never be able to correctly balance the external and internal speakers. And it'd most likely sound like crap. :rolleyes: )

Hey have any of you bought your a10 off the internet. If so where and how did that work out for you [any problems with the tv].
im lookin to buy a 42 a10 from somewhere off the net.

What's the deal with the Sony 1-Year warranty that comes with the 42A10? Does it or does it not cover bulb replacement for 1 year?

One Sony rep told me NO, only 90 days on the bulb.

I called back, and another Sony rep told me YES, 1 year part and labor.

What's up?? Does the warranty cover bulbs for a year? I need to know because my credit card doubles the warranty, but I obvoiusly want it doubling to 2 years, not 180 days.

Thanks.

($200.00 for 4 years..but bulbs not included).

The Sam's club warranty does include the bulb. As a matter of fact includes all wear/tear items. Sam's club believes in total customer satisfaction. I purchased 1 year and got another one free for being a PLUS member. I now have total of three years for $69.00 (1 from Sony and 2 from Sam's).

I just got my E50A10 a few hours ago and am very pleased. One quick question......Can the color of the side bars be changed when watching non-stretched 4:3 material? Mine are a fairly light gray and I'd like to make them darker, if possible?

Thanks

Yes. Both ZOOM and WIDE ZOOM work with 4:3 HD signals.
Thanks!... good news.

Sometimes its the local channels not switching their equipment to the proper format.
Also check to be sure that you're not on a Svideo input.
Either one could cause the same effect.
Thanks also.
I'm using component in.

Any opinions on how the built in speakers sound on the 50" A10?

Also... any major concerns on dead pixels so far?

thanks.

I just got my E50A10 a few hours ago and am very pleased. One quick question......Can the color of the side bars be changed when watching non-stretched 4:3 material? Mine are a fairly light gray and I'd like to make them darker, if possible?

Thanks

There's no way to change the color on the side bars. For better black level turn the Advanced Iris to LOW (recommended) or MEDIUM and the static Iris to 1 or MIN. You have to compromise with this TV if you want darker blacks. If you want a brighter image you're going to have to let more light through which results in more grayish blacks.

The Sam's club warranty does include the bulb. As a matter of fact includes all wear/tear items. Sam's club believes in total customer satisfaction. I purchased 1 year and got another one free for being a PLUS member. I now have total of three years for $69.00 (1 from Sony and 2 from Sam's).

I called the Sam's Club 800 number for the extended warranty, and the woman told me it DOES NOT include the bulbs...hmmm. Who told you it includes bulbs? I can hope it does, but so far I was told it doesn't. If you find out more please let me know. I do know that the Sony warranty covers bulbs the first year.

Any opinions on how the built in speakers sound on the 50" A10?

Also... any major concerns on dead pixels so far?

thanks.

The built-in speakers aren't bad. Make sure you use the BBE sound processing option in the user menu for better bass and treble response. I set mine on HIGH.

I have a stuck blue pixel on mine. After 3 feet from the screen it disappears. LCDs are prone to this and you should at least expect a few to pop up.

I do know that the Sony warranty covers bulbs the first year.

How do you know this? I called Sony earlier and was told that it does not, that the bulb is 90 days.

Perhaps she thought I was just referring to the replacement bulbs?

I called back and gentleman said the bulbs were included in the 1 year, but he definitly had an air of not knowing what the heck he was talking about, so I'm was stuck not really being sure if the bulb was included in the Sony warranty.

If the bulb fails within the warranty period (1 year) it's covered like any other part. And realistically it shouldn't fail if the TV gets normal usage (6-8 hours a day). A power outage could shorten the life of the bulb since the cooling fan can't cool the bulb down like normal.

The "90 days" line sounds like somebody is just misinformed. I paid for my A10 with a credit card and am covered for 2 years--bulbs and all.

I just got my E50A10 a few hours ago and am very pleased. One quick question......Can the color of the side bars be changed when watching non-stretched 4:3 material? Mine are a fairly light gray and I'd like to make them darker, if possible?

Thanks

Mine were gray, I chaged them to black, it looks much nicer that way. I was able to change mine via the DVR (SA HD8300). Hit the "settings" button twice and scorll to find the option to change the side bars.

How much is the bulb for 42a10

Over a month ago, I retained an ISF calibrator to calibrate my 50A10. He couldn't do it because the service menu, for him, was so different from previous models that he needed to get additional information re how to navigate the service menu and how to read the abbreviations therein. After many days and many calls to colleagues/friends, including well-placed people at Sony, he has come up empty handed.

So, I have not had my set ISF calibrated (though at this point it looks just fine anyway, to my untrained eye . . .).

My question is, at this point in time, has ANYbody had their set ISF calibrated?

I'm really curious to see how it turned out and what sort of challenges the calibrator had/didn't have in adjusting via the service menu.

How much is the bulb for 42a10

If you look up the 42A10 on sonystyle.com you can find out.

With BB and CC you don't always need to do a price-match. You can often quite easily pull off a 10% discount in the store if you are persistent, especially if you find a sales person or manager that is willing to deal. Another thing to consider is that Ultimate Electronics pretty much always has 10% off. You might also want to try Sears and The Great Indoors. If you want the 50A10 with the matching stand and find the Costoco and Sam's Club bundle price acceptable, it only costs about $40 to join IIRC.

I've been thinking about getting BB to price match the tv/stand bundle, then just return the stand for store credit. I've been going back to BB to check out the A10 about 3 days already, and the sales person in home theaters seems annoyed of me, he doesn't even come by to ask if i need any help anymore. So i doubt he would help me get a 10% discount.

I read their return policy on bundle purchases:

"What is your return policy on bundle purchases?

You may return bundle purchases in accordance with our regular Return Policy. If you are unsatisfied with an individual item you purchased as part of a bundle package, you may return that item separately.

Please note: In some cases a bundle discount has been applied to each item. You will be refunded the discounted price, which may differ from the price if you purchased it individually. To review the amount you will be refunded for each individual item within the bundle, visit the Your Account page after you submit your order."

Has anybody here actually had their bulb replaced under the original warranty? (Or know of anybody that has?)

Has anybody here actually had their bulb replaced under the original warranty? (Or know of anybody that has?)

Read the GWIII thread when the bulbs were failing early, and you will read that Sony replaced many bulbs in the first year, and even beyond for free. The warranty that comes with the A-10 says one year parts and labor, and makes no exception for the bulbs. You can safely assume that the bulb has a one-year warranty.

I've had my 42A10 for not even four weeks, and while a major reason to finally plunge into HD was to watch NFL games (jawdropping) and movies, I find myself watching PBS-HD all the time. It's one of the first channels I check whenever I turn on the TV. Before, I watched PBS rarely, but now it claims a third of my viewing time each week. Tonight, I was drawn into the Nova episode "Einstein's Big Idea". Then, at 10pm I watched "ER" on NBC, another show I've rarely bothered to catch, but in HD it's mesmerizing to behold. I'm using a Terk antenna for OTA HD.
Has anyone else found their viewing habits changing after going to HD?

Over a month ago, I retained an ISF calibrator to calibrate my 50A10. He couldn't do it because the service menu, for him, was so different from previous models that he needed to get additional information re how to navigate the service menu and how to read the abbreviations therein. After many days and many calls to colleagues/friends, including well-placed people at Sony, he has come up empty handed.

So, I have not had my set ISF calibrated (though at this point it looks just fine anyway, to my untrained eye . . .).

My question is, at this point in time, has ANYbody had their set ISF calibrated?

I'm really curious to see how it turned out and what sort of challenges the calibrator had/didn't have in adjusting via the service menu.

I have been wondering about this myself! It maybe too early if the service menu is that different from previous model Wega's. Have you tried the Red push fix from the tweaks thread?
After calibrating my A10 with DVE and Red push fix in service menu, I can't image my set looking any better. I've never seen a set properly ISF calibrated but, it looks amazing right now!
By lowering the CHAXIS_1 setting to 0002 really cleans up the red and makes the sets colors more natural than ever. See tweaks thread for more info. Its surprisingly easy as well, although take EXTREME care when venturing into service menu.

I live in New Hampshire. I received my box 2 weeks ago. It had the DVI-HDMI connection. I called comcast wanting the straight HDMI connection for sound through the TV. They had the new Phase III boxes, which are HDMI out. I went to exchange the box. When I did, they also gave me a brand new gold plated HDMI-HDMI cable. My picture and records through H-Def are absolutely stunning.

After calibrating my A10 with DVE and Red push fix in service menu, I can't image my set looking any better. I've never seen a set properly ISF calibrated but, it looks amazing right now!


Agreed. The red push fix works for those wondering if they should even bother with it. I held off a bit on this because I wanted the TV to get some break-in time. The green color decoding is off a bit, but the red is now spot on.

I've had my 42A10 for not even four weeks, and while a major reason to finally plunge into HD was to watch NFL games (jawdropping) and movies, I find myself watching PBS-HD all the time. It's one of the first channels I check whenever I turn on the TV. Before, I watched PBS rarely, but now it claims a third of my viewing time each week. Tonight, I was drawn into the Nova episode "Einstein's Big Idea". Then, at 10pm I watched "ER" on NBC, another show I've rarely bothered to catch, but in HD it's mesmerizing to behold. I'm using a Terk antenna for OTA HD.
Has anyone else found their viewing habits changing after going to HD?


Absolutely. I think the best thing that ever happened to PBS is that they were one of the first ones to go HD in most markets. They also run their HD signal during the day when most everybody else likes to send you standard def. Those of us who enjoy a high quality HD picture found out by way of HD, just how much quality programming is available on PBS.

I always enjoy watching csi as the picture and sound are great.

Any 480p 16:9 game in full mode is stretched and not a true 16:9 picture. For anyone curious here is the answer (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6353801&&#post6353801) to what rman was asking about and it had nothing to do with the A10. It is actually a little known issue with the Xbox which affects most 16:9 games on it.

Ok, so I'm ready to puchase the 42A10.

I found an online retailer that's selling the model for about $300 off MSRP (seems like it's around what the BB circular price was a month ago). No tax, no shipping. It's ont a fly-by-night...they get overall strong reviews at pricegrabber and resellerratings.

If I purchased at BB or CC I'd be paying $450 more, but obviously I'd have the convenience of returning/exchanging a defective one. With the online retailer, I'm pretty much stuck going through Sony on the warranty to fix or replace the thing if I receive a defective TV.

Am I being too paranoid about receiving a defective TV to pass up the $450 savings?

The built-in speakers aren't bad. Make sure you use the BBE sound processing option in the user menu for better bass and treble response. I set mine on HIGH.

I have a stuck blue pixel on mine. After 3 feet from the screen it disappears. LCDs are prone to this and you should at least expect a few to pop up.


Well the sound is let's say is not great -- IMO-- I had a Sony Wega "36 CRT and it has Great Sound! -- I gave it to my Parents when I got my A10, I've thought about getting some powered speakers like for a PC but the sound it too low for the Line-Out for the ones I've tried. but I guess I can live with it. I have no dead pixels, well I haven't looked for them, my brother did on his panny and said I wish I hadn't looked because he sees it and nobody else does :rolleyes:

Mark

Ok, so I'm ready to puchase the 42A10.

I found an online retailer that's selling the model for about $300 off MSRP (seems like it's around what the BB circular price was a month ago). No tax, no shipping. It's ont a fly-by-night...they get overall strong reviews at pricegrabber and resellerratings.

If I purchased at BB or CC I'd be paying $450 more, but obviously I'd have the convenience of returning/exchanging a defective one. With the online retailer, I'm pretty much stuck going through Sony on the warranty to fix or replace the thing if I receive a defective TV.

Am I being too paranoid about receiving a defective TV to pass up the $450 savings?

I have that same question. At bestpricecameras.com they have the 42a10 for about $500 less than I can find at my local BB/CC/Boscov stores. They have the 50a10 for less then the price of the 42a10 at most stores and web sites. This seems to good to be true, and to good of a price on both HDTVs to pass up. I would love to get the 50 at their price, but no one on this forum has mention this site as a good place to get the Sony HDTVs from, so I am a little worried.

Pay a little more (but still less than the big boxes) by finding a more reputable vendor.

Run like the wind from bestpricecameras...

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller8754.html

Well the sound is let's say is not great -- IMO-- I had a Sony Wega "36 CRT and it has Great Sound! -- I gave it to my Parents when I got my A10, I've thought about getting some powered speakers like for a PC but the sound it too low for the Line-Out for the ones I've tried. but I guess I can live with it. I have no dead pixels, well I haven't looked for them, my brother did on his panny and said I wish I hadn't looked because he sees it and nobody else does :rolleyes:

Mark


The day i got mine delivered i looked and saw one. As i stepped back maybe a foot it blended in. I can't remeber even where it was.

I have that same question. At bestpricecameras.com they have the 42a10 for about $500 less than I can find at my local BB/CC/Boscov stores. They have the 50a10 for less then the price of the 42a10 at most stores and web sites. This seems to good to be true, and to good of a price on both HDTVs to pass up. I would love to get the 50 at their price, but no one on this forum has mention this site as a good place to get the Sony HDTVs from, so I am a little worried.
I would do a search on pricegrabber. Much better sellers come up and not much different in price from bestprice. One that comes to mind is this one.
http://www.6ave.com/product.jsp?x=KDFE50A10&zipz=11001

Ok, so I'm ready to puchase the 42A10.

I found an online retailer that's selling the model for about $300 off MSRP (seems like it's around what the BB circular price was a month ago). No tax, no shipping. It's ont a fly-by-night...they get overall strong reviews at pricegrabber and resellerratings.

If I purchased at BB or CC I'd be paying $450 more, but obviously I'd have the convenience of returning/exchanging a defective one. With the online retailer, I'm pretty much stuck going through Sony on the warranty to fix or replace the thing if I receive a defective TV.

Am I being too paranoid about receiving a defective TV to pass up the $450 savings?

Have you tried negotiating with some of your local stores? I have found that BB and, CC, as well as others will certainly negotiate on prices for big ticket items. If you need a stand, as well as the TV, you should check out the package prices on the 50 inch A-10 at Sam's Club, and Costco also (if you can stand the 50 inch size...you need to be about 8 feet from that size to avoid seeing SDE). I feel that buying a big-ticket item via mail order should be the avenue of last resort, due to difficulties so many people have with the companies themselves, and the problems you have to deal with if you happened to get a defective TV.

I will try negotiating a pkg deal, with a stand/delivery/warranty, but last winter when I tried this just to test the water, the couple stores I went to said the HDTV prices were already sale prices, and all they could offer me was free delivery, which some of the stores web sites already offered.

Ok, so I'm ready to puchase the 42A10.

I found an online retailer that's selling the model for about $300 off MSRP (seems like it's around what the BB circular price was a month ago). No tax, no shipping. It's ont a fly-by-night...they get overall strong reviews at pricegrabber and resellerratings.

If I purchased at BB or CC I'd be paying $450 more, but obviously I'd have the convenience of returning/exchanging a defective one. With the online retailer, I'm pretty much stuck going through Sony on the warranty to fix or replace the thing if I receive a defective TV.

Am I being too paranoid about receiving a defective TV to pass up the $450 savings?


I returned two 50" A10's to BB before finally getting a perfect set. My first had a terrible blotch on the screen and the replacement for that had an irritating buzzing noise coming from the lamp, not the fan.

The third and final replacement for that one has been perfect. I love the set!

I returned two 50" A10's to BB before finally getting a perfect set. My first had a terrible blotch on the screen and the replacement for that had an irritating buzzing noise coming from the lamp, not the fan.

The third and final replacement for that one has been perfect. I love the set!

Well, for $450 in savings, I took the risk. I figure if there's a dead pixel or 2 that can't be noticed at regular distance anyway, I won't care. And if there's a major defeat, the warranty has it covered.

I've read enough good things about 6ave.com in other places and even within this thread, so I went with them. My television comes Tuesday; I'm stoked. It might have even been sooner, but they only have Tuesday/Thursday Manhattan delivery.

Crossing my fingers big time that nothing is wrong with the set, but confident and pleased with my purchase.

I returned two 50" A10's to BB before finally getting a perfect set. My first had a terrible blotch on the screen and the replacement for that had an irritating buzzing noise coming from the lamp, not the fan.

The third and final replacement for that one has been perfect. I love the set!

What do you mean by blotch? My 42a10 has like a white or faded spot in the middle. I thought it was from the lamp. Is this normal?

Hey have any of you bought your a10 off the internet. If so where and how did that work out for you [any problems with the tv].
im lookin to buy a 42 a10 from somewhere off the net.

I did, happy to report no problems at all. It was from an 'Authorized Dealer'.

Over a month ago, I retained an ISF calibrator to calibrate my 50A10. He couldn't do it because the service menu, for him, was so different from previous models that he needed to get additional information re how to navigate the service menu and how to read the abbreviations therein. After many days and many calls to colleagues/friends, including well-placed people at Sony, he has come up empty handed.

So, I have not had my set ISF calibrated (though at this point it looks just fine anyway, to my untrained eye . . .).

My question is, at this point in time, has ANYbody had their set ISF calibrated?

I'm really curious to see how it turned out and what sort of challenges the calibrator had/didn't have in adjusting via the service menu.
I think that umr posted that he has calibrated an A10. He said that he was able to improve color decoding and gray scale linearity. Why not ask him about who to get to calibrate your display?

I would do a search on pricegrabber. Much better sellers come up and not much different in price from bestprice. One that comes to mind is this one.
http://www.6ave.com/product.jsp?x=KDFE50A10&zipz=11001


Bingo! Great Service.

What do you mean by blotch? My 42a10 has like a white or faded spot in the middle. I thought it was from the lamp. Is this normal?

You mean when the TV is on or off? When off you can see a whitish area in the center of the screen from reflected room light. You shouldn't be seeing a very noticable white or faded spot in the middle when the tv is in use though. It may look a tad brighter in the center, but it shouldn't be that obvious in normal use.

After struggling to decide between a KDFE50A10 for $2000 or KDFE55A20 for $2400, I chose the 50A10 due to aesthetics and the lower price. I've tried 3 50A10s so far, and each one has had numerous flaws:

1st unit: arrived with 4 stuck pixels (blue and green) in various locations, entire image was tilted 1/8" to the right, but no other problems. I returned it because of the 4 pixels (even though I couldn't see them at normal viewing distance) after hearing so many people say they got (near) perfect sets.

2nd unit: arrived with 0 stuck/bad pixels, but the image was off by 3/16" (still tolerable though). I said I was going to keep this unit, but 2 weeks later I now have at least 4 noticeable stuck pixels (1 blue, 3 green) and 1 "shadow spot". It seems almost every time I turn it on I get another stuck pixel. Seeing the shadow spot (a shadow which covers about 4 adjacent pixels and shows color through, but it's a little darker than the surrounding area) prompted me to try another unit. It's noticeable at 10' if you're looking at a solid bright background.

3rd unit: arrived with 4 stuck pixels (2 blue and 2 green), 1 giant dirt spot on the front screen, 1 shadow spot the same size as the 2nd unit, and the image was tilted 1/8" to the right. I inspected this in-store and the employees agreed the 1 giant dirt spot ruined the set because it was easily visible from 10'. This was clearly worse than the 2nd unit.

The manager and employees had never seen a "shadow spot" before, and they had no idea what caused it. Someone speculated a piece of dust on the optics might cast a shadow that takes up a few adjacent pixels.

So, I still have the 2nd unit because I'd rather have it than no TV at all, but I'm disappointed I can't get a better unit when so many other people say they have perfect sets. The manager at the store said he didn't want me to try another unit because they will probably all have a similar number of defects and they have to sell open-box TVs at a discount because Sony won't take them back as defective for things like stuck pixels and pieces of dirt under the screen.

I have inspected every Sony A10 set I've seen on demo in every store (at least 5 50A10s and 2 42A10s), and virtually every set I've seen has had fewer flaws than mine. On average I see 1 or 2 stuck or bad pixels. The image on every A10 seems to be titled 1/8" to the right except for mine which is off 3/16" (after careful measuring with the Avia DVD).

My main concern about my 2nd set (the one I still have) is that it was perfect on arrival but got worse. I am 100% positive that none of these stuck pixels or the shadow spot existed on arrival, but after about 20 hours of use they appeared 1 at a time. People at the stores (and reading this thread) indicated that most of these TVs do not normally develop a bunch of new bad pixels or spots... maybe 1 or 2 per year rather than 2 per week.

I'm afraid based on my TV's past behavior that it will continue to get at least 1 new stuck pixel or shadow spot per week until the TV is eventually riddled with them, and yet there will never be 21 in an inch so I won't ever qualify for service under the manufacturer's terms even though I bought a 4 year service plan with bulb replacement.

*** My questions are:

1. Has anyone seen a "shadow spot" (which I don't think is the same thing as a "color blotch")? What causes them (dust?) and can they be fixed by a cleaning?

2. Should I be worried about my current TV that went from perfect to 4 stuck pixels and 1 shadow spot in 2 weeks time? Does the fact I've gotten these new defective pixels/spots mean my set is more likely to get worse over time than any other set which has not (yet) developed any new defects?

3. Can new stuck pixels or "shadow spots" be caused by anything I could be doing to the set? For instance, if my cheap power/surge protector is not doing a good job, can bad power cause stuck pixels or shadow spots on the screen? Or can any of the WEGA Gate settings (such as using the max Iris or cranking the Picture or Brightness) make the LCDs more likely to develop these problems?

4. Does the bulb run at the same intensity regardless of the WEGA Gate settings (such as Iris)? In other words, if I prefer my Iris and Picture settings at the maximum, am I shortening bulb life or harming my set's longevity?

I'm sorry this post was long, but it was my first post and it's hard to summarize all that has happened with these 3 TVs in the last 2 weeks. If it weren't for the stuck pixels and shadow spots on these TVs, I'd be 100% happy. Right now I like the set too much to go back to my old Toshiba 36" CRT, but I feel like I've been unlucky and I'm disappointed this is the best I can do after trying 3 sets. Without specifically saying so the store has essentially told me I've reached my exchange quota, and I don't know if I should raise a fuss to see if I can try one more time. Any opinions on this?

For what it's worth, every A10 I've inspected has had numerous dirt spots under the screen, but except for the big spot on the 3rd set I tried, these dirt spots are never visible from a reasonable distance and they don't move or grow in size (unlike stuck pixels). I don't know why Sony can't make these TVs in a clean room without so many pieces of dirt in them, but I assume there must be a technological limitation (or maybe it's just a cost issue).

My question is, at this point in time, has ANYbody had their set ISF calibrated?

I'm really curious to see how it turned out and what sort of challenges the calibrator had/didn't have in adjusting via the service menu.


This guy over in the TC Forum (Tase) had his set calibrated by Greg Loewen.....(post 81)

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=262140&page=3&pp=30

MoesArt,

Bring it back and move on. No way should you spend that kind of money and not be happy. Maybe this particular shipment of A10's ran into manufacturing problems. Go to another store and try again. If so many on this site have gotten good sets, you can too, but don't keep the one you have.

Just got my Sony KDFE42A10 (six weeks old) repaired for the "blotch" problem. Several items of note may be of interest to this board. I bought it from an online dealer and got it serviced by an authorized tech.

1. The "blotch" on my screen was green, about the size of a silver dollar. It was caused by dirt on the lense. Now the interesting part. The service tech replaced the entire light engine, rather than clean it--because there were a few dead pixels, so Sony okayed the replacement. When he removed the old light engine he noticed that two of the four screws, that hold the gasket tight to keep out the dirt particles, were MISSING. Kind of like putting a transmission pan on with only half the screws--no wonder dirt got in there. Not very good quality control. The new one has four screws.

2. For those of you on the fence about whether or not to purchase the extended warranty--please do--the cost of my repair would have been nearly $1600 (the tech showed me the receipt he was sending Sony)--almost the cost of the set, brand new. One repair like mine would be devastating.

3. The tech suggested that I get an air cleaner for the room where my TV is located. I do have quite a bit of dust collecting--even though we dust weekly.
One cause might be my gas fireplace right beside the TV

Now my picture looks beautiful and the tech spoke highly of these sets.

I have one question about the Sony extended warranty: here is an exerpt from the coverage section:

"12. CLAIMS LIMITS. The total payment(s) for all claims under this contract shall not exceed the original retail price paid less sales tax of the covered product or system, except in those cases in which the No Lemon Guarantee applies. Out of Warranty Program – Claims are limited to $1,000 per claim and $2,000 for all covered equipment during the twelve (12) month term. Broken parts that are unavailable (Obsolete) will not be covered; replacement/pay-out will be offered in lieu of repair."

Do you think my replacement light engine, if done under the extended warranty, would be the limit of my repairs as mentioned in the above paragraph. If so, that would make the five year warranty of a little less worth, since only one major repair would be covered. Ouch!!

Good luck with your sets. :D

Brad

You mean when the TV is on or off? When off you can see a whitish area in the center of the screen from reflected room light. You shouldn't be seeing a very noticable white or faded spot in the middle when the tv is in use though. It may look a tad brighter in the center, but it shouldn't be that obvious in normal use.


Well that explains it. Thanks a lot!

*** My questions are:

1. Has anyone seen a "shadow spot" (which I don't think is the same thing as a "color blotch")? What causes them (dust?) and can they be fixed by a cleaning?

My 42A10 has a very faint spot near the center of the screen. It's about the size of a dime. I can only see it when there is light reflecting off of the screen. Mine looks like a defect in anti-glare coating. I never see it unless I look for it. It doesn't affect the PQ at all.

2. Should I be worried about my current TV that went from perfect to 4 stuck pixels and 1 shadow spot in 2 weeks time? Does the fact I've gotten these new defective pixels/spots mean my set is more likely to get worse over time than any other set which has not (yet) developed any new defects?

Stuck pixels are normal on LCDs. I've had one stuck pixel since day one and no more have appeared in 2 months time. I only see it if I'm up close to the screen.

3. Can new stuck pixels or "shadow spots" be caused by anything I could be doing to the set? For instance, if my cheap power/surge protector is not doing a good job, can bad power cause stuck pixels or shadow spots on the screen? Or can any of the WEGA Gate settings (such as using the max Iris or cranking the Picture or Brightness) make the LCDs more likely to develop these problems?

No.

4. Does the bulb run at the same intensity regardless of the WEGA Gate settings (such as Iris)? In other words, if I prefer my Iris and Picture settings at the maximum, am I shortening bulb life or harming my set's longevity?

Yes to the first question and no to the second one. What shortens bulb life is turning the TV on and off several times a day. Power outages will also shorten it.

Sony moved most of their manufacturing of the A10 models to Mexico. The Mexico plant has a poor record of quality control. My 42A10 was made in the Mexico plant. While I love the PQ of the A10, these TVs have some quality issues.

BTW, anyone saying they got a "perfect A10" is lying or just naive. They don't know what to look for and probably aren't very picky. In my case, it looks excellent from a normal viewing distance and that's all that really matters. But it's a different story when you get right up next to the screen. But I'm happy with my A10 despite its flaws. :)

Costco has the greatest deal IMO, especially because of there excellent return policy.

$2399 for 50" A10, price includes matching sony stand!

well, I decided to fix the red push in the service menu on my 50a10 in hope that it would eliminate the my pinkish whites which are normally seen on whites against dark backrounds, but unfortunately it didn't. Sin city still shows a hint of pink and in movie credits the names of the cast are not white, but instead more of a dirty white. Does anyone else know of this problem? I believe someone said that my set had poor color uniformity, so can this be fixed and is it a good enough reason to return it? My 30 days are up today so I have to make up my mind.

teckademic, have you tried setting Clear White to Low or High settings? Setting mine to Low gives whites a more blueish tint. This should eliminate your problem.

Poor color uniformity would normally appear in various spots on the screen rather then the whole screen.

The grayscale on your A10 is probably off just enough to cause this problem. Rather than return it I'd pay someone to professionally calibrate it. I might do this sometime in the near future.

I have had my KDF-E50A10 for 4 days now and want to thank forum members for helping me make the right choice. I'm more than satisfied with both the SD and HD picture quality.

But I do have a problem. As a Cablevision customer, the E50A10 is connected to a SA 8300HD by an HDMI cable. After running the SA 8300HD Explorer setup (either Easy Setup or Advanced), the DVR shows a 1080i setting and all picture formats are rececieved properly on the set. But if the set is pwered off or the Video source changed, the SA 8300HD returns to 480i and Explorer setup must be rerun again.

I'd appreciate any help.

clark46

I don't have the SA 8300, so I'm speculating.

You usually have the option on cable boxes of outputting a fixed resolution regardless of what its being fed, i.e. receives a 480i, 720p and 1080 input and converts all to outputs 1080i OR sends them through as their native resolution(480i,720p and 1080i).

Although the 8300 may be ouputting 480i when you cycle the cable box off and on, that may be the native resolution for the signal its receiving.(which is what I would want it to do, that is have the cable box pass through the native resolution and have the TV do the scaling/deinterlacing).

What you need to do to verify that the cable signal you're receiving is a true 1080i is to put it on something like the HD feed for PBS. If cycling the cable box off and on with that channel already selected, the TV shows that its receiving a 480i signal, then its possible that either the cable box is broken or that in one of its setup menus there is a setting that reverts the output resolution to 480i.

Good luck and let us know if this helps any.

I've had my 42A10 for not even four weeks, and while a major reason to finally plunge into HD was to watch NFL games (jawdropping) and movies, I find myself watching PBS-HD all the time. It's one of the first channels I check whenever I turn on the TV. Before, I watched PBS rarely, but now it claims a third of my viewing time each week. Tonight, I was drawn into the Nova episode "Einstein's Big Idea". Then, at 10pm I watched "ER" on NBC, another show I've rarely bothered to catch, but in HD it's mesmerizing to behold. I'm using a Terk antenna for OTA HD.
Has anyone else found their viewing habits changing after going to HD?

Absolutely. Like you we have had our 42A10 for about a month and for our evening viewing, check listings for programs in HD. We have watched a few new shows this year because of this. PBS-HD is on quite a bit. I am using a cheap RS set top antenna for OTA HD.

BTW, anyone saying they got a "perfect A10" is lying or just naive. They don't know what to look for and probably aren't very picky. In my case, it looks excellent from a normal viewing distance and that's all that really matters. But it's a different story when you get right up next to the screen. But I'm happy with my A10 despite its flaws. :)

As usual you are correct sir!

At the risk of jinxing myself...I have yet to see any flaws in my picture. That is to say from were I sit watching the set. I admit I have not sat 3" away with a test pattern on the screen carefully inspecting and measuring the screen for flaws because if there are imperfections there I for one..just don't want to know. I just want to sit back and enjoy the show without my eyes being constantly drawn to some little imperfection that I just know is there...even if I can't see it from my normal viewing position.

If it looks good from where you sit..why look for trouble?

If it looks good from where you sit..why look for trouble?

very true. If you can't see SDE or SSE because you don't know what it is or have never noticed it because you never knew it was there then don't try looking for it because once you see it, it will haunt you every time you turn on your tv. My girlfriend has yet to mention anything about SSE or SDE because she doesn't know what it is so she does not look for it, unlike dlps, she asked when we were tv shopping if it was just her or if I could see trails of colors when my eyes move around (rainbow effect) and I then explained what it was and why.

JimP - Thanks. I did try on a several HD channels and verified that I am receiving a true 1080i signal that reverts back to 4801 once the set is shut off.

Anyone else think the 480p pics of that calibrated set look the best? That factory default shot looks a bit exaggerated, too, no?

Just got my Sony KDFE42A10 (six weeks old) repaired for the "blotch" problem. Several items of note may be of interest to this board. I bought it from an online dealer and got it serviced by an authorized tech.

1. The "blotch" on my screen was green, about the size of a silver dollar. It was caused by dirt on the lense. Now the interesting part. The service tech replaced the entire light engine, rather than clean it--because there were a few dead pixels, so Sony okayed the replacement. When he removed the old light engine he noticed that two of the four screws, that hold the gasket tight to keep out the dirt particles, were MISSING. Kind of like putting a transmission pan on with only half the screws--no wonder dirt got in there. Not very good quality control. The new one has four screws.

2. For those of you on the fence about whether or not to purchase the extended warranty--please do--the cost of my repair would have been nearly $1600 (the tech showed me the receipt he was sending Sony)--almost the cost of the set, brand new. One repair like mine would be devastating.

3. The tech suggested that I get an air cleaner for the room where my TV is located. I do have quite a bit of dust collecting--even though we dust weekly.
One cause might be my gas fireplace right beside the TV

Now my picture looks beautiful and the tech spoke highly of these sets.

I have one question about the Sony extended warranty: here is an exerpt from the coverage section:

"12. CLAIMS LIMITS. The total payment(s) for all claims under this contract shall not exceed the original retail price paid less sales tax of the covered product or system, except in those cases in which the No Lemon Guarantee applies. Out of Warranty Program – Claims are limited to $1,000 per claim and $2,000 for all covered equipment during the twelve (12) month term. Broken parts that are unavailable (Obsolete) will not be covered; replacement/pay-out will be offered in lieu of repair."

Do you think my replacement light engine, if done under the extended warranty, would be the limit of my repairs as mentioned in the above paragraph. If so, that would make the five year warranty of a little less worth, since only one major repair would be covered. Ouch!!

Good luck with your sets. :D

Brad


Brad: Did you buy the extended warranty through Sony or your local retailer?

I have not bought the extended warranty yet. My original 12 month manufacturers warranty covered this repair. I plan on getting the Sony warranty about month eleven. Brad

Dark Rain and everyone else who replied, thanks for answering my questions.

First, it sounds like your faint spot is different than mine because yours is the size of a dime and mine is about the size of a pencil tip (about 4-6 pixels). I called it a "shadow spot" because it shows colors through normally, but it's slightly darker than the surrounding area. Even when there is no input to the TV, you can still see it's a slightly darker black. It's definitely not a defect in the screen but on the optics because when you push in on the screen the shadow spot moves.

My #1 concern about the 50A10 I have is to make sure I haven't gotten an "especially defective" set. From your comments it sounds like having 4 stuck pixels and a little shadow spot is probably not unreasonable to expect given Sony's quality control.

However, should I be extra worried about my set because it went from 0 visible defects to 4 stuck pixels and 1 shadow spot in the space of 2 weeks versus had it come with those same defects and had not gotten any more? In other words, does the fact my set has gotten worse in its first couple weeks mean my set is more likely than any other 50A10 to get worse over time (i.e. does it have a serious flaw in its electronics making stuck pixels very likely), or is the fact my set developed several stuck pixels so quickly totally meaningless and pure random chance which I should not construe as meaning my set is more likely to get worse than any other set in the future?

I would've kept the first set with 4 stuck pixels had I known that the 2nd one which was nearly "perfect" at the start would get worse. I'd love to see a poll or some statistics on how many A10 owners have had their sets develop new stuck pixels (and how many) over what time frame. (I don't suppose anyone knows of such statistics? Obviously it would only apply to people who inspect their sets up close because I understand some people don't want to know if there are defects they can't see at their normal viewing distance. The reason I inspect all TVs up close is I'm a perfectionist by nature and I can't help it.)

How do I know if my current set was made in Mexico? I didn't see "Made in Mexico" on the back. The manufacture date is July 2005. What's interesting is that the my 1st set was made in August 2005 and the 3rd set (which I didn't take home because of the big dirt spot on the screen) was made in September 2005. Are all A10s made after a certain date made in Mexico?

Jagsman, you suggested I take the unit back and try again, but I don't know if the store will do it because the manager says the defect level I'm seeing on each set is considered "normal" (according to his Sony rep which is what I'd expect anyone from Sony to say). I'm still happy watching my TV, and at 10' viewing distance I can't notice any of these defects (unless a static bright colored test pattern is up which only happens if I put it up). I'm just unhappy knowing these defects exist and worse yet constantly fearing that my set will get more defects each week based on the set's previous behavior.

Like I said in my post above, I'm just trying to make sure my set isn't likely to get a lot worse more so than anyone else's set because mine went from 0 to 5 defects in 2 weeks. I haven't seen any new defects in the last few days, but I keep thinking I'm seeing some new green stuck pixels about to be born in various spots... they are not actual stuck pixels yet but the brightness is off every so slightly on a single pixel. That may be normal and these spots might have been there from the beginning because they are really hard to notice. The only thing I'm positive of is there were no stuck or dead pixels and no shadow spots when I got the unit, and now there are 5 total.

Exchanging the TV is a big hassle, and I don't really want to do it again unless I think my current set is going to keep getting worse to the point where I can't stand it. Besides sharing my experiences, my main goal in posting here was to get some feedback if I should just keep my current set or raise a big fuss to try a 4th one? It sounds like I have 1 vote for and 1 vote against right now (a tie).

To reiterate, I can live with my current set and be happy enough with it, so I'm asking about the future of my set. If someone could definitively say the fact my set went from 0 to 5 defects in 2 weeks time does not mean it will continue to get numerous new defects over the next 4 years, that would end my dilemma. From reading this thread and talking to people when I bought the set I was told to expect a couple new stuck pixels per year, and I could live with 2 or even 3 per year, but I could not live with 5 new ones per month. I only have 10 days left to exchange, but to do so would require me raising a big fuss at the store... and it's not their fault, in my opinion it's Sony's fault for making such a nice set with poor quality control. I'm trying to decide if I should just keep this set and hope for the best or raise the fuss and see what happens. For all I know the 4th set will be as bad as the 3rd set (which was worse than my current set), and it would be in vain.

I have not bought the extended warranty yet. My original 12 month manufacturers warranty covered this repair. I plan on getting the Sony warranty about month eleven. Brad

That's pretty great coverage, considering how expensive the replacement part was. That's pretty surprising (and reassuring) for would-be Sony owners.

My A10 42 has a label on the middle of the back of the set , saying MADE IN MEXICO. JULY 2005. Made in Mexico was also printed on the box. My only regret concerning this TV is that I didnt purchase the 50" because bigger is better. I remember the Mexico/Pittsburgh thing in this thread and never once was there a case of an inferior product attributed to one site or the other. It was just many people expecting Mexico to have problems. When mine was delivered, I saw where it was made and was depressed. I scrutinized this set thoroughly and have to say I am fully satisfied with it. No overheating, dead or stuck pixels, no dust . no nothing.

I got my 50A10 last night at CC. I love it. Beautiful HD and pretty good standard Directv. This forum has been very helpful in my decision. Thank you

Based on the last 2 comments, it sounds like 2 more people have gotten seemingly PERFECT sets. I know some people have said most sets have at least a couple stuck pixels or other defects that some people just don't notice. However, given the large number of people who say their sets are perfect and how every set I've seen in every store on demo has had fewer flaws than each of the 3 sets I've tried, I can't help think most people are in fact getting perfect sets. It seems I'm just destined to have bad luck.

I couldn't find any sticker on my TV that said Made in Mexico, but I found where it said that on the box.

Based on the last 2 comments, it sounds like 2 more people have gotten seemingly PERFECT sets. I know some people have said most sets have at least a couple stuck pixels or other defects that some people just don't notice. However, given the large number of people who say their sets are perfect and how every set I've seen in every store on demo has had fewer flaws than each of the 3 sets I've tried, I can't help think most people are in fact getting perfect sets. It seems I'm just destined to have bad luck.

I couldn't find any sticker on my TV that said Made in Mexico, but I found where it said that on the box.

I've had mine about two months now. It has ZERO problems. I'm very picky and anal retentive, but I can't find one defect on the set. I hope I don't jinx it.

Does anyone else use an HDMI cable with a Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD DVR on this TV? Any issues/problems/things I need to make sure of?

I already have the cable box & Xbox hooked up in the 2 component slots on the back, & I don't have room to fit the component cables for my DVD on the side of the TV. So I have no choice but to upgrade to HDMI (didn't want to spend $$$ prior to this).

Any reccomensdations for places online to get one for a reasonable price? I see that RAM Electronics advertises here, and they have one for $28, sounds almost too good to be true.
Monoprice.com. $6. I bought one and it is excellent! Using it with my 8300HD box as well.

Brad: Did you buy the extended warranty through Sony or your local retailer?

Something sounds bogus about your repair costs. On the GWIII thread, a guy said a Sony authorized repair shop replaced his entire light engine for under $400.00 parts, and labor. I don't think there is any way that the repair would be as high as your guy told you. Anyone else have input on this?

HowlinMadMurdock, I'm so jealous when I hear people talk about their perfect sets. As I posted, I've tried 3 times to get a set with fewer than 4 defects and I can't. If the majority of people were getting sets with several flaws, then I'd consider my set normal and would live with it, but when I read so many people say their sets are perfect and only a few have said their sets have a few small defects, then I feel like I'm in the minority.

I'm also very picky and anal retentive, but the store told me I'm being too fussy. I've told them "but so many people on the Internet say they got perfect sets", and the people in the store still dismiss Internet chat as meaningless. I assume all those with perfect sets just lucked out the first time rather than trying multiple exchanges as I have?

Maybe I should just return this set and buy one from Costco? However, for the same price I hate giving up the 4 year warranty (including bulbs) to have only a 1-time return policy and a TV stand I don't need. I doubt I could sell the stand for very much.

Does anyone know if Costco would have the same attitude that my current store has that I'm only allowed to try 3 sets? If I bought from Costco instead I would want to keep trying set after set until I get one without screen defects. Maybe I'll have to go in there again and ask.

1,600 to repair your set under warrenty sounds like BS, you could replace every part in that TV for less, and sony would never greenlight that, it would be cheaper for them to just give you another set if there was that much wrong.

Something sounds bogus about your repair costs. On the GWIII thread, a guy said a Sony authorized repair shop replaced his entire light engine for under $400.00 parts, and labor. I don't think there is any way that the repair would be as high as your guy told you. Anyone else have input on this?

I am not questioning your quote, but if the bulb itself costs $200, to replaced by the homeowner, then I can imagine with the entire light engine including the bulb, that it would be more than $400, especially if labor is involved.

My repairman just showed me the invoice I had to sign that he was sending to Sony with the prices I previously mentioned.

I am not a repairman and know nothing about it except I cannot see any reason for this repairman to purposely deceive me, since he has no extended service products available for sale to the homeowner.

Here is a link where another man had a similar quote:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4864-6484_7-20884249.html?messageSiteID=7&messageID=968695&cval=968695&ctype=msgid

Just sharing the information with this board--please make your own judgment calls.

Have a great time enjoying your HDTV this season. I am. Brad

BTW, anyone saying they got a "perfect A10" is lying or just naive. They don't know what to look for and probably aren't very picky. In my case, it looks excellent from a normal viewing distance and that's all that really matters. But it's a different story when you get right up next to the screen. But I'm happy with my A10 despite its flaws. :)

I can refer to it as a perfect set.

Sure, I hope things get even better but in the mean time, you won't get one complaint from me.

No, not lying and not naive. This set totally rocks. I love it! When I have company over and show off my set, they damn near **** themselves.... or go out and pick one up for themselves.

This set, it's absolutely perfect for me. Damn, that's the problem......I didn't state that it was "my" perfect set. Sorry if people can't figure that out.

Even perfect things have flaws, although I hate to admit it.

I'm also very picky and anal retentive, but the store told me I'm being too fussy. I've told them "but so many people on the Internet say they got perfect sets", and the people in the store still dismiss Internet chat as meaningless. I assume all those with perfect sets just lucked out the first time rather than trying multiple exchanges as I have?

It's not meaningless. But, when people say they got a "perfect set" it could mean they just haven't found a problem with it--yet. Don't let the "perfect set" posts get you down because I bet I could spot a flaw or two somewhere on their TV. Heck, the color decoding right of the box on EVERY A10 is off. That's a flaw right there! It can be fixed (see link in my sig), but even then the green is still off. Grayscale is off as well and I'm not sure how close you can get it to perfect.

I'm sure there are many other A10 owners with stuck pixels, color non-uniformity issues, slight misconvergence (mine is off a bit), color blotches, etc. If it's severe enough I would certainly take it back to the store. I would say after 2 exchanges I'd be looking at getting something else.

I never used to very picky about TVs until I bought a HD one. I went thru SEVEN different CRT-based HDTVs and wasn't happy with ANY of them. They all had issues. Some were serious and some I was just being very picky about. Now I own a 42A10 and it has flaws, too. But the level of problems it has is very small and I'm just not going to obsess over it.

There is no "perfect" A10 or any other TV for that matter.

Based on the last 2 comments, it sounds like 2 more people have gotten seemingly PERFECT sets. ....(snip)

I couldn't find any sticker on my TV that said Made in Mexico, .

My manufactures plate clearly says "made in mexico" ..and I have no problems with mine.

Perhaps the ones made in usa have a different plate.

wouldn't it be ironic if the made in USA models have a higher % of defects?

I use a 8300HD cable box connected to the tv with HDMI and to the AV amp with optical cable.

The Cable box is set to....
"HDMI AUTO" and "Dolby Digital"

Every now and then When returning from a commercial break I suddenly get all the audio except the dialog track. I hear music...sound effects but when the actors lips move nothing. This mostly happens with NBC shows.

If I change channels then go back to the original channel the dialog returns.

Anybody else experience this?

HowlinMadMurdock, I'm so jealous when I hear people talk about their perfect sets. As I posted, I've tried 3 times to get a set with fewer than 4 defects and I can't. If the majority of people were getting sets with several flaws, then I'd consider my set normal and would live with it, but when I read so many people say their sets are perfect and only a few have said their sets have a few small defects, then I feel like I'm in the minority.

I'm also very picky and anal retentive, but the store told me I'm being too fussy. I've told them "but so many people on the Internet say they got perfect sets", and the people in the store still dismiss Internet chat as meaningless. I assume all those with perfect sets just lucked out the first time rather than trying multiple exchanges as I have?

Maybe I should just return this set and buy one from Costco? However, for the same price I hate giving up the 4 year warranty (including bulbs) to have only a 1-time return policy and a TV stand I don't need. I doubt I could sell the stand for very much.

Does anyone know if Costco would have the same attitude that my current store has that I'm only allowed to try 3 sets? If I bought from Costco instead I would want to keep trying set after set until I get one without screen defects. Maybe I'll have to go in there again and ask.

I think you need to just quit obsessing and watch the TV from a NORMAL distance. I have had mine for over a month now. I have not noticed any problems at all, but I am not going up to the screen and looking for them. I bet I have some dead or stuck pixels too, but if I can't see them in normal use I am not going to worry about it or go looking for trouble. The documents that come with these TV's state that some stuck pixels are normal. If you can't accept that, then you should quit trying more of the same TV's. I would say you are not being fair to Sony, nor your retailer. You are asking perfection beyond what is reasonable. If you have defects that are readily seen at 8 feet plus, then I agree you have a legitimate issue. I have a feeling that you are going to be dissapointed with ANY big-screen TV you take home. As another person said on here, there is no such thing as a perfect TV.

I have a 42A10 and while it's not perfect, it's pretty damn close. After tweaking and the red push change, the only flaw I know of is 1 stuck pixel (blue) that can only be seen when I go up to the screen to look for problems. With the BB sale price (and Reward Zone rebates), I feel that I got outstanding bang for the buck.

I use a 8300HD cable box connected to the tv with HDMI and to the AV amp with optical cable.

The Cable box is set to....
"HDMI AUTO" and "Dolby Digital"

Every now and then When returning from a commercial break I suddenly get all the audio except the dialog track. I hear music...sound effects but when the actors lips move nothing. This mostly happens with NBC shows.

If I change channels then go back to the original channel the dialog returns.

Anybody else experience this?

I've had the dialog track go out for most of an entire evening on local HD channels. Switching back and forth between channels did not remedy the problem. The dialog is missing wether I am using the TV as the sound source or the digital audio on my receiver. This is from over the air transmissions received by my antenna. I suspect this is a network or local transmission problem.

I think you need to just quit obsessing and watch the TV from a NORMAL distance. I have had mine for over a month now. I have not noticed any problems at all, but I am not going up to the screen and looking for them. I bet I have some dead or stuck pixels too, but if I can't see them in normal use I am not going to worry about it or go looking for trouble. The documents that come with these TV's state that some stuck pixels are normal. If you can't accept that, then you should quit trying more of the same TV's. I would say you are not being fair to Sony, nor your retailer. You are asking perfection beyond what is reasonable. If you have defects that are readily seen at 8 feet plus, then I agree you have a legitimate issue. I have a feeling that you are going to be dissapointed with ANY big-screen TV you take home. As another person said on here, there is no such thing as a perfect TV.


I was going to say the same thing. I don't want to go to the screen with a magnify-glass and look for stuck pixels. I have had it for over a month and haven't seen one so why try to make it sick out.

I think I might be getting one of these sets next weekend. Boscov's has a "private sale for preferred customers" that offers 0% interest & no payments for 1 year. Does anyone know if Boscov's price matches, as CC has this set for $125 less this week.

I have a lot of questions, as the more I read this thread, and other reviews, the more confused I get. If I get the 42, I will be sitting about 7.5 feet directly in front of it, if I get the 50, I will move my whole room lay-out around, and will be sitting about 12 feet directly in front of it. It seems that most people say the bigger the screen, the better for HDTV. It also seems that the bigger the screen, the more you will notice SDE/SSE, and any pixel/color problems. So which size is really better?

My plan is to only use the HDTV when I am actually watching TV, and to use my 32 inch SDTV at all other times. I have a Comcast HD DVR box, and will be watching a lot of sports on the HDTV set. Many of these games on the MLB & NBA league passes are still not in HD. I will be watching Flyers hockey on Comcast's HD feed. Which screen size would be better for watching sports? I will also be watching a lot of On Demand programs that Comcast offers, many of these are not in HD either. Anyone have an opinion on how these programs look on your set?

If I get the 42, I will use my current set up with my stereo system and amp/tuner, but if I get the 50 I won't be able to(not enough room for the speakers), and will be stuck with just the sound that comes from the TV's speakers. Is this a big concern? Right now I really only turn on my stereo for DVD's and some sporting events when using my 32 SDTV.

I was thinking of getting the Sony DAV X1 HT 2.1 system with upconversion of DVD signals to near HD quality. BUT, with only 1 HDMI input on the HDTV, this pretty much ends that idea, as I have been told if you are going to get a HDTV with HDMI, you might as well use it with your Comcast box, if not get a EDTV and save some money. So I am wondering how my 5 year old Panny DVD will perform with these sets. Should I get a new progressive scan DVD player?

I don't plan on doing any gaming on this set.

I think that is it for now, any help would be aprreciated. Thanks.

I understand the point many of you have made that I shouldn't be looking so closely for defects. I also understand the point that many of you are afraid to look closely at your sets because you're afraid you'll notice defects. However, I hope everyone can understand my curiosity about other people's sets and how I would love it if all the people who have said their sets are perfect would inspect them close-up (even if they are afraid they'll notice defects) just to humor me.

From a normal viewing distance, my set is perfect too... except for:
(1) If I put up a single color test pattern I can see the shadow spot (but I can't see any of the stuck pixels because it's impossible to see a single stuck pixel at 10' against any background).
(2) My picture slopes 3/16" downward from left to right at the top. If there is a horizontal banner near the top (such as during a baseball game) I can notice the sloping. Given that every other set I measured was off by 1/8" in the same way, being off an additional 1/16" is not that bad.

To me, when someone says a set is "perfect", it means under a close inspection from a few feet away it has absolutely 0 defects. I know at least a couple people have said their sets are perfect from up close, several others have said theirs are perfect from normal viewing distance (they haven't inspected up close), but the majority who've posted they have perfect sets haven't specified how closely they inspected their sets. This doesn't give me a large enough sample size to be sure my set's defects fall into "the norm".

Yes, I know I'm obsessing a bit, and I never demanded absolute perfection. In fact, I was told at various stores not to expect perfection and I know Sony's paperwork says pixel defects are normal (in my opinion it's just an "out" they give themselves to account for their quality control). The thing that got me was every A10 demo set I carefully inspected in every store (albeit without test patterns) had fewer defects than my set, and then I read this thread and saw far more people than I expected saying their sets were perfect.

Naturally, this got me curious if I got 3 sub-par sets in a row, or if most people who said their sets are perfect were not inspecting as closely as I was.

I don't want to beat a dead horse here, and I appreciate the help I've gotten so far. As a picky and anal retentive person, I just know I'd feel a lot better knowing my set falls into the "norm" in terms of screen defects, and while I feel a lot better about it than I did at first, I'm still not entirely convinced.

As a newbie to this forum, I apologize for my long posts. Would I be out of line asking for a poll of Sony A10 owners to post how many defects (stuck/bad pixels, shadow spots, and color blotches) each person has noticed on his TV when inspecting it up close with a black and/or white screen? Does this forum support polls like that or does such a poll already exist?

I realize most people wouldn't participate, but I'd hope at least a couple dozen would. I don't see what the people who are afraid to inspect their sets up close have to be worried about. Even if they found 5 stuck pixels up close, they still know their set is perfect from a normal viewing dinstance (as is mine). However, I'd feel a lot better knowing that most other people's sets have at least a few stuck pixels. I'm sure a few are legitimately perfect sets, but I have not yet seen a perfect set. Most have 1-3 stuck or bad pixels, and all of them have dirt particles in the screen partially obstructing at least a few pixels.

I even drew a map of my set's defects for the sole purpose that if I ever notice any more defects, I'll know if they are new or not. My main goals in posting here were (1) to find out if my current set was within the norm in terms of defects and (2) to find out if the fact my set went from 0 defects to 5 defects in 2 weeks time meant my set was likely to develop more new defects in the future than other sets.

Regarding (1) I've learned that my set isn't as bad as I thought, but I still think it's below average unless I can get a larger sample size. Nobody has really addressed (2), so I'm hoping the old phrase "past performance does not necessarily indicate future results" applies to LCD projection TVs as well -- meaning the fact it developed 5 new defects in 2 weeks doesn't mean it will continue to develop a lot more new defects than any other A10. Any comments on this?

Thanks again for your patience with an obsessive, picky, anal retentive person like me. I think the fact I'm still leaning toward keeping this set with all its defects shows that I'm not being too unreasonable. I really enjoy watching it, but I'm in constant dread of new defects showing up, especially right after my 30 day return period ends.

My main comfort is thinking/hoping that since I have a 4 year warranty with Best Buy, if I ever get any defects that are noticeable from 10' away I hope they would do something about it then. The only thing that worries me is Sony's "21 bad pixels per inch" clause. So far I haven't read any horror stories about defects visible from a normal viewing distance not being fixed, so I'll hope that if the time comes the technician would be merciful to me even if I didn't meet the 21 bad pixels clause.

snatta,

if you're 12 feet away get the 50, the 42 wont have as much as an impact, i only sit 7 feet away so i got the 42, and love it.

42 has better picture quality IMO, since the screen is better at hiding imperfections, the 50 makes everything bigger.

snatta, I spent a lot of time trying to decide on 42", 50", or 55", especially since the prices were $1499, $1999, and $2399 at the time. I quickly eliminated the 42" because my normal viewing distance is 10' and 42" looked too small in stores. I figured it had to be at least as big as my 36" CRT TV in 4:3 mode.

The 55" would've worked for me, but the 50" was very comfortable at 10' and I liked its aesthetics better (my cabinet happens to be exactly 48" wide). The 55" or 60" would've overhanged the cabinet and looked funny.

I think you could get by with a 9' viewing distance on the 50". I rarely notice the SDE (except during the snow scenes of Empire Strikes Back), and even when I do I think it's very minor compared to the rainbow effect on DLP. SDE is no more annoying to me than the occasional moire pattern on certain DVD transfers.

I have a 42A10 and while it's not perfect, it's pretty damn close. After tweaking and the red push change, the only flaw I know of is 1 stuck pixel (blue) that can only be seen when I go up to the screen to look for problems. With the BB sale price (and Reward Zone rebates), I feel that I got outstanding bang for the buck.

BSTNFAN, out of curiosity, what was the BB sale price for your 42A10? I've seen the 42A10 for $1499 at Fry's and the 50A10 for $1999 at Fry's which is what I pricematched to Best Buy. Did you pay something similar to that? My 50A10 was $1999 + tax with effectively $65 in RZ certificates + $10 bonus coupon + 1% cash back on my credit card, and then I bought the 4 year warranty for $400. I think I got a good deal, but I'm not sure (there are cheaper places on the Internet).

The DRC modes are blacked out where I can't adjust them. I use a Directv H10 HD receiver and I run my ota antenna thru it also. I have my Directv Receiver set to any resolution and native on. Is this what I need to have it at for the best picture?
I am using a hdmi connection

Thanks Dashk & MosesArt for your opinions. Right now I am leaning towards the 42 because it is less work for me, as I can just put it where my 32 crt is now and sit 7 feet in front of it. Also, I can't find MosesArt's 50 price at stores in my area, so the 42 would cost about $500 to $700 less than the 50.

Any other opinions on some of the other comments and questions I had in my original post would still be helpful.

Thanks

MoesArt, If I were you, I would return the TV at once. Then take your money over to the audio department and get yourself a killer stereo system, go home , lie back, close your eyes and just listen........ never to view stuck pixels again.

MoesArt, If I were you, I would return the TV at once. Then take your money over to the audio department and get yourself a killer stereo system, go home , lie back, close your eyes and just listen........ never to view stuck pixels again.
Jackie C (Chan?), I know you're joking. I like the 50A10 too much to return it, and it blows away my old Toshiba 36" CRT I had for 5 years. The only question is whether I should keep my current 50A10 set with its defects or try to exchange for another. My stereo system is already adequate.

Snatta, I'm not sure what price you're looking to get the 42A10. If you live near a Fry's Electronics, the current Fry's ad in my area (from last Friday good through this Tuesday) shows the 42A10 at $1599. If you are anywhere near Fry's, you might be able to use that info for a pricematch. Or you could keep waiting for a good price on the 50A10 instead. I've seen each of the A10 and A20 sets sets go on sale at least once and most twice at Fry's in the last 2 months. 42A10 was $1499 one time and $1599 the next. 50A10 was $1999 each time. 55A20 was $2499 one time and $2399 the next. 60A20 was $2999. Then Costco has the 50A10 with stand for $2399.

BSTNFAN, out of curiosity, what was the BB sale price for your 42A10? I've seen the 42A10 for $1499 at Fry's and the 50A10 for $1999 at Fry's which is what I pricematched to Best Buy. Did you pay something similar to that? My 50A10 was $1999 + tax with effectively $65 in RZ certificates + $10 bonus coupon + 1% cash back on my credit card, and then I bought the 4 year warranty for $400. I think I got a good deal, but I'm not sure (there are cheaper places on the Internet).

The BB price was $100 higher than your price, but I bought it in New Hampshire so there was no tax. I also got RZ certificates and 1% back on my card. Didn't go with the warranty so I can't compare there.

No Fry's in NJ, and no Costco in my area. Costco's web site has the sale price with stand for the 50, but there is a $300 delivery charge, and it could take a few weeks to deliver. And if the set has flaws, I don't know who would handle the return, and how long it would take to get a replacement.

CC web site has it for $25 less than the Costco deal, but no stand included. BB online price is $100 more than Costco and no stand. I don't know if Boscov's matches prices with anyone, let alone Costco.com, and I think their price is the same as BB. They have the 42 for $1800. I do need a stand, and will probably get the 4 year service plan from either the store or Sony.com. So I am probably looking at close to $2500 before tax for the 42. The main reason I am using Boscov's is the 12 months no payments/no interest deal they are offering this weekend. I am going to stop into both CC and BB tonight to see if their in store prices are different then their online prices.

When I bought mine at CC in Knoxville. It was about 125.00 off of list, the price on the website now. I talked the salesman into a 10% giftcard which I used for a H10 HD Directv Receiver.

I just bought a Sony 50A10 this weekend. So far, I am totally pleased with it. Rented some movies and they looked great. However, I am still working on getting my HD DVR from Directtv so I dont have much HD to watch on it. I have two questions that I am hoping that someone can help me with. I did buy a Terk HD indoor antennae that the salesman at Ultimate Electronics recommended. What is that optimal setup for that antennae? Do I just attach it to the Ant input on the back or should I go through the my current DVR? Also, are there any threads that list the optimal system settings? I dont mind doing things myself and am going to be borrowing a friends AVIA calibration cd sometime soon.

Any info to share would be greatly appreciated.

Mark

I had the TERK indoor (HD means absolutly nothing when it comes to antennas, there is nothing special about the signal) it was arrow shaped. It was horrible. I wasn't able to get mor ethen 2 channels from it and the signal strength was terrible. I took it back and got a amplified UHF anteanna (RCA i think) from target for around 25 bucks. It picks up everything with strong signals.

Mark,

Your choise in antennas should be based on the available signal strength from the channels you're trying to receive. What works for one has absolutely no relevance for what works for another (unless they're next door neighbors :D ).

Try www.antennaweb.org

Exactly, I have the Terk HDTVi indoor antenna and I'm very happy with it. It works great because I'm in an urban area, close to many stations.

I don't have an HD DVR, so the antenna is directly connected to the TV's ANT input. It would be beneficial for you to try that and see what channels it can receive, before you get your HD DVR.

From a normal viewing distance, my set is perfect too... except for:
(1) If I put up a single color test pattern I can see the shadow spot (but I can't see any of the stuck pixels because it's impossible to see a single stuck pixel at 10' against any background).
(2) My picture slopes 3/16" downward from left to right at the top. If there is a horizontal banner near the top (such as during a baseball game) I can notice the sloping. Given that every other set I measured was off by 1/8" in the same way, being off an additional 1/16" is not that bad.

Is the sloping issue within the image being displayed on the screen or is it the top part of the bezel? The top part of the bezel on mine slopes a little from left to right. It bugged me at first but then I realized it's not that noticeable unless I'm constantly looking at it.



To me, when someone says a set is "perfect", it means under a close inspection from a few feet away it has absolutely 0 defects. I know at least a couple people have said their sets are perfect from up close, several others have said theirs are perfect from normal viewing distance (they haven't inspected up close), but the majority who've posted they have perfect sets haven't specified how closely they inspected their sets. This doesn't give me a large enough sample size to be sure my set's defects fall into "the norm".

Maybe they just looked at the screen up close but didn't run a convergence pattern from a calibration DVD. If you have perfect convergence or no CA on a A10 I'd say you are really lucky. I'd also say you're really lucky if you have perfect color uniformity from edge to edge of the sceen. Dead or stuck pixels are common on LCDs and they aren't noticeable from normal viewing distances unless there's a large cluster of them. If you got one that has a few stuck pixels I wouldn't worry about.


Yes, I know I'm obsessing a bit, and I never demanded absolute perfection. In fact, I was told at various stores not to expect perfection and I know Sony's paperwork says pixel defects are normal (in my opinion it's just an "out" they give themselves to account for their quality control). The thing that got me was every A10 demo set I carefully inspected in every store (albeit without test patterns) had fewer defects than my set, and then I read this thread and saw far more people than I expected saying their sets were perfect.

Again, saying it's "perfect" doesn't hold water from my perspective. Every TV set has a defect somewhere in the screen. I've never seen a TV that didn't.


Naturally, this got me curious if I got 3 sub-par sets in a row, or if most people who said their sets are perfect were not inspecting as closely as I was.

I don't want to beat a dead horse here, and I appreciate the help I've gotten so far. As a picky and anal retentive person, I just know I'd feel a lot better knowing my set falls into the "norm" in terms of screen defects, and while I feel a lot better about it than I did at first, I'm still not entirely convinced.

I know where you're coming from. You just have to decide whether it's worth another exchange or time to try something different. It's a hassle and a big letdown finding out the next TV you get is the same or worse than the last one. If you do decide to keep the TV you'll soon forget about the flaws and will just enjoy watching the content.


I even drew a map of my set's defects for the sole purpose that if I ever notice any more defects, I'll know if they are new or not. My main goals in posting here were (1) to find out if my current set was within the norm in terms of defects and (2) to find out if the fact my set went from 0 defects to 5 defects in 2 weeks time meant my set was likely to develop more new defects in the future than other sets.

Regarding (1) I've learned that my set isn't as bad as I thought, but I still think it's below average unless I can get a larger sample size. Nobody has really addressed (2), so I'm hoping the old phrase "past performance does not necessarily indicate future results" applies to LCD projection TVs as well -- meaning the fact it developed 5 new defects in 2 weeks doesn't mean it will continue to develop a lot more new defects than any other A10. Any comments on this?

I've read some posts from other LCD owners that said more stuck/dead pixels showed up over time. But even this isn't uncommon. And again, they won't be noticeable unless there's several of them in a cluster. People sitting 5 feet from a 50" say they see them. But, why are they sitting that close to begin with? The SDE from that distance would be bad enough--and worse than any stuck pixels! Other problems could crop up over time like anything else. That's what extended warranties are for.

I wouldn't hesitate to exchange it if you feel these issues are not acceptable. I highly doubt you'll ever find one without something wrong with it. You may want to consider DLP if you can deal with the rainbows. :p That or consider going with a plasma if you can afford one.

Thanks for the info. I think I may go buy a couple different brands/types and try them out since I can return what doesnt work the best. Do I need to run it through the initial setup to find the antennae?

Also, what about a thread that shows optimal system settings?

Mark

The DRC modes are blacked out where I can't adjust them. I use a Directv H10 HD receiver and I run my ota antenna thru it also. I have my Directv Receiver set to any resolution and native on. Is this what I need to have it at for the best picture?
I am using a hdmi connection


DRC is only adjustable on 480i source....

rickmeoff, thank you for your help

Dark Rain,

Is the sloping issue within the image being displayed on the screen or is it the top part of the bezel?
I'm not sure what you mean within the image vs. the top part of the bezel. I think it's the image itself as I can follow the topmost row of pixels at the left and at the right end up with a couple rows of pixels above it. When displaying a letterboxed image, if I use a ruler to measure the distance from the top of the screen to the top of the image, the far left is 3/16" higher than the far right. I also put up Avia's overscan image (successive rectangles inside each other) and you can see an additional rectangle become visible at the top as you move your eyes to the right. This problem is only noticeable when I'm looking for it. I've put the overscan pattern up on 4 50A10s and 3 were off by 1/8" and mine was off by 3/16", all sloping to the right. However, mine is unique in that the bottom is perfectly straight and both sides slope inwards (i.e. a trapezoid shape), whereas the other 3 were symmetrically sloped (a rectangle rotated 1 or 2 degrees). But 3/16" is pretty small.

Based on my description above, is my image slope the same thing you're seeing on your set and is it normal (i.e. nothing to be worried about)?

I ran Avia completely on my Toshiba 36" CRT 5 years ago, but when I got the Sony 50A10 I didn't do any calibrations. I just put up test patterns to see if things looked good to my eyes. So I didn't run a convergence or "CA" test. Now that you mentioned them you've got me thinking I should. I will pop up in Avia and try to find these 2 tests. What does "CA" stand for? I think Avia has text instructions to tell me what I'm expecting to see.

Also, regarding calibration, I know most people said their Sony sets come with bad color settings. I've forgotten what their defaults are, but a friend with the same set gave me his settings, so I used them and then made slight adjustments. When it comes to color, there is only Color, Hue, and Color Temperature, so there's not much to adjust (unlike a Mitsubishi I tried where you could adjust each color separately).

I know back in this thread there is a discussion of the color settings, and I should find them to make sure I'm using the right settings. For what it's worth, this is what I currently use (I have video 4 at 480p and video 6 at 1080i using an upconverting DVD player):

* Picture Mode = Vivid
* Iris = Max (5)
* Picture = 95
* Brightness = 55
* Color = 55
* Hue = G5
* Color Temperature = Cool
* Sharpness = 60
* Noise Reduction = Medium

- Video 1:
* DRC Mode = High Density
* DRC Palette = Reality (25) / Clarity (1)

I compared the Sony 50A10 using component and HDMI side by side with my Toshiba 36" CRT on S-video using these settings. I thought the colors on the Sony looked great... more vibrant than the Toshiba. The only thing the Toshiba did better was it had a brighter image without sacrificing black level. I don't think I can take the A10 any higher in brightness without losing black level.

SDE doesn't bother me, and I have occasionally noticed DLP rainbow effect. Before getting the Sony I tried a Mitsubishi DLP and I hated it, but I think I must've gotten a defective unit (it was last year's 52" top of the line floor model for $1499). That was my experience with DLP.

Well, I guess there isn't any way to take a poll of A10 users to see how many defects they have on average. Hopefully you're right that most people have a few bad pixels and just don't know it. Now I'm in the bad habit of checking my screen up close against a black background each time I turn it on to make sure no new bad pixels have appeared according to the bad pixel map I drew. After my 30 days are up (another week), then I'll probably stop doing that. So far no new bad pixels in the last week.

my 42A10 is perfect except for one burnt pixal in the lower right corner ::knock on wood::, can't even see it unless you put your nose up to the glass.

this set is quality all the way, I even like the picture quality better than my 34XBR960 that I returned for this set.

sony sells a lot of tvs, for every one person posting about problems on the internet, there are 200 people who have perfect sets, don't be worried.

I did buy a Terk HD indoor antennae that the salesman at Ultimate Electronics recommended. What is that optimal setup for that antennae?

Any info to share would be greatly appreciated.

Mark

Optimal setup for the Terk HD indoor antennae = Remove it from the current location, carefully re-pack it in the box and return it to "Ultimate Electronics".

Then install an exterior antenna... Takes a bit more time and effort but it is so much better!

I love free HD TV!

Navmaster, so what your saying is when I order the HD DVR from Directtv, I should have them install their outdoor OTA antennae? I bought the Terk for $40 and the Directtv is $50, installed.

Mark

I am sorry if this has been answered already. Does anyone know what the Sony extended warranty does not cover besides the bulb? It seems like a good deal if it will cover the light engine and the guts of the tv. For the difference between the Sony Extended Warranty and Circuit City Extended Warranty I would buy a spare bulb. Thanks in advance.

Dark Rain,


I'm not sure what you mean within the image vs. the top part of the bezel. I think it's the image itself as I can follow the topmost row of pixels at the left and at the right end up with a couple rows of pixels above it. When displaying a letterboxed image, if I use a ruler to measure the distance from the top of the screen to the top of the image, the far left is 3/16" higher than the far right. I also put up Avia's overscan image (successive rectangles inside each other) and you can see an additional rectangle become visible at the top as you move your eyes to the right. This problem is only noticeable when I'm looking for it. I've put the overscan pattern up on 4 50A10s and 3 were off by 1/8" and mine was off by 3/16", all sloping to the right. However, mine is unique in that the bottom is perfectly straight and both sides slope inwards (i.e. a trapezoid shape), whereas the other 3 were symmetrically sloped (a rectangle rotated 1 or 2 degrees). But 3/16" is pretty small.

Based on my description above, is my image slope the same thing you're seeing on your set and is it normal (i.e. nothing to be worried about)?

When I look at the top from the side of my 42A10 the platic top part of the bezel has a very slight slope to it from left to right or right to left, depending on what side I'm eyeing it at. This doesn't seem to affect horizontal banners, lines, etc. at all. Everything looks straight at the top part of the screen. But the bezel itself slopes just a bit, but not enough to to really notice it. But, maybe the screen is also sloping at the top. Getting anal here, I guess. :)

But... due to the nature of using optics in the A10, geometry will be off a bit. So, there will be some tolerance for errors. Maybe what you're seeing is geometry errors.


I ran Avia completely on my Toshiba 36" CRT 5 years ago, but when I got the Sony 50A10 I didn't do any calibrations. I just put up test patterns to see if things looked good to my eyes. So I didn't run a convergence or "CA" test. Now that you mentioned them you've got me thinking I should. I will pop up in Avia and try to find these 2 tests. What does "CA" stand for? I think Avia has text instructions to tell me what I'm expecting to see.

"CA" stands for chromatic aberration. Since the A10 uses optics to project the image on to a screen, this issue can be a problem. The A10 also uses 3 LCD chips, and if they're not perfectly aligned there will be some misconvergence. Mine it off a bit. But, the further back you get from the screen it becomes a non-issue. On CRTs it's much worse and it can be very annoying.


Also, regarding calibration, I know most people said their Sony sets come with bad color settings. I've forgotten what their defaults are, but a friend with the same set gave me his settings, so I used them and then made slight adjustments. When it comes to color, there is only Color, Hue, and Color Temperature, so there's not much to adjust (unlike a Mitsubishi I tried where you could adjust each color separately).

Use the red push fix to transform the A10's color decoder to near perfection. It makes a HUGE difference. It's like a different TV with very accurate looking colors.


I know back in this thread there is a discussion of the color settings, and I should find them to make sure I'm using the right settings. For what it's worth, this is what I currently use (I have video 4 at 480p and video 6 at 1080i using an upconverting DVD player):

* Picture Mode = Vivid
* Iris = Max (5)
* Picture = 95
* Brightness = 55
* Color = 55
* Hue = G5
* Color Temperature = Cool
* Sharpness = 60
* Noise Reduction = Medium

- Video 1:
* DRC Mode = High Density
* DRC Palette = Reality (25) / Clarity (1)


You should really be using a Custom mode for each input. This allows access to the Advanced Iris to get better black levels. It also allows you to turn off the "Black Corrector" setting to get more shadow detail. See my sig for my various settings. Your settings are way too harsh for my taste.

.

I know back in this thread there is a discussion of the color settings, and I should find them to make sure I'm using the right settings. For what it's worth, this is what I currently use (I have video 4 at 480p and video 6 at 1080i using an upconverting DVD player):

* Picture Mode = Vivid
* Iris = Max (5)
* Picture = 95
* Brightness = 55
* Color = 55
* Hue = G5
* Color Temperature = Cool
* Sharpness = 60
* Noise Reduction = Medium

- Video 1:
* DRC Mode = High Density
* DRC Palette = Reality (25) / Clarity (1)
.

Never ever "Vivid" go to "custom" turn down Iris to 1 or 2 crank color down to under 40 turn off "black corrector" "Advanced Iris" to 1 ..then diddle from there for what looks good to you..

These settings work for me..Purest won't like them, but I do.

Custom Settings

Iris: 2

picture: 88

Bright: 48

color: 33

Hue: 0

Color temp: cool ...looks crisper to me..no overall brown tint.

Sharp: 60

Noise reduction: Low


Advanced Video.....

Black Corrector: off ..on loses to much detail

Advanced Iris: 1 or off

Gama: High ...lets you see thing in the shadows better

Live White: Off ....can't see it doing anything when on anyway

live color: off ...Don't like "vivid" colors...doesn't do much anyway

This guy over in the TC Forum (Tase) had his set calibrated by Greg Loewen.....(post 81)

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=262140&page=3&pp=30

Thanks for the link. Very interesting. From what I have read, Greg is only the second ISF to calibrate these things. UMR is the other guy. So far, it's two-for-two, in terms of satisfied customers, it sounds like, for ISF calibration.

Gregg is doing mine next Wed the 26th. Gregg also did my 40XBR700 years ago and it was perhaps the best $$$ I have spent to improve an already fine product.

Can't wait till he does his thing on my A10. Then maybe the wife will enjoy her food and cooking non-HD stuff!!! Sure hope so. LOL.

BTW, anyone saying they got a "perfect A10" is lying or just naive. They don't know what to look for and probably aren't very picky. In my case, it looks excellent from a normal viewing distance and that's all that really matters. But it's a different story when you get right up next to the screen. But I'm happy with my A10 despite its flaws. :)

Indeed. I haven't noticed any stuck pixels, or the like, probably because I haven't closely scrutinized the set. I just watch it from 9 feet back and enjoy the show . . . . looks perfect from there. I see no need to self-rain on my parade by sitting right up next to the set and looking for things that aren't noticeable from actual viewing distance. I've got enough issues to deal with in my life; I don't need to make more for myself.

Same with black levels. I know they're probably not pure black, but from nine feet back, and when viewed in the context of a show/movie, I just don't notice any issues with black level. If I carefully compared black levels to, say, the black bars when viewing 4:3, no doubt I'd find that - technically - the black levels aren't true black. But that's nitpicking, innit?

Sit-back-and-enjoy so far has worked far better for me than obsess-and-scrutinize-nose-to-screen.

Does anyone here know if it is possible to get picture in picture on this set with a dual tuner cable box? I have the Motorola 6412 Phase III cable box and it has dual tuners. I remember reading a post a while back where the guy said he didn't care that the A10 did not have PIP because he was going to achieve this using a dual tuner box. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Would I be out of line asking for a poll of Sony A10 owners to post how many defects (stuck/bad pixels, shadow spots, and color blotches) each person has noticed on his TV when inspecting it up close with a black and/or white screen? Does this forum support polls like that or does such a poll already exist?

I realize most people wouldn't participate, but I'd hope at least a couple dozen would. I don't see what the people who are afraid to inspect their sets up close have to be worried about. Even if they found 5 stuck pixels up close, they still know their set is perfect from a normal viewing dinstance (as is mine).

I think you are free to do such a poll - I've seen some threads that are polls. Never done one, but I suppose if you poke around the site you'll find out how to post a poll.

That being said, please do count me in as one who would not participate, and this is why: I am a border-line anal-retentive/obsessive type, in my armchair self-analysis opinion. I'm happy with my set now. If I did do the nose-to-screen pixel-by-pixel close examination and found a bunch of stuck pixels that I haven't noticed while just viewing the set, then this would start to eat at me. Do I really need that? Especially if such minor imperfections are even expected, why would I put myself through that? Sometimes when I'm watching my set, I'll think about that dead pixel issue, and I'll kind of glance around the screen - from my viewing distance of 9 feet, that is. I have always found nothing wrong. If I did see things/problems from that distance, then you bet I'd be upset and I'd probably return the set. But I don't.

BTW, the bottom part of the speaker opening across the entire bottom of the TV is a little wavy - definitely a defect. And I could care less.

Last thought on this: You might consider just getting one of those new 1080p Sony SXRDs. Pixel structure is so tight on those things, some say you can't even see SDE from a foot away - it's hard to tell where one pixel ends and the other begins. From my reading of the AVSforum for those sets, there don't seem to be many blotches or blown pixels reported, either. For an extra $1,500, you get a 50" set that won't bother you even from close up. Or so I have read.

Does anyone here know if it is possible to get picture in picture on this set with a dual tuner cable box? I have the Motorola 6412 Phase III cable box and it has dual tuners. I remember reading a post a while back where the guy said he didn't care that the A10 did not have PIP because he was going to achieve this using a dual tuner box. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

I have the Motorola 6412 Phase III model (PHase III's are the only ones so far with HDMI out; Phase IIs had only DVI out).

The 6412 Phase III can NOT do picture in picture, or split screen. Even though your 6412 remote likely has a "PIP" button near the bottom, it's only there to operate a TV's PIP function when you use the cable remote as a universal to control your TV. The cable box itself can't do it.

Trust me on this - I called my cable company, had them look it up, had them send me the entire manual for the 6412 Phase III and its remote (in paper form), and closely read the whole manual. The manual clearly and unequivocally says the PIP does not operate the cable box - it only will operate on the PIP functionality of your TV set, if it happens to have PIP . . .

I understand other cable boxes might be able to do PIP. Not the 6412. No way.

I still believe my first A10 had a very unique defect; paint removal from bezel when taking of that "stupid" 3LCD temp label. Did get a replacement and the stickers came off very nicely thank you.

Just curious if anybody else had this issue???

I have the Motorola 6412 Phase III model (PHase III's are the only ones so far with HDMI out; Phase IIs had only DVI out).

The 6412 Phase III can NOT do picture in picture, or split screen. Even though your 6412 remote likely has a "PIP" button near the bottom, it's only there to operate a TV's PIP function when you use the cable remote as a universal to control your TV. The cable box itself can't do it.

Trust me on this - I called my cable company, had them look it up, had them send me the entire manual for the 6412 Phase III and its remote (in paper form), and closely read the whole manual. The manual clearly and unequivocally says the PIP does not operate the cable box - it only will operate on the PIP functionality of your TV set, if it happens to have PIP . . .

I understand other cable boxes might be able to do PIP. Not the 6412. No way.

Hey FFFred, Do you use an HDMI connection between your a10 and phase III. I have been having a problem with mine lately and have narrowed the problem down to being an issue with HDMI. Cox is my cable provider. The problem is that when I go to bed at night I power off the television but not the cable box. In the morning, however, the power is off on the cable box and anything that I had scheduled to record does not get recorded. Also, most of the time when I try to turn the power back on the cable box, it gets stuck on the passport echo screen. I thought this might be a problem with the cable box, returned it, but the new one does the same thing. This has to be an issue with either the HDMI port on the box or my cable company. I am going to test this by using component cables tonight and see if I get the same problem. Do you have any of these issues FFFred?

Never ever "Vivid" go to "custom" turn down Iris to 1 or 2 crank color down to under 40 turn off "black corrector" "Advanced Iris" to 1 ..then diddle from there for what looks good to you..

These settings work for me..Purest won't like them, but I do.

Custom Settings

Iris: 2

picture: 88

Bright: 48

color: 33

Hue: 0

Color temp: cool ...looks crisper to me..no overall brown tint.

Sharp: 60

Noise reduction: Low


Advanced Video.....

Black Corrector: off ..on loses to much detail

Advanced Iris: 1 or off

Gama: High ...lets you see thing in the shadows better

Live White: Off ....can't see it doing anything when on anyway

live color: off ...Don't like "vivid" colors...doesn't do much anyway


Toss that brightness down to at least 40 for improved blacks. And change color temp to warm 1 - better flesh tones. Cool is way too blue. Adjust Hue to G2 or higher. Turn clear white On for B&W movies, pinks and reds tend to bleed into whites on these units.

Toss that brightness down to at least 40 for improved blacks. And change color temp to warm 1 - better flesh tones. Cool is way too blue. Adjust Hue to G2 or higher. Turn clear white On for B&W movies, pinks and reds tend to bleed into whites on these units.

Are the settings on these sets absolute. IE..Brightness set to 40 will result in the same look on all sets?

Or are they unique to each individual set?

Cox is my cable provider. The problem is that when I go to bed at night I power off the television but not the cable box. In the morning, however, the power is off on the cable box and anything that I had scheduled to record does not get recorded. Also, most of the time when I try to turn the power back on the cable box, it gets stuck on the passport echo screen. I thought this might be a problem with the cable box, returned it, but the new one does the same thing. This has to be an issue with either the HDMI port on the box or my cable company. I am going to test this by using component cables tonight and see if I get the same problem. Do you have any of these issues FFFred?

You have a problem with Cox itself. This has nothing to do with the TV. I have programs record when I didn't have the TV connected. Are you sure you are not losing power or something weird? You do not have to have the cable box on to have it recorded programs that are scheduled. As long as there is power to the unit (Clock is on) then you are ok. I always turn my box off when done watching TV. Is your clock right in the morning? I have had the cable company do things at night to mine were it just resets and the passport screen was up for a little while, but it all came right back. This will stop anything that you were recording at the time, but anything after that should still record.

You have a problem with Cox itself. This has nothing to do with the TV. I have programs record when I didn't have the TV connected. Are you sure you are not losing power or something weird? You do not have to have the cable box on to have it recorded programs that are scheduled. As long as there is power to the unit (Clock is on) then you are ok. I always turn my box off when done watching TV. Is your clock right in the morning? I have had the cable company do things at night to mine were it just resets and the passport screen was up for a little while, but it all came right back. This will stop anything that you were recording at the time, but anything after that should still record.

I had it connected to a battery backup UPS and thought that it might be the culprit but it was not. I also had the coaxial cable from the wall running to a surge protector and then from the surge protector to the cable box, but that is not it either. The only other thing that it could be is a possilbe glitch with a HDMI connection or something with the cable company. When I wake up in the morning the time is correct on the box, but the little light that indicates that the power is on is off. When I turn on the tv and then power the cable box back on it displays the passport echo screen where it says please wait but it is frozen on this screen. I have to unplug the cable box and then plug it back in and then everything is fine again. It seems that shortly after powering off the tv the box resets where the 8888's apear on the screen then it does its thing and then the time comes back on correctly but the power remains off and everything that is supposed to be recorded is not. Also, after unplugging the box and letting it reset, right before the time comes back on correctly when 12:00 is displayed, the sound comes on from whatever channel that it was tuned to and then when the time is corrected the sound shuts off.

KLUNKDM, Do you have the 6412 phase III as well and have it connected via HDMI with the A10? What cable company do you have? I'm gonna try component cables tonight just so see if it is indeed the HDMI or the cable company. If you have the same setup though, it is probably something with the cable company.

I am almost finished playing around with the 50a10 and need to ask you all a question: I got a Directv HD receiver and want to connect HDMI becuase people tell me its the best connection for HD. I went to Frys and found cables from 69-200 dollars and see Ram on this site selling them for 29.95...is there a differnce??

KLUNKDM, Do you have the 6412 phase III as well and have it connected via HDMI with the A10? What cable company do you have? I'm gonna try component cables tonight just so see if it is indeed the HDMI or the cable company. If you have the same setup though, it is probably something with the cable company.

I have a 6412 but not the phase III. I have a DVI on mine, I don't use it though. I am just using the component connections. I have had the 50A10 for a few weeks. I also have the TV, DVR and XBOX plugged into my APC battery backup. I am with Cox and have the cable plugged directly into the back of the 6412. I would try and eliminate everything that you can to find out the problem. Trying component is something to try. If you have an old TV, try that also. I would bug the cable company to see what they say about it. I have had my 6412 unplugged for hours when switching TVs and setting up the stand another day and once I plugged it back in, I was right to the guide looking at the programs and the first time I actually had a program scheduled to record, but didn't get it back hooked up until 30min into it, and the DVR started recording very soon after I plugged the power back in. I read some other forum about someone having problems with there Phase III locking up and they were using the HDMI. They said once they completely disconnected it and used the component, then it worked fine.

I am almost finished playing around with the 50a10 and need to ask you all a question: I got a Directv HD receiver and want to connect HDMI becuase people tell me its the best connection for HD. I went to Frys and found cables from 69-200 dollars and see Ram on this site selling them for 29.95...is there a differnce??

When I bought my 42a10, the guy at the store wanted to sell me the $120 monster cables.

I bought my HDMI cable from monoprice.com for less than $8, plus a couple bucks for S/H.

If the monster cables gave a better picture, I think I'd need to be sedated to watch.....

Is it worth it to get an "upconverting" DVD player with the 50A10? I have an "old" DVD player right now, not even progressive, so need to upgrade. Just trying to decide if I should get a progressive scan player with upconversion or not. Seems to be ~ $75 difference in DVD players with/without upconversion. Can you tell the difference? Or is the quality difference even noticable to the "average" viewer (I realize there is no such thing really, but I think you know what I mean). Really appreciate any inputs. Thx!

All, I am not trying to start a flame thread, I am truly "on the fence" on whether to get the 50" A10 or 50" Sammy DLP (HLR5067). Both have great HD pics, so that is not the issue to me (and I don't see rainbows or care about gaming lags). The real issues for me are: 1.) quality/reliability and 2.) SD picture quality. I've read a lot on different threads about defects - color wheels and bulbs on the SAmmys and light engines, dead pixels, and bulbs on the Sony. Both seem to have their issues so I *think* this is a wash, but would like your opinions from your experience and research?

SD quality - I actually had a 50" A10 in home for 30 days and was underwhelmed with the SD quality (over TW digital cable) - inferior to my old Sharp 32" CRT (even after AVIA adjustments). I realize CRTs have the best picture, but I didn't expect that big a delta. In my Area (Austin) a lot of the good sports channels (ie ESPN2, ESPNC, Fox Sports SW/Pacific/Central, CSTV, OLN, etc) don't come in HD, only SD - so I'm forced to watch a LOT of SD for the next few years. Did any of you consider the Samsung DLP and compare SD quality vs the A10?

It appears I can get the Samsung for ~ $100-200 cheaper from all the comparisons I've done, so that is not significant IMO. I'd REALLY appreciate ANY help on this huge ticket item decision. thx!

Dark Rain, you're trying to open up a new can of worms for me here by getting into tweaking the set, aren't you? :)

I thought my settings looked pretty good, but I guess I'll have to do some adjusting based on the Tweaks thread you pointed to to see what I think.

Use the red push fix to transform the A10's color decoder to near perfection. It makes a HUGE difference. It's like a different TV with very accurate looking colors.

I'm pretty scared to go into the service menu for fear if I hit 1 wrong button I will be hosed. Maybe I'm not visually adept enough to notice red push or know it when I see it. I thought the picture looked really good with the settings I posted. It's kind of ironic that I'm happy with TV settings that many people here can't stand, but I'm bothered by pixel defects that few others have on their sets or are able to see. (I hope it's the latter.)

I'll just work with the settings I can access without going into the service menu.

I'll have to look at Avia for the Chromatic Aberration test. That test pattern doesn't sound familiar. As you know, my only complaint with my set is the number of stuck pixels (and the shadow spot). If I do these other tests I might find more wrong with my set in the same way that several people have said they don't want to inspect their sets up close for fear of finding defects. However, I'm willing to evaluate my set more fully because I don't like "burying my head in the sand". If there are defects, I want to know, but the bottomline is if I can't see the defects at normal viewing then I can still enjoy the set.

What depresses me is when I read something like DashK wrote:

sony sells a lot of tvs, for every one person posting about problems on the internet, there are 200 people who have perfect sets, don't be worried.

I know those are numbers pulled out of the air, but if I found out my set is in the bottom 10% in terms of screen defects I would absolutely return it. I don't like being the 1 in 200 or 1 in 100 or 1 in 50 person who pays the same price as everybody else but gets the worst set. I'm hoping/trusting Dark Rain and a few others that my set with its 5+ pixel defects is within the standard deviation of defects rather than the people who say most sets are perfect.

Sometimes it seems like I can spend more time reading these threads, trying to tweak my TV, and agonizing and worrying than the money is worth. I lost almost twice as much as the TV cost on Worldcom stock alone. That always helps me put things into perspective.

When I bought my 42a10, the guy at the store wanted to sell me the $120 monster cables.

I bought my HDMI cable from monoprice.com for less than $8, plus a couple bucks for S/H.

If the monster cables gave a better picture, I think I'd need to be sedated to watch.....

I got one from tigerdirect for $10 after rebate

Is it worth it to get an "upconverting" DVD player with the 50A10? I have an "old" DVD player right now, not even progressive, so need to upgrade. Just trying to decide if I should get a progressive scan player with upconversion or not. Seems to be ~ $75 difference in DVD players with/without upconversion. Can you tell the difference? Or is the quality difference even noticable to the "average" viewer (I realize there is no such thing really, but I think you know what I mean). Really appreciate any inputs. Thx!

I had to make this decision, and I decided it was worth $200 for a Panasonic S77 upconverting player. I compared it side by side with several other upconverting players and my old Panasonics with and without progressive scan. The difference between 480i and 480p is noticeable to me in terms of sharpness and shimmering edges. The difference between 480p and 1080i from an upconverting player was harder to notice, but it was still visible on star fields (I mainly used the intro credits and various parts of Star Wars 2 and 5). On top of that the Panasonic did a better job smoothing graininess (i.e. mosquito noise) on poorer transfers than any other player I tried (2 Toshibas and 1 Samsung). On top of that the S77 is the only player that outputs 3 different modes at once... 480i on S-video, 480p on component, 1080i on HDMI, all with PCM sound while simultaneously outputting bitstream on optical/coaxial. None of the others did that, and I like being able to flip between inputs without having to go into the players' menu. I hate spending $200 on a DVD player when I'm used to getting them for $60 each, but I was able to notice the difference. That's just my 2 cents.

All, I am not trying to start a flame thread, I am truly "on the fence" on whether to get the 50" A10 or 50" Sammy DLP (HLR5067). Both have great HD pics, so that is not the issue to me (and I don't see rainbows or care about gaming lags). The real issues for me are: 1.) quality/reliability and 2.) SD picture quality. I've read a lot on different threads about defects - color wheels and bulbs on the SAmmys and light engines, dead pixels, and bulbs on the Sony. Both seem to have their issues so I *think* this is a wash, but would like your opinions from your experience and research?

SD quality - I actually had a 50" A10 in home for 30 days and was underwhelmed with the SD quality (over TW digital cable) - inferior to my old Sharp 32" CRT (even after AVIA adjustments). I realize CRTs have the best picture, but I didn't expect that big a delta. In my Area (Austin) a lot of the good sports channels (ie ESPN2, ESPNC, Fox Sports SW/Pacific/Central, CSTV, OLN, etc) don't come in HD, only SD - so I'm forced to watch a LOT of SD for the next few years. Did any of you consider the Samsung DLP and compare SD quality vs the A10?

It appears I can get the Samsung for ~ $100-200 cheaper from all the comparisons I've done, so that is not significant IMO. I'd REALLY appreciate ANY help on this huge ticket item decision. thx!


Definitely get the Samsung if you're not worried about rainbows or lag issues. It's a much better set.

Dark Rain, you're trying to open up a new can of worms for me here by getting into tweaking the set, aren't you? :)

Nah. But there are things you can do to make your A10 look its best. I just tell people to look at my settings as a starting point to give them an idea of where things should be at. Then tweak your A10 from there until you're happy with it.


I'm pretty scared to go into the service menu for fear if I hit 1 wrong button I will be hosed. Maybe I'm not visually adept enough to notice red push or know it when I see it. I thought the picture looked really good with the settings I posted. It's kind of ironic that I'm happy with TV settings that many people here can't stand, but I'm bothered by pixel defects that few others have on their sets or are able to see. (I hope it's the latter.)


You can't really muck anything up in the SM unless you change something and save it. Just making changes won't mess it up. It has to be written into memory by pushing the Mute button and then the Enter button. But the rule of thumb is to ALWAYS write down the original settings before making any changes. In the case of the red push fix, just write down the default value and then make the change to fix it. Then save it. Then if you ever need to change it back you can.


I'll have to look at Avia for the Chromatic Aberration test. That test pattern doesn't sound familiar. As you know, my only complaint with my set is the number of stuck pixels (and the shadow spot). If I do these other tests I might find more wrong with my set in the same way that several people have said they don't want to inspect their sets up close for fear of finding defects. However, I'm willing to evaluate my set more fully because I don't like "burying my head in the sand". If there are defects, I want to know, but the bottomline is if I can't see the defects at normal viewing then I can still enjoy the set.

The CA can be checked with a white crosshatch pattern just like misconvergence.
But with the A10 it would have to off quite a bit to be noticeable from a normal viewing distance. I wouldn't worry about it.



What depresses me is when I read something like DashK wrote:

I know those are numbers pulled out of the air, but if I found out my set is in the bottom 10% in terms of screen defects I would absolutely return it. I don't like being the 1 in 200 or 1 in 100 or 1 in 50 person who pays the same price as everybody else but gets the worst set. I'm hoping/trusting Dark Rain and a few others that my set with its 5+ pixel defects is within the standard deviation of defects rather than the people who say most sets are perfect.

Sometimes it seems like I can spend more time reading these threads, trying to tweak my TV, and agonizing and worrying than the money is worth. I lost almost twice as much as the TV cost on Worldcom stock alone. That always helps me put things into perspective.

I just wouldn't worry about what others say. Their TVs may be "perfect" to them and that is all that matters. And I hope they are enjoying their A10's as much as I am. It's an awesome TV for the price.

Hello all - I recently picked up a 42A10 and have a strange problem with the display.
Whenever I play a dvd be it thru my dvd player or xbox (both of wich are hooked up with component cables) I get a thin line of greyish semi-translucent distortion just below and above the letterboxing bars. On a 1.85:1 dvd the distortion is just below and above the screen edge, but looks the same otherwise.

I do not see this distortion line with any other signal (xbox games or TV) only with dvd's. I contacted the sony help and they seemed to know nothing about such a problem - a service tech is coming on 10/20 to check it out.

I've only had the 42A10 for less than a week so I'm not to concerned (I bought it at circuit city and will just swap it for another unit within the 30 day return policy if necessary) But it is bothersome to say the least. I'm hoping the tech can fix it but any advice or suggestions from the good folks who post here would be greatly apreciated.

Thanks to all - in advance!
TMZ

I still believe my first A10 had a very unique defect; paint removal from bezel when taking of that "stupid" 3LCD temp label. Did get a replacement and the stickers came off very nicely thank you.

Just curious if anybody else had this issue???

I had the same problem. Left what looked like a very small white scratch or chip. I just touched it up with some matching met. grey paint. An exchange was possible, but the possibility of getting a set with picture defects wasn't worth the risk. My set looks amazing out of the box. I turned off all the automatic stuff, set the iris at 2 and tweaked the others to my liking.

Good Morning All! I posted this over in the tweaks thread, but thought I'd also put it in here for more visibility... (Hope that's OK...)

I have a 42A10 and the Digital Video Essentials disc for calibration... I went through the calibration procedure and got the blue right on, the red came out close (even without doing the red-push fix) but the green is out in left field somewhere (no pun intended).

I ended up forgetting about the color calibration and just set it to G2 so it looks good visually... I tried changing color temperatures and the like but nothing improves the green. When you look through the green filter, it's like it just adds a green tint to everything; you can still make out every single box on the test screen - They're just tinted green.

Do you think this problem would be minimized if I did implement the red-push fix? Is there a way to increase the green push via the service menu? Do you think I just got a bad green filter with my DVE disc?

Thanks for your input!
-Joshua

Do you think this problem would be minimized if I did implement the red-push fix? Is there a way to increase the green push via the service menu? Do you think I just got a bad green filter with my DVE disc?

I used DVE as well and all of the filters work fine. The red push fix is really needed to get the A10's color decoder near perfect. And it does make a BIG difference. This is probably the best tweak to do for the A10 since the default color decoding is really bad and hurts the PQ.

After following the directions for the red push fix, I played around with different parameters to see if I could get rid of the slight green depression. I found that setting CHAXIS 1 to 0005 pushed the green back up but also the red. But, the red didn't look too bad compared to the horrid looking default setting. The problem with this setting is that it requires you to turn the Color setting back down to get rid of the slightly rosey flesh tones. So, I went back to setting the CHAXIS 1 setting to 0002. Even with the green depression the colors look amazing now and flesh tones look very natural.

Do yourself a big favor and fix the red push. Just follow deconvolver's directions and get ready for a better viewing experience. It's very easy to do.

Definitely get the Samsung if you're not worried about rainbows or lag issues. It's a much better set.

I had a Samsung (last years HLP model with the 'wobulated' chip)...it was totally inferior to the Sony, except for black levels. The Sony has a much more clear and detailed picture than the Samsung's. I was at BB yesterday, and the A-10 was next the newer Sammy. The A-10 still blows it away for clarity, and overall PQ. If you want a DLP try to find one that still uses the HD2+ chip. Those have a much better pic than the 'wobulated' chips used in most of the newer DLP's from Samsung.

Hello all - I recently picked up a 42A10 and have a strange problem with the display.
Whenever I play a dvd be it thru my dvd player or xbox (both of wich are hooked up with component cables) I get a thin line of greyish semi-translucent distortion just below and above the letterboxing bars. On a 1.85:1 dvd the distortion is just below and above the screen edge, but looks the same otherwise.

I do not see this distortion line with any other signal (xbox games or TV) only with dvd's. I contacted the sony help and they seemed to know nothing about such a problem - a service tech is coming on 10/20 to check it out.

I've only had the 42A10 for less than a week so I'm not to concerned (I bought it at circuit city and will just swap it for another unit within the 30 day return policy if necessary) But it is bothersome to say the least. I'm hoping the tech can fix it but any advice or suggestions from the good folks who post here would be greatly apreciated.

Thanks to all - in advance!
TMZ

There have been several complaints about this..and mine does it also. I think it is normal for these TV's when playing DVD's. I am not going to worry about it. I have read that exchanging TV's did not fix the problem for several people. You better learn to live with it, or try another model of TV. I am overall thrilled with my A-10.

Hello,

I've just purchased the A10 and connected through SA 8300 / TWC in NYC through component cables.

However, when I view the HD channels, the screens are scrambled and vertically divided into 3 pieces repeating itself. Also for regular SD channels, every couple of seconds, the screen resets and displays again.

I've set the output mode to 480i, 480P, 720P.

If anyone has any thoughts, it will be greatly appreicated. Just hoping that I didn't purchase a broken tv.

I tried the composite connections and everything is fine...

Thanks,

i can't find the red push fix everyone is mentioning. can someone repost it or redirect me? thanks.

i can't find the red push fix everyone is mentioning. can someone repost it or redirect me? thanks.

Here ya go:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=567709

It's in the first post.

Hello,

I've just purchased the A10 and connected through SA 8300 / TWC in NYC through component cables.

However, when I view the HD channels, the screens are scrambled and vertically divided into 3 pieces repeating itself. Also for regular SD channels, every couple of seconds, the screen resets and displays again.

I've set the output mode to 480i, 480P, 720P.

If anyone has any thoughts, it will be greatly appreicated. Just hoping that I didn't purchase a broken tv.

I tried the composite connections and everything is fine...

Thanks,


I have a similar problem that just started last night. On initial power on I get a "tiled" screen with a 1/2 size vertical picture repeated across the screen.... usually two repeats. I have found that if I change HD channels, start in non-HD channels, or Start the TV first and then the Comcast 6412 STB the problem does not appear. I have the STB on input 6 using a DVI to HDMI cable. This isn't a huge problem but it is annoying. I have tweaked CHAXIS = 0002 and saved it.

Any advice or guidance on how to fix this would be appreciated.

I had a Samsung (last years HLP model with the 'wobulated' chip)...it was totally inferior to the Sony, except for black levels. The Sony has a much more clear and detailed picture than the Samsung's. I was at BB yesterday, and the A-10 was next the newer Sammy. The A-10 still blows it away for clarity, and overall PQ. If you want a DLP try to find one that still uses the HD2+ chip. Those have a much better pic than the 'wobulated' chips used in most of the newer DLP's from Samsung.


Same here. I had an HLP for 10 months and it didn't look anywhere as good as the Sony A10.

I have had a 5063 & 5067 Samsung dlp and they didn't come close to the A10 as far as I am concerned. Just my opinion.

I used DVE as well and all of the filters work fine. The red push fix is really needed to get the A10's color decoder near perfect. And it does make a BIG difference. This is probably the best tweak to do for the A10 since the default color decoding is really bad and hurts the PQ.

After following the directions for the red push fix, I played around with different parameters to see if I could get rid of the slight green depression. I found that setting CHAXIS 1 to 0005 pushed the green back up but also the red. But, the red didn't look too bad compared to the horrid looking default setting. The problem with this setting is that it requires you to turn the Color setting back down to get rid of the slightly rosey flesh tones. So, I went back to setting the CHAXIS 1 setting to 0002. Even with the green depression the colors look amazing now and flesh tones look very natural.

Do yourself a big favor and fix the red push. Just follow deconvolver's directions and get ready for a better viewing experience. It's very easy to do.

Dark Rain, can you define what you mean by "green depression". I did the red push fix and the overall picture has a more pronounced greenish cast. Is this what you mean by "green depression"?

I have a similar problem that just started last night. On initial power on I get a "tiled" screen with a 1/2 size vertical picture repeated across the screen.... usually two repeats. I have found that if I change HD channels, start in non-HD channels, or Start the TV first and then the Comcast 6412 STB the problem does not appear. I have the STB on input 6 using a DVI to HDMI cable. This isn't a huge problem but it is annoying. I have tweaked CHAXIS = 0002 and saved it.

Any advice or guidance on how to fix this would be appreciated.

I have had the problem also on 3 different cable boxes, and 2 tv's. Just do what you are already doing to deal with it.

Dark Rain, can you define what you mean by "green depression". I did the red push fix and the overall picture has a more pronounced greenish cast. Is this what you mean by "green depression"?

I got a more greenish cast too after setting it to 0002. Overall I like the picture better now though. I am going to try the 0005 setting tonight and see how that looks too.

I got a more greenish cast too after setting it to 0002. Overall I like the picture better now though. I am going to try the 0005 setting tonight and see how that looks too.

Alanbuck, would you describe your skin tones has having a greener cast too? What about yellows?

Hey FFFred, Do you use an HDMI connection between your a10 and phase III. I have been having a problem with mine lately and have narrowed the problem down to being an issue with HDMI. Cox is my cable provider. The problem is that when I go to bed at night I power off the television but not the cable box. In the morning, however, the power is off on the cable box and anything that I had scheduled to record does not get recorded. Also, most of the time when I try to turn the power back on the cable box, it gets stuck on the passport echo screen. I thought this might be a problem with the cable box, returned it, but the new one does the same thing. This has to be an issue with either the HDMI port on the box or my cable company. I am going to test this by using component cables tonight and see if I get the same problem. Do you have any of these issues FFFred?

You know, I do use HDMI and I also do exactly what you do - TV off, cable box left on always, all the time. But I've never experienced what you're experiencing. The cable box so far has never turned itself off, so I do think you've got a defect somewhere in there, either with the box or with the cable company. I don't see how it could be the TV. Certainly, don't let Cox tell you "that's what it's supposed to do," because that is patently absurd. They must have a bad bunch of boxes.

I'd recommend returning that second box for a third, then a fourth, then a fifth, whatever it takes, and keep on Cox to get this straightened out. I would be interested to see whether the problem persists with component cables, though - let us know!

PS - My only issue with the 6412 is actually more of an issue with my cable provider. They provide the 6412 with a paltry *72 hours* of programming info. Can you believe it? Three days, that's it. RCN here in the SF bay area only provides three days worth of programming info. This means, if it's Monday, and you want to record a show that is on THURSday, you CAN'T SET THE RECORDING USING THE SHOW NAME. You have to just set it by start and end time. This means, first, your DVR is reduced to a frikkin VCR again. And second, you can't set a series recording (aka "season pass" on TIVOs) for the damned show, so you're going to have to manually set the DVR to catch subsequent episodes, every time. This is so annoying, this one drawback may push me back over to Comcast (yes, oddly, we have TWO cable companies available to us - wierd, competition between cable companies. Who woulda thought?)

Alanbuck, would you describe your skin tones has having a greener cast too? What about yellows?

Yes. the skintones are sometimes too greenish (generally when in shadows), and other times they look perfect. Yellows seem ok. I think I still like this better than the original setup though. I am anxious to try the 0005 setting tonight.

I read some other forum about someone having problems with there Phase III locking up and they were using the HDMI. They said once they completely disconnected it and used the component, then it worked fine.

That would be a shame, having to use component cables instead of the HDMI. For me, my eyes, the difference between component and HDMI was surprisingly noticeable; HDMI looks significantly better than component for me, and this was after having both hooked up and repeatedly flipping between the two connections.

This was a surprise to me, because prior to actually trying it for myself I had read/heard that the difference between the two really wasn't that drastic, and that some even preferred component. After the picture I get with HDMI, though, I just couldn't go back to component at this point.

what do you guys have your cable box outputting? i have comcast HD and selected 720p, is it better to do 1080i? or 720p?

thanks for any help
I find setting my dish box to output 1080i to be much better than 720p.

I find setting my dish box to output 1080i to be much better than 720p.

1080i is much better on the Comcast Motorola DVR box also.

Originally Posted by DashK
what do you guys have your cable box outputting? i have comcast HD and selected 720p, is it better to do 1080i? or 720p?

thanks for any help.....

OAKIE:
I find setting my dish box to output 1080i to be much better than 720p.

I agree with Oakie. 1080i out of my Motorola 6412 Ph. III box is much better than when I tried 720p. It seems the TV is better at converting a 1080i signal to 720p than is my cable box (I even got stuttering picture frames when the box was converting/outputting at 720p - really bad).

You know, I do use HDMI and I also do exactly what you do - TV off, cable box left on always, all the time. But I've never experienced what you're experiencing. The cable box so far has never turned itself off, so I do think you've got a defect somewhere in there, either with the box or with the cable company. I don't see how it could be the TV. Certainly, don't let Cox tell you "that's what it's supposed to do," because that is patently absurd. They must have a bad bunch of boxes.

I'd recommend returning that second box for a third, then a fourth, then a fifth, whatever it takes, and keep on Cox to get this straightened out. I would be interested to see whether the problem persists with component cables, though - let us know!

PS - My only issue with the 6412 is actually more of an issue with my cable provider. They provide the 6412 with a paltry *72 hours* of programming info. Can you believe it? Three days, that's it. RCN here in the SF bay area only provides three days worth of programming info. This means, if it's Monday, and you want to record a show that is on THURSday, you CAN'T SET THE RECORDING USING THE SHOW NAME. You have to just set it by start and end time. This means, first, your DVR is reduced to a frikkin VCR again. And second, you can't set a series recording (aka "season pass" on TIVOs) for the damned show, so you're going to have to manually set the DVR to catch subsequent episodes, every time. This is so annoying, this one drawback may push me back over to Comcast (yes, oddly, we have TWO cable companies available to us - wierd, competition between cable companies. Who woulda thought?)



Fred, I have the 6412 and the same 72 hour window, but once you set a recording for a show by name once, you can tell it to record all future episodes..you can even specify firstrun eps only...

I called my Cable company (Cox) and they aren't going to have any Phase III in a long time, so I guess I'm stuck with trying the DVI-HDMI cable. I didn't want to. After seeing all the different things with the 6412, I am starting to think most of the problems are actually with the cable providers and not the box itself. I have read many different things. I don't have any problems that peeps talk about with the 6412. I also get more than 72 hours. I think I get a week if I remember right. I also don't have any of that gray line problem with DVD's. My only problem was with DVD and component. My screen blanks out for a second here and there. Going through S-video is fine. I E-mailed Samsung about it and they said to call them. I will probably just by a newer DVD player that is progressive scan. I really don't want to use my 360 when I get it for DVD's. I love the TV and I main purchase of it was for the 360 and then DVD's. HDTV is great and will be cool when all the channels get there. That hole SDE thing is something, but I have noticed that I can be closer if looking at DVD, HDTV or XBOX games and I don't see it, but on regular Digital cable I can, but after 7 feet or so, I am fine with it.

Fred, I have the 6412 and the same 72 hour window, but once you set a recording for a show by name once, you can tell it to record all future episodes..you can even specify firstrun eps only...

I know what you mean, and I do just what you describe. But, especially after getting used to TIVO, 72 hours is really ridiculous and annoying.

For instance, if you decide you want to record a show that airs on Friday, and you want to make a series recording (first run or whatever), you cannot do this UNTIL 72 hours before the show starts. So, you see an ad for a show on Sunday that airs on the coming Friday, five days later, you CANNOT set a recording by name, and you cannot at all set a series recording (since the stupid box has no idea what the show/series is at that point) on Sunday.

With the crappy 72 hours of programming, you sit there on Sunday and now must remind yourself to set that Friday show on Tuesday, when it finally comes into the little 72-hour window. What sort of convenience is that? With any reasonable DVR device, you should have at least an entire week of programming, so any weekly show can be found by name and set by name. None of this waiting around for up to four days before you can even set the show. That's just ridiculous. After seeing how TIVO does it for the past two years on my old SD set (they always have two weeks), this is really really annoying.

None of this is the box's fault; my provider, RCN, feeds the programming. I hear Comcast in my area has a week's worth of programming; that's why I'm considering switching.

total newbie here. i'm getting this tv this weekend - 42". i currently have directivo hooked up and that's it. i'll need a dvd player and do i need to get anything else to hook up the directivo to the tv? TIA

All, I am not trying to start a flame thread, I am truly "on the fence" on whether to get the 50" A10 or 50" Sammy DLP (HLR5067). Both have great HD pics, so that is not the issue to me (and I don't see rainbows or care about gaming lags). The real issues for me are: 1.) quality/reliability and 2.) SD picture quality. I've read a lot on different threads about defects - color wheels and bulbs on the SAmmys and light engines, dead pixels, and bulbs on the Sony. Both seem to have their issues so I *think* this is a wash, but would like your opinions from your experience and research?

SD quality - I actually had a 50" A10 in home for 30 days and was underwhelmed with the SD quality (over TW digital cable) - inferior to my old Sharp 32" CRT (even after AVIA adjustments). I realize CRTs have the best picture, but I didn't expect that big a delta. In my Area (Austin) a lot of the good sports channels (ie ESPN2, ESPNC, Fox Sports SW/Pacific/Central, CSTV, OLN, etc) don't come in HD, only SD - so I'm forced to watch a LOT of SD for the next few years. Did any of you consider the Samsung DLP and compare SD quality vs the A10?

It appears I can get the Samsung for ~ $100-200 cheaper from all the comparisons I've done, so that is not significant IMO. I'd REALLY appreciate ANY help on this huge ticket item decision. thx!

I've had the A10 for just over a month now. I have no complaints with SD content. I have DirecTV using an Ultimate TV DVR. The picture is better than i expected.

I looked at the Sony and Sammy side by side in the store specfically looking at SD content. Like you, i am in the same boat as far as what I watch. The Sony looked better displaying the standard definition programs, IMHO.

I bought a 50 inch a10 about two weeks ago and last weekend I had the local cable company (Brighthouse) come out (trees wont allow dishnet) I ordered the whole HD package and what not. long story short, when the cable box is tuned into a HD channel and then I switch to a different input to play X-box or something and then input back to the cable HD channel the picture is all messed up and in split screen showing a double picture, if I channel up and then back the picture is fine. Has anyone experienced this, and would it be my TV or cable box? Not sure where to post this, Thanks

I bought a 50 inch a10 about two weeks ago and last weekend I had the local cable company (Brighthouse) come out (trees wont allow dishnet) I ordered the whole HD package and what not. long story short, when the cable box is tuned into a HD channel and then I switch to a different input to play X-box or something and then input back to the cable HD channel the picture is all messed up and in split screen showing a double picture, if I channel up and then back the picture is fine. Has anyone experienced this, and would it be my TV or cable box? Not sure where to post this, Thanks

It is a common issue with cable boxes. Just channel up, and back down as you have been. I have had the same issue on 3 boxes, and 3 different models of TV's. Not really a big deal, just a little irritating at times. :)

thank you very much for the quick reply

All, I am not trying to start a flame thread, I am truly "on the fence" on whether to get the 50" A10 or 50" Sammy DLP (HLR5067). Both have great HD pics, so that is not the issue to me (and I don't see rainbows or care about gaming lags). The real issues for me are: 1.) quality/reliability and 2.) SD picture quality. I've read a lot on different threads about defects - color wheels and bulbs on the SAmmys and light engines, dead pixels, and bulbs on the Sony. Both seem to have their issues so I *think* this is a wash, but would like your opinions from your experience and research?

SD quality - I actually had a 50" A10 in home for 30 days and was underwhelmed with the SD quality (over TW digital cable) - inferior to my old Sharp 32" CRT (even after AVIA adjustments). I realize CRTs have the best picture, but I didn't expect that big a delta. In my Area (Austin) a lot of the good sports channels (ie ESPN2, ESPNC, Fox Sports SW/Pacific/Central, CSTV, OLN, etc) don't come in HD, only SD - so I'm forced to watch a LOT of SD for the next few years. Did any of you consider the Samsung DLP and compare SD quality vs the A10?

It appears I can get the Samsung for ~ $100-200 cheaper from all the comparisons I've done, so that is not significant IMO. I'd REALLY appreciate ANY help on this huge ticket item decision. thx!

One thing people need to realize is how much larger a 50 inch screen is versus their old TV's. If you are going from a 32 inch 4:3 tv, the 50 inch A-10 is 63% larger on 4:3 shows, and a whopping 190% (almost triple size) on a widescreen show, or movie. The simple fact is that a so-so picture enlarged that much more is going to look mediocre versus on a smaller screen. There is NO 50 inch or larger HDTV that I have seen that looks as good on SD programs as a 27-32 inch CRT direct view would.

Dark Rain, can you define what you mean by "green depression". I did the red push fix and the overall picture has a more pronounced greenish cast. Is this what you mean by "green depression"?

No. Green depression is when there is a minus (like -5%) error in the color decoder. The green filter with DVE will show this when looking at the color bar pattern. The green boxes will be darker than the surrounding green area when there is green depression.

I don't have a greenish cast with the setting at 0002. Some films and TV shows may be using color filters on the cameras that block out certain colors.

I don't have a greenish cast with the setting at 0002. Some films and TV shows may be using color filters on the cameras that block out certain colors.

I have done many tests with avia and DVE, the chaxis 0002 mod makes red and blue levels near perfect, but it does give green pull (or depression) it's about -10% on my set (using avia). this is fine IMO, it's better than red push at 15% anyday and i doubt you'll ever notice this short of looking at a color bar with a filter.

I had to make this decision, and I decided it was worth $200 for a Panasonic S77 upconverting player. I compared it side by side with several other upconverting players and my old Panasonics with and without progressive scan. The difference between 480i and 480p is noticeable to me in terms of sharpness and shimmering edges. The difference between 480p and 1080i from an upconverting player was harder to notice, but it was still visible on star fields (I mainly used the intro credits and various parts of Star Wars 2 and 5)......
Just how many "starfields" can a person watch?
Save your money... you'll be buying Blu-Ray soon enough.

Although my 50 A10 is only 3 weeks old, I've experienced this problem 3 times. Turn on the set using the remote and the green power/standby LED flashes continuously, no picture and very dim raster. Unlug the TV from the wall for a few seconds, plug it back in and everything works normally. I wanted the set exchanged as it's brand new , but Sears won't exchange the set until a determination has been made by the service tech. that it's serious enough to warrant an exchange (probably won't happen) Just curious if this has happened to any other A10 owners???

Blue has a much shorter wave length than red so the eye can focus better on blue colors. The redder the setting (warm) the more soft or blurred the picture will become.
try looking at a red line next to a blue line II both are the same capitol i
That is why some eyes prefer a "cool" picture.

Thanks for the reply Alanbuck!
I guess I'll have to train my eye to ignore it - not so dificult as the PQ is f-ing great! - and following the on-screen action distracts the eye fom the minor distortion.

I've not cancelled the tech yet tho - I'm thinking maybe I can get some free calibration as he strugles to eliminate this problem?

Also - not sure if this is general knowledge or not, but the sony help guys had me do a full reset ( It also reset the CHAXIS change I'd made) - I did this by (with unit off) press and hold the up direction button on the wega gate control and then turn the set on with the power button thats on the unit itself not the remote's power button. - This set everything back to it's out of the box settings. - so if anyone blunders about in the service menu maybe this would reset any screw-up's?

Well instead of trying component cables i just unplugged the hdmi cable from the tv last night and went to bed. Got up this morning and wouldn't you know it, the power on indicator was on on my lcd display. Powered on the tv and the scheduled recordings were recorded. This basically tells me that it is a HDMI problem with the box. I agree with FFFred and see a significant improvement using HDMI over component and now am left with the decision to either unplug the cable every night or switch to component.

The odd thing about this is that why would a cable box be affected with a problem like this with a video output? You would think that it would be some sort of input problem and not an output problem. It is also odd that FFFred has not experienced this problem since he virtually has the same setup as I do. I contacted Motorola and described the problem that I was having and they were interested in hearing the results of my experiment (unplugging HDMI). They said to call back and report what I had found out. Hopefully this results in some type of firmware upgrade being sent out soon because I don't know if I can stand unplugging the HDMI cord every night or switching to component.

I have done many tests with avia and DVE, the chaxis 0002 mod makes red and blue levels near perfect, but it does give green pull (or depression) it's about -10% on my set (using avia). this is fine IMO, it's better than red push at 15% anyday and i doubt you'll ever notice this short of looking at a color bar with a filter.

I am seeing an irritating greenish cast in faces too often using 0002 (mostly when the faces are in less than full light) Sometimes the skin tones are great using 0002 though. Also I can't see any reduction in the intensity of green when set to 0002. The grass in Seabiscuit still 'glows' even more than I would like. I tried bumping it to 0005 tonight and it looks better to me. The reds are just a tad overcooked again, but I would rather see some red push, than greenish skin tones. I wonder why some people are saying the 0002 fix is perfect, while on my set it results in funny skin tones at times?

I have done many tests with avia and DVE, the chaxis 0002 mod makes red and blue levels near perfect, but it does give green pull (or depression) it's about -10% on my set (using avia). this is fine IMO, it's better than red push at 15% anyday and i doubt you'll ever notice this short of looking at a color bar with a filter.

I agree. With the 0002 setting the colors look very balanced and with excellent saturation. Greens look very good despite the -10% error.

I am seeing an irritating greenish cast in faces too often using 0002 (mostly when the faces are in less than full light) Sometimes the skin tones are great using 0002 though. Also I can't see any reduction in the intensity of green when set to 0002. The grass in Seabiscuit still 'glows' even more than I would like. I tried bumping it to 0005 tonight and it looks better to me. The reds are just a tad overcooked again, but I would rather see some red push, than greenish skin tones. I wonder why some people are saying the 0002 fix is perfect, while on my set it results in funny skin tones at times?

I'm not sure why you're seeing green on faces unless it's just the shadow color. I know when I first did the fix that some skin tones looked kind of yellow or beige. But this may have been their natural skin color since humans can have an olive or yellow looking skin tone. Before the red push fix it seemed like everyone had rosy-looking faces. This is why you need to turn down the color saturation to help get rid of it. With the red push fix you get near perfect reds and skin tones with full color saturation. The chaxis setting at 0002 should look perfect. If 0005 looks better then use it. It may offer a better balance of colors.

PS - My only issue with the 6412 is actually more of an issue with my cable provider. They provide the 6412 with a paltry *72 hours* of programming info. Can you believe it? Three days, that's it. RCN here in the SF bay area only provides three days worth of programming info.

That bites. I have Mediacom cable with the 6412 DVR box and I'm getting 2 1/2 weeks worth of programming info. One thing I noticed is before they updated the firmware on the 6412 to 9.19 (was 9.17) it was only about 1 week of info.

I'm not a big fan of the 6412. It's still pretty buggy and SLOW at performing commands after playing back something on the DVR. It also has a mind of its own at times. The analog tuner in it is garbage. The HD DVR is about the only good thing about it except it needs a bigger hard drive. HD eats up space in no time on it.

I'm not sure why you're seeing green on faces unless it's just the shadow color. I know when I first did the fix that some skin tones looked kind of yellow or beige. But this may have been their natural skin color since humans can have an olive or yellow looking skin tone. Before the red push fix it seemed like everyone had rosy-looking faces. This is why you need to turn down the color saturation to help get rid of it. With the red push fix you get near perfect reds and skin tones with full color saturation. The chaxis setting at 0002 should look perfect. If 0005 looks better then use it. It may offer a better balance of colors.

I think your description as skin tones looking yellow or beige is closer to what I meant. I've noticed over these last few days that my eyes are more sensative to green. This could explain why things look like they have a green cast. I did change the chaxis to 0005 this morning and there seems to be a better balance of the greens and reds. After I made the change I flipped over to PBSHD and the yellow tulips where spot on and the green cast was almost eliminated. I'll need to do some additional viewing before I can make a final determination that the 0005 is the setting for me.

Regardless, I'm very impressed with the TV and look forward to the hours of enjoyment that it will bring me.

Blue has a much shorter wave length than red so the eye can focus better on blue colors. The redder the setting (warm) the more soft or blurred the picture will become.
try looking at a red line next to a blue line II both are the same capitol i
That is why some eyes prefer a "cool" picture.
This is not true for human vision. The human fovia (high resolution part of the retina) is deficient in blue cones so people are very poor at resolving blue details. This is why CRT RPTV's can have very blurry blue e-focus to increase the blue brightness capability and hardly anyone notices. It is true that a very accurately ground telescope can better resolve blue than red details because of the shorter wavelength but only when the sensor is not human photopic (non-dark-acclimated) vision. The inability to simultaneously focus the simple lens of the eye on different wavelengths of light is just a demonstration of the axial chromatic aberration of the eye.

By the way when you look at a blue I on a white background you are observing a change in the red and green components of the light. Blue would be common to both the white (red+green+blue) and blue. It is the yellow (red+green) that has been subtracted and monochrome yellow (sepia) has about the same resolving capability as monochrome greyscale because the blue in the greys adds so little resolving capability.

Just thought I would post up my settings here. The base values of these settings are from DarkRains setup, I just moved a few things around. I am using my Xbox as my DVD player (a bad player it is but all I have for now), so anyone one in the same position as me should give these a try. ***These settings are only good after doing the RED PUSH FIX.***


Iris - 1
Picture - 66
Brightness - 44
Color - 47
Hue - 0
Color Temp - Warm 1 or Neutral
Sharpness - 25
Noise Reduction - Off
Black Corrector - Off
Advanced Iris - Low
Gamma - Low
Clear White - Off
Live Color - Off


Any feedback is welcome.

Just got off the phone with Motorola's tech support and it looks like it is an issue with the 6412 phase III and the HDMI output. They said that their tech's are aware of it and are currently working on a fix that will be available with the next firmware update. In the meantime it looks like I will either be unplugging it everynight or using component cable until then. I hope they will release an update soon!

Just got off the phone with Motorola's tech support and it looks like it is an issue with the 6412 phase III and the HDMI output. They said that their tech's are aware of it and are currently working on a fix that will be available with the next firmware update. In the meantime it looks like I will either be unplugging it everynight or using component cable until then. I hope they will release an update soon!

I have the SA8300HDDVR and it works perfectly, so this might be a pretty stupid question......You guys have the 6412 phase III, it has an HDMI output, and yet it can't connect to an HDTV via HDMI without all this BS?????

Isn't it like saying my new a10 works fine, except it doesn't work with HD signals?

Am I missing something here????????

I'm not sure why you're seeing green on faces unless it's just the shadow color. I know when I first did the fix that some skin tones looked kind of yellow or beige. But this may have been their natural skin color since humans can have an olive or yellow looking skin tone. Before the red push fix it seemed like everyone had rosy-looking faces. This is why you need to turn down the color saturation to help get rid of it. With the red push fix you get near perfect reds and skin tones with full color saturation. The chaxis setting at 0002 should look perfect. If 0005 looks better then use it. It may offer a better balance of colors.

People can often have rosy-colored faces too..lol. The bottom line is set the darn thing at what looks good to YOUR eyes. I agree that both 0002, and 0005 settings are better than the original super red push setting for most material. The problem with setting TV's to some calibration disc, is it may be perfect according to the disc, but still not look right to the owner of the TV. I paid for the darn thing so I am boss of the color settings! :)

I wanted to thank everyone for posting their comments in this thread because it's the sole reason I decided to purchase this LCD TV instead of a Samsung DLP. I just unloaded the KDFE50A10 a few minutes ago. :D

The Circuit City manager matched one of the Sony authorized e-tailers price of $1999, and tossed in the matching Sony SU-RG11M stand for $314. I went ahead and bought the 4 year extended warranty for $499 since it covered the lamp. Of course I got hit with sales tax, but I got 18 mo. no interest so......

Although I've read most of the comments in here, I cannot recall if anyone stated that the DVI to HDMI cable is a noticable improvement over component. My Dish 811 receiver has DVI, but my Denon 2200 is component only. If the DVI to HDMI is 'better' then I'll pick one up from BlueJeansCables.com

People can often have rosy-colored faces too..lol. The bottom line is set the darn thing at what looks good to YOUR eyes. I agree that both 0002, and 0005 settings are better than the original super red push setting for most material. The problem with setting TV's to some calibration disc, is it may be perfect according to the disc, but still not look right to the owner of the TV. I paid for the darn thing so I am boss of the color settings! :)

LOL. :D True. And really the TV looks very good even without the red push fix. Just turn the color down to 38 or so and enjoy it.

I have the SA8300HDDVR and it works perfectly, so this might be a pretty stupid question......You guys have the 6412 phase III, it has an HDMI output, and yet it can't connect to an HDTV via HDMI without all this BS?????

Isn't it like saying my new a10 works fine, except it doesn't work with HD signals?

Am I missing something here????????

The A10's do work fine. There is no problems with the A10's and the HDMI input. The problem they are having it with the 6412 Phase III DVR's. You can also get the HD signals with component. My A10 works fine with no problems. I have a problem with my DVD player and the A10, but it is the player that is having the problem. TV is great and I recommend it to everyone.

I am a new member, thanks for all the excellent information about this HDTV; I am the proud owner of the 42A10. Question Please? I have component video from Motorola 6412 Phase III connected into Video 5 of the Sony. I also have HDMI connected into Video 6 of the Sony. I am trying to compare Component vs HDMI by flipping back and forth. Is this a valid way of showing the different between video connections. I purchased from monoprice an 24AWG HDMI male to male with ferrites for this connection. I see a slight improve with the HDMI?? The red push tweak works great. Using pioneer elite for 5.1 & DTS audio. Thanks again.

The Circuit City manager matched one of the Sony authorized e-tailers price of $1999, and tossed in the matching Sony SU-RG11M stand for $314. I went ahead and bought the 4 year extended warranty for $499 since it covered the lamp. Of course I got hit with sales tax, but I got 18 mo. no interest so......

Although I've read most of the comments in here, I cannot recall if anyone stated that the DVI to HDMI cable is a noticable improvement over component. My Dish 811 receiver has DVI, but my Denon 2200 is component only. If the DVI to HDMI is 'better' then I'll pick one up from BlueJeansCables.com

Device Manager, when you say the manager at CC tossed in the stand for $314 do you mean you got the stand for free or did you pay an additional $314 for the stand? (Does anyone know if that's the same stand that Costco sells the A10 with for $2399?)

I remember when I tried CC before going with BBY. I brought in a whole bunch of Internet dealer prices for the 50A10 going as low as $1799 delivered. The manager just laughed at me and said "we only pricematch local stores and only if they have the item in stock". I said "how about $1999 to match Fry's current ad on the A10?" The manager said they would have to call Fry's to make sure they have it in stock. I said I was just there and they were out of stock, but I got a raincheck for it for $1999. The manager said something like "sorry... I'd love to sell you the 50A10 at $1999, but they are out of stock. Besides $1999 is only a few dollars over my cost and I don't make anything on the warranty, so I have no incentive to sell the set without making any money". What I find interesting is if you got the $314 stand for free, then either your CC has a lower cost on the 50A10 or the manager at my store was shall we say not telling the truth. I wonder which it is?

On to your question... on a previous page I recently posted my opinion of component vs. HDMI on the 50A10, and I think HDMI made enough of a difference that I bought a $200 upconverting DVD player (with HDMI cable included). The difference isn't mind-blowing or striking, but I saw it on high contrast edges, such as starfields or scrolling letters. Colors look a little smoother and edges a little sharper. It's probably the same minor difference you'd see upgrading from a slightly older transfer (such as Mask of Zorro SE or The Patriot SE) to the Superbit edition... a little better but not a lot better. Besides, the 480p over component on the upconverting player was better than the 480p on my 2-year old player.

An acquaintance told me that new stuck pixels on a LCD projection TV can be caused by power glitches, so I really should get a good surge protector to avoid getting more new ones. I then asked if the power was so bad at my house to cause 5 new stuck pixels in 2 weeks time, why didn't it cause more? How could "dirty power" kill only 1 or 2 particular pixels in the whole array but leave the rest unharmed? He didn't have an answer for that. I asked him what surge protector he used on his 50" LCD (the previous year's Sony model which I guess he got for about $1750), and he said a $12 one from Home Depot.

I'm currently using a surge protector (either Pengo or QVS) that I bought at a computer show for $15 about 10 years ago. I've opened up many surge protectors I've gotten and they all look about the same... 2 or 3 parts that look like capacitors and if you're lucky an inductor or 2. I don't know enough to know if this is good enough or which surge protector would be sufficient. Just like I couldn't see any difference between 3 $2 video cables and a $50 monster component cable, I think a lot of the expensive Monster, Belkin, and APC surge protectors are not that much better than cheaper models relative to the extra cost.

Questions:
- Does anyone know if dirty power can really cause new stuck pixels and if it can do you know how the physics causes only 1 or 2 pixels to die at any given time?
- Is my Pengo, QVS, or even a $12 Home Depot surge protector good enough? If not, what is the least expensive (and not hard to find) surge protector that is "good enough"?

I don't know about that dirty power thing, so I hope someone can explain it more. But I do believe there is some truth in that bad power in a house can cause problems. I have seen it cause PC problems in the past. The only thing that I did was I bought a APC Back-UPS ES 500 USB, 500 VA, 300 Watts. I was told by a salesman (I knew the person too) that when you shut down the TV, the fan stays on for awhile to cool the bulb. If you loose power, then that fan can not run, so the bulb life could be affected. I bought the battery back up so that I could turn the TV off myself and it would have enough power to run the fan if I lost power. This sounds reasonable to me, but I don't know for a fact.......

Moesart:

If your surge suppressor is that old, I'd pitch it and get a new one. The way a surge suppressor works is that the MOV's (the little things that look like capacitors) actually absorb the surges and spikes. The energy rating (joule rating) of the suppressor is the maximum amount of energy the device can absorb. This is cumulative; each time it absorbs a surge or spike the energy in the spike is subtracted from the energy rating of the device. Once the MOV's have reached their capacity, they fail. The problem is that they fail closed. They will still allow power through even though they are providing no protection whatsoever. At this point they are nothing more than a hard-wired power strip.

I purchased a surge suppressor from Wal-mart that supposedly is built so that once the capacity of the MOV's is depleted, the suppressor fails open. If it fails open, it won't work anymore and that's the sign that it needs to be replaced. It was somewhere around $30 and provides something like 3250 joules of protection if I remember correctly.

I also have my A10 plugged into a small UPS for the same reason as KLUNKDM pointed out. We seem to have a lot of power outages in the winter due to ice build-up on the lines. If we're watching TV and our power goes out, I can manually turn off the TV and the UPS will provide enough power for the TV to go through it's normal shut-down.

Most UPS units also do surge suppression exactly as I've pointed out above, but they do little for power conditioning. If you read the specs, the input voltage needs to drop below some threshold before the battery kicks in. In other words as long as the input voltage is still there, it passes the voltage through. If the incoming power is "dirty" then the outgoing power will be "dirty" as well. The only thing that truly cleans AC power is to use a power conditioner. A lot of these actually use multiple transformers to knock-out fluctuations in the voltage. A true power conditioner is going to cost a LOT more than $100... (In other words I'm implying that I don't believe the claims that some surge suppressors are capable of acting as a power conditioner...)

Hope this helps...

-Joshua

Device Manager, when you say the manager at CC tossed in the stand for $314 do you mean you got the stand for free or did you pay an additional $314 for the stand? (Does anyone know if that's the same stand that Costco sells the A10 with for $2399?)

I remember when I tried CC before going with BBY. I brought in a whole bunch of Internet dealer prices for the 50A10 going as low as $1799 delivered. The manager just laughed at me and said "we only pricematch local stores and only if they have the item in stock". I said "how about $1999 to match Fry's current ad on the A10?" The manager said they would have to call Fry's to make sure they have it in stock. I said I was just there and they were out of stock, but I got a raincheck for it for $1999. The manager said something like "sorry... I'd love to sell you the 50A10 at $1999, but they are out of stock. Besides $1999 is only a few dollars over my cost and I don't make anything on the warranty, so I have no incentive to sell the set without making any money". What I find interesting is if you got the $314 stand for free, then either your CC has a lower cost on the 50A10 or the manager at my store was shall we say not telling the truth. I wonder which it is?

On to your question... on a previous page I recently posted my opinion of component vs. HDMI on the 50A10, and I think HDMI made enough of a difference that I bought a $200 upconverting DVD player (with HDMI cable included). The difference isn't mind-blowing or striking, but I saw it on high contrast edges, such as starfields or scrolling letters. Colors look a little smoother and edges a little sharper. It's probably the same minor difference you'd see upgrading from a slightly older transfer (such as Mask of Zorro SE or The Patriot SE) to the Superbit edition... a little better but not a lot better. Besides, the 480p over component on the upconverting player was better than the 480p on my 2-year old player.

My DVD player died yesterday, so I bought a new Sony DVP-NS70H upconverting player. Problem is I am using the HDMI input for my cable box, and the A-10 has only one HDMI input. I hooked the player up via component video. The manual is not very clear about it, but I get the impression that the player only outputs 480i or p via component, and the TV shows that it is receiving 480P from the player. Now here is the strange part...the picture is clearer, and smoother looking than it ever was on my old Sony combo VHS/ DVD player. ( I tried both progressive, and standard mode on the old player) Is that just because this is a higher quality unit? The improvement is quite noticeable. I wish I had a way to use the HDMI output on this thing. but that would require a swithing box I guess. Anyones input, or suggestions are appreciated.

AlanBuck, I would GUESS that the improvement is because you bought a newer player. I noticed a big difference between 480p on a 2-year old $70 Panasonic player (S27 I think) vs. 480p on the $200 S77 I bought (I just got $10 back so it was actually $190). The S77 is supposed to have lots of fancy video processing circuitry, and I can really notice the difference on some discs (old transfers with lots of mosquito noise) regardless which output. Yours is probably similar as it's an upconverting player.

I never tried the Sony because (1) the Sony I was looking at the time (for $150 at BBY) didn't come with the HDMI cable (from what I could research) and (2) someone said he didn't think it could output HDMI and 480i/p simultaneously. Since I had already tried the S77 and knew that it could output all 3 signals simultaneously (making it easy to compare on the A10 by switching the inputs), I decided to stick with the S77 and its included HDMI cable.

The Samsung and Toshiba upconverting players couldn't output each video and audio signal simultaneously, so I wouldn't be surprised the Sony can't either. Do you get either 480i or 480p or HDMI? How about bitstream audio at the same time as PCM audio over the RCA audio outputs and HDMI?

Regarding surge protectors, I didn't realize they lost their ability over time. I never heard or read that before. Obviously dirty power and surges aren't good for any electronics, but I was specifically wondering if bad power can cause new stuck pixels or if that particular problem is likely independent of power issues? (My gut feeling is the latter without any technical knowledge of the TV because if you're harming the electronics it seems unlikely only 1 single pixel would be hurt.)

So the $30 3250J surge protector from Walmart is the cheapest one anyone has mentioned that might be adequate? WW_Joshua, do you remember the "brand" name of this surge protector because I doubt employees there will know anything?

I once read parts of another thread here about UPSes and TVs with bulbs. People said that people need to get a sine wave backup like APC's more expensive SU series instead of the ES series (of which I have a few). When I returned my first 50A10, I tested a power outage using the APC ES 725. Exactly as people in that thread said, the UPS worked fine but the electronics in the TV buzzed the whole time it was on backup power.

I need to check that thread again, but when I looked last I didn't see any definitive answer whether the buzzing was harmful to the TV. Does anyone know?

Since I have a bulb warranty for 4 years, it's hard to know if buzzing is preferable to letting the TV lose power. I guess it's hard to spend 25% of the cost of the TV on a sine-wave power backup and a good power/surge protector/cleaner. BBY had a surge protector/cleaner for $100 and then the Monster one for $400 or $500, but it's one of those touchy-feely things (like the Monster name brand) that I can't quantify or visibly see why it's worth so much more than most.

Another thing I've always wondered is if it's bad to daisy-chain surge protectors thinking if 1 surge protector isn't doing it's job the next one will? I know UPSes say not to plug them into surge protectors (unfortunately they never say why). I thought as long as the grounds (to earth especially) are all straight wires then daisy-chaining shouldn't hurt, but that's just my guess.

I should probably take these questions to that power/UPS thread...

I myself was looking at a UPS/surge protector, over the standard power strip cheapo one I'm using now and realized - waste of $$$ for me.

I've never had a problem with any electronic component in my life due to this & I have a 4 year warranty that covers everything. So fine, go ahead and blow it up after 3 years, I'll take a new TV, worth the $400 I spent.

Some people will swear by them, but like anything in life, sometimes it's overkill and not that neccesary. (knock on wood to prevent jinxing myself). LOL

Just got off the phone with Motorola's tech support and it looks like it is an issue with the 6412 phase III and the HDMI output. They said that their tech's are aware of it and are currently working on a fix that will be available with the next firmware update. In the meantime it looks like I will either be unplugging it everynight or using component cable until then. I hope they will release an update soon!

be glad you can get the 6412 with dual tuners. we have A/B calbe and i had to settle with the older 6412 box. ONE tuner... and old Blue Menu guide! so be glad you live in an area where you can get a dual tuner with HDMI hookup... :(

Would you believe $1,445 for a 42A10 or $1810 for a 50A10 purchased from Sony? My wife signed up for the "Wheel Watcher's Club" and for her registration bonus gift checked the 15% off electronics. When we checked what you could buy through their site, the A10's were both listed. The 42 at $1700 and the 50 at $21xx. Take the 15% bonus off and you get the prices listed above. Wheel of Fortune and their Wheel Watcher's web site are Sony Entertainment products, so these prices are buying direct from Sony!

Even if you can't stand Wheel of Fortune, this offer might make it worth your while to sign up and catch a couple programs so you can enter the answer to the bonus round puzzle and get the "points" to qualify for purchasing at these prices.

Regarding the CC manager, the CC minions are trained to push the extended warranties hard, so if they did not make any money on the warrantee, why would they try so hard?

Regarding "stuck pixels" and dirty power, consider this:

While I would expect that it is possible to damage consumer electronics with power spikes, I would also expect that the A10's internal DC power supply or the projector bulb circuit or the bulb itself would be first to die.

Your TV set does not use 120V AC house current to directly feed the LCD pixel drivers.

Instead, it uses a DC power supply which I am sure contains both a voltage regulator and some decent sized smoothing capacitors. So as far as I know, it is unlikely that a voltage spike or drop would cause a pixel to "stick".

But then again, what do I know?

Anyways, if you want to feel better about protecting your electronics from power spikes, go out and buy a decent surge protector like a Tripp-Lite or APC. It should come with an internal circuit breaker to protect from MOV short circuits and have a status light that says "protection active" or something like that. You can get one at BJs or Costco for well under 30 bucks. These even come with protection guarantees for $25,000 of electronics or more (direct lightning strikes are usually not covered).

You should occasionally look at your surge protector and verify that the "protected" light is still on.

Now if you suffer from frequent power outages, you should step it up a notch and buy a reasonably priced home computer UPS. When the UPS kicks in, you then turn OFF your A10 and the cooling fan will run for a few minutes and cool the bulb before the UPS battery finally dies.

If you want to make sure the TV will get shut OFF when the UPS activates, you can get a product like the Monster 500VA home theater UPS that can "learn" your A10 "POWER OFF" command for your remote control. It will then automatically turn your TV off even if you are not in the room at the time. But like all Monster products, it is not cheap.

I discussed the Monster product with a marketing guy at APC, so I hope that they will come out with a similar product at a better price someday.

Would you believe $1,445 for a 42A10 or $1810 for a 50A10 purchased from Sony? My wife signed up for the "Wheel Watcher's Club" and for her registration bonus gift checked the 15% off electronics. When we checked what you could buy through their site, the A10's were both listed. The 42 at $1700 and the 50 at $21xx. Take the 15% bonus off and you get the prices listed above. Wheel of Fortune and their Wheel Watcher's web site are Sony Entertainment products, so these prices are buying direct from Sony!

Even if you can't stand Wheel of Fortune, this offer might make it worth your while to sign up and catch a couple programs so you can enter the answer to the bonus round puzzle and get the "points" to qualify for purchasing at these prices.

Jimmy - Wow, sounds too good to be true and maybut if you think about it. The prices you gave of $1700 and $2150 are about 15% off msrp. I am wondering if something is misleading you to believe you take 15% of these prices or if this is the 15% off price....I wonder.

AlanBuck, I would GUESS that the improvement is because you bought a newer player. I noticed a big difference between 480p on a 2-year old $70 Panasonic player (S27 I think) vs. 480p on the $200 S77 I bought (I just got $10 back so it was actually $190). The S77 is supposed to have lots of fancy video processing circuitry, and I can really notice the difference on some discs (old transfers with lots of mosquito noise) regardless which output. Yours is probably similar as it's an upconverting player.

I never tried the Sony because (1) the Sony I was looking at the time (for $150 at BBY) didn't come with the HDMI cable (from what I could research) and (2) someone said he didn't think it could output HDMI and 480i/p simultaneously. Since I had already tried the S77 and knew that it could output all 3 signals simultaneously (making it easy to compare on the A10 by switching the inputs), I decided to stick with the S77 and its included HDMI cable.

The Samsung and Toshiba upconverting players couldn't output each video and audio signal simultaneously, so I wouldn't be surprised the Sony can't either. Do you get either 480i or 480p or HDMI? How about bitstream audio at the same time as PCM audio over the RCA audio outputs and HDMI?

I can switch my TV inputs between component and HDMI and see how the pic looks without changing anything on the DVD player at all, but the blue HDMI light on the player goes out when I switch the TV input to component, so I don't know if the player is actually outputting both at the same time or not. I am getting Dolby Digital 5.1 to my receiver via optical out no matter which video mode I use. I am not using the HDMI for audio. I can fix the small black bar at the top issue by using the size adjustment on my Sony A-10 tv. The jury is still out on whether or not this player is a keeper. At least I got a 6 foot :) HDMI cable on closeout at Radio Shack for $12.99. I am sure going to keep that for future use!

Wow, sounds too good to be true Sure does and maybut if you think about it. The prices you gave of $1700 and $2150 are about 15% off msrp. Actually they list much higher list prices then show bigger discounts already I am wondering if something is misleading you to believe you take 15% of these prices or if this is the 15% off price....I wonder. Maybe - read for yourself:

From the welcome to Wheel Watchers email:

Thanks again for choosing your new member welcome offer. Use the coupon code* below to take 15% off all electronics item(s) listed on your order! Remember you always enjoy exclusive members-only savings as a member of the My Sony™ program.

Here's how it works.


Go to Rewards Central (top menu bar)

Choose the rewards you want and add them to your shopping bag

When you check out, enter coupon code WOELEC15 (above Sub Total), 15% will be taken off all electronics item(s) listed on your order. Click "Continue to Checkout"!


Then from the rewards web site:

KDFE42A10
42"GRANDWEGAHIDEFTV
Your Price: $1,700.00 + 3000 Points
List Price: $2,699.99
Your Savings: $999.99

KDFE50A10
50"GRANDWEGAHIDEFTV
Your Price: $2,130.00 + 4500 Points
List Price: $3,199.99
Your Savings: $1,069.99

KDP-51WS655
51 “ High Definition CRT Projection Television
Your Price: $1,850.00 + 2000 Points
List Price: $2,699.99
Your Savings: $849.99

Since we don't yet have the 3000 points it takes for the 42A10, I put the 51" CRT in my shopping bag, applied the coupon, and it deducted a further $277.50 for a total price of $1,572.50. So, I assume the same would be true for the A10's once you have enough points to add them to your shopping bag. (Of course I then deleted the 51" CRT 'cause that's not what I want)

jimmyv,

Any idea what the shipping charge is, and it you have to pay tax? Also, how long does it take to get 3,000 points?

Thanks

jimmyv,

Any idea what the shipping charge is, and it you have to pay tax? Also, how long does it take to get 3,000 points?

Thanks
My wife signed up yesterday before the program then after the program submitted what the answer to last night's bonus question was and we have 2900 points. The welcome letter indicates you get 1500 points for each bonus question you answer, so, in two nights you should have 3000 points, in three nights 4500 points. Looks like you can also get points for clicking links in their newsletter.

(UPDATE - I guess it's 100 pts for answering the nightly bonus question which is doubled for the first 30 days - we just answered the second night's question and got another 200 pts - )

I don't know about the shipping cost as I didn't go that far through the order process. I'd guess Sony charges the appropriate sales taxes since they probably have shops in most states, but, maybe not. Don't know for sure.

jimmyv,

Any idea what the shipping charge is, and it you have to pay tax? Also, how long does it take to get 3,000 points?

When you click more info on the TV details, it says shipping & handling included!

Thanks

I have 2,500 already and all I did was sign up and select the 15% electronics discount!

EDIT: Wow. I didn't realize how long I've been lurking. What a lame first post! HAHA! Thanks to everyone for all the info on here so far.

It looks like shipping is included with their price/points offer, not sure about tax. I am getting points for registering my DVDs. Looks like you get a 100 points for each DVD, AND $ off of orders for every 10 DVDs you register. I will be at 4500 in no time without even watching Wheel of Fortune if this is how it really works. Something seems too easy with this deal.

Just got off the phone with Motorola's tech support and it looks like it is an issue with the 6412 phase III and the HDMI output. They said that their tech's are aware of it and are currently working on a fix that will be available with the next firmware update. In the meantime it looks like I will either be unplugging it everynight or using component cable until then. I hope they will release an update soon!

Andstill,

You know what's odd about that, is we have pretty much identical set-ups re hdmi, and my 6412 doesn't malfunction like yours does. Because of this, I was sure it must be a manufacturing defect with your box(es); not a design defect. I wonder how Motorola's tech support can explain how the existing firmware/box works with some A10s but not with others. Very strange.

I have the SA8300HDDVR and it works perfectly, so this might be a pretty stupid question......You guys have the 6412 phase III, it has an HDMI output, and yet it can't connect to an HDTV via HDMI without all this BS?????

Isn't it like saying my new a10 works fine, except it doesn't work with HD signals?

Am I missing something here????????

Thanks for asking, and yes I do believe you're missing something here: Namely, that HDMI out on a lot of people's 6412s have no issues at all with their A10s. It is perplexing how Andstill's several 6412 boxes all have the problems he describes - perplexing precisely because many of us don't have these problems with that box. Double-perplexing because Motorola claims it is a problem with the firmware, suggesting it should exhibit this problem with every single A10, yet it does not. Wierd.

My 6412 works via hdmi with no display issues.

So what, the final price of the A10s with the points is heavily discounted. I am still having a problem with this deal. Maybe I am missing it, but where does it say that these items are brand new or from the factory or even from sonystyle.com? Maybe they are refurbs. Also, the delivery is free, but they give no info on the delivery except ships 3-5 days. I know this isn't going to be "white glove" delivery, but will they at least bring it in your house, or do they just leave at the door/curb? I was looking for a phone # to call, but didn't notice one in plain sight. I am sure there is a number burried somewhere on the web site. Anyone else looking in to this deal, and what is your opinion?

Those list prices are heavily inflated (by $700). According to sonystyle.com, the list price of the 42A10 is $1999 and the list price of the 50A10 is $2499. Plus, on sonystyle.com the 51WS655 is only $1799.
Yeh - I mentioned in my note that they were marked up (meaning I thought the MSRPs were inflated) before they were marked down. Still particularly with the add'l 15% off the resulting price looks pretty good. -- Wonder if they will offer the SXRD's on this site soon?

Edit - now I have enough pts for the 42, I tested the 15% off coupon with it and followed the process further, verifying that, yes with the coupon the price goes to $1,445, there is no shipping charge, and they do add state sales tax (which would be $101.16 for me) so my price would be $1,546.16 delivered.

MoesArt,

The brand name is Power Sentry (part of Fiskars brands)... It is grey and has 6 outlets on top with a slide-out that has 4 additional outlets on it. It also has 2 coax input/outputs... When I was looking at them, it was the only one they carried that actually blocked power once it's protection capacity was reached.

Hope this helps!

-Joshua

I've had my 50" A10 now for 28 days now and love it. I have a Comcast PIII box and Hi Def is stunning. DVD's look great(although I wish the set had 2 HDMI inputs.) I do have one question though if anyone could answer it. I've read earlier posts about color "blotches" and burnt pixels. What I have notice noticed on my set, especially when watching DVD's, that when the set is black,aka between commercials, when DVD's start, you can see a red glow. You really can see it in the black space that is below some movies. Basically when the screen is dark, I see a red smear that covers a good part of the lower left hand corner. And it covers close to a quarter of the lower left of the screen. I don't believe I've heard of this in this forum. It may have been mentioned but I may have misinterpreted it. Anyway, I have 2 days left before I could exchange it at CC. The picture itself is fine. Yet I don't want this to get worse or to start effecting the picture. I'm going to call Sony today and ask them about it. Does anyone know what this is? :confused:

I do have one question though if anyone could answer it. I've read earlier posts about color "blotches" and burnt pixels. What I have notice noticed on my set, especially when watching DVD's, that when the set is black,aka between commercials, when DVD's start, you can see a red glow. You really can see it in the black space that is below some movies. Basically when the screen is dark, I see a red smear that covers a good part of the lower left hand corner.

It could be a color uniformity problem, which is common on LCD RPTVs, or dirt or dust in the light engine. If it's faint in color it's normal. If you find it bothersome either exchange it or give Sony a call.

At least I got a 6 foot :) HDMI cable on closeout at Radio Shack for $12.99. I am sure going to keep that for future use!

Damn you :D I called 3 different Radio Shacks and they were all sold out, they had the 12 ft for $35, but I want to 6 ft one. Not even the online store has it.

I'm reluctant to pull the plug on a cheap cable from an online store as returns would be a hassle, if I had to.

:mad: :mad: :mad:

Damn you :D I called 3 different Radio Shacks and they were all sold out, they had the 12 ft for $35, but I want to 6 ft one. Not even the online store has it.

I'm reluctant to pull the plug on a cheap cable from an online store as returns would be a hassle, if I had to.

:mad: :mad: :mad:

I am going to scope out some more stores around here and see what I can find. I may 'stock up' on a few more cables for future needs at those prices!

The 6' cable I bought from monoprice (Certified HDMI DVI Cable 28AWG - 6ft w/Ferrite Cores (Gold Plated)) is $10.29, delivered. Works well.


http://www.monoprice.com/productlargeimages/24041.jpg

The 6' cable I bought from monoprice (Certified HDMI DVI Cable 28AWG - 6ft w/Ferrite Cores (Gold Plated)) is $10.29, delivered. Works well.


I did see that, but for whatever reason was leary of a "cheap priced" cable from an online retailer.

If I was able to get the one at Radio Shack for that price, I could always return it is there was a problem. Online stores are more of a hassle.

Unwarranted paranoia on my part? Probably so, call it a character flaw.

I am hoping that AlanBuck can find a few more of these and send one to me free of charge, since I'm such a swell guy ;) ;) ;)

:D :D :D

BTW Alan - have you ever been to Holiday World in Santa Claus, IN? Awesome amusement park with 2 of the best wooden roller coasters in the world and they are currently building one that opens in 2006, that looks like another winner. Hoping to get there again in the next few years.

has someboy already connected an old video game console like the super nintendo or the mega drive to the 50" TV?
Are they still playable at this screen size?

Sure are, when I was at my gf's parents in Seattle over the summer we were cleaning out the basement and found her old NES, hooked that baby right up to her dad's 55" RPTV, worked out great!

By the way that was not this 50" tv, but an older model Sony 55" huge rear projection, but it should still work just fine.

2 weeks ago I bought a Sony34XBR960 tube TV. While I love the picture quality of the TV, I find myself wanting more screen size. I still have about 10 days left to return the TV, and I wondering about this 42A10. It is in the same price range, but with more screen real estate. Any thoughts would be a great help. I am about 9-10 feet from the screen.

I did see that, but for whatever reason was leary of a "cheap priced" cable from an online retailer.
Are you kidding?... for $10.29 give it a shot, it's hardly going to break the bank if it's no good.

2 weeks ago I bought a Sony34XBR960 tube TV. While I love the picture quality of the TV, I find myself wanting more screen size. I still have about 10 days left to return the TV, and I wondering about this 42A10. It is in the same price range, but with more screen real estate. Any thoughts would be a great help. I am about 9-10 feet from the screen.

I debated the same thing. The 34xbr has greater resolution and none of the rptv issues, but I chose the 42A10 for the size. I have had it for a month and love it. For me it was the right choice. I think you have to take it home and watch it for a while to determine if it is right for you. The bigger screen makes a huge difference in the viewing experience.

2 weeks ago I bought a Sony34XBR960 tube TV. While I love the picture quality of the TV, I find myself wanting more screen size. I still have about 10 days left to return the TV, and I wondering about this 42A10. It is in the same price range, but with more screen real estate. Any thoughts would be a great help. I am about 9-10 feet from the screen.

i did the SAME thing you did. I had my 34XBR for 2 weeks, loved it, but I quickly found myself wanting more screen size, 34 was just not enough for me, i needed more impact for movies etc. plus I decided I wanted a dedicated 720p display for the xbox 360, 1080i wasn't gonna be enough in the XBR.

so i did more research and narrowed it down to some DLPs and Sony LCDs in the 42-46" range since my viewing distance is only 7 feet, the DLPs quickly got the axe, and i decided i was gonna replace it with the 42A10, i'm so glad I did, besides the black levels and the memory stick port, I like everything about the A10 better. plus the A10 doesn't look like a boat anchor on your TV stand.

LCDRP is the best HD technology IMO if you can't afford an SXRD (which will be my next tv)

also don't judge the A10 in the store, it looked 3x better when i got it home and optimized the settings, try it out for a week or two. people on the board raving about it are not lying, it's an amazing set, i was skeptical about LCDRP but now I love it.

2 weeks ago I bought a Sony34XBR960 tube TV. While I love the picture quality of the TV, I find myself wanting more screen size. I still have about 10 days left to return the TV, and I wondering about this 42A10. It is in the same price range, but with more screen real estate. Any thoughts would be a great help. I am about 9-10 feet from the screen.
At 9 to 10 feet 50 inch would be the best screen size for viewing DVDs and HDTV. A 42 inch set is cheaper and easier to fit in a room; the 42A10 even fits in many spots a tube TV would. I would think anything smaller than 42 inches would simply be too small. Unless you need to see the picture from extreme angles either A10 set would be an excellent choice.