Official Sony KDL-V26/32/40XBR1 Bravia LCD Thread [Text View]

Tom Koegel

10-25-05, 12:48 PM

I have had the 32" for about a month, mostly for use with broadcast HD and SD via the cablecard, and I just got around to hooking up a DVD player for calibration. (This is a bedroom set for me.) This is the first non-CRT I've had to calibrate, and I happily cracked open my new copy of DVE. (Had been using the old original VE with my CRT RPTV.) While DVE teases you into thinking that it will give you some help with non-CRT displays, it seems only to talk about CRT and various digital PROJECTORS, not flat panels. I am kind of stumped about where to start with a set like this, which throws the concept of backlighting into the mix as well as all these contract and brightness enhancement settings. I am constitutionally averse to using such things (I associate them with things like flesh tone correcters or SVM on CRTs), but maybe that's just not the right approach with an LCD. Any tips about a strategy for calibrating the Bravia would be appreciated.

Would also appreciate tips about calibrating the cable broadcasts. Do you have to find a station that is broadcasting a PLUGE to get this done. On my old CRT, I knew (by trial and error) the differences in settings between cable, DVD, and laser and could tweak as I went.

VDUBfanatic

10-25-05, 08:04 PM

mefromfl

10-25-05, 09:22 PM

mike828

10-25-05, 09:29 PM

i'm looking to buy one of these LCDs online, if I do run in to trouble with it, would it be easy to buy another at a local bestbuy or circuitcity then just switch to do a return? Or do they check the serial and everything?

I've returned 2 TVs to Best Buy. I returned a 26" Sony LCD. The woman checked to see if I had everything (remote control, TV, Manuals). But, she didn't check the serial number. So, you could possibly switch the TVs.

I also returned a 26" Samsung CRT HDTV, which they didn't check at all. I just handed over my receipt, and left the TV on a shopping cart. The guy refunded my credit card, and I left.

I payed for both TVs with a credit card. Maybe they check the serial number later. And if there is a problem, they will contact you.

edBozarth

10-26-05, 01:21 AM

Hey there,
Can anyone recommend an ideal upconverting DVD player for one of these LCD tv's? Is it best via 720p or 1080i? Any models that folks have had success with?

Thanks!
-Ed

DFul4d

10-26-05, 11:33 AM

Not to venture too far OT, but I just purchased the KDL-V40XBR1; should I have purchased the service plan? Anyone experiencing dead pixels or any other problems I should be looking for when I hook it up for the first time?

Thanks,
Newbie

I didn't get one and I have not seen a single bad pixel. (Knock on wood) The tv comes with a year warranty from the factory.

stacy11

10-26-05, 11:46 AM

Hey there,
Can anyone recommend an ideal upconverting DVD player for one of these LCD tv's? Is it best via 720p or 1080i? Any models that folks have had success with?

Thanks!
-Ed

Video processing in this set is excellent. I have a (Cheapo, $48) Panasonic DVD player hooked up via component, out-putting 480i and the the pic is great. Don't waste your money on an upconverting DVD Player, let the set do it.

Mine also came no dead pixels and I did not buy the extended warranty, which I believe is always a fear based unnecessary expense.

Paul Bigelow

10-26-05, 12:47 PM

I returned the 26" XBR. Nice feature set, but:

1. Too much grain.
2. A "paint-by-numbers" look with low IRE, near-black content. Transitions were not smooth.
3. An over emphasized green that gave facial highlights and near-black content (dark suits, for example) a greenish tint. This situation happened with HD, SD, DVD, OTA, etc.

I really wanted to like this set.

Paul

edBozarth

10-26-05, 03:40 PM

Well, I ordered the OPPO upconverting DVD player and will compare it our cheapo player and let you know how it goes with this set.

Negoti8or

10-28-05, 12:38 AM

Just got my 40" XBR1 today. There's a dead pixel on the right side of the screen right in the middle. :mad: It's shining bright green. I might try the stuck pixel software I saw, but otherwise it's going back. Best Buy better not hassle me about the return.

It looks awesome otherwise. I'll play around with it over the next few days and see what happens.

riDuh7

10-28-05, 02:44 AM

Best Buy has the dead pixel policy of 6 or more I believe. Although not sure for 100%. Some I heard that they go with the manufacture's policy also.

jvinsepa

10-28-05, 01:05 PM

scottman

10-28-05, 01:09 PM

Best Buy has the dead pixel policy of 6 or more I believe. Although not sure for 100%. Some I heard that they go with the manufacture's policy also.

I think Best Buy also has a 30 day no questions asked return policy for tv's. So the number of defective pixels should be a non-issue.

ptr1

10-28-05, 01:32 PM

I was looking into buying the 40" xbr after deciding that it has the best picture on any TV that I have ever seen. I decided to take a walk down to the Sony Style store in NYC to take a look at the tv in a non showroom enviroment. I sat down and watched it for about 5-10 minutes and my eyes started hurting and I got a headache. It was probally due to the brightness, sharpness and punchy colors. After having the headache stay with me the rest of the night I decided against the 40"xbr and went with a 50" HP plasma instead. Also read a post here where someone had to return it due to the tv giving him constant headaches. Im sure eye sensitivity levels vary from people to people so give it a try.

jvinsepa

10-28-05, 01:36 PM

Yoda1

10-28-05, 01:46 PM

I'm getting headaches from it because of motion blur, not from brightness... to the point where I am going to wait for my 50" plasma to watch anything with motion in it. It's that bad for me, especially in the dark. If I pause it, it usually looks fine.

I played Xbox 360 at EB the other day (they just recieved a new kiosk with game demos) and the motion blur was pretty irritating after long periods of play. Now, granted, the particular Samsung Microsoft has sent out with the 360's aren't the best quality but I can defnitiely see what you're saying about headaches induced by motion blur. It may also have something to do with being so close to such a bright and vivid display.

Yoda1

10-28-05, 01:49 PM

I have this TV, but will be exchanging it within my 30-day period for a Pioneer Elite 1130HD plasma.

The reasons are that:

* I'm not satisfied with the black level (I heard that this unit, even though it is an LCD, had better black than before... that may be, but still not good enough for me)

* 40" is too small for my living room

* blurring on fast action scenes, and even some slow action scenes.

* not enough detail in dark scenes - this stems from the black level

I have read the 6gen pio threads, but would like your opinion - what do you think would be a downside of going from the kdlv40xbr1 to the pro1130hd?

If black levels are your main concern, I wouldn't go with a new Pioneer. I think Panasonic's plasmas still beat-out Pioneer pretty damn good in this regard. I've seen the Pio 4360 next to a Panny 42PX50U on a number of occassions and the Panny doesn't just edge the Pioneer out, but outdoes it rather significantly with blacks. Just my opinion.

mike828

10-28-05, 03:15 PM

I played Xbox 360 at EB the other day (they just recieved a new kiosk with game demos) and the motion blur was pretty irritating after long periods of play. Now, granted, the particular Samsung Microsoft has sent out with the 360's aren't the best quality but I can defnitiely see what you're saying about headaches induced by motion blur. It may also have something to do with being so close to such a bright and vivid display.

I played 720p xbox games on the Samsung 23" that they use for the kiosk and the 26" Sony V26. They both have motion blur. I think the Sony has slightly less motion blur.

It's hard to say which is better for gaming. I like the 23" because the pixels are smaller, so it makes the image look sharper. It's also half the price of the Sony. I got a headache from both TVs, but I think it has to do with the brightness.

helvetica bold

10-28-05, 07:58 PM

Orc

10-29-05, 09:22 AM

Hi all. I am very much interested in buying a SONY KLV-S32A10E.
I downloaded the user manual and read that you must not connect your PC in the HDMI port of the panel, even though they allow you to connect DVI equipment to the HDMI port , using a DVI to HDMI adaptor. I have read many threads about other panels, where people describe how they successfully connected their PC using DVI to HDMI adaptor…And others that had no luck with it…The thing is, that I want to use my HTPC as digital source, thus I have to connect it in the HDMI port. Does anyone know if there is any problem with this panel doing so? Has anyone tried to connect the PC using DVI to HDMI cable with the SONY KLV-S32A10E ?

I am using an Ati Radeon x700 Pro.

What also troubles me is that I have read that connecting a video card like Ati Radeon x700 pciex , to a LCD tv through HDMI using DVI to HDMI adapter, will produce NO IMAGE, because the DVI output of the Ati is DVI-I , and the HDMI input can be combined only with DVI-D output…Is this true?

jvinsepa

10-29-05, 01:15 PM

I think it's because the DVI port on PCs is not HDCP compliant.

Orc

10-29-05, 01:42 PM

I think that ATI with the latest drivers made their cards HDCP compilant.

lhamp

11-06-05, 07:40 PM

Guys... I'm new to the whole LCD thing (Have always had plasmas)..... the thing I noticed is that you all have your "picture" setting WAY high... in the Plasma world you would never do that. Is this common to how most people here set their LCD panels?

Thanks.

sfhub

11-06-05, 11:25 PM

I think it's because the DVI port on PCs is not HDCP compliant.
I don't think the display should care whether the source is HDCP or not. It is an HDCP source which cares that the display is HDCP compliant. I guess any yahoo can design something poorly, but all the HDCP compliant displays I've seen work with HDCP and non-HDCP sources over DVI.

mike828

11-07-05, 09:59 AM

^ Mike828
Would you suggest NOT going with an LCD for gaming?
I wanted to buy a small LCD –I was thinking of the 26XBR1.
Now I'm thinking about using my CRT Computer Monitor (w/VGA) for
my Xbox 360...

I might wait til next year and get the 37" 1080p Sharp.
It's suppose to have a 6 response time...

I would still recommend an LCD for xbox 360. I had the 26XBR1 and returned it. The blurring was very similar to blurring on the 23" Samsung LCD. The Sony was a great TV, but cost twice as much. So, I decided to get the 23" Samsung.

Before I bought the 23" Samsung LCD, I bought a 26" Samsung HDTV CRT. It didn't have any blurring problems, but it didn't have enough resolution either. Someone told me that it had a resolution of 800x1080. I know that isn't 16x9, but I guess CRT TVs have odd resolutions sometimes. I think the highest resolution CRT TV is one of the Sonys. It has a resolution of 1400x1080.

720p games on the CRT didn't look that sharp.

If you don't mind waiting, that's the best thing to do. LCDs will only get better in time. But, I wouldn't recommend a 1080p display for xbox 360. Upscaled 720p to 1080p won't look as good as 1280x720 on a 720p TV.

DFul4d

11-09-05, 10:51 AM

Does anybody expect to get a 360 at launch and plan on using it with this set? I preordered from Gamestop on June 14th. I hope I am getting one, but it still has not been confirmed yet.

YOTR

11-09-05, 11:46 AM

Does anybody expect to get a 360 at launch and plan on using it with this set? I preordered from Gamestop on June 14th. I hope I am getting one, but it still has not been confirmed yet.

I just purchased the 32" XBR version last week and am getting an XBOX 360 in a couple of weeks. I can't wait!

MrToronto

11-16-05, 08:06 AM

Damn guys, these decisions are hard to make!

I was almost set on buying the 40xbr but then got worried mainly about the contrast ratio, and the ghosting if the response time isn't fast enough. My other option is the Panasonic TH42PX500 HD plasma. Comparing the 2 in the store, the Sony has a much sharper, crisper, brighter image. But in the store they don't show any really dark scenes or any really fast moving scenes. I was reading stuff about the 'real world' contrast ratio of the plasmas, how they're actually much lower... but people still seem to say they are better for dark scenes and have a deeper black.

I can't decide :(

Any advice? :o

wilburpan

11-16-05, 11:21 AM

Response time: go to the store at a time that a football game is being broadcast, and ask them to put it on. The local Circuit City has a habit of putting on the NFL on Sundays.

Dark scene performance: bring a DVD with dark scenes, and ask the store to put it in.

DFul4d

11-16-05, 01:05 PM

MrToronto

11-16-05, 03:15 PM

Mr Toronto,

I was considering the same two sets and I went with the Sony. I have no regrets at all. The Sony has great shadow detail and the set has so much adjustability that you can get very deep blacks. Motion blur is not a concern at all for watching hdtv. No problems with NFL or even NASCAR.

Thanks for the response DFul4d! It all depends on personal preference I guess. Someone in this forum said it gave him headaches. It's hard to find a store out there with both of these that will let me test out my own DVD on it. This store Futureshop (owned by Best Buy) here in Canada has all their sets hooked up to some master video processor so they won't let me play around with it.

The Sony has such a crisp picture though, I love it. Today Bestbuy lowered their price by a significant amount on the Panasonic set. I don't think I'm allowed to give any $ figures here. But yesterday they were both the same price on bestbuy.ca

Why did you go with the Sony if you don't mind me asking? Based on your impressions in the store? Was there anything you didn't like about the Panasonic specifically?

Any info is appreciated.

Thanks!

algaray

11-16-05, 03:28 PM

I have been considering the 42" commercial Panasonic plasma, TH-42PHD8UK, and the 40" XBR. I saw this past Sunday's Seattle-StLouis football game, and there was no motion blur, artifacts on the XBR. At least not that I saw (and I have seen it before) at Magnolia HiFi.

The only way to find out is to buy one locally from CircuitCity or BestBuy and use the free trial period. Wonder my wife's reaction when she sees a 40" Bravia and a 42" Panny... if I can find them in stock.

MrToronto

11-16-05, 03:39 PM

I wonder how easily you can return a tv like this to Best Buy? They don't resist trying to return something like a dvd player... but when you try to return a tv worth several thousand dollars... I wonder if they will be so easy going.

Any experiences?

Jim Hef

11-16-05, 03:39 PM

...Comparing the 2 in the store, the Sony has a much sharper, crisper, brighter image....
I agree, and viewed the Sony alongside the Panasonic plasma in both BestBuy and Circuit City. Both of those stores had a demo signal that showed a Notre Dame football player running down the field. On the Sony, the gold helmet left a tracer line across the green of the field, where the plasma did not. Also, in the same scene, they show the 4:3 "standard" vs. the 16:9 high def screen by blacking out a portion of the screen. On the Sony, this area was dark gray, and not at all black, as in the plasma.

I thought the Sony had the best picture of the size group from all other aspects, but can anyone that is using one now tell me if this relates to their normal viewing of DVDs and TV programming? Would it be annoying for watching sports and movies, which is one of the main aspects for which my TV will be used?

MrToronto

11-16-05, 04:06 PM

On the Sony, the gold helmet left a tracer line across the green of the field, where the plasma did not. Also, in the same scene, they show the 4:3 "standard" vs. the 16:9 high def screen by blacking out a portion of the screen. On the Sony, this area was dark gray, and not at all black, as in the plasma.

Hrmm interesting. The gold helmed left a 'tracer' on the screen? You mean like ghosting effect where hte pixels didnt change quick enough? If so, that's pretty bad.

I'de also like to know if the blacks are bothersome.

DFul4d

11-16-05, 04:58 PM

Toronto-

You won't see any ghosting on the XBR. I went with the Sony because my room has some windows and I did not want to be bothered by the glare from the Plasma glass. I also plan on using the set as a computer monitor and I will be doing a lot of Xbox 360 gaming on it and I did not want to have to worry about burn in at all. The plasmas blacks are a little better, but I think the super vivid colors of the Sony more than make up for the difference.
DVDs look incredible on this set and I am using a cheap DVD player. I watch a movie almost every night in the dark and through my settings I have found an acceptable black level for me. I can post them if you are interested.

algaray

11-16-05, 07:12 PM

Perhaps the ghosting is happening on SD signals.

Jim, do you know if the NotreDame game was on HD? The Seahawk-Rams game I watched was on FOX HD.

RBFELLA

11-16-05, 07:57 PM

I thought I would start this so owners can compare settings and discuss any issues.
These are my settings for OTA. I have different ones for my DVD player if anyone is interested.

My current settings are: (I am going from memory so these might be out of order)

Backlight: 3
Picture: 95
Brightness: 65 (i have found that turning up the brightness and turning down the backlight gives more shadow detail)
Color: 48
Sharpness: 18
Tint: Neutral
Color Temp: Warm 1
Noise Reduction: Off

Advanced
Black Corrector: Low
Contrast Enhancer: Low
Gamma: Off
Clear White: Off - I recently changed this. I found that it added a blue tint to the whites
Live Color: low
Color Space: Wide

Hi how do i get to advanced settings, and it wont let me change it to warm 1 or warm 2

Jim Hef

11-16-05, 08:12 PM

...I watch a movie almost every night in the dark....
I'd be interested in your experiences with the display, but I wouldn't be interested in needing to watch it in the dark!
Algaray, I wasn't able to get either a Circuit City guy nor a BestBuy guy to tell me what format the feed was being broadcast. I was told the feed was "high def", but they didn't know if it was 720p or 1080i. Interestingly, the BestBuy guy told me the plasma unit was "capable of 1080i", so he was just quoting what he was told or what he read. Yes, the top of the helmet left a gold tracer line across the grass, although the rest of the picture was truly gorgeous.

algaray

11-16-05, 09:30 PM

Jim Hef

11-17-05, 08:27 AM

Interesting! The Circuit City and the BestBuy feeds in my area were both fairly nice, showing great detail in their presentation on both the LCD and plasma displays. That Notre Dame game was an anomoly to the Sony display, and not the adjoining plasmas that were getting the same signal simultaneously.

What I'd like to hear is from those that have the set in their homes with a known good signal or a quality feed from a DVD player. Are there motion artifacts that are annoying on this set as there were on earlier LCDs? Is plasma still the way to go for deep blacks and good sports watching?

Jugdish69

11-17-05, 08:55 AM

I have only seen slight artifacting when standing about 2-3 feet from my 26" XBR. At viewing distance, there isn't any noticable to my eyes. I was watching Letterman last night in HD and couldn't believe how beautiful the picture was, crisp and vibrant. Monday night football was beautiful as well.

Yoda1

11-17-05, 10:54 AM

Yoda1

11-17-05, 10:56 AM

I stopped by Circuit City on my way home and saw a 32" Bravia XBR. It had a recorded HD feed of a NotreDame game. The ghosting you described is noticeable along with noise where the picture looked grainy, blurry. This was universal with all the sets in the display... basically, the signal was very poor.

I walked to another display where they had the 40" Bravia XBR next to some plasmas, showing Duke slaughter Seton Hall on ESPN HD. Again, I could not believe how poor the signal was, players in the distance where fuzzy, couldn't see sweat on anyone. This was true of the plasmas next to it... Pioneer, Hitachi, Panasonic.

I would not base my buying decision solely on what I saw at Circuit City.

Yeah. I have an HP 42PL00N and DVDs via 480p look better than anything in my local CC; not a hint of compression artifacts, ghosting, motion lag, pixelation, whatever. It's not there. Same thing goes for SD, signal looks better than I could have ever hoped.

MrToronto

11-17-05, 11:50 AM

I wonder what the chances of having dead pixels in the future is. I've had an LCD monitor for my computer for 2 years now and haven't had a dead pixel yet.

I can imagine that even 1 or 2 white pixels can drive you nuts.

DFul4d

11-17-05, 12:05 PM

I'd be interested in your experiences with the display, but I wouldn't be interested in needing to watch it in the dark!
Algaray, I wasn't able to get either a Circuit City guy nor a BestBuy guy to tell me what format the feed was being broadcast. I was told the feed was "high def", but they didn't know if it was 720p or 1080i. Interestingly, the BestBuy guy told me the plasma unit was "capable of 1080i", so he was just quoting what he was told or what he read. Yes, the top of the helmet left a gold tracer line across the grass, although the rest of the picture was truly gorgeous.

The XBR has a status or info button or something, its located on the top right of the main circular button. It will tell you what the format of the incoming feed is.

vdpoort

11-17-05, 12:33 PM

It has been asked before and everyone seems to know but unfortunately noone seem to bother to answer.

"How does one enter the service menu ?"

I keep reading about all those diffrent kind of settings which i can't seem to find.
Ofcourse i have contrast, noise, brightness etc.

but what about those "game modes" Is that an american only thing?

I'have an European version btw,

N.B. Forrest

11-17-05, 04:09 PM

I stopped by Circuit City on my way home and saw a 32" Bravia XBR. It had a recorded HD feed of a NotreDame game. The ghosting you described is noticeable along with noise where the picture looked grainy, blurry. This was universal with all the sets in the display... basically, the signal was very poor.

I walked to another display where they had the 40" Bravia XBR next to some plasmas, showing Duke slaughter Seton Hall on ESPN HD. Again, I could not believe how poor the signal was, players in the distance where fuzzy, couldn't see sweat on anyone. This was true of the plasmas next to it... Pioneer, Hitachi, Panasonic.

I would not base my buying decision solely on what I saw at Circuit City.

Ditto with my local CC. However, at least they leave the remotes adjacent to the sets so that one can play with the adjustment settings and are willing to switch the source feed from that nauseating HD loop found in every b&m store. Conversely, BB offers that same old feed, turns certain sets up to "Vivid" to increase sales, and hides the remotes so that customers cannot view the different settings per set. :mad:

DFul4d

11-17-05, 04:21 PM

Hi how do i get to advanced settings, and it wont let me change it to warm 1 or warm 2

You have to change the picture mode to custom. Vivid and standard wont go intothe advanced settings

Joejetcool

11-17-05, 04:37 PM

I have a v40xbr and I watched literally several HOURS of programming at BB on several occasions. My first thoughts were that the HD programming looked great with a little artifacting, SD was pitiful at best I also had them hook up a DVD player with my pleading and it was pretty decent. So I made the big plunge and decided to buy after 3 weeks of wondering. WELL...LET ME TELL YOU!! Once I got this home and hooked it up to a Standard antenna in my attic for HD off air, a standard DVD player-NOT progressive & a DishN sat receiver that is SD only not HD YET!! The picture is absolutely STUNNING!! from all sources not just HD but ALL!
I was stunned by how much better once I hooked it up at home without all the cable splits or whatever at BB that the picture could be so much better I was so happy I could scream!! My wife also saw the difference and was amazed at how much better the picture was also. Since then I have returned to BB and they told me that was great and wanted that kind of customer feedback on the unit. All I can say is try at home before you judge...You might be amazed as I was.

bulatao

11-17-05, 07:54 PM

algaray

11-18-05, 10:55 PM

Good feedback Joejetcool. I'm at the top of the waiting list for the Bravia XBR. I'm getting comfortable going with the Sony.

michael c

11-19-05, 06:47 PM

LisaM

11-19-05, 07:41 PM

I saw the 40XBR1 today at a PC Richard store in NYC. Watched about 15 minutes of a football game in HD (TWC cable). The picture was stunning - no motion trails, vibrant, crisp colors, etc... They changed the channel to Nascar in HD because I was trying to find motion issues. All I saw was a great picture. It was very hard, however, to judge black levels because the showroom floor was so bright.

I am having a very hard time deciding between a Panasonic 42PX50U (which is what I visited the store intending to buy) and the Bravia. It didn't help that the cable feed to the Panasonic was obviously having a problem. For my needs - bedroom set used only at night and hooked up to an external sound system - I will likely buy the Panasonic but the Bravia looked smashing.

TeeJayDM

11-19-05, 08:35 PM

How do you take off the stand? coz I wanna mount it in my wall. Thanks

Yoda1

11-19-05, 09:14 PM

I bought the 40" XBR1 a couple of days ago and am still getting use to it after years of CRTs. I tried plasma, but my room has floor to ceiling French doors on two sides and the glare made it impossible to see anything in the day. The Sony LCD is way better for this.

SD is a lot better than I expected. (I expected the worst!) If I sit at least 6 feet away, SD looks very nice. Any closer, I can see a lot of pic noise and smearing and almost the 'clayface' thing. I don't have HD yet, but I felt like any plasma or LCD I bought would look spectacular in HD. I have Dish Network BTW.

I have an old Toshiba DVD hooked up through component. From 6 feet it looks very nice but I thought I would get a more HD image. The DVD is outputting 480i. If I buy a new DVD player that outputs 720 or 1080i, will my DVD pic look a lot better? If so, any suggestions?

Thank you.

I've seen Sony DVP-NS70H-upconverted DVDs on the 40" Bravia XBR and thought they looked stunning. And I also thought blacks looked very very adequate on the unit as well.

The only thing I couldn't quite adjust to my satisfaction was flesh tones, which looked either too pinkish or too brown. I don't believe it's something that can be adjusted out, either - just one of the shortcomings of the technology at the current time.

Yoda1

11-19-05, 09:17 PM

I'm a newb so sorry if this sounds like a dumb Q.
Does the Bravia have PIP?
The CC website says no, but some of the user reviews on that same site say that yes it does.
I'd like to hook up two playstations and play side by side.

The Bravia does not have PIP. As far as I know, none of Sony's TVs this year, with the exception of their tube displays, carry that feature.

algaray

11-19-05, 11:09 PM

For upsampling DVD player to replace your Toshiba, I would recommend one of the new Sony ES, DVP-NS3100ES check with oade.com, or the OppoDigital.com DVD player.

roblim

11-20-05, 12:25 AM

The Bravia does not have PIP. As far as I know, none of Sony's TVs this year, with the exception of their tube displays, carry that feature.

Actually sony's top of the line rear projection LCOS display (SXRD) has Picture by picture. sony's implementation of PIP or PBP is really cool, if you have a chance you should check it out. you can even put two HD signals side by side.

Mikedit

11-20-05, 09:13 AM

Jugdish69

11-20-05, 11:37 AM

I have both, Panny 37" HD Plasma and the new sony 26" Bravia XBR. Both sets have excellent picture quality on HD programming and DVD material. I have to say however, than in my house, with Time Warner Cable, the Bravia beats the Panny on quality of the SD material. It must be sony's scaler, but I am floored at how good the picture is on the bravia at a viewing distance of about 8 feet. I have not had issues with color reproduction or black level and shadow detail. There are so many customizable options for the picture that I think the most fastidious user would find a setting they enjoy. I use the bravia in the master and the panny in the living room. I really like the LCD in the master because when I'm out of town on business my wife often falls asleep with the TV on, and I don't have to worry about what may be left on the screen overnight. Overall, the Bravia is an excellent display and shows how much progress LCD has made. I'm also lovin it because the smallest Plasma I can find is about 37" and that is just too big for my master bedroom.

Jugdish69

11-20-05, 11:39 AM

How do you take off the stand? coz I wanna mount it in my wall. Thanks

remove the four black screws on the back, bottom with a phillips screwdriver.

visual insanity

11-20-05, 12:50 PM

For those of you that have the 40XBR1 LCD how many of you have Directv as their provider? Just asking because I plan on getting this TV some time in the future and was curious to know if I should lay down some serious money for the DTV dish HD DVR etc.. I have DTV now but I'm not an HD subscriber.....yet.

I only ask this because I've heard many talk about the low res HD that Direct TV puts out there.

Orta

11-20-05, 03:16 PM

Does anyone have opinions on how the 32XBR1 would compare to the 30XBR910 (Tube), PQ wise? I've been really disappointed with the 910, mainly because it has some pretty severe hue/noise/banding issues on the right side (purity related I imagine, the reason I hate CRTs). It's the kind that just screams at you on solid color horizontal pans (such as sky pans, I just cringe). I really wanted to take the thing back the first week I had it, but unfortunately, the fact that it's around 170 lbs and resides on the second floor (around 20 steps steep) makes it nightmare to man handle. So, I was kinda forced to just live with it.

Is anyone here coming off of one of Sony's WS tubes? (I imagine at least a few of you are) Which would you say you prefer, and what are the main shortcomings/differences you noticed? Being that I sit ~4' back, screen size isn't a major determinate, but I'm wondering if perhaps a DLP might be a better choice since I understand I'm really only paying for the direct view LCD's depth (which aside from weight, is irrelevant so far as I'm concerned).

Ken Ross

11-20-05, 04:44 PM

Overall, the Bravia is an excellent display and shows how much progress LCD has made.

The more I've seriously studied the current crop of LCDs, the more I'm convinced IMO, that the Bravia is simply the best. Before my return period was up, I decided to check out the Sharp 26" Aquos. No matter how carefully I adjusted the Sharp, the Sony displayed deeper blacks, better contrast ratio and superior colors. To be fair though, I went into the Sony service menu to optimize the colors and gray scale to my liking. I haven't done that with the Sharp.

However, the issues I'm seeing with the Sharp are not exclusively related to gray scale adjustments. Things like the contrast ratio and the ability to pull out detail and color CONSISTENTLY from scene to scene, is what sets the Sony apart. There is just a remarkable ability by the Sony to do this across the board, no matter what the picture content. On the Sharp, some scenes were fairly close, but many others diverged significantly. Only the Sony looked 'right' almost all of the time.

Keep in mind too, that for most of my viewing I was allowing the Sharp to use the HDMI input whereas the Sony was relegated to component! The Sony does better still when connected via HDMI (as do most displays). I tried briefly switching the inputs just to make sure there wasn't some weird behavior on the part of the Sharp via HDMI....there wasn't.

The one thing I did notice in the Sharp's defense, was slightly lower noise levels in dark scenes. This was most apparent at close viewing distances, but more difficult to detect at normal viewing distances. Interestingly, my Fujitsu plasma displayed the same noise that the Sony displayed. So I'm not sure if there was some negative by-product to the noise reduction that Sharp uses since it appears it was actually in the picture, but I didn't see it.

All in all, I'm more impressed than ever with the Sony Bravia.

Yoda1

11-20-05, 04:51 PM

The more I've seriously studied the current crop of LCDs, the more I'm convinced IMO, that the Bravia is simply the best. Before my return period was up, I decided to check out the Sharp 26" Aquos. No matter how carefully I adjusted the Sharp, the Sony displayed deeper blacks, better contrast ratio and superior colors. To be fair though, I went into the Sony service menu to optimize the colors and gray scale to my liking. I haven't done that with the Sharp.

However, the issues I'm seeing with the Sharp are not exclusively related to gray scale adjustments. Things like the contrast ratio and the ability to pull out detail and color CONSISTENTLY from scene to scene, is what sets the Sony apart. There is just a remarkable ability by the Sony to do this across the board, no matter what the picture content. On the Sharp, some scenes were fairly close, but many others diverged significantly. Only the Sony looked 'right' almost all of the time.

Keep in mind too, that for most of my viewing I was allowing the Sharp to use the HDMI input whereas the Sony was relegated to component! The Sony does better still when connected via HDMI (as do most displays). I tried briefly switching the inputs just to make sure there wasn't some weird behavior on the part of the Sharp via HDMI....there wasn't.

The one thing I did notice in the Sharp's defense, was slightly lower noise levels in dark scenes. This was most apparent at close viewing distances, but more difficult to detect at normal viewing distances. Interestingly, my Fujitsu plasma displayed the same noise that the Sony displayed. So I'm not sure if there was some negative by-product to the noise reduction that Sharp uses since it appears it was actually in the picture, but I didn't see it.

All in all, I'm more impressed than ever with the Sony Bravia.

This is probably going to be my next set. Just waiting for the price to come down.

lhamp

11-20-05, 06:07 PM

I thought I would start this so owners can compare settings and discuss any issues.
These are my settings for OTA. I have different ones for my DVD player if anyone is interested.

My current settings are: (I am going from memory so these might be out of order)

Backlight: 3
Picture: 95
Brightness: 65 (i have found that turning up the brightness and turning down the backlight gives more shadow detail)
Color: 48
Sharpness: 18
Tint: Neutral
Color Temp: Warm 1
Noise Reduction: Off

Advanced
Black Corrector: Low
Contrast Enhancer: Low
Gamma: Off
Clear White: Off - I recently changed this. I found that it added a blue tint to the whites
Live Color: low
Color Space: Wide

Dful... what are you watching with these settings? Hd cable, sat....dvd? I just tried them with my time warner cable box (scientific atlanta 8300) and they look completley washed out.

Anyone else have settings to share?

Thanks in advance.

lazerfan

11-20-05, 09:42 PM

I swapped my Samsung LN-R329D for a Sony KDL-V32XBR1 tv today. Best decision I've made in months. Out of the box it's in Vivid mode. I put that in Standard and turned the brightness down to 60 and the sharpness down to 20. Made a big difference viewing a dvd. Eliminated ringing and aliasing.
I love this set. The Samsung had a false contouring issue as well as clayface on Standard channels.
So far, no false contouring on the Sony during the same scenes that were loaded with it on the Samsung.
HD cable looks great. Standard analog cable is grainy alright but not blocky or pixelated. Just grainy and noisy. Digital channels look good, HD channels are superb.
I find the black level better than the Samsung already and I haven't even scratched the surface of the settings!

Joejetcool

11-21-05, 12:54 AM

Yoda1

11-21-05, 11:13 AM

Before I purchased the V40XBR I had purchased a 34xbr960 top of the line CRT and evaluated it at my home for 3 weeks...I was disappointed being as I have 6 Sont CRT tv's in various sizes and it did not look and give me the WOW factor I was looking for in a HD set. That was my first realization to look at the plama sets and also the lcd sets that were available. The sony stood above the crowd IMO.

Well, I'd hope so, seeing that you can buy 2 XBR 960's for the price of one 40" Bravia XBR.

Anyways, I had to return my HP 42PL00N plasma this morning due to the persistence of odd, yellow flashes. I have now resumed my search for a new HDTV (will it never end?) and I think I've limited my search to these two sets.

I've seen a host of material on the Bravia and thought it looked pretty great in-store. I know many people have warned that the set doesn't handle dark areas and shadow detail very well, and that's a major concern to me, but I was pretty satisfied with what I saw at CC. Now, this might not be the case once I get this thing home and set up in the proper enviornment, but Xbox 360 comes out tomorrow and it's time to get a new TV!

Decisions, decisions!

sfhub

11-21-05, 11:17 AM

I know many people have warned that the set doesn't handle dark areas and shadow detail very well, and that's a major concern to me, but I was pretty satisfied with what I saw at CC.
It handles shadow detail fine at LCD black levels. It is just if you are coming from plasma and want to tune the black levels closer to plasma, the dark details go away. Some people are bothered by LCD black levels, some are not. IMO in daytime use, the dark levels are not an issue. Night time, some people are bothered, some are not.

lhamp

11-21-05, 05:26 PM

Here's a quirky thing that just happened: when I first set up my kdl-v32 i originally had the cable box outs set at 480i and 1080i... yesterday, I also set 720p... when I changed to a 720p broadcast, the sony showed the picture beautifully... I changed through the channels and everything worked perfectly, but at some point the screen froze up completely... half black, half white. This happened a few other times, but only when 720p is activated on the cable box. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

Ken Ross

11-21-05, 06:27 PM

I've seen a host of material on the Bravia and thought it looked pretty great in-store. I know many people have warned that the set doesn't handle dark areas and shadow detail very well, and that's a major concern to me, but I was pretty satisfied with what I saw at CC. Now, this might not be the case once I get this thing home and set up in the proper enviornment, but Xbox 360 comes out tomorrow and it's time to get a new TV!

Decisions, decisions!

Yoda, I'll say this, having tested almost all of the big name LCDs, I can honestly say the Bravia handles dark scenes better than any of them. Are they perfect? Certainly not, but if you're in the market for LCD, I don't think you can do better than the Bravia.

lazerfan

11-21-05, 07:57 PM

The Bravia XBR, for me, is the end of the LCD panel road. I started with a Digistar Walmart house brand(Prima clone). It was horrific. Bright back light, no contrast, you couldn't see what was going on half the time! Then I tried 3 Samsung models. The Samsung was much better, but had issues like clayface and false contouring. The autobrightness controlled the backlight, but it wasn't 100% satisfactory, really.
The Sony is a step up from the Samsung to be sure. The false contouring and clayface issues are gone. The only "artifact" that I see on the Sony that wasn't present on the Samsung is a slight digital grain.
Dvd's look great. Hi def looks great too. You do have to adjust the set to minimize the grain, if that is an artifact that bothers you. Right up close to the set you can see this slight grain. From a normal viewing distance it becomes basically imperceptable. I have the sharpness down to 20. May lower it some more. Also, I have the contrast down to about 60. I have to use my Digital Video Essentials disc this weekend to really calibrate it better. I do seem to be seeing a bit of a green push in the picture, which I hope to minimize.
I like the black level and find that there is more detail in dark scenes than I could see on the Samsung. Should be better after I adjust it properly.
One thing I had to do with the Samsung is ditch the Panny upconverting dvd player. I picked up the Sony DVP-NS70H, which seems better for LCD panels. No macroblocking enhance. There is a 'vertical shift' issue in the 720p and 1080i modes though. I am using it in the 480p mode via the HDMI output. That connection itself gives the image more clarity, albeit in a subtle manner.
What I've learned is every LCD panel has its good and bad points. It's definitely a tossup between the Samsung and this XBR for true hi-def programs. Super slight grain vs minimized false contouring!

Dominus

11-22-05, 09:49 AM

I have an old Toshiba DVD hooked up through component. From 6 feet it looks very nice but I thought I would get a more HD image. The DVD is outputting 480i. If I buy a new DVD player that outputs 720 or 1080i, will my DVD pic look a lot better? If so, any suggestions?

Thank you.

By all means it will look better. I have two DVD players, a Sony 777ES carousel where I store all of my DVDs which outputs 720p converted through my tuner and a cheap single play Momitsu which outputs 720p or 1080i and region-free which outputs a magificent picture for the price, around 2 Franklins. Now, it can be flaky but if you get a good one, it is very, very nice.

My .02

RomanM

11-22-05, 12:09 PM

Any info on when the 46" Bravia will be released in US? :confused:

Jim Hef

11-22-05, 04:06 PM

Just do a simple run through the better on-line resellers and you'll find it for a better price, however, you'll need to add shipping in there, and that Micro Center price may seem okay with that in consideration...if you live close enough to one of their stores. In our case, we need to factor in 6% sales tax, so that makes shipping seem reasonable!

Mr. Brownstone

11-23-05, 08:40 AM

algaray

11-23-05, 09:27 AM

I noticed the price change last Friday when Best Buy received a huge shipment. They were the first to receive the large shipment. The sales guy told me that I was lucky to be able to buy it at the original MSRP since the price was going up. I chose to walk away since I have it on order for much less. Once the supply catches up, they'll have to bring the price down.

Mr. Brownstone

11-23-05, 09:35 AM

Hmmmmmm . . . I understand and appreciate the free market, so I'm OK with price changes relative to supply and demand, but are you suggesting that Sony has actually raised the MSRP? (If so, that would be weird.) Or is Best Buy charging a seasonal premium? (Less weird, maybe.)

I don't intend to buy one until after New Year's, but if I can't get it at the original MSRP (at most), then no deal.

mmatusky

11-23-05, 09:37 AM

I was in Best Buy yesterday to pick up a few gift CDs, and, as usual, I browsed by the TVs, and I noticed that the price for the 40XBR1 is now $$$$ -- $300 above list! What do you make of this? TV prices are supposed to go down, not up!

This TV is in short supply, I think, so do you think Best Buy is just seeing a short-term opportunity? Best Buy's obvious competitors -- Circuit City and Crutchfield -- still advertise the TV at MSRP, so I kinda wonder what's up. Anybody else notice this?

Yeah, that BB price increase on the 40XBR1 also caught my eye on Sunday when I was visiting one of their stores. The BB web site also shows the increase. I have no idea why BB -- and apparently only BB -- did this. (The BB 32XBR1 and the 26XBR1 prices remain the same, though.) But at least it made my 40XBR1 purchase a few weeks ago at a GoodGuys' going-out-of-business sale seem all the better.

I'm curious to see how soon it will be before BB puts their price back to at least the MSRP.

Mr. Brownstone

11-23-05, 09:49 AM

I have no idea why BB -- and apparently only BB -- did this . . . I'm curious to see how soon it will be before BB puts their price back to at least the MSRP.It struck me the same way. I looked at various web sites -- Circuit City, Crutchfield, Tweeter, SonyStyle itself -- and they all show the original MSRP . . . except for Best Buy.

For the moment, I'm sticking with my speculative theory that Best Buy procured a large order and has units for immediate delivery whereas its competitors do not. I've heard of certain cars being sold at above-list premiums, but I've never noticed it with consumer electronics, and I've always owned some relatively high end stuff. Interesting.

mmatusky

11-23-05, 09:49 AM

For the record, the SonyStyle web site still lists the MSRP for the 40XBR1 as $3499. But, of course, this web site never even acknowledged the existence of the 40XBR1 until well after it was shipping. So I guess that an official MSRP increase could have happened as per that comment by the BB salesman.

Blackraven

11-23-05, 10:32 AM

I only saw this in the local newspaper 2 weeks ago.........

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/blackcyborg009/DSC00664.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/blackcyborg009/DSC00665.jpg

OH HELL YES!!!

After 3 months of waiting, it finally arrived in my country.

They all look stunning indeed..............

HOWEVER, there was one particular model that really caught my attention and this was the top-of-the-line model shown in the newspaper:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/blackcyborg009/DSC00670.jpg

Ever since then, I was totally amazed by its sleek and sophisticated design and also by its features (the Wide Color Gamut-CCFL and stuff).

Also, I can say that with the kind of price tag it has, it would automatically blow the Sharp 45' Aquos, the Philips Pixel Plus 2 LCD with the ambi light and the Panasonic Viera OUT OF THE WATER (in terms of unit price).

Perhaps what I wanna ask is this:

What do you guys think about this model (the one shown above)???

I'm persuading my Dad to buy this for Christmas but I want to be assured if buying this would be a great choice.

In other words, would this be a great choice???

N.B. Forrest

11-23-05, 02:32 PM

It struck me the same way. I looked at various web sites -- Circuit City, Crutchfield, Tweeter, SonyStyle itself -- and they all show the original MSRP . . . except for Best Buy.

For the moment, I'm sticking with my speculative theory that Best Buy procured a large order and has units for immediate delivery whereas its competitors do not. I've heard of certain cars being sold at above-list premiums, but I've never noticed it with consumer electronics, and I've always owned some relatively high end stuff. Interesting.

I believe you are correct. I have been working on a deal to get a new 40" at a discounted price & have seen the excessive price listed in Best Buy computers. The only rational explanation is the one you posed. The BB employees that I spoke with could not understand the increase, either. If they want to buy the 40" model they must pay the exaggerated price as well, even though they can get the normal discounted price for the 32" model - go figure.

One word of hope that I heard: check back with BB on Friday; the price could very well change.

Ken Ross

11-23-05, 04:18 PM

Blackraven, everytime I've seen the 40" Bravia, I've been VERY impressed. It's really a superb LCD and better IMO than other LCDs around that screen size.

euckersw

11-26-05, 12:19 PM

I'm curious as to why this thread is so small? For a lot of other televisions the threads are over 100 pages long, yet the Bravia thread is only 4 pages long. Is this TV just not very popular? Do people in general not like LCD TVs? Is the price too much? Just wondering...

joelr2000

11-26-05, 06:10 PM

Hi,
I posted early but it was pulled ...i think because of price discussion...so i apologize for that. I too don't understand the increase at BB as most of these places have price matching, so you won't have to pay that overprice if that's where you wanted to get the tv.
I did pick up the 40" Bravia and love it! I owe a great thanks to members in this thread who posted thier setting. When i got it home and hooked it up ...i was sooooo sad!!! The SD looked horrible....live action dvd's as well. The only thing that looked good was animated dvd films. I was ready to take it back, then i checked out this thread and calibrated everything as listed here. Now it kicks butt. The SD looks almost as good as my old CRT...in some cases better. DVD's ..all of 'em are amazing, and the few HD channels i currently have are stunning. So thanks for the tips! This set won me over when i saw it in the showrooms and i'm really happy with it now.

darkalley

11-26-05, 07:28 PM

Can I post price here?? I bought the TV from Best Buy on Black Friday and got a significant discount off MSRP.

Woodrow

11-26-05, 07:52 PM

Can I post price here?? I bought the TV from Best Buy on Black Friday and got a significant discount off MSRP.
It's against forum rules, and it is greatly appreciated if you do not do it.:)

Ralph P

11-26-05, 08:11 PM

Please PM me the price.
Thanks
RP

cheridave

11-26-05, 09:56 PM

MODS NOTE:

This is the last friendly reminder about not posting prices, talking about sales, discounts, coupons, etc.

Thread will be closed without further notice.

Thanks.

Dave

Yoda1

11-26-05, 10:11 PM

pconte

11-27-05, 12:30 AM

This may sound a bit odd for someone posting in this forum, but personally, I'd just as soon not have a TV in the house. :) (I've sent all my siblings a copy of "Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television" by Gerry Mander.)

But my wife wanted to get one for a small "TV room" we've just fixed up, and it gets the TV out of our bedroom, so I dived into the project. We needed LCD because we needed as minimal depth as possible. HD seemed like a smart move since that's where the industry is headed.

We don't have cable or a "home theater" and OTA and DVD are the sources we watch.

I'm both a critical and skeptical consumer, but I also would rather pay more for a good quality product than save a few bucks and be unhappy with the result.

With all that background in mind ...

I just purchased a KDL-V26XBR1 with Sony DVP-NS70H and Terek HDTVi from CC. Monster Cable HDMI between the DVD player and LCD.

Eugene has limited stores at which we could view TVs, and the CC here has a miserable feed and not very knowledgeable staff. So it was a bit of a "leap of faith" after viewing a variety of competitive models at CC and other places and reading posts here and in other forums.

I've done some basic adjustments -- obviously not using the absurd "vivid" picture setting, etc. (What an insult to consumers!) Will do more once I get the DVE DVD. I'll post once I've settled on our preferences.

This is obvious, but bears repeating for other "newbies", like me -- Adjustments, source material, and antenna reception are critical. Without a few basic setup changes, and with the antenna not properly positioned, the images were subpar, regardless of the source.

However, once I got things setup decently and watched some great HD content from PBS -- Holy Cow! So this is what the HDTV excitement is all about?!

Given that the competitive models I viewed suffered from the same lame B&M environment that the Sony did, I can't say it's better than other alternatives. But on the HDTV material it was really fine. Very nice detail, even in dark images. Beautiful, natural looking color. Handled motion well.

I can say at this point, the XBR does does meet my threshold for HD viewing, and I'm satisfied with the choice.

OTOH ... I'll work on adjustments some more, but for now I would hardly recommend the expense for what you see with SD broadcasts. (But I guess that's not the point of buying an HD TV, is it?)

My verdict's out on DVDs at this point. The couple of movies we've watched look good, but nowhere near the impact of the PBS (true) HDTV content.

Verdict is also still out on the Terek HDTVi antenna. The small base is definitely a nuisance; and, being a directional antenna, it's a hassle to move it around for different stations. But we may narrow our "favorite" channels down enough that we can get the antenna set and forget about it. It does seem to receive well when pointed at a mid-distance source.

BTW, I don't know who cooked up the "viewing distance" tables I've seen, but we are exactly 7' from the 26" screen, and (contrary to what I've read) that is just barely far enough away for pleasant viewing. I think 8' is a more reasonable minimum for a 26" screen and a 23" screen might have been a better size for our room. The clarity, motion, etc. is fine. It's just that a full 26" screen with an active image seems to me to be at the limits of the width where you can maintain focus without lots of eye movement. (But keep in mind, I'm a person who prefers reading a book.)

-- Paul

mirage47

11-27-05, 10:00 AM

Need some help.

Just got the 40" from Fry's Electronics yesterday and need some suggestions on hook up. Last one in stock, fresh in the box. Called neighbor with SUV he was there in minutes.

I have a Bose 321 Series II system that I currently run everything through, meaning from Comcast stb to Bose then to TV. Looking for the optimum set up with these three units. Then the routing for the Bose DVD function to the TV.

Any suggestions? Thanks....

By the by, I paid less than retail. PM me for the price.

thirdkind

11-27-05, 10:56 AM

I picked up the 40" Bravia at P.C. Richard's in Ledgewood, NJ last night. Well, I didn't really pick one up since it's out of stock, but new stock is expected to arrive in a couple weeks and I couldn't pass up the price.

After reading the posts here and playing with the set's adjustments in CC, I was convinced that this LCD was something special compared to the rest. Still, that's in-store with a mediocre feed, so it's not a certainty by any means. I got the manager at PCR to offer the same return policy as CC (not their official policy, but I got it in writing), so I felt a lot better about the leap of faith I was taking. They said it could be up to a month before it arrives, but it was worth the short wait for the discount.

I'll post back here once I have it in my hands and have calibrated it properly.

smantle

11-27-05, 01:01 PM

I purchased the KDL-V40XBR1 last week. I also am a DirecTV subscriber using the HR10-250 integrated TIVO HD DVR/receiver. Also have Cox cable. Thus far the HD picture from DirecTV is great. I'm really pleased with what I'm seeing. However, the non HD picture leaves a lot to be desired regarding clarity. I had a better picture on my old Hitachi 55" rear projection set.

But, strangely enough the picture I get from Cox cable, no setup box, just direct cable input, is outstanding. It's as good if not better than my old Hitachi DirecTV reception. I'm also able to receive some HD programming somehow from Cox cable that the Sony "magically" was able to decode. This picture is also outstanding.

One issue I did notice regardless of the service provider, HD or non, is that the dark scenes are almost too dark & some tweaking is necessary depending upon which channel I am viewing.

Are these issues "normal" for an HDTV?

Thanks

oprange

11-27-05, 04:27 PM

Hello all.

I am a new member ... and very happy about this great thread.
I just picked up my KDL-V40XBR1 yesterday.

Here is something odd (or maybe it's not odd, but it's my first HD LCD):
When playing back a DVD (Denon DVD-1920, HDMI output set to 720p), there ar two thin (about 1.5 pixel lines) and relatively faint black horizontal lines -one just below upper black bar and one just above the lower black bar.
This happens with all tested DVDs, and also when using the component input.

Any suggestions?

Also the picture settings suggested earlier in this thread makes my picture look quite green. Has anyone else calibrated settings using Avia or DVE software?

THANK YOU!!

Kristopher79

11-27-05, 08:52 PM

Hello to all.

Basically I want to know if the 40" is every bit of what the 32" is. I saw the 32xbr1 bravia in Sears yesterday and it literally blew me away with its PQ. So does the 40xbr1 have the same razor sharp image after an avia-tweaked caliber?

I will be looking at this display rather close (3-5 feet) when I do gaming so if I need to sit back from the 40" and lose the details, I'm going with the 32".

Thank you.

Clarkspark

11-27-05, 11:09 PM

Heh lots of first timers here...(Including me!) :p

Hey all! Been reading these forums for a bit and decided to finally post...I recently bought my KDLV40xbr1 and 'WoW' is right!

First the bad: There is some noise in the picture alot more noticeable than the 32 with my 40'. But..once you factor in distance its almost non-existant. You should at least be 7-8 feet away for this size. I am literaly 4-5 ft away lol which is very close for that size imo. I already know it looks beautiful with HD but my main concern was Dvds and games. After going through half my library of dvds within a week of vigorous testing, I believe I have it at the best setting possible (barring ISF). I'm using a Sony NS3100ES upconvert dvd player (not necesarily the best) with AudioQuest HDMI-3. The only time I see artifacting is in the darks, mostly background. So for instance, Batman Begins, when Bruce Wayne is in the prison about 15mins into the movie, there is noticeable artifacts in the picture. I will admit though that throughout the movie I saw it less and less. Also if you turn on the noise filter to its highest setting it tends to shadow sometimes so I always keep it at medium-low for better performance.

Also keep in mind that its an LCD so automatically the blacks are not gonna be the best. For that get plasma...the new pioneer do an excellent job on it. To bad it was above my price point.

Now the good: Everything! The amount of tweaks are pretty decent and managed to get it to a very comfortable level. Scenes that are in the day look very vivid! Old movie transfers to dvd are pretty grainy for instance, The Matrix, every scene almost seemed too grainy but when switched to The Matrix: Reloaded, it almost seemed night and day difference. You will notice a more softer look with movies(dvds), a more film-like look if you will. I turned down the sharpness all the way down for this (Less artifacting). I've played Xbox games and PS2 games on it and Xbox definitely does a better job with alot less jaggies.
Motion-blur was almost non-existant when playing FPS games. Lately been playing the new Castlevania(Xbox) and Soulcaliber 3(PS2) I can only imagine how good it will look with the next-gen systems. A few movies that blew my mind were LOTR(1-3) they looked very theatrical. Office Space seemed larger than life (Um yeah) and Star Wars episode 3 looked sweet! (words can't describe?)

Another thing was my PC. It self adjusts for the screens resolution which is 1360x768. My drawing look awesome on here. I can see every detail!

In all this, this is an amazing TV and I'm glad I bought. Speakers sound very sharp and clear but I mostly use my Bose system anyways. It has a very beautiful design to boot.

The reason I decided on this one was because it gonna be my main center piece for everything. HDTV, DVDs, Games, PC etc. I was too afraid of plasma burn-in and major heating issues. There are times my TV is on almost 12hrs straight (on weekends) because I use it from watching TV to working on the PC with it. Plasma also tends to consume MORE power. I believe the ratio is almost 3 times that of LCD? And between that and my PC it would make my room feel like a sauna(sp?)

Anywho, thanks for listening! :cool:

thirdkind

11-27-05, 11:21 PM

When playing back a DVD (Denon DVD-1920, HDMI output set to 720p), there ar two thin (about 1.5 pixel lines) and relatively faint black horizontal lines -one just below upper black bar and one just above the lower black bar.
This happens with all tested DVDs, and also when using the component input.

DVDs with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio often exhibit a bit of ringing at the edge of the image adjacent to the letterbox bars. This artifact can be a byproduct of MPEG encoding and edge enhancement (possibly in the transfer itself and any enhancement added by the display's sharpness setting). I never noticed this on CRTs, but fixed pixel digital displays seem to lay everything bare.

Make sure you've set the sharpness level properly using a calibration DVD to minimize any artifacts caused by the display's processing.

tksuther

11-28-05, 09:24 AM

Help with "blacks" please......... I'm new to this forum and I've owned a 40" Bravia for almost 2 months (HDMI video connection and optical audio with surround sound). I originally bought a Samsung 46" DLP and returned it due to poor off-axis viewing and "computer-like" behavior. Then I tried a Samsung 42" plasma and returned it due to bad reflections off the glass and the perception of "watercolors" in many scenes, usually bright ones. Personally I think the Sony LCD is superior overall but I've read a lot about "blacks" and that LCDs typically perform poorly in this area. I can't remember how blacks performed with the DLP or plasma, only that in just about any case (sports, movies, bright room, dark room, bright scenes, dark scenes, etc.) I considered the LCD the best picture - never really thinking about "blacks". I've realized I don't understand what it means when I read about poor "blacks" performance. Is it as simple as dark scenes being (considered) too dark? Is there technical information about this subject somewhere to be found online? Thanks!

Mr. Brownstone

11-28-05, 10:23 AM

I considered the LCD the best picture - never really thinking about "blacks". I've realized I don't understand what it means when I read about poor "blacks" performance. Is it as simple as dark scenes being (considered) too dark? Is there technical information about this subject somewhere to be found online? Thanks!Actually, since LCDs use a backlight and some light tends to get through at most settings, the general feeling is that dark scenes on LCD aren't dark enough. And if you adjust the display for "deep blacks," you lose gradients of dark gray. The importance of this is really up to your eyes -- it's most significant in movies with dark scenes -- but it's a fair statement that plasmas deliver better blacks.

On the other hand, I've compared the Sony 40XBR1 to the Panasonic TH-42PX500 plasma, and I think that the Sony's picture quality is otherwise slightly better. (But don't get me wrong here . . . the Panasonic is a fine display.) I think black level is important, but I think its significance is disproportionately represented unless your viewing habits are dominated by watching dark scenes in a dark setting. With LCD, I think the potential for motion blur and poor off-angle picture quality are far more significant, but the latest Sonys and Sharps seem very good in those respects.

tksuther

11-28-05, 11:59 AM

Actually, since LCDs use a backlight and some light tends to get through at most settings, the general feeling is that dark scenes on LCD aren't dark enough. And if you adjust the display for "deep blacks," you lose gradients of dark gray. The importance of this is really up to your eyes -- it's most significant in movies with dark scenes -- but it's a fair statement that plasmas deliver better blacks.

On the other hand, I've compared the Sony 40XBR1 to the Panasonic TH-42PX500 plasma, and I think that the Sony's picture quality is otherwise slightly better. (But don't get me wrong here . . . the Panasonic is a fine display.) I think black level is important, but I think its significance is disproportionately represented unless your viewing habits are dominated by watching dark scenes in a dark setting. With LCD, I think the potential for motion blur and poor off-angle picture quality are far more significant, but the latest Sonys and Sharps seem very good in those respects.

Thanks for the information - it helps a lot. This leads to another question - how do I adjust for "deep blacks"? In other words, what setting typically affects the black level? I have played with the custom settings and don't recall anything referred to as far as adjusting black level. By the way, I believe you're right in the latest LCD technologhy in that off-axis and motion blur are not an issue on my set. Thanks again.

oprange

11-28-05, 12:11 PM

DVDs with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio often exhibit a bit of ringing at the edge of the image adjacent to the letterbox bars. This artifact can be a byproduct of MPEG encoding and edge enhancement (possibly in the transfer itself and any enhancement added by the display's sharpness setting). I never noticed this on CRTs, but fixed pixel digital displays seem to lay everything bare.

Make sure you've set the sharpness level properly using a calibration DVD to minimize any artifacts caused by the display's processing.

Thanks for your help, Thirdkind.
I will get the AVIA calibration software soon. Reducing the sharpness has already taken care of some of it.

Would you mind sharing your image settings with us?

Thanks again.

N.B. Forrest

11-28-05, 06:05 PM

I recently got a deal on a new KDL-V40XBR1 and will take delivery tomorrow. Does anyone know of a b&m store where I can buy the DVE disc for calibration?

DFul4d

11-28-05, 06:09 PM

I hooked up my pc to the KDL-V40XBR1 and set the resolution to 1360x768. It leaves about 4 rows of pixels black on both sides, but its hardly noticeable. I sit about 5 feet away. Its an awesome huge monitor. The text is perfectly clear. I also just hooked to set up to the coax from the wall. The set found al lot of channels, the majority of the digital tier and even the HD locals, and I only have cable internet, no tv service. I am loving this tv more every day.

algaray

11-28-05, 07:37 PM

Fry's Electronics carries DVE. I also read that someone found a copy at Borders.

Mr. Brownstone

11-29-05, 08:08 AM

HEY MOD: I'm about to talk about prices again, but it's an analysis of the see-saw retail market, which is a valid topic, so relax.

Several people here noticed that, last week, Best Buy raised the price on the KDL-V40XBR1 to $300 above list. This struck me as interesting, and I speculated that the TV was in short supply, but perhaps Best Buy had secured a large shipment, hence the price premium. It's their business if they think they've cornered the market.

But now, if you visit Circuit City's web site, the 40XBR1 is on sale for $$$ under list -- that's a $$$ difference between the two big-box retailers, and the stores are usually right down the road from one another. Fascinating. What does one make of this?

EDIT>>

Since you were so specific about where the ##"s could be found, the numbers were a pricing violation.

No price or discount talk. Thanks

Tom Koegel

11-29-05, 10:10 AM

I got PMed asking for more on my experience with the Bravia and CableCard (in my case, from Comcast). Since this may be of general interest, I reprint it here.

Before I do so, I would love to see more information from posters about settings on the Bravia. Those settings posted here have all been too bright/washed out for my tastes. And I find calibrating black and white levels on the LCD panel to be frustrating, as one has added variables such as backlighting and Sony's "enhanced black" advanced settings to contend with. What is the "right" way to do this with DVE or Avia? As a longtime owner of VE, I was very disappointed upon acquiring DVE gave NO extra help for calibrations of flat panel devices. Maybe Joe Kane doesn't think such devices are worth owning, I don't know. I remember back in the pre-HDTV era he was quoted saying that he wouldn't own a tube TV larger than 20 inches because of the limitations of NTSC technology . . . . :rolleyes:

On to CableCard:

The Bravia works just fine with the CableCard. The set actually had some limited functionality via the onboard digital cable tuner even without the card, although some channels could not be accessed and the high def channels were on very odd channel numbers (things like 175.3)

The only downside of the CableCard seems to be that it does not allow the Bravia to access the electronic program guide information properly. IIRC (I'm at work now), it is picking up the guide information for the analog channels but not for the HDTV channels. It knows that, for example, 723 on my system is ESPN. But it can't tell you what the program is on that channel.

One nice upside of the CableCard (as opposed to a box) is that the set automatically gets the native resolution of the broadcast whether that is 720p (ESPN, ABC, Fox) or 1080i (CBS). A cable box will make you pick one output frequency. Now, I can't honestly say that I've noticed the difference . . . but I feel better about it.

My provider is Comcast in the Marin County area, north of San Francisco.

jgaffney

11-29-05, 02:02 PM

Newbie here. It took a while, but I finally got my 40" LCD from Magnolia. Persistent bugging on my part kept me up at the front of the waiting list. According to the store manager, they were getting them at the rate of 3 a week.

Surprisingly, Magnolia was pretty competitive in pricing. As of Oct 30, they matched Best Buy's price. Circuit City didn't even have one on the floor!

The LCD replaces a 27" JVC CRT that I've had for 4 years. The difference is amazing. I picked the 40" because it was the largest Sony LCD that I could fit in the cabinet. The first time I mentioned "armoire" and "cut" in the same sentence, my wife went ballistic.

I've ordered a copy of DVE and I'll run through the calibration routines.

I'm looking forward to NASCAR in HD.

N.B. Forrest

11-29-05, 03:31 PM

Fry's Electronics carries DVE. I also read that someone found a copy at Borders.

Thanks, algaray, for the response but I'm slightly confused. I went to Amazon after my earlier post and saw and ad for "DVE: Optimize Your Home Entertainment System (NTSC Component) (2001) for $24.95, less discount.
Then last night I went into Borders and saw on their computer "DVE - Home System Setup for NTSC" (July 2003) for $24.99.

Are these the same or, if not, which one do I want?

benalpers

11-29-05, 10:26 PM

lecco

11-29-05, 11:44 PM

[QUOTE=Mr. Brownstone]HEY MOD: I'm about to talk about prices again, but it's an analysis of the see-saw retail market, which is a valid topic, so relax.

Several people here noticed that, last week, Best Buy raised the price on the KDL-V40XBR1 to $300 above list. This struck me as interesting, and I speculated that the TV was in short supply, but perhaps Best Buy had secured a large shipment, hence the price premium. It's their business if they think they've cornered the market.

But now, if you visit Circuit City's web site, the 40XBR1 is on sale for $$$ under list -- that's a $$$ difference between the two big-box retailers, and the stores are usually right down the road from one another. Fascinating. What does one make of this?

yeah Best buy is retarded...who do they think they are? What you could do though is ask for a price-match. But given the choice I would find a reputable online dealer to avoid the tax.

algaray

11-30-05, 12:18 AM

You are correct DVE is confusing. I have the DVE for NTSC 2003 version which is the latest version. I could not find a DVE version for HDTV unless you are supposed to pay 10 times as much for the DVE Professional version... Makes no sense. Here is the publisher's website:
http://www.videoessentials.com

When I used DVE, it was helpful to have a friend provide another set of eyes. I was lucky to find someone who had used the tool before, made navigating through the maze of menus much easier. They really make calibration way more complicated than it should be.

DVE will provide a good baseline. Hopefully, you can compare your settings to others once more people start listing their settings. (Hint, hint people! I'm hoping mine arrives next week). After 100 hours of use, you can spend the money for a ISF calibration... that will be the end-all for optimal settings and cost you as much as playoff tickets to NFL game.

Ken Ross

11-30-05, 06:24 AM

I'm helping my mom hook up her new KDL-V26XBR to a Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD DVR. She's in NYC, I'm in Oklahoma. Everything seemed to be hooked up, with the box connected to the TV with an HDMI cable. But the V26XBR has a message on it saying that it can't show TV, as it isn't HDCP compliant, so I should use the component video hookup.

But I don't want to use component. I want to use HDMI.

This can't be right, can it? The Sony XBR is HDCP compliant, isn't it? So why is it telling me otherwise? I'm stumped!

You are correct, the Sony IS HDCP compliant. I have the same model hooked up to a Directv HC10 receiver via the HDMI connection. I've also hooked the Sony up via a Sony HD200 receiver using the DVI connection (DVI-HDMI adapter). In both cases there was absolutely no problem. I would suggest you call the cable company as there may be a problem with the box or something on their end.

markrubin

11-30-05, 06:42 AM

I'm helping my mom hook up her new KDL-V26XBR to a Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD DVR. She's in NYC, I'm in Oklahoma. Everything seemed to be hooked up, with the box connected to the TV with an HDMI cable. But the V26XBR has a message on it saying that it can't show TV, as it isn't HDCP compliant, so I should use the component video hookup.

But I don't want to use component. I want to use HDMI.

This can't be right, can it? The Sony XBR is HDCP compliant, isn't it? So why is it telling me otherwise? I'm stumped!

some S/A 8300 boxes may not have the HDMI port active: you could ask this question on the HDTV Recorders forum Master thread for S/A: note the 8300 has 2 different types of software depending on your cable provider: SARA or Passport so the threads are divided up that way. Look at both threads and it will tell you how to determine what software you have

Saqs

11-30-05, 03:31 PM

BreakPoint

11-30-05, 05:49 PM

Hey all. Brand Newbie here.

I'm looking at the XBR401 and the Sammy LN-R409D. Anyone with experience with these please chime in with your experience.

Questions about the CableCard thing....

I already have digital cable via comcast via STB. Will I still need this if I go with the Sony? Do I NEED to upgrade to an HDTV STB? What are the bennies/negs of going without a box?

Thanks in advance for any and all help provided.

I have the 32" Sony XBR and I recommend it highly.

You can use a cable card in place of the box but you will loose the interactive channel guide, and video on demand (VOD). The cable company will probably charge the same (or maybe slightly less) for the card as for the box so there is no advantage in using the cable card. And some cable companies put on a stupid act when you ask for a cable card (and some TVs have compatability problems), so installing one is risky.

You will need an HDTV box to get HD over cable with all the HD channels. Your STB must have component or DVI or HDMI connections to view HD. If you don't want an HDTV STB then you should consider an antenna if your HDTV has a tuner. But this will only get you the over the air stations, ABC, NBC, FOX, etc. and only if you are close enough to the transmitter.

The Sony and Samsung have cable compatible tuners, so you can get some HD channels without any STB. Once again, you loose the channel guide and several HD channels such as Discovery HD, ESPN HD, etc. Just connect the cable directly into the back of the TV, no box needed. I used this when I first got my TV and was waiting for my STB to get installed. Worked great except for the missing channels (using Comcast, not sure about other systems).

You should get the HD PVR box if you can afford a slight extra monthly payment, $9 or so. It gives you record to disk options like a TIVO. It gets you Discovery HD and INHD channels (depending upon your cable provider) and any premium channels you sign up for. The dual tuner box alows you to record SD or HD on the disk while wathcing another program. The channel guide is important, in fact I will go so far as to say it is critically important, to set up future recordings.

N.B. Forrest

11-30-05, 05:53 PM

greenhill

12-01-05, 08:11 AM

I too am a happy owner of this 32" wonder..... this TV replaced a 27" Panasonic Panablack (component) CRT I've been watching for 5 years..... so i can truly say that i understand the limitations of Flat Panel TV's displaying BLACK..... However, for a LCD.... I think the Bravia does a really good job.... I am used to the change allready..... I am totally satisfied with this purchace... I am using a Yamaha dvd-s657 progressive player via Acoustic Research PROII series Component Cables, and honestly, I am having a hard time telling the difference between turning ON/OFF the progressive scan during movies...... for now I am leaving it ON.... all the video settings of the Yamaha are at factory settings....exept the "black corrector" which you are suppose to turn ON for NTSC set ups.....

ok, on to my settings... I decided to go with DVE, (as opposed to Avia) for 2 reasons.... one, it is newer 2003, (vs. 1999 avia) and two, it's considerable less expensive..... this is important, i think, only because there has to be a Better Calibrating Disk that is coming soon specifically for LCD's....(i hope anyway) I read somewhere that Avia has a new one for 2006.... anyway using the DVE calibrating disk, I did my calibrations at night with NO ambient light. (typically when I watch movies.)

***!!! I've also moved these settings to the "SETTINGS ONLY THREAD" !!!*** http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=618544
Backlight 2
Picture Max
Brightness 32
*Color 50 ("Color Space" to Wide) ***see note below.
Hue G3
Color Temp Neutral
Sharpness 20
Noise Reduction OFF
DRC HIGH
Palette (Factory Setting)

ADVANCED:
Black Correct OFF
Contrast Enhancement LOW
Gamma OFF
Clear White OFF
Live Color OFF
Color Space WIDE *** see note below.

***if any of you using DVE were having trouble with the Color using the "Clear Blue/Green/Red View finder thingy" try the Color at 50 and setting the Color Space to WIDE...... before I did this.... the Blue test was perfect, but the Red and Green were WAY OFF!!!! When I changed the Color Space to WIDE.... ALL THREE COLORS were spot on!!!
Again, these settings are for a dark room.... for normal TV viewing, I find that i adjust the Back light between 3-4.... Gaming with PS2 (back light around 4) I love the fact that this TV has independant video settings for each input!!! way to go Sony!!!
I didn't find much use for the Advanced settings with exception to the "Color Space" and "Contrast Enhancer" I fooled around with them but found that just leaving them OFF I could calibrate all the settings just fine..... I guess I feel that LESS video manipulation the BETTER....
I am curious to know if any of you have found the Avanced settings usefull...
hope this helps...
greenhill.

Saqs

12-01-05, 08:31 AM

oprange

12-01-05, 11:54 AM

rodaurora

12-01-05, 12:33 PM

I have the 32" Sony XBR and I recommend it highly.

You can use a cable card in place of the box but you will loose the interactive channel guide, and video on demand (VOD). The cable company will probably charge the same (or maybe slightly less) for the card as for the box so there is no advantage in using the cable card. And some cable companies put on a stupid act when you ask for a cable card (and some TVs have compatability problems), so installing one is risky.

You will need an HDTV box to get HD over cable with all the HD channels. Your STB must have component or DVI or HDMI connections to view HD. If you don't want an HDTV STB then you should consider an antenna if your HDTV has a tuner. But this will only get you the over the air stations, ABC, NBC, FOX, etc. and only if you are close enough to the transmitter.

The Sony and Samsung have cable compatible tuners, so you can get some HD channels without any STB. Once again, you loose the channel guide and several HD channels such as Discovery HD, ESPN HD, etc. Just connect the cable directly into the back of the TV, no box needed. I used this when I first got my TV and was waiting for my STB to get installed. Worked great except for the missing channels (using Comcast, not sure about other systems).

You should get the HD PVR box if you can afford a slight extra monthly payment, $9 or so. It gives you record to disk options like a TIVO. It gets you Discovery HD and INHD channels (depending upon your cable provider) and any premium channels you sign up for. The dual tuner box alows you to record SD or HD on the disk while wathcing another program. The channel guide is important, in fact I will go so far as to say it is critically important, to set up future recordings.

Hi,

I was under the impression that the Cable Card (CC) DOES receive ALL the channels, including HDs (and any premiums you pay extra for). Please confirm whether this is true.

Comcast in the D.C. area told me they do not charge extra for the CC, as compared to $8 extra for the non-DVR HD STB for a second TV. So, for my bedroom TV (32XBR1 - which I've yet to get), since I have a main Comcast setup with HD DVR in my living room, I should get all the channels I want. I'm not sure why Comcast would not charge for the CC. What's in it for them? Please also confirm if this is true.

Comcast says they're currently out of CCs (of course!), and is back-ordered (date TBD). Not sure if I believe them, since it seems they'd much rather you buy their STB for extra/month, + all the extras in PPV!

Regards, Rod

sfhub

12-01-05, 12:58 PM

Hello -- I have two questions to ask all of you who have a 40" XBR LCD

I wonder if anyone had made measurements fo the eveness of the backlicht illumination. Without an input signal, I can clearly see brighter backlicht coming through at the left and right edges of the picture (close to the frame).
Has anyone noticed the same?

Secondly, when watching HD channels (not so much DVDs) there is some motion jitter that looks like digital noise in fast moving seens (sweeping camera etc.). It seems to take a fraction of a second until the picture "assembles itself" again after. Has anyone noticed the same? Could it be due to limited bandwith (poor signal) from the didgital cable? Or is it something that has to do with the "refreshrate" of the LCDs?
Don't know if it is any help, but I noticed the uneven backlight just the way you describe on the 32" Bravia S. Doesn't really affect usage though as it isn't obvious when a movie is being displayed. I think I can notice it a little for windows desktop, but I might have just gotten used to it.

sfhub

12-01-05, 12:59 PM

I was under the impression that the Cable Card (CC) DOES receive ALL the channels, including HDs (and any premiums you pay extra for). Please confirm whether this is true.
When properly configured, CC will receive all channels that you are authorized to received, whether that be SD or HD.

electricversion

12-01-05, 08:56 PM

oprange

12-02-05, 08:15 AM

thirdkind

12-02-05, 09:17 AM

I think I may be going crazy. I own the 40" Bravia, and the picture I'm getting from my five-year old Sony 480i DVD player is noticeably better than what I'm getting from the Denon 1910 upscaling player set to output at 720p. The banding and poor shadow detail is noticeable on the Denon, whereas the Sony has better color saturation, and the picture looks much more natural.

The 1910 has a DVI output, not HDMI, correct?

Devices that only output a digital signal via DVI typically send it in RGB format, which must be derived from the original component signal. In the conversion to RGB, some color information is lost. I've seen frequent complaints of less saturated colors when using DVI.

HDMI natively supports the component colorspace, so a device that sends its output via HDMI in the component colorspace to a device that supports such a signal should have the same color quality as component analog but with the benefits of a digital connection.

I have an older Toshiba (SD9200) that has a flaky progressive output but very clean 480i output. Before I buy another DVD player or build an HTPC, I'm going to try out my Toshiba and see how it looks on the 40" XBR with 480i over component.

Anybody happen to know if any of the new Sony LCDs accept 480i in the component colorspace via HDMI? There are a couple DVD players that actually send such a signal. It would be interesting to compare their internal deinterlacing to Sony's.

rorkin

12-02-05, 10:28 AM

When pressing the guide function on the 40" I get a drop down of the first 5 channels or so... When I try to scroll down , the channels are tuned sequentially rather than a scroll.. This seems a very odd way to have a guide.. I could just as easily scroll through the channels.. Am I missing something ???

wilburpan

12-02-05, 12:19 PM

Since we're talking about DVD's, the other day I talked the people at the local Best Buy into hooking up a DVD to the 40" Bravia. This was a DVD from a Sony HT in a box all-in-one unit that was hooked up via component cables. My take was that the picture, though very good, had a bit of graininess to it that I hadn't seen with DVD's before.

Could this be due to not using HDMI, or the use of a HT-in-a-box DVD player instead of a standalone DVD player?

electricversion

12-02-05, 02:16 PM

The 1910 has a DVI output, not HDMI, correct?

Correct.

Devices that only output a digital signal via DVI typically send it in RGB format, which must be derived from the original component signal. In the conversion to RGB, some color information is lost. I've seen frequent complaints of less saturated colors when using DVI.

HDMI natively supports the component colorspace, so a device that sends its output via HDMI in the component colorspace to a device that supports such a signal should have the same color quality as component analog but with the benefits of a digital connection.

Wow, I didn't know that. I swear, no matter what adjustments I made on the Denon and on the TV for the HDMI input, I couldn't get it to look good. Looks like I'll be in the market for an upscaling player with HDMI output soon. Any suggestions?

dugange

12-03-05, 09:39 AM

Ken Ross

12-03-05, 09:55 AM

I've found the new Sony XBRs to have the best picture within their class. However, why not just view these sets side by side (pretty easy to do in many retailers) and see for yourself. Many retailers will even give you the remotes so that you can adjust the picture on each. With the Sony you don't really even need the remote, the buttons are on the side. Only you can decide what's 'really' best.

sfhub

12-03-05, 10:18 AM

Quick query: I still have 20 days left to return/exchange machines, anyone have an opinion on these two HDTVs: Sony 32” KDL-V32XBR1 LCD vs. Sharp LC-32D7U 32" LCD. Please, someone, help me put this to bed so I can start enjoying my purchase, rather than obsess over it.

Well, most important is how the display looks to you and what features *you* need.

In my experience with the Bravia S (which is not the XBR, but to my eyes shares the same HD picture quality) the picture processing is slightly better in the area of color processing. I used to think the PQ looked moderately better, but in my testing it appears Sony (at least on this model) is using edge enhancement to give the picture more pop. When I turn up the "Sharpness" on the Sharp to 10 on the simple and advanced menus, the picture on the Sharp is about 85-90% of the way there to being the same as Sony. The color processing is still slightly better on the Sony. It appears the shadow detail is slightly better and the brightness seems to be expanded a little to give a more 3d look. However, like I said, I think 85-90% of the effect was from the Sharpness setting and edge enhancement. This revelation came to me because when I looked close at the picture on the Sony I could see ringing around the objects and when I changed the Sony to the "Pro" setting, the picture looked flatter. I wrote up my experience here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=611741

Anyway, besides that, I think the Sharp has better connectivity because it has the DVI-I port which can be used as VGA analog or DVI-D digital for connecting your PC.

Sharp has the TV Guide On Screen, which is a positive or negative depending on whether you like the way it works.

They are both pretty decent TVs. Since you have them side-by-side, I think you are the best judge of what works for you.

Hammr

12-03-05, 11:38 AM

"I've found the new Sony XBRs to have the best picture within their class"

I'll second that.

Hammr :D

dugange

12-03-05, 01:20 PM

Sharp AQUOS LC-32D6U 32" LCD TV what do you guys (and gals) think?

BARK

12-03-05, 10:43 PM

Hello -- I have two questions to ask all of you who have a 40" XBR LCD

I wonder if anyone had made measurements fo the eveness of the backlicht illumination. Without an input signal, I can clearly see brighter backlicht coming through at the left and right edges of the picture (close to the frame).
Has anyone noticed the same?

Secondly, when watching HD channels (not so much DVDs) there is some motion jitter that looks like digital noise in fast moving seens (sweeping camera etc.). It seems to take a fraction of a second until the picture "assembles itself" again after. Has anyone noticed the same? Could it be due to limited bandwith (poor signal) from the didgital cable? Or is it something that has to do with the "refreshrate" of the LCDs?

Thanks!

Set my new 40" xbr up this mourning and was not all that impressed until I copyed some setups from this thread.... now the picture is excelent EXCEPT during sceens with a camera pan of any speed. During the camera pans the jitter is terrible, so bad I can't watch it sometimes. I'm so dissaponted by this it could be a deal breaker, the rest of the time this tv ROCKS. Strangle enuogh I get no motion blurr or jitters playing on the new 360, its a thing of beauity playing call of duty2, I love this tv and don't want to return it, please reply if you have any info regaurding this issue

thanks in advance I hope.

Supasso

12-04-05, 12:27 AM

Set my new 40" xbr up this mourning and was not all that impressed until I copyed some setups from this thread.... now the picture is excelent EXCEPT during sceens with a camera pan of any speed. During the camera pans the jitter is terrible, so bad I can't watch it sometimes. I'm so dissaponted by this it could be a deal breaker, the rest of the time this tv ROCKS. Strangle enuogh I get no motion blurr or jitters playing on the new 360, its a thing of beauity playing call of duty2, I love this tv and don't want to return it, please reply if you have any info regaurding this issue

thanks in advance I hope.
Have you tried changing the Cinemotion setting?

BARK

12-04-05, 11:26 AM

Have you tried changing the Cinemotion setting?

Thanks for the reply. I have not played with this setting yet thanks for the idea. watching tv this mourning and noticed that the jitter problem do's not occuer all the time, a pbs show with wide panning angles looked pretty good, so maybe theres hope and the jitters are a source problem not a flaw with the tv..... I will post more info as I go......

lazerfan

12-04-05, 01:35 PM

Jonny

12-04-05, 04:22 PM

I have a Sony XBR 32" Bravia set. Today was about the first time I saw bad side to side movement on HD PBS. I think it's the quality of the signal that is the culprit. I've watched a few HD movies I recorded on the DVR part of the HD reciever and never saw motion artifacts whatsoever.
But today, watching The History Detective, the picture came apart and recombined, during fast side to side pans. First time I saw that, so I wouldn't worry about the tv set being the culprit of this artifact.

Well I am on the Cablevision system and have an ED Zenith plasma and have noticed that PBS and WLNY HD both have very low quality (by HD standards) feeds. I notice some motion blur with fast moving scenes in their documentaries etc, so I wouldnt put that one on the Bravia quite yet.

BARK

12-04-05, 10:12 PM

I have a Sony XBR 32" Bravia set. Today was about the first time I saw bad side to side movement on HD PBS. I think it's the quality of the signal that is the culprit. I've watched a few HD movies I recorded on the DVR part of the HD reciever and never saw motion artifacts whatsoever.
But today, watching The History Detective, the picture came apart and recombined, during fast side to side pans. First time I saw that, so I wouldn't worry about the tv set being the culprit of this artifact.

Thanks for the replys! I watched many different channels today [comcast cable] and found very few solid hd feeds. To my major disapointment even football was hit and miss, cbs signal had major problems, motion blurr and jitter on fast movement[great game] the other channel, dallas ..... had a exellent picture just very slight blurr. I'm starting to wonder if the avalable programing is worth the cash outlay, considering the problems hd tv's have with even hd feeds!!!! hard to tell how your tv is performing when there are so many variables.

Ken Ross

12-05-05, 09:06 AM

Many of the PBS channels have numerous sub-channels that are all delegated some of the bandwidth that could be going to the one HD sub-channel. Obviously the more the sub-channels, the poorer the picture on the HD channel. Here in N.Y., I believe that our PBS channel has something like 4 subs. This results in pretty lousy HD quality.

In many cases the quality of our equipment is apparently far outstripping the sources. Too bad. :(

R11

12-05-05, 02:57 PM

In my experience with the Bravia S (which is not the XBR, but to my eyes shares the same HD picture quality) the picture processing is slightly better in the area of color processing. The S models are completely different panels. Different glass, backlights, etc. They have slower response time, lower contrast ratio, narrower color gamut, etc.

ron

sfhub

12-05-05, 03:55 PM

The S models are completely different panels. Different glass, backlights, etc. They have slower response time, lower contrast ratio, narrower color gamut, etc.
From my experience, there is a difference between how much better the XBR may sound in the literature vs how much difference that makes in the actual picture from the two displays. This is based on comparison of HD content on both displays. SD content might be a different story, I wasn't able to compare those.

epie

12-05-05, 04:27 PM

R11

12-05-05, 04:29 PM

From my experience, there is a difference between how much better the XBR may sound in the literature vs how much difference that makes in the actual picture from the two displays. This is based on comparison of HD content on both displays. SD content might be a different story, I wasn't able to compare those.My experience has been just the opposite. To my eyes there is a very clear and distinct improvement in the XBR panels over the S units, on HD sources. Particularly with respect to contrast, black levels and color reproduction.

ron

Shad0wz

12-05-05, 07:40 PM

Hello,

I am considering either the Panasonic 500u series or the 40" Bravia KDL-V40XBR1. Tough decision as the Bravia had more vivid colors IMO but the Panasonic was a little darker with the blacks. I am really leaning towards the Sony as those colors were amazing. I was wondering if anyone has hooked up the Sony with a cablecard through Comcast and can report on the success. I currently only have expanded basic analog cable so this will be a huge jump for me as I will be switching to digital cable. Any comments or thoughts would be appreciated for a newbie.

Thanks,
epie

I was lucky enough to have the panasonic side by side with the 40 inch bravia xbr and there was no comparison. The panasonic outshined it in every way. The panasonic clearly had much better blacks which made the pick look amazing, esp under low light conditions. With regards to high motion sequences, the bravia would show slight smearing / macroblocking where as the panasonic was completely smooth. I dont think its a fair comparison as one is an LCD and one is plasma. You will usually get a better more realistic pic from a plasma so its comparing apples to oranges. I would have only gone with the LCD if my primary viewing was done during the day under high light conditions, which is not the case for me.

Hammr

12-05-05, 09:18 PM

Shad0wz

12-05-05, 09:41 PM

Kristopher79

12-06-05, 08:56 PM

I think what Hammr is trying to say is that most all plasmas seem dull and/or faded compared to a typical LCD. The Pio plasma will definately be more lifelike, as it is more smooth. But I also agree with him in the fact that I would choose the Bravia LCD over a plasma anyday. Whether I look at it in the sunlight or darkness doesn't matter, side by side IMO there's a big difference in the brightness. It's that kinky brightness that the Bravia has that gives it vibrance. I simply haven't seen this kinda vibrance in any plasma including the Pios.

For example, I was at Tweeter and they had the 32" Bravia near the plasmas and the reds on the Bravia literally jumped out and smacked me in the face. It was a loop they were playing from the new film "Dreamer" starring Kurt Russell. The red robe wrapped around the horse was so unbelievable I thought to myself, now that's the first time I've seen red correctly on any display. Plasmas couldn't do it.

They're all clear as far as I'm concerned...nothing blurry. However, I feel like I'm wearing sunglasses when I look at plasmas. Then when I check the Bravia, off comes the sunglasses. This may be what he's talking about being more clear.

In the end like others have said it all boils down to what's best for you and your eyes only. I just didn't want Hammr to be murdered in this thread as I somewhat feel the same.

Mr. Brownstone

12-07-05, 08:23 AM

Hammr,

I gotta say, you have got to be one of the only person's on here that consistently think the Bravia LCD is better than plasma.He's not alone. I have looked at the Sony LCDs next to the Panasonic plasmas A LOT, and I like them both, and I'm going to use my TV for general-purpose viewing (which means in daylight, in the dark, for sports, for movies . . . otherwise known as the real world) and I'm going to buy the BRAVIA.

Jim Hef

12-07-05, 08:41 AM

...I feel like I'm wearing sunglasses when I look at plasmas. Then when I check the Bravia, off comes the sunglasses....
I too see the same thing in comparison. The endless loop running at CC had an extreme skiing scene, and the Bravia actually looked like snow as compared to grayed slush! But, are these sets calibrated for how we will watch them in our homes? Are the Bravias in a "torch" mode for them to be impressive by comparison within the stores? Judge the picture quality of the displays to a nearby CRT if you can, and see if that brightness and color pop is all together artificial!

lhamp

12-07-05, 09:20 AM

Hammr,

I gotta say, you have got to be one of the only person's on here that consistently think the Bravia LCD is better than plasma. I disagree on all your points, the plasma's to me at least look much more life like and not the least bit blurry. I dont know how you get "blurry" from a fixed pixel display. Anyhow, the only thing I will agree with you on is "Let your eyes be the judge"

Agreed.... I happen to own both the Sony (32) and the new Pioneer Elite (43), and, IMHO, there's no comparison... Not a day goes by when the Pioneer's PQ doesn't blow me away... it's an awesome panel. Don't get me wrong... I'm very high on the Sony (obviously, the two have extremely different looks since one is lcd and one is plasma), but my vote goes to the Pioneer, hands down.

Paulo Abreu

12-07-05, 12:32 PM

Hi all, I just registered and this is my first post!

I find this thread to be great - I have a lot to read and learn here but still I am posting since I would thank some advice on this:

I bought the Sony Bravia KLV-V40A10E - I believe it is the same as the US XBR1...

As I am in the process of deciding the purchase of a "medium level" DVD player with upsampling to HD (720p/1080i) to match my LCD, I've narrowed my choices to Sony DVP-NS92V and Panasonic DVD-S97 (Eisa 2005 award)... what one would you recommend? (I already bought the HDMI cable from "supra")

Btw, I have Xbox and am waiting for 360. About some remarks concerning LCD adjustments wich I find very interesting, I also modified the default "vivid" to personalized settings so that deep shadows could be better rendered... I don't remember for sure since I am at work now but I increased a bit the retro (to 8), modified luminousity and color... its better for me even for TV viewing...

I am using Xbox as my DVD player for now... will I notice a lot of increase in image quality when I plug one of the mentioned DVD players via the HDMI interface? I believe yes since Xbox isn't made primarly for DVD viewing...

Thanks for any feedback and excuse some of my basic questions but I am very new to HDTV technology (although I am 40 he he).

Regards from Portugal, Madeira Island
Paulo Abreu

Ken Ross

12-07-05, 02:01 PM

I too see the same thing in comparison. The endless loop running at CC had an extreme skiing scene, and the Bravia actually looked like snow as compared to grayed slush! But, are these sets calibrated for how we will watch them in our homes? Are the Bravias in a "torch" mode for them to be impressive by comparison within the stores? Judge the picture quality of the displays to a nearby CRT if you can, and see if that brightness and color pop is all together artificial!

Yes indeed Jim, the Bravias and ALL the LCDs are in torch mode. In fact, just go over to any Bravia and put it in a realistic mode ("Custom" to start) and THEN look at the picture. Gee, those whites are no longer 'sunglass white'! In fact, bring any ISF tech to your house after you buy a Bravia or ANY LCD and you'll see a resulting picture that looks FAR closer to a plasma in terms of brightness. The bottom line is that if you properly calibrate an LCD, it will no longer have that super-bright white look. If anyone has ever seen a super-expensive network studio monitor, you'll never ever see those super bright whites, because that is not a properly calibrated, professionally adjusted picture.

But each to his own. ;)

Hammr

12-07-05, 03:30 PM

Well, Bravia's do SHIP in vivid (torch mode),but,so do plasma panels.

My 36" Hi-scan Wega has been properly calibrated with AVIA,as well as my XBR(in CUSTOM mode). Sorry, but there is NO WAY my sony crt whites and colors are as remarkably bright and vivid as the XBR lcd. Not on it's best day.

It's the way lcd illuminates the screen, NOT because it's in torch mode... =)

For the record... when i was comparing the two panels the XBR was NOT in torch mode,i had checked to see where it was at,it was set on standard. Not sure how Pioneer was set.

Hammr

Jim12345

12-07-05, 03:45 PM

I've had the KDL-V40XBR1 for about two weeks. For me it had by far the best looking picture of any LCD. I also liked the size as it was a little larger then the 37" plasma I was considering but smaller then the 42" which was too big for me. I know there is strong feelings on LCD vs. plasma but for me it's just personal preference. LCDs in general were more pleasing to my eyes and I liked that I could be less concerned with burn in.

Being new to the HD/Widescreen world it was a bit of learning experience to get it setup but all appears to be working well. I picked up a motorola 6412 HD cable box/DVR from Comcast the day I got the TV and have it connected via HDMI to the XBR. The box is putting out 1080i. I've not tried changing it yet to 720p to see if there is a difference. I could not get Comcast to give me a cable card in addition to the box so I don't have any experience yet in that area. I also need to understand more about (losing) the Guide if I go with a cable card. I have a Toshiba progressive scan DVD player putting out 420p connected via component. I've only tweaked the settings slightly on the XBR. It looked pretty good out of the box but I want to spend more time and do it right.

HDTV looks awesome! I've watched a couple movies from the DVD player and they look very good too. Regular TV is well, just regular but overall I'm happy with my choice.

Mikedit

12-07-05, 04:36 PM

Ken Ross

12-07-05, 05:13 PM

For the record... when i was comparing the two panels the XBR was NOT in torch mode,i had checked to see where it was at,it was set on standard. Not sure how Pioneer was set.

Hammr

Standard mode on the Bravia is not much different in terms of brightness than Vivid. Custom mode is quite different and is the mode that any ISF tech would use. In fact, it's the only mode that enables you to use the more accurate warm settings as opposed to 'cool' or 'normal' (both are too cool). Remember, when I mentioned about properly adjusting LCDs (whether by ISF techs or other methodology), I said it would be 'closer' to plasmas, I didn't say they'd be the same brightness as plasmas. I'm merely indicating that the gap would be narrowed.

Kristopher79

12-07-05, 06:18 PM

Standard mode on the Bravia is not much different in terms of brightness than Vivid. Custom mode is quite different and is the mode that any ISF tech would use. In fact, it's the only mode that enables you to use the more accurate warm settings as opposed to 'cool' or 'normal' (both are too cool). Remember, when I mentioned about properly adjusting LCDs (whether by ISF techs or other methodology), I said it would be 'closer' to plasmas, I didn't say they'd be the same brightness as plasmas. I'm merely indicating that the gap would be narrowed.

Correct! The standard mode isn't much different than vivid. Actually, I can't hardly tell the difference. If you put the Bravia in custom mode then all of a sudden it falls flat on its face so no arguement there. I do realize that professionals will use custom mode to achieve the highest PQ and then at that, it won't rival a plasma if your trying to be super picky. So I'll give you that.

But...I was just at BB today and they had the 40" Bravia smack dab in the middle of the 42" plasmas. Specifically the samsung ed/hd, pannys, pio elite, magnavox, polaroid, and LG so basically everything. I noticed first that the Bravia was brighter than all of them. The pio elite was right on top of it too. The snow was so vivid and white where all others where muddy. Okay before you think I'm knockin' on plasmas...just to be fair I turned off the vivid and went into custom and tried to adjust the pic. Plasmas offered better motion and more reality with their PQ at this point. So now I see exactly what your talking about. It's going to be hard to duplicate that with an LCD.

Just for measure, I tried one more thing on the Bravia. I decided that I liked the vivid (torch) mode....I guess it's because I'm "cool" I dunno. But anyhow, while in vivid mode I turned down the brightdown to 30. That's it! Now I'm looking at a picture that is on par with the plasmas. It took away that rediculous fakeness that is torch mode and toned it down to almost exactly meet the samsung 42" hd plasma. Try this for yourself next time your in the stores.

Take care

Ken Ross

12-07-05, 06:40 PM

Kristopher, I believe you, I've turned the brightness down on my Bravia to about 35. The default whites and brightness are just nuts IMO. But hey, I can see someone being perfectly happy with the torch mode...not everyone is after an accurate picture. People buy bright speakers knowing their not accurate, but they simply like the sound. ;)

visual insanity

12-07-05, 07:46 PM

Hammr,

I gotta say, you have got to be one of the only person's on here that consistently think the Bravia LCD is better than plasma. I disagree on all your points, the plasma's to me at least look much more life like and not the least bit blurry. I dont know how you get "blurry" from a fixed pixel display. Anyhow, the only thing I will agree with you on is "Let your eyes be the judge"

Ever since the 40XBR1 units came out I have always thought based on all the stores I've been to that the Sony LCD was by far the best. So no, Hammr is not alone. It really is a matter of preference and for me I prefer the picture on the Sony.

I've said this before and I'll say it again...the PQ on the more popular plasmas are not bad. They look really good...but for some reason and I don't know what it is but to my eyes the PQ just isn't as vibrant and eye-popping as it is on the Sony 40XBR1. Instead I find the PQ on the plasmas to be "soft" which isn't bad...but I want my picture to "pop" and jump out at me.

epie

12-07-05, 08:40 PM

I want to thank everyone to date for the spirited debate between the Panasonic plasma and the Bravia. I have to say that I am defiitely leaning towards the Bravia as I would agree with those that say the picture "pops" on the Bravia as opposed to the plasma and is nothing like I have seen on other HDTVs. I will say that the dark level was a bit better on the Panasonic but for me, the "pop" factor was more of a noticeable difference than the black levels between the two. Now if I can only find a sale on the 40" Bravia. Maybe after the holidays I'll get lucky?

Thanks everyone,
epie

MUGEN

12-07-05, 09:13 PM

you mean the 40" not 42".

DELETE THIS IF THIS ISN'T THE PLACE FOR THE X SERIES :confused:
i guess the new x series could have a part in this thread too?
http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/bravia/products/series.cfm?series=x

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecat.sony.co.jp%2Fvisual%2Ftv%2 Fproducts%2Findex.cfm%3FPD%3D22595%26KM%3DKDL-40X1000&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&safe=off&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools
http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/products/picture/KDL-46X1000.jpg
-1080p in 2 HDMI's
-pc input 1920x1080@60HZ

released 11/20/05 in JAPAN, here no idea :mad:
sonystyle japan prices converted to USD MSRP!
comes with table top stand
Kdl-46x1000-$5,786
Kdl-40x1000-$4,896

lipcrkr

12-07-05, 11:42 PM

lipcrkr

12-07-05, 11:50 PM

Ever since the 40XBR1 units came out I have always thought based on all the stores I've been to that the Sony LCD was by far the best. So no, Hammr is not alone. It really is a matter of preference and for me I prefer the picture on the Sony.

I've said this before and I'll say it again...the PQ on the more popular plasmas are not bad. They look really good...but for some reason and I don't know what it is but to my eyes the PQ just isn't as vibrant and eye-popping as it is on the Sony 40XBR1. Instead I find the PQ on the plasmas to be "soft" which isn't bad...but I want my picture to "pop" and jump out at me.

I will say one thing, and this is coming from a plasma only buyer, but was watching "A Shark's Tale" on the Bravia 40XBR1 today at CC and it was stunning. The colors were vivid. The WOW factor was there. But, this same TV previously had "Indiana Jones" on it and some of the indoor scenes were lacking some detail. Seems this TV pops on some material and is mediocre on others. But "A Shark's Tale" was gorgeous.

lhamp

12-08-05, 08:00 AM

Shad0wz

12-08-05, 09:40 AM

I will say one thing, and this is coming from a plasma only buyer, but was watching "A Shark's Tale" on the Bravia 40XBR1 today at CC and it was stunning. The colors were vivid. The WOW factor was there. But, this same TV previously had "Indiana Jones" on it and some of the indoor scenes were lacking some detail. Seems this TV pops on some material and is mediocre on others. But "A Shark's Tale" was gorgeous.

Yea thats exactly what I was mentioning in my posts earlier... this TV does poorly with dark scenes just like any LCD does, whereas plasma shines in that area. LCD's do great with bright vibrant scenes, but fall on their face when it comes to dim scenes. Just watch master and commander on an LCD and you will see what i mean.

Ken Ross

12-08-05, 10:47 AM

Ken Ross

12-08-05, 10:49 AM

Ken... just out of curiousity..... what do you have your contrast and backlight set to?

Backlight set to 6, contrast to 70 and brightness at 35. I'd love to lower the contrast even further, but it just seems the picture needs some hyping during the day. We use the Bravia in a bright kitchen.

lhamp

12-08-05, 11:09 AM

Backlight set to 6, contrast to 70 and brightness at 35. I'd love to lower the contrast even further, but it just seems the picture needs some hyping during the day. We use the Bravia in a bright kitchen.

Those settings are very close to where I have mine (although I may have the backlight down some and the brightness up). As I mentioned to you earlier, I'm a bit baffled that everyone else who's posted on this thread has their contrast set to 90, 95 or Max.

R11

12-08-05, 11:10 AM

http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/products/picture/KDL-46X1000.jpg
-1080p in 2 HDMI's
-pc input 1920x1080@60HZ

released 11/20/05 in JAPAN, here no idea :mad:
sonystyle japan prices converted to USD MSRP!
comes with table top stand

Kdl-40x1000-$4,896So, you figure that's the same panel JVC is using in their new 1080p LT-40FH96 then? IIRC the JVC press info indicated the glass was Samsung...

ron

Stinky-Dinkins

12-08-05, 11:37 AM

I'd like to see more settings (Hammr and others,) if it's using component HDMI etc, and what it's displaying (XBox, DVD, etc.)

Thanks.

sfhub

12-08-05, 11:57 AM

So, you figure that's the same panel JVC is using in their new 1080p LT-40FH96 then? IIRC the JVC press info indicated the glass was Samsung...
Dunno about the panel, but the JVC thread indicates the documentation says the JVC 1080p set accepts max 1024x768 PC input. This hasn't been independently verified by end-users yet. It wouldn't be the first time a set accepts more video formats than indicated by the manual.

stec1123

12-08-05, 01:41 PM

Yea thats exactly what I was mentioning in my posts earlier... this TV does poorly with dark scenes just like any LCD does, whereas plasma shines in that area. LCD's do great with bright vibrant scenes, but fall on their face when it comes to dim scenes. Just watch master and commander on an LCD and you will see what i mean.

You're beginning to sound like the Westa6969 of plasma displays. You two should fight to the death...

The Bravias I've seen don't quite "fall on their face" when it comes to dim scenes. I've seen Master and Commander and Sin City on the Bravias and it looks just fine. Does it display dark scenes as well as plasma? No. But that doesn't mean it completely falls flat either. Just like plasmas don't fall flat on their face during bright vibrant scenes even though they don't look as good as LCD.

I hope you can see how you're beginning to sound like the Westa6969 of plasma displays...

wizzy420

12-08-05, 02:19 PM

N.B. Forrest

12-08-05, 05:45 PM

Hey any owners out there (or others) that can comment on SDTV signals on this display? My parents are at a crossroads between the 40XBR1 and the 36XS955, nad 80% of the material they watch is Standard Def. The very rarely watch DVD's, and no chance of an XBOX 360 hitting the stage.

Help?

wiz -

I have had my 40" XBR up & running for less than a week and haven't had an opportunity to view it with DTV's new 5lnb dish & H20 box yet thanks to Ironwood Communications' poor installation practices. So, my current viewing consists of dvd's and SD via my non-HD DTV equipment.

So far, my reception has been good although not quite as good as our old Trinitron for certain SD programming. No ghosting, no washed out colors, no false contouring or artifacting - just slightly less sharp.

Jim Hef

12-08-05, 07:17 PM

...80% of the material they watch is Standard Def. They very rarely watch DVD's....
Then tell them to get an ED display such as the Panasonic 42" plasma. Excellent picture, and it seems all they want is a flat panel without the need for it to "interfere" with their standard TV watching!

posg

12-09-05, 08:57 AM

Tip:

I own the 32" XBR LCD. I subcribe to Time Warner Cable Raleigh which provides digital simulcast of the analogue standard cable package. I also use the Pace Set Top HD Box. This particular box has (I do not know about SA boxes) the ability to set the output resolution to either 1080i, 720p, 480i, 480p, or "PASS".

THE PQ ON SD IS MUCH (AT LEAST 25%) BETTER IN THE "PASS" MODE. Reason being is the scaler in the box is crappy. The scaler in the TV is excellent. In the "pass" mode, the box passes the native resolution of the channel to the TV for processing. HUGE DIFFERENCE.

Again, I don't know if all brands of set-top boxes allow a "pass" through output. If yours doesn't, I encourage you to exchange it for one that does, if available. If you really want to benefit from all the enhanced technology of this set, be aware of what you feed it.

voipben

12-09-05, 09:57 AM

THE PQ ON SD IS MUCH (AT LEAST 25%) BETTER IN THE "PASS" MODE. Reason being is the scaler in the box is crappy. The scaler in the TV is excellent. In the "pass" mode, the box passes the native resolution of the channel to the TV for processing. HUGE DIFFERENCE.
That's a good point. On the Motorola DCT HD boxes (used by Comcast, TW and others) there is no pass mode but there are two settings that can be changed, one for HD output and one called "4:3 override." I have yet to receive my KDL-V40XBR1 so haven't tested this yet but with my current plasma, setting the override to "NONE" (the default is 480i) seems to help, so it might be doing something similar to the "pass" mode.

I wonder if setting the HD option on the Motorola cable box to 720p (the TV's native res) will be better than 1080i. I believe 1080i is the default for the box...

ginso100

12-09-05, 10:33 AM

This question about the output of the Comcast 6412 is a good one that i've been wondering as well.

I haven't gotten aroudn to playing around with the differences yet, but does anybody have a sense of if it should make a difference with the Bravia?

ray-dude

12-09-05, 12:31 PM

I have a 40" Bravia and the 6412. SD picture quality is an embarrassment.

For HD, I set to 720p output. It seemed slightly less "fuzzy" to my eye than 1080i.

Based on this discussion, I'll try to experiment more with the "4:3 override setting". I saw little/no difference between 480i and 480p. I basically punted and use the internal tuner on the Bravia for non-HD channels. Tonight, I'll try the other settings to see if they make a difference.

For reference, here is an excerpt from the 6412 manual:

4:3 Override Sets the display format for 4:3 standard-definition
programming. If the YPrPb Output is set to 1080i, 720p, or
480p, this setting defaults to 480i. If the YPrPb Output is set
to 480i, this setting defaults to OFF and cannot be changed.
Options are:
• OFF displays non-high-definition programs having a 4:3
aspect ratio in wide screen format. On an HDTV, black
bars display on the left and right of the picture.
Selecting OFF for a 4:3 TV may result in a small picture
with black bars around it.
• 480i displays non-high-definition programs in their
original 480i format. Some TVs cannot display 480i
format on their component video inputs (YPbPr). Check
the TV user manual for more information. Graphics
overlaying the video are displayed.
• 480p converts non-high-definition TV programs to a
higher-quality 480p format. Some TVs cannot display
480p format on their component video inputs (YPbPr).
Check the TV user manual for more information.
Graphics overlaying the video are not displayed.
• Stretch automatically stretches all standard definition
programming to fill your widescreen display. Stretch can
only be selected if you have TV Type set to 16:9.

Jim12345

12-09-05, 12:47 PM

I have a DCT 6412 III and was playing around with the settings for 4:3 override last night trying to see if any of them improved the SD picture on my KDL-V40XBR1. I only was at it for about 10 minutes but I could not tell much of a difference between 480i, 480p and none. Also, someone said in a different thread (don't know if this is correct) that the 'none' setting on the 6412 is not the same as 'pass'. They said the 'none' setting is actually sending what you have set for HD which in my case would be 1080i.

I have not tried changing HD to 720p but that is also something I want to try as well as spend more time viewing the different 4:3 override options. If someone else has a 6412 III and is seeing a big improvement with a specific override option please let me know.

EDIT: From what I have read in several posts on the motorola 6412 thread if you have 4:3 override set to off it means the 6412 is sending all channels at 1080i (or whatever you have the HDMI/YPbPr set to).

Mr. Brownstone

12-09-05, 01:05 PM

You're beginning to sound like the Westa6969 of plasma displays. You two should fight to the death...

The Bravias I've seen don't quite "fall on their face" when it comes to dim scenes. I've seen Master and Commander and Sin City on the Bravias and it looks just fine. Does it display dark scenes as well as plasma? No. But that doesn't mean it completely falls flat either. Just like plasmas don't fall flat on their face during bright vibrant scenes even though they don't look as good as LCD.

I hope you can see how you're beginning to sound like the Westa6969 of plasma displays...Ha ha, the trend toward hyperbole has always been the undoing of places like this.

I've compared the Sony KDL-V40XBR1 and the Panasonic TH-42PX500U at length, and they're both excellent displays. They have their individual strengths and weaknesses -- documented to death -- but neither "falls on its face" on any kind of material.

Every time I see somebody here tell us that Set A "blows away" Set B, I just roll my eyes, 'cause it's not very useful information, and you never see that kinda language in professional reviews.

posg

12-09-05, 01:36 PM

The "4:3 override" function on your STB (oops, "set top box" to Mr. Brownstone) refers to the "aspect ratio", not to the "resolution".

It may be that some STB manufacturers do not allow selection of a "pass-through" mode, in which case SD channels may look better by-passing the STB completely, a good argument for using the TV's tuner with a CableCARD.

Mr. Brownstone

12-09-05, 01:39 PM

The "4:3 override" function on your STB (oops, "set top box" to Mr. Brownstone) refers to the "aspect ratio", not to the "resolution".Well said! ;)

Don H

12-09-05, 04:17 PM

Just came back from CC where I saw the KDL-V40XBR1. They had the color, brightness and picture maxed out. Still picture wasn't bad. I reduced all 3 down to 50% and the picture was better than any other set they had.

Only problem was they only had an open box to sell.

mkconley

12-09-05, 04:59 PM

Jim12345

12-10-05, 12:50 AM

The "4:3 override" function on your STB (oops, "set top box" to Mr. Brownstone) refers to the "aspect ratio", not to the "resolution".

Yes, but with the motorola 6412 that was being discussed 4:3 override allows you to change what it is outputting from 480i to 480p and if you turn 4:3 override off the 6412 is sending all channels at 1080i (or whatever you have the HDMI/YPbPr set to).

Kristopher79

12-10-05, 02:55 AM

Yeah...I was getting ready to splurg and hand my c-card over to the CC rep to get the Panny 50u plasma until I saw the Sony 40xbr1 around the corner. I had to look at it for a tenth time and let me tell you....I knew this thing snap, crackles, and pops but someone must have calibrated it to BLOW THE DOORS OFF THE PANNY!!! I mean took its game and out the water!!! I mean it's like...you just don't know do ya? The whites, reds, and greens on this thing while in vivid mode will DEFINATELY HAVE YOUR MILK and just about the only thing I can say is that it blows away the plasmas all except for the Pioneer but hey that's $$$ right?

I say drop what your doing and go to the nearest BB/CC and find the 40XBR1 Sony LCD and push the WEGA GATE button on the right side of the panel and make sure that bad boy is set to VIVID MODE! It's like when I can remember back in oldskool days my portable Sony walkman had MEGA BASS on it that literally BLEW AWAY the panasonic and phillips and what not. It was just no comparison and you don't even wanna go there! Heck man the thing went through batteries like going out of style since it had so much BASS, which is bragable. This LCD is no different, you can laugh at all the fools who get the plasmas because you know in your heart that they aint got the "punch" or the "kick" or the "zing" or the "zang" that your Sony has with the Vivid mode. It's like turbo for my Suburu. Yeah well it might not look like much but when I hit the turbo boy hang on for a ride. I mean what good is going to a bar and ordering just orange juice??? Why not vodka to go with to get that kick that only a screwdriver can do and a Panasonic never will.

Black levels... oh man I hear this all the time from panny and pio plasma owners talk about their black level. I hear this crap about a LCD will never make a professional calibrated home theater room experience in your home because when you dim the lights all of sudden the LCD sucks and you can no longer enjoy Master and Commander like you would on a 50" holier-than-thou and blacker-than-black plasma. Well I got news for them!! Nobody cares and plus not many can make for a true home theater setup with a dedicated room, 1500 watt THX certified sound, dim lights, big room and all that jazz. Hello 2nd mortgage? If you want home theater I suggest you save up your clams and get a real projector with some kinda Firehawk screen or whatever then you'll make your neighbors drool on Master and Commander. Plasma is a toy compared to this no?

I'm considering joining the local ninja clan down the street so I can hang out and chill with the big dogs and be all in stealth mode and what not. It's gonna be for real and the coolest thing about it is that I can climb trees and sport this ninja outfit that has this killer black looking sock that goes around my face. It has words kinda like symbols of my relic like turbo, mega bass, hard rock, ninjitsu, and now I can add VIVID to the mix when I own the 40XBR1 LCD. It's gonna be the bomb and speaking of bombs I just may drop one of my fake powder ninja bombs on one of the plasma next time I'm in CC. They may even hire me since I'll be totally sweet....and stealth!! If that doesn't lead to immediate hire I'll pull out my MEGA BASS walkman and they better believe I'm for real.

Peeps often ask me how do I do it I mean how come I'm so slick and know my stuff like ViVid mode will rock your world with its bright whites and UNBELIEVABLE colors its will blind you no joke!! I just point to the plasmas and tell them that my Sony XBR blows them all away. If they question why I just say, "clearly".

(dont take this seriously - just a joke for Mr. Brownstone)

Jim Hef

12-10-05, 08:14 AM

Kris, the pharmacy just called and your ridalin prescription is ready for pick up!!! :D

Ken Ross

12-10-05, 11:49 AM

Kris, the pharmacy just called and your ridalin prescription is ready for pick up!!! :D

YOWSER!! Those were my thoughts too! Different strokes eh? But you got to love these guys that essentially say 'you're a moron' if you buy a plasma! Oh yes, and 'nobody cares' about black levels!! I give up. :rolleyes:

OK OK, I didn't read the bottom!!! I got sucked in!!! We'll get you Mr. Brownstone! :D

Mr. Brownstone

12-11-05, 11:21 AM

Kris, the pharmacy just called and your ridalin prescription is ready for pick up!!! :D
YOWSER!! Those were my thoughts too! Different strokes eh? But you got to love these guys that essentially say 'you're a moron' if you buy a plasma! Oh yes, and 'nobody cares' about black levels!! I give up. :rolleyes:

OK OK, I didn't read the bottom!!! I got sucked in!!! We'll get you Mr. Brownstone! :DGuys . . . it was parody . . . and it was pretty damn good!

rorkin

12-11-05, 01:25 PM

IS anyone having lip syncing issues on internal tuner ????

dukie46

12-11-05, 01:48 PM

verriere

12-11-05, 02:44 PM

IS anyone having lip syncing issues on internal tuner ????

I observed this problem last night on the 2nd half of a broadcast of Austin City Limits (ACL) on a regional public station. The first half of the program was fine, and no other channels were exhibiting the problem while it was evident on the ACL broadcast. Chalked it up to bad source material.

tustinfarm

12-11-05, 08:54 PM

Dukie46 -

Fear not, I just bought same model today, and hooked up cheap progressive scan DVD player. Yes, took a while to get all of the settings on both the player output and TV input - but once I got it set up picture quality is outstanding - way beyond regular TV channels. Too involved to describe all the different settings here, but the wanted to reassure you that it can be done. I suspect your biggest problem is using a composite video output from the DVD player rather than SVHS or component. I am using component connection.

All in all, very happy so far, and the sony is a nice complement to my front projection setup (120" diagonal).

lazerfan

12-11-05, 10:25 PM

Hi. We just bought the KDLV40XBR1 today. We're thrilled with the picture on HD. The analog and digital cable picture is ok-- we weren't expecting great things, but my old JVC tube tv is better. The thing that worries us, though, is the dvd picture quality. The picture is extremely grainy and not sharp at all. We have an old Sony dvd player that is not even progressive scan. Could that be the problem or should dvd's still look better on this tv? We've tried playing with the settings, but we'd love to see people's settings for dvd's. Any help we'd really appreciate. If we can't get the dvd's to look better, we'll probably take this tv back. (and we'd hate to do that after all the research we did before getting this one!) Thank you!
A progressive scan dvd player is a must for the Sony XBR Bravia. Non-progressive scan, even hooked up via component, will give you a poor picture. Plenty of jaggies. I was surprised by this on my 32" XBR LCD, as I would have thought the tv had a great de-interlacer for 480i material. It's not the case, unhappily. Forget about watching laserdiscs or VHS unless you have an external scaler I guess. Having said that, if you want fantastic dvd pictures, get the Sony upconverting dvd player. The HDMI output on the player makes a difference. Great picture quality. No macroblocking, no graininess, ect. Best dvd picture I've ever seen.

Kristopher79

12-11-05, 11:52 PM

Mr. Brownstone

12-12-05, 07:45 AM

A progressive scan dvd player is a must for the Sony XBR Bravia. Non-progressive scan, even hooked up via component, will give you a poor picture. Plenty of jaggies. I was surprised by this on my 32" XBR LCD, as I would have thought the tv had a great de-interlacer for 480i material. It's not the case, unhappily. Forget about watching laserdiscs or VHS unless you have an external scaler I guess. Having said that, if you want fantastic dvd pictures, get the Sony upconverting dvd player. The HDMI output on the player makes a difference. Great picture quality. No macroblocking, no graininess, ect. Best dvd picture I've ever seen.Home Theater magazine tests the 40XBR1 in the January issue, and it essentially echoes what you say here. The reviewer specifically says the onboard deinterlacer is not so good, and a progressive-scan DVD player is highly recommended. As for upconverting via HDMI, I'd suspect that's more subtle, but 480p via component seems like a minimum requirement for good picture quality from DVDs.

By the way . . . haven't all DVD players been progressive scan for years? I have two of them, and one of those is almost four years old, and progressive scan wasn't such a new thing then.

Schly

12-12-05, 05:52 PM

Funny, i had the pleasure of having the XBR 40" right on top of a Pioneer elite plasma 43", at a Magnolia showroom,and the Bravia smoked it. The colors on the Bravia pop like nothing else,And was WAY sharper,you can really notice the difference in resolution. the pioneer was nice, did have nice blacks(not really any BETTER though),but imho, compared to Bravia, the plasma picture was too soft and slightly blurry,lifeless and certainly less interesting.

Even if the blacks are a slight bit better on a plasma,my 6 year old 36" hi-scan wega has nice deep inky blacks too,but its still kinda uncompelling to watch. =/

epie - let your eyes be the judge,check them out in a couple stores,better yet if you can bring them home see what you like better.

Hammr

Hammr,

I have had the pleasure of testing both the 43" Elite and the Bravia 40" in my home in the last month. I bought the Plasma and had frequent, and sometimes constant, "rainbow effect" in it. It was a beautiful TV with an amazing picture, but it drove me crazy. That, and the fact that I had ghosting after 4 hour video game sessions and it took 3 days for it to dissipate, made me decide that the Elite was not the TV for me.

I returned it and got a Bravia.

While I think that the Plasma was the better picture overall, I fully agree with you that the colors on the Bravia seem far more lifelike.

Neither is the perfect TV, but both have their high points.

BTW, For those looking for a "sexy" TV, I would highly recommend the Elite. It was like a piece of art in the room, even when it was turned off. The Bravia is nice, but it is in no way in the same league as the Elite when it comes to style points alone.

N.B. Forrest

12-12-05, 06:30 PM

I watched an episode from the "Magnum , Season One" dvd on my 40" XBR last night, playing on my Pio 520 dvd recorder. The picture was slightly grainy although the colors looked good.

Would this episode have looked better if I had played it on an upconverting dvd player rather than the recorder or have others found that this dvd is grainy on their displays as well?

lazerfan

12-12-05, 06:53 PM

Home Theater magazine tests the 40XBR1 in the January issue, and it essentially echoes what you say here. The reviewer specifically says the onboard deinterlacer is not so good, and a progressive-scan DVD player is highly recommended. As for upconverting via HDMI, I'd suspect that's more subtle, but 480p via component seems like a minimum requirement for good picture quality from DVDs.

By the way . . . haven't all DVD players been progressive scan for years? I have two of them, and one of those is almost four years old, and progressive scan wasn't such a new thing then.

Yeah, I think all dvd players, except for cheap dvd/vhs combi units, are progressive scan. But, the quality really varies. Samsung progressive scan players aren't that great. And, how good can the deinterlacing chip be in a $30 dvd player?

PGHammer

12-13-05, 12:14 AM

Yeah, I think all dvd players, except for cheap dvd/vhs combi units, are progressive scan. But, the quality really varies. Samsung progressive scan players aren't that great. And, how good can the deinterlacing chip be in a $30 dvd player?

Even combi-players are almost all-progressive-scan. The Polaroid combi-players (both the current one, and even last year's DVD/VHS combi-deck, which I happen to own) are progressive-scan on the DVD side, and includes both composite and component outputs (however, it also includes optical-audio outputs, which is decidedly rare for a combi-deck). It was *overkill* when I bought it, as it was feeding a 19" table model TV, but said TV is being replaced by a 32" LCD FP (widescreen, of course).

cql

12-13-05, 02:42 AM

I'm trying to connect my powerbook to my 40xbr1 and would like to know if anyone use swithresx or displayconfigx, if so what are the value that you guys use to entere in the custom resolution.

Paulo Abreu

12-13-05, 03:53 AM

Hi all, I just registered and this is my first post!

I find this thread to be great - I have a lot to read and learn here but still I am posting since I would thank some advice on this:

I bought the Sony Bravia KLV-V40A10E - I believe it is the same as the US XBR1...

As I am in the process of deciding the purchase of a "medium level" DVD player with upsampling to HD (720p/1080i) to match my LCD, I've narrowed my choices to Sony DVP-NS92V and Panasonic DVD-S97 (Eisa 2005 award)... what one would you recommend? (I already bought the HDMI cable from "supra")

Btw, I have Xbox and am waiting for 360. About some remarks concerning LCD adjustments wich I find very interesting, I also modified the default "vivid" to personalized settings so that deep shadows could be better rendered... I don't remember for sure since I am at work now but I increased a bit the retro (to 8), modified luminousity and color... its better for me even for TV viewing...

I am using Xbox as my DVD player for now... will I notice a lot of increase in image quality when I plug one of the mentioned DVD players via the HDMI interface? I believe yes since Xbox isn't made primarly for DVD viewing...

Regards from Portugal, Madeira Island
Paulo Abreu

Hi again all,

I changed my mind and just got the latest Pioneer DVD-989Avi, connected to Briavia using HDMI at 720p and I am amazed with picture quality !!! I've been looking at some chapters of Star Wars episode II and I am knocked out! very happy with purchases :)

Regards

JR01

12-13-05, 08:02 AM

I just found this forum yesterday and have found it really helpful. Over the weekend I finally broke down and bought the XBR 26 from my local Tweeter store here in Baltimore. What a fantastic picture with my OTA source, also my only reception source.

When auto setup completed it found 23 or so digital stations, including the D.C. stations and some others that were just barely there. But the HD stations all looked as good as I'd expected.

The problem was, the XBR tuner did not pick up two of the local PBS 22 substations, .2 and .6. These are the only two which transmit in HD. The others, 22.1, .3, .4, .& 5, were present. Nor was there an option in the setup to Display or Hide either of these two as they weren't even listed. Manually tuning in to 22.2 tries but then says "No Signal." Signal strength (in Diagnostics) was 98% for the PBS stations. I tried the setup again, both auto and manual, same results.

After lots of fiddling, even disconnecting my OTA feed to my 55" Mitsubishi HDTV (which receives all these stations without a problem) and connecting it to the 26, it made no difference.

I hauled it all back to Tweeter for some ideas. Interestingly, their showroom display XBR 40, which is also connected to an OTA, was unable to receive these two ( .2 & .6) either, although the Mitsy next to it could, perfectly. A short while later, the XBR started showing the 2 missing PBS stations, but dropped the other 4! Again, the Mitsy never had a problem.

Sony Tech support's only comment was that since I wasn't using cable they could not "guarantee" signal strength, period. Not the sort of answer that inspires much confidence.

So, after about 2 hours at Tweeter I finally and reluctantly decided to return the TV.

Until I can get a good HDTV dvr (maybe Sony will soon offer a better product than their current, now discontinued models) which can pick up my missing stations, I'm sort of dead in the water. Cable is not an option I want to consider. It would appear that the XBR tuners are weak, or at least weaker than Mitsy's.

Has anyone run into this problem? If so, were you able to solve it? How?

Thanks.

Jim

JMorello

12-13-05, 09:28 AM

I just picked up the SONYXBR1 32" set this weekend from Best Buy. I was wondering if any of you use an indoor HDTV antenna for reception and could recommend one to me. I watched 2 movies with the standard out of the box settings and I thought it was awesome. You could really notice the difference in PQ with the progressive scan DVD player.

Do you have any settings you recommend for DVD and Game playing? Also I noticed the back of the set has an optical cable for my receiver but I do not get any 5.1 dolby decoding from my xbox or DVD player when I am hooked up to it. I would have to run seperate optical cable to each device then to the receiver in order to get the sound. Is there something I might be doing wrong? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.

jgaffney

12-13-05, 02:51 PM

When I bought my 40" XBR, one of the features that attracted me to it is the USB port on the side and the PictureViewer software in it. I was looking forward to watching my digital pictures at 1080 resolution on a 40" screen. I have a Canon Powershot A80.

Last night, I plugged my camera into the port and started the PictureViewer. It came back and said, "No USB device." I checked to make sure the camera was set up right, the cable ends were tight, and tried it again. Same: "No USB device."

This morning, I called Sony and asked for help. Michael searched a lot of documents on their support database, and told me that the TV only supports Sony USB cameras and camcorders.

So, even though it supposed to be Universal Serial Bus, I think what they really meant is Universal SONY Bus.

Anybody have any suggestions, besides buy a Sony camera?

flix1

12-13-05, 03:21 PM

When I bought my 40" XBR, one of the features that attracted me to it is the USB port on the side and the PictureViewer software in it. I was looking forward to watching my digital pictures at 1080 resolution on a 40" screen. I have a Canon Powershot A80.

Last night, I plugged my camera into the port and started the PictureViewer. It came back and said, "No USB device." I checked to make sure the camera was set up right, the cable ends were tight, and tried it again. Same: "No USB device."

Canon's are notoriously bad, when it comes to USB, as far as I am concerned. I own 2 Canon Digital cameras (both of which I really like), but even getting them to work on a PC initially is a pain. I took one on a trip recently and tried to download pictures to my brother-in-law's XP computer, but it would not recognize the camara and it would have required me to install a bunch software and drivers, so I eventually gave up.

Canon uses the USB TWAIN driver which they embed into their Software applications. I would be surprised if it worked with any other USB device (TV, DVR, etc) other than a PC.